Putting Value on WalletFlo’s Hottest Summer Credit Card

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Right now the Citi Premier® Card is offering one of the best ever welcome bonuses of 80,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.

This is proving to be the hottest card for WalletFlo users for the summer and so I think it would be a good time to take a look at what type of valuation you should be giving your ThankYou Points.

Citi Premier overview

As mentioned, the Citi Premier® Card has an outstanding welcome offer of 80,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.

But in addition to the bonus, you can also get:

3X on air travel and hotels
3X on dining
3X on gas stations
3X on supermarkets
1x on other purchases
$100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
No Foreign transaction fees
$95 annual fee

While you can do better on some of these individual spend categories, the Citi Premier® Card is certainly a strong all-around spender.

If you want solid rewards but don’t want to mess around with multiple cards, this card can make it easy to earn a lot of points with your spend.

Interested in the 80,000 ThankYou Points welcome bonus? Learn how to apply here.

ThankYou Points valuation examples

That 80,000 point welcome bonus is very attractive but exactly how much value should you expect to receive for those points?

Below, I’ll show you how it could range from $800 to over $28,000!

And no, that $28,000 is not a typo.

Remember – You can input your own custom points valuation into the WalletFlo app and that will impact how your credit card ranks on your Cheat Sheet!

Cashback and gift cards

Valuation: 1 cent

You can redeem Citi ThankYou points for cashback/statement credits or for lots of different gift cards at a rate of one cent per point.

Gift cards are one of the most convenient ways to redeem points and if you can get one cent per point it’s not a terrible use of your points (but definitely not optimal).

Generally, for me gift cards are a last resort when redeeming transferable points but as long as you get one cent per point it’s not the end of the world.

Citi Travel Portal

Valuation: 1 cent

You can use the Citi Travel Portal to redeem at a rate of one cent per point for things like airfare, rental cars, cruises, and hotels.

When you book airfare, you’ll also earn miles for your flights so you do get a bit more value than one cent per point if you factor that in.

While the value is still on the low side, the benefit of using the travel portal is you don’t have to worry about award inventory so you can book any flight you see.

This method is for people who want to save money on travel but don’t want to bother with the challenges of transferring points. It can also be useful for cheap flights and some hotels.

Sometimes you may just want to book your travel outside the travel portal and reimburse yourself with direct deposit cashback so you can get your full benefits, travel protections, etc.

Tip: If you utilize the $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit you can technically get over one cent per point for hotel redemptions.

Citi Travel partners

If you’ve been in miles and points for a while you know that the best value for your points comes from utilizing transfer partners.

So let’s take a look at some of the Citi partner redemptions to see what type of valuations you might be working with.

We’ll start small and then ramp up the value.

Interested in the 80,000 ThankYou Points welcome bonus? Learn how to apply here.

JetBlue (USA Domestic)

Valuation: 1.2 cents per point

An economy redemption on JetBlue from LAX to MIA would run you 12,900 points for a $164 flight. So that comes out to about 1.2 cents per point.

You should be able to do better than that on other JetBlue flights but not that much better. (If you can get around 1.5 cents per point you are doing pretty good with JetBlue.)

Because JetBlue award prices are tied to revenue prices (similar to Southwest), these are always going to represent the lower end of redemptions for ThankYou Points when it comes to travel partners.

Tip: If you have the JetBlue Plus Card you can get a 10% rebate on your point redemptions which increases the value of your points.

Avios (USA Domestic)

Valuation: 2.1 cents per point

Flying business class from JFK to MIA on American Airlines would cost $357. Using 16,500 Avios to cover that trip, the cents per mile comes out to about 2.1 cents per point.

The way this redemption would work is you would first transfer your Citi points to Qatar and then transfer them to British Airways where you could book American Airlines (using the British Airways site) at the above rate.

For those of you who live near an AA hub, using the Qatar-BA route for American flights can be a very easy and efficient way to get around with ThankYou Points.

Avianca (USA-Europe)

Valuation: 10.1 cents per point

This valuation is based on business class redemptions on both Lufthansa and United using Avianca Life Miles.

For 63,000 Life Miles and only $25 in fees you could book a one-way business class flight on either United or Lufthansa from Houston to Frankfurt.

These flights are listed at $6,399, so that means that your redemption value comes out to 10.1 cents per point which is pretty amazing for business class.

Emirates (USA-Europe)

Valuation: 15 cents per point

If you thought 10 cents per point was impressive, it’s time to bump things up a notch with first class awards.

Emirates awards can get expensive for premium cabins but they have reduced fuel surcharges so they are not nearly as expensive as they used to be.

For 72,500 miles you can fly their amazing first class from New York (JFK) to Milan, Italy (MXP) and you only have to pay $84 in fees. That flight is currently going for $10,922.

With $84 in fees the cents per mile comes out to 15 cents per mile!

Virgin Atlantic (USA-Asia)

Valuation: 27.4 cents per point

Here’s when things start to get stupid.

If you were to transfer your Citi points to Virgin Atlantic and book first class on ANA from JFK to Japan it would cost you 60,000 Virgin miles one way.

I priced this flight in October of this year for $16,574. If you assume fees of about $100 then that means that the cents per point comes out to an astonishing 27.4 cents per point.

If you want to get even crazier Citi has offered 30% transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic before. So if you took advantage of one of those bonuses you could transfer 47,000 points for this redemption, making the value of your points come out to 35 cents per point.

Final word

Some of these redemptions represent amazing outsized value.

Most people will want to stick to valuations that represent their actual travel savings rather than value captured from mega outsized redemptions.

That will typically be around one to three cents per point, depending on how you like to travel.

But knowing how insane the value can get with some of these programs can be a real motivating factor to help you optimize your rewards.

Citi Premier® Card: Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.

100K Avios offers: How to Use Them & What to Know

Avios have always been one of the most useful currencies to have when putting together award travel.

I’ve always been able to find a use for them pretty much wherever I go and there usually is pretty good value to be had with them, too. Plus, they are usually easy to search and book with, which can sometimes be half the battle.

With some 100K Avios offers floating around you might be wondering what type of use these points could have for you so let’s take a look!

Summary: There are several 100K bonuses for Avios which are airline miles that can be used on domestic airlines like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines as well as many great international partners. Many redemptions come with great value and low fees.

Current 100K Avios offers

You can currently earn up to 100,000 Avios with these different bonuses:

British Airways Visa Signature® Card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months of account opening; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

Iberia Visa Signature® Card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months of account opening; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

My take:

These are technically the highest public welcome bonuses for these cards but the high spending requirement knocks down the attractiveness.

75,000 Avios for $5K in spend is great but the the additional 25K points for $20,000 spend is a tall order for most.

This might be a tiered bonus where you just settle for the 75K, especially if you can supplement your Avios with points from other programs.

But it also might be a “no left overs” bonus if you can spend a lot since each card will offer you a special perk for spending $30,000.

These perks include:

British Airways Visa Signature® Card – Travel Together Ticket (pay 50% of the Avios fare when travelling solo or get a second seat for a companion)

Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card – Economy companion ticket with a paid economy flight

Iberia Visa Signature® Card – Discount voucher of $1,000 to use toward two tickets on the same flight

You might want to wait around for an offer to come back that doesn’t require as much spend.

But since these Avios cards are subject to 5/24 you some may want to pick them up and then move on to bigger and better things.

By the way, it is possible to get all three of these cards but you would want to stagger out your applications over several months.

But what could you do with these Avios if you were to go for them?

Below, I’m gonna give you some info on how to use Avios without overwhelming you with a bunch of awards charts.

**British Airways First Class Guide & Review**

6 quick things to know British Airways Avios

There is a ton of minutia that we could cover for Avios but if you’re just looking to get the fundamentals down, here’s what you need to know:

1. Avios can be transferred between airlines

You can transfer Avios between British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. (You can also pool points together with household members.)

To make transfers, your accounts need to be active for 90 days which is why I recommend people to immediately create accounts with all four programs. Might as well be prepared.

2. Avios bank transfer partners

British Airways is a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, Capital One, and Marriott. (Citi transfers to Qatar so it’s essentially a British Airways partner, too.) This makes it very easy to supplement your Avios with bank bonuses.

Consider adding to your Avios balance with these offers:

Citi Premier® Card: Earn 80,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in within the first 3 months
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months

3. Avios award charts

Things can get a little bit confusing because each Avios program has its own award chart with off-peak and on-peak awards.

The award charts have zones and things get a little funny with the zones due to all of the tinkering they have done.

Then there are also separate partner award charts.

To simplify things below, I’m just gonna show you what would be possible if you were using British Airways Avios. I’ll also leave out the award charts for now.

4. Watch out for fees

When flying on British Airways, fees can sometimes get high, especially with business and first. Try to avoid ending up in London if possible.

5. Look for non-stop flights

You want to try to book nonstop flights as much as possible.

That is because you have to pay for each segment individually. One connection could easily add thousands of miles to your redemption cost. Two connections could nearly triple your cost.

6. Transfer bonuses

You can often find transfer bonuses from the banks to the different Avios programs.

Because you can transfer points between programs, a bonus to one program is essentially a bonus to all. Right now, WalletFlo promos shows Chase has a 30% transfer bonus that ends at the end of July 2022.

**St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London Review**

The best way to use British Airways Avios

My personal preference for using British Airways Avios is to use them on short to medium non-stop flights.

Long-haul flights can be doable especially because British Airways is a transfer partner of major programs so it’s pretty easy to build up a balance with them. Plus, there are some long-haul Avios sweet spots out there.

But generally, the short to medium haul flights is where it’s at for me.

I’ll walk you through some redemptions below so that you can get a sense of the value potential. I’ll show you flights within the US and also some international redemptions as well.

**Qatar Airways A380 First Class Review (CDG to DOH)**

Getting around the US

You can use your Avios to book flights in the US on partners like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. In fact, these can be some of the best ways to use Avios.

Here’s a look at the single partner mileage requirements for North America flights:

Flights between 1-650 miles:

Economy: 7,500 Avios
Business: 15,000 Avios

Flights between 651-1,151 miles

Economy: 9,000 Avios
Business: 16,500 Avios

Flights between 1,152-2,000 miles

Economy: 11,000 Avios
Business: 22,000 Avios

Let me show you some examples of these prices in action.

Domestic flights

For only 16,500 Avios you could fly business class one way from New York to Miami. For 22,000 Avios you could get between Chicago and Los Angeles in business class. The latter is a $600+ flight so in terms of value that’s about 2.7 to 3 cents per mile.

Hawaii

Both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines fly to Hawaii. On my very first search from Phoenix to Maui, I found an economy flight with seven seats available for only 13,000 Avios each! Those flights can go for $490 one way so depending on your flight preference that redemption can get you about 3.7 cents per mile.

Alaska

Maybe you want to break away from the heat and hop around Alaska?

Taking advantage of the zone one pricing, you can get from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska, for 7,500 Avios.

You can often find those flights for around $250 in peak season which means that you’d be getting about 3.3 cents per mile, which is a great redemption value for economy. Even the lower prices offer over 2 cents per mile.

International examples

Avios can also be a great way to get around other parts of the globe. Let’s take a look.

Europe

For 15,000 Avios you could fly from London to Milan, Italy, in business class. That’s a flight going for $331 so your cents per mile comes out to 2.2.

That value is not quite as high as other redemptions but paying $1 in fees to get to Rome? I’m always down for that.

**Trenitalia First Class/Executive Frecciarossa 1000 Review (Rome to Milan)**

Australia

If you wanted to fly Qantas from Sydney, Australia to Melbourne, Australia, you could use 12,500 Avios + $27.20. Those business class flights go for about $530 so that is about 4 cents per mile. Not bad at all.

Also, 11,000 Avios + $118.40 can easily get you from Sydney to New Zealand.

Asia

If you find yourself on the continent of Asia, Avios can be a pretty great way to get around between different countries.

Take a look at this premium economy redemption between Hong Kong and Bangkok on partner Cathay Pacific. It’s going for 18,000 Avios and that flight could cost you $750. That’s about 3.7 cents per mile.

Middle East

You could fly from Paris to Doha en route to places like the Maldives for 43,000 Avios in business class. Factoring in the $190 in fees, that still comes out to about 8.3 cents per mile which is definitely outsized value.

Final word

So as you can see there are lots of uses for Avios.

I generally always have some Avios in the reserve that I tap into whenever I need to complete a trip especially if it involves connecting legs that I can’t cover with other miles.

British Airways Visa Signature® Card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months of account opening; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

Iberia Visa Signature® Card – Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 within the first three months of account opening; earn an additional 25,000 Avios after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months of account opening.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

7 Ways to Know a Credit Card Welcome Bonus Is for You

How do you know when a credit card welcome bonus is a good option for you?

What factors do you look at when evaluating a bonus?

These are common questions a lot of people have and in this article I’ll provide some insight into different factors you want to consider when thinking about jumping on an offer.

1. Is it one of the best offers?

The first consideration I think about when applying for a credit card is: “is this one of the highest offers available for this card?” You can easily miss out on tens of thousands of points ($100s in value) by timing your application poorly.

This is why in the mobile app, WalletFlo shows you icons for each offer: unicorn 🦄, diamond 💎, fire 🔥.

Typically, I would try to shoot for only unicorn and diamond offers since those are the rarest and best value offers.

A great unicorn offer right now is the welcome bonus for the Citi Premier® Card:

Earn 80,000 ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in within the first 3 months

The only time I would go for a lower offer is if I really needed the points to top off the required points for an upcoming trip, strategy called for it (see below), or I had a specific use in mind for some of the valuable credit card perks.

Tip: Don’t forget to see if you have referral link options for big bonuses.

2. Can you meet the minimum spend?

If you can’t meet the minimum spend then you won’t earn the bonus. And if you are struggling to meet a minimum spend you might be incentivized to spend carelessly.

So you really need to make sure that you have a solid plan for meeting the minimum spend. Sometimes that might mean putting rent on your card, purchasing gift cards, or getting creative.

But I would avoid applying for credit cards without putting serious thought into exactly how you will meet that minimum spend within the needed timeframe.

3. Do you have a plan to use the points?

Some people believe that you should never apply for a credit card unless you have a specific use for those points in mind.

I’m not one of those people.

Don’t get me wrong — I would not recommend applying for niche airline or hotel program credit cards if you don’t have use for those miles. For example, applying for a Korean Air credit card on a whim is probably not a good idea.

But when it comes to transferable points programs like Chase and Citi, you’ll have so many options to use those points that rarely (if ever) do you need to have an exact plan in mind.

While you may not have a specific redemption in mind, you probably want to have an exit strategy in mind when you apply, especially if you are applying for a card with a very high annual fee.

In that case, you just want to at least know the cheapest way to park your points if you want to end up canceling that card and avoid getting hit with a big fee.

4. Are you eligible?

Most bonuses worth picking up have some type of eligibility language tied to them. And sometimes that language can be confusing or it can just be difficult to keep track of things.

For example, sometimes you might be eligible to get approved for the card but NOT eligible for the bonus.

The best way to keep track of your eligibility is to use the eligibility checker in WalletFlo. As long as you have accurately input your open dates, it can help guide you so that you can always see if you’re eligible to apply or not.

Tip: If you’re not eligible just add the card to your “future apps” and you can receive a notification when you become eligible.

5. Is it strategic?

Even if the bonus is great, you can meet the minimum spend, and you are eligible, you still may want to hold off for strategic reasons.

For example, right now I would recommend some people to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card instead of the Citi Premier if they are under 5/24.

That’s because even though the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card bonus is not a unicorn level bonus, you can still pick it up and then get the Citi Premier later.

But if you were to go over 5/24 by going for the Citi Premier and a couple of other cards down the road, you may have to miss out on the Sapphire Preferred (and other valuable Chase cards) for another couple of years.

6. Is there a risk?

Every now and again an offer comes around that may get you into trouble.

Perhaps there is a way to take advantage of certain referral loopholes or leaked links. Jumping on these could be tempting but you could be jeopardizing your points or even your good standing with the bank.

Sometimes these “too good to be true” offers can come back to bite you in the rear end so proceed with caution when you encounter these.

7. Credit score

And finally you obviously want to be aware of the effects the application will have on your credit score.

A typical hard inquiry will drop your credit score temporarily anywhere from 2 to 5 points on average. But sometimes opening up new accounts can cause a further drop.

On average, to protect your credit score, I would recommend waiting three months between credit card applications with the occasional one-two (maybe 3) punch happening to quickly boost your earnings.

Final word

If you take into consideration all of the factors above, you should be able to make smart decisions when going for credit card welcome bonuses.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

Capital One 75K Early Spend Bonuses

Capital One is now offering the opportunity for you to earn a valuable welcome bonus with either the Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.

Let’s take a look at these two cards and see what they have to offer right now.

Note: you cannot apply for both of these at the same time.

Early Spend Bonuses

Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Learn how to apply.

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months. Learn how to apply.

(This is one of the best offers ever for this card.)

You can use Capital One miles to erase any travel purchase at a rate of one cent per mile so 75,000 bonus miles equates to at least $750 in travel.

But now that you can transfer Capital One miles to various travel partners, you can get way more value for these miles meaning that you can get a lot more than $750 in travel!

Here are the 1:1 ratio travel partners:

1:1 Transfer Ratio

Aeromexico Club Premier
Aeroplan®
Asia Miles
Avianca LifeMiles
British Airways Executive Club
Choice Privileges®
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
Finnair Plus
Flying Blue
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
TAP Miles&Go
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
Virgin Red

Not only do you have solid transfer partners but many of these are also transfer partners of other programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi, and others. This can make aspirational redemptions much more realistic.

For example, you could book a Singapore Airlines first class saver award from the US (including East Coast) to Singapore for 132,000 miles (plus fees) or from the US to Europe for 86,000 miles (plus fees). With a bonus from one of these cards you are already halfway there.

But then you could combine your earnings from another awesome bonus like the 80,000 welcome bonus offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

That would give you more than enough miles to fly first class in something like the photo below! You might even be able to swing a round-trip depending on where you are going.

Why I like the Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card is attractive because it offers some pretty solid bonus earning including:

10x on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
5x On flights booked through Capital One Travel
2x On all other purchases

I’ve never been one to look forward to booking hotels through a travel portal but earning 10X on rental cars through a travel portal is very good and the 5X on flights is also very solid.

Unfortunately, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card earns a standard rate of 2X on all purchases.

The Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a mid-tier premium card (IMO) with an annual fee of $395. But that fee is not a problem for a lot of people because you can offset it with a $300 statement credit for bookings through Capital One Travel.

So again if you have any type of car rentals or flights planned you can easily offset the vast majority of this annual fee with your normal spending which is always the goal with travel credits.

Final word

These are solid bonuses that can help you build up a large balance of miles especially because so many other bank programs transfer to the same partners. I really like the Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card for the good bonus but also for the ability to earn high bonus rates on both rental cars and flights. Learn how to apply.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® Review [2022]

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a popular premium airlines credit card that’s perfect if you’re eyeing elite status with American Airlines or you are interested in Admirals Club access.

In this article, I’ll go over the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard benefits likes its bonus, airport lounge access, free checked baggage, priority boarding, and more!

Welcome bonus

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® currently offers a welcome bonus of 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months.

50,000 miles could cover a round trip in domestic first class, which could net you over $1,200 in value!

We’ve also had some great flights thanks to AA miles, especially on partners like Etihad, Qatar, British Airways, etc. where 50,000 AA miles got us closer to $4,000 and $5,000 in value in first class!

While a higher bonus could return, 50,000 miles is a pretty sweet offer and this card is more about the benefits than anything.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Application rules

Citi has somewhat complicated application rules which is something that WalletFlo can help you automate.

In addition to standard Citi application rules, once you pick up a bonus on this card, you can’t get its bonus again for 48 months, as the rules state:

American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive account in the past 48 months.

The good news is this means that you can get other AA cards without violating this rule and really build up a huge balance of AA miles!

Credit card strategy tip

Although the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a great card, I’d be sure to hit up the best Chase cards first like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card which offers 80,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

That’s because once you’ve opened five cards in the past 24 months, you will no longer be eligible for cards like the Sapphire Preferred.

So it usually makes sense to go for those cards first and then tap cards like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®.

Bonus earning & Loyalty Points

The Citi AAdvantage Executive earns the following rates:

2X on purchases on American Airlines
1X on all other purchases

The Citi AAdvantage Executive is not a great card for bonus category spend since it only offers 2X on AA purchases.

But the awesome thing about this card is that for every dollar you spend you earn one Loyalty Point which is the new American Airlines loyalty program currency. This means that you can spend your way into elite status.

Here’s a look at the elite levels and the corresponding threshold for Loyalty Points.

Elite Status	Loyalty Points
AAdvantage Gold®	30,000
AAdvantage Platinum®	75,000
AAdvantage Platinum Pro®	125,000
AAdvantage Executive Platinum®	200,000

There are a few things to note about Loyalty Points:

You can earn Loyalty Points with all AAdvantage cards but you only earn Loyalty Points per base dollar spent — you don’t earn extra Loyalty Points for special bonus multipliers.
There is a special perk on this card that allows you to earn a bonus of 10,000 Loyalty Points if you spend $40,000 in qualifying year (defined as beginning on March 1st and ending on February 28th).
The welcome bonus does NOT count towards Loyalty Points.
You can supplement your earnings with spending through things like: AAdvantage eShopping, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage Dining, etc.

Admirals Club membership

The Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard grants cardholders 18 years of age or older with full membership privileges to Admirals Club lounges, which may also include access to other airline lounges and clubs (e.g., Alaska, Qantas Clubs, oneworld or partner lounges, etc.).

This membership is worth up to $650 so getting it as a perk is a huge deal!

Note: same-day boarding passes on American Airlines or partner airlines will be required for entry.

Admirals Club lounges are pretty standard domestic lounges.

In these you might expect to find comfortable spots to relax in along with modern and fresh decor. As far as drinks go, you’ll find coffee, tea, soft drinks, house wine, beer, and spirits (premium drinks will cost you).

And for complimentary food, it’s usually lighter snacks, fruits, yogurt, breads, oatmeal, although some will serve up something special like avocado toast. You can also order dishes from the menu but you’ll generally have to pay for those.

Some Admirals Club lounges will have shower suites and children play areas. You can read more about my Admirals Club experience here.

Authorized users

Authorized users can get into the Admirals Clubs but they don’t get the full membership.

Citi states, “Full Admirals Club® membership privileges do not apply to a credit card authorized user,” so authorized users don’t get access to the partner lounges.

To access an Admirals Club lounge, authorized users must present their credit card (along with other needed things like an ID, boarding pass, etc.).

Primary cardmembers need only show their AAdvantage number and ID/boarding pass.

Flagship Lounges

Neither membership nor the credit card authorized user access benefit provides access privileges to the Arrivals Lounge, International First Class Lounges, or Flagship Lounge facilities, including Flagship First Dining.

Guest policy

This card has a pretty good guest policy for lounges.

You can get your immediate family members in for free (spouse or domestic partner and children under 18) or you can bring along up to two guests traveling with the primary credit cardmember or authorized user.

The fact that authorized users can bring in up to two guests is pretty awesome.

Authorized users

One of the biggest features of this card is that you can add up to 10 authorized users to your account for no additional cost.

That’s some crazy value when you consider how many people could get Admiral’s Club access for essentially nothing.

But note: authorized users do not receive the first checked bag free or boarding benefits.

First checked bag free

Primary credit cardmembers may check one bag and avoid AA baggage fees when traveling on domestic itineraries.

All flights on the itinerary must be domestic flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle.

(This benefit will not be available for travel on codeshare flights booked with an American Airlines flight number but operated by another airline — see the terms and conditions for more on eligible airlines.)

The cool thing about this perk is that it offers the free first checked bag to up to eight companions traveling with the eligible primary credit cardmember (as long as they are listed in the same reservation). That’s a ton of value if you can utilize this perk for a large group of people.

Airport experience

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® can help upgrade your airport experience with the following benefits:

Priority check-in (where available)
Priority airport screening (where available)
Priority boarding privileges

Up to eight companions traveling with the eligible primary credit cardmember will also get these perks if they are listed in the same reservation.

For benefits to apply, your account must be open seven days prior to air travel and the reservation must include the primary credit cardmember’s AAdvantage number seven days prior to travel.

These benefits apply when traveling on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines, or on flights marketed by American Airlines and operated as other eligible airlines.

Priority check-in (where available)

Priority check-in offers you a special counter area for you to check in at many airports. These check-in areas (seen below) can have much smaller crowds than the standard check-in areas so you can save a lot of time.

American Airlines priority check-in at DFW.

Priority airport screening (where available)

Priority airport screening will allow you to bypass the main security line. This can save you a lot of time in some cases but I’d generally just go with the TSA Pre-Check line or even CLEAR if you have it.

Priority boarding privileges

The priority boarding benefit will display on your American Airlines boarding pass as “Group 4.”

This is the final group in the priority boarding group, so you’ll be boarding before all the economy passengers but you’ll still have some first class and elites in boarding in front of you. To find out more about the American Airline boarding groups click here.

25% Discount

The Citi AAdvantage Executive offers a 25% savings on inflight purchases of food and beverages on flights operated by American Airlines when you use your Citi AAdvantage Executive card.

Keep in mind that the discount does not apply to any other inflight purchases like in-flight wifi.

Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check credit

The Executive will grant you a Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check application fee, every five years up to $100.

TSA Pre-Check is a program that costs $85 to join and allows approved passengers to go through a separate security screening process that is less demanding than the security screening open to the public.

Meanwhile, Global Entry provides you with TSA Pre-Check in addition to expedited entry back into the US. You can read about how to get approved here.

No foreign transaction fees

This card has no foreign transaction fees which is pretty standard for a major airline cobranded credit card.

Annual fee

$450

This is a very reasonable annual fee considering how much lounge membership is worth and the fact that you could add up to ten authorized users for free.

Benefits and protections

Citibank dropped pretty much every major travel benefits and protection from their cards as of September 22, 2019. Some of the benefits and protections that were dropped consisted of:

Worldwide Car Rental Insurance
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection
Worldwide Travel Accident Insurance
Citi Price Rewind
Trip Delay Protection
Baggage Delay Protection
Lost Baggage Protection
Roadside Assistance Dispatch Service

For this reason, you don’t want to use this card for purchases that you really need or want built-in travel insurance/protections for.

So when it comes to purchasing flights and prepaid hotels, you would be much better off with a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred which provides you with much better protections.

Final word

The Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard is the card to get if you’re interested in AAdvantage elite status, Admirals Club access, and/or have a family or group of people who want in on the travel savings.

If you have people you trust as authorized users, the ceiling for your value with the Citi AAdvantage Executive can be very high.

It’s also great for groups because you can get all of those travel perks for up to eight companions, which again means a lot of value.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

Chase Reconsideration Line: Tips If Denied (Phone Number) [2022]

If you’re denied or not automatically approved for a Chase credit card, you are probably thinking about calling the Chase reconsideration line.

But before you ever give them a call, read this article!

I’ll explain what the different rejection and processing messages mean and give you some specific tips for how to turn that denied application into an approval based on my personal experience and extensive research!

Interested in finding out the top travel credit cards for this month? Click here to check them out!

What is the Chase reconsideration line?

The Chase reconsideration line is a special phone line you call that offers you a chance to persuade a Chase representative to overturn a rejection or denied credit card application. The phone number is 1 (800) 453-9719 and the hours of operation are usually:

7am to 10pm EST Monday through Friday
8am to 1pm EST Saturday
9am to 9pm EST on Sunday

You should call this line for all personal credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom, Chase Southwest Premier Card, etc.

But if you’re calling reconsideration for a business credit card like the Chase Ink Preferred or Chase Ink Unlimited then you’ll want to call in to the business reconsideration line.

The Chase business reconsideration line phone number is 1-800-453-9719 and it is usually open 1pm to 10pm Monday through Friday.

See my special tips for business calls further below.

Do I always need to call reconsideration?

You don’t always need to call reconsideration. Depending on the message that you receive after submitting your application, you may or may not need to call reconsideration.

I’ll walk you through some of the messages that you might receive whenever your credit card application is not automatically approved and give you some guidance on what route you should take based on the message you receive.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

Chase application messages

Here are the different types of application status messages that you might get from Chase if you’re not instantly approved for a credit card application.

We’ll notify you “within the next 30 days” message

If your Chase credit card application is not auto approved, you will almost certainly get a message via email stating that you will be notified “within the next 30 days” about the decision of your application. It should look something like this.

The Chase 30 day message — not necessarily a bad thing.

This message just means that your credit card application is being processed — it does not mean you will be rejected or even that you have to call in to reconsideration. Basically, your credit card application is still in limbo.

Chase automated status line

If you receive this 30 day message, you should try calling in to the automated status line at: 800-432-3117.

Note that some times when you call to check on your status they might transfer you to a live human being who will review your application. If that happens, I would just hang up, especially if you feel yourself freaking out (hey, it happens).

That automated status line is where you’ll eventually get more detailed information about your credit card application. Your status could be updated in a matter of hours or it could take a couple of weeks, so try not to drive yourself insane with checking it every minute of every hour.

There are a few different messages you might receive regarding your application status and they can signal that very different outcomes are on their way.

Another 30 day message

If you call in to the automatic status checker and hear that you’ll be notified within 30 days, that just means that your application is still in limbo. I would recommend you keep checking every day or every other day. At this point, you still don’t have to call Chase reconsideration.

Two week message

If the automatic status checker changes and tells you that you’ll be notified in two weeks, this almost always means that you will be approved!

Chase reconsideration line tips — Getting the two week message usually leads to this!

7 to 10 day message

If the automatic status checker changes and tells you that you’ll be notified in 7 to 10 days, this almost always means that you will be denied. At this point, you may want to go ahead and call into Chase reconsideration line at: 1 (800) 453-9719.

You don’t have to call recon at that point, though. Some people still get approved even after receiving the 7 to 10 day message (usually by verifying their ID), so you could wait until you’re officially denied before calling in.

Calling into the Chase reconsideration line

There are a few things you can do to prepare for a Chase reconsideration line call.

If you’re just applying for a personal credit card, this will be easier than if you were calling about a business credit card, but you should still be prepared.

If you are applying for a business credit card like the Ink Business Preferred, the reconsideration call could be much more rigorous — read my tips on surviving a business reconsideration phone call here.

Lowering credit limits (before applying)

This is something you might do before you even apply for a Chase credit card in order to avoid reconsideration. It’s generally recommended for people who have a lot of inquiries because those people will probably not be auto-approved.

What you do is lower your credit limit on a given Chase credit card or even on multiple Chase cards so that you free up some credit line for a new card. This will typically be around $5,000 to $10,000 but could vary depending on your credit limits.

Freeing up credit lines might increase the odds that Chase will auto-approve you since they already approved you in the past for that same amount of credit. This doesn’t always work so you need to consider how lowering your credit lines will affect your utilization.

Check on the Chase credit card application rules

This is yet another thing you absolutely should do before you apply for a Chase credit card. You need to know about all of the different Chase credit card application rules like 5/24, 2/30, 24 month rule, etc. But even if you’ve already applied, it’s a good idea to review them to see where you may have gone wrong. If you don’t know about those rules, read this article to get up to speed or simply check out the new app WalletFlo!

If you discover that you were violating any of those rules like the 2/30 rule, it’s best to wait until you’re no longer violating them to call back in to reconsideration if that’s possible.

Put spend on your other credit cards

Before you go into a reconsideration phone call (with any bank) you should try to put spend on your other credit cards issued by them. It looks really bad in recon when you have a hand full of dormant cards from an issuer.

What to say in a Chase reconsideration phone call

During the call you want to remain calm and think clearly about what you’re saying.

At the end of the day, you’re just talking to a credit analyst in private phone conversation so there’s really no need to be nervous. Many of these analysts can be quite friendly (though they sometimes play hardball in business reconsideration calls).

Verify your details

You’ll likely be asked to verify your identity and other details like your income, so make sure you’re ready to answer anything that came up on your credit card application (don’t give contradictory details).

They might also ask you about how much you plan on spending each month/year on the card and what kind of credit line you want. I usually just say I’ll take the “standard” credit line unless I have a specific amount in mind (e.g., $5,000).

Give a legit reason for wanting the product

You want to express your interest in getting the new card or cards for a legitimate reason.

Generally, this does not mean that you’re “just interested in getting the great sign-up bonus.” Try to dig a little deeper in your interests/motivations.

Here are some examples of legitimate reasons for getting new credit cards:

You need the credit card(s) to help segregate your expenses for some reason (e.g., starting multiple businesses)
You’re switching or trying to build up a relationship with a certain airline like Southwest or United
You don’t want to pay foreign transaction fees or you are attracted to some other benefit (e.g., primary rental car insurance)
You prefer one interest rate (APR) over another (especially when dealing with balance transfers)
I think it’s even okay to tell them that you’re trying to build up a more robust credit profile and earn some decent rewards while in the process.

Typically, a recon call will involve a bit of back and forth.

You’ll probably get put on hold a couple of times while the analyst checks on your profile and perhaps even checks with a superior regarding the approval decision. Sometimes those superiors will override the decision of the analyst, so wait until the end of the call to get excited about anything.

If you have opened a lot of new accounts in the past few months, you should be ready to try to explain yourself (and hopefully you’re not at “lol/24” and can do that with a straight face).

Shifting credit

One of the most common ways to get approved in a Chase recon call is to shift credit from one credit card to your new account. You can proactively suggest this as a solution or you can wait until the analyst suggests it (though they may not always offer that option to you).

This is the one drawback to lowering your credit limits before you apply. If you lower them too much, you may not have any credit to shift around for your approval.

Note: Chase no longer allows you to shift credit between business and personal credit cards.

What if Chase recon denies me?

If your conversation with the Chase reconsideration line does not go your way then you should try to call back later that day or another day to see if you have any luck with another analyst.

Sometimes another credit analyst will view your application more favorably. But note that these agents can usually see the last time you called in and the notes on that conversation.

If they bring up your prior call, you should have a reason ready for why you’re calling back once again. Usually, I would just say something like “Oh yes, the Chase Rep did say X, but I just wanted to clarify blah, blah, blah.”

At a certain point, you’ll just have to accept defeat if multiple calls don’t work, though.

How long can you wait to call reconsideration?

You can usually wait up to 30 days to call into reconsideration about your application but I do not recommend waiting that long. There are plenty of reports of Chase pulling your credit report again if you wait near that long.

So I would call in as soon as I got a rejection or the 7 to 10 day message.

Other reconsideration lines

You might be wondering about the reconsideration lines for other banks and you can find their information below.

American Express Reconsideration Line

American Express doesn’t have a true reconsideration line but you can still call them up and speak to a credit analyst if your application is not approved or is still pending.

Here are the phone numbers you might try:

Current Customers: 866-314-0237
New Customers: 877-399-3083

Compare American Express cards here.

Barclays Reconsideration Line

There are multiple numbers you can call for Barclays reconsideration. In my experience, they are pretty accommodating but can be inquiry sensitive and they like to see that you’re actually using their credit cards.

Barclays Reconsideration Line: 866-408-4064
Card Services: 888-232-0780

You can also check your application status online here.

Capital One Reconsideration Line

Capital One is another issuers that doesn’t have a true reconsideration line but you can still contact their customer service line and inquire about your application status.

Sometimes Capital One will tell you that they won’t review your application until you’ve received a response (email or mailer) from them which can be highly annoying.

General Customer Service: 1-800-951-6951

If you want to check on your application status, you can call in to the number below (there’s not currently a way to check it online).

Application Status Checker: 800-933-5182

Citibank Reconsideration Line

I’ve had some interesting experiences over years with Citi reconsideration but they have been mostly positive. Here is their number:

Inquiries: 800-763-9795

Some people will contact the Citi Executive Review Department at CitiBank Executive Review Department, P.O. Box 6000, Sioux Falls, SD, 57117. I’ve never done this but apparently others have had success.

You can check your Citi credit card application status by checking it online or calling the number below:

Citi Application Status Number: 1-800-695-5171

Discover Reconsideration Line

Discover reconsideration is notoriously difficult since they don’t often overturn decisions but you can give it a got at the following numbers:

Application Services Number: 888-676-3695
Customer Service: 1-800-Discover

You can also check your application status online.

Final word

Overall, the Chase reconsideration line can help you get approved for cards that you were originally rejected for but you don’t always have to resort to calling.

It’s good to know about when you should call versus when you should just wait it out. You never know what Chase is going to do with your credit card application but it surely helps to know how to navigate through the post-application process.

Daniel Gillaspia

What Does Amex’s “Member Since” Date Really Mean? [2022]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

In addition to expiration dates, some credit or debit cards may display how long you have been a member with their banking establishment. One of the most well known banks that shows you this date is American Express which states it as “Member Since.” But what exactly does this date mean and how is it determined? The process might surprise you.

In this article, I will break down everything you need to know about your Member Since date.

What does “Member Since” mean for Amex cards?

The American Express Member Since date may indicate the year that you first became an American Express customer or the year that you opened up a specific American Express card account. I will explain the differences between these dates below so keep reading for more!

Note that there is also a Member Since American Express program just in case you were looking for that.

This is said to be “A destination for Amex Card Members where we’ll be curating an exciting, ongoing collection of what’s happening in the worlds of art, design, entertainment, dining, travel, and more.” It’s essentially a blog with articles that highlight some interesting locations like Capitol Hill in Seattle.

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

How is the Member Since date determined?

There is a lot of confusion about the Member Since date because it has been determined in different ways and also has been used in different ways for credit reporting. I’ll try to clear up some of the confusion below.

The Member Since date may be determined in the following ways.

Year you first opened an account with American Express

Many times the Member Since date will be based on the year that you first opened an account with American Express. So if you first opened a Green Card in 2012 and then opened up a Platinum Card in 2019, it’s possible (and likely) that your Member Since date will display as 2012 on your Platinum Card.

So in that case the Member Since date is an indication of how long you have been an American Express customer and not necessarily a cardholder of a particular card. You could chalk it up to marketing but that is just how American Express does it.

Year you open the account

When you initially apply for an American Express card and get approved, that card may be sent out to you with the current year as the Member Since date. So using the same example as above, your Platinum Card could also say Member Since 2019.

However, if you had American Express cards in the past then your Member Since date may be updated when your card is re-issued.

For example, if you had the Green Card in 2010 but closed it in 2012 and then applied for the Platinum Card in 2019, your Platinum Card may initially show Member Since 2019. However, if you were to request a new Platinum Card, it is possible that your Member Since date would change to your first year with American Express which in this case would be 2010.

Presumably this is just caused by systems that need to be updated after your account is opened.

Authorized users

If you are added as an authorized user, then your Member Since date could be determined based on when you were added as an authorized user on a specific card. So if you were added as an authorized user in 2014, then your Member Since date would be 2014.

But your Member Since date could also be based on the first year that you were ever an authorized user/customer with any American Express card. So let’s say you were added as an authorized user to a Green Card in 2014 but you were previously added as an authorized user to a Platinum Card in 2010. It is possible that your Green Card would show that you have been a member since 2010.

Also, in my personal experience, the Member Since year is based on when you were added as an authorized user and not when the primary card holder’s account was open.

However, that might not always be the case. I know some people who have Member Since dates that pre-date their own birth and they received their Member Since date based on when their primary card members a.k.a. their parents opened up their accounts.

I think this may have to do with the fact that American Express used to backdate accounts.

In the past, American Express would backdate the account history to when you first opened up a card with them.

That is, they would use the date of your earliest opened account and choose the month that you opened up the account and then report that to your personal credit report. So for example if you had an account opened up from 2010 and then opened up a new account in October 2014, that new account would report back to October 2010 as the open date.

Again, this was not just what showed up as your Member Since date, this is what actually reported to your credit report.

Don’t ask me how this was legal or allowed but that is just how things were done. This offered people a great way to boost their credit score since they could get approved for more American Express cards and therefore increase their average age of accounts.

But this is no longer the case (they stopped doing this back in 2015).

American express platinum member since on card

Does this date show up on my credit report?

Your Member Since date will not necessarily reflect what is on your personal credit report.

This is very important to realize because it could lead you to make bad credit decisions.

For example, if you see that your Member Since state is 10 years older than the account actually reported to your credit report, you might be tempted to keep that card open in order to preserve the average age of your accounts since that can affect your credit score.

In that case, you might end up paying for an expensive annual fee that you don’t need to pay for each year or perhaps just holding onto a card that you don’t need to hang onto any longer.

So my advice would be to just avoid what date is displayed on your credit card for the most part. If you are going to make any type of decision regarding closing or opening up credit card accounts, make sure that you use the date on your credit report.

Final word

The Member Since date on your American Express cards is essentially a badge of honor used to remind you of your loyalty to the brand since you first became a customer. In many cases it has nothing to do with the age of your account and so you should refer to your personal credit report if you are curious about the age of your account.

Daniel Gillaspia

Citi Premier® Card 80,000 Point Bonus: Worth It?

The Citi Premier® Card has an outstanding bonus of 80,000 points and it’s ending very soon!

But what can you really do with this bonus and what type of value can it mean for your travels?

Let’s take a look at some of the best redemptions for using these 80,000 points so you can see what might be possible.

The Welcome Bonus

Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months

Before getting in too deep in the details of how to use the bonus, it’s a good idea to take a look at the overall package of the Citi Premier® Card.

3X on air travel and hotels
3X on dining
3X on gas stations
3X on supermarkets
1x on other purchases
$100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
$95 annual fee
No Foreign transaction fees

While you can do better on some of these individual categories, the Citi Premier® Card is certainly a strong all-around spender. If you want strong rewards but don’t want to mess around with multiple cards, this card can make it easy to earn a lot of points with your spend.

Interested in the 80,000 point bonus? Learn how to apply here.

Transfer partners

Here’s a look at all of the potential transfer partners:

Aeromexico Club Premier
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Avianca LifeMiles
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
JetBlue TrueBlue
Malaysia Airlines Enrich
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

If you’re thinking that hardly any of those airlines look familiar — don’t worry.

A lot of these are somewhat niche programs but they allow you to book sweet redemptions including awards on airlines you are more familiar with like United Airlines, Delta, etc.

Below I’m going to highlight some of the most tempting redemptions. By no means is this list exhaustive. But if you’re looking for some type of reference point for what you can do with 80,000 Citi points this should help.

Turkish Airlines

Transferring your points to Turkish Airlines is a great way to fly domestically. You can get a one-way on United for 7,500 miles in economy and 12,500 in business class, even when flying to Hawaii. They even allow you to take advantage of 48 hour holds so you can transfer your points with confidence.

Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca LifeMiles is great for low fees and now it’s easier to book online. You can book a first class one-way to Europe for 87,000 miles on Lufthansa, considered by many to be one of the best first class cabins. You could also fly across the US in business class on United for 25,000 points.

Virgin Atlantic

Use 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles to fly Delta in business class from the U.S. to Europe. Or, if you want to take advantage of one of the best first class redemptions consider flying between the U.S. and Japan on ANA-operated flights for 90,000 to 120,000 miles round trip!

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines are not the cheapest but because you can transfer points from various programs to Singapore Airlines, even rewards that cost a lot are very obtainable. You could fly Singapore Suites for ~147,000 miles from Singapore to the US.

Or for something more obtainable, you could fly from the East Coast of the US to Europe for 81,000 miles in business class.

Interested in the 80,000 point bonus? Learn how to apply here.

Emirates

Emirates awards can get expensive for premium cabins like their amazing first class. But they have reduced fuel surcharges so they are not nearly as expensive as they used to be. For 72,500 miles you can fly first class from New York JFK to Milan, Italy and you only have to pay $84 in fees. That flight is currently going for over $10,000!

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue TrueBlue Award prices are tied to revenue prices so the more expensive the cash price, the more expensive the award ticket.

JetBlue can be a great way to get around the US and they have an amazing business class product (Mint) although sometimes the award redemption value on that is not terrific. For that reason, you might want to sometimes look elsewhere like booking inter-island Hawaiian flights on Hawaiian Airlines for 6,000 points in economy.

Qatar Airways

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Qatar Airways for partner bookings but if you’ve never flown on the famous Q-Suites, you can find some redemptions decently priced. This is especially true since you can use Avios to makes your bookings. Use the Q calculator to get estimates on the award price and you’ll see Qatar business class seats go for 43,000 from Doha to Paris.

Final word

The Citi Premier® Card bonus of 80,000 points can be used in a lot of ways for travel. These redemptions above are only the tip of the iceberg but should give you a good indication of just how much value you can obtain from this bonus.

Interested in the 80,000 point bonus? Learn how to apply here.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analysis & recommendations are UponArriving’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

Daniel Gillaspia

9 Tips for Getting a Chase Credit Line Increase [2021]

One of the best perks of Chase credit cards is that you can often get a credit line increase for your credit cards. It’s generally a pretty straight-forward process but there are a few things that you should know so you don’t mess up your credit score and so that you increase your odds of getting the best Chase credit line increase possible. Here are some tips I’ve learned from my own personal experience.

1. How to request a credit line increase with Chase

First you need to know how to request a credit line increase with Chase.

You can do it over the phone by calling: 888-245-0625.
You can also do it online here

Before you call in or make your request you should read the tips below so you’ll know what to expect.

Tip: Use the app WalletFlo to give you auto-reminders of when to request credit limit increases!

2. Have a good reason for requesting a higher limit

Lenders are primarily concerned with how responsible their customers are going to be with their credit lines.

Hate it or love it, your credit score is considered a strong indicator of how responsible you are but sometimes you also need to explain why you need more credit.

It looks really bad if you call up asking for a higher limit and then don’t have a reason for that request.

So I suggest that you have a pitch ready to go for why you need that credit limit increase.

A very legitimate reason for desiring a credit limit increase is if you have major expenses coming up.

Major expenses include: weddings, honeymoons, major vacations, etc.

It will probably help your cause even further if you can convey an estimate for these expenses and how your proposed credit limit will allow you to cover those charges.

And as always, you should have a plan to pay off those charges whenever they post so that you don’t incur any interest.

3. Chase will conduct a hard pull

If you request a credit line increase from Chase, they will perform a hard pull on your credit. (Click here to try to find out which bureau they might pull from: Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian).

This means that you will suffer a temporary drop in your credit score, usually ranging from 3 to 5 points.

The good news is that the dip in your credit score will only be short-term and the hard pull will eventually fall of your credit report completely!

This also means that your most recent credit report will be used to determine your eligibility for an increase. If you recently hurt your credit score, you may want to wait a while before you request a credit increase.

If you’re trying to quickly rebuild your credit score, check out my article on how to quickly increase your credit score. Sometimes you might be surprised how quickly you can get your credit score back into shape!

There is a way for credit limit increases to happen even with a soft pull to your credit score which you can read about further below!

Photo of chase bank credit cards. — Credit line increases with Chase will affect your credit score.

4. Ask for a reasonable credit line increase

Most credit card companies don’t like to drastically shoot up your credit lines overnight.

The reason is simple: they want to avoid risk and an easy way to do that is to gradually extend you more credit over a long period of time. As they see that you can responsibly manage that credit, they will feel better about extending your more and more credit.

So when you ask for your credit increase from Chase, be sure to be reasonable.

Don’t ask for your $5,000 credit line to be increased to $25,000. Instead, ask for something in the range of a 50% to 100% increase. That’s typically a safe window for a credit limit increase but it’s possible to get increases much higher, especially if your current credit limit is on the low side and you have an extended credit history with Chase.

If you’re a bit timid to throw out a specific number, then you can always request the “standard increase amount” and leave it open for interpretation. You can also try out this calculator here.

5. Consider shifting credit lines

Chase allows you freely transfer your credit limits between credit cards (subject to some restrictions).

So sometimes you might just want to apply for a new credit card and then transfer over the credit line from one of the credit cards.

For example, I had a family friend who needed about $10,000 worth of credit but only had one card with Chase — a Chase Freedom card with a $5,000 limit.

I told her she’d be better off applying for another Freedom and transferring credit over to one card.

Well, she applied for the Freedom Unlimited and was approved for $5,000. She then waited a couple of days and then transferred over $4,000 to her Freedom card, ending up with one $9,000 credit line and one $1,000 credit line.

This worked out perfectly for her.

I highly doubt she would have been given an increase that high. And the best part is that she got more out of the hard pull.

Chase has some pretty specific rules you should know before you apply for their credit cards — you can find out more about those here or you can just get the free app WalletFlo to help you automate all your credit card eligibility.

On a related note you could also request room for making a balance transfer, another legitimate reason for needing a boost in your credit limit.

6. Minimum waiting period

Like many banks, Chase will often require you to wait about six months before they will consider increasing your credit limit.

This six month time period may not be a hard and fast rule but it’s what you can expect to wait. This waiting period is extremely important because it’s not just about waiting six months.

During this time you need to prove to Chase that you’re a trustworthy and low risk customer. You need to make sure to do the following:

Pay your bills on time

One of the worst things that you could possibly do is miss a credit card payment or have a late payment. You’re going to fall out of the good graces with Chase if that happens.

Not only will your odds of getting a credit limit increase greatly decrease, but more importantly your credit score will take a hit since payment history makes up 35% of your FICO credit score. So be sure to make your payments on time.

Maintain proper utilization

I recommend keeping your utilization for your credit cards between 5% and 10% but definitely no higher than 30%.

If you are using more than 30% of your credit line, there’s a good chance that Chase is not going to give you a higher credit limit. That’s because you’re sending them signals that you might have trouble managing your credit which is never a good thing.

This also means that only paying your minimum amount due is not a good idea if you want a credit line increase.

So keep that utilization close to 10% and you’ll be fine.

To learn more about how to manage your credit score with good utilization click here.

Update your income

Make sure that you are using your most recent income.

Although your income does not directly affect your credit score, it is often used for determinations like credit limit increases. In fact, if you recently received an increase in your income, be sure to bring this up because that’s definitely a legitimate reason for needing a higher credit limit.

7. Reiterate your loyalty

When you make your request for the credit line increase, it’s a good idea to be your own advocate.

Take this time to reiterate how loyal of a customer that you have been if you’ve previously held a Chase credit card or even a Chase checking or Chase savings account. If you’re a Chase Private Client, that’s a great time to bring that up.

You might even want to mention that you want to increase your spend on your Chase cards because you’re trying to build up a more loyal relationship to whatever co-branded credit card you might be requesting an increase for.

For example, you might tell them something like, “I’ve recently switched loyalty programs to Southwest and want to maximize my spending for Southwest’s loyalty program. However, my credit limit for my Southwest card is very low and I wanted to increase that limit.”

Brand loyalty can help your case sometimes.

8. Wait for the credit increase to happen (on its own)

Chase will automatically increase your credit limits in many cases.

In fact, Chase has done this for me on several occasions.

It usually takes Chase several months for them to do this but I noticed that it happened when I regularly used my credit cards and put significant spend on them. I didn’t have to come super close to maxing out the card each billing cycle but I did often spend more than 50% of my credit line.

I think that Chase picked up on that and noticed that I was paying off my balance in full each month and so they decided to extend more credit to me.

If you are doing this make sure that you keep your credit card utilization down. This might require you to make multiple payments to your card each month, which is okay.

You just want to avoid your credit card closing with a huge balance on it because that’s going to tank your credit score.

Another common reason auto-increases happen is that you’ve improved your credit score dramatically. If you currently have relatively low credit lines with Chase but you just improved your credit score over the past few months, there’s a good chance you’ll be in-line for a credit line increase very soon.

9. Soft-pull Chase credit line increase!?

If Chase automatically increases your credit line as described just above, this will not result in a hard pull!

This is usually the only way to increase your credit line with Chase without incurring a hard pull on your credit score which is fantastic.

Credit line increases with other issuers

You might also be interested in reading about getting credit limit increased with other issuers.

Final word

Chase credit line increases are easy to request and you stand a good chance of getting one if you’ve established a solid relationship with Chase over a span of at least 6 months. But you need to be aware of all of the factors like how your credit score will be affected and alternative paths for getting more credit.

Daniel Gillaspia

Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection Review (Benefits) [2021]

Many people aren’t able to hit the thresholds for earning elite status with hotel programs in order to receive special benefits like a free breakfast, upgrades, and late check-out. But luckily for these people there are some special programs for luxury properties that allow you to receive these elite-like perks!

One of these programs is the Chase Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection, including how to access the program and all of the benefits. I’ll also compare it to a couple of the other popular programs out there that offer similar perks.

If you’re more of a visual learner check out the YouTube video at the bottom of the article!

What is the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection?

The Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection (LHRC) is a program consisting of over 900 luxury properties around the world that offers you elite-like benefits, such as free breakfasts and upgrades.

The Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection is a separate program from the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection and the American Express Fine Hotels and Resort Program (more on those programs below).

Who gets access to the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection?

Only certain Chase cards get access to the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection. Chase doesn’t publish an official list of cards that are eligible but we know from prior attempts that the following cards have worked:

Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ink Business Cash
Chase Ink Business Preferred
Chase Freedom
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase United Explorer (personal and business)
Chase United Club Card
Ritz-Carlton Rewards Card
British Airways Visa Card
Marriott Rewards Card

To see if your credit card is eligible you can search for hotels here and attempt to navigate through the booking process. After you input your travel dates, you’ll be prompted to enter in the first six digits of your credit card.

Once you input those details, you’ll be able to see the availability and prices for the hotel if your card eligible.

If you don’t have access, you’ll get the following message:

Error: What you entered is not an eligible Chase card number. Please enter the first 6 digits of your eligible Chase card number.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

What are the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection benefits?

Daily breakfast for two
Complimentary Wifi
Room upgrade (based on availability)
Early check-in and late check-out (based on availability)
Special benefit at each property

Breakfast

You will be granted breakfast for two people. The quality of the breakfast will depend on the type of property that you are staying at but because these are higher end luxury properties you can generally expect breakfast to be very solid.

Some hotels will offer breakfast buffets while others may offer a continental breakfast. Also, you might find that some properties place limits on your breakfast credit.

For example, they might state that you have a maximum credit of $60 per day for two people per room, essentially offering you a $30 breakfast credit per person. They also might allow you to choose the restaurant within the hotel that you’d like to enjoy your breakfast at.

Also some properties, like those in Las Vegas, may give you a breakfast credit and allow you to use that breakfast credit throughout the day. If you’re also given a dining and beverage credit along with that, it can be a great way to cover a large chunk of dining costs during your stay.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi will be provided for free with the exception of DumaTau and Little Makalolo where Wi-Fi is not available.

Room upgrade

Typically, the room upgrades are going to be to the next best type of available room. A typical example would be an upgrade from a standard room to a room that has a better view or on a higher floor. Sometimes there may even be specific upgrades designated for this program.

Early check-in and late checkout

With this program you can get early check-in and late checkout, both of which can make your travel experience much more convenient.

However this is one of the big differences between the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program because that offers guaranteed late checkout.

Special benefit

The special benefit will vary depending on the property but you can expect things like the following: lunch or dinner for two, a spa treatment, golf green fee waivers, welcome gift, or airport transfers. The value of this perk is usually at $100 but sometimes lower at around $50.

However, sometimes the value can be much higher if you make a premium booking such as booking a suite.

For example, the Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong offers a complimentary round trip private transfer for Hong Kong International Airport or Kai Tak Cruise Terminal or $200 Food and Beverage credit per room, per stay for Suite bookings while normal booking just get a one-way transfer or a $100 credit.

So here’s a rundown of the “heavier” benefits.

Dining and spa credits
Airport transportations
Couple’s massage
Afternoon tea
Executive Lounge access

And then here are some of the “lighter” benefits, often offered in conjunction with the above.

Welcome chocolates
Daily Fruits and Newspapers
Chinese silk scarf
Bottle of wine
Complimentary canape service
Welcome Drink

Free breakfasts at luxury properties is usually a solid (and valuable) perk.

How does it work?

To receive the Guest Privileges, reservations must be made through an LHRC Travel Specialist or on LHRCollection.com. Simply go the LHRC wesbite, input your eligible credit card number, find the property and room, and then proceed through the checkout phase.

Note that you cannot use your Chase Ultimate Rewards to make these bookings.

Tip: Looking for the best hotel credit cards? Check out the full list here.

Are the rates cheaper?

Sometimes you can find the rates to be the same price as what is publicly available and other times the rates might be more expensive.

If the rates are more expensive then you need to factor in the savings that you’ll get out of the perks since those could easily outweigh the higher price you’re having to pay.

Also, keep in mind that the taxes are included with the LHRC prices and some other OTAs and websites out there may not include those taxes in their listed price.

Can you still earn elite credits and points?

One of the great things about these type of programs is that you can still earn your elite credits and elite points whenever you make a booking. So if you are chasing status then you won’t lose out on those precious stay credits when you book through this program.

Because you are not booking directly with the hotel there’s always the chance that your credits and points don’t show up so you might need to follow up with the hotel after your stay when booking with the LHRC.

You also should still be eligible to receive your own elite benefits. Those benefits should supplement the benefits that you will get from this program. In some cases, your perks might be stronger (e.g., lounge access) but in other cases you may have a bottom-tier or lower-tier status that doesn’t offer perks like breakfast.

I would always mention your elite status and given them your elite number at check-in just to make sure that you get those benefits since your elite status could get lost in the shuffle when making your booking.

Can you cancel or modify your booking?

Yes, but unless things change in the future, you’ll need to call in to do so.

What hotels can you find in LHRC?

Generally, you’re going to be able to find some of the top brands in this program at many locations. I’m not aware of a published directory of these properties so you’ll just need to search for your specific city/location and see which properties show up.

Here is a non-exhaustive list I found of properties in the following cities earlier this year:

Las Vegas

New York

San Francisco

Bangkok

Can you use additional promos?

The terms states that “Amenities may not be combined with other offers, including tour operator or wholesaler rates and package.”

I take this to mean that you can’t take advantage of things like special promotional rates but it would seem like you could still earn points for promotions like when Hilton offers promotional rates for stays. If you have any experience let me in the comments below!

Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!

How does this compare to Amex FHR?

LHRC is very similar to Amex FHR in many ways. The benefits like free breakfast, upgrades, wifi, and special amenity credits overlap but as pointed out the FHR program also offers guaranteed late check-out.

Exclusivity

The FHR program is only available to Platinum/Centurion cardmembers and those with the Amex Business Platinum. Meanwhile, the FHRC is available to a lot of different Chase cardholders.

Special offers

The biggest difference between these two programs is that the FHR offers special offers. These special offers can include things like $200 property credits or even the third night, fourth night, fifth night, or sixth night free. Capitalizing on those free nights, especially when the third night is free offers the potential for huge savings in the realm of several hundred dollars.

For that reason, the FHR program has the potential to be more lucrative. However, those free nights are only offered at select properties and perhaps even select rooms so it’s not like it’s a guaranteed savings at all resorts.

Price differences

I’ve found that the prices between these programs to be pretty similar but there is a big difference between how they are listed. FHR does not include the taxes whenever they show the list price but the LHRC does. So don’t get tricked into thinking FHR is cheaper.

Also, it appears that both programs do not report the resort fees so sometimes you have to attack on additional fees for your state. Resort fees should be visible on the hotel’s website like those that show up in Las Vegas.

5X

The Amex FHR program is now allowing Platinum cardholders to earn 5X with some of their stays as well which is very impressive. The terms and conditions for the LHRC don’t specify which type of payment you must use so it might be possible to switch your credit card at check-out in order to use a card that will earn you more points or to take advantage of special credits.

Inventory

Another difference I found is with inventory.

For example, when I searched for Hong Kong, a city full of top-tier luxury brands, I only found three properties with the LHRC.

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

But when I searched with the Amex FHR I found nine properties.

Conrad Hong Kong
Four Seasons
Island Shangri-La
Mandarin Oriental
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
The Langham
The Peninsula
The Ritz-Carlton
The Upper House

Interestingly, some of those hotels populated in the search field for the LHRC but when clicked on they brought up no results. So I’m not sure if those properties will be added or if it is just a quirk of the system. I also found more properties when I searched for the Maldives as well.

Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection?

So you might also be wondering about the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection and how that stacks up.

The answer is that it is a step below both the FHR and LHRC.

Here are the benefits for the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection:

Best available rate guarantee
Automatic room upgrade when available
Complementary in room Wi-Fi when available
Complementary breakfast for two
$25 food and beverage credit
VIP guest status
Late checkout upon request when available

As you can see, the food and beverage credit is usually at $25 which is significantly lower than the value offered by the special amenities that both the FHR and LHRC offer. In addition, late checkout is only available based on availability and there is no mention of early check-in.

That program does offer VIP guest status but a lot of times that just means something like a box of chocolates sent to your room so I’m not sure that I would place a ton of value on that perk.

The Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection is still a solid program if you do not have access to FHR and LHRC though so I wouldn’t completely dismiss it just because there are better options. You can read more about this program here.

YouTube Video

Final word

Overall, the Luxury Hotels and Resort Collection (LHRC) is a valuable program that adds value to the cards that allow access. If you’re unable to earn elite status with a program or even if you have elite status, you can take advantage of some valuable perks that can save you money on your stay.

I do think that I would take a look at the FHR program first due to the special offers and guaranteed late check-out but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to booking through the LHRC.

Daniel Gillaspia

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