New United 100K and IHG 120K Offers [2019]

Chase just announced two huge offers for two of the their co-branded credit cards that offer some of the highest earning opportunities we’ve ever seen for these cards. In this article, I’ll focus on the new United Explorer Business Card and the new IHG Rewards Club Premier Card and give you my insight into which cards might be worth going for. (Since the Rewards Club Premier Card has more new features, I’ll cover that card in-depth).

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

United Explorer Business Card

The United Explorer Business Card is currently offering the following:

  • 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
  • Plus, 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $25,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months your account is open
  • 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores
  • 2 miles per $1 spent on United
  • 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Free checked bag
  • Two one-time United Club passes each year
  • $95 annual fee

The United co-branded cards are probably my favorite co-branded airline cards because of the strong bonuses they often come with and the perks like the lounge access and free checked luggage. In this case, you can earn a solid 50K in miles after only $5,000 in spend and an additional 50K with a total of $25K in spend.

That’s a lot of spend for 50K additional miles but still doable for a lot of people and business owners. Before you choose to commit to such a high spend bonus, I would definitely consider other cards like the Sapphire/Ink cards mentioned below which could earn you 50,000 to 80,000 points with only about 20% of the needed spend.

For example, if you picked up the Chase Ink Preferred, you could earn 80,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months (which could be converted into 80,000 United miles) or you could spend $25,000 total for 100,000 United miles. To me, the Ink Preferred option is much more compelling.

United Polaris Lounge at IAH.

IHG Rewards Club Premier Card

IHG credit card offer

The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card has a new limited time offer that comes with the following features:

  • 125,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
  • Annual free night certificate at an “eligible hotel”
  • 25X points for the first 12 months as an IHG — after that, 10X points at IHG Hotels and Resorts
  • 4X points on all other purchases for the first 12 months from account opening – after that, 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • Automatic Platinum Elite Status (read more about this status here)
  • 20% discount on purchases of IHG points
  • 4th night free on award stays
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $89 annual fee

IHG credit card sign-up bonus

Despite some ongoing devaluations with IHG, 125,000 bonus points is still a lot of points. Several high quality properties go for around 60,000 points, so you’d be able to cover a weekend at a very solid property. (If you can take advantage of PointBreaks, you could even stay several nights at a top property.)

Warning: Many blogs will promote this offer and not mention that you can also find a link with an additional $50 statement credit because that link doesn’t earn us bloggers commission. I hope you appreciate that I keep it real with my reviews and you can always trust that I am looking out for your best interest.

Also, I should bring up Chase 5/24 since both of these cards are subject to the rule. If you are under 5/24 (you have NOT opened up five accounts in the past 24 months) then there are much more valuable cards to look at getting.

For many people, it would make much more sense to jump the new 60,000 point offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Or you might even go for a card like the Chase Ink Preferred with its ultra-high 80,000 point offer. The Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Cash could be great options as well. Aside from having great bonuses and bonus earning potential these cards are worth looking at because you can’t get approved for these cards if you’ve opened up five or more accounts in the past 24 months. 

IHG credit card offer annual free night

The annual free night with the old IHG credit card allowed you to book a free night at any IHG property, including top level InterContinentals. For that reason it was one of my top choices for earning a free hotel night stay. However, the new free night is capped at point redemption level of 40,000 points or less.

This was a huge loss to the IHG card. While it was a major loss, it really just put the IHG card on the same level as other co-branded hotel credit cards like the Marriott and Hyatt card which both offer free nights in the mid-tier range.

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

Bonus spending

  • 25X points for the first 12 months as an IHG — after that, 10X points at IHG Hotels and Resorts
  • 4X points on all other purchases for the first 12 months from account opening – after that, 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases

The bonus category earning for the first 12 months is pretty insane. This card already had a great bonus earning rate on IHG purchases with 10X but now you get a year of 25X which comes out to a total of 40X when you factor in the points from Platinum status (which is granted by the card). If you value IHG points at ~.7 cents per point then that’s a 28% return which is very high. 

Also, 4X on all purchases is great as well. If you value IHG points at ~.7 cents per point then that’s a 2.8% return which is not bad for everyday purchases. 

IHG credit card offer 20% discount on IHG points

IHG has been offering some great promos on purchased points in the past. Combining these point promos with the 20% discount offered by this card has opened up some great opportunities, allowing members to save tons of cash on their stays by simply booking with purchases points instead of paying cash.

IHG credit card offer 4th night free

With this card, you’ll be given the 4th night free on award stays. Some other hotel programs offer 5th night free but getting the 4th night free is a major perk because it’s much easier to use.

This perk can also increase the value of point purchases with the 20% discount. If you think you would normally make a 4 night stay at an IHG property with points, then this perk alone could make it worth getting this credit card.

Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit

It seems like every card is offering this perk now but it’s always cool to see it offered by a card with an annual fee under $100 because it means that you can come out on top if you’ve never used these programs before. Global Entry is a program that will grant you expedited entry through customs and immigration and TSA Pre-Check will get you through priority security.

I highly recommend enrolling in Global Entry since it comes with automatic TSA Pre-Check status.

Global Entry Interview

IHG credit card offer elite status

Like the card before it, this card offers IHG Platinum status which is a mid-tier status with IHG. It’s not the most lucrative status, but it’s helped us to get upgrades in the past so it’s added at least some value to our travels. And the 50% bonus earning rate on points is actually very good.

Final word

The United 100K offer is okay if you’re into earning United miles and using the perks like free checked baggage but that’s a lot of spend for 100K miles and you might be better off with other more efficient options. The IHG offer is exciting though, especially if you plan on spending a lot at IHG properties in the next 12 months. Overall, though I’d still first go with Sapphire/Ink cards over these if I were under 5/24 and then think about branching out into co-branded territory.

New Hilton Honors American Express Surpass 130K Offer!

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass (formerly known as the Ascend and Surpass) is back with a new and very impressive offer. It’s one of the best Hilton Surpass offers we’ve ever seen so it’s definitely worth checking out. Here’s everything you need to know about the new offer! 

Offer no longer available. 

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass

  • 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and a free weekend night reward after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 4 months of Card membership.
  • 12X at hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio
  • 6X at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
  • 3X on all other eligible purchases
  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold
  • Free Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $95 annual fee

Note: While I love this new Hilton offer, if you are under 5/24, you probably don’t want to burn a slot for this card and you should consider Chase cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, World of Hyatt Card, Southwest Airlines Performance Business Credit Card, etc. — you know the drill. 

Sign-up bonus 

  • 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and a free weekend night reward after you spend $4,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 4 months of Card membership.

This is an amazing welcome bonus. 130K Honors points is a huge welcome bonus for this card (the best public offer ever I believe) and it’s nice you can get up to four months to meet the spending requirement. Top-tier Hilton properties go for 95K but you can find quality properties in the 60K range so this could cover two nights at a pretty solid Hilton property.  

But what’s really exciting is that you also get a free weekend night which you can use at top properties like the Conrad Maldives. The free night could easily be worth $400+ or if you’re really strategic, you could get $1,000+ in value! 

If you used a free night and your points to stay at one of the most expensive Conrads or Waldorfs, you could potentially walk away with up to $2,000+ worth of value from this offer. Also, if you’re playing this in two-player mode, you could double that.

Use your free night at the Conrad Maldives.

Bonus categories  

  • 12X for for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio
  • 6X for or each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations
  • 3X on all other eligible purchases

12X on Hilton properties is pretty good. If you value Hilton points at .5 cent per point then that’s like 6% back on Hilton purchases which is competitive with top-earning cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

6X on U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations would come out to 3% back which is still okay but I’d rather earn 3X Ultimate Rewards or 4X Membership Rewards on many of those purchases. Still, if you want to maximize points on Hilton purchases worldwide, the Surpass is a great option.  

Hilton Playa del Carmen, an adult’s only all-inclusive.

Elite status 

  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold
  • Spend $40,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status

You’ve probably heard me say it 100X, but I think Hilton Gold is an amazing mid-tier status considering you can get the status automatically with the American Express Surpass. Hilton Gold will hook you up with a lot of benefits like: 

  • Complimentary breakfast for two
  • Upgrades (subject to availability)
  • Late check-out
  • 80% bonus on base points
  • Lounge access when upgraded to lounge level rooms
  • 5th night free

Don’t forget that you can also get automatic Gold status with the Amex Platinum. 

I’m not crazy about spending $40K to earn Diamond when you can simply pick it up with the Hilton Aspire card. 

Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.
The Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.

Free weekend night

  • Free Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors when you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year

Hitting $15K worth of spend in a calendar year isn’t that difficult so this free night is very obtainable in my opinion. 

Final word

This is a very high offer and one of the best we’ve seen for the Surpass. I think it’s definitely worth hopping on for a lot of people over 5/24. You might also be interested in the new Hilton business card offer as well (which you can check out here).  

New Barclays Aviator Companion Pass 60K Offer

The Aviator card from Barclays is one of the best travel cards for racking up miles in a hurry. That’s because it comes with a 60,000 miles bonus simply after making a single purchase within 90 days (although there is a $99 annual fee that’s not waived).

Even with the annual fee this is a great deal, but there’s also a companion pass perk that many aren’t aware of since it’s newer and not as highly publicized as the 60,000 point bonus. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the companion pass offer here.

Barclays Aviator perks

  • 60K miles after single purchase within 90 days
  • 2X on AA purchases
  • Companion Pass after single purchase and annual spend
  • Free checked bag on domestic flights for up to four companions
  • Preferred Boarding for up to four companions (Group 5)
  • Anniversary $25 Wi-Fi Credit
  • Flight Cents
  • Reduced Mileage Awards
  • 25% Statement Credit for Inflight Purchases

Some of these perks can be very valuable like free checked bags for up to four companions and preferred boarding (which virtually guarantees you overhead storage bin space). But in this article, I’ll focus on the companion pass perk and tell you how to earn it and how much value you can expect to get. If you’re looking for ways to maximize your American miles (or perhaps the 60K bonus), then click here. 

Preferred boarding is a nice perk.

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

What is the Aviator companion pass?

The Aviator companion pass is a special perk that allows a companion to fly with you on a roundtrip economy ticket after only paying $99 + taxes and fees. Government taxes and fees range between $21.60 and $43.20 so you’re usually looking at total fees of about $130 for the roundtrip companion ticket. That sounds high but if the air fare is round $400+, that’s some pretty good savings.  

You’ll get a companion pass certificate after you make a purchase within 90 days of signing up and then an additional companion pass each year if you meet the spending requirement. I’ll talk about each of these below.

Intro companion pass

You’ll earn the intro companion pass after making a single purchase within 90 days of opening up your card. This companion pass is in addition to the sign-up bonus, so it’s a pretty valuable deal considering the average value of the companion pass perk is around $300 (according to American Airlines flight attendants).

After you make the purchase Barclays states to allow 8-10 weeks for delivery of the Companion Certificate after the qualifying purchase has posted to your card account and the annual fee has been paid in full. In reality, this pass could hit your account much sooner so just be on the lookout for it.

Anniversary companion pass

The anniversary companion pass is much different from the intro offer because you’ll have to put down a good amount of spend to get it. To get the companion pass every year, you’ll need to spend $20,000 or more in eligible purchases during the cardmember year (each 12-month period through and including your Card Account anniversary month). Also, your account will need to be open for at least 45 days after the anniversary date.

I’m personally not a huge fan of spending $20K for a simple companion pass for a couple of reasons. First of all, I’d much rather put spend on a card like the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve to earn up to 3X on my travel/dining purchases and also put spend on something like the Gold Card or Blue Business Plus from Amex to rack up points on supermarkets (4x) and non-bonuses spend (2X).

Second, I’d rather pursue Hilton free nights for $15K worth of spend with cards like the Ascend, since I’d get more value from those (usually $400+). In the end, these types of bonuses are highly specific to your needs so I’m not saying it’s never worth it — just make sure you’re aware of the alternatives (especially if they include hitting other sign-up bonuses).

American Airlines Main Cabin Extra.

Companion Pass rules

The Companion Certificate will be valid one year from the issue date. Companion Certificate eligible travel is defined as travel on flights within the 48 contiguous United States, on flights marketed and operated by:

  • American Airlines,
  • or on flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by Compass Airlines, LLC
  • Envoy Air Inc.
  • Republic Airline Inc.
  • SkyWest Airlines, Inc.
  • Mesa Airlines, Inc.
  • PSA Airlines, Inc.
  • or Piedmont Airlines, Inc.

For residents of Alaska and Hawaii, Companion Certificate eligible travel is defined as round-trip travel originating in either of those two states and continuing to the 48 contiguous United States.

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

Should you get the card now?

There are a couple of things to consider here. The first is that Citi also offers American Airlines cards (usually with the annual fee waived), so it’s often a good idea to stack these cards together (you can get both). Citi is moving to a 48 month rule so you’ll only be able to get a bonus for a card every four years (subject to exceptions like potential targeted offers), so you’ll want to account for that change with your credit card strategy.

5/24 and alternatives

Another thing to consider is your 5/24 status. If you are under 5/24 (you have NOT opened up five accounts in the past 24 months) then the smartest credit card strategy will likely be to first jump on some of the best Chase cards.

For many people, it would make much more sense to jump the 60,000 point offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Or you might even go for a card like the Chase Ink Preferred with its ultra-high 80,000 point offer. The Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Cash could be great options as well. Aside from having great bonuses and bonus earning potential these cards are worth looking at because you can’t get approved for these cards if you’ve opened up five or more accounts in the past 24 months. 

6/24

The Aviator card will always be around and so there’s really no rush for this card, especially if you’re under 5/24. Barcalys has imposed their version of the 5/24 rule at times but it’s known as the “6/24 rule.” This is not enforced as stringently as the Chase rule though so it’s more of a soft rule. But still, if you’re really interested in the Aviator, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go for the Aviator right after hitting 5/24.

Final word

I’ve always loved the Aviator and I really like that it comes with the companion pass now along with the high bonus of 60K. The annual fee is not waived so you’ll have to consider that but the bigger factor is that you don’t want to fill in a 5/24 slot with this card in most cases since you can always pick up this card after your 5/24 slots are filled.

New Citi AA Credit Card Rules Coming?

It looks like Citi might be in the process of making some big changes to some of its credit card application rules for its American Airlines cards. These new changes have some pros and cons but you definitely want to be up to date on these changes because they could alter your strategy for maximizing miles. 

The old (but still current) rules 

A while back, Citi changed their application rules for the American Airlines credit cards. They decided to limit you to one AA sign-up bonus per 24 months. The language reads: 

American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have had any Citi® / AAdvantage® card (other than a MileUp℠ or CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® card) opened or closed in the past 24 months.

Practically what this meant is that if you picked up the Citi Platinum Select sign-up bonus you would not be able to get the bonus for the Citi Executive AA card until waiting 24 months. Moreover, if you closed your Citi Platinum Select (maybe to avoid the annual fee), that clock would be reset. So this made it difficult to score a lot of AA miles with Citi cards and forced some people to pay an annual fee they didn’t want to pay. 

Book Cathay Pacific first class with AA miles.

The new Citi AA rule 

The new rule that is showing up on various links like this and changes the clock to 48 months.That sounds horrible but it also removed the “family restriction” and the language about closing cards. Here’s what the rule looks like: 

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

This means that you will have to wait 48 months between bonuses but you should be able to pick up multiple AA cards around the same time (or stagger them). Either way, you shouldn’t be limited to one Citi AA card bonus per 48 months. And since the language about closing cards is absent, you won’t have to worry about paying annual fees just to keep your card open.

So for some people who just need to haul in AA sign-up bonuses for up-front value, this rule could help them since they will probably be able to pick up two cards at around the same time. 

If you’ve received your last Citi AA bonus over two years ago (but not longer than four years) from a card like the Platinum Select, then you might want to jump on the Platinum Select before this rule goes into effect. That’s because if the new rule came into effect overnight, you could find yourself ineligible for a while. 

The current offer is for 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. That’s not an affiliate link and I receive no commission for that offer — just trying to look out for ya! 

If you were recently approved for the Platinum Select, it’s possible that with the new rules you could apply for the Citi Executive (link with 48 month language) and get a second AA bonus (if you haven’t gotten the Executive bonus in 48 months). You’d then be out of luck for those cards for up to four years but at least you’d have points now. And with the AA dynamic awards looming, that wouldn’t be a bad strategy. 

But again, this is still semi-speculation we’re talking about and we don’t know exactly how this will all play out, so proceed with that in mind.

The work-around: targeted mailers 

It is possible to receive targeted mailers that will allow you to get around these rules. It’s not clear how these mailers will be affected by these new rules and what that might look like. But my advice would be to jump on these ASAP if you receive them because they could become a thing of the past at some point in the near future. 

Final word 

This would be another instance of banks changing up the rules to prevent rewards abuse but it’s not that 100% negative for folks who will be looking to hit up a couple of AA cards around the same time since it opens up more short-term opportunities. 

It’s important to note that we still don’t know if these rules will be implemented officially across all Citi AA credit card application pages. Right now they are not and they might not be adopted fully. But in the event that they are, you deserve a heads up about the changes.  

H/T: DD

Amex Gold Card 4X Dining Category Will Expand Worldwide

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

There’s some exciting news for Amex Gold cardholders or those looking to jump on the card. Beginning in only a couple of days, the Gold Card is going to become much more valuable to a lot of people who do a lot of travel. I’ll go over all of the details below and also explain to you why you might want to avoid applying for it.

The Amex Gold Card news

The Amex Gold Card will begin to earn 4X on dining worldwide beginning June 6th. This is a pretty huge development, considering that the limitation on US dining was one of the card’s biggest weaknesses.

In my opinion, this solidifies the Gold Card as the best card for dining when trying to earn meaningful travel rewards. 4X Membership Rewards is pretty difficult to beat. The only downside is that in some places, Amex isn’t accepted as widely, so it would still be good idea to have at least a Visa on hand (I always carry at least one Amex, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover when traveling). 

In case you need a refresher, here’s a look at the bonus categories.

  • 3X on airfare 
  • 4X points at Restaurants
  • 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 in spend per calendar year) The 4X bonus rate on the first $25,000 spent at supermarkets each year is still limited to supermarkets in the US.

The Gold Card also comes with some other useful perks like a $10 monthly dining credit that can be used at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and Shake Shack and a $100 airline incidental credit. Those credits help to offset the annual fee of $250.

4X on dining worldwide is a major change for this card.

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

Be careful out there (get the best offer)

Many people (blogs) will try to sell you this card right now with the standard public welcome bonus of 35,000 Membership Rewards after you use make $2,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. This is not a horrible offer but it’s not the best offer that you can get and many blogs will not inform you about that.

I could also sell you that offer to earn a commission but I won’t do that because you can easily apply for a referral link to the 40,000 point offer!

That is my personal referral link but as I’ve mentioned before, it’s already been maxed out so I don’t gain anything if you use it. I just don’t want to send out readers a subpar offer when they can easily snag an additional 5,000 points for the same amount of spend.

Be smart and consider your credit card strategy

Another thing to consider is your 5/24 status. As great of a card as the Gold Card is, if you are under 5/24 (you have NOT opened up five accounts in the past 24 months) then the smartest credit card strategy will likely be to first jump on some of the best Chase cards.

For many people, it would make much more sense to jump the new 60,000 point offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Or you might even go for a card like the Chase Ink Preferred with its ultra-high 80,000 point offer. The Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Cash could be great options as well. Aside from having great bonuses and bonus earning potential these cards are worth looking at because you can’t get approved for these cards if you’ve opened up five or more accounts in the past 24 months. 

The Gold Card will always be around on honestly, a higher welcome bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards might pop up in the future, so there are multiple reasons why you might want to put off applying for the Gold Card right now.

Final word

Getting 4X on dining worldwide is an exciting development for the Gold Card. It definitely puts the card on another level and makes it an exciting option for people who do a lot of traveling. I personally use it for all of my dining and grocery expenses and have been racking up a lot of Membership Rewards each month!

H/T: Churning

New Delta Limited Time Offers! (60,000+ Until July 2, 2019)

American Express just released new limited time offers for the Delta co-branded credit cards that expire on July 2, 2019! These new offers are great because they are much higher than the standard welcome offers that go out for the Delta credit cards — in some cases twice as high!

American Express Membership Rewards also transfer to Delta so with these new higher welcome bonuses, it’s extremely easy to accumulate Delta miles in a hurry. But should you apply for these limited time offers or wait it out?

Offers no longer available.

Read before applying for Delta cards

As nice as these Delta offers are, you might want to pass up on them for now. If you are under 5/24 (you have NOT opened up five accounts in the past 24 months) then there are much better cards to jump on for most people interested in the best travel rewards.

For many people, it would make much more sense to jump the new 60,000 point offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Or you might even go for a heavy hitter like the Chase Ink Preferred with its ultra-high 80,000 point offer. The Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Cash could be great options as well. Aside from having great bonuses and bonus earning potential these cards are worth looking at because you can’t get approved for these cards if you’ve opened up five or more accounts in the past 24 months. 

These limited-time Delta offers come around seasonly so you can pretty much always expect them to return (though of course we never know for sure what will happen in the future). So if you became ineligible for a Chase card with a great offer like a 60K or 80K bonus just to snag a Delta offer that will likely come back around, that would be a very bad credit card strategy.

How to maximize Delta miles

If you’re already over 5/24, these offers can be great. I personally jumped on the Delta Gold and Delta Platinum Cards a while back and used miles to fly in business class on Virgin Atlantic to London, while only paying like $5 in fees. Even though you have to deal with dynamic pricing, there’s a lot of value to be had with Delta SkyMiles. If you are at all interested in the Delta cards, I highly suggest that you check out our article on the 15 best ways to maximize Delta miles.

Limited time offers for Delta Cards

American Express Delta Gold SkyMiles

  • 60,000 Delta mile welcome bonus after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening and $50 statement credit after your first Delta purchase (within the same timeframe).
  • Click here to learn more about this card. 

American Express Delta Platinum Credit Card 

  • Earn 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 Delta miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
  • Plus, earn a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.
  • Click here to learn more about this card. 

American Express Delta Reserve Credit Card

  • Earn 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 75,000 Delta miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
  • Click here to learn more about this card. 

Barclays Business AAdvantage Aviator Card 75K Review

The Barclays Business AAdvantage Aviator card is now offering its best welcome offer ever. With this new offer you can earn up to 75,000 miles with very little spend. This is a fantastic offer if you’re looking for AA miles and while I don’t receive any sort of commission for this card, I’d recommend it for people trying to rack up AA miles. I’ll break down the offer below. 

The offer 

  • Earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days
  • Earn 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card
  • $95 annual fee

75,000 miles for only $1,000 in spend (plus a single purchase with an authorized user) is fantastic. Plus, you don’t have to pay an additional annual fee to add an authorized user (employee).

While I’m a fan of the AAdvantage Aviator at 75K, if I were pursuing a business card with great rewards, I might look into other options. 

How far can the miles take you?

75,000 AA miles could cover a one-way business class ticket all the way to the Maldives on partners like Etihad or Qatar. If you want to get an idea on how to maximize AA miles then check out my article on AA sweet spots here. 

Additional perks to applying 

What I really like about this card is that it does not report to your personal credit report. So if you are under 5/24, you can pick up this card without burning a 5/24. 

Also, if you’re just looking to give your personal credit report a rest, this can be a good option since the account won’t show up and bring down your average age of accounts. 

And finally, Barclays likes to pull from TransUnion, so applying for their cards can help you avoid getting hard pulls on bureaus that are used more often like Experian or Equifax (though this all depends on where you live and some other factors). 

Note that Barclays sometimes imposes its own version of the 5/24 rule: the 6/24 rule. And if you have a lot of inquires, you may have trouble getting approved. 

You can use this bonus to get to the Maldives in business class.

Other options to consider 

The Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Preferred which offer more flexible points with better value (Chase Ultimate Rewards). Both of those cards come with great offers right now, especially the Chase Ink Preferred at 80,000 points after meeting the minimum spend. 

(You could always transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways and use them for AA flights which isn’t a bad deal for shorter flights.)

Additional perks 

The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator card also comes with some additional perks you might be interested in. 

Bonus earning 

  • 2X on AA purchases 
  • 2X on office supplies, telecom, and car rental merchants.

The bonus earning isn’t all that great for the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator card though it’s pretty standard for a co-branded airline card.

If you’re wanting to maximize points via spend with a business card then the Chase Ink cards mentioned above could be a much better fit. You could also look into cards like the Amex Business Gold Card which has some fantastic bonus categories. 

First checked bag free

First checked bag free for you and up to 4 companions on eligible bags when traveling on domestic itineraries operated by American Airlines. 

For this benefit to apply, the card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel AND the reservation must include the Signing Individual’s AAdvantage number 7 days prior to air travel.

Companion Certificate

Companion Certificate good for 1 guest at $99, issued each year after your account anniversary after spending $30,000 or more on eligible purchases (taxes and fees apply). This is only good for roundtrip domestic economy fares and  you will pay a $99 companion ticket fee plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees, depending on itinerary.

$30,000 is a lot of spend for a discounted companion certificate of $99 so I’m not sure that I’d be too excited about this option. I guess it could be valuable for an expensive economy flight around the US but you could put $30,000 towards two Hilton Ascend cards and earn two free nights which could be worth much more than an economy ticket (less the fees). 

Mileage bonus

5% annual mileage bonus earned every year after your account anniversary date on the total number of miles earned using your card. 

Preferred boarding

Preferred boarding for you and up to 4 companions on your reservation when traveling on itineraries operated by American Airlines. You will board after Priority boarding is complete, but before the rest of economy (Main Cabin) boarding. 

For this benefit to apply, the card account must be open 7 days prior to air travel AND the reservation must include the Signing Individual’s American Airlines AAdvantage® number 7 days prior to air travel.

Elite Qualifying Dollars

Earn $3,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars after spending $25,000 on purchases each calendar year. This can help you out if you struggle to meet the spend requirement for elite status. 

Inflight savings

Receive 25% inflight savings on food and beverages when you use your card on American Airlines operated flights.

Eligible purchases include the inflight purchase of food and beverages on American Airlines operated flights when purchased using the card account. Savings does NOT apply to any other inflight purchases, such as wireless internet access or inflight entertainment. 

Final word 

Overall, this is a compelling offer at 75,000 miles. If you’re in the market for AA miles then you should definitely consider this card, especially since it doesn’t report to your personal credit report. But if you’re still at the stage of trying to seek out the most valuable travel rewards credit cards then you’ll want to consider alternative options which will set you up with more flexible rewards that will be easier to use and that come with better bonus earning potential. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred 60K & 70K Point Offer (Link) [2020]

We’ve been hearing rumors about new and improved offers for the Chase Sapphire Preferred for a few months now and they are now finally here. The new offer is a 60,000 point bonus offer after meeting the minimum spend requirements, which is an all-time high for the public offer. And there are even targeted 70K pre-approval offers going out, too. 

New 60K sign-up bonus (link)

  • 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred has remained at a steady 50,000 points for quite some time. Unlike other cards that have bonuses that often fluctuate this is one of those bonuses that stays the same for the most part so it’s a pretty big deal whenever it moves up or down.

60,000 points is worth $750 dollars toward travel if you go through the Chase Travel Portal, which is a valuable sign-up bonus. I’ve always been big on the Chase Sapphire Preferred because it offers the such great upfront value for a minimal annual fee and now that up-front value is even better.

I personally prefer to transfer my points out to travel partners though. If you choose to go that route you can get much more than $750 worth of travel out of your points.

Below are all of the different Chase travel partners:

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

Chase Ultimate Rewards Airlines

  • Aer Lingus
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
  • Iberia Airways
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
  • United MileagePlus
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotels

  • World of Hyatt
  • IHG Rewards Club
  • Marriott Bonvoy

You can do a lot with these travel partners. If you’re interested in aspirational redemptions like those extravagant first-class trips, you could transfer your points to Singapore and fly on their first class suites. Or if you just wanted to get around domestically you have great options with United, Southwest, and JetBlue (you could also fly American with Avios, Delta with Flying Blue, etc.).

And when it comes to hotel partners, Hyatt is definitely among the best. With many of these partners you could get two cents per point or more in value for your points which means that your sign-up bonus could be worth over $1,200.

The Virgin Atlantic bar on the 787.

Bonus earning

The Chase Sapphire Preferred will still earn 2X on dining and travel. This is not as impressive as some other cards but is still a decent earning rate for a card with a lower annual fee, especially since the travel category is so broad.

The good thing about this card is that if you realize that you would like to earn more points later on you can always upgrade after the first year to the Chase Sapphire Reserve which earns 3X on dining and travel. This is one reason why the Sapphire Preferred is such a great beginner’s card.

Regardless of what you do, I would still at least look into supplementing this card with a card like the American Express Gold Card which earns 4X on US dining and supermarkets.

Earn 2X on travel purchases with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Annual fee

The change with this offer is that the $95 annual fee is no longer waived the first year. The additional 10,000 points are worth (at the very least) $100 (when valued one cent per point) so you’re still coming out on top, it’s just that you’ll have to pay the $95 annual fee.

Pre-approval offers (70K?)

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. This means that if you have opened up five or more credit card accounts in the past 24 months you will not be approved. However, some people have been able to get around this rule by getting special targeted pre-approval offers.

Some very lucky people have even been able to find pre-approval offers for 70,000 points. Those 70K targeted offers (“Selected For You” offers) are probably not very common, so I wouldn’t get too excited but obviously that is a better deal if you can find it. If you want to find out more about Chase pre-approval offers click here. 

Also don’t forget about the 48 month rule. If you have received a Sapphire bonus within the past 48 months you will not be eligible for this.

Final word

Overall, it is exciting to see this sign-up bonus increased to 60,000 points. It is a slight bummer that the annual fee is no longer waived but because the 10,000 points easily outweigh the $95 annual fee, it is still very well worth it in my opinion.

Five Hot New Credit Card Offers for March 2019

Maximizing miles and points has a lot to do with timing your applications with some of the best welcome bonuses. Right now is the perfect time to pick up a new credit card because there are several hot limited time offers that just came out for IHG, Marriott, and Delta. 

Offers in this article no longer available. 

IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card

The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card comes with a new offer that allows you to earn:

  • 80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
  • Plus an additional 40,000 bonus points after spending a total of $5,000 on purchases within 6 months of account opening

Offer no longer available. 

Earning 120,000 IHG points after $5,000 in spend is not bad at all. You would be able to cover two nights at a very nice IHG property. The top properties now go for 70,000 points per night, so you would be very close to being able to cover two nights at a top-tier property.

Here are some of the other features:

  • Annual free night certificate at an “eligible hotel”
  • 10X for spend at IHG
  • 2X at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants
  • Automatic Platinum Elite Status (read more about this status here)
  • 20% discount on purchases of IHG points
  • 4th night free on award stays
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit of up to $100 every 4 years
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $89 annual fee
  • Subject to 5/24

This is a terrific credit card for anyone who is interested in IHG considering how rewarding the card can be for loyal IHG customers. 

However, if I was close to being over 5/24, I would likely go with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred so that I would have the option to earn flexible (and more valuable) points in the future. That route would also give you a much more lucrative option for upgrading to a premium card (the Sapphire Reserve) in the future.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card is now offering a 100K offer which comes in the following form:

  • Earn 100,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The IHG bonus of 120,000 points is more valuable to me than this one because it allows you to come much closer to covering two nights at a top-tier property. When the new Marriott award chart kicks in, 100,000 points will only cover one night at a top tier property during peak times.

The Boundless credit card has a number of other features that include:

  • Annual free night on properties up to 35,000 points per night
  • Marriott silver status
  • Short cut to gold whenever you spend $35,000 on purchases each year
  • 15 elite night credits each calendar year
  • 6X at Marriott properties
  • 2X on all other purchases
  • $95 annual fee
  • Subject to 5/24

Just like the above card, if I was close to being over 5/24, I would likely go with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred so that I would have the option to earn flexible points in the future.

American Express Delta credit cards

The American Express Delta credit cards are all back with great limited time offers. These offers are very cyclical cool but they are great offers nonetheless. I would not burn a 5/24 slot for these cards, but if I already had maxed out my Chase cards then I would consider them.

Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express

  • Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months and a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express

  • Earn 75,000 Bonus Miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles after you make $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months.
  • $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.

Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express

  • Earn 75,000 Bonus Miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.

Final word

If you are in the market for a hotel credit card or one of these Delta cards this is a great time to apply. Maximizing miles and points is all about timing and these are definitely some of the highest bonuses that come around for these cards.

American Express Airline Gift Card Changes (Not Looking Good)

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

One of the best perks for several American Express credit cards has been the ability to purchase airline gift cards and activate the airline incidental credit. Cards like the Platinum Card, Gold Card, and the Hilton Aspire all come with hefty annual fees that can be offset by their airline travel credits of $200 or $100.

The ability to use these credits to purchase gift cards makes it easier than ever to offset the annual fees and thus makes the cards more valuable.

However, it looks like there have been some unwanted changes when it comes to purchasing American Airlines gift cards with American Express credit cards.

The changes

Recent data points are showing that as of about February 6, purchases of American Airlines gift cards are not triggering the airline incidental credit. The purchases seem to be coding as gift cards which are of course explicitly excluded from the terms and conditions.

It is possible that this is a temporary change and that things will eventually go back to the way that they were before. This change could take a short amount of time to happen or it could take a very long time — this is not the first time that we have seen changes with respect to the crediting/coding of the gift card purchases.

However, as credit card rewards have exploded in popularity it is very possible that American Express reached a breaking point of sorts when it came to these annual credits that people started to use right after the turn of the new year. If that is the case then we may not see the change reversed because there could be a profitability issue.

There are also some reports the people having issues getting reimbursed when purchasing gift cards for other airlines such as Delta and Southwest Airlines. Some of those could merely be processing delays, however, so it’s not clear to me yet that those other airlines are affected, but it is definitely something that I will keep my eye on.

Refresher

In case you need a refresher on what qualifies as a valid purchase for the airline credits here’s the list:

American Express officially states that the following qualify for the airline credit:

  • Checked baggage fees (including overweight/oversize)
  • Itinerary change fees
  • Phone reservation fees
  • Pet flight fees
  • Seat assignment fees
  • In-flight amenity fees (beverages, food, pillows/blankets, headphones)
  • In-flight entertainment fees (excluding wireless internet because it’s not charged by the airline)
  • Airport lounge day passes & annual memberships

The following items are explicitly excluded:

  • Airline tickets
  • Mileage points purchases or mileage points transfer fees
  • Gift cards
  • Upgrades
  • Duty–free purchases
  • Award tickets

Qualifying airlines include:

  • Alaska Airlines
  • American Airlines
  • Delta Airlines
  • Frontier Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • JetBlue Airways
  • Spirit Airlines
  • Southwest Airlines
  • United Airlines

Read more about the credit here.

Final word

It appears that this is yet another negative blow to the value of some great credit cards. Being able to offset the annual fee for these cards with gift card purchases was a very popular way to justify paying the annual fee. If in fact purchasing gift cards does come to an end it is going to affect the value proposition of these cards for a lot people. Hopefully these are not permanent changes but at this point it’s not looking very good, at least not for American Airlines.

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