Barclays Wyndham Rewards Visa Review [2020]

The Barclays Wyndham Rewards Visa is a hotel credit card that any serious traveler should at least consider. If you catch this card at the right time, you can cover some quality free nights at Wyndham properties.

In this review article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about this card including things like the bonuses offered, the value of the bonus spend categories, and elite status benefits.

Wyndham Rewards Visa overview

  • Decent welcome bonus (varies 30,000 to 45,000 after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days)
  • 5 points per $1 spent on Wyndham 
  • 2 points per $1 spent on gas, utility, and grocery store purchases
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Platinum status
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $75 annual fee

I would not say that this is the best hotel credit card out there, but it’s one of the more underrated hotel credit cards in my opinion when you can catch the bonus at its high point.

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

Wyndham Rewards Visa welcome bonus

The Wyndham Rewards Visa offers a welcome bonus that tends to fluctuate between 30,000 and 45,000 points.

Typically, the minimum spend requirement is very obtainable asking for only $1,000 in spend in the first 90 days after account opening.

Wyndham offers a very simplified reward structure.

A standard award which is called a Go Free award will cost you one of three prices: 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per bedroom.

You can also book a Go Fast award that offers even cheaper award prices which come in three forms as well: 1,500, 3,000, or 6,000 points per bedroom. The catch is that you’ll be paying a cash co-payment along with that.

So on one extreme end, the 30,000 point bonus would only get you one night at a top property. Meanwhile, you could stretch 30,000 points into 20 nights at the cheapest rate if you are willing to cough up a lot of cash payments.

Personally, I would plan on going for the bonus when it’s at 45,000 points and expect to use that on about three nights priced at 15,000 points per night.

If you want to check out some of the top properties to use your points at check out our detailed breakdown of the 37 best Wyndham properties.

You can also search for hotel properties here.

Screenshot of the Wyndham Rewards Visa
The Wyndham Rewards Visa can cover multiple free nights at a solid property.

Wyndham Rewards Visa eligibility

Barclays, like many other banks, has its own unique set of credit card approval rules. Many of these are “soft rules” meaning that they are not always enforced. Still, it’s a good idea to be aware of what these rules are.

So to keep tabs on all of these rules, I would recommend that you check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can automate your eligibility for all of these terms and conditions. It will also help you optimize your cards by keeping track of what cards earn you the most points, annual fees, etc.

Wyndham Rewards Visa bonus categories

  • 5 points per $1 spent on Wyndham 
  • 2 points per $1 spent on gas, utility, and grocery store purchases
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases

5X on Wyndham

Using a WalletFlo valuation of .87, 5X comes out to 4.3% back.

Since you will also have at least Platinum status, you’ll be earning an additional 11.5 points per dollar spent for a total of 16.5 points. So your total return on Wyndham spend would be at least 14.3% back. That’s actually very competitive and it’s definitely a strong point of this credit card.

The drawback is that unlike other hotel cards like the World of Hyatt Card, you can’t transfer points earned from a major flexible points program to your loyalty account. This makes it tougher to build up a high balance of Wyndham points so it’s definitely something to consider.

2X on gas, utility, and grocery store purchases

2X comes out to 1.74% back on gas, utility, and grocery stores. This is not a good return on these categories. If you are trying to maximize points for travel on these categories, there are much better cards out there.

For example, you could be earning 4X on US supermarkets with the American Express Gold Card — a card that I use for most of my everyday spending. And if you want to earn hotel points on something like gas, the Hilton Surpass is a great option, as it earns 6X on U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations.

1X on all other purchases

Earning 1X on all purchases means you’ll be getting about .87% back. Again, this is not a good return and you will be way better off utilizing a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited which earns 1.5X on all purchases.

Photo of a grocery store aisle
If you want to maximize travel points on your everyday spend, you may want to go with a different card.

Wyndham Rewards Visa Benefits

Platinum status

One of the major perks of the Wyndham Rewards Visa is automatic Platinum status.

While Platinum status is technically a mid-tier status for Wyndham, it functions more like a lower tier hotel elite status.

That’s because it’s pretty light on the upgrade benefits and doesn’t offer free breakfast or lounge access. It does have some unique perks like rollover nights, a discount on activities in the city you’re staying in, free wifi, and a few others.

Here’s a quick rundown of the Platinum perks:

  • Discounted room rate
  • 10 points per dollar (or 1,000 points) plus a 15% bonus
  • Rollover nights
  • Free wifi
  • Go Free PLUS
  • Go Fast PLUS
  • Dedicated Member services
  • Preferred Room Choice
  • Late Check-out
  • Early Check-in 
  • Avis and Budget upgrades

Tip: To check out the credit cards with the best elite status click here.

Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection

If you are approved for the Visa Signature version of this card you’ll have access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.  That’s a special network of luxury properties located all around the world and you can receive elite like benefits at those which include perks like:

  • 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

Visa signature benefits

Additional visa signature benefits that you might have via this card include:

Extended warranty protection

Extended warranty protection will double the term of your eligible U.S. manufacturer’s warranty up to 1 additional year on eligible warranties of 3 years or less.

This means that if your warranty is six months, it will be extended to one year. And if your warranty is two years, it will be extended one additional year.

Roadside Dispatch

Roadside dispatch is a pay-per use roadside assistance program that is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. When you are in need of assistance, you simply call them and provide your location and they will arrange for whatever help you need such as a tow truck or locksmith.

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

As part of your travel protection, you’ll have travel and emergency assistance services. Basically, you can get assistance finding the right doctor or arranging emergency transportation or even getting assistance finding the right prescription.

This coverage applies to you, your spouse, and dependent children under 22 who are traveling.

Auto Rental Coverage

When you use the Wyndham Rewards Visa to pay for your rental vehicle, you’ll get built-in rental coverage. You’ll be covered for things like physical damage, theft, and certain other loss of use charges. This coverage is not primary so if you want the best rental car coverage from a credit card you should look to a card like the Chase Sapphirre Preferred.

Balance transfer perks

Finally, you’ll also get 0% introductory APR for the first fifteen billing cycles following each balance transfer. It’s not very common for co-branded hotel credit cards to offer 0% APR on balance transfers so this is a unique perk.

Wyndham Rewards Visa FAQ

Does the Wyndham Rewards Visa have foreign transaction fees?

No, there are no foreign transaction fees.

Can I check my application status online?

Yes, you can check your application status for this card or any other Barclays card you apply for. To find out how to do that check out the article here.

How many points does the Wyndham Rewards Visa earn on Wyndham purchases?

The Wyndham Rewards Visa earns 5X on all Wyndham purchases.

What is the annual fee for the the Wyndham Rewards Visa?

The annual fee is $75 and sometimes it is waived the first year. Check your offer for details.

Can I downgrade the Wyndham Rewards Visa?

Yes, you can downgrade the Wyndham Rewards Visa to the no annual fee version.

How many points are needed for a free night?

A standard award which is called a Go Free award will cost you one of three prices: 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per bedroom.

But you can also book a Go Fast award which will cost you one of three prices: 1,500, 3,000, or 6,000 points per bedroom. The catch is that you’ll be paying a cash co-payment along with that.

Does the Wyndham Rewards Visa come with elite status?

Yes, the Wyndham Rewards Visa comes with Platinum elite status which is the mid-tier status for Wyndham. Benefits include free Wi-Fi, upgrades to preferred rooms, elite roll-over nights, and discounts on activities near the location of your stay. It does not provide free breakfast or lounge access.

Does the Wyndham Rewards Visa come with a free anniversary night?

No, the Wyndham Rewards Visa does not come with a free anniversary night. This is unlike other co-branded hotel credit cards like those issued from Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt that offer free anniversary nights. Click here to see which credit cards come with the best free anniversary nights.

Final word

If you catch this card at the higher bonus of 45,000 points, you can score multiple free nights and that is what I would be shooting for. I think the bonus earning for Wyndham properties is great especially when you consider the bonus you get for having Platinum status, but I would not use his card for every day spending on categories like gas and groceries. There are better alternatives for that.

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card Review (65,000 Miles?) [2020]

There are a lot of co-branded airline travel credit cards out there but not many of them can compare to the value offered by the United Explorer Card. In my opinion, the Chase United Explorer Card is one of the best co-branded airline credit cards because it offers some of the best all-around perks and value.

United Explorer Card intro

  • 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and on hotel accommodations
  • 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases
  • 1 mile per $1 spent
  • 2 one-time United Club passes each year
  • Free checked bag for yourself and one companion traveling on the same reservation
  • Priority boarding
  • 25% back on United Inflight Wi-Fi, food and drinks
  • 500 PQPs for every $12,000 in spend for a maximum of 1,000 PQPs earned per calendar year.

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

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus for the United Explorer Card can range from 40,000 miles all the way up to 65,000 miles or beyond. One of the trends we’ve seen with this card recently is a tiered welcome bonus.

For example, one of the recent bonuses looked like this:

  • Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
  • Plus earn an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $10,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months

So to get one of those high bonuses you might have to work extra hard for it now.

For that reason, you may want to consider going with a card like the Chase Ink Business Preferred if you are primarily trying to earn miles since you could transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards to United at a 1:1 ratio or transfer them to other airline partners.

However, if you are interested in getting some of the United-specific benefits then the Explorer Card might be the better option. (I’ll talk more about those benefits below.)

What can you do with 65,000 miles?

United now implements dynamic pricing which means that the award prices between destinations are not set.

But some prior redemptions might be provide some guidance on what you can do with 65,000 miles.

One-way Saver awards in economy started at 12,500 miles for domestic flights, so you could book a handful of flights with 65,000 miles. A roundtrip business class ticket around the mainland US would cost 50,000 miles so you could book that and still have points left over.

If you’re trying to fly internationally, 65,000 miles could cover you for a roundtrip in economy to Europe for a Saver award or a one-way business class award.

After meeting your minimum spend you’d also have enough miles for a roundtrip in economy to Asia (Hong Kong/Japan) and would be very close to being able to book a one-way flight in business class on a partner like EVA.

I would look into jumping on a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards so that you could combine your earnings and potentially end up with 115,000 United miles!

United business class.

Bonus earning

The United Explorer Card earns the following bonus earning rates:

  • 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and on hotel accommodations
  • 2 miles per $1 spent on United purchases
  • 1 mile per $1 spent

Getting 2X at restaurants and hotels isn’t bad but keep in mind that you can earn 2X on all dining and ALL travel purchases with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Or if you were okay with the high annual fee of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you could earn 3X on dining and travel. So when it comes to restaurants and hotels, there are definitely better ways to rack up United miles.

The same thing applies to United purchases — you could earn 3X on United purchases with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which would earn you United miles much quicker.

Then there’s the 1X on all purchases. This rate is pretty standard but you could jump on a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the Chase Ink Unlimited and earn 1.5X on all purchases, essentially earning 1.5 United miles on every purchase.

So while the Explorer Card bonus categories are okay there are definitely better options out there that you could choose from.

United Club passes

With the Explorer Card, you’ll get two one-time United Club passes each year for your anniversary. United Clubs are United lounges that you can find throughout the country. Some of these lounges leave a little bit to be desired but I really like the newly remodeled Club lounges which I think look great.

The food and drink selection will be limited compared to some of the premium lounges but getting two passes each year is still great, especially for those travelers who only take a few trips a year and don’t need an annual or unlimited membership to a lounge network. You can read more about United Clubs here.

United Club Lounge at IAH.

Free checked bag

With this card you’ll get a free checked bag for yourself and one companion traveling on the same reservation ($30 value, each way, per person) on United-operated flights when the primary cardmember purchases their tickets from United with their card.

Just one roundtrip with a companion could save you $120 so this has the potential to be a very valuable perk. Some cards limit their free bags to domestic flights but with this perk you can even use it on international flights. To find out more United baggage policies, click here.

Priority Boarding

The primary cardmember and companions on the same reservation will be invited to board United-operated flights prior to general boarding. After pre-boarding, here’s what the boarding groups look like:

Group 1

  • Premier Platinum members
  • Premier Gold members
  • Star Alliance Gold members
  • Customers seated in premium cabins: United Polaris®, United First® and United Business®

Group 2

  • Premier Silver members
  • Star Alliance Silver members
  • Customers who have purchased Premier Access or Priority Boarding
  • United Explorer, Club, Presidential Plus and Awards Cardmembers

So as you can see, you’ll be in Group 2 with the Explorer Card. There are a lot of people in Groups 1 and 2 and so if you truly want the priority boarding experience, you’ll need to line-up early. Otherwise, you could be at the back of a pretty long line depending on the type of aircraft/route you’re flying on. To find out more details about the United Airlines boarding policy click here.

A photo of the united boarding sign
Priority boarding will help you secure overhead storage bin space.

Miles don’t expire

Your United miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account remains open. This makes it much less stressful for those people who don’t regularly travel/use their miles. Simply keep your card open and your miles won’t expire.

Update: United miles will never expire.

25% back

You will receive 25% back on United Inflight Wi-Fi, food and drinks.

PQD Waived, now PQPs

United Explorer cardholders will earn 500 PQPs for every $12,000 they spend and there will be a a maximum of 1,000 PQPs earned per calendar year.

Here are the new qualifications for United Airlines elite status:

PQF + PQPPQP only
Silver12 PQF and 4,000 PQP5,000
Gold24 PQF and 8,000 PQP10,000
Platinum36 PQF and 12,000 PQP15,000
1K54 PQF and 18,000 PQP24,000 PQP

Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check

You can get up to a $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA Pre-Check credit with this card.

Global Entry is a program that will allow you to enter the US and get through US Customs and Immigration quickly by passing through special lines. Your membership will good for five years total and will come with TSA Pre-Check. Sometimes those immigration lines can be depressingly long, so I absolutely love Global Entry.

TSA Pre-Check will get you through airport security quicker since you won’t have to mess with things like taking off your shoes, belts, light coats, and taking out your liquids and electronics. But TSA Pre-Check comes with Global Entry so it makes much more sense to just sign-up for Global Entry.

This isn’t too special since so many credit card offer these credits but it is nice because not that many cards with $95 annual fees offer these credits. Read more about TSA Pre-Check here.

Breeze through security with the TSA Pre-Check line.

Increased award inventory

With this card, you’ll get expanded award availability when you use miles to book any United-operated flight, any time, at the applicable Everyday Award level.

These rates are more expensive than Saver awards so you’ll have to shell out more miles but if you’re ever in a bind and need to find open awards, having access to the increased award inventory can be extremely beneficial.

You can also find more Saver award availability with this card as well.

Premier upgrades

The primary Cardmember who is also a MileagePlus Premier member and traveling on an award ticket can take advantage of Complimentary Premier Upgrades on United-operated flights (when available). This means that if you are United Silver and above and are flying on an award flight, you could get bumped to business class.

In reality, these upgrades are probably going to be uncommon but it would depend on the level of elite status that you have.

Primary rental car coverage

This card is one of the few that offer primary rental car coverage.

This is huge because it means that you can avoid paying for rental car coverage when renting a car and save some money. But it also means that you can avoid filing a claim with your car insurance provider and avoid seeing an increase in your monthly premium. 

If you regularly rent cars, don’t underestimate how much this can save you.

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

Travel protections

The Explorer Card has some of the best credit card travel protections.

Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance

You can be reimbursed up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable passenger fares, if your trip is canceled or cut short by covered situations like sickness or injury.

Nothing is worse when the unexpected happens and you end up losing out on cash that went toward pre-paid fares. But with this benefit, you can get reimbursement and sleep easier about something potentially happening. It’s worth pointing out that the Sapphire Preferred has a higher trip cancellation coverage amount of $10,000.

Baggage Delay Insurance

Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 3 days.

This protection is strong with only a 6 hour waiting and period and coverage for three days. It’s not quite as broad as the protection offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve which cover you for a maximum of five days.

If you’ve ever had your luggage lost by the airlines for a couple of days, you know how great it can feel to use a perk like this and I know from experience!

Lost Luggage Reimbursement

If you or an immediate family member check or carry on luggage that is damaged or lost by the carrier, you’re covered up to $3,000 per passenger.

Trip Delay Reimbursement

If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.

Many people don’t realize that in the US, there are no federal laws requiring compensation for delays. So if your flight is delayed, you might not always be able to receive compensation. And if an airline does offer you compensation, it might only be for a meal or two and a $100 hotel stay.

With this perk, you can get covered for up to $500 per ticket, which means that you won’t have to scrape by for a night and could actually enjoy a nice meal and hotel while you try to figure out your travel plans.

Purchase protections

Purchase Protection

Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per year. Surprisingly, this amount is on par with the Sapphire Reserve but much higher than the $500 per claim offered for the Sapphire Preferred.

Extended Warranty Protection

Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. If you’re really interested in great extended warranty protection then you might want to look into Amex cards which offer better protections.

Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

This card will give you access to the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, which is a network of over 900 properties consisting of many five-star hotels, resorts, lodges and spas. What makes the program so special is that it offers you elite-like benefits, such as

  • Daily breakfast for two
  • A special benefit unique to each property, such as a dining or spa credit
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi
  • A room upgrade, if available
  • Early check-in and late checkout, if available

So this is a perfect perk for people who don’t have elite status with a hotel but would like to enjoy elite-like benefits.

Annual fee

There is a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. It’s always nice to be able to avoid the annual fee for the first year and sometimes the annual fee is not waived for some offers.

Final word

The United Explorer Card is one of the best all-around travel credit cards. If there was one co-branded airline credit card that I had to choose, it would be this card. Obviously, if you don’t fly United this card will have much less value for you but it’s hard to deny all of the value packed into this card in its various features.

 

Disney Premier Visa Card Review (Custom Designs) [2020]

The Disney Premier Visa Card is an extremely popular travel rewards card offered by Chase. I know many Disney-lovers with this card and often come across others who have it or are thinking about picking it up.

But is this card actually a valuable card or is its popularity just the result of great marketing and placement by the Disney media machine?

In this article, I’ll break down the Disney Premier Visa Card and tell you everything you need to know about its benefits and perks. I’ll talk about Disney Rewards, custom card designs, and how things like the airline credits work.

Welcome bonus

The Disney Premier Visa Card typically comes with a $200 statement credit after spending $500 in the first three months. I have also seen this card offering a welcome bonus worth $250.

Personally, I don’t think that it is necessary to wait for the $250 bonus to come around and jumping on the $200 statement credit is probably decent enough (sometimes the no-fee version even has a $200 offer).

You can find other Chase cards with much more valuable welcome bonuses like the Chase Sapphire Preferred which offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Those 60,000 points will be worth at least $600 but could easily be worth much more than that for travel expenses.

So for the average Disney fan/tourist, the Disney Premier Visa Card’s bonus can be a nice boost but for someone trying to really maximize their wallet, they would want to go with other cards with more lucrative offers.

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

Bonus categories

  • 2% in Disney Rewards Dollars on card purchases at:
    • Gas stations
    • Grocery stores
    • Restaurants
    • Most Disney locations

The eligible Disney locations where you can earn 2% back with this card include locations at:

    • Walt Disney World® Resort,
    • the Disneyland® Resort,
    • Disney store locations in the U.S.,
    • shopDisney.com,
    • Disney Cruise Line,
    • Disney Vacation Club® and
    • Adventures by Disney®

The big difference between this card and the no annual fee version is that with the Disney Premier Visa Card you can earn 2% on some purchases and the no annual fee version only earns 1% back on all purchases.

If you are serious about maximizing your rewards on spend you can do much better than 2% back on gas, groceries, and restaurants. For example, I earn 4X at restaurants and US supermarkets with the Amex Gold Card and those earnings come out to around 7%, which is way higher (though the annual fee is a lot higher).

If you want to earn more bonus points on your travel purchases on Disney Tickets, consider booking your tickets through Undercover Tourist, which codes Disney bookings as travel. Some cards like the Sapphire Reserve could earn you 3X Ultimate Rewards on those Disney purchases versus the 2% back.

Also, you can use cards like the Chase Ink Business Cash or Chase Freedom to purchase Disney Gift Cards and sometimes earn a whopping 5X Ultimate Rewards which would be like getting close to 10% back depending on your valuations (though you have to deal with gift cards and could lose out on travel protections).

I will say that earning 2% back on all of these categories on one low-annual fee card is not that bad. It’s just worth noting that there are no annual fee options out there that offer 2% back on all purchases and other alternative routes that will be more lucrative.

So if you use the Disney Premier Visa Card for your all or most of your spend, you’re getting decent rewards but just know that you could probably be doing a lot better. 

Rewards

The rewards for the Disney Premier Visa Card are a little confusing to some people but here’s how it works.

First, you will earn 2% back in the form Disney Rewards Dollars with your Disney Premier Visa Card. So it is important to realize that you are not earning “cash back” but instead “Disney Rewards Dollars.” One Disney Rewards Dollar is worth $1 USD. 

Once you have earned Disney Rewards Dollars, you can then transfer those points to a Disney Rewards Redemption Card or use them for a statement credit towards airline ticket purchases.

Here is an important thing to note: once Disney Rewards Dollars are transferred onto a Disney Rewards Redemption Card, they cannot be transferred back into your Disney Rewards account. This means once you transfer them, you can no longer use them for a statement credit towards airline ticket purchases.

After linking your Disney Rewards and Chase account, you will need to order a Disney Rewards Redemption Card which you can do by going to the Disney Visa Account page and selecting “Order a new Disney Rewards Redemption Card,” or by calling 1-800-300-8575. I believe you’ll need 20 Disney Rewards to order your Disney Rewards Redemption Card and you are allowed a maximum of two.

It could take two to three weeks for you to receive your card and you’ll need to activate it when it arrives. However, if you are pressed for time there are a few locations at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World where you can pick up a Disney Rewards Redemption Card.

Disney Rewards Redemption Card

There are a lot of places within the Disney Universe where you can use your Disney Rewards Redemption Card. Obviously, many cardholders will want to use their Disney Rewards at the main Disney theme parks but don’t forget about places like Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, Disney Cruises, etc. (You can also use your Disney Rewards for Disney/Pixar/StarWars movies at AMC theaters.)

You can see all the different ways to redeem your Disney Rewards here. 

Airline credit

You can use your Disney Rewards Dollars for a statement credit towards airline ticket purchases made with your Disney Premier Visa Credit Card within 60 days after your purchase. 

Note that Disney Rewards Dollars cannot be redeemed for an airline statement credit using a Disney Rewards Redemption Card. Also, the no annual fee Disney card does not get this perk.

The airline credit redemptions start at 50 Disney Rewards Dollars for a $50 airline statement credit. One good thing about this credit is that you don’t have to be flying to Disney to use it — you can activate the credits for tickets with any airline to any destination. But keep in mind it doesn’t apply to incidental expenses like baggage fees.

The airline statement credits will post to the card account within five to seven business days of a request to redeem.

Related reading: Southwest Vacations Guide: Does it Really Save you Money? 

0% promotional APR

  • 0% promotional APR for 6 months on select Disney vacation packages from the date of purchase.

Let’s face it, Disney trips aren’t cheap. In some cases you’ll need to carry a balance to finance your trip. This 0% APR period of six months can help you do that.

It is worth noting that if you’re really trying to avoid interest, you can find other cards offering 0% interest for much longer periods, such as 12, 15, or even 18 months. So if avoiding interest it a top priority, you might want to think about other options with longer promotional APR periods.

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

Disney Premier Visa Card Benefits

The Disney Premier Visa Card comes with a lot of benefits that can save you money.

Merchandise discount

  • 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Disneyland and Disney World

Special photo ops

  • Special photo ops with Disney or Star Wars Characters, held in private locations  (You also get downloads of your photos.)

Dining discount

  • 10% off select dining locations most days at Disneyland and Disney World.

Tours discount

  • 15% off the non-discounted price of select guided tours at Disneyland and Disney World.

Shopping discount

  • 10% off select purchases at Disney store and shopDisney.com.

Events at Disney Stores

  • Access to exclusive Disney Visa Cardmember events at Disney store.

VIP Broadway package

  • VIP Package at Disney broadway shows like The Lion King when you use your Disney Visa Card to purchase premium tickets.

Something that I should point out is that you can get most of these benefits with the Disney debit card for free and also on the no-annual fee Disney credit card. Check out that article for more on how all of the discounts work and all of the terms and conditions.

And remember to always carry your Disney card with you just in case you need it for the perks!

Travel and purchase protections

With the Disney Premier Visa Credit Card, you can get some decent travel and purchase protections that come with the card.

Baggage Delay Insurance

Baggage delay will reimburse you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over six hours up to $100 a day for three days. It’s nice that it kicks in after six hours and usually you’ll always have your bags by three days, so this is a good perk for a low annual fee card.

Purchase Protection

Purchase protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. The $500 is very low compared to premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve that have a $10,000 limit! If you really want solid purchase protection, you should consider putting your purchase on a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Extended Warranty Protection

This will extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. Again, this is a great perk for a low annual fee card though better warranties can be had with Amex cards that add time to warranties up to five years.

Disney Premier Visa Card card designs

One thing that many people love about the Disney Premier Visa Card is that you can choose from one of many different credit card designs. Although design has no bearing on the benefits, for Disney and Star Wars fans, it’s fun to whip out a Chewbacca credit card (much like it can be for the Marvel cards).

Chase will let you change your design as much as you’d like for no additional charge. Furthermore, each authorized user can choose a unique card design.

Here are some of the designs available in the fall of 2019, but I believe that some of these do change on a semi-regular basis.

These are different from the debit cards designs, so it’s possible that you could have two different Disney designs on your cards if you bank with Chase.

Annual fee

  • $49

The Disney Premier Visa Credit Card has a low annual fee of only $49, making it very appealing to the masses.

Final word

The Disney Premier Visa Card has a semi-complicated reward structure but overall decent earning rates of 2% across many categories to go along with a low annual fee.

I like that it has some additional benefits like a 0% APR intro period, travel and purchase protections, and a lot of ways to save with Disney (although you can get those discounts with a debit card). And you can’t forget about the custom designs which are great for Disney fans.

Overall, I think the Disney Premier Visa Card is a decent credit card for Disney fans but if you’re really trying to maximize the value out of credit card travel rewards, you want to at least pick up an additional card or two.

Amex Marriott Brilliant Review [2020]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

The Amex Marriott Brilliant is one of the top hotel credit cards and a very attractive premium card. It has a high annual fee but it also comes stacked with many benefits that make it easy to offset the annual fee.

In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.

The Amex Marriott Brilliant intro

  • 6X Bonvoy points on Marriott
  • 3X at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X on flights booked directly with airlines
  • 2X Bonvoy points on all other purchases
  • Marriott Gold status
  • Free night award
  • $300 credit
  • $100 property credit
  • $450 annual fee

Eligibility

The eligibility rules for the Marriott credit cards are pretty complex and a little confusing. And in addition to those rules, the Brilliant is subject to the American Express once per lifetime rule and other credit card rules like the 2/90 rule.

These rules can be time-consuming to keep up with and so I would recommend that you just use the free app WalletFlo which automates your eligibility for these rules.

It also helps you choose which cards to use to optimize your points and helps you manage things like your annual fees, credits, etc.

Welcome bonus

The Marriott Brilliant is definitely one of the cards where you want to try to time your application to coincide with one of the higher bonuses.

The standard offer for this card 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after you make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.

A higher welcome bonus comes around every now and again offering 100,000 bonus points although the spend requirement usually goes up to $5,000 in purchases within the first three months.

The 100,000 bonus point offer is fantastic and I would typically try to aim for that offer. But even at 75,000 points, the offer is not bad at all, especially considering all the perks you get below.

Here’s a look at the award chart which can show you possibilities for your points.

CategoryOff Peak StandardPeak
15,0007,50010,000
210,00012,50015,000
315,00017,50020,000
420,00025,00030,000
530,00035,00040,000
640,00050,00060,000
750,00060,00070,000
870,00085,000100,000
Marriott’s award chart.

As you can see by the award chart, it’s possible to get two nights at a category seven property with 100,000 Marriott points. That means there’s a lot of potential for value.

But you could also stretch your points on Category 1 properties and cover up to 20 free nights!

And you can’t forget about the airline route.

You can convert your points into airline miles at a 3:1 ratio and a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer.

So 100K points could be worth 38,000 airline miles for just about any major program.

Related: The Best All-Inclusive Marriott Properties

Lobby at the W Taipei.
W Taipei.

Bonus categories

  • 6X Bonvoy points on Marriott
  • 3X at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X on flights booked directly with airlines.
  • 2X Bonvoy points on all other purchases

6X Bonvoy points on Marriott

Earning 6X on Marriott is decent for Marriott properties. Using a WalletFlo valuation of .77 cents per point, 6X comes out to 4.6% back.

That’s pretty good but if you have other travel cards you might want to consider using them for optimal point earnings.

For example, if you had the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you could earn 3X Ultimate Rewards which I value more than 4.6% back.

3X at U.S. restaurants

Earning 3X at US restaurants is not that great. 3X Bonvoy points comes out to about 2.31%. You can do much better on dining with a card like the American Express Gold Card which earns 4X on dining.

3X on flights booked directly with airlines

Once again, 3X Marriott points on flights booked directly with airlines is only about 2.31% back. I would much rather put airfare on a card like the Sapphire Reserve or the Platinum Card which earns 5X.

2X Bonvoy points on all other purchases

Finally, earning 2X on all purchases comes out to about 1.5% back which isn’t horrible.

Tip: Use WalletFlo to help you know which cards to use in order to maximize your points on different purchases!

Hotel perks

Marriott gold status

The Marriott Brilliant will offer you automatic Marriott Gold status. Gold status is not quite what it used to be because it no longer offers benefits like free breakfast.

However, you can still get benefits like:

  • 25% Bonus on points
  • Late check-out
  • Upgrades
  • Enhanced internet
  • Welcome gift

It’s worth noting that you can also get Marriott Gold status automatically with the Platinum Card which also grants you automatic Hilton Gold status — a much more valuable mid-tier elite status.

With the Marriott Brilliant, you can spend your way up into Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status which does offer free breakfast.

In order to get upgraded to Platinum, you will need to spend $75,000 on your card in a calendar year.

That is a lot of spend for a hotel status and so you will need to be really committed to earning that status.

Free night award

The lower level Marriott cards like the Marriott Boundless Card offer a free night but it is only good for hotels up to 35,000 points per night.

But with the Marriott Brilliant you can use your free night on properties that cost up to 50,000 points per night.

This opens up a lot of possibilities for some of the top luxury brands and allows you to get a lot of potential value out of this perk.

$300 credit

One of the best benefits of the Marriott Brilliant is the $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit. This credit can be used on a wide variety of purchases, including room rates. So you basically get a $300 discount on Marriott properties.

This is probably the easiest way to offset the annual fee because if you have only $300 worth of stays planned at Marriott properties each year, you can essentially knock the annual fee down $150.

You can also use the credit for incidental purchases but you need to make sure that those purchases are charged to your room and that you charge the purchase to your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card.

$100 property credit

There’s also the $100 property credit but this credit is a little bit more restricted, meaning that you have to jump through some hoops to use it.

In order to receive the $100 property credit you need to use your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant and book through www.marriottbonvoy.com or by calling Marriott Bonvoy at 1-800-450-4442, for a two-night minimum stay at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis.

You’ll have to book the member rate called the “$100 Property Credit, Luxury Credit Card Rate.”

For each booking you’ll be issued a $100 credit for eligible purchases which will include things like spa treatments, dining, etc.

Something to always be on the lookout is how much more expensive the property credit rate is than an advanced purchase rate.

If you are set in your plans and you know that you will not be canceling, then you might want to book an advanced purchase rate.

These are going to be the cheapest rates and sometimes it can be worth it to forgo your property credit in order to take advantage of cheaper rates.

15 elite night credits

Each year, you will receive 15 elite night credits. These credits will help you climb to higher elite levels without having to make actual hotel stays.

Here are the requirements for Marriott elite status.

  • Silver: 10 to 24 nights
  • Gold: 25 to 49 nights 
  • Platinum: 50 to 74 nights 
  • Titanium: 75 to 99 nights
  • Ambassador: 100 nights +  $20,000 U.S. dollars in qualified annual spend

So 15 qualifying elite nights would get you only 10 nights away from Gold status.

Tip: If you have a business Marriott card, you can combine the 15 elite night credits for a total of 30 credits. So you can achieve Gold status just by holding two Marriott cards!

Travel benefits

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant will offer you some additional travel benefits to make your travels more convenient and enjoyable.

Priority Pass Select

Priority Pass Select is a membership that will get you access to airport lounges located all around the world. In fact, there are over 1,200 of these lounges scattered around the globe.

This membership is probably worth somewhere around $400 a year so it’s a very valuable membership.

The drawback is that because your Priority Pass Select membership is connected to an American Express card, you will not get access to the Priority Pass restaurants.

Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check

You’ll get a $100 Global Entry credit or an $85 TSA Pre-Check credit depending on which one you choose to go with.

Global Entry will get you expedited entry back through customs and immigration, saving you lots of time when flying from overseas.

TSA Pre-Check on the other hand will get you access to an expedited security screening line and hook you up with some benefits like:

  • Shoes can stay on
  • Belt can stay on
  • Light jackets can stay on
  • Laptops allowed to stay in bag
  • Liquids (3-1-1 Rule) can stay in bag

Shopping and entertainment benefits

Amex Offers

Amex Offers is one of the most valuable perks offered by any American Express card because it can save you tons in the long term.

Every month, you should check your Amex Offers to see what type of special promotions and discounts are available to you.

These discounts apply to all sorts of different industries like travel, shopping, etc. — everything from Hilton to Best Buy.

Amex concerts and events

You can get access to pre-sale tickets and also to select seats at certain events. Find out more about that benefit here.

ShopRunner

The ShopRunner program offers the following benefits from select retailers:

  • Free two-day shipping
  • Free return shipping
  • Specials deals and discounts

Normally you would have to pay $79 per year for this perk so this could be a nice savings of about $80 for some people.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant protections

Purchase protection

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant will protect your purchases for up to 90 days from the date of purchase if the item is stolen, accidentally damaged or lost.

The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. This $10,000 limit is super competitive and one of the great perks of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant.

Return protection

If a merchant will not take back an item, you can return the eligible purchase up to 90 days from the date of purchase and get coverage up to $300 per item for a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year.

Extended warranty

For warranties of five years or less, the manufacturer’s warranty can be extended up to one additional year. 

Trip delay

If your trip is delayed 6 hours or more, you can get coverage for up to $500 for the delay. Some of the trip delay protections don’t kick in until 12 hours and limit you to only $300 so this perk is pretty solid. You can use these funds for necessities like lodging, meals, and toiletries.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance

You can get covered for trip corruption and cancellation for up to $10,000 per occurrence.

Baggage Insurance Plan

You can get covered for up to $2,000 for checked baggage and up to a combined maximum of $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage.

Marriott Brilliant FAQ

What status do you get with the Marriott Brilliant?

Will be granted automatic Marriott Gold status and you can earn Marriott Platinum status by spending $75,000 on your card in a calendar year.

What free night do you get with the Marriott Brilliant?

Every year, you will get a free night certificate that can be used to cover a night at a property costing up to 50,000 points per night.

Do you get lounge access with the Marriott Brilliant?

Yes, you will get a complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge membership.

Can the $300 credit be used on room rates?

Yes, you can use the $300 credit to cover different Marriott purchases including room rates.

Can you downgrade the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant?

Yes, you can downgrade the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant to the Marriott Bonvoy card which has an annual fee of $95.

Final word

The Marriott Brilliant card is loaded with perks and protections. With the welcome bonus and the annual free night certificate, you could cover a few nights at a very luxurious property and get thousands of dollars in value.

And with perks like the $300 credit, the annual fee is very manageable so I think this card is a keeper for lots of people!

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Ink Cash: Which is Better? [2020]

Two of the most popular credit cards issued by Chase are the Chase Ink Cash and the Chase Sapphire Preferred. These cards have some similarities in that they both offer a lot of value but there are some key distinctions to be made between these cards, too.

Here’s a comparison of the Chase Ink Cash vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred and many of the key considerations that you’ll want to review before making your decision on which one to apply for.

Business vs personal cards

The first thing to consider when choosing between these cards is that the Chase Ink Cash is a business credit card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a personal credit card.

This means that you’ll need to have a business in order to apply for the Chase Ink Cash.

But that doesn’t mean you have to have a traditional business — there are lot of different types of businesses and even things like selling items on eBay could be a sufficient business. You can read more about how to get approved for business credit cards here.

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

Sign-up bonus

Chase Ink Cash

The Chase Ink Cash comes with a very solid sign-up bonus of $500 in cash back after spending $3,000 in the first three months.

The Ink Cash earns cash back for its sign-up bonus. Basically, you’ll earn 50,000 Ultimate Rewards which can be cashed out at a rate of 1 cent per point for a total of $500.

However, if you have a premium card like the Chase Ink Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, or Sapphire Reserve then you’ll take home 50,000 Ultimate Rewards which can be transferred to a lot of travel partners (more on that below).

The Chase Ink Cash also comes with 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases, which adds a lot of value for many people.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has two major advantage over the Ink Cash when it comes to using your points. First, you get a 25% bonus on your points when using the Chase Travel Portal which means your points will be worth 1.25 cents per point when using the travel portal.

The travel portal is great for booking flights and not having to worry about open award inventory, black out dates, etc.

Getting that extra bit of value will allow you your points to last longer and it can be a good way to cover the cost of cheaper flights which would usually offer poor value for your miles.

The other advantage that the Sapphire Preferred has over the Ink Cash is that you can transfer your points out to the various travel partners. Transferring your points out to these partners means that you’ll be getting a lot more in value from your points.

For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards to fly on some amazing first class and business class products like the new Singapore Airlines first class product.

Here’s a list of all of the transfer partners.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Airlines

  • Aer Lingus
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Emirates
  • Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
  • Iberia Airways
  • JetBlue
  • 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

So while the sign-up bonuses are very similar, the Sapphire Preferred wins out due to the increased value when using the Chase Travel Portal and for the added flexibility of being able to transfer points to travel partners. It is much more of a true travel credit card than the Ink Cash.

Singapore Airlines first class.

Bonus spending

The bonus categories for these cards are quite different, so you’ll want to make sure that you put proper value on the categories that line up with your spending.

Chase Ink Cash

The Chase Ink Cash will earn you 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:

  • Internet, cable and phone services
  • Office supply stores

Getting 5X is great especially considering that the Chase Ink Plus no longer is available to new applicants.

This is really where the “special value” of the Chase Ink Cash is in my opinion. Earning 5X adds up remarkably quickly so being able to pay your everyday bills like internet, cable, and phone services is a great way to supplement your point earnings.

5X at office supply stores can also be very lucrative if you can maximize that as well. Just keep in mind that the $25,000 spending limit is combined for these categories, so if you do whole lot of spending each year, your rewards may be capped (the rewards for the Sapphire Preferred are not capped).

Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:

  • Gas stations
  • Restaurants

Getting 2X on dining is the same as the Sapphire Preferred and while 2X on gas is nice, it’s not the most rewarding card for spend on gas purchases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns the following rates:

  • 2X on dining
  • 2X on travel

The 2X back on dining is basically the same as the Ink Cash but it’s worth more since you can get more value from your Ultimate Rewards than with the Ink Cash.

But besides that, the 2X on travel is where the Sapphire Preferred is most different from the Ink Cash. These aren’t bad earning categories but keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3X on both of those categories.

Overall, the bonus categories are very different so this is a situation where it makes sense to pick up both of the cards so that you can have a well-rounded way of earning rewards.

The Ink Cash definitely has the more diverse bonus categories but for someone primarily concerned with travel (and using points for travel), the Sapphire Preferred could still be the better option.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the overall better card for travel.

Primary rental car coverage

Both of these cards come with primary rental car insurance which can save you a lot by allowing you to avoid filing any kind of claim with your insurance provider.

But you should note that the Chase Ink Cash offers primary rental car coverage when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most cars in the U.S. and abroad.

The fact that you can get primary rental car coverage with a no-annual fee credit card is huge in my opinion but the restriction on travel for business purposes could mean that the protection is not as valuable as the protection offered by the Sapphire Preferred which covers personal use. (The Ink Cash offers personal coverage for international trips.)

Other protections

The line-up of additional protections is very similar between these cards but there’s at least one key difference.

Baggage delay

The Chase Ink Cash provides baggage delay coverage for delays over 6 hours up to $100 a day for three days. Meanwhile, the Sapphire Preferred provides coverage for delays over 6 hours up to $100 a day for five days. It’s pretty rare for baggage delay to (need to) extend to over 3 days but it’s a good idea to be aware that there’s a difference in coverage here.

Lost luggage

Both cards cover up to to $3,000 per insured person per covered trip with a $500 limitation for coverage for jewelry, watches and electronics.

Extended warranty

Both cards extend the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.

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

Annual Fee

Chase Ink Cash

  • No annual fee

Chase Sapphire Preferred

  • $95 annual fee

Again, the Chase Ink Cash stands out as being one of the most rewarding credit cards with no annual fee. Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has a pretty standard annual fee of $95.

Chase application rules

Both of these cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule and because of that you will be denied for these cards if you’ve opened up 5 or more accounts within the past two years.

One positive thing about the Chase Ink Cash is that it won’t count toward your 5/24 status with Chase. This means that if you have 3 cards opened up in the past 24 months right now and then you open up an Ink Cash, Chase will still view you as someone who has only opened up 3 cards. Thus, it could make sense to apply for the Chase Ink Cash now and then to get on board with the Chase Sapphire Preferred later on.

In addition to 5/24 there are some other Chase application rules you might want to read up on to make sure that you’re not violating any of these rules. If you want to find out your 5/24 status, you can use the new app WalletFlo to help you out!  

Chase Refer a Friend

Both of these participate in the Chase Refer a Friend program, but currently the Chase Ink Cash does not pull up referral offers. This means that with the Sapphire Preferred you’ll be able to earn many more points with referrals which is definitely something to consider.

Also, it’s probably easier for the average person to refer someone to a personal card than it is to refer someone to a business card so that’s another consideration. You can read more about the referral program here.

Chase Ink Cash

The Chase Ink Cash is known for offering referrals although currently you might not be able to pull them up. But typically, the Chase Ink Cash referral allows you to earn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred referral allows you to earn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.

Chase Shopping Portal

Both of these cards will give you access to the Chase Shopping Portal. The Chase Shopping Portal is a special website open only to Chase cardmembers that allows you to earn additional bonus Ultimate Rewards when making purchases at various online retailers. It’s a fantastic way to increase your earnings and rack up points — you can learn more about this portal here. 

Approval odds

Both of these credit cards are going to require you to have good to excellent credit scores. And beyond that, you’ll want to have established credit history spanning at least a couple of years before applying.

I wouldn’t apply for either one of these cards if I was brand-new to credit cards and lacked a proven credit profile. If you want to read more about approval odds for the Sapphire Preferred you can do that here. 

Since the Ink Cash is a business card you might need to call in to Chase business reconsideration to try to get your application approved. I’ve got an article on how to deal specifically with Chase business reconsideration, which you can read about here.

Final word

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Ink Cash are a duo that can really make sense to pursue. They’ve both got great sign-up bonuses but they have very different bonus categories, making them a good pair to utilize. I think the decision for which cards to choose will often come down to:

  • Spending habits and limits
  • Travel goals (redemption goals)
  • Travel habits and purpose (business vs personal)
  • 0% APR
  • Annual fee
  • 5/24 status
  • Referral potential 

If you get a good grasp on those factors, you should be able to make a sound decision on which card is best for you.

American Express Business Gold Card Review [2020]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

The American Express Business Gold Card is a very interesting small business card. It has tremendous (and innovative) bonus earning potential but it is somewhere between a standard card and a premium card when it comes to its annual fee and benefits. 

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the American Express Business Gold Card. I’ll cover the welcome bonuses, bonus categories, and also get into things like travel and purchase protections.

 Business Gold Card overview

The American Express Business Gold Card is one of the best points-earning cards available and offers an innovative and flexible bonus category system that makes up for its at times lackluster welcome bonus.

Other perks like a special bonus on points redeemed on air travel help to make this card a fantastic travel credit card but given its high annual fee you want to at least consider other options.

Charge card

It’s worth pointing out right from the beginning that this is a charge card and not a credit card.

A charge card is a card that is designed to be paid off in full each month while a credit card is designed for you to carry a balance over to the next month if you desire to do so.

Credit cards have clear credit limits but charge cards offer no pre-set spending limits. That doesn’t mean you have an unlimited credit limit, it really just means that your spending limits will be determined based on your spending habits.

If you start spending a lot each month, your preset spending limit will increase rapidly and accordingly. While you are building a higher spending limit, you can check your spending power so that you will know if you are currently capable of making a large purchase.

This type of structure allows for more flexible spending when you need to put substantial expenses on your card, which is great for businesses and high spenders. 

You just need to make sure that you don’t spend more than you can pay off.

With that said, it is possible to take advantage of something called Pay Over Time which is an American Express program that allows you to carry a balance on a charge card for purchases that are usually over $100. Sometimes when you enroll in this program you can also receive a special bonus as well but if you would like to learn more about Pay Over Time just click here.

Eligibility (once per lifetime)

Since the Business Gold Card is a charge card, it comes with the standard once per lifetime American Express rule and not any of the credit card rules.

If you don’t already know, the once per lifetime rule states that if you have opened this card before you are not eligible for its welcome bonus again — subject to certain exceptions.

This is one of the Amex cards that comes with targeted offers without the once per lifetime language meaning that sometimes it is possible to get the bonus for this card multiple times.

The once per lifetime rule does not cross over to personal cards. So it is possible to get the personal Gold Card and also to get the American Express Business Gold Card.

One great thing about the Business Gold Card is that it will not report to your personal credit report, which means that it will not count towards Chase 5/24!

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

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus for the American Express Business Gold Card can come in many forms. 

At one point, the Business Gold Card was offering G Suite Basic, a ZipRecruiter membership, and it also at one time offered $500 back for qualifying services with FedEx.

Now, you can actually earn Membership Rewards when you sign up, which makes it much more attractive to the public.

The Membership Rewards offers that you will find can vary but the standard offer you might find is for 35,000 Membership Rewards after you spend $5,000 in the first three months after account opening.

That offer is okay but It’s also possible to find offers of 50,000 Membership Rewards or potentially targeted offers up to 75,000 Membership Rewards.

The 75,000 point offer is one of the best offers you will ever find for a business card so I would definitely jump on that if I were targeted but that is the key: you must be targeted.

Also, those high offers may also come with higher minimum spend requirements, such as spending $10,000. So that’s just something to note.

If you are really trying to earn a lot of Membership Rewards then you might want to look into the American Express Business Platinum Card. That card comes with a much higher bonus of 75,000 Membership Rewards although the spend requirement is higher (50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 in three months).

The American Express Business Platinum Card is more of a benefits card that is great for frequent fliers who value having airport lounge access.

Another great business card option for tons of upfront value is the Chase Ink Business Preferred. The Ink Preferred comes with a super valuable 80,000 point bonus after you spend $5,000 in the first three months.

Utilizing your points for flights

The American Express Business Gold Card has an interesting option when it comes to using your points for flights and I will talk more about that special option below. But generally for maximum value, you will want to transfer your points as discussed below.

Membership Rewards

The way to get the most value out of your Membership Rewards is to transfer your points out to some of the different transfer partners.

American Express has some of the best airline transfer partners out of any bank program.

I’ve use my Membership Rewards in the past for some truly unforgettable airline experiences and have circled the globe numerous times largely funded by my American Express points.

You can find all of the transfer partners below.

Airline ProgramRatio (MR to airline)Transfer wait time
Aer Lingus1:1Instant
AeroMexico1:1.6 24 Hours
Air Canada1:1Instant
Alitalia1:1Instant
ANA1:148 Hours
Avianca1:1Instant
British Airways1:1Instant
Cathay Pacific1:148 Hours
Delta1:1Instant
El Al1000:20 Instant
Emirates1:1Instant
Etihad1:1Instant
Flying Blue1:1Instant
Hawaiian Airlines1:1Instant
Iberia1:124 to 72 hours
JetBlue250:200Instant
Qantas1:1Instant
Singapore Airlines1:124 to 72 hours
Virgin Atlantic1:1Instant
Hotel ProgramRatio (MR to partner)Transfer wait time
Choice1:1Instant
Hilton1:2 Instant
Marriott1:1Instant

It is possible to redeem your points for other uses like a statement credit or for gift cards. But the value that you will get for those redemptions will pale in comparison to the options above.  

Bonus categories

The bonus categories is where the American Express Business Gold Card becomes a unique card.

The American Express Business Gold Card earns 4X Membership Rewards on the 2 categories where you spent the most each billing cycle.

So you will always be able to optimize your earnings based on your spending patterns. That is a cool feature that I don’t think this card gets enough credit for.

Here are the categories that you are eligible to earn bonus points on:

  • Airfare purchased directly from airlines
  • U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
  • U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
  • U.S. purchases at gas stations
  • U.S. purchases at restaurants
  • U.S. purchases for shipping

You do need to take note that the 4X points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. After you max out that limit, you will only be earning one point per dollar spent.

But that is still some crazy valuable earning potential.

You could earn a total of 600,000 points if you maxed out your spending caps. And if you value Membership Rewards at 1.75 cents per point that comes out to $10,500 worth of points. Imagine putting that put back into your wallet/business!

Below I will provide a little bit more detail about the bonus categories so you can have a clear idea as to what types of purchases will trigger the bonus earnings.

Airfare purchased directly from airlines

  • Charter flights and private jet flights are excluded

U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)

Advertising is such a huge expense for many businesses and this is a great way to capitalize on those expenses with the following types of advertising:

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo
  • NBC National Broadcasting
  • CBS Radio

U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions

Here is a list of eligible technology providers:

  • Apple
  • CDW
  • Dell
  • HP
  • IBM
  • Intuit
  • Lenovo
  • Microsoft
  • Newegg
  • Oracle
  • Rackspace
  • Sage Software
  • Salesforce.com
  • Symantec
  • Tiger Direct

U.S. purchases at gas stations

  • Superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations

U.S. purchases at restaurants

  • Unlike the personal Gold Card, the business gold card only earns 4X at restaurants located in the US.

U.S. purchases for shipping

Here are some examples of qualifying vendors:

  • FedEx
  • UPS
  • United States Postal Service

These categories are pretty similar to the Chase Ink Preferred, which earns 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:

  • Travel
  • Shipping purchases
  • Internet, cable and phone services
  • Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
Earn 4X on dining.

25% Airline Bonus

Another unique perk of this card is the 25% airline bonus — Business Gold Card Members will receive 2.5 extra points for every 10 points they redeem.

What does this mean practically?

Basically, when you use your Membership Rewards to book certain flights through Amex Travel you will receive a 25% rebate on your points.

This allows you to effectively redeem your points at a rate of 1.33 cents per point which is actually pretty competitive and makes this card attractive for those who want to use their points for air travel. (The Business Platinum Card  has a 35% bonus which comes out to 1.54 cents per point.)

As another point of comparison, the Chase Sapphire Reserve allows you to redeem points at 1.5 cents per point but on all sorts of different travel.

Redeeming your points this way is nice because you don’t have to worry about transferring your points out and finding award availability. It just offers a much more simplified approach to award travel.

The catch is that you can’t get this 25% bonus on all of your flights.

You can only get the 25% rebate for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for flights with your selected qualifying airline.

Here some of the airlines you might be able to choose:

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

Note: there is a limitation on your rebate as you will only be able to receive up to 250,000 bonus points per calendar year.

Purchase Protections

The Business Gold Card comes with average purchase protections, all things considered.

Extended warranty

The Business Gold Card will add one year on to warranties of five years or less for eligible purchases. This is the standard extended warranty offered across most American Express cards and is one of the most competitive extended warranties offered by any credit card.

Purchase protection

The Business Gold Card can provide you with purchase protection up to 90 days after you made your purchase and you will be covered up to $1,000 per item. This is not great purchase protection considering that many premium cards like the Platinum Card offer purchase protection up to $10,000 per item. Therefore I would not rely on this benefit.

Return protection

You try to return a purchase within 90 days of the purchase, and the store does not except your return, you can get reimbursed for up to $300 per item.

Travel protections

The Business Gold Card does not come with impressive travel protections.

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

You can get up to $50,000 per claim with the Business Gold Card. But keep in mind that this protection will be secondary which is a departure from other cards like the Chase Ink Business Preferred which will offer you primary rental car insurance which is much more viable.

The difference is that if you have primary rental car coverage you can turn down the rental car company’s offer for coverage and save money and and often avoid submitting a claim with your insurance which also saves you time and money.

Baggage Insurance Plan

If your package is lost or damaged you can get reimbursed up to $500 for checked baggage and $1,250 for carry-ons.

Trip Delay insurance

You can get reimbursed for meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items if your trip is delayed 12 or more hours. Your reimbursement will be limited to $300 per trip.

Once again, you can find premium cards offering trip delay insurance that kicks in after six hours so this coverage is not that great. Also, you can find reimbursement limits that are higher than $300, usually around $500.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance

This card does not offer trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance.

American Express Business App

With the American Express Business App you can keep close tabs on all of your business expenses. It allows you to do things like add photos of your receipts and and put special notes regarding your purchases.

Year-End Summary

The Year-End Summary provides you with an overview of all of your spending for the year which is great for record keeping.

Annual fee

The annual fee is $295 for this card.

That sort of puts this card in a bit of a no man’s land as it isn’t quite as expensive as a premium card but still definitely much more expensive than a standard card. 

As shown above though, if you are able to capitalize on the bonus earnings, you could be earning thousands and thousands of dollars worth of points so it could be extremely easy to cancel out this annual fee with your bonus earnings alone.

Final word

I actually am a huge fan of this card if you can utilize the bonus earning potential. If you are not able to catch this card with a high welcome bonus of 50,000 points or more, then you really need to make sure you are going to be putting a lot of spend on it to justify the annual fee.

I would still give the Chase Ink Business Preferred a very close look if I were interested in this card since it has a much lower annual fee but still earns fantastic rewards and comes with a great welcome bonus.

Amex Hilton Aspire Card Review: Is It Worth it? [2020]

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is one of the most value-loaded hotel credit cards. It comes with a great welcome bonus, strong bonus category earnings, and a lot of perks and credits that can easily allow you to make a profit off this card. This is one of the few credit cards that I plan on keeping for a very long time and in this article I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Hilton Aspire.

Hilton Aspire Card overview

Hilton Aspire Bonus

This is one of the most loaded premium travel credit cards in terms of benefits. Here’s a look at everything the Hilton Aspire card has to offer.

  • 150,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases
  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status
  • One weekend night at any hotel or resort in the Hilton portfolio (upon opening account and on account anniversary)
  • Weekend night after spending $60,000 on the card within a calendar year
  • Unlimited Priority Pass membership
  • $250 airline incidental fee statement credit
  • $250 Hilton resort statement credit
  • $100 on property credit at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts when booking the exclusive Aspire Card package
  • $450 Annual Fee 

Related: Which American Express Hilton Card is Best for You?

Hilton Aspire card review
Hilton Americas-Houston Lobby Bar

Hilton Aspire card welcome bonus

We’ve seen different offers for this card so you’ll want to apply for one of the strongest offers if you can time it right.

The initial offer for the Aspire was for 100,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months but that offer soon increased to 150,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.

150,000 points will set you up to cover a couple of nights at a premium Hilton brands like the Waldorf or Conrad.

The beauty is that this card also comes with a free weekend night, so you could always combine the points with your certificate to cover about two or three nights at a great hotel. Of course, you could also stretch these points at a lower tier hotel for several nights.

Related: Hilton Honors Surpass Review

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

Hilton Aspire eligibility rules

Amex states:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card.

This means you can only get the bonus for this card once per lifetime. Also, the standard Amex application rules of 1/5, 2/90 apply to the the Aspire.

By the way, I know credit card application rules can be complex and difficult to track, so I’d check out my new project WalletFlo if you’re looking for ways to manage your credit cards and applications.

Credit card strategy

If you are under 5/24 (meaning you have NOT opened up five new accounts in the past 24 months), you don’t want to burn a slot for the Hilton Aspire card.

Instead, you should first stick with Chase and consider cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, World of Hyatt Card, etc. and then move on to a different issuer. Trust me on this.

Hilton Aspire Bonus categories

  • 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies and at U.S. restaurants
  • 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points on other purchases

At .5 cents per point, this card earns 7% back on Hilton purchases.

But since it also gives you Diamond status, you’ll earn an additional 20 points per Hilton purchase for 10% back. So that’s a total of 17% back without factoring in any promo offer (which Hilton virtually always offers).

If you regularly stay at Hilton properties, that 17% back will add up very quickly so this card should be very appealing to you.

What’s crazy is that if you spend $2,647 a year at Hilton properties, the bonus earning rate of 17% would cover the annual fee alone! So you’d then be able to cash out with over $500 gained in travel credits.

Hilton Aspire card

Hilton Diamond Status

  • Automatic Hilton Honors Diamond status

Hilton Honors Diamond status comes with a number of solid benefits like complimentary breakfasts, late check out, lounge access, and better upgrades to suites. You can read more about Hilton Diamond benefits here. I’ve been pretty pleased with our success at upgrades with Diamond status, so I think this is an excellent perk.

It does seem that Diamond status might suffer a bit of a dilution problem now that so many people can obtain the status directly, though it wasn’t very hard to earn Diamond in the past via status challenges. I think now it will make more sense to forgo the cost of a status challenge and just use those funds to cover the annual fee for the Hilton Aspire card.

Related: Check out the ultimate guide to Hilton Honors

Hilton Aspire card
Hilton Executive Rooftop Lounge at the Hilton Americas-Houston.

Hilton Aspire card free night

  • You will receive one Annual Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors — one after opening up an account and one after your first year anniversary.

You will receive the free night certificate within 8-14 weeks after opening your account and each year within 8-14 weeks after your anniversary date.

Hilton free nights are limited to weekend nights (Fri, Sat, and Sun), so that’s kind of a bummer but you can use these certificates at any Hilton property around the globe. I think that’s fantastic value because there are some Conrads that go for over $1,000 a night. So you’re talking about a lot of potential value here.

If you’re a couple, you may want to seriously consider each getting this card so that each year you’ll have two free nights for an amazing weekend get-a-way. This is why I include this card in my best credit cards for couples list.

Hilton Aspire Card
Hilton Cabana Miami Beach.

Hilton Aspire travel credits

The Hilton Aspire card offers up to $600 a year in credits which include a $250 airline credit, $250 Hilton Resort credit, and $100 credit at the Conrad or Waldforf (subject to booking restrictions).

$250 airline credit

This airline credit is for qualifying incidental airline purchases so it works for the same the types of purchases that work for the Platinum Card and Gold Card. You can read more about Amex travel credits here so see what type of purchases qualify for the Aspire travel credit.

$250 Hilton Resort Credit

During each year you are eligible to receive up to $250 total in statement credits for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts. (Each subsequent reward year begins on the anniversary of your account opening date.)

Incidental charges (including charges made at restaurants, spas, and other establishments within the hotel property) must be charged to your room and paid for with your Aspire Card in order for them to trigger the credit. You can visit hilton.com/resorts for the list of participating Hilton Resorts.

$100 property credit

When you use your Aspire Card to book through HiltonHonors.com/aspirecard or by calling Hilton Honors at (855) 292-5757, for a two-night minimum stay at Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts, you will be eligible to receive a property credit of up to $100 per booking.

I highly recommend that you read up on my article breaking down these credits because there are some less obvious restrictions you may have to deal with.

Hilton Aspire credit card
Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile Suites.

Weekend night after spending $60K

This is the one benefit of the Hilton Honors Aspire card that I’m not crazy about. $60,000 for a free night? That’s a lot of spend. If you get the Hilton Surpass you’ll be able to receive a free night after just $15,000 worth of spend, which I find much more reasonable and obtainable. So it could make sense to get the Hilton Surpass and to use that for non-Hilton purchases up to $15,000 per year — plus you’ll get Hilton Gold status. 

Related: read about special Hilton MVP discounts

Priority Pass

This card comes with Priority Pass Select (allowing for up to two free guests) which at this point isn’t quite as exciting since so many credit cards offer this perk. Also, because your membership will be through Amex, you won’t get access to the Priority Pass restaurant credits.

Still, this is a significant perk considering the value of it is at least $400.

If you’re able to take advantage of some of the travel credit offered by the Hilton Aspire card, you’ll be able to come out on top big time even with paying the hefty $450 annual fee.

Final word

The Hilton Aspire card has the potential to be one of the most valuable travel rewards credit cards. If you frequent Hilton hotels this is a no-brainer but even if you don’t, getting 100K points, Diamond Status, the free nights, $600 in credits, and Priority Pass make the Hilton Aspire card an extremely attractive offer. 

New Amex Blue Cash Preferred Review ($250 Offer) [2020]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred is one of the few cash back cards I’ve used in the past to put a little bit of green back in my wallet. But the Blue Cash Preferred just got revamped and now comes with some new benefits (and some sweet new card art).

The Blue Cash Preferred also comes with an into 0% APR period on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, so it can be a great card if you are currently in a financial bind.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new and improved Blue Cash Preferred.

Welcome offer

With this card you can earn $250 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card in your first 3 months. $250 cash back is pretty solid for a cash back credit card but you can do better with some other cards.

A hot offer right now for up-front value is the 60,000 point offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Those 60,000 points are worth at least $750 if used toward travel in the Chase Travel Portal.

Due to the Chase 5/24 rule, I would definitely consider a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred before I went for the Blue Cash Preferred, since the Blue Cash Preferred will always be there. By the way, if you get tripped up with credit card application rules, be sure to check out WalletFlo — the new app that will automate your credit card eligibility for you!

Note that the Blue Cash Preferred does NOT earn Membership Rewards — only cash back that you can use for something like a statement credit. So you can’t transfer your points to Amex travel partners.

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

Bonus categories

The Blue Cash Preferred lost the 3% at department stores on July 31st, 2019 but still earns the following rates.

  • 6% back at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%)
  • 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
  • 3% back on transit 
  • 3% cash back at US gas stations 

Supermarkets

You’ll be able to earn 6% back at US supermarkets but note that superstores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets — so places like WalMart or Costco likely won’t trigger the bonus earnings.

The 6% back at US supermarkets is great and can be highly rewarding. It’s the #1 reason I used the Blue Cash Preferred in the past.

However, I still prefer to earn 4X on groceries with the Amex Gold Card (up to $25,000 per year) since I value 4X Membership Rewards at 1.75 cents per point which comes out 7% back.

The limit on $6,000 per year in purchases is also why I prefer to go with the Amex Gold Card as well — there’s just a much higher ceiling for rewards with the Gold Card. Consider that $6,000 per year comes out to $500 per month, which is much lower than what some people spend on groceries every month. 

Streaming

Getting 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions is nice but I’m not huge on this bonus category because the monthly payments for streaming services are usually very low. Even if you spend $100/month on streaming that’s only $72 back each year. That’s enough to lessen the blow of the annual fee but most people are probably not looking at a huge amount of savings. 

Also, some other card could offer better rewards for some services. For example, the Chase Ink Cash is known to earn 5X on some streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, and Hulu. Granted with the Blue Cash, the list is probably much more extensive.

Here are some of the streaming services that qualify for the 6% back:

  • Amazon Music
  • Apple Music
  • Audible
  • CBS All Access
  • Direct TV Now
  • ESPN+
  • Fubo TV
  • HBO Now
  • Hulu
  • iHeartRadio
  • Kindle Unlimited
  • MLB.TV
  • NBA League Pass
  • Netflix
  • NHL.TV
  • Pandora
  • Prime Video Unlimited
  • Showtime
  • Sling TV
  • SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
  • Spotify
  • YouTube Music Premium
  • YouTube Premium
  • YouTube TV

It’s worth noting that the Blue Cash Preferred is weak on dining and other cards like the Amex Gold Card would be good ways to supplement your earnings.

Transit

3% back on transit is a great replacement to the department store category. This category is relatively broad and includes the following:

  • Trains
  • Taxicabs
  • Ride share services like Uber and Lyft
  • Ferries
  • Tolls
  • Parking
  • Buses
  • Subways

I’d still prefer a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve that earns 3X on ALL travel purchases, but I don’t think there’s a whole lot of true cash back cards offering 3% cash back on these transit categories.

Since these expenses can add up quickly, I actually think this is a pretty strong new category for the Blue Cash Preferred. In my opinion, this is where the the bulk of the added value is with the new card.

Gas

Nothing changed with getting 3% cash back at US gas stations. 3% back on gas isn’t bad but If you really want to save on gas there are other cards out there offering 4% to 5% back on gas so 3% back isn’t the best bonus rate for fuel out there. For example, the Sams MasterCard allows you to earn 5% back on gas (up to $6,000 per year) and there are other better options out there as well. 

0% APR

The Blue Cash Preferred comes with an into 0% APR period on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months.

Annual fee

This card comes with a $95 annual fee. That’s actually very easy to offset with heavy grocery store spend. For example, if you maxed out the $6,000 supermarket category you’d earn $360 in cash back.

It is worth noting that there are some great cash back cards out there with no annual fee like the Chase Freedom and Freedom Unlimited.

Final word

Overall, the new revamping makes the Blue Cash Preferred a better product but not by a wide margin, in my opinion. It’s got the same rates on supermarkets and on gas and though it gained the local transit + streaming categories, it lost department stores. I’d definitely investigate other options if you spend a lot on groceries, dining, and general travel expenses.

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Review [2020]

Offers contained within this article maybe expired.

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass (formerly Hilton Ascend) is a great hotel credit card. You can count on it for a strong welcome offer, good bonus earning, and some pretty valuable benefits. In this article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass including things like: free nights, elite status, and Priority Pass.  

Welcome bonus

If you’re thinking about going for the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass, you might want to wait around until you come across one of the best offers.

You can often find the bonus for the Hilton Surpass at over 100K Hilton points but sometimes it gets even sweeter.

For example, we once saw an offer for 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points and a free weekend night reward after you spend $4,000 in purchases within your first four months.

Top-tier Hilton properties go for 95K/night but you can find quality properties in the 60K range so a standard Surpass offer could cover two nights at a pretty solid Hilton property. You can read about how to get the best value for your Hilton points here. 

But what’s really exciting is that if you get a free weekend night, 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 a single credit card offer.

This is what helps make the Aspire one of the top hotel credit cards (see my full list of top hotel credit cards here).

Use your free night at the Conrad Maldives.

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

Eligibility

Amex states:

Welcome Offer not available to applicants who have or have had the Hilton Honors Surpass® Card or the Hilton Honors Amex Ascend Card.

This means you can only get the bonus for this card once per lifetime. Also, the standard Amex application rules of 1/5, 2/90 apply to the the Surpass. By the way, I know credit card application rules can be complex and difficult to track, so I’d check out my new project WalletFlo if you’re looking for ways to manage your credit cards and applications.

Credit card strategy

If you are under 5/24 (meaning you have NOT opened up five new accounts in the past 24 months), you don’t want to burn a slot for the Hilton Surpass card. Instead, you should first stick with Chase and consider cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, World of Hyatt Card, etc. and then move on to a different issuer. If you go with Amex before Chase, you will usually end up regretting that move down the line.

Bonus categories

  • 12X for charges with a hotel or resort 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

12X on Hilton purchases

12X on Hilton properties is pretty darn good if you ask me. 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 travel credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which would earn 3X on travel.

Hilton will also often run promotions where cardholders can earn even higher bonus rates on Hilton stays so in some cases you’ll be earning more than 12X on Hilton purchases, making the Surpass a high-earning hotel credit card.

6X on restaurants, supermarkets, and gas

6X on U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations would come out to 3% back which is still not bad considering some good cash back cards offer similar returns.

But me personally, I’d rather earn 3X Ultimate Rewards or 4X Membership Rewards on many of those purchases. Virtually all of my dining and supermarket spend goes on my Amex Gold Card, allowing us to earn 4X on those categories.

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

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 Hilton Diamond when you can simply pick it up with the Hilton Aspire card and get that status instantly. The main Hilton Diamond benefits are:

  • Complimentary breakfast for two
  • Upgrades (subject to availability)
  • Lounge Access
  • Premium internet
  • Late check-out
  • 100% bonus on base points
  • 5th night free

The big difference to me is getting lounge access (and I’ve also received more upgrades and at time better welcome gifts, etc.). But overall, it’s not that large of a leap from Gold to Diamond. If you want to find out more about the differences between Hilton Gold and Diamond, you can check out my YouTube video here. 

Related: Check out the ultimate guide to Hilton Honors

Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.
The Hilton Americas Executive Lounge.

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

Priority Pass Select

The Hilton Surpass will grant you Priority Pass Select membership which gets you access to 1200+ airport lounges. These lounges vary greatly in terms of quality and features but some can be very nice and be an absolute life-saver between long flights, offering free wifi, snacks/food, drinks (including alcoholic), showers, and more.

This is not a standard Priority Pass Select membership that offers unlimited lounge visits though. Instead, you’ll be given ten free lounge visits every year. This is the perfect amount for someone who only takes a trip or two with their family and doesn’t need an unlimited amount of visits.

Also, because your membership will be through Amex, you won’t get access to the Priority Pass restaurant credits.

Lounges have discretion with how many guests you can bring in so it’s ultimately up to the lounge but in theory you would be able to use all ten passes at once (not recommended). If you exceed your ten visits, your card will automatically be charged the guest fee amount (likely around $27).

A couple of rules to note: 

  • You must enroll your Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card in the Priority Pass Select program to access the benefits.
  • Any unused complimentary lounge visits will be forfeited at the end of each Priority Pass Membership year.
  • To access a lounge, you must show your valid Priority Pass Select card and an airline ticket for travel on the same day for you and each of your guests.
Picture of an airport lounge dining area.
Priority Pass lounge in Los Cabos.

Free weekend night

  • Free Weekend Night Reward when you spend $15,000 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. Many cards offer annual spend bonuses that require much more in spending but don’t necessarily offer better value, so I think the Hilton Surpass compares well against them.

For example, the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select offers $125 worth of AA credit when you spend $20,000 in a year. That’s much less in value than one free weekend night from Hilton (which could be worth $1,000+) and it requires more spend. 

The drawback to the Surpass free night is that other hotel credit cards like the World of Hyatt, IHG, Marriott Bonvoy, don’t require you to put down any annual spend to earn the free night (granted they place category restrictions on the redemptions so their value is capped).

No foreign transaction fees

This cards used to have foreign transaction fees which was a major drawback but a couple of years ago Amex removed them, making this card much more competitive.

Annual fee

  • $95 annual fee

Hilton Surpass protections and benefits

Here’s a look at some of the major benefits and protections offered by the Hilton Surpass.

Extended warranty

With the Hilton Surpass, you can get up to two extra years added to the original manufacturer’s warranty on warranties of five years or less.

If the the original manufacturer’s warranty is less than two years, then Amex will match that warranty. So for example, a one year manufacturer warranty will result in you getting matched to an additional year of warranty coverage under Amex.

If the original manufacturer’s warranty is between two years and five years, then Amex will add on an additional two years to the warranty coverage. So, for example, if your warranty is for four years, then Amex will add on two years so that you’ll be covered for a total of six years.

The extended warranty is definitely one of the best Amex benefits out there. Read more about how the Amex extended warranty works here. 

Return protection

If it has been 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant won’t take your item back, American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year. Read more about Amex return protection here. 

Purchase Protection

You can get protection for accidental damage and theft for certain products up to 120 days after purchase and up to $1,000 per occurrence ($50,000 per calendar year). The $1,000 limit is a bit on the low side compared to some premium products like the Amex Platinum which allow up to $10,000 per occurrence so I would probably stick to other cards for this protection. Read more about Amex purchase protection here. 

Roadside Assistance

American Express roadside assistance is a program offered by American Express cards that offers you special services when you have issues with your vehicle for no additional cost. These services include:

  • Towing up to 10 miles (Card Member will be charged for the costs of towing in excess of 10 miles)
  • Winching
  • Jump starts (for dead batteries)
  • Flat tire change when Card Member has a workable spare
  • Lockout service when key is in vehicle (lockout service may be unavailable for vehicles with transponder keys.
  • Delivery of up to 2 gallons of fuel.

Read more about Amex roadside assistance here. 

 ShopRunner

The ShopRunner program offers the following benefits from select retailers:

  • Free two-day shipping
  • Free return shipping
  • Specials deals and discounts

Amex ShopRunner is a special complimentary ShopRunner membership available to certain American Express cardholders (typically, there is an annual fee of $79.00 to maintain ShopRunner). You can find out more about Amex ShopRunner here. 

Hilton Honors Surpass FAQ

What is a good bonus for the Hilton Honors Surpass?

I would generally go for a bonus that is offering over 100,000 points. Also, if you can find an offer with a free night that is a huge plus.

How many bonus points on Hilton purchases does the Hilton Honors Surpass earn?

The Hilton Honors Surpass earns 12 X on Hilton purchases.

What is the Hilton Honors Surpass annual fee?

$95.

What elite status do you get with the Hilton Honors Surpass?

You will receive complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. Gold status comes with the following benefits:

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

How many lounge visits you get with the Hilton Honors Surpass?

You are given 10 free lounge visits every year.

How can I get a free night with the Hilton Honors Surpass?

You can get a free weekend night award when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.

Does the Hilton Honors Surpass have foreign transaction fees?

No, there are no foreign transaction fees.

Does the Hilton Honors Surpass have purchase protection?

Yes, you can get protection for accidental damage and theft for certain products up to 120 days after purchase and up to $1,000 per occurrence ($50,000 per calendar year).

Final word

Overall, the Hilton Surpass really is a great hotel card. If you catch it at the right time, it has one of the best welcome offers out there, competitive bonus spend categories, and a lot of value to offer with Priority Pass and the free night award after only $15,000 in spend.

JetBlue Plus Card Review (60K Offers?) [2020]

The JetBlue Plus Card is a popular travel rewards card. It has fantastic earning potential for JetBlue flights and some pretty solid perks that can save you money when flying JetBlue. In this article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the JetBlue Plus Card, including things like the welcome offer (which could be up to 60K), bonus categories, and benefits. 

JetBlue Plus Card

  • Welcome bonus (ranges)
  • 6X on JetBlue purchases
  • 2X on grocery stores and restaurants
  • 1X on all other purchases
  • Free first checked bag
  • 5,000 points after first year anniversary
  • 10% points rebate
  • Points don’t expire (standard JetBlue policy)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • TrueBlue Mosaic benefits for one year after you spend $50,000 or more on purchases annually with your card
  • 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails and food
  • $99 annual fee (not waived)

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

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus for this card will fluctuate over time. Over the past few years, I’ve seen the offers fluctuate pretty widely from 30,000 miles all the way up to 60,000 miles — this card is known to offer limited time offers. For the most part, though, you’re probably going to find an offer around 40,000 to 50,000 miles. 

Barclays is known for having low minimum spend requirements for their cards and for the JetBlue Plus Card, you might find it as low as $1,000 in three months, which is great. 

How much are these bonuses worth?

The value depends on how much you value JetBlue miles. At a valuation of 1.4 cents per point, you could be looking at up to $800+ worth in value which is very good.

Remember, JetBlue has a dynamic currency so that means the price of your redemptions are tied to the cash value of the ticket. The value of your points will often be on average around 1.4 cents per point but it can definitely fluctuate.   

Here are some of the lowest redemption prices that I found for one-way flights:

  • LAX to JFK: 6,400 points + $5.60 in fees
  • JFK to FLL: 6,500 points + $5.60 in fees 
  • IAH to JFK: 12,800 points + $5.60 in fees
  • SFO to BOS: 11,900 points + $5.60 in fees

JetBlue Mint

One thing that’s awesome about JetBlue is that you can fly on a very nice business class, known as JetBlue Mint. Mint routes have gotten more expensive over the past few years but here are some of the award rates that I’ve found for one way flights in the past: 

  • JFK to SFO: 65,000 one way + $5.60 in fees
  • JFK to LAX: 57,700 one way + $5.60 in fees
  • BOS to LAX: 45,300 one way + $5.60 in fees
  • FLL to LAX: 53,100 one way + $5.60 in fees

This means you could cover a one-way journey across the US if you caught the right bonus. 

The one major drawback to JetBlue is that they don’t have the most expansive flight network. For example, they only fly to Houston from the Northeast (Boston and NYC). So if I wanted to fly their Mint class, I’d need to route through BOS or JFK just to connect.

JetBlue Mint.

Credit card strategy tips

A non-Chase airline card should generally come after you fill up your 5/24 slots. As long as you haven’t opened up five accounts in the past 24 months, the Chase Sapphire Preferred (full review) or Chase Sapphire Reserve might be better options to go with first if you want better bonus earnings on dining and general travel expenses.

You can also transfer Chase points to many partners (including JetBlue). Also, if you really wanna maximize your wallet, go with the Chase Ink Business Preferred first since that card will generally not account towards your 5/24 status.

Finally, if you’re interested in airlines cards, the United Explorer and Chase Southwest credit cards could also be solid options. 

After you have maxed out your 5/24 slots, then I’d start looking at non-Chase co-branded cards for airlines like American, Delta, etc. And again, JetBlue is not ideal for many people because of its limited route network, so always think about which hubs you’ll be flying out of before jumping on a card.

Eligibility

Barclays imposes something known as “6/24.” This is a soft rule that means that if you’ve opened six or more cards in the past 24 months, you might not get approved for their cards. This is not always enforced so you don’t always have to worry about. 

And there are other eligibility rules at play with this card as well. Personally, I would just recommend that you check out the free app WalletFlo so that you can automate your eligibility for all of these terms and conditions.

Bonus categories

  • 6X on JetBlue purchases
  • 2X on grocery stores and restaurants
  • 1X on all other purchases

Earning 6X on JetBlue purchases is better than most Southwest credit cards that offer only 2X on Southwest purchases (read: Southwest vs JetBlue). Eligible JetBlue Purchases are items billed by JetBlue via JetBlue channels like jetblue.com, JetBlue reservations, JetBlue Vacations, etc. 

As for the 2X on groceries, note that large warehouse-type stores (Target, Walmart and Costco) are generally not classified as grocery stores.

Assuming JetBlue points are worth 1.4 cents per point, getting 6X on JetBlue purchases means getting 8.4% back on JetBlue and 2.7% back on grocery stores and restaurants. 

That’s great for your JetBlue purchases but pretty average on grocery stores and restaurants. It’s not that difficult to earn ~4X on grocery stores and restaurants these days so I wouldn’t necessarily want to put those categories on a card like this. 

2X JetBlue points on groceries is pretty average compared to other cards.

JetBlue Plus Benefits

  • Free first checked bag
  • 5,000 points after first year anniversary
  • Get 10% of your points back every time you redeem to use toward your next redemption
  • 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails and food
  • Annual $100 statement credit

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

First checked bag free

Unlike Southwest that gives you two free checked bags, when flying on JetBlue, you’ll have to pay for your checked baggage. But if you have the JetBlue Plus Card, you can get your first bag checked for free for the primary cardmember and up to 3 travel companions on the same reservation (so a total of four people).

That could save you over $120 per one-way flight and you find out more about JetBlue baggage fees here.

It’s worth noting that to get this perk, the purchase must be made with your JetBlue Plus Card and the account must have been open seven days prior to air travel and reservation must include the primary cardmember’s TrueBlue membership account seven days prior to air travel. 

5,000 points anniversary

Every year you’ll get 5,000 anniversary points which is very nice. These points could be worth about $70, so this bonus alone could almost offset the entire annual fee of $99. It’s worth mentioning that the Southwest Premier card offers a bonus of 6,000 anniversary points.  

10% rebate

The 10% rebate puts value back into your wallet and increases the value of the welcome bonus and bonus earning. So if you earn a 50,000 miles bonus, it’s like getting an additional 5,000 point bonus (equivalent to the anniversary benefit). There is no maximum number of points you can receive from this benefit so this can really add up over time.

50% savings

It’s not uncommon for an airline card to offer you in-flight discounts on food and drink purchases but they are often capped at around 15% to 25%. So it’s nice to see this benefit knocking off 50% off your in-flight purchases.

Eligible purchases include the inflight purchase of cocktails, beer, wine and meals on JetBlue-operated flights when you use your card. However, the discount will not apply to any other inflight purchases, such as pillows, earphones or upgraded seats or cabins.

Annual $100 statement credit

You can get this benefit after purchasing a JetBlue Vacations package of $100 or more with your JetBlue Plus Card. Just keep in mind, your purchase must be $100 or more and there is a limit of one $100 statement credit per calendar year per Account. 

Chip + PIN technology

This card will come with Chip and pin technology which is very useful when traveling to certain destinations where you might need to use a kiosk. I always make sure to carry at least one card with Chip + Pin technology when I travel. 

No foreign transaction fees

The JetBlue Plus Card does not come with foreign transaction fees.

JetBlue Plus Mosaic benefit

  • TrueBlue Mosaic benefits for one year after you spend $50,000 or more on purchases annually with your card

JetBlue only has one level of elite status and it is known as Mosaic. It can be earned by meeting the following requirements:

  • 15,000 base flight points within a calendar year OR
  • Fly 30 segments plus 12,000 base flight points within a calendar year.

Or in this case, you can earn it after you spend $50,000 or more on purchases annually with your card (each calendar year). Many airlines often give you credits toward elite status for spend but you don’t often see elite status given outright just for spend on a credit card. 

Here are all of the TrueBlue Mosaic benefits.

  • First and second bag free
  • Change and cancellation fees waived
  • 15,000 bonus points upon qualifying for Mosaic
  • Expedited security line
  • Early boarding
  • Complimentary drinks
  • 6 points per dollar if you book a Blue fare on jetblue.com

With the JetBlue Plus Card + Mosaic status, you could be earning 12X on Blue fares on jetblue.com, which is pretty awesome and could start to add up pretty quickly. You’d also get the 15,000 bonus on top of the JetBlue Plus bonus of 5,000 anniversary points for a total of 20,000 points.  

Benefit changes

Barclays announced in the fall of 2019 that changes were coming to its cards. It sent emails out to cardholders stating the following: 

Your Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver and Identity Theft benefits will be enhanced. For example, you will now have access to an online monitoring dashboard and resolution features that scour the internet and Dark Web for compromised credentials and financial account takeover.

Also, you will be eligible to receive Cellular Telephone Protection, which provides coverage for certain damage to or theft of your cell phone effective November 1, 2019.

Your Extended Warranty, Price Protection, Purchase Assurance, Satisfaction Guarantee and Trip Delay benefits will be removed; however, claims can be submitted for eligible purchases made through October 31, 2019.

So we saw some key benefits removed like Extended Warranty, Price Protection, Purchase Assurance, Satisfaction Guarantee and Trip Delay benefits. When more details come out about the cell phone protection, I’ll add more of those to this section. 

But it’s worth noting that you have to use your JetBlue card to get perks like the free checked bag. That means losing out on much better travel insurance benefits you get with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Reserve, etc. So that’s definitely something to think about. 

Annual fee

  • $99 annual fee 

Barclays can be good about waiving fees and sending out retention offers. So many people won’t even have to pay this full annual fee every year.

Final word

The JetBlue Plus Card is actually a pretty solid airline card. The highlights for me are: 

  • Strong limited time offers of 50K+ miles
  • 6X earning on JetBlue
  • Free checked bag, anniversary points, and rebates/discounts

I just don’t like that it lost so many protections in November 2019. I don’t like to miss out on solid travel protections like trip delay so I’m not overly crazy about this card because of that. 

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