Hilton Honors American Express Cards: 100,000 Bonus Points w/ No Annual Fee (Limited-Time Offers)

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

New limited-time offers through 4/5. Free Night Rewards now valid any night of the week, not just weekends. Hilton Hotels and American Express have co-branded credit cards with special perks for Hilton customers. Each person can only get one welcome offer, per card in your entire lifetime, so it’s best to apply during a temporary bump-ups.

Hilton Honors American Express Card

  • Earn 100,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 04/05/2023.
  • 7X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
  • 5X Hilton Honors points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
  • 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
  • Free Honors Silver status (5th standard reward night free, 2 bottles of water in your room).
  • Spend $20,000 in a calendar year on this card and get Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • No annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

  • Limited Time Offer: Earn 165,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 Months of Card Membership. Offer ends 4/5/23.
  • Earn a Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
  • Earn another Free Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
  • Earn Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: 12X at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio, 6X at U.S. gas stations, on U.S. purchases for shipping, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and at U.S. restaurants, 3X on all other eligible purchases.
  • Free upgrade to Honors Gold status (free breakfast, room upgrades based on availability, 5th standard reward night free).
  • $95 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

What are Hilton Honor points worth? The best value is from booking free hotel nights or using their “Points & Money” option where you pay with a combination of Hilton points and cash. Hilton has some really nice properties, but the value varies from hotel to hotel. I just ran a search and for the same 60,000 Hilton points, I could book rooms that cost $320 or $532 cash. I’ve seen some valuations around 0.6 cents per point, which I think is fair on average, but I would be more conservative at 0.5 cents a point. That would make 150,000 points = $750 value and 100,000 points = $500 value towards Hilton hotel stays.

The good part of Hilton points is that they have so many different hotel brands, from business-class DoubleTree to luxury Waldorf Astoria. Hilton also lets you transfer and pool points with other with other family or household members. As long as you keep them active (once every 12 months), I do like to keep some around. These credit cards are handy for creating activity.

Free night award details. The free night is valid any night of the week, includes resort fees and taxes, and does not come with a points limit, but there are some excluded hotels that are not bookable. Here is the fine print behind the Free Night Award:

The Free Night Reward can be redeemed for one standard accommodation, double occupancy, subject to availability at properties in the Hilton portfolio, excluding those listed at HiltonHonors.com/freenightreward. To redeem the Free Night Reward, you must call 1-800-446-6677. The Free Night Reward expire 12 months from date of issuance. […] The Free Night Reward includes all applicable resort fees and taxes on the cost of the room for the redeemed night.

Theoretically, this free night award could be used to book a room night that would otherwise require 95,000 Hilton points. Indeed, I have redeemed my award for a night at the Grand Wailea in Maui, which is worth 95,000 points a night. Amazing hotel, and very happy the resort fees were covered as well. However, you may need to book early enough that standard rooms are still available.

Bottom line. Hilton American Express cards offer regular Hilton customers a good opportunity to earn additional points towards free Hilton hotel stays as well as additional perks like status upgrades. The best time to apply for a Hilton co-branded American Express card is during a limited-time increase to their welcome offers. This is because American Express has changed their policy to only allow each person to get a welcome bonus once per card.

During the limited-time offer, I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Merrill Edge + Preferred Rewards = Up to $1,000 New Deposit/Transfer Bonus, Improved Credit Card Rewards

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

Updated. Merrill Edge is the self-directed brokerage arm formed after Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merged together. They are currently offering an increased cash bonus of up to $1,000 for moving “new money” or assets over to them from another brokerage firm. The offer code is 1000PR. Here’s an overview along with my personal experience as I’ve had an account with them for a few years now.

Cash bonus. If you are holding shares of stock, ETFs, or mutual funds elsewhere, you can simply perform an “in-kind” ACAT transfer over to Merrill Edge. Your 100 shares of AAPL will remain 100 shares of AAPL, so you don’t have to worry about price changes, lost dividends, or tax consequences. Any cost basis should transfer over as well. Make a qualifying transfer and/or deposit
to your new account within 45 days and maintain your balance for at least 90 days. The fine print version:

  • You must enroll by entering the offer code in the online application during account opening or by providing it when speaking with a Merrill Financial Solutions Advisor at 877.657.3847 or at select Bank of America® financial centers. You are solely responsible for enrolling or asking to be enrolled in the offer.
  • Fund your account with at least $20,000 in qualifying net new assets within 45 days of enrolling in the offer. Assets transferred from other accounts at Bank of America, MLPF&S, Bank of America Private Bank, or 401(k) accounts administered by MLPF&S do not count towards qualifying net new assets.
  • You must be enrolled in Preferred Rewards as of 90 days from meeting the funding criteria described in Step 2.
  • After 90 days from meeting the funding criteria described in Step 2, your cash reward will be determined by the qualifying net new assets in your account (irrespective of any losses or gains due to trading or market volatility) as follows:
  • $100 bonus with $20,000+ in new assets
  • $200 bonus with $50,000+ in new assets
  • $400 bonus with $100,000+ in new assets
  • $1,000 bonus with $250,000 or more in new assets

This offer includes “instant” Preferred Rewards status, which does require a Bank of America checking account:

Promotional Early Enrollment in Preferred Rewards: Until May 26, 2023, when you enroll in the Preferred Rewards $1000 More Cash Offer, you consent to early enrollment in the Preferred Rewards Program. Once you satisfy the funding requirement for the offer, you will be enrolled in Preferred Rewards within 45 days based on your current balances at that time rather than the usual requirement of three month average combined balances. You also must have or open an eligible Bank of America personal checking Advantage Banking account to be enrolled in Preferred Rewards. All Preferred Rewards benefits available in the tier associated with your combined balance level will be active within 30 days of enrollment.

More fine print:

For purposes of this offer, qualifying net new assets are calculated by adding total incoming assets or transfers (including cash, securities and/or margin debit balance transfers) from external accounts, and subtracting assets withdrawn or transferred out of the account within the preceding 24 weeks.

This offer includes both IRAs and regular taxable (CMA) accounts, including robo-advisor and human advisor accounts:

Offer valid for new and existing individual Merrill IRAs or Cash Management Accounts (CMA) opened September 1, 2022 through May 26, 2023. Cash bonus offers, in the aggregate, are limited to one CMA and one IRA per accountholder. Eligible Merrill IRAs limited to Traditional, Roth and owner-only SEP IRA. The Merrill IRA or CMA may be a Merrill Edge Self-Directed account, Merrill Edge Advisory Account, Merrill Guided Investing account or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor account. You may be eligible for a different or better offer. Please contact us for more information.

Note that last sentence! After I did this bonus once with a partial transfer (just enough to satisfy one of the tiers), a Merrill Edge rep contacted me and offered me a custom bonus to move even more assets over. (The bonus ratios were about the same, but higher limits.) Therefore, if you are considering this and happen to have more than $250,000 to transfer over, you may want to give them a call and see if they can offer even more money.

You can even transfer in Admiral Shares of Vanguard mutual funds – they won’t let you buy any additional shares, but you can only hold or sell them. You can, however, buy more shares of the corresponding Vanguard ETF if you wish. (Alternatively, you should consider having Vanguard convert your Admiral share into ETFs on a one-time basis that will preserve your original cost basis. After you have ETFs, you can move those over to Merrill Edge and trade them as you wish.)

The features for the account itself seem like most other online brokerages. Unlimited commission-free online stock, ETF and options trades (+ $0.65 per-contract fee). You can trade ETFs, fixed income, mutual funds, and options.

Preferred Rewards bonus. The Preferred Rewards program is designed to rewards clients with multiple account and higher assets located at Bank of America banking, Merrill Edge online brokerage, and Merrill Lynch investment accounts. Here is a partial table taken from their comparison chart (click to enlarge):

At the Platinum and Platinum Plus levels, Merrill Edge used to offer 30 and 100 free online stock trades every month, respectively. These days, everyone gets unlimited $0 trades. Bank of America’s interest rates on cash accounts tend to be quite low, so moving cash over to qualify may result in earning less interest on your cash deposits. Merrill Lynch advisory accounts also usually come with management fees. The sweet spot is Edge with self-directed brokerage assets like stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs.

BofA checking accounts. With Gold status ($20k in assets) and above, you’ll get the monthly maintenance fee on up to 4 checking or savings accounts waived. That means you no longer have to worry about a minimum balance or maintaining direct deposit, depending on your account type. You’ll also get waived ATM fees at non-BofA ATMs at Platinum and above (12/year at $50k assets, unlimited at $100k). Free cashier’s checks.

Credit card rewards. With the Preferred Rewards boost, you can get up to 2.6% cash back on all your purchases with the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card, or 2.6% towards travel and no foreign transaction fees with the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card. You can also get 5.2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter with the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card.

My personal experience. In terms of Merrill Edge, I’ve had an account with them for a few years now and my lightning review is that they have a “okay/good” user interface and solidly “good” customer service (i.e. real, informed humans available 24/7 on the phone, not email-only customer service that takes hours to days like Robinhood). I am not an active trader and only make about 10-15 trades a year, but have been quite satisfied with the account. I can also move money instantly between my Merrill Edge and Bank of America checking accounts, making it relatively easy to sweep out idle cash into an external savings account, as their default cash sweep pays nearly zero interest. Don’t leave too much cash there!

The biggest financial benefit to this BofA/Merrill Edge combo with Preferred Rewards has probably been the 75% boost to their credit card rewards, allowing me to get a flat 2.625% cash back on virtually all my daily purchases. The second biggest benefit has probably been this cash bonus, and the third is the waived checking and ATM fees.

Bottom line. Merrill Edge is currently offering up to $1,000 if you move over new assets to their self-directed brokerage. This can simply be mutual fund or ETFs shares currently being held elsewhere. When you keep enough assets across Bank of America and Merrill Edge, their Preferred Rewards program can offer ongoing perks like waived bank account fees and boosted credit card rewards.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Southwest Airlines Credit Cards: Up to 80,000 Bonus Points + Companion Pass Details

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

Southwest Airlines offers a very flexible Rapid Rewards program where the points can be used to book basically any seat that they sell for cash, instead of trying to nab just the ones some airlines set aside for awards. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to roughly $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points. Add in those two free checked bags on all flights, and you see why Southwest is popular wherever they fly.

Another unique Southwest feature is their unique Companion Pass, which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book both paid AND award flights (including to Hawaii!) on Southwest. Note: Starting 1/1/2023, the Companion Pass for 2023 will require 135,000 points (increased from 125,000 points). However, Southwest-branded credit cardholders will receive a new benefit – a boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year – which brings it back down to 125,000 points again. Once you qualify, you earn the Companion Pass for both the rest of the year in which you earn it AND all of the next year (ex. rest of 2023 + all of 2024). Importantly, points earned from credit cards are qualifying points toward the requirement, including sign-up bonuses. This is on top of the value you can get by redeeming those bonus points for Southwest flights.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card

  • Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
  • 2X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
  • NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
  • NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
  • NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
  • All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
  • $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier card

  • Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
  • NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
  • NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
  • NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
  • NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
  • All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
  • $99 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority card

  • Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • 7,500 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
  • NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
  • NEW: 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
  • NEW: 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
  • NEW: 25% back on inflight purchases
  • NEW: 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points towards A-List Status for every $10,000 in spend
  • 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
  • $75 Southwest annual travel credit.
  • $149 annual fee.

The following are business credit cards:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card

  • 80,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
  • 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
  • NEW: 4X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
  • 3X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car partners.
  • NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
  • 2X points on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
  • Inflight WiFi Credits (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit in the form of a statement credit of up to $100 every four years.
  • $199 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card

  • 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
  • 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
  • NEW: 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
  • 2X points and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
  • NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
  • 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • NEW: 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
  • $99 annual fee.

Value of Rapid Rewards points. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points or $1,300+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 100,000 points (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). Importantly, Southwest does NOT have blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points. This means that Southwest points are much easier to use than a “saver award” on traditional airlines.

Now, if you manage to qualify for the the Companion Pass on every trip that you book with those points, that doubles the potential value of each award redemption. In other words, 125,000 Rapid Rewards, would usually get you $1,850 in Wanna Get Away airfare, but with the Companion Pass you’d get an extra companion ticket for every flight booked.

There may be other options like gift cards, but the redemption value is less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.

Southwest points expiration policy, per Southwest.com:

Do the points I earn expire?

No, your Rapid Rewards points do not expire. However, if you choose to close your account, the points in your account will be terminated.

Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person. The fees on the other airlines have crept up to $30 per bag, each-way. That adds up.

Our family policy is to not try out a new credit card unless it offers us $500 in total value. Just the free award flights from the points are enough to satisfy that rule, and then you can add on the potential value of the companion tickets.

Card restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.

Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months.

Stack your Companion Pass with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest points on a 1:1 basis. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. Southwest credit cards offer new cardholders the opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars worth of Wanna Get Away airfare, but if you time things right and maybe combine a personal and business card, you can also grab the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points booked both during the rest of the year in which you earned it, AND the full next calendar year. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards – Up to 70,000 Bonus Miles

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

Delta Airlines American Express cards offer various special perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and the ability to earn Delta Skymiles with card purchases. As you can only get the welcome offers once on each of these cards per person per lifetime (each card is considered different), I recommend waiting until a limited-time offer to maximize your benefit. Here are the current offers:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

  • Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • $100 Delta flight credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, receive a Credit to use toward future travel.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • NEW: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
  • 2X miles at Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • Want even more flexibility? Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.
  • Receive a 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases after using your Card.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $99. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

40,000 Skymiles is worth at least $400 in Delta airfare. Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. That means 50,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $500 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still book the traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

  • Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Earn up to 20,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost(R) per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion(R) Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion(R) Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
  • Up to $100 Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck(R) after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate: Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • NEW: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • Get access to Delta Sky Club(R) at a rate of $50 per person per visit for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
  • Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
  • Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $250 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

The Platinum version can be a worthy upgrade from the Gold version if you can take advantage of the annual Companion Certificate (i.e. book two tickets together on Delta at least once a year). I’ve used it several times in the past and it is easy to use while booking tickets online at Delta.com. My savings from using the companion certificate has ranged from $200 to $500.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

  • Earn 50,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Earn up to 60,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) With Status Boost(R) per year. After you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 15,000 MQMs up to four times per year, getting you closer to Medallion(R) Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different from the miles you earn towards flights.
  • Delta Sky Club access. Complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club(R) for you when travelling on a Delta flight.
  • Centurion Lounge access. Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion(R) Lounge when you book a Delta flight with your Reserve Card.
  • NEW: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • Up to $100 Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck(R) after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • First Class Main Cabin domestic round-trip companion certificate. Receive a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+(R) or domestic Main Cabin round trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases.
  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • $550 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

The Reserve version can be a worthy upgrade for frequent Delta fliers. Enjoy Delta Sky Club and/or Centurion Lounge access on your Delta flights, that First Class companion certificate can be worth thousands, earn additional MQMs on your purchases, etc.

BUSINESS Card Versions

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

  • Welcome Offer: Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.
  • Save 15% On Award Travel With TakeOff 15. Eligible Card Members now enjoy exclusive savings on Delta flights. Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • $100 Delta flight credit. Additionally, receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
  • Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants. Earn 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
  • $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

  • Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.
  • Save 15% On Award Travel With TakeOff 15. Eligible Card Members now enjoy exclusive savings on Delta flights. Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after $25,000 in purchases in a calendar year, up to two times per year. This helps get you reach elite Medallion Status, but does not earn you miles towards reward flights.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Worth up to $100 towards Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck).
  • Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate. You can receive a domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Take a friend or family member when you fly Delta. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
  • Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn more miles on big purchases with 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (that’s an extra half mile per dollar), up to 50,000 additional miles per year. If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply (ex. you would earn 3X miles on purchases made directly with Delta and Hotel Stays instead of 1.5X).
  • With Status Boost(R), earn 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to 2x per year getting you closer to Medallion Status.
  • $250 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

  • Welcome Offer: Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.
  • Save 15% On Award Travel With TakeOff 15. Eligible Card Members now enjoy exclusive savings on Delta flights. Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • Status Boost(R) earns 15,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to 4x per year getting you closer to Medallion Status.
  • Delta Sky Club access. Complimentary access into the Delta Sky Club(R) for you when travelling on a Delta flight.
  • Centurion Lounge access. Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion(R) Lounge or Escape lounges -The Centurion(R) Studio Partner when you book a Delta flight with your Reserve Card.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Worth up to $100 towards Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck).
  • First Class Main Cabin domestic round-trip companion certificate. Receive a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+(R) or domestic Main Cabin round trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card.*Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • First checked bag free on Delta flights – that’s a savings of up to $240 per round trip for a family of four ($30 each way, per person).
  • Plus enjoy 3X miles per dollar on all eligible Delta purchases.
  • After you spend $150,000 on your Card in a calendar year, you earn 1.5 miles per dollar (that’s an extra half mile per dollar) on eligible purchases the rest of the year. If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply (ex. you would earn 3X miles on purchases made directly with Delta instead of 1.5X).
  • $550 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

Again, Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. That means 100,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $1,000 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still book the traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.

In my opinion, the Delta Gold is still the best for most casual Delta customers because of the free checked bag, new $100 flight credit, and relatively big sign-up bonus. The main draw of the Platinum is the MQMs for those that want to achieve status (and thus free upgrades), along with the Main Cabin companion certificate. The main draw of the Reserve cards is MQMs, the airport lounge access and the First Class companion certificate. I have used the companion certificate several times in the past and have gotten good value out of it.

During a limited-time offer, I will add these to my list of the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

$6,000 IRA Contribution Goal 2022 Final Results: $6,259+ in Total Bonuses

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

2022 Year-End Update. Each year, I have a side goal of earning the equivalent of the maximum annual IRA contribution limit ($6,000 for 2022) using the profits from various finance promotions alone. In 2021, I reached $5,592 in bonuses and $2,500+ in extra interest. If you had put $6,000 into your IRA every year for the recent 10 year period (2013-2022) and invested in a simple Target Date retirement fund, you would have turned small, weekly deals into a $87,000+ nest egg.

That’s worth repeating: An extra 87 grand has been the real-world result of regularly investing $500 a month for 10 years! A couple could double these numbers.

Ground rules: Real-world results for one real person only. Following with My Money Blog tradition, this will track my personal, real-world results. It would be quite easy to list a bunch of random promotions that add up to $6,000, but these will be promotions that I personally sign up for and complete the requirements (even though I’ve already opened so many bank accounts, credit cards, and brokerage accounts over the years). I will track my individual results only, although my partner does also participate on a more selective basis. Nearly all of them have been documented in real-time in the Deals and Offers category, Top 10 credit cards list, and brokerage bonus list.

Note: I am also excluding the $900 bonus from Chase Ink Business Cash card, since it is meant for small businesses.

2022 bonuses and promotions list. The 💵 symbol means I have received and/or cashed out the bonus successfully. The ⌛ symbol means the promo is still in progress.

Bonuses that required significant assets to max out (but not necessarily participate)

2022 final results. The total tally for bonuses not requiring significant assets was $6,259 total for 2022, which was 104% of the $6,000 annual IRA contribution limit for 2022. This excludes the three bonuses (Public, SoFi, and Ally) that paid out bigger bonuses for larger asset transfers or cash deposits. I acknowledge not everyone has enough assets to max those out, but they were certainly an efficient use of time if you did. If you add in the $3,500 that I received from those bonuses, the total would be $9,759.

Additional background stuff. This is a personal challenge/game that I like to play. I enjoy trying out new apps and services. I look for the best payoff/effort ratio for my situation; your choices won’t look like my choices. In addition, some things I will skip simply because I’ve already done them. For those new to this hobby, I would first grab the low-hanging fruit like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve and build up a nice stash of flexible Ultimate Rewards points. After that, I would recommend looking at the Citi Premier (ThankYou points), Capital Venture X (Capital One Miles), and American Express Gold (AmEX Membership Rewards points) to jumpstart your points stashes.

These numbers included fixed bonuses for short-term asset transfers, but ignore higher interest rates overall from buying US Treasury bonds or savings bonds. They also ignore ongoing credit card purchase rewards like 2% to 2.6% cash back on all credit purchases (or airline miles or hotel points) and 5% cash back on specific categories or 1% or better cash back on rent.

This is an enjoyable and profitable hobby for me, but I don’t like to waste my time either. I look for a solid return based on the time commitment required. I tend to avoid speculative bets, bonuses that are hard to convert to real value, and anything that requires driving to stores where things may or may not be in stock. The deals that I post usually last at least a few days, but it’s a bit like value investing where you have to be ready to get off your butt and take decisive action when an opportunity shows up, because they won’t last forever.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Aeroplan Credit Card Review: New 100,000 Points Offer (Redeem For $1,250 of Travel)

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

New 100k offer. Chase and Air Canada have partnered to create the Chase Aeroplan World Elite Mastercard for US customers. I was able to get over $1,200 in value from 70,000 Aeroplan points towards Air Canada flights, but you can also redeem 100,000 points for $1,250 back toward eligible travel purchases including flights on any airline (details below). Here are the highlights on the sign-up bonus and Air Canada perks:

  • Earn up to 100,000 points.. Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open, plus 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months your account is open. 100,000 points is worth $1,250 in travel value with Pay Yourself Back®.
  • Free first checked bags on Air Canada flights: one free checked bag for the primary cardmember and up to eight other travelers on the same itinerary.
  • Automatically receive Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year, allowing primary cardmembers to enjoy benefits such as priority check-in, early boarding, upgrades and more on Air Canada flights.
  • Each calendar year in which you spend at least $15,000 in purchases you earn Aeroplan 25K Status through the following calendar year.
  • $100 credit toward Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS every four years (as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card)
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $95 annual fee.

Here is the rewards structure on credit card spending:

  • 3X points on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
  • 3X points at grocery stores
  • 3X points on direct purchases at Air Canada
  • 1 point for each dollar spent on all other purchases
  • +500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a calendar month (up to a maximum of 1,500 points per calendar month)

Redeeming Aeroplan points for flights. It is very easy to redeem Aeroplan points on Air Canada, Air Canada Express, or Air Canada Rouge flights because “every Air Canada seat available to buy for cash is also available for points, no restrictions.” You simply run a search like normal on the Air Canada website, and it will tell you upfront the cost in Aeroplan points. It’s quite easy to compare the cash cost side-by-side. In addition, when you have this credit card, you get even better preferred pricing on flights when redeeming points.

Here is an example flight from San Francisco to Vancouver during our March Spring Break period:

At 8,300 miles + CAD$8 for a one-way flight, that means I could get 4 of these SFO-YVR roundtrip flights for 70,000 with some 3,000+ points left over. This means an entire family of four could get their flights covered. The cash cost for the one way was CAD$207 or US$161 at this writing, for a total redemption value of CAD$1,656 or US$1,288.

For a more general idea, here is a link to the Aeroplan rewards chart (PDF). The points required are based on distance.

You can also get excellent value by redeeming your points on a partner airline.

Redeem towards any travel at 1.25 cents per points. Chase allows an alternative option to redeem Aeroplan points at a rate of 1.25 cents per point to cover travel purchases including airline flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, rideshares, parking lots, and more. This provides a nice minimum floor on the value of an Aeroplan point. You can redeem unlimited points for 2023 as an introductory offer; in the future it will be capped at 50,000 points redeemed per year in this way.

Here’s all of what counts as “Travel”:

Merchants in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.

Bottom line. The new Chase Aeroplan World Elite Mastercard currently offers a limited-time 100,000 point sign-up bonus (worth $1,250 towards travel) and Air Canada flight perks (including free first checked bag and elite status).

I will be adding this offer to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier Card Review: 175,000 Bonus Points (Best Offer Ever)

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

(New limited-time offer, highest bonus ever. Boosted this bonus as well; Compared with the no-annual-fee Traveler, this card has higher upfront bonus, higher purchase rewards, and $100 Global EntryTSA PreCheck fee credit but also a $99 annual fee.)

The Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card is the IHG hotel co-branded card that includes special IHG perks like a free night award every year you keep the card, Elite status, and every 4th award night free. Here are the highlights:

  • Earn 175,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Free Award Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Valid at IHG Hotels with a current point redemption cap of 40,000 points. NEW: You can now also pay the difference over 40,000 points to redeem your Anniversary Night at hotels above the 40,000 point redemption level.
  • 4th Award Night Free. Enjoy a reward night when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG(R) hotel stay. That means if you use points to pay for 3 nights in a row, the 4th night is free. You can even book 8 award nights total and get two of them free, and so on. Works on any award level.
  • 25X points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel.
  • 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
  • Platinum Elite status included as a Premier card member. IHG points also don’t expire when you are an Elite member.
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee credit up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $99 annual fee.

Please note the following:

This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.

This offer is for the new “IHG Club Premier” card, so this language means that if you have the older and different “IHG Club Select” card, you can still apply for this card and get the sign-up bonus.

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, but overall a conservation valuation is 0.50 cents of value per point, which would make 125,000 IHG points worth an estimated $625 value. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

(IHG points are worth less than other points like Hyatt or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, but you get a lot more of them with this bonus!)

IHG stands for Intercontinental Hotel Group which has over 5,000 hotels including the following brands:

  • Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts
  • Crowne Plaza
  • Kimpton
  • Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express
  • Staybridge Suites
  • Candlewood Suites
  • Hotel Indigo
  • EVEN Hotels

Fourth Reward Night Free

For each standard room Reward Night stay of 4 or more nights, every 4th night is free. Applies only to 4 or more consecutive nights within the same Reward Night point redemption room stay at the same property. With this benefit, eligible members will be charged the Reward Night point redemption rate for the first 3 nights, and 0 points for the 4th night of the stay, as applicable. Members can utilize the 4th Reward Night Free benefit on an unlimited number of stays annually.

IHG points expire after 24 months of inactivity, so if you keep up your activity then you can save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to IHG points.

Total of 25x points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG. Here’s how this breaks down: Earn 10X points per $1 spent as an IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Cardmember + 10X points per $1 spent from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member + 5X points per $1 spent from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of this card = total of 25X points total at 5,400+ IHG® hotels & resorts.

I would book my IHG nights on this card, but not my everyday purchases on an ongoing basis.

  • 2 IHG points per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants.
  • 1 IHG point per $1 spent on all other card purchases

I would keep this card if you can use the anniversary night certificate with the 40,000 point maximum value. You should be able to get $89 value out of it as long as you need a hotel night. Stay must be completed within 12 months from date of issue.

Don’t want a card with an annual fee? The no-annual fee Traveler version has a very competitive bonus right now.

Bottom line. The Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card has a current sign-up bonus boost of 140,000 IHG points. As with most of these co-branded cards, the best value is obtained if you can redeem for IHG hotel nights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Chase IHG Rewards Club Traveler Card Review: 120,000 Points Limited-Time Offer, No Annual Fee

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

Limited-time offer. The Chase IHG Rewards Club Traveler card is the IHG hotel card that includes special IHG perks but with no annual fee. Right now, there is a limited-time 120k offer that is the highest ever, much larger than the previous 60k and 80k point bonuses. Here are the highlights:

  • 120,000 bonus IHG points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
  • Earn 15X points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel.
  • Earn 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Fourth Reward Night Free when you redeem points for any 4+ night stay. That means if you use points to pay for 3 nights in a row, the 4th night is free.
  • No annual fee.

Note the following:

This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any IHG® Rewards credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any IHG® Rewards credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months. This does not apply to cardmembers of the IHG® Rewards Premier Business credit card.

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, I would use a conservative estimate of 0.50 cents of value per point, which would make 120,000 IHG points worth an estimated $600 value. Not bad for a no annual fee card. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

IHG stands for Intercontinental Hotel Group which has over 5,000 hotels including the following brands:

  • Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts
  • Crowne Plaza
  • Kimpton
  • Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express
  • Staybridge Suites
  • Candlewood Suites
  • Hotel Indigo
  • EVEN Hotels

IHG points expire after 24 months of inactivity, which is relatively long so with occasional activity you can easily save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to IHG points.

The 4th Reward night free perk can be very valuable and nice to see on a card with no annual fee.

Total of 15x points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG. Here’s how this breaks down: Earn 5X points per $1 spent as an IHG® Rewards Club Traveler credit cardmember + 10X points per $1 spent from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member, for a total of 15X points total at any of their 5,400+ IHG® hotels & resorts.

Given my 0.5 cent per IHG point valuation, I would book my IHG nights on this card, but not my everyday purchases on an ongoing basis. I would just put a little spending on there to keep my IHG points from expiring.

  • 2 IHG points per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants.
  • 1 IHG point per $1 spent on all other card purchases

Upgrade to Premier? Downgrade to Traveler? If you can reliably use a anniversary night certificate (40,000 point value) and get $99 value out of it, you should consider going with the IHG Rewards Premier credit card mentioned on the same application page. The Premier card also adds some other small perks like Platinum Elite status and a TSA Precheck fee credit.

If you already have the Premier card and don’t want to pay for those added perks, you may consider asking if you can downgrade to this Traveler now without any annual fee.

Bottom line. The Chase IHG Rewards Club Traveler credit card now comes with no annual fee and a boosted sign-up bonus. As with most of these co-branded cards, the best value is obtained if you can redeem for IHG hotel nights.

During the limited-time offer, I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card: 70,000 Miles + $100 Statement Credit + $122 Companion Fare

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

The Alaska Airlines Visa credit card is issued by Bank of America and offers several unique cardholder perks. Right now, there are two limited-time offers that are better than their standard new customer offers. Compare carefully, as each offer is different in minor ways. The first has better upfront perks overall, but the second has better ongoing perks, particularly regarding the companion fare. Make sure you apply through the correct page for the offer you prefer. Here are the highlights for each.

70,000 Miles + $100 Statement Credit offer link

  • 70,000 Alaska miles + $100 statement credit + Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days after account opening.
  • Free checked bag + Priority boarding. Any cardholder who purchases airfare with their card, and up to 6 additional guests traveling on the same reservation, may check their first bag free. This is worth $60 roundtrip per person.
  • 3X miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, cable, streaming services and local transit including ride share purchases. 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • 10% rewards bonus w/ BofA on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
  • Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($6k spend requirement). Get Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary *after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year*. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $95 annual fee.

62,000 Miles + Annual Companion Pass w/o Spend Requirement offer link (try Incognito window if having trouble)

  • 62,000 Alaska miles + Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days after account opening.
  • Free checked bag. Any cardholder who purchases airfare with their card, and up to 6 additional guests traveling on the same reservation, may check their first bag free. This is worth $60 roundtrip per person.
  • 3X miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ (no spend requirement). Every year on your credit card account anniversary you’ll receive a companion fare which allows you to book a companion flight from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22). Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $75 annual fee.

I will be adding this offer to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Paper Savings Bonds: Pay w/ Credit Card by 1/17, Use Tax Refund To Increase Purchase Limit by $5,000

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

As inflation spiked, so did interest in purchasing inflation-linked Series I Savings bonds. Some folks have been going to extra lengths to increase their ability to purchase them, buying savings bonds for kids, trusts, LLCs, corporations, and so on. One of the more direct ways to increase your annual purchase limits is to use IRS Form 8888 when filing your taxes this year, which allows you to use your tax refund to purchase up to $5,000 in paper Savings Bonds each year. This is on top of the $10,000 annual limit on electronic savings bonds per person at TreasuryDirect.

Of course, that means you need to have a refund when you file your taxes. You’ll need to estimate your tax liability, and if needed, you can make an overpayment on your federal tax withholding to ensure you have the refund size you want. The deadline for 2022 4th Quarter estimated tax payments is Tuesday, January 17th, 2023.

You can make a direct payment via credit or debit card via various official processors. The processing fee starts at just 1.85%, which means that as long as you have 2% cash back rewards card or better, you can actually come out slightly ahead. Even better, paying $4,000 in taxes would satisfy most of the spending hurdles on big credit card bonuses worth well over $500. Two birds, one stone.

You can also make a direct payment via your bank account at EFTPS.gov or IRS DirectPay.

Right now is the best window, as it minimizes the time between paying the taxes and receiving your paper savings bonds. Filing your taxes earlier will also shorten that window. If you wish, you can later convert those paper savings bonds to electronic form at TreasuryDirect.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Citi Premier Card: 60,000 ThankYou Points (Worth $600 in Gift Cards, 60,000 Miles, $600 Airfare Offset, $480 at Amazon, More)

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

The Citi Premier Card is an improved rewards credit card with the ability to transfer points to airlines miles as well as an added $100 annual hotel savings benefit. Right now, they have a sign-up bonus offer of 60,000 bonus points (redeemable for $600 in gift cards at thankyou.com, as well as a variety of other options) Here are the highlights:

  • 60,000 bonus ThankYou points after $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
  • 3X points at Supermarkets
  • 3X points at Restaurants
  • 3X points on Gas Stations, Air Travel, and Hotels
  • 1X points on all other purchases
  • $100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit
  • Points Transfer allows you to transfer points to participating airline and hotel loyalty programs
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • $95 annual fee.

Citi has added a handy tracker that lets you know if you’ve satisfied the spending hurdle to qualify for the bonus points. Look for it in your online account in the ThankYou points section (click on “View/Redeem” ThankYou points and then scroll down a bit). Here’s mine:

Note the following fine print which mentions other ThankYou-related Citi cards:

Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+®, Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi ThankYou® Premier/Citi Premier® or Citi Prestige®, or if you have closed any of these accounts, in the past 24 months.

$100 Annual Hotel Savings Benefit details.

Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees, when booked through thankyou.com or 1-800-THANKYOU (powered by cxLoyalty) and subject to the additional requirements stated below. For speech or hearing impaired TTY: Use 711 or other relay service. To receive the $100 annual hotel savings, you must pre-pay for your complete stay with your Citi Premier Card, ThankYou Points, or a combination thereof. If you choose to use the benefit, the $100 annual hotel savings will be applied at the time of booking.

Note: In 2020, the Citi Premier card eliminated the 25% points bonus when redeemed for travel booked at Thankyou.com.

60,000 ThankYou points = $600 in gift cards. You can view your redemption options at ThankYou.com. I took a quick look and it takes 10,000 ThankYou (TY) points to redeem for a $100 gift card to retailers like Target, Starbucks, TJ Maxx, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Gap, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, Bath and Body Works, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cabelas, Kohl’s, Land’s End, LL Bean, Sears, and Zappos. So with 60,000 TY points, you could get 6 x $100 gift cards (or 24 x $25 gift cards) from different stores (handy for gifts), or all from the same store. You may also be able to find options to send a check towards your mortgage payment and/or student loan payment.

Personally, my default redemption is for Home Depot and/or Lowe’s. As an owner of an older house, there is always an appliance or home-improvement purchase around the corner. Target is another useful option.

Hotel points and airline miles transfer options. Citi ThankYou points are also now available to transfer to certain airline mileage programs on a 1:1 basis including JetBlue TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Etihad, Flying Blue by Air France and KLM, and Thai Airways.

For example, 60,000 ThankYou points can be transferred to 60,000 JetBlue TrueBlue points, which can then be redeemed free airfare at a ratio that varies between 1.1 cents per point and 1.6 cents per point. Even if you are conservative, this still works out to over $660 in JetBlue airfare.

Alternatively, 60,000 TY points can also get you 60,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. If you know how to redeem these points wisely and like to fly in international business class, you can get a lot of value. For example, Singapore Airlines has some very nice award options and great customer service.

Amazon and Best Buy. You can also use the “Pay with Points” features at Amazon and Best Buy, but you will only get 0.8 cents per ThankYou points in value at Amazon. For example, 60,000 ThankYou points will offset $480 in Amazon.com purchases.

Airfare booked through Citi ThankYou Travel Center. You can also redeem ThankYou points for 1 cent per points value towards airfare booked through the Citi ThankYou Travel Center at ThankYou.com. For example, 60,000 ThankYou points will offset $600 in airfare booked through the Citi ThankYou Travel Center at ThankYou.com. This is a travel portal similar to other airfare comparison sites, so you can book basically any seat on any airline using this method and still earn frequent flier miles on the flight.

Bottom line. The Citi Premier Card is a rewards travel card with 3X points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels, along with a $95 annual fee. Currently, new cardholders can get a sign-up bonus of 80,000 ThankYou point that can be redeemed in a variety of ways.

I have applied for this account as part of my Free IRA Goal for 2022. I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Equifax Data Breach Settlement Payouts Being Sent (Check Your Junk Folder) + Ongoing Benefits Reminder

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards and may receive a commission. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

Update December 2022: You may not even remember that you filed a cash claim in the 2017 Equifax Data Breach Settlement, but the payments are finally being sent out. I nearly deleted the email as it ended up in my Junk Folder.

The settlement administrator has begun sending out payments for out-of-pocket losses, time spent claims, and other cash benefits. You will get your payment in the method you chose—by check, prepaid card, or PayPal payment.

Legitimate emails about the settlement will come from Equifax Breach Settlement Administrator (info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com).

Despite the information from that link quoted above, mine was from “Equifax Breach Settlement” and the email “EquifaxDataBreachSettlement@hawkmarketplace.com”. I also could not open the redemption link in my Chrome browser. It’s almost like someone doesn’t want you to claim the money… I got $21.06 via prepaid card and promptly used it to reload my Amazon gift card balance.

In addition, here is my previous post about the other ongoing benefits from the settlement:

Although the deadline to file a claim for the huge 2017 Equifax Data Breach Settlement has now passed, here is a quick reminder that there are still ongoing benefits available, including the ability to get a free credit report every other month:

Six (6) free Equifax credit reports per year. All U.S. consumers can now get 6 free credit reports per year through 2026 by visiting the Equifax website or by calling 1-866-349-5191. This is in addition to the one free Equifax report (plus your Experian and TransUnion reports) you can get every rolling 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Free identity restoration services. For at least seven years, you can get free identity restoration services. If you discover misuse of your personal information, call the settlement administrator at 1-833-759-2982. You will be given instructions for how to access free identity restoration services.

Reimbursement for identity theft expenses. You can still file a claim for any expenses you incur between January 23, 2020, and January 22, 2024, as a result of identity theft or fraud related to the breach, such as:

  • Losses from unauthorized charges to your accounts
  • Fees you paid to professionals, like accountants or attorneys, to help you recover from identity theft
  • Other expenses you incurred while recovering from identity theft, like notary fees, document shipping fees, postage, mileage, and phone charges.
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and Credit-Land for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.