US Bank Smartly Credit Card Review: Up to 4% Cash Back (Big Negative Changes April 2025)

Posted on April 7, 2025 // 25 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Update 4/15/25: The rumors were true and have taken effect as of 4/15/25. If you have not applied yet, I wouldn’t bother. Given the spending cap and bonus category exclusions, in nearly all cases, the potential lost interest on the required cash deposits (earning no interest) will be higher than any additional potential cash back rewards earned. I consider this now basically a 2% cash back card.

Update 4/8/25: The same Reddit user has posted follow-up details, and they appear to confirm the details of the initial rumor. Please refer to the newest Reddit post, screenshot #1, screenshot #2, and screenshot #3. They appear legitimate in my opinion.

For existing cardholders, no changes have been announced. Everything is the same, for now. No $10k/month spending cap. Balance tiers are the same. Investment account balances still count. No new bonus category exclusions. Hope the grandfathering of loyal customers lasts, as we went through a good amount of trouble moving over significant assets.

For new cardholders that apply after April 14th, this card is no longer attractive above the base 2% cash back. They will require the qualifying deposits to be held in the Smartly Checking or Safe Debit accounts, which earn zero or essentially zero interest. Balances held in a brokerage account no longer qualify. Even balances held in their own Smartly Savings account (currently up to 3.50% APY) no longer qualify. Given the spending cap and bonus category exclusions, in nearly all cases, the potential lost interest on this cash will be higher than the additional potential cash back rewards earned. Goodbye, Smartly, we hardly knew ye.

Update 4/7/25: The rumors have gotten more supporting evidence. Reddit user Zanutrees posted this screenshot from an internal US Bank e-mail that appears to be legitimate. The two most critical quotes:

  • “A revised U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature® Card is launching soon and will be available for application in branches starting April 14! Resources to help you prepare for the launch of the revised card will become available on Card Central tomorrow, April 8.“
  • “It is important to note that existing Bank Smartly cardmembers as well as any clients who applied prior to April 14 will receive the original Bank Smartly Card features and benefits; the revised card features and benefits will only affect clients who apply for the card on or after April 14.“

Overall, the two actionable responses are the same as below (apply ASAP or never). We just got more support behind the 4/14 deadline and the fact that they will be offering grandfathering (for an unspecified amount of time).

Update 4/2/25: Doctor of Credit reports a Reddit rumor that the US Bank Smartly credit card will be undergoing some major negative changes as of 4/14/25. This includes:

  • Base is still 2% cash back on unlimited amounts. Bonus cash back (up to another 2% for a total of 4%) is capped to $10,000 in purchases per statement cycle.
  • Bonus cash back now excludes: Educational/school, gift cards, insurance, taxes, business to business transactions, and 3rd party bill payments.
  • For new cardmembers after April 14th, only checking account balances count now towards the $10k/$50k/$100k deposit requirements. Critically, savings account balances and investment balances do not count after 4/14 for new cardmembers. Existing customers will be grandfathered in for now.

Again, the above is a rumor. However, I do believe the following are true:

  • There is basically no way that this card can continue to exist without some sort of added restrictions. 4% with no cap simply does not math out, as I guarantee that some people are paying $100,000 in college or private school tuitions, $300,000+ in tax bills on this card, and who knows how many business transactions between “friendly” parties…
  • US Bank has a history of first rolling out a consumer-friendly product, and then later pulling it from the market or changing the features.
  • US Bank also has a history of grandfathering in existing customers of those products and continuing to offer them some/all of the old features.

Therefore, I see two possible actionable responses:

  1. Giving up on this Smartly card and not applying at all, and possibly avoiding the US Bank ecosystem altogether. It’s hard to work with unreliable people. If these changes take place, after 4/14 the lost interest on $100,000 in cash will outweigh the extra 2% by a good margin.
  2. Working extra fast right now in order to open up your US Bank Smartly savings account (this seems to be the easiest to open), then Smartly checking w/ bonus, then the US Bank self-directed brokerage account, fund it with $100,000, and apply for the Smartly credit card all as soon as possible, definitely before the rumored 4/14 deadline. Take advantage of the fact that they probably have to grandfather in these current terms at least for a year or so, otherwise in theory they would be bait-and-switching and might get in trouble.

Since my last update, I opened a new US Bank brokerage account, moved over $101,000 in cash, and then invested it all into the SGOV ETF that holds Treasury Bills. (I could have moved over stock ETFs instead, but I had the cash available.) I then applied for the Smartly credit card and was approved with a $25,000 limit despite my previous lack of “pre-approval”. I was hoping that reaching their top rewards tier first would encourage them to approve my new card, and maybe it helped. I’m okay with accepting the rumored changes as long as they grandfather me in on the brokerage balances; it could have been worse. What do you think?

I just took a quick look at the application page. Everything still looks the same as before as of today. I did take some screenshots in case there are subtle changes later.

Update 11/11/24: Applications for this card are now open. No sign-up bonus. It let me check if I was “pre-approved” with a soft pull (had to unfreeze TransUnion for it to work), but I was not pre-approved. That might be because I recently applied for the Altitude Reserve (now-discontinued) after setting up a Smartly Checking and Savings account to get “in” with them but was getting impatient (was denied for US Bank credit cards in the past without a banking relationship due to my geographic area). Will have to sit this one out for now, but plan to try again later if they don’t pull it quickly.

Original pre-review post:

US Bank recently announced the US Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card, a new rewards credit card that offers up to 4% cash back on all purchases, if you have enough qualifying balances with them. This is the newest entrant to relationship banking, where banks offers you extra perks for combining multiple account types with them like savings accounts and investment/retirement accounts.

The card is not open to applications yet, but you can get on an e-mail waitlist. Here are the details of how that “up to 4% cash back” breaks down according to this US Bank press release and CNBC article.

Base rewards of 2% cash back on all purchases, with no limit. Technically, this card earns 2 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases. In order get 2% cash back, you must redeem those points into an eligible U.S. Bank checking or savings account.

Bonus rewards of 0.5%, 1% or 2% cash back based on your qualifying combined balances at US Bank. You must also have an open Bank Smartly Savings account. Your qualifying combined balances with U.S. Bank include “open consumer checking account(s), money market savings account(s), savings account(s), CDs and/or IRAs, U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust account(s).” Business accounts, commercial accounts, and the Trustee only (IFI) client relationship do not qualify.

  • $5,000 – $49,999.99 earns 2.5% total cash back. Total of 2.5 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 0.5 Points),
  • $50,000 – $99,999.99 earns 3% total cash back. Total of 3 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 1 Point).
  • $100,000+ earns 4% total cash back. Total of 4 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 2 Points).

Other bits: CNBC article reports no annual fee. Points will expire if there is no reward, purchase, or balance activity on your account for 12 consecutive statement cycles. Bank Smartly Credit Card and Bank Smartly Savings available in all 50 states.

Bank Smartly savings account. Let’s take a closer look at the Bank Smartly Savings account, which also earns difference rates based on both your balance inside the Smartly savings account itself AND your qualifying combined balances at US Bank. Here’s their current interest rate grid, updated as of 9/3/2024.

Importantly, these rates can change at any time. But right now, if you have at least $25k in Smartly and $25k in combined qualifying combined balances across US Bank, you can get the current top rate of 4.10% APY.

There is also a $5 monthly maintenance fee, which is waived if you have a Bank Smartly® Checking account (or Safe Debit account which also costs $4.95 a month). The Bank Smartly® Checking account itself has a $6.95 monthly fee, waived with $1,500+ average account balance, qualifying U.S. Bank consumer credit card, or combined monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000+.

Therefore, technically if you get this credit card, that would make the Bank Smartly Checking account free, which in turn would make the Bank Smartly Savings account free. Right now there is also a $450 bonus for new Bank Smartly Checking customers with a direct deposit requirement.

Rough opportunity costs with depositing cash at Bank Smartly Savings. Let’s try some rough theoretical numbers. Let’s say you actually have $100,000 in cash lying around, but you could get ~5.10% APY elsewhere and so you would be giving up ~1% APY to park your money at US Bank instead. If you held all of it at Bank Smartly Savings to qualify for the 4% cash back on the credit card, you’d be giving up $1,000 in taxable interest each year ($100,000 x 1%).

In exchange, you are getting 2% extra cash back over your existing, flat 2% cash back card. Cash back rewards are generally considered non-taxable as they are a rebate on your purchase. If you assume a marginal tax rate of 0% (this is just a guess), then you’d need $50,000 in annual purchases ($4,166 a month) at 2% extra cash back to break even with the hit from the lower interest. If you assume a marginal tax rate of 22%, then you’d need a little less: $39,000 in annual purchases ($3,350 a month) at 2% extra cash back to break even with the hit from the lower interest.

US Bank self-directed investments accounts! As with the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, an alternative way to satisfy the balance requirements with minimal opportunity costs is to transfer over existing assets into a self-directed US Bank brokerage account. For example, you could transfer over $100,000 in index ETFs inside an IRA or taxable brokerage account. This would appear to fully satisfy the requirements as a “U.S. Bancorp Investments” account. This way, US Bank also gets a stronger foothold in the world of wealth management, as all the banks seem to want these days.

Be careful though, as US Bank’s self-directed brokerage account has a slightly higher fee schedule than much of the competition. Stock trades are $4.95 each, although you get 100 free trades per calendar year if you have both a Bank Smartly Checking account and paperless statements. There is a $50 annual account fee and a separate $50 annual IRA fee; these are waived if you have $250,000 in combined statement household balances.

My quick take. If all of these details actually hold through launch, they would be a potential improvement over the best current situation of 2.62% cash back on all purchases via the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program (also requires $100k in assets held at BofA) and a BofA cash back credit card. (The Robinhood 3% credit card is still “coming soon”.) But will it last? Even the BofA 2.62% has remained something of an outlier, but my hunch is that it has encouraged enough of people to keep a ton of cash at BofA earning zero interest so that BofA is still happy overall. Given that this new US Bank program actually offers a decent interest rate and an even higher cash back rate, I am concerned about its longevity. On the other hand, maybe this is US Bank’s big push to become a major player on the national level of Bank of America or Chase.

I’d have to open a lot of new accounts to go for this one. Savings account, brokerage account, credit card, move over assets, all for a bonus that is based on my credit card spend so will trickle in slowly. (None of these have a big upfront bonus.) Given the amount of shady stuff US Bank will probably have to deal with when paying 4% cash back, I’d also have to trust that it will last long enough to be worth the effort.

US Bank has a history of making cards and then pulling them from the market, but sometimes they also let the grandfathered users keep the old perk system. Hmm…

Filed Under: Banking, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: April 16, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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 Sapphire Preferred® Card Review: 100,000 Bonus Points (Highest Ever)

Posted on April 7, 2025 // 141 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a premium travel rewards credit card that has gotten very popular due to its useful rewards structure and flexible Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for cash, travel credits, or transferred to airline miles and hotel points. I’ve had it for years. Right now, there is a limited-time offer that matching the highest level ever. Here are the highlights:

  • 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $1,250 when redeemed through Chase TravelSM.
  • 5X total points on all travel purchased through Chase TravelSM.
  • 3X points on on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
  • 3X points on select streaming services. Includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube TV.
  • 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
  • 2X points on all other travel purchases.
  • 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
  • $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase TravelSM. New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase TravelSM. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
  • 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs.
  • 10% Anniversary Point Bonus. Each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year. That means, $25,000 in spend will earn an additional 2,500 bonus points.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • $95 annual fee.

Note the following text:

The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months.

Chase has an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

Ultimate Rewards points. This card offers a special 25% bonus on travel redemptions made through the Chase TravelSM site. For example, 60,000 Ultimate Rewards = $750 in travel. 75,000 Ultimate Rewards = $937.50 in travel. Similar to Expedia or Travelocity, you can book flights on most major airlines and hotel chains. This makes it much more flexible to spend your points. You can even buy something more expensive than your points can cover and pay the difference in cash.

If you have other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points like the Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited, you can transfer points into this card account and take advantage of the this higher premium. In other words, your existing Ultimate Rewards points balance could be increased in value by getting this card.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card is the “ultra-premium” rewards card that offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

Prefer airline and/or hotel points? This card also allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points into hotel and/or airline miles. Transfer to United Airlines, British Airways, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Southwest, Hyatt Hotels, IHG Hotels, and Marriott Hotels at a ratio of 1 Ultimate Rewards point = 1 mile/hotel point. Miles redemption continue to offer great value for savvy travelers, especially for last-minute travel and business class seats. I personally use the transfers to “top off” my account to reach a free coach ticket or free hotel night when I don’t have enough points otherwise. My favorite options are United miles, Southwest miles, and Hyatt hotel points. I usually try to save up my points for a Hyatt hotel stay that gets me over 2 cents per point value.

Cash redemptions are a simple and easy option at straight conversion of 100 points = $1.

Sharing points. Ultimate Rewards points are instantly transferable to other accounts including family members, as long as they have their own Chase card with Ultimate Rewards as an authorized user. This way, you can pool points together for transfers and redemptions if you like.

Additional card benefits:

  • Primary car rental collision damage waiver insurance. Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Most other cards only offer secondary coverage that kicks in only after the deductible of your individual insurance policy is used.
  • Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance. If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
  • Trip Delay Reimbursement. If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 6 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

Bottom line. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a popular premium travel rewards card with 3X points on dining out and 2X points on travel. Ultimate Rewards points are very flexible, either transferrable to several airline/hotel programs or directly redeemable to offset a hotel/airfare purchase through Chase TravelSM.

Compare with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, which offers a bigger 50% bonus on travel redemptions, along with more perks and a higher annual fee.

This offer is on my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Reviews //
Last updated: April 8, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

5% Cash Back Cards: Grocery Stores, Wholesale Clubs, Amazon, Streaming – April through June 2025

Posted on March 30, 2025 // 50 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

5percentbackActivation reminder for 2025 2nd Quarter. The credit cards below offer 5% cash back and up on specific categories that rotate each quarter. It takes a little extra attention, but it can add up to hundreds of dollars in additional rewards per year without changing your spending habits. You can also buy gift cards for other retailers at places like Grocery Stores and Home Improvement stores with 5% back now but spend the gift cards later. New cardmembers may also get an upfront sign-up bonus.

Discover it Card

From April 1st through June 30th, 2025, you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

  • Grocery Stores
  • Wholesale Clubs (Sam’s Club and BJ’s accept Discover)

Enroll after logging into your online account. 5% rewards won’t apply until after you activate your rewards, so it is best to activate now before you forget. No annual fee.

Discover it $100 bonus + Double Cashback Match details. If you are a new applicant and sign up via Discover Card referral link, you will get a $50 improved $100 Cashback Bonus after your first purchase within 3 months of being account opening. On top of that, you will also get Cashback Match for an entire year – a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, automatically. During those 12 months, your 5% cash back rewards becomes 10% cash back, and your 1% cash back rewards become 2% cash back. You can verify this on the application by looking under “Terms and Conditions” or searching for “cashback match” and “statement credit offer”:

Refer a Friend: You will receive a $100 statement credit after making a purchase within three months of account opening. A Balance Transfer or Cash Advance does not qualify as a purchase. You must apply online through your friend’s digital referral link and be approved by 11:59pm ET, December 31, 2025 in order to be eligible for the $100 statement credit offer. Phone, mail-in, and other digital applications are not eligible for referral rewards. Offer may not be combined with any other introductory offer. Promotional award will be applied within 8 weeks.

Cashback Match: We’ll match all the cash back rewards you’ve earned on your credit card from the day your new account is approved through your first 12 consecutive billing periods or 365 days, whichever is longer, and add it to your rewards account within two billing periods. You’ve earned cash back rewards only when they’re processed, which may be after the transaction date. We will not match: rewards that are processed after your match period ends; statement credits; rewards transfers from Discover checking or other deposit accounts; or rewards for accounts that are closed. This promotional offer may not be available in the future and is exclusively for new cardmembers. No purchase minimums.

Chase Freedom Flex Card

From April 1st through June 30th, 2025, you can earn 5% cash back (or 5X Ultimate Rewards points) on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

  • Amazon
  • Select Streaming Services (Includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube TV, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Showtime)

(The categories are also the same for the old Chase Freedom card, which is no longer available to new applicants.)

Enroll each quarter online in your Chase account or at ChaseBonus.com. As long as you activate by the 14th of the first month in each quarter, the rewards are retroactive. Technically, you earn Ultimate Rewards points which may be worth even more when converted to airline miles or hotel points instead of cash if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You could also use the Pay Yourself Back tool to additional value. Currently, the Chase Freedom Flex card is offering new applicants a $200 bonus if you sign up and make $500 in purchases in your first three months. No annual fee.

Citi Custom Cash Card

This card offers 5% cash back on your *single* top eligible spending category up to $500 each month (which effectively adds up to $1,500 a quarter). Eligible categories include broad ones like restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, or select travel, but you only get 5% for the top category that month and 1% on everything else. To simplify things you could, for example, elect to only use this card for 5% cash back on gas all year long (up to $500 per month).

Currently, the Citi Custom Cash card is offering new applicants a $200 bonus after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. You’ll actually get 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back. No annual fee.

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Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

  • 6% cash back at US supermarkets all year long (on up to $6,000 per year)
  • 6% cash back at select US streaming subscriptions (includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube TV, and more).
  • Disney Streaming Bundle benefit (worth up to $84/year). Get $7/month back (as a statement credit) after you spend $9.99 or more each month an on auto-renewing Disney Bundle subscription. Valid only at Disneyplus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.Espn.com in the US. You must enroll your card ahead of time.
  • 3% cash back at US gas stations and transit (taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
  • $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. (See Rates and Fees)
  • Terms Apply.

I use this card all year long for 6% cash back on groceries up to the limit and put all my streaming services on it (including Disney+ bundle), and then in December use up the $6k annual limit on gift cards bought in the supermarket aisle. New cardholders are also eligible for a $250 welcome offer after $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months. See details in link.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card

You must choose the two 5% cash back categories every quarter, out of a preset selection of specific categories:

  • Fast Food
  • Cell Phone Providers
  • Home Utilities
  • Ground Transportation
  • Select Clothing Stores
  • Electronics Stores
  • Car Rentals
  • Gyms/Fitness Centers
  • Sporting Goods Stores
  • Department Stores
  • Furniture Stores
  • Movie Theaters
  • TV, Internet, and Streaming Services

Unfortunately, you can’t pick a broad category like gas stations, restaurants, or grocery stores. Make sure to choose your categories each and every quarter, even if you want them to stay the same. If you do not choose your categories, all purchases revert to only earning 1% cash back for that quarter. No annual fee. Currently, new applicants are offered a $200 bonus after you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.

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Amazon Prime Rewards Card

Earn 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods all year long. Up to 10% cash back on select items during special promos. Prime membership required. New cardholder bonus varies by account. No annual fee.

Citi Dividend Card. This card has not been available to new applicants for years now, but if you still have the grandfathered card you can view and activate your quarterly 5% category here. Limit of $300 cash back for the calendar year.

Rates and Fees for Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express :Rates and Fees for Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 30, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard: 40,000 Point Offer (Worth $1,000 in Amtrak Fare)

Posted on March 26, 2025 // 7 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard, issued by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), offers a variety of perks for Amtrak riders. It also currently has a 40,000 points limited-time offer that is worth up to roughly $1,000 value in Amtrak train fare or $400 in Amazon gift cards. This boosted offer came around the same time last year. Here are the highlights:

  • 40,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in the first 3 billing cycles of account opening.
  • Roundtrip companion coupon upon account opening and card anniversary.
  • One-class upgrade upon account opening and card anniversary.
  • Station Lounge pass upon account opening and card anniversary.
  • 3X points per $1 spent on Amtrak travel, including onboard purchases.
  • 2X points per $1 spent on dining, travel, transit and rideshare.
  • 1X point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
  • 5% Amtrak Guest Rewards point rebate when you book your Amtrak redemption travel.
  • 20% rebate on food and beverage purchases on board, via statement credit on this card.
  • 1,000 Tier Qualifying Points (TQPs) every time you make at least $5,000 in purchases in a calendar year, up to 4,000 TQPs
  • Amtrak points will not expire as long as your card account is open.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • $99 annual fee.

This offer is not going to be attractive for everyone, but it can be very valuable if you either enjoy recreational train travel or if you can use it for your commuting needs.

Amtrak points are currently worth roughly 2.5 cents per points towards Amtrak train fare. That means 40,000 points is worth approximately $1,000 in Amtrak train fare. Amtrak redemptions are variable and directly-linked to the cash cost, so you can use points on basically any ticket. There is also the potential value of the companion coupon, lounge pass, and one-class upgrade.

The best value is for train fare, but Amtrak points do transfer to certain other hotel programs, although some require elite status in those programs.

Gift cards. You can also redeem for various gift cards at a rate of 5,000 points = $50 gift card. So 40,000 points would get you $400 in gift cards to Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc.

You could take the train across the entire country! There is an 18-hour Capitol Limited overnight train from Washington D.C. to Chicago in a “Superliner Bedroom” with a private bathroom.

You could then take the 3-day, 2-night trip on the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. Enjoy the views as you cut through both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.

Bottom line. The Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard currently has a limited-time offer that can get you roughly $1,000 value in Amtrak train fare, with an $99 annual fee. The potential value is high, but I don’t know if it is too niche to include in my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers. For you folks that prefer cash or near-cash, you could also get $400 in Amazon or Walmart gift cards with 40,000 points, minus the $99 annual fee.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 26, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

CIT Bank Platinum Savings $225/$300 Bonus + 4.10% APY (New and Existing Customers)

Posted on March 19, 2025 // 27 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Update 3/20/25: This solid deposit bonus is still available (full details below), but I also have a few updates. The rate on the Platinum Savings account is now 4.10% APY (as of 3/20/25) with a balance of $5,000 or more. I have updated the original post below as well. CIT Bank sent me follow-up e-mail confirmations about the status of my bonus, although they took a few days longer than I expected. Some readers report that CIT Bank has offered special, higher retention rates via popup window if you tried to make a large withdrawal transfer. These are not seen by everyone, and I would read these Doctor of Credit comments for more individual experiences.

Original post:

CIT Bank has a new limited-time $225/$300 Platinum Savings deposit bonus. The bonus depends on deposit amount, and it is open to both new and existing customers. The bonus is on top of the interest rate, currently 4.10% APY (as of 3/20/25) with a balance of $5,000 or more.

New deposit bonus details. For new customers, you must first open a new account with at least $100 and promo code PS2025 at this special offer link. You’ll get multiple confirmations that you are enrolled in the promo during the application process.

If you already had an CIT Bank existing account as of 2/26/25, you still need to first officially enroll in this offer via the “Start savings now” button and then logging into your CIT Bank account. If you have other CIT Bank accounts already, but need to open a new Platinum Savings account, you can do that easily as well.

There are only two tiers for the bonus, either $25,000 or $50,000. Qualifying funds must come from an account outside of CIT Bank. (Transfers from existing CIT Bank accounts will not qualify for this promotion.)

  • A new deposit of $25,000 to $49,999 within 30 calendar days of your open/enrollment date will get you a $225 cash bonus.
  • A new deposit of $50,000+ within 30 calendar days of your open/enrollment date will get you a $300 cash bonus.

There is a limit of one Platinum Savings promotional offer per account and per Primary customer. If multiple Platinum Savings accounts are opened, only one account per primary account owner is eligible.

All customers who qualify for the $225 or $300 bonus offer will receive the bonus in the enrolled Platinum Savings account within 60 days after the 30-day funding period. The enrolled Platinum Savings account must be open at the time of the bonus payment to qualify. You can fund all at once or in multiple transfers, it just has to be done within the 30-day window.

Importantly, there is no minimum holding period. You just need to fund within the 30-day period after your opening/enrollment date. Although not explicitly required in the terms, I choose to be extra careful and make sure to time it such that the money is through the 30-day mark. After that, your account just needs to be open at the time of the bonus payment, which is another 60 days after the 30-day mark. You do not have to maintain the balance during those additional 60 days, although you could choose to keep it there until the bonus arrives.

Effective APY rough numbers. The lack of minimum holding period makes the potential effective APY theoretically sky-high. For the sake of rough numbers, if you assume you keep the money there for 30 days, here are the effective interest rates you could get as either a new or existing customer:

  • For a new/existing customer earning the $225 bonus on $25,000 in new deposits with a 30-day hold period, which also qualifies you for the current 4.10% APY tier, that works out to a total 14.9% APY for 30 days (10.8 + 4.10).
  • For a new/existing customer earning the $300 bonus on $50,000 in new deposits with a 30-day hold period, which also qualifies you for the current 4.10% APY tier, that works out to a total 11.3% APY for 30 days (7.2 + 4.10).

You can see that the $25k tier works out to be a higher percentage, but you get more absolute money if you have enough fund for the $50k tier.

The Platinum Savings account has no minimum balance fees, no monthly service fees, no inactivity fee. Make sure you keep $5,000 in there to qualify for the highest interest rate tier.

Bottom line. CIT Bank has really good limited-time deposit bonuses from time to time, and they are also usually available to existing customers. Right now is one of those times, with a new up to $300 Platinum Savings deposit bonus and it is indeed open to both new and existing customers. The bonus is on top of the interest rate, currently 4.10% APY (as of 3/20/25) with a balance of $5,000 or more.

This offer is for a limited-time only, and they may end it at any time if their goals are met.

I am doing this offer, and as an existing CIT account owner, enrolling and funding was very easy as my other bank accounts were already linked and ready to go. My fund have arrived and they have confirmed my bonus by e-mail. They are also pretty solid as a transfer hub.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 20, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Webull ACAT Transfer Bonus: 3% of Assets Possible ($750 Bonus on $25,000)

Posted on March 17, 2025 // 5 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Updated with new offer. The Webull brokerage app is offering an updated ACAT Transfer bonus plus up to $100 in outgoing fee reimbursements on your first transfer of at least $5,000. This specific offer ends 4/6/25. The minimum hold period is 1 year (must hold past 4/20/26). The bonus percentages change with each tier, with the highest being the 3% ratio for the $750 bonus on $25,000 in new assets (or deposits). The bonus is paid out via 12 equal monthly installments.

Here are their directions:

  • Click the “Enroll Today” button.
  • Deposit or transfer a total of $5,000 or more into your brokerage accounts by 4/6/2025.(Joint accounts, Futures accounts, Advisor accounts and IRA accounts are excluded)
  • Receive the first payment of Cash Bonus within 45 days following the offer ends.
  • Maintain your Net Qualifying Funding Amount and receive monthly bonus payments until 4/20/2026.

Here are the full terms & conditions. Here’s what they say concerning offer eligibility.

This offer (the “Offer”) is open to individuals who (i) have a Webull Account (as defined below), and (ii) receive a push notification or other invitation to participate through the Webull mobile application, desktop application, or website (collectively, the “Webull Platform”) to participate in this Offer (such customers “Eligible Customers”).

I clicked the “Enroll Today” button and logged into my existing account, but was met with this popup:

We’re sorry, but you’re currently not eligible for this promotion. If you’d like to learn more or explore how you can participate, please contact promotion@webull.com. We’re happy to assist you!

Check for yourself, but my best guess is that this offer is limited to existing customers of Webull that have never done an ACAT transfer yet.

If you are a brand new customer, you should consider first grabbing their new customer bonus. Right now, you can get up to 40 free shares of stock (my referral link) if you open a new account, deposit $2,000 and keep it there for 30 days. The bonus shares have a minimum value of $3 each, so the minimum bonus value would be $120. It’s a lottery-type offer so the shares might be worth up to $3,000 each, but I’d expect just the $3 each and anything above will be gravy. (Open with $100 for 6 free shares, open with $500 for 20 free shares.)

As with all similar ACAT transfer offers, you can transfer over your existing stock holdings and the cost basis should also transfer over with no tax consequences. You just keep your same shares of Apple or index ETFs at a different broker. If you want to deposit cash, you could also own things like Treasury bill ETFs (ex. SGOV) or ultra-short term bond ETFs and earn interest on top of the bonus.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //
Last updated: March 17, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

American Express “Member Week” March 17-21 (Limited-Time Offers)

Posted on March 16, 2025 // 2 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

American Express is celebrating their 175th birthday (!) with a “Member Week” from March 17-21. They are touting various special offers. I honestly don’t know if they will be awesome or disappointing, but I figure that it’s worth logging into your AmEx account/app and checking your AmEx Offer. Here is the press release and the official Member Week page.

Besides a chance at tickets to see Gracie Abrams and a free martini at “participating restaurants in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta and Chicago”, here’s their teaser on the retail offers:

In honor of its 175th year, American Express will introduce new, limited-time Amex Offers for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Card Members. Eligible Consumer Card Members can access more than $290 in statement credits when they make qualifying purchases from brands like Kiehl’s, Levi’s, barnesandnoble.com, Brooks Brothers and Shiseido; eligible Business Card Members can access more than $500 in statement credits on qualifying purchases from HP, Lowe’s and more. More information about Amex Offers and redemption deadlines can be found here (terms apply).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 14, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Helium Mobile Promo Code: Get $50 Gift Card for Joining Free Cellular Plan

Posted on March 15, 2025 // 3 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Update: Helium Mobile just sent me an e-mail offering $50 in Cloud points (supposedly redeemable for gift cards to Airbnb, DoorDash, and Nike) for new customers if you open with the promo code GETLUCKY. Expires 11:59pm PT on March 18, 2025. Must be subscribed for at least 30 days in order to use points in Cloud Store. I’m still not a huge fan of their location tracking, but if you’re gonna go for this plan but haven’t yet, get the $50 in points!

Original post:

Helium Mobile is offering a “free” cellular plan that includes 100 minutes talk, 300 texts, and 3 GB of data per month (no hotspot). You have to upload a government-issued ID (name, address, date of birth, ID number), but you don’t need to provide a credit card. You also have to always allow Location Sharing so they can always track your exact location. Helium Mobile is a T-Mobile MVNO, so you will need a compatible unlocked GSM phone.

The free plan is currently waitlist-only unless you have an invite code, but one of the following invite codes should work to provide you immediate access. Click on the “Got an invite code?” link on the front page. Both iOS and Android apps are available. Try these:

  • JGKOS6O (my referral code)
  • HELIUMCEO
  • HELIUMFREE
  • BREAKFREE

They offer both eSIM and physical SIMs, but as of now the physical SIMs are out of stock and the expected wait time is at least a few weeks.

This is not the first cellular carrier to promote a “free” plan, nor the first to try and build a network of people sharing their WiFi for theoretically low-cost data (“Helium Hotspots”), and you shouldn’t be surprised that the reason beyond this new one is “something something crypto”. They never seem to last very long, and in the past have had hidden fees (FreedomPop) and sometimes required too much effort (RingPlus).

I probably wouldn’t bother using this as your primary number due to the hassle of porting in and out again possibly soon, but having an extra phone number can be useful for a variety of reasons. Some special offers are effectively limited to one per phone number, and sometimes you may not want to give out your primary phone number. You might have an old phone you want to use, or you could just add an eSIM number to your existing phone.

I’m concerned that the always-on location sharing would be a drain on battery life (in addition to your privacy). They say they use Fitness data which is less draining, but I’m still dubious. I would probably learn towards using an old phone.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 15, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Pepper Gift Card App: $20 Bonus w/ $200 Purchase (New Users)

Posted on March 14, 2025 // 41 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Update 4/23: Looks like the party is winding down. Pepper no longer sells Amazon or Sam’s Club gift cards when purchasing with credit cards. You can still redeem using points. 10X on Chipotle and DoorDash is all that remains. I would recommending spending your points.

Update 3/14: New extended sales from now until 11:59p ET on March 16th. Be sure you see the offer on your screen before tapping “Buy gift card”. For example, if you buy a $50 Sam’s Club gift card during an 10X offer you’ll get a total of 10,000 points – 2,000 instantly and 8,000 extra later (10,000 points = $5, example screenshot below). I check the Pepper app first thing every morning to see the limited-time Flash Sales and to redeem all my available points that arrived from past purchases. Also, check your AmEx Offers to see if you have a targeted $30 off $75 at Pepper.

  • Sam’s Club 10X/10% back. Sam’s Club codes work at Walmart, and vice versa. They are interchangeable, even after using it at one place you can still use the rest at the other. I’m topped up again.
  • Home Depot 10X/10% back.
  • DoorDash 10X/10% back.
  • Lowe’s 12X/12% back.
  • Chipotle 10X/10% back.
  • Giant Eagle/GetGo/Market District 10X/10% back.

I know these screenshots have older dates, but it shows what you’re looking for during a flash sale:

– Pepper points will now expire if 60 days pass without a purchase. If you made a purchase prior to 11/15/24, you’ll enjoy a grace period; this policy change will not take effect until February 1, 2025. Keep in mind you can buy a $1 gift card.

– Pepper has changed their referral offer to a fixed $20 bonus after spending $200 in your first 15 days. Stack with AmEx offers and a flash sale, if possible.)

Look to stack it with this $30 off $75 AmEx Offer. Search for “Pepper” in your AmEx app. You are less likely to find it again if you used it already.

Original post, updated:

Pepper continues to offer up “flash sales” that offer big discounts on gift cards from Sam’s Club, REI, Sam’s Club, and so on. Plus you still get whatever credit card rewards from the Pepper purchase. Examples are Sam’s Club (= Walmart) at 10% back, IKEA 18% back, Airbnb 14% back in the form of points. Stock up quickly when you see the sale in the app. Redeem instantly into your respective store accounts, if you wish. (Tip: The math will work out. Every 2,000 points is worth $1 in future gift cards. 10,000 points = $5, and so on. Must redeem in increments of $5.)

Here’s the current offer for new Pepper users:

  • Download the Pepper Rewards app and be sure to enter a referral code 588494 on the first screen when joining. Thanks if you use it!
  • Get $20 after spending $200 in your first 15 days. This bonus has changed from the previous offer, but still not bad astheir old double offer only applied on their standard 4X rates, while their daily flash rates are 10X to 15X.
  • You’ll also earn rewards from using your credit card for purchase. Use a 2% or better cash back rewards card, or use it to satisfy a credit card bonus spending requirement that is even better than 2%.

Pepper is an iOS and Android app that sells discounted, new gift cards in exact amounts that are delivered instantly on your phone. This lets you to wait until the moment before purchase when you already have the final purchase price (in-person or online), and then go buy a discounted gift card via the app down to the penny. The main problem with gift cards is when you don’t use up the entire balance. This helps to avoid the waste.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
Last updated: April 23, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card Review: 185,000 Bonus Points Offer

Posted on March 13, 2025 // 8 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

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Improved offer (nearly double the previous bonus). The card_name is the premium co-branded rewards card for Marriott hotels. This card has a hefty annual fee, but a closer look reveals it’s not as bad as it looks initially due to perks like flexible dining credits, airport lounge access, and elite status. Here are the highlights:

  • 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
  • $300 in Annual Dining Credits, valid at restaurants worldwide. Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 each month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant(R) American Express(R) Card at restaurants worldwide.
  • Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. This level includes better free room upgrades, including enhanced views or suites, when available at select properties and booked with a Qualifying Rate.
  • Priority Pass™ Select airport lounge membership. Enroll and get unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. Enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location. Enrollment required.
  • 6X Points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® for each dollar of eligible purchases.
  • 3X Points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
  • 2X points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant(R) American Express(R) Card.
  • $100 Marriott Bonvoy(R) Property Credit: Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton(R) or St. Regis(R) when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Certain hotels have resort fees.
  • Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant(R) American Express(R) Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Brilliant Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
  • 25 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $650 Annual Fee.
  • See Rates and Fees

Keep in mind the following:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.

Welcome offer not available to applicants who (i) have or have had The Ritz-Carlton® Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card in the last 30 days, (ii) have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or (iii) received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 24 months.

This is why you should be looking to get the best possible bonus (like a limited-time offer) if you do apply.

$300 Dining Statement Credit. As long as you make $25 in restaurant purchases on this card each month, they $300 in annual dining statement credits should be easily obtainable. This knocks down the scary $650 annual fee down to effectively $350 net. My first read of this perk was that you had to spend it at a Marriott hotel restaurant, but in fact you can make the purchase at any restaurant worldwide.

You can receive up to $300 in statement credits issued to your Card Account for eligible purchases charged to your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide. Purchases by both the Basic Card Member and Additional Card Members on an eligible Card Account are eligible for statement credits. Each Card Account is eligible for up to $25 in statement credits per month, for a total of up to $300 per calendar year in statement credits across all Cards on the Account.

Priority Pass Select. Includes access at over 1,200 airport lounges for the cardholder plus two guests free. Enrollment required. I’m not sure how I’d value this perk, but I’ve definitely enjoyed it in the past.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card Members must enroll in the Priority Pass™ Select program through the benefits section of their americanexpress.com account or by calling the number on the back of their Card to receive the benefit. Priority Pass is an independent airport lounge access program. At any visit to a Priority Pass Select lounge that admits guests, you may bring in two guests for no charge.

What is a reasonable estimate for the value of a Marriott Bonvoy point? As of April 2022, Marriott no longer has a fixed hotel category chart for booking points. You can still use these points at either long-time Marriott brands (Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites) or former Starwood brands (Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft), but now it is “dynamic” awards where the points required are more linked to the actual cash cost than before.

Based on multiple real-world searches of redeemable properties, I choose to use a conservative estimate of 0.70 cents per Bonvoy point. That means 95,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $665 redeemable value, and 185,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $1,295 redeemable hotel night value. Remember to compare the full price of the hotel price with all taxes, as that is what you would have to pay instead of just points. With the flexibility of points, you could book a week stay at a modest hotel or a couple nights at a luxury resort.

You can use the Marriott free night search tool to price out some sample hotels for yourself.

Free Night Award (85K) with Card Renewal. At your card anniversary (when you pay the annual fee), you will receive a Free Night Award that is good for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. This is a much better perk than the other 35K and 50K free night awards out there. It’s definitely not hard to get $350 of value out of this award. Here are some sample hotels that I have tried to book in the past that came in at or under 85,000 points for selected dates:

  • The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Hawaii
  • JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa
  • Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris
  • The St. Regis Deer Valley
  • The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, DC
  • The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Colorado.
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui (Thailand)
  • The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (Big Island, Hawaii)
  • The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
  • Wailea Beach Resort – Marriott, Maui

NEW: Certificates can be combined with up to 15,000 points for nicer hotels. Marriott now allows you to supplement your free night certificates with up to 15,000 points of your own. In other words, if your certificate is worth 85,000 points, the maximum hotel value you can redeem for is 100,000 points after adding 15,000 points of your own. Here are details on the Free Night Award Top Off option.

Bonvoy Points can also be transferred to airline miles with a bonus. You can convert your Bonvoy points to miles at 39 participating airlines. The standard ratio with most programs is 3:1 (60,000 Bonvoy: 20,000 airlines) miles. Most programs will add on a bonus 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer to frequent flyer miles (does not apply to American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles, Delta SkyMiles and Korean Air SKYPASS.) If you’re a United MileagePlus® member, you’ll get 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points you transfer. More information here.

Finally, Marriott points are also convertible to gift cards, but it takes 60,000 points to redeem for a $200 gift card for Marriott or retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, or Nordstrom. That ratio isn’t all that great, so you’ll definitely get the most value via hotel night redemptions or airline miles transfer.

Bottom line. The card_name is the premium co-branded card between Marriott hotels and American Express. There is a long list of perks, including a flexible dining credit on restaurant purchases and a valuable free night award each card anniversary. As with all hotel cards, the value is dependent on your unique travel preferences.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

(See Rates and Fees)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, General //
Last updated: March 13, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card Review: 3 Free Night Awards Welcome Offer

Posted on March 13, 2025 // 2 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

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New offer. The card_name is the re-branded business credit card of the Marriott Bonvoy program. This card offers unique perks for Marriott customers, along with a generous new customer incentive. Here are the highlights:

  • Welcome Offer: 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply.
  • New award night top-off option: Marriott now allows you to supplement your free night certificates with up to 15,000 points of your own. For example, the 50k Award can be used to book a hotel at 65,000 points level if you spend 15,000 points of your own. This opens up the number of potential hotels available in expensive areas.
  • Room rate discount: 7% discount on eligible Marriott Bonvoy hotel bookings as a benefit of being both a Marriott Bonvoy(R) member & a Marriott Bonvoy Business(R) American Express(R) Card Member when you book directly with Marriott through an eligible channel for a participating property under the Amex Business Card Rate.
  • 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy(R) program.
  • 4X Marriott Bonvoy points at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping.
  • 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
  • Receive a Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60k in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R). Certain hotels have resort fees.
  • Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with this card.
  • Elite Night Credits: Receive credit for 15 nights towards the next level of Marriott Bonvoy Elite status, each calendar year.
  • Annual fee is $125.
  • See Rates and Fees

Keep in mind the following terms and conditions:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who (i) have or have had the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards® Business Credit Card from Chase in the last 30 days, (ii) have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card from Chase or the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or (iii) received a new Card Member bonus offer in the last 24 months on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase or the Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card from Chase.

This is more specific than before, note the different 30-day, 90-day, and 24-month waiting periods that may now include consumer cards. American Express usually gives you a pop-up warning during the application process if you are ineligible based on their records. This is why you should be looking to get the best possible bonus (like a limited-time offer) when you do apply.

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, Uber/Lyft drivers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

NEW: Certificates can be combined with up to 15,000 points for nicer hotels. Marriott now allows you to supplement your free night certificates with up to 15,000 points of your own. In other words, if your certificate is worth 35,000 points, the maximum hotel value you can redeem for is 50,000 points after adding 15,000 points of your own. if your certificate is worth 50,000 points, the maximum hotel value you can redeem for is 65,000 points after adding 15,000 points of your own.

You can use the Marriott free night search tool to price out some sample hotels for yourself. Also, here are details on the Free Night Award Top Off option.

What is a reasonable estimate for the value of a Marriott Bonvoy point? Based on multiple real-world searches of redeemable properties, I choose to use a conservative estimate of 0.70 cents per Bonvoy point. That means 50,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $350 redeemable value, and 100,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $700 redeemable hotel night value. However, I almost always get closer to 1 cent per point value when I actually choose to redeem. Remember to compare the full price of the hotel price with all taxes, as that is what you would have to pay instead of just points.

50k Free Night Award (Welcome Offer). Based on a few quick searches (log in and try to book with points), the following premium hotels can potentially be booked for 65,000 points or less. (* Marriott no longer publishes a fixed point award chart):

  • The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, Big Island, Hawaii
  • The Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Bali
  • Le Meridien Maldives Resort & Spa
  • JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa
  • Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld®
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes

35k Free Night Award (Anniversary). At your card anniversary, you will receive a Free Night Award that is good for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. This excludes the very top properties, but for regular travelers it will be very easy to get your $95 or even $125 value. Many W Hotels, Westin, and even some Ritz-Carltons worldwide are included. Here are some sample hotels that may qualify under the 35,000 point limit (* Marriott no longer publishes a fixed point award chart):

  • Sheraton Kona Resort (Big Island, Hawaii)
  • Courtyard Waikiki Beach (Honolulu, Oahu)
  • Sheraton Kauai Resort (Kauai, Hawaii)
  • W Atlanta
  • New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
  • Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
  • W Chicago
  • The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, China
  • The S. Regis Bangkok, Thailand

You can expand this even further if you use the top-off option and look for hotels at up to 50,000 Bonvoy points.

Bottom line. The card_name is the co-branded business card between Marriott hotels and American Express. You also get a Free Night Award at card anniversary, which can be worth much more than the annual fee. Check out the current welcome offer, which can be redeemed for multiple free nights at hotels around the world.

Also see: Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

(See Rates and Fees)

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, General //
Last updated: March 13, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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 Becomes Just Another Commodity Airline (Basic Economy, No Checked Bags, Less Legroom, Paid Seating)

Posted on March 13, 2025 // 12 Comments
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

The big news in travel is that Southwest Airlines has basically given up their unique “We are different!” corporate identity and become just another commodity airline that tries to look as cheap as possible upfront (only $200!) while adding multiple fees on the backend for all the things that used to be included (want to sit next to each other? checked bags? decent legroom? ok sure it’s really $500). As educated consumers, our job is to understand the changes to their value proposition and adjust accordingly. Here’s a list of the new Southwest realities:

  • Basic Economy has arrived to Southwest. The cheapest fare tier is now called “Basic”, not “Wanna Get Away”. You can no longer make free changes; you only get a non-transferrable credit that expires after only 6 months. Earns only 2X points, down from 6X points (elite status-holders get a little more). They are stripping everything possible because Southwest believes that people just pick the lowest fare regardless of features when listed on a comparison site like Google Flights or Expedia.
  • No more free bags. Starting 5/29, on most fares you’ll no longer get two free bags included and they’ll start charging you like everyone else. Business Select fares and A-List Preferred elites will get 2 free checked bags. A-List elites and co-branded credit cardholders will get 1 free checked bag.
  • No more open seating. Must pay for seat choice. Southwest is moving to assigned seats as well, which means Basic fares will have to pay up to pick their seats or be stuck in the worst middle seats or in the back.
  • No more reasonable legroom for everyone. Southwest used to be known for decent seat width and legroom in all its seats. Southwest is now adding “premium” extra-legroom seats if you pay extra $$$. This usually means the rest of Economy loses a few inches in return (right now it looks like seat pitch will go down to 31″ from 32″, similar to Basic Economy for other major airlines).
  • Changes to Rapid Rewards points redemptions. When redeeming Rapid Rewards points for flights, it will not longer be directly linked to the current cash fare. Basically, they want to be able to charge whatever amount they want, and limit the number of award tickets available on certain flights.

I wouldn’t actually read this Southwest press release because it has so much PR-spin that it is quite trifficult to understand what they are actually doing, but this attached graphic is useful:

It’s almost funny because you can still look up their old talking points and interviews on why open seating is better, why keeping free checked bags is better, why the fact that Southwest treats everyone well is important, but now it’s just the exact opposite. Your unique brand was around for 50 years, but now you’ve traded it all for a temporary bump in share price.

Well, Southwest, if you want us to just judge you on price, that’s fine with me. Selling a commodity product is usually a tough business, though. Prediction: The next step is to be merged away with another major airline soon.

In the meantime, I’m not sure if this makes their co-branded credit card more desirable or not. The card has basically added a free checked bag benefit that can be valuable, and some of them offer seating choice perks, but if you were a loyal Southwest flier, these new changes may cause you to not fly them as much anymore and now try out other airlines.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //
Last updated: March 13, 2025
My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. 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.

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