The Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Chase Sapphire Reserve card have been very popular for their generous travel and dining perks, but right now travel and dining aren’t really happening. Chase has wisely adjusted their rewards program for this new environment, in addition to the recently-added Doordash benefits. I will definitely be taking advantage of these new earning perks, although I’m still leaning slightly towards keeping my points to redeem toward a Hyatt hotel vacation one day…

Chase Sapphire Preferred new changes:

• 3x points at grocery stores. Earn 3x total points on grocery store purchases from May 1 to June 30, 2020, on up to $1,500 each calendar month. No activation required. Includes Instacart.
• Redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.25 cents per points towards grocery store, dining, and home improvement purchases. (Previously only travel through their portal.) “With the Pay Yourself BackSM tool, your Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for statement credits against purchases in our current categories: grocery stores, dining (including restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services), and home improvement stores such as Home Depot® and Lowes®. Just choose an eligible purchase you made in the past 90 days, apply points for all or part of the purchase, and you’ll get a statement credit. Take advantage of this promotion through September 30, 2020.1”

Since you can earn at 3 points per dollar spent and redeem at 1.25 cents per point at the grocery store, this is effectively makes the Sapphire Preferred a 3.75% cash back card towards groceries (up to $1,500 in purchase each month until 6/30/20). Keep in mind that you can buy many types of gift cards at grocery stores as well, including Amazon.

Chase Sapphire Reserve new changes:

• 5x points at grocery stores. Earn 5x total points on grocery store purchases from May 1 to June 30, 2020, on up to $1,500 each calendar month. No activation required. Includes Instacart.
• Redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents per points towards grocery store, dining, and home improvement purchases. (Previously only travel through their portal.) “With the Pay Yourself BackSM tool, your Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 50% more when you redeem them for statement credits against purchases in our current categories: grocery stores, dining (including restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services), and home improvement stores such as Home Depot® and Lowes®. Just choose an eligible purchase you made in the past 90 days, apply points for all or part of the purchase, and you’ll get a statement credit. Take advantage of this promotion through September 30, 2020.”
• $300 annual travel credit counts towards gas station and grocery store purchases. “Now enjoy more flexibility with your annual $300 Travel Credit. From June 1 through December 31, 2020, gas station and grocery store purchases will also count toward earning your Travel Credit. You’ll also earn points on these purchases (and, as always, after your first $300 in travel purchases, you’ll immediately start earning 3x points on travel).”
• Annual fee renewal $100 discount. Sapphire Reserve annual fee renewals through the end of 2020 will be $450 instead of the normal $550. This is only for renewals, not new cardmembers.

Since you can earn at 5 points per dollar spent and redeem at 1.5 cents per point at the grocery store, this is effectively makes the Sapphire Reserve a 7.5% cash back card towards groceries (up to $1,500 in purchases each month until 6/30/20). Keep in mind that you can buy many types of gift cards at grocery stores as well, including Amazon.

(Note: Due to the impact of COVID-19, for eligible Card accounts approved from December 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020 for which you are eligible for a welcome offer, the period to make eligible purchases to earn your American Express welcome bonus will be extended for an additional 3 months.)

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has been in heavy rotation recently: 6% cash back at US stand-alone supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases. If you spend $100 a week at supermarkets, that alone will earn you over $300 a year in rewards. Here are the updated highlights:

• $250 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 3 months.
• 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
• 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
• 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. (NEW)
• 3% Cash Back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more. (NEW)
• 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
• $95 annual fee.

It also worked out that they added 6% back on select US streaming subscriptions (see below for full list), all while removing the ability to earn 3% cash back at U.S. department stores.

Max out your benefit by buying gift cards at US supermarkets. I use this card to buy gift cards at a standalone US supermarket to use up the annual limit and get 6% back. My local Safeway has an entire wall of options, but I usually go with Amazon, Apple iTunes, or Starbucks. You can easily confirm that your purchase still gets 6% cash back on your account online:

Supermarkets details. “US stand-alone supermarkets” means that superstores, convenience stores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets. This means no Super Wal-Mart, no Super Target, no Costco. Examples of merchants that count (and this is not a complete list!) are Safeway, Whole Foods, Meijer, Vons, Winn-Dixie, Gristedes, Shoprite, Stop and Shop, and online supermarkets such as FreshDirect.

Gasoline details. “US stand-alone gas stations” means that superstores, supermarkets, and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations. This means no Target, no Costco, no Sam’s Club. Examples of merchants that count (and this is not a complete list!) are Exxon, Mobil, Hess, Shell, Gulf, Murphy USA, Murphy Express.

US Streaming Subscriptions details. These are all included:

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

Annual fee. There is a $95 annual fee, so you’ll want to utilize that 6% cash back on groceries to maximize your value. If you spend the max cap of $500 a month at supermarkets, at 6% back that would net you $360 cash back in a year vs. $60 at 1% cash back. Note that simply spending $31 per week at supermarkets at 6% cash back will result in over $95 Reward Dollars per year to cover the annual fee.

If you don’t like the idea of paying an annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers 3% at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases with no annual fee. It currently offers a $150 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 3 months.

Cash back is officially given in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit, gift cards, and merchandise. I always just stick with statements credit to directly pay down my monthly bill.

Bottom line. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has the key feature of 6% cash back at US supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year). You can now also get 6% cash back on Netflix/Spotify/HBO Now as well as 3% cash back at US gas stations and transit (Uber/Lyft/train). This has been a “keeper” card for me for many years now. I treat it like one of my 5% cash back cards, except there are no rotating categories or activations to worry about.

I’ve ignored this card until now, but the Citi Rewards+ Card has become more attractive in this environment with its 0% introductory APR for 15 months from date of account opening, upfront sign-up bonus, and round-ups rewards on small purchases with no annual fee. (Credit card companies tend to cut back on the 0% offers during recessions.) Here are the highlights:

• 15,000 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. 15,000 ThankYou points = $150 in gift cards at ThankYou.com.
• 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months. Balance transfer fee is either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
• Minimum 10 points earned on every purchase. The card automatically rounds up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase, so for example a $1 parking charge or $2 cup of coffee can earn 10 points. This happens on every purchase with no cap.
• 2X points at Supermarkets & Gas Stations on the first $6,000 per year. 1 point per $1 spent thereafter.
• 10% of your points rebated back on the first 100,000 ThankYou® Points redeemed per year.
• No annual fee.

Note the following terms:

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

0% introductory APR on purchases for 15 months. This is one of the longest 0% intro periods on purchases, which means that you can keep charging all your purchases on this card for 15 months and not have to pay any interest. Carrying a credit card balance is obviously not ideal, but in extreme times such an offer can help with short-term cashflow issues and defer your monthly expenses until later. You will still need to keep making the minimum payments each month to keep the 0% rate. There is also 0% intro APR for 15 months for balance transfers, but that comes with a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Round up rewards, helpful on small purchases. The default rewards on this card is 1 point per $1 spent, which is rather common these days. They try to mix things up by making it round up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase. For example, a $1 purchase would earn 10 points, not 1 point. A $2 purchase would earn 10 points, not 2 points. A $11 purchase would earn 20 points, not 11 points. This makes the effective rewards percentage much higher on small purchases. If you make a lot of small purchases, this card is well-suited for you.

If you have a high monthly spend amount, I would recommend the Citi Double Cash card instead, as it earns 2% cash back on purchases.

10% Points Back for the first 100,000 ThankYou® Points you redeem per year. Let’s say you get that 15,000 points bonus and earn another 5,000 points from your purchases. When you redeem your 20,000 ThankYou points for a $200 gift card, you’ll also get 2,000 points rebated back to your account.

Combine with Citi Prestige or Citi Premier Cards. If you also have the Citi Prestige Card or Citi Premier Card (which do have annual fees), you move your ThankYou points into the account linked to those cards and then transfer them to airline partners such as Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, or Singapore Airlines. This would effectively increase the value of the points earned from the Citi Rewards+ card.

Bottom line. The Citi Rewards+ Card offers a long 15-month 0% introductory APR period on purchases on top of a 15,000 point sign-up bonus worth $150 in gift cards. This can help you with short-term cashflow issues by charging your purchases with no interest accruing during the first year and three months. There is also a unique rewards structure for those that make a lot of small purchases. No annual fee.

Updated. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® is a solid business travel card from Citi and American Airlines. They have recently boosted their sign-up bonus with a limited-time offer. I am still busy accumulating miles as I fully believe that we will be traveling once again. Here are the details:

• 65,000 American Airlines bonus miles after $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months.
• First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions.
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
• 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations.
• 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on other purchases
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Annual fee $99, waived for the first 12 months.

Note the following fine print:

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

To clarify, you can have one of both the consumer version of this card and this business version under your name. The bonuses are also separate.

Baggage fee value. Currently, American Airlines recently joined the other airlines and now charges $30 one-way for the first checked bag and $40 one-way for the second checked bag in Economy. That’s $60 roundtrip for a single checked bag, per person. With this card, your first checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation.

Redemption tips. American Airlines MileSAAver awards are still 25,000 miles for a round-trip ticket within the contiguous 48 states. Their online system is pretty good for looking for domestic AA awards. If the trip is less than 500 miles, then it is only 15,000 miles round-trip within the contiguous 48 states. Under-500 miles routes include Las Vegas to/from Los Angeles, Charleston to/from Miami, New York to/from Washington DC, Philadelphia to Boston, and many others.

This card also makes you eligible for Reduced Mileage Awards, where you save up to 7,500 miles on roundtrip MileSAAver® awards to select destinations on American Airlines operated flights.

Companion Certificate perk. I don’t see this available on the consumer version of this card: Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate for domestic main cabin travel after you spend $30,000 or more in purchases each cardmembership year and cardmembership is renewed. Redeeming the certificate costs $99 for the ticketing fee plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees, based on itinerary.

Business card eligibility. Many people aren’t aware that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. Any individual can be a small business. Perhaps you sell items on eBay, Craiglist, or Etsy. Maybe you do some graphic design, web design, freelancing and/or consulting. If you received a 1099-MISC tax form and filled out a Schedule C, that means you have business income, you pay self-employment taxes, and you’re a sole proprietorship. 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.

Bottom line. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® offers a lot of potential value when you regularly fly on American and use the early boarding and free first checked bag benefit (now $60 per person, roundtrip). Right now, there is a limited-time sign-up bonus and the annual fee is waived for the first year.

Please note this a business card, designed specifically for businesses. Click here for the consumer version.

The Chase IHG Rewards Club Traveler card is the IHG hotel card that includes a sign-up bonus and special IHG perks but with no annual fee. They just improved the sign-up bonus from 60k to 75k points. Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 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.
• No annual fee.

This is a new card, but 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 Traveler” card, so this language means that if you have the older and different “Premier” or “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 you should expect around 0.60 cents of value per point, which would make 60,000 IHG points worth an estimated $360 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.

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 0.6 cent per IHG point valuation, 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

Upgrade to Premier? Downgrade to Traveler? If you can reliably use a anniversary night certificate (40,000 point maximum value) and get $89 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 an improved sign-up bonus boost of 75,000 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.

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card emerged after the merger of Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott (formerly the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card). This card offers unique perks for regular Marriott customers, and offers a 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy point bonus. Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 bonus points after $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
• 6X Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels.
• 2X Bonvoy points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• Automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year.
• 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
• $95 annual fee.

Keep in mind the following:

The bonus is not available to you if you:

(1) are a current cardmember, or were a previous cardmember within the last 30 days, of Marriott BonvoyTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express);

(2) are a current or previous cardmember of either Marriott Bonvoy BusinessTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy BrilliantTM American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card), and received a new cardmember bonus or upgrade bonus in the last 24 months; or

(3) applied and were approved for Marriott Bonvoy BusinessTM American Express® Card (also known as The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express) or Marriott Bonvoy BrilliantTM American Express® Card (also known as the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card) within the last 90 days.

That’s a lot of long card names, but note the different 30-day, 90-day, and 24-month waiting periods that may now include Marriott business cards. (See my Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card Review.) This is why you should be looking to get the best possible bonus (like a limited-time offer) if you do apply.

The Marriott and Starwood merger is now complete, and you can use these points at either Marriott properties (Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites) or former Starwood Properties (Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft).

Here’s the current award chart:

You could use 70,000 points on two free nights at a Category 5 hotel like the Courtyard Waikiki Beach in Hawaii on a standard date, or you could get 4 free nights at a Category 3 hotel like the Residence Inn Austin Arboretum.

You can still turn your points into airline miles with a bonus. 60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 airline miles. Similar to the old Starwood bonus structure, they will add 15,000 points for every 60,000 points you transfer to airline miles.

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.

Free Night Award. 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 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 value. Many W Hotels, Westin, and even some Ritz-Carltons worldwide are included. Here are some sample hotels that qualify under the 35,000 point limit:

• Sheraton Kona Resort (Big Island, Hawaii)
• Westin Hapuna Beach 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

Bottom line. The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card (formerly the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card) has a sign-up bonus offer of 750,00 Marriott points. As with all hotel cards, the value is dependent on your unique travel preferences. If you stay at Marriott/Starwood properties regularly, the free annual night award should easily cover the annual fee.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

I enjoy my credit card rewards, but carrying a balance at 15%+ interest is much more impactful on your finances! In fact, the WSJ reports that companies are charging higher interest rates because of their generous rewards programs. If you are ready to pay down that debt, consider transferring your balance to another issuer at a lower rate. Shopping around can save you thousands in interest.

You’ll want the best combination of the longest 0% APR period and the lowest balance transfer fees. Having no balance transfer fee is obviously best, but if you need to spread out your payments, it may be better to pick a longer term with a modest balance transfer fee. For example, if you are paying 20% APR, that’s like paying 1.66% on your balance every month. Below are the best 0% APR balance transfer offers from a variety of issuers (since you can’t transfer balances within the same issuer) as of February 2020.

1) Amex EveryDay Card from American Express – 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers and no balance transfer fee during the first 60 days after opening the account. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. Plus, earn a bonus 20,000 Membership Rewards points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. No annual fee.

2) Citi Simplicity Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of first transfer. All transfers must be completed in first 4 months. 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. This card provides a longer term, but note that there is a balance transfer fee of 5% of the amount of each credit card balance transfer or $5, whichever is greater. No annual fee.

3) BankAmericard Credit Card – 0% Introductory APR for 15 billing cycles on both balance transfers and purchases and no balance transfer fee during the first 60 days after opening the account. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. No annual fee.

4) Chase Slate Card – 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on both balance transfers and purchases and no balance transfer fee during the first 60 days after opening the account. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. No annual fee.

5) First Tech Fed Choice Rewards Card – 0% Introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers and no balance transfer fee during the first 90 days after account opening. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You must be an First Tech Federal Credit Union member to obtain this card, but membership is open to everyone who joins a partner organization for as little as $8. No annual fee.

6) ABOC Platinum Rewards Credit Card – 0% Introductory APR for 18 months on balance transfers with a 3% fee (minimum $5). You must transfer your balance within 90 days of your account open date for the promotional APR to apply. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You also get 5X rewards on rotating categories each quarter. No annual fee.

New limited-time 100k small business card bonus. Southwest Airlines offers a unique feature called the Companion Pass, which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book either paid or award flights (including to Hawaii!). If you either fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 125,000 qualifying points (or 100 one-way flights) within calendar year 2020, you’ll earn the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021! (That makes right now the perfect time to start your collecting.) You can change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.

Points earned from credit cards count toward that 125,000 point requirement, including sign-up bonuses. You can often get very close to that magic number when you add up the potential miles from these Southwest consumer and business cards. This is on top of the value of redeeming those points for miles (75,000 points can get you $1,100+ in Wanna Get Away airfare).

New! – Qualify for a Companion Pass in 2020 and 2021 with a single credit card sign-up and 25k in qualifying purchases! For a limited-time, if you apply for the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card (see below) and can satisfy the required $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months and $25,000 in purchases in the first 6 months, you will have earned at least 25,000 Rapid Rewards points from your spendings PLUS the 100,000 bonus points, which brings you to a total of 125,000 points = Companion Pass! Not to mention the roughly $1,500 worth of in Wanna Get Away airfare.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card

• Up to 100,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points. Earn 70,000 points after $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Earn an additional 30,000 points after $25,000 in purchases in the first 6 months, for a total of 100,000 points.
• 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest Airlines® purchases.
• 2 points per $1 spent 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 of up to 365 x $8 credits.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee credit in the form of a statement credit of up to $100 every four years.
• $199 annual fee.

Here is the rest of the Southwest credit card line-up:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 7,500 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit.
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• 20% back on inflight drinks, WiFi, messaging, and movies.
• Earn tier qualifying points towards A-list status.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $149 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier card

• 40,000 bonus Rapid Rewards points after you $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 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.
• 2 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner purchases.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $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 1.5 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $600+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 40,000 points or $900+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for 60,000 points or $1,100+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 75,000 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.

A backup option is gift card redemptions. You can currently redeem 6,750 points for a $50 a Amazon.com or Walmart gift certificate. That makes 60,000 points worth $444 in Amazon or Walmart gift cards. It’s something, but less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.

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.

Extending 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. The idea is is to book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, thus doubling the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. Right now, you can earn up to 100,000 Southwest points from qualifying for a single credit card sign-up, which in itself can be redeemed for a lot of free Southwest flights (including to Hawaii!). Earning 125,000 points overall (including from credit card rewards and bonuses) in a year will earn you the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points for the rest of the current year and all of the next year. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.

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

The JetBlue Plus credit card has a limited-time offer for 60,000 bonus TrueBlue points for first-time cardmembers. The previous bonus was 40,000 points. Here are the highlights:

• 60,000 bonus TrueBlue points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days and paying the $99 annual fee.
• First checked bag is free for the primary cardmember and up to 3 companions when you use your JetBlue Plus Card.
• 6X points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• No blackout dates on JetBlue-operated flights & redeem for any seat, any time on JetBlue flights. – Points required for an Award Flight will vary based on the published base fare at the time of booking.
• Annual $100 statement credit after you purchase a JetBlue Vacations package of $100 or more.
• Points awarded in your TrueBlue account don’t expire.
• Earn and share points together with Family Pooling.
• 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails, food and movies.
• Get 10% of your points back every time you redeem to use toward your next redemption.
• 5,000 TrueBlue bonus points annually after your account anniversary.
• $99 annual fee.

First checked bags on JetBlue usually cost $30 each-way, per person. The free checked bag perk applies to you and up to 3 travel companions on the same reservation when (1) the ticket is purchased with your JetBlue Plus card, (2) the primary cardmember’s TrueBlue member number must be entered at the time of booking. That works out great for a family traveling together. If you buy higher fare classes, a certain number of complimentary bags may already be included.

How does redeeming TrueBlue points work? TrueBlue works on a revenue-based system, where the points required depends on the current cash cost of the flight (with no blackout dates). If they sell it for cash, you can book it with points. This is opposed to traditional chart-based systems that charge a fixed point balance but imposes blackout dates and limited seat availability.

TrueBlue points are best redeemed for JetBlue flights. There are some other options like newspaper or magazine subscriptions, but I won’t cover them here.

TrueBlue points can be estimated at 1 points = 1.4 cents. Ex. 30,000 points would cover $420 in JetBlue airfare. The exact value may vary, but 1.4 cents is very close to what I found across Blue, Blue Plus, and Blue Flex fares. You can easily test it out yourself by pricing out the same flight on JetBlue.com using points or cash.

This means 2X points back on restaurants and groceries can be estimated as 2.8% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 3X points back on Jetlue-operated flights can be 4.2% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 6X points back with the Plus card on Jetlue-operated flights can be 8.4% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare.

Upon the renewal of your $99 annual fee, you get another 5,000 TrueBlue points ($70 of airfare value at 1.4 cents/point). If you can take advantage of the free checked bag perk, there is definitely ongoing value for regular JetBlue fliers. I haven’t investigated the $100 off a JetBlue Vacations package, but it could be worth something as well.

Bottom line. The JetBlue Plus card from Barclaycard is running a limited-time offer. At 1.4 cents per TrueBlue point, 60,000 bonus points can be valued at $840 towards JetBlue fares. Minus the $99 annual fee, and that is still a very solid first-year value for even casual JetBlue customers. Add the baggage perk which you could value at an additional $60 per roundtrip Blue fare, per person (covers you and 3 companions, so great for a family traveling together). You would need to be a regular JetBlue flier to get value out of the card on an ongoing basis.

Delta Airlines has updated their line-up of co-branded American Express cards. These still offer various special perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and the ability to earn Delta Skymiles with card purchases. In addition, as you can only get the welcome bonuses once on each of these cards per person per lifetime (each card is considered different, but these are not “new” cards), I recommend waiting until a limited-time offer to maximize your benefit. Here are the current offers:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• 35,000 bonus miles after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• New – $100 Delta flight credit after $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.
• New – 2X miles at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. 2x miles on Delta direct purchases. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. That means 60,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $600 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

• 40,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Get an additional $100 statement credit after making any Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months.
• 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.
• New – Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Worth up to $100 towards Global Entry membership (which includes TSA PreCheck).
• Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal.
• 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.
• 2X miles at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. 3X miles Delta direct purchases. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $250 annual fee.

BUSINESS Card Versions

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

• 40,000 bonus miles after $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• $100 Delta flight credit after $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.
• 2X miles at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. supermarkets, and on Delta direct purchases. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Delta offers a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. That means 60,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $600 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still book the traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles® BUSINESS Credit Card from American Express

• 45,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs) after $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Get an additional $100 statement credit after making your first Delta purchase on your new Card in the first 3 months.
• 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 each year upon renewal.
• 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.
• 2X miles at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. 3X miles Delta direct purchases. Earn 1 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $250 annual fee.

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 fly a lot on Delta (note that you don’t earn actual rewards miles) and the companion certificate. I have used the companion certificate several times in the past and have gotten good value out of it. However, the annual fee is now $250 for the Platinum so the math is a lot tighter.

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

New card features, 100k offer. United is discontinuing their “Business Explorer” card and replacing it with the… United^SM Business Card as the Chase business credit card that offers unique perks for regular United customers including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. I don’t really get the point of changing the name, but they did add these perks:

• $100 annual United travel credit after 7 flight purchases of $100 or more.
• 5,000 miles annual bonus miles when you have both the United Business Card and a personal Chase United credit card.
• 25% back on United inflight purchases.
• 2X miles per $1 spent on local transit and commuting- including train tickets, taxi cabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services.
• Note: Annual fee is now $99 (instead of $95).

More good news is that this is a “new” card and thus everyone is able to get the sign-up bonus again as a new cardholder (no bonus if you convert your old card over). They are starting out with a limited-time offer of up to 100,000 bonus United miles for with a lower total spending requirement while keeping all the perks from the old card:

• 100,000 bonus United miles after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months.
• Free first checked bag for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $120 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket.
• Two one-time United Club passes each year ($100+ value)
• Expanded award availability. Having this card makes it easier to redeem for that saver award economy ticket.
• Priority boarding for you and companions on the same reservation on United-operated flights.
• 2X miles at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores.
• 2X miles on United purchases and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.
• Employee cards at no additional cost.
• $99 annual fee.

Keep in mind the following terms and conditions:

This product is available to you if you do not have this Card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this Card in the past 24 months.

However, you CAN get this card if you had the consumer version of the United Explorer in the past 24 months (or have one now).

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.

Note that Chase has an unofficial rule that they will most likely 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.

The good news is that small business cards from Chase hardly ever show up on personal credit reports, so getting this card in itself won’t affect your future 5/24 eligibility. This it makes a “free” application if you are already eligible.

This card is very focused on rewarding you for being a United customer. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The fee is usually $30 per person, each way, so that this how they get the value of $120 each roundtrip. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on.

Expanded award availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases (double miles on restaurants and hotel stays), but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. Expanded award seat availability is another of the top perks from this card, and it is actually a significant difference. Saver Award ticket redemptions start at 12,500 miles one-way within the continental U.S. and Canada.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On many other cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Business card offers valuable perks for folks that fly United even just once or twice a year. The card provides lounge passes, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discounts. There are bonus categories to earn more miles, and special expanded award seat inventory for credit card holders to make it easier to actually redeem those miles for flights. Right now, there is a 100,000 mile limited-time offer.

I have added this card back to the Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.