The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express has a new limited-time offer. Highlights:

• 70,000 bonus miles after $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Limited-time offer expires 04/28/2021.
• 70,000 Skymiles is worth at least $700 in Delta airfare. With this card, you get a minimum value out of your Skymiles via the “Pay with Miles” option. 70,000 Skymiles can reduce the price of your Delta ticket by $700 at the very least. (5,000 mile = $50 minimum redemption.) You can still book traditional award tickets and possibly get better value.
• New feature – $100 Delta flight credit after $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year.
• First checked bag free. Delta now charges $30 for the first checked bag, each way. That means this perk is worth $60 per person each roundtrip. For a family of four, this perk is worth $240 per person each roundtrip.
• Annual fee is waived for the first year, then $99.

Here is the new rewards structure on card spend:

• 2X miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery.
• 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets.
• 2X miles on Delta purchases. 2 miles for every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.
• 1 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.

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

The United Explorer Card is a Chase-issued credit card that offers unique perks on United Airlines including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Right now, they are offering 40,000 bonus miles with the annual fee waived during the first year. Here are the highlights:

• 40,000 bonus miles after $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Plus, an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $10,000 in the first 6 months.
• Free first checked bag for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket.
• Expanded award availability. Having this card makes it easier to find that saver award economy ticket.
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit
• Priority boarding + 2 United Club one-time passes every year for your anniversary.
• 2X miles at restaurants, on hotel stays, and on United purchases.
• Earn 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and eligible delivery services including GrubHub, Caviar, Seamless and DoorDash.
• 25% Back on United inflight purchases (Wi-Fi, Food and Drinks).
• 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.
• Use your miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight.
• Annual fee waived for the first year, then $95.

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.

This card is very focused on making it a better experience to fly on United. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The bag fee is usually $35 per person, each way, so that adds up to $140 each roundtrip. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on. While onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

Expanded award seat 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 I’ve found a very significant difference when searching. If you’re constantly trying to find economy tickets for the entire family like me, this is a big deal. 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 most other consumer 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 Explorer Card offers great 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.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The United^SM Business Card offers unique perks for regular United customers including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 bonus United miles after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months.
• Free first checked bag for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket.
• Priority boarding for you and companions on the same reservation on United-operated flights.
• 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.
• $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.
• 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.
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99.

This card is considered a “new” card, differ from the old Business Explorer card:

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.

In addition, you can get this card and bonus 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 boosted 75k bonus and the annual fee is waived for the first year.

Due to the increased bonus offer, I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Update: This offer has been improved to include a $300 statement credit and the annual fee is waived during the first year. The previous offer was a $250 statement credit without an annual fee waiver.

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. The welcome offer has also been improved. The highlights:

• $300 statement credit after $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
• 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
• 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
• 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
• 3% Cash Back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more.
• 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

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, or Starbucks (gifts). 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 do 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 at 6% cash back:

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

Annual fee. There is a $95 annual fee (may be waived during the first year), 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.

Alternatively, you could look at it this way. 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. Minus the $95 annual fee, and you’ll still earn $265 net cash back on $6,000 of spending, for an net overall cash back rate of 4.4%. That’s still a good year-round cash back rate for groceries, and I’m completely ignoring the US streaming subscriptions category.

If you still don’t like the idea of paying an annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express offers 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases with no annual fee. It currently offers a $200 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. Right now, there is also a welcome offer including a $300 statement credit and the first year annual fee is waived.

New limited-time offer. The American Express Business Gold Card is a premium charge card for small businesses where you must pay off the balance each month, but you get excellent perks like purchase price protection, travel accident insurance, car rental coverage, and the famous AMEX extended warranty that actually pays out. Here are the highlights:

• 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after $10,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
• Up to $300 Back in Statement Credits. Earn up to $150 back on both U.S. advertising in select media and U.S shipping, for a total of up to $300 in statement credits on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Limited-time offer ends 4/7/2021.
• 4X Membership Rewards points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. 4X points apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. Here are the possible categories:
  • Airfare purchased directly from airlines
  • U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
  • U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
  • U.S. purchases at gas stations
  • U.S. purchases at restaurants
  • U.S. purchases for shipping
• Airfare rebate. Get 25% points back after you use points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel, up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.*
• No foreign transaction fees
• $295 annual fee.
• Terms and limitations apply.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline and hotel programs (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Rewards (Starwood)

Business credit 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.

This card will require you to personally guarantee that you’ll pay them back what you charge on the card, which means they’ll check your personal credit score like any other consumer card. However, as the card is a business card, American Express won’t have it show up on your personal credit report, so it won’t change things like your credit limits, average account age, or credit utilization ratio.

Bottom line. The new American Express Business Gold Card is a premium charge card for small business that includes the classic American Express features like excellent customer service and customer-friendly protections. The card now offers the ability to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. Right now, there is an excellent limited-time offer with an improved welcome offer.

I will add this card to my list of Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

New Companion Pass offer. Southwest Airlines offers the unique Companion Pass, which lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book either paid or award flights (including to Hawaii!) on Southwest.

Points earned from credit cards are qualifying points toward the 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).

Southwest has just rolled out a new card with an easy Companion Pass promo. This special promotional Companion Pass only lasts until February 2022, but is much easier to obtain.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card

• Earn a Companion Pass through 2/28/2022 plus 30,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Limited-time offer ends 3/10/2021. With Companion Pass®, every time you fly, your friend can too.
• 3,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $69 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier card

• Earn a Companion Pass through 2/28/2022 plus 30,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Limited-time offer ends 3/10/2021. With Companion Pass®, every time you fly, your friend can too.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $99 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority card

• Earn a Companion Pass through 2/28/2022 plus 30,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Limited-time offer ends 3/10/2021. With Companion Pass®, every time you fly, your friend can too.
• 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.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• $149 annual fee.

The following are business credit cards:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business card

• Up to 100,000 Rapid Rewards points. 70,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn an additional 30,000 points after you spend $25,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
• 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 3 points per $1 spent on Southwest® purchases and Rapid Rewards® Hotel and Car Rental Partner 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 (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Fee Credit in the form of a statement credit of up to $100 every four years.
• $199 annual fee.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business card

• 60,000 Rapid Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 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. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. The Southwest Companion pass provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash or points. Right now, there is a limited-time offer to get a promotional Companion Pass with a much, much lower spending requirement than usual. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.

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

New limited-time offers. Hilton Hotels has two American Express consumer cards, a no annual fee and a $95 annual fee version (with more perks of course). There is also a business card version. Each person can only get one welcome offer, per card in your entire lifetime, so it’s best to apply during one of these temporary bump-ups. These are the highest limited-time offers that I’ve ever seen on these Hilton cards. (You could get all three of these welcome offers separately, but only one per card per person per lifetime.)

Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

• 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Additional $150 statement credit after your first purchase of any amount within the first 3 months.
• Earn an additional Weekend Night Reward certificate after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
• 12X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 6X Hilton Honors points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free Honors Gold status (free breakfast, room upgrades based on availability, 5th standard reward night free).
• Spend $40,000 in a calendar year on this card and get Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year.
• $95 annual fee.

(This offer is for first-time Surpass cardmembers only, and not eligible for those who previously had an Ascend Card.)

Hilton Honors American Express Card

• 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Additional $100 statement credit after your first purchase of any amount within the first 3 months.
• 7X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 5X Hilton Honors points on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free Honors Silver status (5th standard reward night free, 2 bottles of water in your room).
• Spend $20,000 in a calendar year on this card and get Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• No annual fee.

Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

• 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Additional $150 statement credit after your first purchase of any amount within the first 3 months.
• Earn a Weekend Night Reward certificate after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
• Earn another Weekend Night Reward from Hilton Honors after you spend an additional $45,000 in purchases in the same calendar year.
• 12X Hilton Honors points on purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio.
• 6X Hilton Honors points on Select Business & Travel Purchases (ex. U.S. gas stations, U.S. restaurants, flights booked directly with airlines)
• 3X Hilton Honors points for all other eligible purchases.
• Free upgrade to Honors Gold status (free breakfast, room upgrades based on availability, 5th standard reward night free).
• 10 free airport lounge visits each year once enrolled in complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, which offers access to over 1,000 lounges in over 120 countries.
• $95 annual fee.

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

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

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

Due to this excellent limited-time offer, I will be adding this to my Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The Chase IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card is the IHG hotel co-branded card that includes special IHG perks like a free night award every year you keep the card. The current limited-time offer is 140k points, higher than their standard bonus. Here are the highlights:

• 140,000 bonus IHG points after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Free Night award after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Valid at IHG Hotels with a current point redemption level of 40,000 points or less. An additional free reward night when you redeem points for any stay of 4 or more nights.
• 25X points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel.
• 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• Platinum Elite status included as a Premier card member. IHG points also don’t expire when you are an Elite member.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® fee credit of up to $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $$89 annual fee

Please note the following:

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

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

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, but overall you should expect around 0.60 cents of value per point, which would make 140,000 IHG points worth an estimated $840 value. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t want a card with an annual fee? The no-annual fee Traveler version is has a 60,000 IHG point bonus.

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

I will be adding this to my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Ready to pay down credit card debt in 2021 and pay less interest while you do so? Shopping around for the best balance transfer offer can save you thousands of dollars in interest. Below is an updated list of the best 0% APR balance transfer offers from both major banks and lesser-known credit unions with open membership requirements.

How to find the best combination of the longest 0% APR period and the lowest balance transfer fees. For example, if you are paying 18% APR, that’s like paying 1.5% on your balance every month. Paying a 3% upfront fee for an 18 month period of 0% would be like paying your current interest rate for 2 months and then getting 0% interest for the remaining 16 months. That may be preferable to 12 months at 0% with no balance transfer fee, especially if you spread out your payments over the entire period and use that additional time to pay it all off by the end. If you are sure you can pay it all off within the shorter 0% period, then should pick the no balance transfer fee option.

1) Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months from date of first transfer. All transfers must be completed in first 4 months. You also get 0% Intro APR on purchases for 18 months from date of account opening. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each credit card balance transfer or $5, whichever is greater. No annual fee.

2) Wells Fargo Platinum Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months from date of account account opening. (Note this is not the same as starting the countdown from the time of transfer.) Introductory balance transfer fee of $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater, for 120 days from account opening. After that, it is of 5% each credit card balance transfer or $5, whichever is greater. No annual fee.

3) Citi® Double Cash Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months from date of first transfer. All transfers must be completed in first 4 months. This card provides a longer term, but note that there is a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each credit card balance transfer or $5, whichever is greater. You also get 2% cash back on all purchases with 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. No annual fee.

4) 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 (Financial Fitness Association). You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $10) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

4) Wings Financial CU Platinum Card – 0% Introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers after account opening and no balance transfer fee. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You must be a Wings Financial Credit Union member to obtain this card, but membership is open to everyone who joins a partner organization for as little as $5 (Wings Financial Foundation). You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $10) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

5) Navy Federal Platinum Card – 0% introductory APR for 12 months after account opening for balance transfers requested within 30 days of account opening. No balance transfer fee. You must be an Navy Federal Credit Union member to obtain this card, and membership eligibility is restricted primarily to military personnel including Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, but includes veterans and family members. You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $10) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

6) La Capitol FCU 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 La Capitol Federal Credit Union member to obtain this card, but membership is open to everyone who joins a partner organization for as little as $20 (Louisiana Association for Personal Financial Achievement). You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $10) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

The Platinum Card from American Express is the classic premium travel card, with a hefty annual but a long list of luxurious perks including access to Delta Skyclubs and their exclusive Centurion airport lounges. Unfortunately, these days many of us aren’t spending much time in airports. Thus, AmEx has come up with a new stack of perks along with a new limited-time offer that includes a bigger upfront bonus and 10X points on US gas stations and US supermarkets. It’s finally big enough to get my attention… The highlights:

• 75,000 Membership Rewards points after $5,000 in purchases within your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• 10X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets, on up to $15,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership. That’s up to another 150,000 points!
• Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber/Uber Eats savings in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member and Additional Centurion Cards only.
• 5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Starting January 1, 2021, earn 5X points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
• Access to the Global Lounge Collection, the only credit card airport lounge access program that includes proprietary lounge locations around the world.
• Up to $100 annually at Saks Fifth Avenue in the form of statement credits against purchases on your Platinum Card(R). That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• $550 annual fee.

Note the following language:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

Not sure about your history? The application will tell you if they detect that you are not eligible for the bonus based on their records. Given that you can only get the welcome offer once time per lifetime, it is best to apply during a limited-time offer. The previous offer was 60,000 bonus points with no 10X bonus.

Adding up the perks. Let’s a take a quick look and valuation of each the many perks on the card.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline and hotel programs (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Rewards (Starwood)

They also run limited-time 25% to 40% bonuses on points transfers. You can also transfer to gift cards many retailers at varying rates, but many available at the rate of 10,000 MR points = $100 gift card. My most recent redemption was a $100 Home Depot card for 10,000 points, sometimes less when they run special discount. However, don’t expect the cash-equivalent prepaid credit cards at that rate, it’s usually closer to a 0.6 cent/point ratio.

75,000 Membership Rewards points, worth an estimated $750. Some folks value these points much more highly, but I prefer to stick to a simple and conservative 1 cent per point.

10X points on US gas stations and US supermarkets. Even at a conservative 1 cent per point estimate, 10X points means that I would put every single US gas station and US supermarket purchase on this card during those first 6 months. You can also buy gift cards like Amazon, Target, and Apple gift cards at many grocery stores. I would buy as many as I could expect to spend in the next 6 months. If you spent $1,000 a month on gas and groceries (and gift cards) for 6 months, that’s still another 60,000 Membership Rewards points. Maxing it out would get you 150,000 bonus MR points.

Uber and Uber Eats credits worth up to $200 annually. You get $15 in Uber Cash every month, which can be used for Uber rides or Uber Eats food orders. There is a $20 bonus in December, making it a total of $200 annually. You also get free Uber VIP status, which doesn’t save you any money but gets you higher-rated drivers and nicer vehicles at no extra charge.

Right now, AmEx Platinum cardholders can also get Uber Eats Pass free for 12 months.

Saks Fifth Avenue, worth up to $100 annually. You get $50 in statement credit credits towards purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com semi-annually (once January to June and another July to December), for a total of $100. Even if you don’t regularly shop there, you can buy gifts for others, or simply buy gift cards at Saks.com.

Airline fee credit, worth up to $200 annually. You pick an airline, and they will refund you up to $200 in incidential airline fees (baggage, in-flight food and entertainment, ticket fees, etc). This may not be very useful this year to many folks and I’ll estimate the value as nothing to me in 2020, but it’s still worth noting for the future.

American Express Global Lounge Collection. Some other travel cards give you Priority Pass Select, which is nice but not as inclusive as the Platinum card’s list of 1,200+ airport lounges across 130 countries. Domestically, you get Delta Skyclub access (an individual Skyclub membership costs $545 from Delta alone) as well as the new Centurion Lounge network built specifically for American Express cardholders.

• The Centurion® Lounges
• The International American Express Lounges
• Delta SkyClub®
• Priority Pass
• Airspace Lounge
• Escape Lounges

Up to $100 statement credit towards Global Entry (includes TSA PreCheck) every 4 years.

Other benefits:

• Automatic Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott) Gold status.
• Automatic Hilton Honors Gold status.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.

Rough bonus math. I’m going to be conservative and value the 75,000 Membership Rewards points at $750. Including gift cards bought at US grocery stores, I estimate I could make $5,000 in purchases within 6 months to get me another 50,000 MR points or $500 estimated value. $200 in Uber Eats food is easily used up at my house. $100 for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck membership (every member of my household has this). Even if I assign zero value to the $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credit and $200 airline fee credits and zero value to the premium airline lounge access, that’s still already $1,550 of value against a $550 annual fee for a net first-year value of $1,000+. If I expected to fly in 2021, this would be an even bigger deal.

Bottom line. The The Platinum Card from American Express has added a bunch of new perks that aren’t dependent on airline travel, while also adding a limited-offer with a boosted bonus and lots of potential bonus points on purchases at US grocery stores and US gas stations. As you can only get the bonus once, the best time to apply is during a limited-time offer (like now).

I will be adding this improved offer on my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.