Credit card rewards aren’t just points and miles. Most of the major card issuers can get you cash or travel rewards, but some pay in their own “proprietary” currency, as well. You’ve probably heard of them: American Express has Membership Rewards (MR) points; Citibank has ThankYou points (TYP); Chase has Ultimate Rewards (UR). The rationale …
Category: Membership Rewards
Mar 07
American Express Platinum Card Raises Fees, Benefits: Is It Worth It?
The American Express Platinum Card has long been the gold standard (or Platinum standard, as the case may be) for high-end credit cards. Over the past few years, however, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Citi Prestige cards have surpassed the Amex Platinum, offering significantly better benefits at a cheaper price. Recently, though, Amex began to …
Nov 24
Holiday Shopping: Remember, Double Amex Points at Small Businesses
One of my resolutions this year was to shop at more small and local businesses. American Express is making this a bit easier, with its “Shop Small” offer. Make sure to check that your card is eligible and then enroll here to get your card registered. Once you’ve done so, you’ll earn double Membership Rewards …
Oct 17
American Express Ramps up Bonuses (Again)
For years, American Express had to live with the ignonymity of being the card that you might want to own, but would rather not use. In other words, the benefits that came with the card might be good, but rewards were not. As others moved to 2% cards, 5X category bonuses, etc., American Express stuck …
Oct 07
American Express Business Platinum Ups Its Game (And Bonus)
American Express seems to be feeling some pressure from the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, which recently launched with a huge sign-up bonus. A few days ago, they announced that you would earn five Membership Rewards per dollar spent on travel with your American Express Platinum card. Now, the company has introduced a 100,000 point sign-up …
Oct 05
American Express Platinum Raises Travel Bonus
With the Chase Sapphire Reserve having entered the fray for best high-end card, American Express has realized that it needs to up its game, and makes a big start as of tomorrow. New Amex Platinum Benefit Starting October 6, American Express Platinum card holders will earn 5X points on all airfare booked through the American Express …
Jul 29
Just How Badly Did Citibank Gut The Prestige Card?
When I first wrote about the Citibank Prestige card, I noted that the benefits that it offered not only offset the annual fee but also represented a massive overreach in terms of what they were offering. In other words, the perks were simply too good. Apparently, they agreed. They haven’t quite gutted the card, but …
Jan 16
Reader Question: Transferring Points between Airlines
Reader Question: Can I apply for the British Airways credit card, transfer the points to Alaska and use those points to fly Emirates? Thanks for the question. The short answer is no, since it is very difficult to transfer points directly between airlines. But there are other options out there. There are a number of …
Sep 09
Comparing the American Express Platinum and Citi Prestige cards
I recently got a recent question about credit cards with high-end travel benefits, specifically the Amex Platinum card versus the Citibank Prestige card. Obviously, there is no “one best” card for everyone. For instance, assuming you were agnostic about which airline you fly, you might value the more varied airport lounge access that the Amex …
Sep 08
What survey points and Bose headphones have in common
(I had prepared to do a longer post today, but life happens. Tomorrow will be more substantial, unless life happens again.) Surveys are often long and annoying, but they’re an easy way to accumulate miles. My favorite is E-rewards, which will send you several 10-15 minute surveys per week, each for some amount of proprietary …
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