TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS

We are going to have several new elevated offers coming aboard, heads up. The one that really stands out and is alive right now is the new Chase IHG Business Premier card giving 200k IHG points. If I had not just gotten the 100k United Business card this is a type of offer that would get me back to IHG. More info on the offer below.

Heads up! Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Launching Next Week In-Branch. When this happens, the 100k offer is coming eventually to the blogs, including mine. Hoping to score 10 sales in a month to keep this blog going you guys, we can doeeeeeeet.

Also expected to come are elevated offers for the United Explorer card going up to 80,000 United miles (and also increasing the annual fee to $150, boo) and the United Business card going up to 125,000 United miles (and also increasing the annual fee to $150 along with Amex like coupon-book credits, double boo). I recently got the United Business card for 100,000 miles and this pisses me off and hell yeah I am going to be bothering Chase reps non stop to get me the extra 50k miles. Because I am taking this personally lol.

If you are looking for American Airlines miles and you are short in cash, you can go for the Barclays Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard 70,000 Miles (No Minimum Spend Required). No affiliate links involved here. Good luck dealing with Barclays in general, they are kind of weird.

I can’t believe Cardless is still in business. This is the company that limits its customers to one card. Per lifetime. Ever, wtf! Anyway, cost controls have started, expect more: Cardless Discontinues Boston Celtics/New Orleans Pelicans Card W/ No Notice.

Since we are on a roll today about bad cards, here comes US Bank and Wyndham coming out with, please sit down to contain your “enthusiasm”, a debit card. LOL.

Here is a good article on The Atlantic: There Are Two Kinds of Credit Cards. Yet another way the poor are subsidizing the rich.

Credit-card balances stand at an all-time high of $1.2 trillion, up more than 7 percent year-on-year, and the share of borrowers who are late on their payments has reached its highest point since the aftermath of the Great Recession. Serious delinquency rates are climbing, particularly among consumers under the age of 40.

In the credit-card industry, the well-to-do are known as transactors. They pay off their balance in full every month, avoiding late fees and interest charges. They use credit cards as a convenient payment method, and as a way to earn travel points, cash back, airport-lounge vouchers, seat upgrades, and other goodies. Given how valuable these rewards are, transactors make money by spending money. “If you’re spending $100,000 a year, you’re getting maybe $1,500 back in terms of points or cash,” Aaron Klein of the Brookings Institution told me. “You’re not paying taxes on that. It’s worth closer to $2,500 or $3,000 a year in taxable income.”. Credit-card companies compete intensely for transactors’ business,… (That’s double the average worker’s weekly earnings.) [We are transactors here and love the attention and competition from the banks]

In contrast, the have-nots are known as revolvers. Revolvers are subprime borrowers who use credit cards as a payment tool and as a short-term loan, to cover surprise expenses and groceries the week before payday. Such customers tend to take out no-frills cards, without lavish cash-back rewards and travel points. They also tend to carry a balance from month to month, and sometimes from month to month to month to month. [First, do NOT be a revolver. Second, thank you to revolvers for making all this possible for us. But, truthfully, one day we will have an intervention from above to fix this hugely unfair situation on the ground and it is likely not coming with the current administration, despite all the noise for 10% capped interest rates. When this happens you will see 95%+ of bloggers/vloggers leave the industry to go sell something else other than bank travel rewards credit cards. I would probably still be here trying to sell a few of them to cover the costs of running this ship.]

A strong economy with a brutal cost-of-living crisis is a great economy for the credit-card industry, it turns out. The average balance carried over month-to-month has risen; interest rates have risen; and card issuers have pushed their APRs far beyond prime rates. As a result, the revenue credit-card firms make from interest payments has ballooned from $76 billion in 2020 to $170 billion in 2024, and rewards cards have gotten more rewarding. [Looking forward to bigger bonuses you guys and hopefully some relaxing on the bank restrictions, looking at you Chase at 5/24. I mean, how about 10/24 hey?]

Just added two new BEST EVER offer cards from Amex Marriott Bonvoy. I am not a fan of anything Bonvoy and I don’t want to make this section even more sales-y that it already is, so I am going to drop below my links and then if you want to get more information about the offers check out this link: American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Cards 185,000 Points Signup Bonus & Bevy 155,000 Points Bonus.

155k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Bevy

185k AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant

More elevated offers finally from Chase:

200k IHG Business Premier

This card is going from 140k to 200k and it happens in two stages. You earn 140k points after spending $4k in the first three months. And the final 60k points after spending an additional $5k (for a total of $9k in six months. The annual fee is $99. The card earns 10x on IHG, 5X on travel, gas stations, restaurants and dining, social media and search engine advertising, office supply stores and 3x on everything else. You get Platinum status as long as you hold this card AND a Free Night cert every year (yes you can top it off to stay in more expensive hotels!). So basically, you get a night for $99 and everything else is a cherry on top #winning. Up to $50 in United Travel Bank credit every year. You also can earn one $100 statement credit and 10k points after you spend $20k on the card. You can earn IHG Diamond status after you spend $40k on the card (please don’t). You can even earn another free night cert (up to 40k points) after you spend $60k on the card. Fourth night free in award stays. 20% discount on points purchases. No foreign transaction fees. Of course you get the usual TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS reimbursement as statement credits. Available from my favorite bank HERE.

100k CHASE United Business (NEW Bonus Coming Soon!)

Note: I applied for this card last week and is now in my hands at last.

And just like that, the welcome offer for this card went up to 100k from 75k. The annual fee is $99 and and the minimum spend is $5k in the first three months. The card earns 2x on United, gas stations, restaurants, office supplies, local transit and commuting. And 1x on everything else. If you buy 7 United tickets with it, you will get a $100 United flight credit at card anniversary. You get two United club passes every year. If you have a personal United card as well, you get a 5,000 mile “better together” bonus. 25% discount on United in flight purchases. Expanded award availability. Ability to earn Premier Qualifying Points (PQP). Free checked bag for credit card holder and one companion on the same reservation. Priority boarding. No foreign transaction fees. Can be a good fit for travelers flying on United a lot. Available from my favorite bank HERE.

We have two NEW great Amex Hilton cards elevated welcome offers:

70k AND Free Night Hilton Honors American Express Card

This is the basic Hilton entry level No Annual Fee card. The signing bonus is 70,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award, which matches the BEST EVER welcome offer. The minimum spend is only $2k in the first six months. You also get Silver elite status which includes benefits like a 20% points bonus on stays, free bottled water, the 5th night free on reward stays, and elite rollover nights. The earning structure on the card is: 7x on Hilton purchases, 5x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations and 3x on everything else. These Hilton Free Night certs can be used in ANY property anytime which makes them much more valuable than all other hotel free night certs by far. No foreign transaction fees. If you spend $20k on the card you get upgraded to Hilton Honors Gold elite status. If you like Hiltons and abhor paying annual fees this card could work for you.

130k AND Free Night Hilton Honors Surpass American Express Card

I have this card because Hilton is my #2 hotel program (and closing in to #1 Hyatt). The annual fee is $150 but you can get up to $200 per year ($50 per quarter) credits if you stay in Hiltons or buy a $50 Hilton gift card online (temporarily out of stock). It also gives me Hilton Gold Elite status which is great, especially overseas where you get more upgrades and free breakfast (you get a daily food & beverage credit on US stays). Signing Bonus is 130,000 Hilton Honors points AND a Free Night Award cert, which matches the BEST EVER welcome offer. The minimum spend is a surprisingly low $3k in the first six months. These Hilton free night certs can be used in ANY property anytime which makes them much more valuable than all other hotel free night certs by far. You can earn a second Free Night Award cert after you spend $15k on the card every year. Earning is also very good with 12x on Hilton purchases, 6x on restaurants, groceries and gas stations, 4x on online retail purchases and 3x on everything else. You can upgrade to Diamond elite status if you spend $40k on the card. No foreign transaction fees.

75k CAPITAL ONE Venture Rewards PLUS $250 Travel Credit

The annual fee is $95 and the minimum spend required is $4,000 in three months. Capital One cards usually earn a simple flat 2 points on every dollar. This card earns 5x on hotels and car rentals booked on its own travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. Get $120 credit towards Global Entry or TSA Precheck. Complimentary Hertz Five Star elite status. Most importantly, you can transfer the 75,000 points out to airline and hotel partners. Or just erase travel charged on the card for $750. And then of course you get the $250 travel credit. Basically, $1,000 of travel for $95. Very tempting indeed. For diversifying purposes as well if you have enough miles and points elsewhere as it is always nice to use this card to pay for a trip and then use Capital One miles to erase the charges. Capital One can be, well, finicky in approvals. If you are denied, you can not call to ask them to reconsider, it is all done by algorithms so, good luck! Finally, YES, you can have both the Venture X and the Venture Rewards cards.

Frankly, if you only go for one Capital One card it should be the Venture X, see below, no brainer. Oh, by the way, only the Venture X card gets you into Capital One lounges for free.