The stars of the show at the moment are the Amex Platinum cards (150K + $200 consumer card offer and 200K targeted business card offer) and the Hilton cards which currently offer a free night certificate as part of their welcome offer. There are plenty of very good offers that aren’t in this post as well! You can find a complete list here: Best Credit Card Offers page.
Background
The impetus for this post was when Marriott first offered this great welcome bonus for the Bonvoy Boundless card: 5 free nights, worth up to 50K points each. At the time, it was arguably the best hotel credit card offer we had ever seen. But we didn’t recommend it to most people. It was a great offer for those who knew they would be traveling to Marriott hotels within the next year (during the height of the Covid pandemic!), but terrible for everyone else.
Our Best Credit Card Offers page always shows the best offers sorted by estimated first year value. This is a great non-biased way to compare credit card offers, but it misses nuances as discussed above. With this monthly series, I list my favorite current credit card offers, but with a dash of analysis. With each offer, I point out who should care about it and who shouldn’t.
Blockbuster Offers
Amex Business Platinum 200K + 5K (targeted)
This is a fantastic offer for the Business Platinum card! See this post for details.
Who should get it: Pretty much anyone who is targeted and can meet the spend requirements should consider this offer. Even if you only value Membership Rewards points at a penny each, 200K is then comparable to $2,000.
Who shouldn’t get it: The value of the welcome bonus far exceeds the card’s $695 annual fee, but if you can’t afford to spend that much in return for this huge bonus, then you should skip it.
See also:
- Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide
- Amex Platinum Complete Guide
- How to use your Amex point fortune
Hilton Free Night Offers
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While the Hilton Aspire card always offers a free night as part of its welcome offer, that’s unusual for each of the other Hilton cards on the market. Since Hilton’s free night certificates are uncapped, they can offer tremendous value. For ideas, see: 50+ best places to use a Hilton Free Night Certificate worldwide.
Who should get it: Anyone who is confident they can make good use of the free night certificates should consider getting one or more of these cards.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you’re not likely to use the free night certificate at a high end hotel, you should pass on these offers.
Timing your application: I’m not sure how long these offers will last. Apply soon.
See also:
- Hilton Amex Cards: Limited time welcome offers with free night certificates and big points
- Hilton Honors Complete Guide
- 50+ best places to use a Hilton Free Night Certificate worldwide.
Chase Sapphire Reserve 70K
The Sapphire Reserve is an excellent travel card which offers 3x for all travel purchases, best in class travel protections and the ability to redeem points for 1.5 cents per point value. To get the 70K offer for this card, you must already have an online account with Chase. Sign into your Chase account first, then click here.
Amex Gold: 90K + $200
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The Amex Gold Card has been a favorite of ours since it debuted with its 4X dining and grocery categories (see above for details). Now, with this offer, it’s a great time to sign up.
Who should get it: Anyone who values the card’s bonus categories. As long as you haven’t had this card or the old Premier Rewards Gold card in the past 7 years, you should qualify for this one.
Who shouldn’t get it: The Amex Gold card will add to your 5/24 count, so if you’re trying to stay under 5/24 you won’t want this one. That said, in my opinion, this offer is good enough to reconsider your 5/24 plans.
Timing your application: Sign up by June 7th.
See also:
Amex Platinum: 150K + $200
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This is an excellent offer.
Who should get it: Pretty much anyone who can meet the spend requirements should consider this offer. Even if you only value Membership Rewards points at a penny each, 150K is then comparable to $1,500, and the extra $200 helps ease the sting of the card’s big annual fee.
Who shouldn’t get it: The Amex Platinum card will add to your 5/24 count. The value of the welcome bonus far exceeds the card’s $695 annual fee, but if you can’t afford to spend that much in return for this huge bonus, then you should skip it.
Timing your application: Sign up by June 7th.
See also:
- The Amex Platinum “Coupon Book” Review
- Amex Platinum Complete Guide
- Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide
- How to use your Amex point fortune
Amex Business Gold: 130K
This offer for 130,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after $10K spend requires a bit of browser magic and luck. Try a “fresh” browser (see image above — anecdotally, Firefox seems to work best) and then click to any referral link to look for the 130K offer (yes you can ask a friend or family member to refer you so that they can earn bonus points too). Full details can be found here.
Amex Business Checking 30K
Earn 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards points by signing up for this fee free account and meeting the bonus requirements:
- Open a new American Express Business Checking account
- Deposit a total of at least $5,000 in the first 20 days
- Maintain an average account balance of $5,000 for 60 days
- Make 10 or more qualifying transactions within 60 days of opening your account.
More details can be found here.
See also:
Citi Premier: 75K
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This one is almost as good as the all-time-best 80K offer that we saw last year. The Citi Premier card offers excellent earnings on spend (3X grocery; 3X dining; 3X gas stations; 3X flights, hotels, travel agencies) and unlocks the ability to transfer ThankYou points to airline and hotel programs.
Who should get it: The Premier card is a good choice for those who value points transferrable to airline programs. If you also have the Citi Double Cash and Rewards Plus combination, then the Premier card is a fantastic add-on. See: Citi’s awesome trio –Double Cash, Premier, Rewards+.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you prefer easier to use rewards and/or hotel rewards, then you may want to skip this one.
Timing your application: This is a good time to grab this card while the offer is better than the usual 60K.
See also:
- Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide
- Citi Premier Card Complete Guide
- How to use your Citi ThankYou point fortune
Amex Green Card: 60K + up to $200
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This is the best ever offer for this card. We’ve never seen a point offer for this card higher than 50,000 points before and the 20% rebate on travel and transit purchases for first 6 months (up to $200 back) is a great addition.
Who should get it: Anyone looking to bump up their Membership Rewards balance should consider this offer.
Who shouldn’t get it: The Green card will add to your 5/24 count, so if you’re trying to stay under 5/24 you won’t want this one.
Timing your application: This offer probably won’t last long.
See also: Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide.
Excellent Transferable Points Offers
Ink Business Cash: 75K + great 5X categories
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This fee-free card belongs in every point collector’s wallet. It offers 5X for office supplies and 5X for phone service, cable TV, and internet (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5X categories annually). Many families would do well to setup their phone, TV, and internet bills to autopay from the Ink Business Cash card in order to earn 5X rewards without any effort whatsoever. Those willing to do a little bit of work will find that stores like Staples and Office Depot sell lots of gift cards in-store; and Staples.com sells them online. In both cases, you’ll earn 5X buying gift cards so that you can ultimately buy what you really want.
Who should get it: Anyone with a premium Ultimate Rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred) in the household should consider getting the Chase Ink Business Cash. The Ink Cash makes it easy to earn points quickly and the premium cards (especially the Sapphire Reserve) make your points more valuable.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: Don’t apply if you don’t have a business or if you’re over 5/24.
Timing your application: This is the standard offer so there is no hurry.
See also:
- How to sign up for Chase Ink cards
- Chase Ink Cash: 5x reasons why it’s Tim’s favorite no annual fee card
- Chase Ink Business Cash Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots
Ink Business Unlimited: 75K + 1.5X everywhere
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This isn’t as much of a “must have” card as the Ink Cash, but the welcome bonus is similarly awesome. It is possible to get both cards even if you have only one business.
Who should get it: Anyone with a business who can qualify for this offer should consider it.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: Don’t apply if you don’t have a business or if you’re over 5/24.
Timing your application: This is the standard offer so there is no hurry.
See also:
- How to sign up for Chase Ink cards
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots
Ink Business Preferred: 100K
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This continues to be an excellent offer, but it is overshadowed by the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited offers, each of which offer 3/4th as many points for half of the minimum spend.
Who should get it: Anyone with a business who can qualify for this offer and can meet the hefty minimum spend requirements should consider it.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: Don’t apply if you don’t have a business or if you’re over 5/24.
Timing your application: Sign up before going over 5/24.
See also:
- How to sign up for Chase Ink cards
- Chase Ink Business Preferred Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots
Capital One Venture Rewards: 75K
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This is arguably the best offer we’ve seen in recent years for this card. Yes, there was a 100K offer not too long ago, but that required $20K spend. This offer gets you 3/4th as many points with only $4K spend. You can use the bonus directly to offset travel purchases at a penny per “mile” or you can get even better value by transferring to airline and hotel partners when you find outsized value awards. For those looking for a single travel card with a low annual fee, this is an excellent choice. If you’re willing to spend $395 per year, though, the Venture X card is an even better choice.
Who shouldn’t get it: This card will add to your 5/24 count, so if you’re trying to get or stay under 5/24 you won’t want to get this one just yet. Also, if you’d prefer to have the Venture X card, I’d go for that one instead.
Timing your application: It’s unclear how long this offer will last, so if you’re interested apply soon.
See also: Capital One “Miles” Complete Guide.
Capital One Venture X: 75K
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This is an excellent welcome bonus for an excellent card. You can use the bonus directly to offset travel purchases at a penny per “mile” or you can get even better value by transferring to airline and hotel partners when you find outsized value awards. In my opinion, this is one of the best cards on the market to get and to keep. The $395 annual fee is justified by its annual $300 travel credits and 10K bonus “miles” each anniversary. Then, the rest of the card’s features are gravy: earn 2x transferable points everywhere, free authorized users, Priority Pass membership with free guests for you and your authorized users, cell phone insurance, access to Capital One lounges, etc.
Who shouldn’t get it: This card will add to your 5/24 count, so if you’re trying to get or stay under 5/24 you won’t want to get this one just yet.
Timing your application: My bet is that this offer will stick around for a long time, so sign up when the time is right for you.
See also:
Chase Sapphire Preferred: 60K
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While we’ve seen better offers for this card (80K, 90K, and even 100K), this remains an excellent choice for those starting out with miles & points.
Application Tips: If you apply and are denied, you still have a good chance. Call the reconsideration line (1-888-270-2127) to ask for the decision to be reconsidered. If you currently hold other consumer Chase cards, tell the agent that you are not looking for more credit and you are happy to move credit from another card to open this one. If they tell you incorrectly that you have opened 5 or more cards in the past 24 months, check whether you are an authorized user on some cards that have been opened in that time frame. If so, tell the agent that you are an authorized user and you are not responsible for those credit lines.
Who should get it: If you’re new to miles & points and not interested in waiting for a better offer, this is a decent choice.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you don’t think you can complete the offer’s $4,000 minimum spend requirement, then you shouldn’t sign up.
Timing your application: If you’re not in a hurry I’d wait to see if an 80K or better offer for this card returns.
See also:
Amex Platinum for Schwab: 80K
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This offer isn’t nearly as good as for the vanilla Platinum card but if you’re interested in the ability to cash out points for 1.1 cents each, this is the ticket.
Who should get it: Anyone who hasn’t had this particular Platinum variation before and who has an account (or is willing to open one) with Schwab should consider this, but you may want to wait to see if a better offer appears.
Who shouldn’t get it: This card will add to your 5/24 count. The value of the welcome bonus exceeds the card’s $695 annual fee, but if you can’t afford to spend that much in return for this huge bonus, then you should skip it.
Timing your application: If you’re not in a hurry, wait to see if Amex brings back the 100K offer for this card.
See also:
- The Amex Platinum “Coupon Book” Review
- Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide
- Amex Platinum Complete Guide
- How to use your Amex point fortune
Excellent Airline Card Offers
American Airlines: 75K
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This is an excellent offer for this card. 75,000 miles is enough to fly Qatar Qsuites business class all the way from the U.S. to South Africa. See: How to find Qatar Q-Suites award space.
Who should get it: Anyone looking to add to their AA points balance.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you’re trying to get under or stay under 5/24, you may want to pass.
Timing your application: I don’t know how long this offer will last so jump on it now if eligible.
American Airlines Business Card: 70K
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This is an very good offer with a low spend requirement, but it’s not as good as the recent 80K offer that also included a $95 statement credit.
Who should get it: Anyone looking to add to their AA points balance.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you don’t have a business or have no interest in AA miles, look elsewhere.
Timing your application: If you’re not in a hurry, wait to see if the 80K offer returns.
Alaska: 72K miles + Companion Fare
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This is a very good offer for those interested in accumulating Alaska miles to take advantage of some of their great sweetspot awards, or to use the card’s companion fare to save on airfare.
Who should get it: Anyone looking to add to their Alaska mileage balance and/or who wants to use the card’s companion fare.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you’re trying to stay under 5/24, you may want to wait.
Timing your application: We don’t know how long this offer will last.
JetBlue Business: 75K points
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This card is a great choice to get and to keep if you’re a regular JetBlue flyer. It offers a free checked bag when flying JetBlue, 5,000 bonus points every anniversary, and a 10% point rebate on awards. These perks alone can easily offset the $99 annual fee.
Who should get it: Anyone looking to add to their JetBlue points balance.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you never fly JetBlue, look elsewhere.
Timing your application: This isn’t as good as the recent 80K offer for the same card so you might want to wait a bit to see if that one reappears.
British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus: 75K
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These are decent offers for those in the market for Avios points.
Who should get it: Those under 5/24 who know how to get great value from Avios.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you’re not already an Avios fan, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.
Timing your application: If you’re not in a hurry, I’d recommend waiting to see if better offers surface.
See also:
- Avios sweet spots
- How to transfer Avios between British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, and Aer Lingus
- Guide to Avios: British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus
Southwest: 2 Biz Cards plus Companion Pass
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If you’re interested in earning a Southwest Companion pass, one option is to sign up for 2 business cards. In general, with Southwest, once you earn 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year, Southwest offers a Companion Pass which is good for an unlimited number of flights (award flights or paid flights) for the rest of that calendar year and all of the next. And it just so happens that points earned from Southwest credit cards, including the welcome bonus, count towards the Companion Pass. By signing up for two business cards now and by meeting the minimum spend requirements, you’ll get a Companion Pass that is good for the rest of this year and all of the next.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who should get it: If you’re under 5/24 and you fly Southwest often with a companion, this is definitely worth considering.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you aren’t interested in flying Southwest, then don’t do this.
Timing your application: I think that most people would be better off to wait until closer to the end of the calendar year to sign up for Southwest cards in order to get in on the best possible deal (that way you can earn the pass at the beginning of the next calendar year and have it for nearly two full years), but if you plan to fly Southwest often with a companion this year, you may want to jump on this right away.
See also: Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Complete Guide
Excellent Hotel Card Offers
Marriott Bonvoy: Five 50K Free Nights
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This is an excellent offer for this card. If you’re interested in staying high tier, but not necessarily top of the line luxury, Marriott hotels, you should be able to do very well with these certificates. Keep in mind, though, that five 50K certs are not worth as much as 250K points for several reasons:
- Fifth Night Free Awards don’t work with certificates. Marriott’s “Stay for 5, Pay for 4” awards only work with points-awards.
- Certificates expire. Points don’t. As long as you have activity in your Marriott account at least once every 24 months, your points will never expire. These free night certificates, though, expire after a year.
- Points are much more flexible. 50,000 points can be used to book one 50K night, two 25K nights, four 12.5K nights, etc. A 50K cert, meanwhile, can only be used to book a single night costing 50K points or less, or it can be topped off with points to book a single night costing up to 65K. Plus, the certificate has no residual value if you use it for a night that costs less than 50K points.
Who should get it: Anyone under 5/24 who does not yet have this card may find it worth getting as long as they plan to stay at a mid to high tier Marriott for 5 nights or more over the next year. Note that Marriott enforces strict rules about whether or not you can qualify for a new Marriott card if you currently or previously had one. See this post for details: Are you eligible for a new Marriott card?
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you’re not interested in Marriott stays, or you’re only interested in top-tier Marriotts, or if you aren’t sure you’ll use all 5 certs within a year then skip this one.
Timing your application: I don’t know how long this offer will last. If interested, get it soon.
IHG Premier Offers: 140K – 165K
| Card Offer and Details |
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These are very good cards to get and to keep for the annual free nights plus the ability to top-off free nights with points (e.g. book a night that costs 60K points with a 40K free night plus 20K points). The certificate alone is easily worth the card’s annual fee, but throw in Platinum Elite status, up to $50 per year in United Airlines credits, and 4th Night Free award bookings and these cards are winners. For details, see: IHG Card Changes: New Biz Card, Higher Earning, Top Up Certs With Points & More.
The business version of the card won’t add to your 5/24 count so there’s a significant advantage to going for this card instead of (or in addition to) the personal card.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
To determine your 5/24 status, see: Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.
Who should get it: Anyone under 5/24 who does not yet have this card may find it worth getting. Note that you are allowed to sign up for both the IHG Premier consumer card AND the IHG Premier business card.
Who shouldn’t get it: Anyone who has no use for IHG points, status, or free nights.
Timing your application: We’ve seen better offers for the personal card pop up frequently so I’d suggest waiting a bit if you’re interested in that card. If you’re interested in the business card I don’t think there’s any harm in signing up now.
Wyndham Earner Plus & Business 75K
| Card Offer |
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These are excellent offers for excellent cards. If you’re only going to get one, I’d recommend that business card since it offers more annual points, 8x earnings at gas stations, and a higher level elite status (which can be matched to Caesar’s Diamond status).
Who should get it: Anyone with a business should consider the business card. Anyone who highly values Wyndham points should also consider the Earner Plus card.
More:
You must have a business (but you probably do): In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so.
Who shouldn’t get it: Anyone who doesn’t foresee any good use for Wyndham points should stay away. Wyndham points expire 4 years after they’re earned.
See also:
Hilton Aspire: 150K plus free night
| Card Offer |
|---|
This is the card’s usual great offer, but it’s plenty good enough to include here.
Who should get it: Anyone who is good at using the card’s annual rebates should get this card since those rebates more than make up for the card’s annual fee, and then the annual free night and Diamond status are fantastic bonuses.
Who shouldn’t get it: If you don’t think you’ll fully use the card’s $250 resort credit and $250 airline fee rebate, then get this card only if you very highly value Diamond elite status and the card’s annual free night.
Timing your application: My guess is that Amex will eventually increase the annual fee on this card and so it would be good to get this before that happens so that you’ll get at least a year with the card at the current annual fee.
See also: A new ultra-premium card, in-depth review: Amex Hilton Aspire
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I was thinking about replacing my vanilla Platinum with the Schwab as I’d prefer a reasonable cash out option, but the linked page shows only 80K, not, 100K. Has the offer gone down?
Sorry about that. Yes the offer went down.
Would you recommend applying for the current Platinum offer (150K + $200) or wait until early December to apply given the ability to triple dip the calendar year credits? I’d very likely only hold for 1 year and cancel after second AF posts.
If you’re confident you can use the various perks (like the $200 airline fee credit) quickly in December of 23 and January of 25, then I’d wait. There’s always a chance that the signup bonus will be significantly worse then, though, so there’s some risk, but my guess is that you’ll be able to find at least a 150K offer even if the $200 extra is no longer available.
When I click the 160K link for the Amex Biz Plat, it shows a 155K bonus – 150K for the card, 5K for the AU. And then when I click thru and login, it says it is no longer available (not sure if that means it is unavailable just for me, or for everyone).
However I did just receive an email for the 200K Biz Plat + Biz checking with an Apr 30 expiration. I already have the checking (60K bonus should be posting soon), does anyone know if I can do it again to get a net 50K bonus assuming I get another Biz Plat?
Thanks. I’ve updated that section to say 150K + 5K. It still works for me when I log in so I believe that you aren’t targeted.
I don’t know the answer to your question about the biz checking bundle
That streets are saying csp may go 90k soon.
Greg: you mention that the $50K spend requirement for the Capital One Venture X Business Card could possibly be better spent elsewhere. “Also, if you prefer to sign up for lots of cards, you can do much better with $50K of spend.” Could you give me an example(s) of what you are referring to?
Greg is referring to doing several sign-up bonuses rather than just the one with Cap1. For example, from the list above, you could get an Amex Business Platinum with $15K required spend and a Chase Ink with $6K required spend. If you wanted to only be applying for business cards (e.g. to stay under 5/24), and if you wanted to spread your applications across banks, you could add the BofA Alaska Biz card for $4K and the Barclays AA or JetBlue Biz card for $2K, taking your total to $27K and still with $23K for spend on different new cards. You need to give 90 days and then you can apply for another Biz Plat or Chase Ink (though by then the 90K bonus will probably be gone), or maybe get a Amex Biz Gold or … there are a lot of options. I am not factoring in all the annual fees, you would need to look at the annual fee costs as well as the value to you of all the points/cash-back earned in bonuses and the perks provided by the cards (e.g. how much are the Dell credits on the Biz Plat worth to you).
Thank you!
A couple small things – for Ink Biz Preferred, current CIC is 90% of points with 40% of minimum spend – not 75% and 50%.
Also, I thought you could no longer get IHG premier if you had the old IHG card. I gather it may not always be enforced?
I have both the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cards for some years now. In my chase account, I see offers “Just for You” for both of the 90k offers plus the Ink Preferred cards. Is it possible to receive the SUB again for the Inks, and have two of the same cards?
Yes.
Greg, I’ve heard that there needs to be at least 90 days between Amex NLL offers on the same card type. Any thoughts? Thanks.
The Ink Business Cash shows $900 as the signup bonus. Will that post as 90,000 points?
Yes exactly
The Alaska Business card link is not working. The offer may have expired.
No United business card? 150k after 20k spend? To me that would be in the first group.
I thought I had my credit/charge Amex card count charted correctly. However, reading your comments on the Green personal card, I did not have as a credit card. I’ve had the card since 2020. I say all this because if that’s the fact, I have six credit cards, one over the “limit” as you and most other sites indicate. Lastly, P2 wants to take out another credit card, but is at 5 expecting to cancel one before applying. Any particular Amex number to call first, or just go ahead and apply expecting to be turned down and then cancel a card?
I don’t think there’s any harm in applying to see what happens and then cancel a card
Regarding the business platinum offer, you advised jumping on it while you can. My targeted email (150k+10k) says it expires 12/31/22, and it can be worth timing it toward the end of the year for some.
Good point. Altered.
Why better to apply at years end?
While this offer has been around for some time and may last that long, I’ve had similar offers from Amex show an expiration way in the future, then when I clicked on the offer long after (but still prior to the expiration date shown), the link went to an “offer no longer available” page. So I wouldn’t 100% count on the expiration date, as they can still end the offer prematurely.
Greg,
Either I am missing something with the AMEX Consumer Gold offer or the statement: “Now, with this best ever offer, it’s time to sign up!” needs to be deleted. The chart contains a “recent better offer.” What day did your blog start again? 🙂
LOL. Oops. Fixed
Greg, on the minimum spending, does the amount spent on an employee (AU) card count towards minimum spend? For example:
On the 160,000 AMEX Business Platinum offer does this mean $15,000 spend on the primary card PLUS $1,000 spend on the Employee (or AU) card, or can I spend $14,000 on the primary card plus $1,000 on the employee card for a total of $15,000 spend – to get the 160,000 MR points?
I don’t typically get AU cards that require spending.
With Amex, yes definitely. The only bank I know of where employee card spend doesn’t count towards signup bonus minimum spend is US Bank.
Thanks!
According to the promotion details, there’s not even an annual fee for the employee cards.
You forgot to mention the hurdle of Capital One possibly shutting down your account before you get all the points. Or having an 800+ credit score and getting approved for a lesser product.
Very true, crap1 shuts down your cc plus any other accounts you might have with them, no matter for how long you have had them. They even closed my crappy kohls account…Most bloggers paddling crap1 cards conveniently “forget” to warn how vindictive they are.
Can I get the 140K bonus on the IHG Rewards Premier card, if I already have the legacy IHG Rewards Club card (the one that costs $49 per year)?
No, but you can get the IHG Business Premier card.
I have a legitimate business and am interested in applying for the AMEX Business Platinum, but recognize I likely can’t meet the spending requirement (15K in 3 months or $30K in 6 months). Are there alternative sign up bonuses available for lower spends? I’ve already had the regular AMEX Platinum in the last 7 years so that doesn’t appear to be an option.
I’m not aware of of any lower spend offers for the Business Platinum card. The personal Gold card may be a good option for you instead.
Does citi premier offer referral bonus?
Unfortunately no
Greg, just curious – why is AMEX Plat Morgan Stanley rated so low (1st year value)? I would think having MS rebate the annual $695 fee is worth at least 70,000 MR points, even if there is no 10X dining. And it should clearly be rated higher than the Schwab Plat. Am I missing something?
We don’t include the $695 rebate because that requires a number of hoops that most readers are unlikely to do.
BBP for 60K: 50K for $15K plus 10K for $1K.
Worth it or too much spend for too few points, considering 160K Biz Pat offer?
Hmmm. Good question! If you can generate that much spend then I’d go for it after the 160k Biz Plat offer.
There is a link on Reddit for a 70k SUB for the CSR that still seems to be active. Google “CSR 70k bonus Reddit” and it is in a thread called “PSA: CSR has a 70k SUB”
Greg, Aviator Business is currently 70K bonus.
Thanks. Added.
I have the Venture X and earned the bonus. Is it worth picking it up for my wife via my referral? Pretty high spend but spread over 6 months. Thoughts? If we don’t it’s a lot of points left on the table
Yep that’s good idea
Does Brex work as a credit or debit card for paying taxes through third party payer?
Credit using the card. Not sure on this, but if you have an account with IRS, Brex could probably do an echeck for no fee.
I think it’s safe to call them Capital One Miles (without the quotes) now that they transfer to most airlines 1:1. Previously they should’ve called them Kilometers.
True. I’d rather call them points but C1 insists on Miles
Nice list! Does Capital One do much reconsideration? I was rejected for Venture X and wasn’t sure if they have recon like other issuers
No they’re not known to reconsider
Thanks! Too bad they won’t reconsider but your answer saves me some time on the phone
Chase Aeroplan card?
The title for the Amex Gold offer needs to be updated to 75k, you still have the title listed at 60k, but I think the actual offer is correct.
That’s absolutely true, thanks! Fixed.
Hey Greg,
I was thinking should I “trade” my Hilton AmEx in for an AmEx that provides airline travel points and then transfer the acquired points for use at hotels? I don’t travel much of late except for personal fairly regional travel that I use at Hilton, but I may start working again and thus “travel again”
I would always support the idea of focusing on earning transferable points rather than specific hotel or airline points. So, go for an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points, or a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou points, or Capital One “Miles”.
Listened to your podcast recently about the 15x small business resy offer. How are you tracking what codes as small business? I dont see any way to track what is offering bonus points (under the K07M coding) to the particular purchase, which makes it hard to max out the rewards points. From the podcast, it sounded like you and NIck were somehow able to track what was coding.
I’ve only been able to do it by putting very little spend on the card initially. If I had lots of purchases all at once it would be very hard. This post shows how to see the bonus points: https://frequentmiler.com/yes-your-new-platinum-card-is-earning-10x-where-appropriate/
I already have two Business Platinums. Now they targeted me with the 150k points offer again. Is 3 Bus Plat’s too much? Will it attract attention from the RAT?
I don’t know. I’m in the same situation but so far have decided not to go for the 3rd because I don’t want to take the chance. I might change my mind though at any time!
Works for me, but RAT worried since I wasn’t targeted directly for this offer.
No travel benefits on the Citi Premier card. How did I miss that?! Thanks for the heads up Greg.
My husband is 4/24. We hope to get him the Chase Marriott Boundless so he can renew his Platinum thru 2/2023 and we need large amount of Marriott points.. However the SUB is terrible now. What card should I get him next? There are plenty of amazing cards with amazing SUB. Should I save a spot for any Chase card? Like CIC? Is it still tight now? Or should I give up the last 5/24 spot for AMEX or Citi??
The Ink Cash is a good idea. Chase has made it easier to get than earlier in the pandemic but it’s hard to say how easy. Still, I think it’s worth a try. He’ll stay at 4/24 even if approved.
Also, if he doesn’t already have the Sapphire Preferred, then that 100K bonus is a good choice for using up the last 5/24 slot. If he has an open Amex credit card slot, he can instead sign up for the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant in order to get the elite nights (and can a year later downgrade to the $95 Amex Bonvoy card). If the long term plan is to upgrade to the Ritz card, though, the Chase Bonvoy card makes sense.
If you decide to move forward with the Chase Bonvoy card, wait until maybe November to see if a better offer comes out.
I would consider the Alaska Business card for an honorable mention. Only for those who intend to use the miles for an international redemption.
60k miles
3k spend
Agree
I’d say it should be in the top 5. Those Amex offers are nice, but the Plat fees eat up a lot of the benefit, especially on Biz versions which have very few coupon perks that average consumers can take advantage of. I’m skipping the 150k offer, for example, until I’m more desperate for MR points.
I am going to pick up the Wyndham Business Card. I plan on using the points on Go Fast redemptions during a road trip. Hyatt globalist is not sufficient.
I would like to pick up another Amex Platinum (Schwab) given the current bonus. I finally got my first platinum last November. I would prefer to wait until Chase releases the Aeroplan cards, since I am 4/24. Waiting 2 months, will reduce the overlap between the vanilla Platinum, the Platinum Business and the Schwab Platinum.
I downgraded my CSR, had that since it was new, and am nearly ready to apply for CSP. My question is can I use a referral to the card with the in-branch promotion? My wife’s referral code seems to be more worth it for 20k referral points for her vs the waived $95 fee. What are your thoughts?
Have you written any articles on how to decide which Platinum card to apply to first, e.g. ‘vanilla’ vs. Schwab?
I thought the new terms on the Morgan Stanley and Schwab cards didn’t let you get the bonus if you got any other personal platinum bonus. Is that not true?
No that was a misunderstanding of the new terms. You can still get each one.
Do you have any thoughts on the current Marriott offer for 100k points?
For the Chase Boundless card? 100K is a decent offer, but we’ve seen better. If you’re eager to get that card, my guess is that this is a decent time to sign up. If you can wait, it’s worth seeing if they come out with another enhanced offer later this year. I think that’s very likely.
Why no Chase Ink Bus Preferred? Points/spend/first year value are similar to your other picks. Just curious. https://frequentmiler.com/cibp/
I probably should add it in. I left it out because the other Ink offers deliver 3/4 the points for half the min spend. So, I think the other Ink offers are better, but this one is still terrific
I ended up getting the 125k bonus for the Apex Platinum offer above. However, I can’t remember if it included the $200 Home Depot Lowes Credit, and I didn’t screenshot it. Does anyone know if if the 125k offer includes the $200 credit? I inquired via chat with AMEX customer service and the rep indicated that they don’t see such an offer on my account.
My wife took out the Chase Ink Business cash for the 5X category mostly. In a way a Chase business card does hit your personal FICO. Maybe not counting on the 5/24 as such, but it counts as a hard pull which she did not need from her past personal cards the past several months. I was surprised, so now, even though she is technically still below 5/24, no more cards until the number of hard pulls go down.
Yes, that’s standard: business card applications do lead to hard pulls, but they don’t register as new accounts when approved. Luckily hard pulls have very little affect on your credit score or on your ability to get new cards (especially after about 90 days)
Great offers, but mostly with a higher minimal spend ($4k+). Right now Amex Green offers 50,000 MR + $200 credits with $2k spend – that’s the highest for that card.
I think that can make the top of the list for people who don’t spend a lot. Those 50,000 MR can be converted to 140,000 Hilton points, which is better than most offers on Amex Hilton cards (not even counting the $200 credits).
Very good point! I actually thought I had that card listed, but obviously I was wrong. That has been corrected. Thanks!
Just a reminder to update the bookmark link at the top for the CSP to say 80k instead of 60k.
Fixed. Thank you!
DP- Wyndham buisness may be subject to 6/24. Was my first Barclay Biz application so not 100%
Greg and Nick, do you guys know if he monthly $10 food credits on the Amex gold reset every calendar month, or whenever your statement closing date is?
Yes they go by calendar month
Greg:
FYI I just used my Amex airline credits to purchase tickets on SW. Kept the amounts charged to the CC (my gold and wife’s plat cards) to below 100 per charge on each card per your suggestion. Also had the charges as “odd” amounts, as opposed to even amounts on theory that looked less “suspicious”. Not sure the odd amounts made a difference, but they all got credits back.
Also, just got approved instantly for a personal plat card with 100 k
points. Had a business plat before. Thanks for the heads ups.
Don’t want 2 plat cards. Will downgrade wife’s to a green card so can keep her points. Do you see any problems with this strategy?
Thanks
As long as she has had the Platinum card for a year, it’s fine to downgrade. Alternatively, she could cancel altogether without losing points as long as she has another Membership Rewards card. For example, she could sign up for the 60K Gold card offer and then cancel the Platinum card.
Thanks. Thoughts on keeping her Platinum card? Comparing benefits, seems like with Uber and air credits, Platinum card might be cheaper.
Always use air credits, but Uber, spotty. Might use 75-100 of those credits.
You can also use $30 per month Paypal credits now through June!
I have amex gold and keep getting upgrade offers for plat but they’re not as good as the 100k offer. Can I apply for the plat independent of my gold card?
Yes, you can apply new instead (and qualify for the welcome bonus)
[…] 12 Amazing Card Offers […]
Hi FM, I applied for the IHG Premier card at the end of November without realizing that there may have been a slightly better offer than the one described above. Am I mistaken or is there one that also includes a $50 statement credit after first purchase per DoC’s link below?
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-ihg-premier-140000-points-signup-bonus-with-3000-spend/
You are absolutely right. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I’ve updated our site to show the better offer. I know it doesn’t help you since you already applied, but this will help others. I appreciate it!
Hi Greg and Nick,
Thanks for your VERY HELPFUL recent posts re: AMEX Platinum’s incredible offer. I got approved for Platinum w/ 100K Bonus & 10X Gas/Groceries!
Quick question (I’m new to Points & Miles strategies) and need some guidance:
If I spent $2500 on Gas/Groceries the first 2 months, does that mean I would get 10X Amex Membership Reward points AND ALSO would have met the $5000 spend requirement for the 100K Bonus??
Or is the the $5K spend requirement within first 6 months for purchases IN ADDITION to Gas/Groceries that I get 10X? Hoping I can meet the $5K spend just by Gas/Groceries during first 6 months, so that I can keep my non-bonused spend on Chase Freedom Unlimited.
Hoping you can clarify for me – thanks so much!!
Yes, absolutely. If you only spend $5K within 6 months and only for gas & groceries, you’ll earn both the 100K welcome bonus and 10X points for that spend. So you should end up with 150K points.
Tried WoH yesterday for the elite run and went pending.
3/24
780 credit score
Already have CSR, United Explorer (for award space), FU, and Vanilla Freedom.
Refi’d the mortgage over the summer
Hoping it’s just a credit line issue and will contact recon if denied.
When’s the earliest you can sign up for the Amex platinum and safely triple dip on the airline credit? I assume it needs a few days to post, so maybe like Dec. 6th?
Good question. I applied on Nov 12th and my first statement closed very quickly: Nov 26th. That said, I believe you can call and ask Amex to move your first statement back quite a bit so I don’t know how helpful that example is.
Ah, your answer brings up a good point. I’m not charged the annual fee until the first statement closing date, right? And then, next year, I have 30 days after the second annual fee to close the card, right? If that’s the case, I should be good and clear to sign up now and triple dip, right?
For a rough timeline:
-sign up today, get the card in a day or two, and use the airline credit
-Dec 26th (just to match your date): statement closes and first AF posts
-2021: Use the airline credit again
-Dec. 26, 2021: Second AF posts
-Jan. 2022: Use airline credit for a third time
-Jan. 25, 2022: Close the card by this date (30 days after AF posts)
Does that all seem to make sense? Signing up today would be more than safe enough to get the triple dip?
Yes that sounds right to me. And as I said, I think that when you first get the card you can ask for a later first statement close so that would give you even more time.
Great, thanks for the input Greg!
[…] Greg’s Top Picks: Showstopping credit card offers! (Nov 2020) […]
I can’t tell if the new Chase Ink Cash and Unlimited sign-up bonus offers are meant to encourage or deter sole props from applying. What’s your take? I haven’t had much luck finding data points for sole props getting approved. I’ve seen maybe or two on various forums. But I wondered if those were unicorns.
I don’t know. My bet is that they are loosening up on approvals a bit, but I don’t have much data to go by.
[…] how blinded many of us in the hobby have become by this rule. As we’ve considered some of the huge new offers to come out this month, it comes to mind that it just isn’t worth waiting around forever hoping to find a dance […]
Lots of good information here, but it looks like you have the same information about the United Business Card under the heading for the personal “United Explorer: 70K” and the business card headings.
Oops! Thanks. I’ve fixed it (it might take a bit for it to update everywhere)
Amex Pre-qualified tool shows nothing for me! Should I still go ahead and try my luck? Current I have no Amex card at all. I may have closed a couple of Amex hotel cards many many years ago. My credit score is above 800 last time I checked. I am a bit concerned about the hard inquiry it will post on my credit file. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Amex’s pre-qual tool isn’t very useful in my experience. Yes, it’s worth it. I think it’s extremely likely you would get approved. A single hard inquiry doesn’t do any lasting damage. Your score my drop about 5 points for a few months, but that’s not really an issue.
Thank you Greg!
For the new platinum offer will 10X on supermarkets/gas stations work for the authorized Gold card user(no fee) of the platinum card
Yes (the primary cardholder will earn 10X)
Thanks. I have the personal Plat. I can getone for my wife and be an auth user
Thanks!
But I guess given Amex’s reputation for clamping down on MS, giftcards might be taboo
Yes, you can
Not sure if they differentiate between AU plat and AU Gold
T&C
“10x Membership Rewards Points
Earn 9 additional points per dollar on the first $15,000 of combined eligible purchases at supermarkets located in the U.S. (superstores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets) and gas stations located in the U.S…… on top of the 1 point you earn per dollar spent on eligible purchases (for a total of 10 points), made on the Card during the first 6 months of Card Membership starting from the date of account approval. You will not earn additional rewards for marina or any type of commercial fuel (e.g., jet fuel).Purchases charged by both the Basic and Additional Card Members on the eligible Card Account are eligible for the additional points.”
I have been delaying applying for the CSP, until a possible public offer for CSR came out. I haven’t been targeted for CSR, unfortunately. Would you wait past 11/8 or jump at CSP?
I’d go for the CSP offer. Otherwise you might lose out on both if a better CSR offer ever appears.
Hi Greg, is the IHG Premier subject to 5/24? You don’t specifically mention it in your review of the card. I assume so, but just checking. I’m over 5/24 until Dec. 5. Also, I have the AMEX Bonvoy (the old SPG card). Can I get the SUB for the Brilliant if I sign up for it? Thanks!
Essentially all Chase credit cards are now subject to 5/24.
IHG offer or Marriott offer if you can only get one?
Personally, I’d wait and see if Hyatt offer increases and go for that 🙂
Thanks Greg for the suggestion. However, after checking, I am not qualified for another Hyatt bonus yet due to 24 months rule. >_<
I’m also interested in this, but from a slightly different perspective: I already have the Hyatt card, am under 5/24 in a couple of months, and have neither the Marriott or IHG. Which is a recommended long term keeper: Marriott or IHG?
Both are worth keeping long term if you value the annual free nights. If you don’t value the free night certificates, then I’d recommend the IHG card because you can downgrade to the no-fee card after a year and preserve one of the card’s best features: 4th night free on awards.
Greg,
Why not just cancel IHG Premier CC before AF, wait a bit and get the no-AF IHG CC instead of downgrading to it? That way potentially another bonus is earned or do you advise downgrading instead because of the increased risk to Chase’s shutdown on all cards?
I think TPG suggested going for the double bonus and not downgrade.
TY
With Chase’s 5/24 rule, I like to conserve new consumer card apps to only the best welcome bonuses. I’d generally prefer to downgrade the IHG card and sign up new for a different card with a great offer. That said, if you highly value IHG points, that could be a good way to go.
I currently have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card which I got in January. Any thoughts on what card I should get next?
I’d recommend checking out this post if you haven’t already: https://frequentmiler.com/beginner-plan-solo-no-business/
I been waiting for a better offer since the Brilliant launched. From the get-go Amex and Marriott have barely marketed the card. I’ve been hoping for a big 2020 offer and got hopes slightly up with the Boundless offer. Only slightly.
Maybe it sells itself?
How about the IHG Premier 140k with no af first year?
Yep. I should probably put that one in the list somewhere. It’s a very good offer.
My fav personally.
I was about to mention this, you bet me to it
FYI, I’ve added the IHG 140K offer to this post
Hi Greg, thanks for the post. Question about the expiration of the Marriott certs: When does the clock start and do you need to book or stay within a year? To give an example, let’s say I was approved for this card today, completed the spend on Christmas Day, and then had the certificates show up in my account on January 15th (the terms say to allow up to 8 weeks for certs to be deposited). I assume my one year expiration clock starts on January 15th, correct? And do I have to stay by January 15th, or just book by then? Thank you!
The clock starts once the certs are issued. You need to stay and check-out by the date they expire. In your example, I believe you could stay as late as January 14th 2022 (check-out on Jan 15)
Thank you!
I can’t tell from your Best CC Offers page, is the current Delta Gold Business offer of 60k, their best usual offer? Thanks.
Yes. A common high watermark for Delta Gold cards is 60K and for Delta Platinum cards its 70K
Capital One Venture 100,000 point sign-up bonus doesn’t make the list?
I know many people don’t favor it but considering the value for one hard credit inquiry and the flexibility to use the points for any travel expense, the first year value is conservatively $1200+ (assuming you are able to spend $20k+ to get the 100k sign-up bonus). What am I missing?
I struggled with what to do with that offer. But just for you, I created a new section of the post called “On the fence”. Read that section to see my thoughts about the C1 100K offer.
I guess if you’re spending a lot of money, this offer is good. But I have no interest because of the high spend. I’d way rather spend $9k for 155k points between the United business and CSP, for example. I often think about signup bonuses in terms of points/$. The CSP and United Business are, at a minimum, 21 ppd and 16 ppd (respectively), while the venture is only 7 ppd since you have to spend so much.
Certainly, I don’t believe it is the best offer. The amount of spend could split amongst multiple cards for higher/better (eye of the beholder) bonuses.
However, a large majority of the readers of this blog look for bang-per-hard-inquiry since banks are increasingly cracking down on churning. Therefore, some (if not most) people could benefit more by getting one large bonus with big spend (in a one year period) with only one credit inquiry.
The offer certainly has downsides as noted by Greg and others. I was just making the point that the value for one credit inquiry is pretty good if you have the large spend coming up. Also, the flexibility on use for any travel expense (especially during the unknown months and years ahead) adds to the value (instead of being pigeon-holed into one airline or hotel loyalty program).
That’s a good point. And if spend isn’t an issue (i.e., people who easily, regularly MS), this is probably a great offer as well.
Well firstly, there’s the opportunity cost of spending $20k with them. You could hit 4-5 other MSRs for that much and space those out as your spend changes. Secondly, this card’s earning, ecosystem and benefits suck when compared to the offerings from Chase, Amex & Citi. It’s not the worth holding onto past the sub which is why when points bloggers talk about what’s in their wallet, it’s never Capital One.
Not forget that Capital One pulls all three bureaus, so it’s not strictly “one inquiry”
With the unlimited getting an uncapped 3x on drugstores. It makes it an easy card to MS on. Where do we think the line is at to not get shut down?
Yes indeed. Honestly, I have no idea about how far it would be safe to push it. Personally I’d be nervous about doing much more than $1K per week
Whoa. What am I missing? What gift cards can still be purchased with a credit card at a drugstore? All drugstores in my area are cash only for gift cards, or cash & debit.
I think that is very YMMV. There is a grocery store up the street from me that will not let me buy GC with CC, but another store 2 miles away, same company, that doesn’t bat an eye at $1k in VGCs
How are you liquidating the VGCs?
Ironically the very same store what won’t let me buy VGCs with a CC has never once asked to check my “debit” card when getting an MO. Luckily neither does the one that lets me buy the GCs, though I haven’t tried to buy and liquidate others in the same shopping trip, i really don’t know if the kids working there would give AF but don’t want to burn any easy stops.