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New Citi Prestige Applicants Losing AA Lounge Benefit Soon
Last month, news broke that Citi Prestige cardholders would be losing access to American Airlines Admirals Clubs. A few days later, Citi confirmed that, and many other negative changes to the card. The only good news was that Citi was giving one year notice of the changes, which are due to take effect July 23, 2017. However, there is one change that will affect new applicants much sooner. According to various reports, new Citi Prestige applicants must be approved by August 31, 2016 to have Admirals Club access through July 23, 2017. If you become a cardholder on September 1 or later, you will not have the AA lounge club benefit…
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Chase Sapphire Reserve – Post Denial Options
After applying for Chase Sapphire Reserve in a bank branch earlier this week, I finally decided to call the reconsideration line to check the status. As I feared, my application was denied due to too many accounts opened in the past 24 months. I asked the representative “How many is too many accounts?” She was polite but would not put a number on it. I had considered waiting to let the decision process play out on its own–some have had more luck being approved that way. I finally considered calling for two reasons: There might be a need to move some credit around which could be causing the delay. I have 3 additional recently…
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Results of my Chase Sapphire Reserve Application…
Yesterday I wrote about the new premium Chase Sapphire Reserve card and all its benefits. I also wrote about how this card, like many other Chase credit cards, is subject to the Chase 5/24 approval rule. Regardless, I decided to apply today and my results are inconclusive, but doubtful. I’ve opened more than 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months, so I knew applying online via the Chase website would be just about futile. After reading countless data points of approvals and denials over the last 2 days, I knew my best hope of circumventing the rule was going into a branch to see if I happened to be pre-approved.…
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The New Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Looks Fantastic!
UPDATE: The 100,000 point signup bonus offer for online applications will be reduced to 50,000 on January 12, 2017. Chase has introduced its new premium travel credit card, Sapphire Reserve, and it looks fantastic! Loaded with benefits, it carries a hefty $450 annual fee. This new addition to its lineup finally gives Chase a direct competitor to The Platinum Card from American Express and Citi Prestige. Sapphire Reserve offers a myriad of travel benefits that more than make up for the annual fee, including an annual $300 travel credit, complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge access, and Global Entry/TSA Pre✓ credit. Unfortunately, this card is subject to Chase’s restrictive 5/24 rule. Last week, I wrote…
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New Chase Sapphire Reserve: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Update: Chase has clarified that the Visa Infinite $100 credit towards 2-5 domestic flights will not be included as a benefit of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I’ve updated this post accordingly. Yesterday afternoon, Chase prematurely accepted online applications for it’s new, but yet-to-be-announced flagship credit card, Chase Sapphire Reserve. The link to the application page was discovered and posted by a user on reddit. A short time later, another link listing the card’s benefits was posted by a different user. Within a couple hours, the party was over as Chase took down the links. During the time that the links were active, applications to Sapphire Reserve did not appear to be subject to the…
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The Chase 5/24 Rule: When a Great Credit Score Isn’t Enough
You earn a good salary and your credit score is over 750, but Chase just denied your credit card application. How can this be? If you’ve opened 5 or more credit cards from any bank in the last 2 years, you just became the latest victim of the Chase 5/24 rule. Your good credit history is usually the most important prerequisite banks look for in order to approve you for a credit card. But with Chase’s unique credit card approval rule, your stellar credit takes a back seat to your potential profitability. Before applying for any Chase credit card, you’ll need to know what the Chase 5/24 rule is and if it applies to you. Here…
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50% British Airways Transfer Bonus from Amex Membership Rewards
For a limited time, you can get 50% more British Airways Avios when you transfer from your American Express Membership Rewards account. For every 250 MR point you transfer, you’ll get 300 Avios instead of the usual 200. This offer is good through 11:59 p.m. CT on October 10, 2016. If your travel plans include British Airways or its partners in the near future, now would be a great time to transfer some of your Membership Rewards points. In October, 2015, American Express reduced the regular Avios transfer ratio. For each 250 Membership Rewards points you normally receive 200 Avios. Prior to that devaluation, the exchange ratio was 1:1 (250:250). Ultimately,…
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$5 Free Starbucks from Visa Checkout
Update: This offer has been extended to August 29, 2016. To me, one of the only things better than Startucks coffee is FREE Starbucks coffee. That’s why I’m excited about the current promotion from Visa Checkout. Be one of the first 200,000 to buy an eGift Card (min. $10) on Starbucks.com and pay using Visa Checkout between 8/4/16 – 8/18/16 and get a Bonus Load of $5. This offer isn’t quite as lucrative as the last Starbucks/Visa Checkout promotion back in May. That one gave you a $10 Bonus Load for purchasing a $10 eGift card. It’s important to note, this doesn’t mean you simply checkout by paying with a Visa card. You…
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Rundown of all the New Amex Offers
Many new Amex Offers have been released over the last few days. If you have travel plans, the Sheraton Hotels and Ritz-Carlton deals are particularly lucrative and might influence your hotel choice. In addition, the 10% back on gas and tolls offers can provide you with a savings on money you’re probably spending anyway. For newcomers to these deals, check out my primer: Amex Offers = Too Good To Miss Out!. I wrote about how to connect your American Express card to your social media account and how to add offers to your card via Twitter, Facebook, or your americanexpress.com account. Twitter is the easiest method, but some offers are targeted, so you should be logging on to your…
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