Credit Cards
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Should You Pay the Annual Fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) provides a number of additional benefits that the Chase Freedom card doesn’t offer. However, those extras come at a cost. After being waived the first year, the annual fee of $95 will kick in. Is it worth paying? I’ll walk you through the extra benefits and do the math for you with a calculator at the end of this article. The premise behind this exercise is that you are deciding whether to keep your CSP and pay the annual fee or downgrade it to a Freedom card to save the $95 (or simply cancel if you already have a Freedom). To make this determination, my calculator requires only 4 variables:…
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Amex SPG 35k Signup Bonus for Limited Time
American Express is offering a limited time increased signup bonus for its Starwood Preferred Guest Personal and Business credit cards. You can get 35,000 bonus Starpoints after you use the new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. The signup bonus is normally 25,000 Starpoints and I’ve only seen it as high as 30,000 in the past. This limited time offer ends March 30, 2016. Starpoints are a favorite for travelers not just because they have high value when you redeem at Starwood properties like Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels. Starpoints can also be transferred directly to miles in your frequent flyer program with a 1:1 Starpoints-to-miles exchange rate…
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New Rules for Amex Business Card Signup Bonuses
American Express changed the offer terms on their line of business credit cards last week. Unfortunately, the change is not positive. Last year, American Express limited the eligibility of signup bonuses to once per lifetime for its personal credit cards. Specifically, the language reads as follows: “Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.” Translated, this means that if you’re applying for a personal card like the Preferred Rewards Gold card, you are ineligible for the bonus if you’ve ever had that same card before. Until last week, business card applications were not subject to that same restriction. Those offer terms had the language…
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Increased Signup Bonuses for Hilton Credit Cards
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the merits of the various Hilton branded credit cards. That article also describes the Hilton HHonors points program and its benefits, as well as links to each hotel broken down by reward level. Since then, limited time increased signup bonuses are now available for three of the four cards. Here are the new offers and links to get the better bonuses. These are not referral links–I am not compensated in any way when you click through. Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card Regular Bonus: 40,000 HHonors Points after spending $1,000 in the first 4 months. New Bonus: 75,000 HHonors Points after spending $2,000 in the first…
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Time to Plan Some Late Summer Home Improvement Projects with Discover It Card
The Discover It card’s 5% Cashback Bonus categories for the remainder of 2016 were recently announced, and July through September looks compelling. Use your Discover It card at home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot in the 3rd Quarter and get 5% cashback on up to $1,500 in purchases. If you’re planning some projects now, it might be worth putting them off until July to capitalize on the bonus–wish me luck explaining that to Mrs. PointsYak. All the 2016 bonus categories are listed in the graphic below. Amazon.com is prominently featured in the entire second half of the year, while “& More” in the 4th Quarter is vague at best.…
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Get a Credit Card Signup Bonus with your Next Big Purchase
Do you have a fairly large purchase requirement on the horizon? Consider applying for a new credit card that offers a generous signup bonus on which you can charge the purchase to soften the blow. If you have excellent credit and don’t plan on shopping for any loans in the next few months, then this might be exactly the right time! The most lucrative benefit a credit card typically offers is its signup bonus. For many consumers, however, the biggest hurdle to earning the bonus is meeting the minimum spend requirement. But if you’re about to buy some new furniture, jewelry or appliance, or you just NEED to have that 70″ flat screen 4k Ultra HD…
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Valentine’s Day Offers from American Express
Everywhere I look, I am reminded that Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching–even when I log on to my americanexpress.com account. Prominently listed are the latest Amex Offers from Teleflora, 1-800 Flowers and FTD as well as Shari’s Berries and AmexTravel. Lets have a look at those deals, as well as a recap of all the public offers currently available via Twitter. Amex Offers Background The Amex Offers program is one of my favorite credit card perks that everyone with an American Express card should be taking advantage of. In fact, it is reason enough to have at least one, if not multiple American Express Cards in your wallet. For newcomers to these deals, check…
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My Latest Credit Card Retention Call
It’s been a year since I was approved for my Chase United MileagePlus Explorer credit card. At the time, my account was targeted for 50,000 MileagePlus Miles after spending $3,000 in addition to the usual no annual fee for the first year. I was able to take advantage of that offer AND get a $50 statement credit for applying while booking a flight on United’s website. I never did complete the flight booking, I just wanted the $50 credit! This morning, I noticed that the $95 annual fee charge for the card appeared in my account, so it may be time to cancel. It’s not uncommon for credit card issuers…
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Which Credit Card Should You Get if you Stay at Hilton Hotels
There are well over 4000 Hilton hotels and resorts worldwide, across brands ranging from luxurious (Waldorf Astoria) to moderately priced (Hampton Hotels). With such a large global footprint, travelers will often find a Hilton property to be a convenient and comfortable choice for their lodging. The Hilton HHonors program rewards loyal guests with benefits and the ability to earn points that can be redeemed for free nights and, like most loyalty programs, there’s no cost to sign up. You can also earn HHonors points and elite status from certain affiliated credit cards. We’ll go through the benefits of each one, so you can find the card (or combination of cards) that best…
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What to do with Membership Rewards Points if you Don’t Travel
The best way to achieve the greatest value for your American Express Membership Rewards points is by transferring them to Airline and Hotel travel partner programs. That’s where you can often get more than 1.5 cents per point on flights and rooms, sometimes WAY more. But if you don’t travel, should you shun the American Express cards that earn these points? Not necessarily, as there are other redemption options. Be careful when you redeem your points, as each method gives you different a value for your points–some are downright awful. I’ll go through each one in the order of “Least desirable-don’t do it!” to “Best method in a pinch.” Shopping on Americanexpress.com A prominently…
