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Primer on Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 Travel Credit
Update: Due to the lack of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chase has extended the ability to apply the travel credit to purchases at grocery stores and gas stations through June 30, 2021. The annual $300 Travel Credit is easily the most lucrative benefit of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Questions about what it covers and when it resets have been plentiful. It’s important to understand the benefit to know if and/or when you should apply. Fully monetizing the credit each year will effectively reduce the annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve from $550 to a net $250. You can receive this benefit twice in the first year of holding…
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Increased Signup Bonus for Capital One Venture
Capital One is rolling out an increased bonus offer for its Venture travel rewards credit card. You can now earn 50,000 bonus miles (increased from 40,000) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Depending on which online link you use, the annual fee is $59 or $95 but waived the first year. Link to $59 annual fee AND 50,000 mile bonus What are Reward “Miles”? Although Capital One uses the word “miles” to describe the rewards that you earn when you spend using this card, Venture is more like a cash back card. Each “mile” is worth 1 cent towards travel purchases charged to the card. This…
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How to Combine SPG Starpoints Between Accounts
Here’s a lesser-known but generous feature of the Starwood Preferred Guest program: members of the same household can combine SPG Starpoints into one account. If you alone don’t have enough SPG points for a redemption, pool points with a family member for that upcoming vacation. I did exactly that, and I’ll show you how. What are SPG Starpoints? Starwood Preferred Guest is a hotel loyalty program where you earn points for each stay. These SPG Starpoints are a favorite for travelers: they have high value when you redeem at Starwood properties like Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, they can be transferred directly to miles in a huge list of frequent flyer programs,…
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New Amex Platinum Benefits–What You Need to Know.
Last month, American Express announced Changes to its Platinum Card, including uew Uber benefits, 5x Membership Rewards for certain hotel bookings, and a new metal Card design. Along with the new perks, the annual fee was increasing to $550 for new applicants. All these changes are now live. Here’s what you need to know. New Annual Fee For new applicants, the annual fee for the Platinum Card is now $550. For Existing Platinum Card Members, the new annual fee will take effect on their annual renewal date if it is after September 1, 2017. If your annual fee renewal date is prior to September 1, 2017, you will be billed $450, and the new annual…
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New Premier Dining Rewards card from Capital One
Capital One has added a new credit card to its cash back offerings: the Premier Dining Rewards card. The card earns unlimited cash back rewards on dining, groceries and all other purchases for no annual fee. If you eat out a lot, this card definitely deserves a look. Card Details Earn 3% cash back on dining Earn 2% cash back on groceries Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases $100 signup bonus when you spend $500 in the first 3 months No foreign transaction fees No annual fee Mastercard World Elite benefits Capital One is one of the few banks that offer the no foreign transaction fee benefit with…
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Comparing Amex Everyday and Everyday Preferred Cards
Whenever I’m asked what the best credit card is, my answer is always, “It depends.” Even making a recommendation between just two cards leads me to respond the same way. Case in point: the Everyday and Everyday Preferred cards from American Express. If you are a fan of Amex’s Membership Rewards program, one of these two cards is a good choice for you. I can’t tell you which is the better choice, but at the end of this post you’ll find a calculator that will help you decide for yourself. Lets take a look at each card’s benefits. Amex Everyday Card 2x Membership Rewards points at U.S. Supermarkets (on up…
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How Does Chase Sapphire Reserve’s Travel Credit Impact the Signup Bonus?
When I applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card in January, the signup bonus was 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. I’ve been asked what would happen if some of that spending was on travel, triggering the $300 travel credit. If the credit takes you back below $4,000, do you still get the points? I had already received some travel credits as soon as I got the card and was getting close to meeting my own spending requirement. So, I decided to test this for myself. My plan was simple: get to just over $4,000 in total spending and stop using the card. Other…
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How to Transfer Chase Points to the Sapphire Reserve Card
Chase has a number of credit cards that earn points in the Ultimate Rewards program, and depending on how you redeem them, they could have a different value. I’ll show you how to transfer your points to the card that gives them the highest value–Chase Sapphire Reserve. The Chase credit cards that earn UR points are: Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and business cards such as Ink Cash, Ink Unlimited, Ink Preferred. While each card shares the “Ultimate Rewards” name, there are differences in how you can redeem your points among those cards. The good news is that you can earn points in each card’s generous bonus categories, then…
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10% Cash back at Restaurants with Amex Blue Cash
American Express has announced a unique promotion for new customers applying for their Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred Cards. New Card Members will earn 10% cash back at restaurants in the first six months, up to $200. New Card Members will also receive the regular welcome bonus of $100 for the Everyday or $150 for the Preferred. These cashback bonuses come in the form of a statement credit after spending $1000 in the first 3 months after approval. If you are a targeted customer (or if you use your browser’s “incognito” window), the welcome bonus may be as high as $250 for either card. To decide which card is…
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Limited Time 50k Signup Bonus for BarclayCard Arrival+
For a limited time, you can get a 25% higher signup bonus for the BarclayCard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard. Instead of 40,000 “miles”, new cardholders who meet the spending requirement will receive 50,000 “miles”. As I wrote in my full review of the BarclayCard Arrival Plus, the word “miles” is only a marketing gimmick. The “miles” are really just points that you can redeem for statement credits against certain travel expenses. Effectively, it’s a cashback credit card with limitations on how you can redeem your points. Card Details Earn 40,000 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days Earn 2X miles on all purchases Get 5% miles back after each redemption…
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