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A Primer on Priority Pass Select Airport Lounge Membership
Since the announcement of the immensely popular Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, many questions have arisen about one of its benefits–Priority Pass Select membership. The confusion stems from the number of different Priority Pass membership levels and the fees associated with each. Here are answers to some of the more common questions I’ve seen asked lately. What is Priority Pass? Priority Pass is a club that provides frequent travelers with independent airport lounge access worldwide. There are currently over 1000 lounges in 400 cities across 120 countries in the the network. Priority Pass does not own or operate any lounges, instead they contract with independent lounge operators to allow members access during certain hours.…
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Amex Announces New Platinum Card Benefits
After recent buzz about potential new benefits coming to the Platinum Card, today American Express announced the changes. Beginning October 6, consumers with a Platinum Card from American Express will receive 5X Membership Rewards points on airfare booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel. Also, Business Platinum Card Members will now earn 50% points back (up from 30%) when using Membership Rewards Pay with Points through American Express Travel to book an economy flight with their selected airline or a first or business class ticket with any airline. In addition, Business Platinum Card Members can earn 1.5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on any individual purchase of $5,000 or more. “Our new…
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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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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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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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More Negative Changes to Citi Prestige Coming
In an earlier post, I wrote about Citi’s plans to discontinue complimentary American Airlines Admirals Club lounge access for Prestige cardmembers. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. More Citi Prestige changes have been announced and they’re all bad. In addition to the loss of Admirals Club access, Citi is reducing the value of ThankYou points redeemed for flights, discontinuing the Complimentary Golf benefit, and reducing the value (in some cases substantially) of the 4th Night Free hotel benefit. All these changes are to take effect July 23, 2017. Citi Prestige Changes Access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges will no longer be offered. After July 23, 2017, current cardmembers will…
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Citi Prestige Card to Discontinue AA Lounge Benefit
The Citi Prestige Card, one of Citi’s most expensive credit cards, is dropping a major benefit–complimentary access to American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges. According to their website, Admiral’s Club access is due to expire on July 23, 2017. Citi Prestige has a $450 annual fee which is not waived the first year, so losing a benefit like this is certainly a blow. There’s no doubt that this is still a valuable card for travelers–particularly those that didn’t frequently use the lounge benefit. It remains to be seen how Citi will adjust other benefits or the annual fee to compensate cardmembers for the change. Card Benefits $250 Annual Air Travel Credit Each calendar year,…
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United Credit Card Offering 50k-70k Bonus Miles
For a limited time, the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card is offering an increased signup bonus. You can get 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. If your United MileagePlus account is targeted, that bonus might be 70,000 instead. This offer expires on June 30, 2016. The signup bonus is normally 30,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months with the $95 annual fee waived for the first year. It’s important to note that with these limited time offers, the annual fee is not waived and will appear on your first statement. This product is not available to either (i)…
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Chase Adds Flying Blue to Ultimate Rewards Partners
Chase has added a new partner to its Ultimate Rewards program. Effective immediately, you can now transfer your UR points to Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France and KLM. In addition to those airlines, Flying Blue miles can be redeemed for reward flights on SkyTeam Member Airlines like Delta, AlItalia, and AeroMexico. Flying Blue had already been a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest. As with all of Chase’s other travel partners, UR points transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points. FlyingBlue adds to the current list of Chase Ultimate Rewards airline partners:…
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