Amex has released a targeted Amex Offer in which you can earn 25,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $1,000+ with All Nippon Airways (ANA). To take advantage fo the offer, you must make the purchase by March 10, 2024. However, you can travel after this date.
Important Terms
Points Wire Note:
ANA rarely has great fare deals out of the US, so I imagine this will be tough for many people to leverage. However, if you book two business or first class award tickets with ANA Mileage Club miles, you might hit the $1,000 in taxes/fees because of the carrier-imposed surcharges. Award tickets aren't explicitly excluded, so this might trigger the offer.
Admittedly, the Delta Amex cards haven't played a big role in my points strategy over the years as SkyMiles are some of the least valuable points or miles on the market. Since there are still niche uses for these cards, let's take a quick look at the changes.
Fun fact: My first travel rewards credit card was a Delta Amex Gold just because I flew Delta quite a bit. Live and learn.
Annual Fee Increases
The following annual fee increases apply to both the personal and business versions of these cards. The increased annual fees apply to new applicants immediately. Current cardholders will see the new annual fee on their first annual fee due date on/after May 1, 2024.
Statement Credits
Amex has turned these cards into small coupon books by adding a bunch of statement credits. You will see Delta Stays credits (stays booked via Delta's hotel portal), Resy credits for Resy restaurants, and rideshare credits.
Companion Certificate Changes
The Delta Amex Platinum and Delta Amex Reserve (personal and business) companion certificates can now be used for flights to/from Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.
New Business Card Bonus Categories
Delta Amex Gold Flight Credit
With both the personal and business versions, you'll now receive a $200 Delta flight credit if you spend $10,000 on either card in a year.
Points Wire Note:
If you will naturally utilize the new statement credits, you might find it easy to come out ahead even with the increased annual fees. If you won't use these credits, the fee increase will be tough to stomach.
In my opinion, the real value in these changes are the new companion certificate destination options. Those plus the credits could make the cards worth it for a Delta flyer.
If you've only been using a Delta Amex Gold card for the free checked bag benefit, that alone might not be enough justify the annual fee.
In short, these cards are useful in only a few select circumstances.
Frequent Miler: "A reader sent us an e-mail that they received today from Chase, offering them 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points if they added an employee/authorized user (AU) to their Ink Business Unlimited card before 3/1/24. This particular offer appears to be targeted towards the Business Unlimited; we’re not sure if it extends only to that card or if Ink Cash, Preferred and Premier cardholders are being targeted as well."
File this one under transfer bonuses you can ignore. While a 60% transfer bonus is nice, in theory, IHG One Rewards points just aren't worth enough to make this a good idea. You can get much more value out of Chase Ultimate Rewards points by transferring them to airline partners or World of Hyatt. You can even get more out of them by booking via the Chase travel portal.
Miles Earn And Burn: "Alaska awards are only getting more expensive if the miles are earned from flying/organic credit card spend. But, the inflation in Alaska credit card bonuses since 2020 means most of these routes increased less than 10%. In fact many have become cheaper if you’ve earned your miles from well-timed sign up bonuses."
Points Wire Note:
Devaluations are never fun, but your ability to earn points also plays a role. For now, it seems you can come out ahead if you get an Alaska card (personal or business) when the sign-up bonus is at its peak.
Disclosure: I serve on an advisory board and may earn a commission if you use the links below.
Bilt started the year off strong with a few mega transfer bonuses for the first Rent Day of the year. Now, they're back with one of their most exciting transfer bonuses to date.
On February 1 (Rent Day), you can transfer Bilt Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan and get up to a 75-150% bonus. Your Bilt status on February 1 will determine your transfer bonus.
If you have Blue status (just for being a member), the minimum transfer is 2,000 points.
To take advantage of this transfer bonus, you must transfer points between 12:00am ET on February 1 and 2:59am ET on February 2.
Double Points On Rent Day
Don't forget, you can earn double Bilt points on all purchases (not including rent) on the first of each month. This includes include the Bilt Card's bonus categories.
You can earn up to 10,000 bonus points on Rent Day. You must use your card 5 times per statement period to earn points.
Points Wire Note:
With Bilt expected to add the ability to earn points on mortgage payments in the future, I think it's going to earn a place in more and more wallets.
Disclosure: I serve on a Bilt advisory board. I may earn a commission if you use the links below.
Bloomberg: "The newly acquired $200 million capital will fuel further expansion of the Bilt Rewards Alliance across multifamily, single-family, and student housing sectors nationwide. A significant portion of the investment will also bolster Bilt's Neighborhood Rewards program, helping local merchants connect and build loyalty with new and existing residents in their community. Additionally, Bilt plans to venture into mortgage payment rewards."
Points Wire Note:
This would be great news for homeowners! I've been bugging them about adding mortgages from day one - while fully understanding why it hasn't happened yet.
One Mile At A Time: "Chase has been aggressively expanding its airport lounge portfolio, with the opening of Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club. Last week we saw the opening of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia, and today we’ve seen the opening of the Chase Sapphire Lounge New York Kennedy, in partnership with Etihad Airways."
"The Etihad Lounge has become the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the Club with Etihad Airways at New York JFK (that’s a mouthful). As you can tell, this lounge is a bit different than the other ones in the network, as it’s in partnership with an airline."
One Mile At A Time: "As of May 23, 2024, Air France will launch a new year-round flight between Paris (CDG) and Phoenix (PHX). The flight will operate 3x weekly..."
"Air France will use a Boeing 787-9 for the service, featuring 276 seats. This includes 30 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 225 economy class seats."
Points Wire Note:
Flying Blue has been making a play for a larger share if the US market so it's great to see another potential award booking option, especially from the western U.S. When you consider the fact that a one-way saver level business class award ticket to Europe is 50,000 Flying Blue miles, this could be quite useful for those out west. Even better, you can transfer points to Flying Blue from Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points.
Danny the Deal Guru: "Southwest Airlines is targeting select Rapid Rewards members with an offer to save 20% on one or two award bookings. Offers might vary from one account to the other, but its looks like only those who have a Chase Southwest credit card are targeted."
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