Cardless has launched two co-branded credit cards with avianca lifemiles for the U.S. market. These cards will be on the American Express network, but is not considered an Amex card when it comes to application and bonus restrictions.
Let's take a look at each card.
avianca lifemiles American Express Elite Card
Welcome Bonus:
60,000 lifemiles if you spend $4,500 in 90 days; an extra 40,000 miles if you spend $25,000 within 365 days (10,000 bonus miles if you joined the waitlist)
Bonus Categories:
Card Benefits:
Annual Fee: $249
avianca lifemiles American Express Card
Welcome Bonus:
Bonus Categories:
Card Benefits:
Annual Fee: $99
Points Wire Note:
If you use lifemiles regularly, the lifemiles+ subscription could be useful. Similarly, Silver status will be beneficial if you often fly avianca. Other than that, the cards don't have any benefits that are going to blow you away.
American Express is running an Amex Offer in which you can get $300 back as a statement credit if you spend $750+ on Holland America cruises.
Important Terms
Points Wire Note:
We can book you with an additional onboard credit of $50 per person, up to $100 per stateroom.
If you'd like to book, please contact me with the cruise you'd like to book and for how many people.
Doctor of Credit flagged that the welcome bonus for the Morgan Stanley version of the Amex Platinum has been increased from the standard 80,000 Membership Rewards to 125,000 Membership Rewards. The minimum spend requirement is $6,000 in 6 months.
The card mirrors the Amex Platinum except for a couple of benefits.
With the Morgan Stanley version, you can add one authorized user for free. Additionally, Morgan Stanley Members who have a Platinum CashPlus account can receive a $695 annual engagement bonus in their CashPlus account. This bonus is received upon opening the card and upon renewal each year.
Technically, a third difference is that you can cash out Membership Rewards points at one cent per point to your Morgan Stanley brokerage account. Travelers will generally be better off using their Amex points for flights.
It comes with a $695 annual fee.
There are some welcome bonus restrictions.
Citi has relaunched the Citi Premier Card under a new name - the Citi Strata Premier Card.
Citi Strata Premier Welcome Bonus
While the Citi Premier bonus has reached 75,000 points in the past, it's been at 60,000 points recently.
Bonus Categories
3x on EV charging is a new bonus category. The 10x on car rentals and hotels via the Citi Travel Portal has been a temporary bonus category of the Citi Premier, but it will now be a permanent bonus category.
Sign-up Bonus Eligibility
If you've received a sign-up bonus for the Citi Premier in the last 48 months, you won't be eligible for the Citi Strata Premier sign-up bonus when it launches on May 16. Similarly, if you open the Citi Strata Premier and get the bonus, you'll have to wait 48 months to get the bonus again.
Annual Fee
American Express has launched several travel-related Amex Offers just for Amex Platinum cardholders to celebrate the card's 40th birthday. How many times can I mention Amex in one sentence?!
Naturally, they're offering $40 cash back as a statement credit for many of the offers.
Here are the Amex Offers:
Makes sure you register for each offer and check the terms & conditions for each offer before you make a purchase.
Doctor of Credit was tipped off by Sam from CardRight.com that "American Express added a feature whereby one can see their full card number, expiration, and security code from within the online login. Go to Account Services > Card Management > View Card Number."
Please note that not all Amex cardholders have this feature. Hopefully, it will be rolled out to all accounts. It seems like this could be particularly useful if you want to make a purchase with a specific card but you don't have the physical card with you and it's not one of the cards in your digital wallet.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Update: It seems Rakuten is NOT offer $40 as a sign-up bonus, but 10% cash back up to $50 back. This is a change from previous sign-up bonus offers and it was buried on the referral page. Sorry for any confusion.
Rakuten has increased their referral bonus to $40. The person who refers will earn $40 cash back if the new accountholder spends $40 within 30 days. This increased referral bonus offer ends at 11:59pm PT on May 13, 2024.
If you have an Amex Membership Rewards account, you can link it to Rakuten to earn Amex points instead of cash back. This can be a great way to earn additional Membership Rewards and is a big reason why Rakuten is a go-to shopping portal for many in the points community.
If you choose to earn Amex points, the conversion from cash back is 1 cent per point. For example, if you see a cash back rate of 5%, you'll earn 5x Membership Rewards points. It also means the $40 sign-up and referral bonuses are worth 4,000 points.
Update: The increased online offer is expected to end on June 13, 2024. The increased in-branch offer is expected to end June 22, 2024.
Sapphire Preferred Offer
Chase has sent targeted mailers for the Chase Sapphire Preferred with a 90,000-point bonus. An 85,000-point offer is available in-branch.
Sapphire Reserve Offer
You should expect the 5/24 rule to apply to both cards.
Points Wire Note:
Considering the fact that the standard bonus offer for both cards is 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in 3 months, this is a nice improvement.
If you apply in-branch, make sure you watch the bank rep fill out the application and that they're submitting an application for the correct card as well. Finally, don't forget that bank reps are not credit card experts.
Disclosure: I serve on a Bilt advisory board and may earn a commission if you use the links below.
Bilt and BLADE are launching an exciting new partnership today. Here are the details.
Bilt members will earn 2x bonus points when booking BLADE. You can use any debit or credit card that's linked to your Bilt account to pay and you'll still earn the 2x bonus points.
There are also benefits for three levels of Bilt status:
Bookings do not need to be made via the Bilt app or website to qualify for the 2x bonus points. You just need to use a card linked to your Bilt account.
However, you do need to book via the Bilt app or website to take advantage of the 10% discount available to those with Silver, Gold, and Platinum status. Additionally, Platinum members must book via the Bilt app or website to redeem their free flight.
If you're interested in earning points on rent, learn more about the Bilt Card.
Points Wire Note:
Anyone who has ever braved rush hour traffic from JFK to Manhattan (or vice versa) will be tempted by this new partnership, especially with a 10% discount.
Chase has released Chase Offers that can help you save 5-10% at several Marriott Brands. However, it's important to keep in mind that Chase Offers have a low cap so it might be worth splitting the final payment at checkout across different cards.
Here are the offers I'm seeing:
Important Terms
Each offer is only valid once. That means your first purchase at a brand is the only one that will count toward the Chase Offer. Since hotels will put a hold on your card upon check-in, it's best to use a different card and only use the Chase card with the offer at checkout.
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