If you have stays at select IHG brands in the next month, this Chase Offer could be great for you. You can get 5-10% back when you spend at least $100 at an eligible property - up to $570 spent. The offer expires August 14, 2024 so you need to have paid by then. The offer is only valid on one purchase.
Participating Brands
Please note that Chase Offers are generally targeted.
If you have a Delta Amex card, check your Amex Offers. Some cardholders have an Amex Offer for $75 back after spending $200+ with Delta. Others have an offer to earn 7,500 bonus SkyMiles after spending $200+ with Delta. As is often the case with airline Amex Offers, flights must originate in the U.S. and be purchased in USD.
The offers expire August 15, 2018.
Update: Select referrals are showing a welcome bonus of 200,000 points. This is the best offer we've seen on the card.
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus typically sits between 70,000 and 150,000 Membership Rewards points. However, we just saw a 200,000-point offer for the first time.
Bonus Categories
You can earn 4x on your two most used categories per billing cycle up to $150,000 per calendar year.
You can earn 3x on flights and prepaid hotels booked via Amex Travel.
Statement Credits
Cell Phone Coverage
If you pay for your cell phone bill with the Amex Business Gold, you can get reimbursed for damage or theft up to $800 per claim up to 2 claims per rolling 12 months. There's a $50 deductible.
Annual Fee
$375
Points Wire Note:
STTP Premium members can submit referrals to the 200,000-point offer.
Disclosure: I am not an accountant. This is not financial advice. Please talk to your accountant regarding taxes.
Last night, I received a message from a reader about the 1099-MISC they received from a bank.
Since it's tax season, I thought I'd share a quick reminder that banks will often send you a 1099-MISC when you've referred a friend to a credit card and received a referral bonus.
Yes, your referral bonuses get treated as income. This is different than points you've earned via sign-up/welcome bonuses or day-to-day spend which are considered rebates.
If you have multiple cards from a bank and refer people from each of them, expect to get one 1099-MISC form for each of your cards. So, if you have an Amex Gold, Amex Platinum, and Amex Blue Business Plus and you referred people from each card, you'll likely get three 1099-MISC forms.
Make sure you provide these forms to your accountant.
Points Wire Note:
I know it's tedious and it means using points to travel isn't free - of course, the "free" travel hype is tedious as well. Still, you can get way more value out of the points than you'll pay in taxes. Think of it as the cost of doing business.
There's a targeted Amex Offer which allows cardholders to receive a $50 statement credit after spending $200+ directly with Delta. Ideally, you'll have this offer on the Amex Platinum so you can earn 5x and possibly have trip delay protection.
Important Offer Terms
There's a Chase Offer for up to 15% back when you spend $50+ on Alaska Airlines by February 15, 2024. This is a targeted offer so only some accounts will have access to it.
Additionally, it seems there are three versions of this offer:
This offer is not eligible for the following purchases: Airport lounge, Alaska miles, gift cards, or inflight.
As always, make sure you review the fine print of offers like these.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Update: This offer is now available via cardholder referrals. I've included mine below if you'd like to support my work.
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless welcome offer is back up to 5 Free Night Awards if you spend $5,000 in 3 months. Each Free Night Award is worth up to 50,000 points. You can then top off your award with an additional 15,000 points.
If you're under 5/24 and getting Chase cards, I would still prioritize Chase Ultimate Rewards cards over this.
The Chase 5/24 rule applies to this card. If you've opened 5+ personal cards (plus select business cards) from any bank in the last 24 months, you won't get approved. Additionally, there are restrictions based on the Marriott cards you have or have had from Amex and/or Chase.
Keep in mind that Marriott Bonvoy doesn't publish an award chart so many of the nicer properties have pricey award rates.
Update: The increased sign-up bonus is set to end on April 3, 2024.
Chase has released a limited time offer for the United Business Card.
Welcome Offer
United MileagePlus has devalued significantly over the last few years. A 100,000-mile bonus can help offset that a bit, but it's a good reminder that earning transferable points should be the priority over earning airline miles.
Still, if you already have Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, this could be an easy way to supplement your United mileage balance.
The Chase 5/24 rule applies to this card. If you've opened 5+ personal cards (plus select business cards) from any bank in the last 24 months, you are unlikely to get approved.
United MileagePlus Sweet Spots
The main advantages of United miles are the ability to book award tickets without carrier-imposed surcharges. This can really help keep your out of pocket costs to a minimum.
Additionally, you can use the Excursionist Perk to include a free one-way segment on a round-trip award ticket. Practically speaking, this is Untied's version of a stopover that allows you to visit a second destination for no extra miles.
A few redemptions to consider (one-way award rates):
Learn more about the United Business Card
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Update: It's back! (July 29, 2024)
Rakuten is offering 95% cash back at Norton Security And Antivirus. If you have an Amex Membership Rewards card, you can link it to your Rakuten account and earn 95x Amex points instead of cash back.
The most expensive Norton option is the Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan which currently costs $299.98 will earn you the most points. Make sure you choose to pay annually as only the first payment will qualify for the 95x points.
At 95x, you can earn 28,498 Membership Rewards points which is ~1.05 cents per point.
If you don't have a Rakuten account, you can sign up and earn a bonus 10% back (or 10x Amex points) on purchases made during your first seven days with Rakuten.
Exclusions: Exclusions: Cash Back not available on free trials, Norton Download Insurance, Small & Midsize Business product renewals, Trialware, Norton Premier Edition, auto-renewals or re-orders.
Special Terms: Cash Back is only available on first time orders and first month subscription for Gamers. You will only be eligible for Cash Back after merchant has confirmed your order payment has been processed. Maximum Cash Back amount is limited to the amount actually paid for the subscription. Limit one per member.
Stack With An Amex Offer
Check for Amex Offers before you make a purchase.
Rakuten Offer for Norton Security And Antivirus
Points Wire Note:
This deal isn't quite as good as the LifeLock deal which has more expensive offers and thus allows you to earn more points. Still, this is an easy 28,498 Amex points!
UPDATE: This offer is scheduled to end on March 11, 2024.
Until recently, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a welcome offer of $1,200 cash back if you spent $30,000 in 3 months. Needless to say, that is a steep minimum spend requirement.
However, Capital One just launched a two-tier welcome offer that's worth a look:
To clarify, to earn the second part of the bonus, you need to spend an additional $80,000 on top of the initial $20,000. So, you can get $1,500 miles for $20,000 spent and $3,000 from $100,000 spent within the appropriate timeframes.
Since the card earns 2% on everyday spend, you'd also earn 2% back on that $100,000 for an additional $2,000 back.
The Spark Cash Plus has a $150 annual fee. If you spend $150,000 in a year, you'll get a $150 credit.
Turn Capital One Cash Back Into Transferable Points
If you have a Capital One Venture X, Capital One Venture, Capital One Venture X Business, or Capital One Spark Miles, you can move your cash back to any of these cards at a rate of 1 mile per cent. So, $1,500 cash back equals 150,000 Capital One Miles and $3,000 back equals 300,000 miles.
As always, we appreciate when you use our links.
Points Wire Note:
The minimum spend required is still steep, but it's much better than the previous requirement.
While only many businesses will only spend enough to earn the first part of the bonus, it's worth it if you ask me.
If you're trying to stay under 5/24 so you can get another Chase card, please note that this card will not show on your personal credit report. That means it won't impact your 5/24 status.
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