The Aeroplan Credit Card's current two-part sign-up bonus is expected to end shortly. If you've been thinking about applying, I would make a decision now. With the current bonus, you can earn:
While the first part of the sign-up bonus is obviously worth earning, the second part depends on your current situation.
If you would put that spend toward other sign-up bonuses, it would be hard to justify earning ~1.5x on the remaining $16,000. However, if you don't plan on getting another card for a bit or you have enough spend for both, this could be worth considering.
Keep in mind that the Aeroplan Card earns 3x on dining and at grocery stores. If you were to spend the remaining $16,000 on 3x categories, you'd earn ~4.5x when you factor in the 25,000 bonus points. If you need Aeroplan points, this could be a great way to supplement your balance.
Not bad for a card with a $95 fee.
Other Aeroplan Card Benefits
Of these benefits, my favorite is the 10% transfer bonus since it can be stacked with an Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus. For example, Chase is offering a 20% bonus for transferring points to Aeroplan through January 15, 2024. If you transfer 50,000 Chase points, you'd get a 30% bonus. That would bring you to 65,000 Aeroplan points.
Thai Royal Orchid Plus isn't a loyalty program you hear about much in the U.S. as their award rates aren't particularly competitive. However, Royal Orchid Plus has launched a 50% off award promo for Thai Airways' flight between Bangkok and Istanbul. This brings the one-way award rate down to 45,000 miles for business class and 21,250 miles for economy class.
You must book your ticket by January 15, 2024 and complete your travel between January 15 and March 15, 2024. The change fee is $200/$150 for business/economy class, respectively.
You will be on the hook for carrier-imposed surcharges which brings the one-way taxes/fees to ~$272 on business class award or ~$186 on an economy award.
For context, Air Canada Aeroplan requires 60,000 miles and Avianca LifeMiles requires 78,000 miles. However, they do not pass on the surcharges so the taxes/fees will be closer to ~$20. Turkish Miles&Smiles also requires 45,000 miles plus taxes/fees. Still, it's fun to see Thai's program offer some solid value!
If you want to book this promo as part of a trip to Southeast Asia and Europe or the Middle East, you'll need Citi ThankYou Points as that's the only program that transfer to Thai Airways.
Personally, I love niche booking opportunities for business class award tickets and would consider this if it fit my schedule.
Points Wire Note:
Your best bet to earn Citi ThankYou Points is the Citi Premier Card. You can pair a Citi Double Cash, Citi Custom Cash, or Citi Rewards+ with the Premier to earn additional points. However, the Citi Premier is the key to accessing transfer partners.
Traditionally, Chase would only allow you to refer someone to the specific Sapphire card you had. Now, you can refer someone to either Sapphire card regardless of which Sapphire you have.
So, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can refer someone to a Sapphire Reserve and vice versa.
Currently, you can receive 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points per referral up to 75,000 points per year.
The increased offers on the Chase Ink Unlimited and Chase Ink Cash are set to end the morning of January 18, 2024.
For several months, they've each had a sign-up bonus of $900/90,000 points after spending $6,000 in 3 months. Referral links are already showing a $750/75,000-point offer so I would expect all links to drop to that.
If you have an Ultimate Rewards card with an annual fee, this bonus worth 90,000 points. You just need one of these cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Preferred. By pairing with one of these cards, your cash back/points can be transferred to any of Chase's airline and hotel partners.
If you decide to apply, we appreciate you using the links above!
Points Wire Note:
As these are business cards, you'll need some kind of business to qualify. However, this can be a side hustle that you operate as a sole proprietor such as selling items on eBay/Amazon. It doesn't have to be your full-time job.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited's offer for unlimited matched cash back for 12 months is coming to an end. I'm still confirming the exact end date, but I wouldn't hesitate to apply if this has been on your list.
Don't forget, the cash back this card earns can be combined the points with a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Preferred. This allows you to transfer the points to airline and hotel partners. You just need one of these three cards to turn the Freedom Unlimited's cash back into fully transferable points.
Freedom Unlimited Bonus Categories
This offer could help you earn a ton of Ultimate Rewards points.
There's another offer available via referral: $200 cash back plus 5% back on gas and groceries for 12 months up to $12,000 spend. Which is best for you depends on your spend habits.
Check out 35 great ways to book business class with Chase points.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
If you're unfamiliar with inKind, it's a restaurant app that provides discounted dining credits in many major cities across the US. I've used it many times in DC and NYC.
Citi is back with another Citi Merchant Offer for $25 back when you deposit $50+ in your inKind account via this link. Make sure you enroll in the Merchant Offer before making the purchase.
Other Ways To Save With inKind
Check out the inKind partner restaurant locations.
You can get $150 back as a statement credit when you spend $750+ at Langham Hotels and Resorts. This is a targeted Amex Offer. You need to activate the offer before you pay.
Important details:
Book With Benefits
While booking via Virtuoso technically means you aren't booking on Langham's site, it would be a direct booking Langham. These bookings generally trigger these Amex Offers.
Alternatively, you can book via Langham's own preferred booking program Couture by Langham.
Couture by Langham benefits:
Virtuoso benefits are similar. I'll flag that Virtuoso has a 3rd night free offer at the The Langham Chicago.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is running a 10% transfer bonus promo. Unlike many transfer bonuses, this is handled by the airline rather than the bank. This means you won't see an indication of the bonus when transferring points.
The benefit of this promo is that you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou Points and get the 10% bonus. You must make your transfer by March 31, 2024.
Please keep in mind that the 10% bonus miles will post within 8-10 weeks. The bonus is not instant.
You must register for the promo before you transfer points.
Register Here (Promo Terms & Conditions)
See all current transfer bonus promos!
Points Wire Note:
Cathay recently devalued their award chart, but it's still one of the better oneworld programs for business and first class redemptions. While Alaska Airlines and American Airlines generally have better award rates, it's much easier to earn Asia Miles via transferable points programs.
Plus, you have access to additional first class and business class award space on Cathay Pacific. In fact, recently, Asia Miles has been the only way to book business or first class on Cathay.
Disclosure: I may earn a referral bonus if you use the links below.
Office Depot/Max are offering a $15 discount on $300 in Visa gift cards January 21-27, 2024. This discount can offset the activation fees of the gift cards.
You can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Ink Cash. It's also worth checking to see if you have a Chase Offer for Office Depot/Max as you might be able to get 10% back. Similarly, Dosh sometimes has an Office Depot/Max offer (though it technically excludes gift cards).
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