Fintech Company Offers Debit Card With Travel Credit

Travel In Points: "Venti, a fintech company that gives APY on your cash holding in the form of travel credit, appears to be launching a debit card. I have written about Venti here but in short, I think their take is super interesting but I haven’t been a fan of how they have executed (most notably, I still feel that their platform resembles early beta access platforms).

"Anyway, becoming a “founder” seems to come with a “free domestic flight” offer. If you read the terms you will realize that it is essentially capped at $200. Less than a month ago the offer was capped to $250. Their debit card is supposed to offer up to 5x rewards but that could mean anything."

Amex App Now Adds Search Function To Amex Offers

In late 2023, American Express added the ability to search your Amex Offers on their website. This makes it much easier to see if you have a specific offer or to check the terms of an offer. However, this search function was not added to the Amex app.

Fortunately, that's now changed. On Reddit, NotABostonSportsFan flagged that the American Express app now has a search bar on the Amex Offers page which allows you to run a search.

It's not big news, but it's nice to see banks make it just a bit easier to navigate their card benefits.

Card Spotlight: Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select

The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card generally has a sign-up bonus that sits around 60,000 miles. However, Citi has given this sign-up bonus a big boost.

Sign-up Bonus

• 75,000 American miles if you spend $3,500 in 4 months

Bonus Categories

• 2x on purchases with American Airlines
• 2x at restaurants
• 2x at gas stations

Benefits

• Earn status via spend
• Free checked bag on American
• Preferred boarding on American
• 25% inflight savings on American
• No foreign transaction fees

Annual Fee

• $99 (waived the first year)

If you're interested in applying, learn more here.

Capital One Venture X Business Card Ditches Priority Pass Restaurants

Danny the Deal Guru: "Now another card seems to have made that change, the Capital One Venture X Business credit card. It’s not clear when the Venture X Business card dropped Priority Pass restaurants since there was no official announcement. But the card switched from World Elite Mastercard to Visa late last month, so that is likely the reason."

Points Wire Note:

At this point, those who have the Mastercard version of the Venture X Business Card will continue to have access to Priority Pass restaurants.

Bilt Rewards Adds Hilton Honors As Transfer Partner

Disclosure: I serve on an advisory board for Bilt and may earn a commission if you use the links below.

Bilt Rewards has just added Hilton Honors as a new transfer partner which means they currently have 18 partners. However, they're splitting with American Airlines in June so they'll be at 17 next month.

While I don't see much value in Hilton as a transfer partner, I do like that Bilt continues to pursue additional airline and hotel transfer partners. At this point, they have all 4 major hotel transfer partners that people in the points community consider. I'll be curious to see if the pursue Choice, Wyndham, Accor, or Leading Hotels of the World going forward.

Those who have earned Bilt Silver, Gold, or Platinum status can transfer points in increments of 1,000 points starting with 1,000 points. If you have the entry level Bilt Blue status, you need to transfer at least 2,000 points.

All Bilt members can receive 1,000 bonus Hilton points if they transfer to Hilton Honors by June 8, 2024. This doesn't move the needle for me, but it's a nice bonus if you need to top off your Hilton account to book an award stay.

Learn about the Bilt Card

Does Cardless Restrict You To One Credit Card?

Miles for Family: "Cardless has the strictest application rule I’ve ever seen. You can only own one Cardless card, EVER. Even if you cancel a card, you can’t apply for a different card."

The Cardless FAQ section addresses whether people can apply for multiple cards. It states:

"No, Currently, Cardless customers may open a maximum of one credit card account. At this time, if you are a current Cardless customer, it is not possible to change to a different product or close your account and open a new one."

Points Wire Note:

I'll be curious if they enforce this rule or change it at some point. If you're considering either of their soon-to-be-launched co-branded cards with Avianca LifeMiles and Qatar Airways, this could play a role in your decision.

New Chase Freedom Flex Sign-Up Bonus

A new sign-up bonus for the Chase Freedom Flex seems to be available for select applicants. You may need to use an incognito browser to find the offer. Even then, you might not see it.

New Sign-Up Bonus

• Get 10% cash back at grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart) up to $12,000 spent in the first 12 months

Keep in mind that the cash back can become transferable Ultimate Rewards points at a rate of 1 cent per point if you also have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and/or an Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.

Bonus Categories

• 5% on rotating quarterly bonus categories
• 5% on bookings via the Chase travel portal
• 3% at restaurants and drugstores

Keep in mind that this card does have foreign transaction fees, so it's not a great option when traveling abroad.

Annual Fee

• $0

Direct link to offer

Card Spotlight: Chase Avios Cards

Chase has increased the bonuses on all three of its Avios cards.

New Welcome Bonus

• Earn 85,000 Avios when you spend $5,000 in 3 months

Bonus Categories

• 3x on purchase with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and LEVEL
• 2x on hotels (when booked directly with the hotel)

Benefits

• Combine Avios across Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and Qatar Airways
• Each card has its own set of benefits (see links below for more info)

Annual Fee

• $95

Learn More

• Aer Lingus Visa Signature Card
• British Airways Visa Signature Card
• Iberia Visa Signature Card

Amex Offer: Save Up To 20% On Air France-KLM

Amex is out with a targeted Amex Offer for Air France and/or KLM flights. If you book flights of $1,000+, you can get $200 back as a statement credit.

Important Terms

• Expires June 30, 2024; May travel after this dates
• Must book directly with Air France or KLM
• Must originate in the U.S. and pay in USD
• Excludes Air France Music, Air France Saphir, Air France Shopping, convention, conference, and seminar services, baggage drop off, group reservations, La Boutique Air France, parking, Stress Free Flying workshop, flight crew training, and the Flying Blue Store
• Excludes KLM Package Deals, City Pass Amsterdam, hotel bookings, car rentals, ground transportation, tours, airport transfers, equipment services, Shop@KLM, purchases of miles, lounge access fees, KLM Jet Center, and KLM Wanna Gives

Points Wire Note:

Ideally, you'll get this offer on the Amex Platinum so you can earn 5x and be covered by the card's trip delay insurance.

If you book award tickets with a total of $1,000+ taxes/fees, that should trigger the Amex Offer. 

Amex 20% Transfer Bonus To Aeromexico Rewards

Amex is offering a 20% transfer bonus to Aeromexico Rewards through May 31, 2024. While most Amex transfer ratios are 1:1, it's 1:1.6 for Aeromexico. With the 20% transfer bonus, the bumps the ratio up to 1:1.92.

While that's appealing, please keep in mind that while Aeromeixco Rewards has some decent award rates, the carrier-imposed surcharges they pass on to you can be steep. Personally, I haven't found the phone agents to be the best either.

Points Wire Note:

While I don't generally recommended transferring points speculatively, I definitely wouldn't make a speculative transfer to Aeromexico. The risk to reward ratio is way too low.