The IHG Rewards Premier Business Credit Card has an increased welcome offer of up to 200,000 points.
Welcome Bonus
Thew new welcome bonus offer comes in two parts:
Bonus Categories
Benefits
Annual Fee
$99
Points Wire Note:
IHG points are some of the least valuable points. As you can buy them during some promos for 0.5 cents per point, that's about how much you can generally expect to get from them. There are some great exceptions to this and booking a 4th night free award really help you squeeze out more value. Personally, I wouldn't shift much spend to this card as there are other cards that earn more valuable points.
One Mile At A Time: "As the latest step of its transformation, Air India has reimagined its Flying Returns frequent flyer program, which is the first major change we’ve seen to the program in over a decade."
"Air India Flying Returns isn’t just going revenue based when it comes to earning points, but also when it comes to redeeming points. The program now has fully dynamic award pricing. "
Doctor of Credit reports that some American Express cardholders are seeing a targeted welcome offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards for the Amex Business Gold in the app.
The offer doesn't appear to have the standard one bonus per lifetime language which means you could potentially get the bonus even if you've had the card previously.
One Mile At A Time: "Lufthansa sells Miles & More miles. The airline isn’t flat out selling miles like most programs do, but rather is selling mileage bundles. These bundles are branded as Bundle&Go, and you can purchase a small, medium, large, or special bundle."
"For purchases through Tuesday, April 30, 2024, Lufthansa Miles & More is offering a 50% bonus on its Bundle&Go product."
Points Wire Note:
The medium bundle and large bundle are the ones worth considering with the 50% bonus if you aren't just topping off your account.
The major benefit of Lufthansa miles is the ability to book Lufthansa first class more than ~14 days from departure.
Capital One is running a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club until 11:49pm ET on April 30, 2024.
Award flights on Virgin Atlantic have steep carrier-imposed surcharges which means brutal high taxes/fees. However, Virgin points can be quite useful for booking partners such as Air France, KLM, and ITA Airways to Europe standout.
Delta is another great option to Europe (not to/from the UK) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) is always great if you want to visit Japan - though, award space can be tough. You can even use Virgin points to fly Air New Zealand.
The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard is always popular because of how easy it is to earn the sign-up bonus.
Barclays had pulled the application link, but it's back now.
Here's a quick rundown on what you need to know.
Welcome Bonus
To get the best offer, you'll need to sign up via cardholder's referral link.
If you don't use a referral, the standard offer is 50,000 miles.
Bonus Categories
Benefits
Annual Fee
Points Wire Note:
Beyond this welcome bonus, this is not a top priority card the vast majority of points and miles enthusiasts.
Frequent Miler: "Wyndham Rewards is out with a new offer for those willing to sit through a timeshare presentation – a 3 night getaway plus 30,000 points for $199."
Important Terms
Eligible Locations
Points Wire Note:
Timeshare sales people can be pushy and borderline abusive. Do not feel bad about sitting through a presentation then telling them a firm no. Don't bother engaging if they push you. Say no and move on. You don't owe them anything.
Update: The end date has been extended through July 15, 2024. The registration deadline was extended to June 30, 2024.
Hyatt is out with a new promotion for two brands. If you stay at Dream Hotels or Thompson Hotels by July 15, 2024, you can earn double elite night credits. To participate, you must register before your stay. The deadline to register is June 30 2024.
This promo stacks with Hyatt's spring promo as well so you can earn bonus points and bonus elite nights when you stay at Dream and Thompson properties.
Points Wire Note:
You can book via Hyatt Privé to get VIP perks such as daily breakfast for two, up to a $100 property credit, one category upgrade, welcome amenity, etc. There isn't a minimum stay requirement for Thompson Hotels. Hyatt Privé rates are eligible for both promos. That means you can get extra perks, extra points, and extra elite nights!
Chase has released a new and improved offer for the Chase Ink Business Cash.
The standard welcome bonus offer has been $750/75,000 Ultimate Rewards points if you spend $6,000 in 3 months.
New Ink Cash Bonus Offer
Turn Cash Back Into Transferable Points
For the cash back to become Ultimate Rewards points, you 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.
Generally, you need to be under 5/24 to get approved. For those unfamiliar, the Chase 5/24 rule is pretty simple. If you've opened 5+ personal cards from any bank (and select business cards from Capital One, Discover, and TD Bank), Chase won't approve you for a new card.
Basically, if a card shows as an account on your credit report, it counts toward the 5 cards.
Update: Shortly after launching the ability for family pooling, United pull the option because of some tech issues. However, it seems they have fixed the issue and it's now on the site again.
While United doesn't have great award rates relative to its competitors, the ability to pool miles among friends and family (for free) could be quite useful. Neither American nor Delta have this feature, but Air Canada Aeroplan does.
Important Details
Joining And Leaving A Pool
Direct link to miles pooling page
Points Wire Note:
If there's one thing that disappoints me about this new feature, it's that you're restricted to booking flights operated by United. It would be much more useful if you could book award tickets on partner airlines.
For example, this restriction will prevent you from booking a United flight to Europe and connecting on a Star Alliance partner such as Austrian, Lufthansa, or Swiss. Since United doesn't fly to a ton of cities in Europe, that really restricts your options.
As for the restrictions on joining and leaving a pool, I think it's clear that you shouldn't join a pool unless you're about to book.
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