Citi 25% Transfer Bonus To Avianca LifeMiles

Citi is running a 25% transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles through April 14, 2024. Generally, Citi ThankYou Points transfer to LifeMiles instantly. Just remember that while LifeMiles is Avianca's loyalty program, you need to use the LifeMiles site to search for award space and book not the Avianca site.

Generally, I wouldn't recommend speculative transfers.

(UPDATE) Bilt Adds Alaska Airlines As New Transfer Partner

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

Update: As of today, you can earn 3x on rent with the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card. Details below.

In the nearly nine years I've been involved in the points and miles community, I have heard countless people say they want Alaska Airlines to become a partner of a transferable points program. Well, it's finally happened.

Today, Bilt Rewards added Alaska Mileage Plan as a transfer partner.

With Alaska miles, you can book flights on Alaska Airlines, oneworld partner, or non-oneworld partners such as Aer Lingus and Condor.

While many people were sad to see Bilt and American Airlines announce that they'll be parting ways in June of this year, the addition of Alaska Airlines lessens the blow as its another strong oneworld member.

Earn 3x Alaska Miles On Rent

Later this year, Alaska Airlines Visa Signature cardholders will be able to pay rent with their card and earn 3x Alaska miles on up to $50,000 in rent each year. Unlike paying rent with Bilt, there will be a 3% processing fee. However, I'm sure some will find earning 3x more than offsets the fee.

Learn more about the Bilt Card

Chase Freedom Flex Quarterly Bonus Categories

Now Live: The Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom quarterly 5%/5x bonus categories for Q3 2024 will include:

• Gas stations
• EV charging
• Select live entertainment
• Movie theaters

You can register for the promo starting June 15, 2024. You must register by September 14, 2024.

You can earn 5%/5x on up to $1,500 spend in these categories through September 30, 2024.

Registration Link

Bilt x American Partnership Ending June 24

Disclosure: I serve on an advisory board for Bilt.

Update: Bilt's partnership with American AAdvantage ends on June 24, 2024. If you plan to transfer points, do it before then!

View From The Wing got word that "Bilt Rewards and American AAdvantage are ending their partnership in June. That means it will no longer be possible to transfer Bilt points to American, although the exact last date in (presumably late) June for transfers is not yet certain. I received word yesterday about this plan and reached out to both American and Bilt for comment."

Bilt shared that "Bilt and American have agreed to wind down our partnership beginning in June. We appreciate everything we’ve been able to accomplish together since Bilt’s launch in 2021"

Points Wire Note:

It's never fun to see a transferable points program lose a useful transfer partner. That being said, Bilt has run some amazing transfer bonus promos to other airline partners for Rent Day (first of the month) that make this less of a blow. On the American side of things, you can still earn redeemable miles and Loyalty Points via AA's shopping portal and with hotels stays booked via AAdvantage Hotels.

Card Spotlight: Amex Business Platinum

The Amex Business Platinum is a card built for benefits rather than the ability to earn a ton of points. However, it often comes with a hefty welcome bonus, if you know where to look.

Welcome Bonus

It's a bit of game trying to find the best welcome bonus offer for the Amex Business Platinum. The public welcome offer is typically 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $15,000 in 3 months.

Generally, my affiliate link matches the public offer and the public offer has been subpar for 6+ years. As a result, I've been sharing ways to get better welcome bonus offers.

Today, Amex released a public offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards points that matches the best available offer. As a result, my affiliate link has the best offer for the first time in years. Unfortunately, they've also increased the minimum spend required to earn the bonus from $15,000 to $20,000 in 3 months. 

If you are considering applying and would like to support my work, you can find more info here.

*Please keep in mind that you still might receive a targeted offer with a higher welcome bonus. Recently, I've seen offers for 200,000 points.

Bonus Categories

• 5x on flights and prepaid hotels booked via Amex Travel
• 1.5x on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, and purchases of $5,000+
• 1x on everything else

Benefits

• Lounge Access: Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass partner lounges, Delta SkyClubs, Plaza Premium lounges, and select Lufthansa lounges
• $200 annual airline fee credit
• $189 annual CLEAR Plus membership credit
• Discounted premium cabin flights

There are plenty more benefits which you can learn about here.

Annual Fee

$695

Card Spotlight: Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard

Air France-KLM Flying Blue is a popular transfer partner for people with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points. However, you can also earn Flying Blue miles directly with the Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard issued by Bank of America.

Welcome Bonus

Earn 70,000 Flying Blue miles + 40 XP if you spend $2,000 in 90 days. You'll also earn 60 XP upon approval. More on XP below.

Shout out to Doctor of Credit for finding the increased bonus offer.

Bonus Categories

• 3x on Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam member airlines
• 1.5x on everything else

Benefits

• 5,000 bonus miles on your account anniversary if you've spend $50 during your cardmember year
• 20 XP on your account anniversary if you've spend $15,000+ during your cardmember year
• No foreign transaction fees

Annual Fee

$89

What Are XP?

XP are Experience Points and they're how you earn Flying Blue status. To earn status, you'll need to following number of XP for each tier:

• Silver: 100 XP
• Gold: 280 XP
• Platinum: 580 XP

You can earn XP by crediting your SkyTeam flights to Flying Blue.

Learn more about the card

Points Wire Note:

This isn't a top priority card since you can transfer points from all of the transferable points programs. In almost all cases, I would prioritize earning transferable points instead as they provide flexibility and can help reduce the impact of airline program devaluations.

Wells Fargo Announces New Credit Card And Transfer Partners

Update: The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is now available for application.

Let's take a quick look at the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card which comes with a reasonable $95 annual fee.

Welcome Bonus

You can earn 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in 3 months.

Bonus Categories

• 5x on hotels
• 4x on airlines
• 3x on other travel (does not include rideshare, taxis, transit)
• 3x on dining
• 1x on everything else

Benefits

• $50 statement credit on airfare
• Cell phone protection
• Lost luggage coverage
• Trip cancellation coverage
• No foreign transaction fees

Transfer Partners

The transfer ratios are 1:1 unless noted otherwise.

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Iberia Plus
• Choice Privilege (1:2)

Supplementary Cards

You can pool points earned from the Active Cash (2x on everything) and the Wells Fargo Autograph Card with this card.

Points Wire Note:

The ability to earn 5x transferable points on hotel stays stands out for me and 4x on flights only trails the 5x you can earn with the Amex Platinum. I'll be curious to see what kind of trip delay coverage the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card offers.

While it's great to see Wells Fargo finally add transfer partners, the options are a bit light. LifeMiles covers Star Alliance, Flying Blue covers SkyTeam, and British Airways + Iberia cover oneworld. Hopefully, they'll make progress on adding additional partners.

Considering this card has a $95 annual fee, it's a pretty impressive offering.

Of course, Wells Fargo's reputation has taken quite a few hits in the last several years so it'll be interesting if that makes it tough for them to gain a foothold in the points community.

Earn Up To 10k Ultimate Rewards Points Via Chase Travel

Danny the Deal Guru: "Chase has unveiled a new bonus offer, allowing eligible cardmembers to earn up to 10,000 bonus points on qualifying Chase Travel purchases. The offer is structured to reward cardmembers for their travel bookings, emphasizing hotel stays alongside flights, cruises, or car rentals. This is a targeted offer, but you can try registering to see if you are eligible. Check out the details below and register now."

Bonus Structure

• Earn 5,000 bonus points when you book a hotel plus a car rental, cruise, or flight
• Earn 3,000 bonus points when you book an additional rental, cruise, flight, or hotel
• Earn 2,000 bonus points if you haven't booked through Ultimate Rewards or Chase Travel since March 1, 2023

Some Important Terms & Conditions

• Cardmembers must activate and make qualifying purchases between 3/1/24 and 5/31/24
• Travel must be completed by 12/31/24 11:59 p.m. E.T
• Qualifying Chase Travel purchases may be made separately, and all combined qualifying Chase Travel purchases must total at least $150.
• Only completed purchases are eligible, cancelled, or refunded purchases will not qualify.
• The Edit℠ purchases will qualify for this bonus offer. Previous Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection℠ purchases made through Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel since 3/1/23 will not disqualify cardmembers from the additional 2,000 bonus points.
• Allow up to 8 weeks after qualifying for bonus points to post to your account.
• Account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment.
• This bonus offer is non-transferable and applies only to cardmembers who receive marketing communications for this offer.
• This bonus can only be earned once per cardmember, regardless of how many eligible cards a cardmembers has, and the same eligible card must be used for activation and qualifying purchases.
• Eligible credit cards: Chase Freedom card, Chase Freedom Unlimited card, Chase Freedom Rise card, Chase Freedom Flex card, Chase Ink Cash Card, Chase Ink Business Cash Card, Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card, Chase Ink Plus Card, Chase Ink Business Premier Card, Chase Sapphire card, Chase Sapphire Preferred card, Chase Sapphire Reserve card. 

Amex Offer: Earn Bonus Points On ITA Airways Flights

With this targeted Amex Offer, you can earn 30,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $2,000+ with ITA Airways through September 16, 2024.

I don't have this offer on any of my Amex cards, but if the terms are the same as the last time Amex ran a similar offer, they'll look something like this:

• Offer valid only on flights booked directly with ITA Airways online at US website ita-airways.com or through the ITA Airways US mobile app.
• Flight must originate in US and be charged in USD to qualify.
• Not valid for purchases made through partner sites, agents, affiliates, and third parties.
• Excludes tickets purchased by phone or in-person at airport ticket offices, event organizer purchases, charters, car rentals, transport to/from the airport, Mozio eSIM service, and purchases made on-board flights.
• Additional points will be credited to your Membership Rewards program account within 90 days after 9/16/2024, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.
  

Points Wire Note:

If you have the option, add this offer to the Amex Platinum so you can earn 5x points on the purchase and get trip delay coverage for your trip.

(Ending Soon) Marriott Amex Cards: Two New Best Welcome Bonus Offers

UPDATE: These welcome bonus offers are expected to end on May 1, 2024.

Amex has rolled out two all-time high welcome bonus offers for Marriott cards. 

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

• Welcome Bonus: 185,000 Marriott points
• Minimum Spend: $6,000 in 6 months
• Annual Fee: $650

Benefits Of Note

• Complimentary Marriott Platinum status
• 25 elite night credits
• Anniversary free night award worth up to 85,000 points
• $25 in restaurant credits per month
• Priority Pass Select membership

Learn More

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card

• Welcome Bonus: 155,000 Marriott points
• Minimum Spend: $5,000 in 6 months
• Annual Fee: $250

Benefits Of Note

• Complimentary Marriott Gold status
• 15 elite night credits
• Anniversary free night (up to 50,000 points) if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year

Learn More

Eligibility Restrictions

Please keep in mind that there are a ton of eligibility restrictions that are based on if/when you've previously had a co-branded Marriott card from both Amex and Chase.

Points Wire Note:

Marriott credit cards aren't generally top priority cards, but this is a good time to get the Brilliant or Bevy since the welcome bonuses have been increased to all-time highs.