Card Spotlight: Amex Blue Business Plus (Increased Bonus)

You may be able to get the Amex Blue Business Plus with a welcome offer of 50,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 in 3 months.

Considering the fact that the Blue Business Plus often doesn't come with a welcome bonus, this is an amazing offer. Typically, we only see the welcome bonus increased to 15,000 or maybe 25,000 points.

If you're targeted, this is a solid welcome bonus for this no-annual-fee business card that earns 2x on all spend up to $50,000 per year.

A similar offer seems to be available via select cardholder referrals. The only difference being the minimum spend is bumped up to $10,000.

Direct link to offer

Earn World Of Hyatt Points With Peloton?

One Mile At A Time: "The partnership between Hyatt and Peloton also extends to the World of Hyatt program, though details remain limited as of now. World of Hyatt members are told to stay tuned for how they can earn points for qualifying Peloton Bike or Peloton Row workouts completed at participating Hyatt hotels."

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. 

United Devalues Regional Business Class Award Rates

View From The Wing: "It began last week watching the prices for Lufthansa and ANA first class awards skyrocket but apparently United wasn’t done devaluing its MileagePlus miles."

"Days ago business class intra-Europe over 800 miles was 27,500 miles. Now it’s 45,000 to 49,500. Short-haul business class is now 33,000 miles."

Points Wire Note:

When United removed their public award charts in 2019, I noted that this would lead to more regular no-notice devaluations. Since then, United devalued just as the world shutdown in 2020, devalued again last year, and have now rolled out two more devaluations this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see more.

United's co-branded credit cards issued by Chase were already pretty weak, but these stealth devaluations make using one of these cards an even worse choice.

Virgin Voyages Promo: Use Points On A Cruise

Head for Points flagged that Virgin Red is running a points promo for Virgin Voyages. When you consider that Chase and Amex are both running 30% transfer bonuses to Virgin, you can get a solid deal on a cruise. Just remember that these cruises are adults-only.

Five-night cruises in the Caribbean start at 115,000 Virgin points per cabin - that's only 89,000 Amex or Chase points.

Points Wire Note:

As always, you should check cash prices before you book as that could be a better option. If you do pay cash for a cruise, keep in mind that luxury travel advisors can often add some VIP perks. As a luxury travel advisor, I'm happy to add some benefits to your cruise - submit a request.

30% Transfer Bonus to Qatar Airways Privilege Club

You can transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club and receive a 30% transfer bonus. This bonus is handled by Qatar Airways. The terms and conditions state that "All bonus Avios earned will reflect in your Privilege Club account within 45 days post Campaign’s end date."

This transfer bonus ends at 4:49pm ET on May 31, 2024.

Direct link to promo

Points Wire Note: Qatar Airways is part of the Avios network so you can link your Privilege Club account and link it to your British Airways Executive Club account. Practically speaking, that makes this a 30% transfer bonus to Avios since you can combine Avios between BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways.

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.

30% Chase Transfer Bonus To Virgin Atlantic

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and get a 30% bonus until 11:59pm ET on June 15, 2024. American Express is also running a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through May 31, 2024.

Here are some of the best ways to use Flying Club points for business and first class:

• Air France, KLM, or ITA Airways business class to Europe
• Delta One (business class) to Europe, but not to the U.K.
• Air New Zealand business to Auckland
• All Nippon Airways (ANA) business or first class to Tokyo

Points Wire Note:

In general, I would avoid speculative transfers as you lock up points with a specific airline. Speculative transfers increase the likelihood that you won't have enough points to transfer to another program when needed and put you at risk of being impacted by a devaluation.

Buy Aeroplan Points With 100% Bonus

One Mile At A Time:

"Through Saturday, May 11, 2024, the Air Canada Aeroplan program is offering a bonus on purchased points. Different members are being targeted for different offers. While the basic promotion offers up to an 85% bonus, some accounts are being targeted for up to a 100% bonus, or in some cases maybe even more."

"In all cases, you can unlock the biggest bonus when you purchase at least 80,000 points in one transaction (pre-bonus). You’ll want to log into your account to see what you’re eligible for."

Direct link to offer

Points Wire Note: Generally, I don't recommend buying points if you have the ability to earn them with credit cards. Additionally, it's risky to buy if you haven't already found award space you want to book. It can also make sense to buy points to top off your account for an award booking.

Avianca LifeMiles To Launch U.S. Credit Card With Cardless

Avianca LifeMiles and Cardless will be launching two co-branded credit cards in the U.S that will use Amex has their payment processor.

The entry level card will have a $99 annual fee and the premium card will have a $249 annual fee. Unfortunately, that's all the info we have at this point, but I'll update this post once we have more info.

If you join the waitlist, you'll have the opportunity to apply with an increased sign-up bonus that's 5,000 or 10,000 miles higher. The extra points won't require additional spend beyond the usual minimum spend requirement.

Direct link to waitlist

Points Wire Note:

It's great to see additional co-brand options being launched by Cardless. In fact, Cardless recently announced they'll be offering co-branded Qatar Airways cards. Hopefully, these developments put pressure on legacy banks to improve their co-branded cards.

Previously, Banco Popular offered LifeMiles credit cards in the U.S., but that ended in March 2022. Hopefully, this partnership is more successful!