Update for Rent Day 1/1. For Rent Day on New Years Day, Wednesday 1/1, Bilt Rewards is offering the following additional perks. If you are a renter, this program offers steady stream of free monthly points and a variety of promotional perks.

Accor All Elite Status through end of 2025. Accor Limitless Live (ALL) is a hotel rewards program that is mostly in Europe, but they also operate some excellent Fairmont Hotels in the US and Canada. You must first be enrolled in Accor Limitless Live (“ALL”) to participate in this Accor Status Match Offer. Do this first and don’t forget to activate your free status on the 1st.

Even the base Bilt Blue level gets you Accor Silver Status through the end of 2025, which otherwise would require 800 Euros of spending or 10 nights of stays. Accor Silver gets you Priority Check-in, Late Checkout, and a Welcome Drink. Higher Bilt levels can get higher Accor levels if you spend some Bilt points.

Accor is also a Bilt points transfer partner and actually a good value redemption for stays at Fairmont hotels. Accor has a fixed redemption of 1,000 Accor points = 20€ of value towards a hotel stay. Bilt points transfer to Accor at a 3:2 ratio. At current currency exchange rates, this means 3,000 Bilt points = 2,000 Accor points = 40 Euros of value = $41.61 of value. That works out to a 1.4 cent value per Bilt point, which is not bad. I might still prefer a Hyatt hotel redemption, but it’s worth shopping around depending your specific date and location.

Rent Day always means their 2X double points promo where you can get 6X on dining, 4X on travel, and 2X on other purchases (except rent). As of October 2024, there is now a cap of 1,000 bonus points, so it’s not as exciting as before. Really, I just try to remember to put any dining on the card on that day for some extra Hyatt points.

You can still earn lots of Bilt points just for paying monthly rent to any landlord with no transaction fees, which is their most important feature. I don’t know the status of all the other smaller bonuses listed below for new customers.

Just joined recently? Look for these free Bilt Points opportunities (any day). Bilt lets you earn bonus points for a variety of different small activities, which can add up to 1,000+ easy points. I don’t know if these are officially listed anywhere, but I got them.

• After I first got approved for the Bilt card, they offered me 5X Bilt points on all purchases (except rent) for a limited period of time (reader Eileen reports 5 days). This is a good opportunity to earn 5X points for everyday larger purchases like insurance, tax payment, charitable giving, or utility bills. Max 50,000 points.
• 100 points for linking each transfer partner. Link Hyatt? 100 points. Link Air Canada Aeroplan? 100 points. Link them all! 10+ partners = 1,000+ points.
• 500 points for Amazon Shop with Points. Link your Amazon account and you can buy stuff with Bilt points at the usual mediocre 0.7 cents per points value. Linking gets you 250 points, and using the program (spend at least 1 Bilt point) and get another 250 Bilt points.
• 100 points for each credit card linked to Bilt Dining (up to 300 points). Bilt Dining lets you earn 5X points per dollar when you pay at an eligible restaurant using a linked credit card. Link three different credit cards, get 300 Bilt points.

Important reminder: You must use your card to make 5 purchases (of any amount) each statement period to earn points.

Full review:

The updated Bilt Mastercard is a unique credit card that earns rewards on rent payments to any landlord. Bilt is a rent payment platform and they will send your landlord a check or ACH bank transfer so that your landlord will not have to do anything. The credit card itself is issued by Wells Fargo. Bilt has bonus categories and a variety of points redemption options like many other rewards credit cards. Here are the highlights:

• Up to 1X points spent on rent payments without the transaction fee, up to 100,000 points each calendar year.
• 3X points on dining.
• 2X points on travel including hotels, rental cars, and cruises when booked directly with airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies.
• 1X points on other purchases.
• Earn points when you make 5 transactions that post each statement period.
• When renting at a Bilt Alliance property, you can choose to have your rent payments automatically reported by Bilt to the three major credit bureaus each month; Experian(TM), TransUnion(TM), and Equifax(TM).
• No annual fee.
• World Elite Mastercard perks like cell phone insurance and purchase protection.

That means your rent can be up to $100,000 per year ($8,333 per month) and you would still be able to take full advantage of the 1X points per dollar spent on rent payments. They do require you to make at least 5 transactions per month (rent can be one), otherwise too many people might just put their rent on the card and not use the card otherwise.

Bilt has partnered with the owners of over 2,000,000 apartment units to create the Bilt Rewards Alliance. The easiest way is find out if you live in a qualifying property is to simply type in your address into the Bilt app.

Bilt also offers Double Points on “Rent Day”, aka the 1st of every month. This means that on the 1st day of every month, you can get 6X on dining, 4X on travel, and 2X on other purchases(except rent). They also offer other promos on this day.

Bilt Rewards Points redemption options

Travel partners. Bilt Rewards points transfer on a 1:1 basis to the following hotel and airline partners. You can also get 100 bonus points for every loyalty program you link to Bilt.

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (NEW)
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• United Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Miles & Smiles (Turkish Airlines)
• Emirates Skywards
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Aer Lingus Aer Club
• Turkish Miles & Smiles
• Iberia Plus
• TAP Air Portugal
• World of Hyatt
• IHG One
• Accor ALL

Hyatt hotel points, Alaska, United, and Hawaiian miles are likely the most useful points for the average US traveler. I am conservative when valuing points and miles due to their redemption hassles and steady threat of devaluation, so I would place the value here a 1 cent a point even though I definitely plan to exceed that. You may wish to use a different value.

Home Downpayment? Bilt says that your points can be redeemed at 1.5 cents per point when used towards a home downpayment. This seems like it might be rather complicated to actually redeem, so I would keep it mind but wouldn’t count on it. If you racked up 100,000 points over time, it would be nice to have $1,500 via this method.

Shop with Points at Amazon. You can link your Bilt Rewards points to Amazon and pay for your purchases at rate of 0.70 cents per point.

Rent. Bilt will let you convert points towards your next rent payment at 0.55 cents per point. This is not a good redemption rate when compared to the miles/Hyatt option. It’s too bad there is no easy, decent cash-out option.

Statement credit. Bilt will also let you convert points towards a statement credit on your credit card statement at 0.55 cents per point.

Other options include fitness classes or physical items like “limited-edition” home decor or art in the “Bilt Collection” catalog. Personally, I like being able to add to my Hyatt and Canada Aeroplan stash.

Possibly help your credit score? When renting at a Bilt Alliance property, your on-time payment activity can be automatically reported to the three major credit bureaus. In addition, with the optional “BiltProtect” feature, your rent payments will be immediately withdrawn from a linked bank account so your credit limit is not decreased (and ideally your rent won’t contribute to your credit card debt).

How do I pay my landlord or property manager? They don’t take credit cards due to the transaction fees. Bilt will provide you with a bank ACH routing number and account number that you can use to perform an ACH transfer, or they will simply send a paper check on your behalf. You don’t actually pay with the credit card, nor do you or your landlord have to pay any credit card transaction fees.

Free cell phone protection. Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Bilt Mastercard and get up to $800 of protection (subject to $25 deductible) against covered damage or theft. For complete coverage details, visit wellsfargo.com/biltbenefits. To file a claim, call 1-800-316-8051 or visit mycardbenefits.assurant.com.

Bottom line. The Bilt Mastercard offers a unique rewards structure targeted specifically at all renters with any landlord. At $2,000 a month in rent, the 1X rewards would add up to 24,000 points per year in rewards = 24,000 Alaska/United/Hawaiian miles or 24,000 Hyatt points with no additional transaction fees and no credit card annual fee. You may even do better if you wait for a “Rent Day” promo on the first of the month. Something to consider if you already have to pay rent anyway.

Updated December 2024. Do you have small business income or work as an independent contractor? Freelance, Uber/Lyft, DoorDash, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Airbnb? A small business credit card separates your personal and business expenses and can build up your business credit profile. If you are not a corporation or LLC, you can apply as a sole proprietorship, with your name as the business name and your Social Security number as the Tax ID number. These are the top 10 credit card offers that I would personally apply for right now (or have already). Recent changes:

• Added Hilton 175k, Citi AA 75k, Spark $2,000, Amex Gold 100k, United 75k, Platinum 150k.
• Removed Ink Unlimited $900, Delta Gold 90k, Marriott 5FreeNights, Hyatt 75k, Southwest 120k.

This is a companion post to my Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers for personal cards. Notice that small business bonuses are on average even higher than those on consumer cards.

Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card

• $2,000 cash bonus after $30,000 in the first 3 months. Additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. See link for details.
• Unlimited 2% cash back spent on all purchases with no limit.
• $150 annual fee; Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year.

American Express® Business Gold Card

• 100,000 Membership Rewards points after $15,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• Up to $240 Annual Flexible Business Credit. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. Enrollment is required.
• Up to $155 Annual Walmart+ Credit. Get up to $12.95 back in statement credits each month when you pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Business Gold Card. Enrollment is required.
• Annual fee is $375. (See Rates and Fees)
• Terms Apply.

United^SM Business Card

• 75,000 bonus United miles after $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Limited-time offer. See link for details.
• Free first checked bag for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip).
• 5,000-mile “better together” bonus each anniversary when you have both the United^SM Business Card and personal Chase United credit card.
• Primary rental car coverage when renting for business purposes.
• Intro $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.*

The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

• 150,000 Membership Rewards points after $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.
• $1,000+ in value per year via statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless. Enrollment required. See link for details.
• $695 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)
• Terms Apply.

Capital One Venture X Business Card

• 150,000 Miles (worth $1,500 towards travel) after spending $30,000 in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• $300 annual travel credit. Get up to $300 in statement credits when booking through Capital One Travel.
• Additional 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary.
• Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass(TM) and Plaza Premium Group lounges access.
• Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck(R).
• $395 annual fee.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

• 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points (worth $900 straight cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel) after $8,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• 3X points on the first $150,000 spent on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines.
• Primary rental car coverage when renting for business purposes.
• $95 annual fee.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.*

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

• $750 bonus cash back. (75,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• Flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no limit.
• No annual fee.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.*

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

• 175,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after $8,000 in purchases in the first six months. Offer Ends 1/8/2025. See link for details.
• Up to $240 in Annual Hilton Credits. Get up to $240 back each year on eligible Hilton purchases made on your Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, with up to $60 in statement credits per quarter.
• $195 annual fee.
• See Rates and Fees

CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard

• 75,000 American Airlines miles after $5,000 in purchases in first the 5 months. Limited-time offer. See link for details.
• First checked bag free on domestic AA flights for you and up to 4 companions (Up to $80 value per roundtrip, per person).
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

• 3 Free Night Awards (Worth Up To 150K Total Marriott Bonvoy Points) after $6,000 in eligible purchases within first 6 months. Each Free Night Award is worth up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) points redemption level. See link for details.
• New award night top-off option: Marriott now allows you to supplement your free night certificates with up to 15,000 points of your own. For example, the 50k Award can be used to book a hotel at 65,000 points level if you spend 15,000 points of your own. This opens up the number of potential hotels available in expensive areas.
• Additional Free Night Award upon card anniversary (worth up to 35,000 Bonvoy points). Earn another additional Free Night Award after spending $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
• Annual fee is $125. (See Rates and Fees)
• Terms Apply.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

• Up to $750 bonus cash back total (75,000 Ultimate Rewards points). Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months. See link for details.
• 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year.
• No annual fee.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.*

World of Hyatt Business Credit Card

• 60,000 Bonus Points after $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• Up to $100 in Hyatt statement credits – spend $50 or more at any Hyatt property and earn $50 statement credits up to two times each anniversary year.
• $199 annual fee.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

• 60,000 Bonus Miles after $4,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. See link for details.
• 60,000 Skymiles are worth at least $600 in Delta airfare with “Pay with Miles” option.
• First checked bag free on Delta flights ($70 value per roundtrip, per person).
• $200 Delta flight credit. Get a $200 credit to use toward future Delta travel after $10,000 in purchases within a calendar year.
• $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $150.
• See Rates and Fees

Hawaiian Airlines Business MasterCard

• 50,000 Hawaiian miles after $4,000 in purchases in first 90 days. See link for details.
• Receive a one-time 50% off companion discount for roundtrip coach travel between Hawaii and The Mainland on Hawaiian Airlines.
• $99 annual fee.

BofA Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards card

• $500 statement credit after $5,000 in purchases in the first 90 days. See link for details.
• 1.5% cash back on all purchases, which can be increased to 2.62% cash back when combined with the Preferred Rewards program.
• No annual fee.

US Bank Business Leverage Card

• 75,000 bonus points after $7,500 in purchases (on the Account Owner’s Card only) in first the 120 days. 75,000 bonus points can be redeemed for $750 in cash back. See link for details.
• Availability may be restricted to certain states.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $95.

JetBlue Business Card

• 60,000 TrueBlue points 50,000 points after $4,000 in purchases in first 90 days. Plus, earn 10,000 bonus points when a purchase is made on an employee card in the first 90 days. See link for details.
• First checked bag free for the primary cardmember and up to 3 companions when tickets are purchased with your JetBlue Plus Card.
• $99 annual fee.

Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card (Bank of America)

• 50,000 Alaska miles + Companion Fare Voucher after $4,000 in purchase within 90 days. See link for details.
• Companion fare voucher is “Buy one ticket, get one for $122” ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $23).
• Free checked bag on Alaska flights for you and up to six other passengers on the same reservation (worth $60 roundtrip per person).
• $70 annual fee for company, plus $25 per card.

Capital One Spark Cash Select Card

• $500 cash bonus after $4,500 in purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• Unlimited 1.5% cash back spent on all purchases with no limit.
• No annual fee.

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

• 60,000 Southwest points after $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. See link for details.
• Southwest still gives everyone two free checked bags.
• $99 annual fee.
• Subject to 5/24 rule.*

* Note: Certain Chase cards have a “5/24 rule” which is an unofficial rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards on your credit report within the past 2 years. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so if you are new, you might want to start with those Chase cards.

For rates and fees of The Business Platinum® Card from American Express, please visit here. For rates and fees of The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, please visit here. For rates and fees of Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, please visit here. For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please visit here.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: See Rates and Fees

Alaska Airlines is teasing a new credit card, currently called the “Alaska Airlines Premium Credit Card”, and you can get 500 free Alaska miles just for joining their waitlist by December 31st, 2024 with your name and MileagePlan number. There is no commitment, so I’ll take the free miles. If you later apply and get approved, they will also add on another 5,000 bonus miles. The application is not set to open until “Summer 2025”.

1 – Register your interest in the Alaska Airlines Premium Credit Card by Dec 31, 2024, and you will receive 500 miles for registration and, upon approval of your application for the Alaska Airlines Premium Credit Card, 5,000 miles in addition to any other new account bonus offer you may qualify for. To qualify, applicants must apply via a link that will be emailed to them using the email address provided in their offer registration within 14 days of receiving the exclusive application link. Must provide valid Mileage Plan account information to be eligible. Limit of one registration offer per valid Mileage Plan account. By registering for this offer you agree to receive communications from Alaska Airlines about, and how to apply for, the Alaska Airlines Premium Credit Card. Communications sent and managed by Alaska Airlines. You may opt out at any time.

There are a bunch of features and perks teased, but a lot of this stuff ends up being changed before launch.

Navy Federal Credit Union has a new “Join and Get $300” promotion for new members. Join as a new Navy Federal member by 12/31/2024 and you can get an additional $300 statement credit when you open a new Navy Federal credit card within 14 days of joining. As with most credit unions, you’ll need to open a Share Savings account and keep $5 in there. Additional selected fine print:

1 Offer valid November 1 – December 31, 2024 and can expire anytime without prior notice. To receive the one-time $300 statement credit to your credit card account, you must 1) be 18 or older and eligible for membership, 2) join Navy Federal between 11/1/2024 and 12/31/2024, and 3) open a new unsecured Navy Federal credit card account within 14 days of joining. Offer excludes Navy Federal Business, Home Equity Line Platinum, and nRewards® Secured credit cards. […] Limit one (1) statement credit per member. […] Statement credit will be credited to your account within 8 weeks of credit card account opening.

Navy Federal membership is open to members of the Coast Guard, all Department of Defense (DoD) uniformed personnel, reservists, Active Duty, retired, Veterans, Army and Air National Guard, DoD civilian employees, contractors, and their immediate family. In 2019, they expanded membership to include veterans and their immediate family members including grandparents through grandchildren. If you call them, they will help you look up information on veterans in your family.

This could stack up to be a pretty significant bonus, as the first-year value for these two card bonuses are already $400+ on their own.

• Navy Federal cashRewards Plus Card
• Navy Federal Flagship Rewards Credit Card

New increased offer (up to 100k total). The Frontier Airlines World Mastercard is a niche co-branded card from Barclays, but if you do fly on Frontier regularly, it actually offers some good perks on a relative basis. Many strict, barebones airlines are starting to trickle back some perks to win back customers and Frontier is no exception. For Frontier, it appears that this credit card is a major gateway to these little wins like actually getting to bring on a carry-on or not having to pay a fee to redeem your miles. (I’ve never flown Frontier before, but I’m assuming they must be cheap for you to put up with this stuff!)

• The standard offer is for 50,000 bonus miles plus a $100 flight voucher after spending $500 on purchases and paying the annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days of account opening.
• Right now, if you visit this page, you can see how to get an extra 50,000 bonus miles if you are the primary cardmember of a cobranded credit card with another US Domestic Airline, complete verification, and complete an additional application form. You must also spend $3,000 within 180 days of account opening to earn the additional 50,000 miles. That would give you a total of 100,000 Frontier miles. Looks like you must apply by January 31, 2025.

Here are the other highlights of the card :

• Two Free Checked Bags for primary cardmember. Must purchase flight at FlyFrontier.com using this card. Includes ski/golf bag.
• Elite Gold Status. Get it upfront for 90 days with account opening and first purchase with your card within the first 90 days of account opening. To keep it, you must spend $3,000 within the first 90 days of account opening. Status will be good for 12 months from the day the account was opened.
• Pooling of miles between friends and family members is allowed with this card.
• Zone 2 Priority Boarding for primary cardmember.
• Award Redemption Fee Waiver
• 5X miles on eligible purchases at flyfrontier.com.
• 3X miles on eligible restaurant purchases.
• 1X miles on all other purchases.
• 1 Elite Status Point for every $1 spent on purchases.
• $100 Frontier Airlines Flight Voucher after your Account anniversary when you have spent $2,500 or more in Net Purchases on your Card Account during your cardmembership year (each 12-month period through and including your Card Account anniversary date).
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Elite Gold Status gets you the following benefits:

• Free carry-on bag for yourself
• No change/cancel fees* (+7 days from departure)
• Preferred Seat Assignment at Booking
• Premium Seating at Check-in (based on availability)
• Priority Customer Care (both live phone and online chat)
• Priority Boarding: Zone 1 for you, Zone for 2 everyone in your booking.
• Family Pooling

Redeeming Frontier miles. They advertise that 50,000 miles can be redeem for “up to 2 round-trip award tickets”, which is technically true but that is for their most limited “value” awards. They also have “standard” awards and “last seat” awards (available to elites only). You will also be subject to taxes and fees starting a $5.60 per one-way. Here is their award chart:

The good news is that this card does give you an easy pathway toward Elite Gold status for the first year and that lets you nab any unsold seat on the plane. But that also means that 50,000 miles might only be worth a single roundtrip award ticket.

You also avoid the award redemption fee with this credit card. Otherwise, they charge an award redemption fee of between $15 and $75 for all award tickets departing within 180 days of booking.

I’ve seen outside valuations place the value of a Frontier mile at about 1.1 cent each. After pricing out some Frontier flights, that sounds about right, although it will definitely vary based on your route. The cheaper, shorter flights are easier to find a “saver” award, while their most convenient, longer routes you should expect to use the “standard” or “last seat” awards. I’d also only agree with this valuation if I had this credit card to ease the hassles.

Two free checked bags are a new feature that was announced 8/15/24 (hat tip to DoC). Here is the fine print:

Tickets must be purchased from FlyFrontier.com or the Frontier Airlines mobile app

· There is no limit to how many times you can use this benefit

· Free checked bag benefit includes golf and ski equipment

· Primary cardmembers must use their FRONTIER Airlines World Mastercard at booking to unlock the free checked bag benefit

Due to the limited footprint of Frontier, I’m not sure if I will add this to my Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Check offer link again to see if eligible for this new round. If you have a Discover card with cash back rewards, you can redeem them to buy eligible items at Amazon.com. The redemption rate is $1 in Cash Back Bonus = $1 to spend at Amazon, which is the same rate as their statement credit redemptions. Check if you have a targeted promotion and activate for an additional discount for redeeming a single penny’s worth of points. (To see the link, you may need to visit this page on the internet if viewing this via e-mail or RSS.)

• Get $10 off $50/$75 or 30%/40% Off (max cap applies), valid on items shipped and sold by Amazon. Must redeem at least $0.01 in Discover cash back.

Here are some additional tips:

• If you haven’t linked your Discover yet, first check if you can get a bonus here. If not, you can link your Discover Cashback points balance to your Amazon account here. Check again, possibly waiting a day or two.
• If you have already linked your Discover card previously and aren’t targeted, consider removing your Discover card from your account completely, and then linking it again after a day. Try again in a day or two.
• Items must be marked as both sold AND shipped by Amazon.com.
• Be sure to select your Discover Card as your payment method and redeem at least 1 point or $0.01 in value of Discover points.
• You should see the promo credit on final order checkout page, right before final purchase.

This is a recurring perk for existing Discover cardholders, which is why I never cancel a card with no annual fee. Check out my Discover it credit card review, one of my keeper 5% cash back cards. From now until December 31, 2024, Amazon is one of their 5% categories.

Qatar Airways has new limited-time offers on their two US co-branded credit cards through a small issuer called Cardless. Even if you have no plans to fly on Qatar, these cards offer many perks useful to even domestic-only US travelers. For example, Qatar Airways Avios are easily transferrable to British Airways Avios and can be used to book award flights on American Airlines. These cards also include different levels of OneWorld Alliance status, which includes perks to American Airlines travelers like access to priority check-in lines and even business-class lounges with the premium version. Here are the highlights of the two card versions:

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Signature Credit Card

• Up to 60,000 bonus Avios. 30,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 30,000 bonus Avios after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club Silver tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Ruby status. Applies to the first year only.
• 4X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
• 4X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 2X.
• 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
• $99 annual fee.

OneWorld Ruby status includes:

• Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
• Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
• Priority on waitlists and when on standby
• Alaska Airlines MVP status and perks
• American Airlines AAdvantage Gold status and perks
• British Airways Executive Club Bronze status and perks

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card

• Up to 80,000 bonus Avios. 40,000 bonus Avios after first transaction. Additional 40,000 bonus Avios + 150 Qpoints after spending $5,000 in the first 90 days.
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club Gold tier benefits instantly after being accepted for this credit card. Importantly, this in turn gives you OneWorld Sapphire status. Applies to the first year only.
• 5X Avios on Qatar Airways spend.
• 6X Avios on restaurant spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 3X.
• 2x Avios on other eligible spends till Dec 31, 2024. Usually 1X.
• $499 annual fee.

OneWorld Sapphire status includes:

• Access to Business class lounges (including American Airlines lounges)
• Priority boarding
• Extra baggage allowance
• Priority baggage handling
• Access to Business Class priority check-in (shorter lines)
• Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating
• Priority on waitlists and when on standby
• Alaska Airlines MVP Gold status and perks
• American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum status and perks
• British Airways Executive Club Silver status and perks

The application will check your Experian credit report, so be sure to unfreeze/unlock that first. You can only have one Cardless-issued credit card at a time.

This is one of those cards that you may not get as your first airline card, but once you’ve gotten most of the other ones you’ll start to look for other smaller issuers. This niche card still earns Avios which are very flexible.

80k offer is back. The JetBlue Plus Mastercard is a rewards credit card that earns TrueBlue points for purchases and includes special perks for JetBlue customers. Right now, there is a special link above has an increased offer above the prior 50k and 60k offer levels (hat tip to DoC). Here are the highlights:

• 80,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days.
• First checked bag is free for the primary cardmember and up to 3 companions when you use your JetBlue Plus Card on JetBlue-operated flights.
• 6X points on JetBlue purchases, 2 points per $1 at restaurants and grocery stores and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• No blackout dates on JetBlue-operated flights & redeem for any seat, any time on JetBlue flights. Points required for an Award Flight will vary based on the published base fare at the time of booking.
• Annual $100 statement credit after you purchase a JetBlue Vacations package of $100 or more.
• Points awarded in your TrueBlue account don’t expire.
• Earn and share points together with Family Pooling.
• 50% savings on eligible inflight purchases including cocktails, food and movies.
• Points Payback option allows you to redeem points for a statement credit – up to $1,000 per year.
• Get 10% of your points back every time you redeem to use toward your next redemption.
• 5,000 TrueBlue bonus points annually after your account anniversary.
• $99 annual fee.

First checked bags on JetBlue usually cost $35 each-way, per person. The free checked bag perk applies to you and up to 3 travel companions on the same reservation when (1) the ticket is purchased with your JetBlue Plus card, (2) the primary cardmember’s TrueBlue member number must be entered at the time of booking. That works out great for a family traveling together. If you buy higher fare classes, a certain number of complimentary bags may already be included.

How does redeeming TrueBlue points work? TrueBlue works on a revenue-based system, where the points required depends on the current cash cost of the flight (with no blackout dates). If they sell it for cash, you can book it with points. This is different than traditional chart-based systems that charge a fixed point balance but imposes blackout dates and limited seat availability.

TrueBlue points are best redeemed for JetBlue flights. There are some other options like newspaper or magazine subscriptions, but I won’t cover them here.

TrueBlue points can be estimated at 1 points = 1.3 cents. Ex. 30,000 points would cover roughly $390 in JetBlue airfare. The exact value may vary, but 1.3 cents is a conservative average of what I found across Blue, Blue Plus, and Blue Flex fares. You can test it out yourself by pricing out the same flight on JetBlue.com using points or cash (you don’t need to sign-in or have an account). Here is an example of a randomly-chosen Blue flight from New York City (JFK) to Orlando (MCO). The roundtrip flight costs $250.20 cash total:

Or the exact same roundtrip flight costs 15,800 TrueBlue points + $11.20 in taxes/fees:

That means the 15,800 points offset $239 in cash, or a value of 1.51 cents per TrueBlue point. But again, 1.3 is a conservative average estimate.

This means 2X points back on restaurants and groceries can be estimated as 2.6% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 3X points back on Jetlue-operated flights can be 3.9% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare. The 6X points back with the Plus card on JetBlue-operated flights can be 7.8% back in the form of TrueBlue airfare.

Upon the renewal of your $99 annual fee, you get another 5,000 TrueBlue points ($65 of airfare value at 1.3 cents/point). If you can take advantage of the free checked bag perk, there is definitely ongoing value for regular JetBlue fliers. I haven’t investigated the $100 off a JetBlue Vacations package, but it could be worth a look.

As a minimum baseline value, you can redeem up to 100,000 TrueBlue points per year at 1 cent a point for a flat statement credit. So 30,000 points = $300, and so on. You always get more value redeeming for a JetBlue flight, but I know some people may just want to cash out.

Bottom line. The JetBlue Plus card from Barclaycard offers several perks for regular JetBlue customers such as a free first checked bag for you and up to 3 companions. There is also a nice sign-up bonus for new applicants.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

There is also a JetBlue Business card that currently offers up to 60,000 bonus points. Also see: Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.