The United Explorer Card is a Chase-issued credit card that offers unique perks on United Airlines including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Here are the highlights:

• 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.* Plus, earn 5,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open.*
• Free first checked bag for both you and one traveling companion on the same reservation (worth up to $160 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms Apply.
• Expanded award availability. Having this card makes it easier to find that saver award economy ticket.
• Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit.
• Enjoy priority boarding privileges and visit the United Club^SM with 2 one-time passes each year for your anniversary.
• 2X miles on dining, on hotel stays, and on United(R) purchases.
• 25% back as a statement credit on purchases of food, beverages and Wi-Fi on board United-operated flights and on Club premium drinks when you pay with your Explorer Card
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Your miles don’t expire as long as your credit card account is open, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn.
• Use your miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.

Keep in mind the following terms and conditions:

This card product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

This card is very focused on making it a better experience to fly on United. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The bag fee is now $40 per person, each way, so that adds up to $160 each roundtrip. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on. While onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

Expanded award seat availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases (double miles on restaurants and hotel stays), but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. Expanded award seat availability is another of the top perks from this card, and I’ve found a very significant difference when searching. If you’re constantly trying to find economy tickets for the entire family like me, this is a big deal. Saver Award ticket redemptions start at 12,500 miles one-way within the continental U.S. and Canada.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On most other consumer cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Explorer Card offers great perks for folks that fly United even just once or twice a year. The card provides lounge passes, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discounts. There are bonus categories to earn more miles, and special expanded award seat inventory for credit card holders to make it easier to actually redeem those miles for flights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the United Explorer Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Improved 70k offer. 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 an increased offer above the common prior 50k and 60k offer levels, although not as high as the 80k biggest offer in the past. Here are the highlights:

• 70,000 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.

Amazon lets you “Shop with Points” from several different programs including Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Discover. You can now pay with American Express Rewards Dollars at face value, which can be earned from the following cards:

• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

They also offer targeted promotions from time to time, and they seem to come back periodically even if you’ve used them before. Check below:

• Get up to 40% (up to $40 off $100), valid on items shipped and sold by Amazon. Must redeem at least $0.01 of Rewards Dollars.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email/RSS reader, unfortunately I am not allowed to include any Amazon affiliate links in e-mails, so they have been removed. Just click here to view the links.)

I was able to purchase a physical (not e-Gift) Apple Gift Card with $100 face value for only $59.99 and $0.01 in Rewards Dollars.

Other “Shop with Points” Promos (Check again if targeted)

• American Express Membership Rewards points.
• Discover Cash Back.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
• U.S. Bank Rewards points.
• Capital One Rewards points
• Citi Thank You points.

Link Credit Card to Amazon Wallet Promos. (Targeted, you may not see these if you already have a card linked.)

• $15 off if you link your Citi Card.
• $20 off if you link your Discover Card.
• $15 off if you link your American Express Card.

Updated with new 5X promo through October 31st. Kudos is a new mobile app and browser extension that aims to enhance your existing credit card rewards when shopping. It does this by tracking all your rewards credit cards and recommending the best one to use, recommending new credit cards (that’s how they make money), and doubling your credit card rewards when shopping through an affiliated Boost merchant (they are also a shopping portal). New members can get a $20 referral bonus, worth $20 in Amazon gift cards, after their first purchase on a Boost merchant site.

In my opinion, Kudos is not super-interesting unless they have a 5X “Flash Boost Sale”. The best scenario is when it combines with a 5X category from a rewards credit card. Right now they one running until October 31st, 2024. Official 5X October Promo details here.

If you just have a 2% flat cash back card, you can get a total of 10% back on any of the listed merchants (8% from Kudos, 2% from your card). But if you have a 5% cash back category, this turns to 25% total cash back (20% from Kudos, 5% from your card.)

Pet stores are a 5% category for the Chase Freedom/Freedom Flex card for 4th Quarter 2024, which means you can get up to 25% total back at PetSmart. In addition, you can stack this with 40% off your first Auto-Ship order (like Subscribe and Save with Amazon). We just got a new puppy and dogs are expensive, so I’ll take all the help I can get.

Another idea for this promo are to use any 3% back on Travel cards from Chase, BofA, Citi, etc. and get an additional 15% back on VRBO, TripAdvisor, or Booking.com. Those percentages are also better than standard cashback portals.

Get ready for a haunting good time with our biggest October Flash Boost sale yet! From October 1 through October 31, 2024, we’re conjuring up some frighteningly fantastic deals. We’re not just offering spine-tingling discounts – we’re multiplying your rewards by 5X at participating merchants. That means you could earn up to 25% in rewards, depending on your card! Here are the top retailers that we’re highlighting with this Flash Boost sale:

Stubhub
Booking.com
Vrbo
Expedia
Petsmart
Fanatics
Journeys
Nike
Tripadvisor
Neiman Marcus
Halloween Costumes
Dell
Backcountry
Stanley
Woot

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

• Visit my Kudos referral link (I used Chrome Browser) and install their extension. Make sure the promo code JONATHAN_KUDOS_209109 is filled in when applicable to get the 2000 point ($20) referral bonus.
• Add at least one rewards credit card and number. I recommend linking any Discover it card since it has 5% cash back cards that you hold.
• After these various things as a new customer, it should be pretty simple to accumulate around 500 Kudos points (worth $5). However, to unlock the $20 referral bonus for myself, I need to make a purchase from a Boost merchant. For this promo, PetSmart would work great.
• Make sure to turn off any potentially conflicting extensions, like the Capital One 360 Shopping plugin.
• Chrome extension installed. Check. Card number saved. Check. Visited Boost Merchant from the Kudos site. Check.
• During the Purchase process, look to the bottom right corner and click on the yellow dog. You should be presented with and click on the “Activate Boost” button. It should say “Boost Activated”.
• During the Checkout process, I let Kudos fill in the card information.
• When finished, the extension should confirm your rewards exactly.

Here’s what you should see:

When Kudos says you’ll get “double your rewards”, that means your existing credit card rewards is 1X, and then will also match 1X. When Kudos says you’ll get 5X rewards, that means your existing credit card is 1X and they’ll add 4X. Like other shopping portals, the points will be pending for 60-120 days because it takes a while for them to get paid from the merchant internally, and also to make sure that you don’t return the item.

Alaska Airlines has closed their acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, although they will continue with their separate brands for a while at least. Here the pages about the merger on the Hawaiian site and the Alaska site with details about how the programs and perks will work during the transition. I read through all of the coverage and here are my notes and takeaways.

• You can now transfer miles in either direction on a 1:1 ratio here (50 miles minimum, may take 72 hours). Most people seem to feel that Alaska miles are worth more than Hawaiian miles due their long list of partner airlines including American, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific, but it’s possible that you have a specific use for Hawaiian miles.
• You can currently still transfer Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines (and then Alaska). This may not last once the dust settles.
• You can currently still transfer Bilt Rewards points to Alaska Airlines (and then Hawaiian). This may not last once the dust settles.
• Marriott Bonvoy points convert to both Alaska and Hawaiian at a 3:1 ratio, so nothing really new, but it offers another pathway if you’re going for a big redemption. If you transfer exactly 60,000 Bonvoy points, you get a 5,000 mile bonus for a total of 25,000 Alaska/Hawaiian miles.
• If you have a Hawaiian Airlines credit or debit card, you can use their Share Miles feature to transfer an unlimited number of Hawaiian miles from anyone else into your account (friends and family) with no fees. I just swept all of my kids’ miles into my account, which I can then convert to Alaska if needed.
• This also indirectly means you can pool Alaska miles for free now from various people, and avoid those huge “gifting” fees. For example, transfer Kid #1 Alaska miles to Kid #1 Hawaiian miles account. Then use Share Miles to combine with your target primary Hawaiian account, and then transfer to target primary Alaska account..
• You may want to consider getting a Hawaiian Airlines credit card from Barclays (or business version), in case they make a future change to the issuer or program. You also get that Share Miles feature. For now, it doesn’t appear you can use the discounted companion ticket from the Hawaiian card on Alaska flights.
• You may want to consider getting an Alaska Airlines credit card from Bank of America (or business version), in case they make a future change to the issuer or program. For now, it doesn’t appear you can use the discounted companion ticket from the Alaska card on Hawaiian flights.

In the past year or so, I’ve gotten both the Hawaiian and Alaska cards and have been taking advantage of the perks, including the free checked bags, companion fares, Share Miles, and other discounts. I’m not a heavy flier, but hopefully the merging of all these accumulated miles can offer some useful award redemptions for the family.

The British Airways Visa Signature® Credit Card is a Chase-issued card that offers unique perks with British Airways. The Avios program offers a distance-based award system in the US (including Hawaii), allowing you to fly domestically for less points than you might think on partner airlines like American Airlines. You may also use Avios to fly business class to Europe. Avios are very flexible; I recently used to in Japan Airlines. Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
• Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
• 10% off British Airways flights starting in the US when you book through the website provided in your welcome materials.
• Earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL.
• Earn 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $95 annual fee.

The Avios reward chart is now based on how far you want to travel in terms of miles. So what can you do with all those points?

Redeem awards domestically on partner American Airlines. Within the US, it’s usually easiest to find flights on partner American Airlines. There are no fuel surcharges when booking with American. Seating availability will be limited, but if you are flexible there is decent inventory.

• Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii using only 13,000 Avios one-way and 26,000 Avios points roundtrip. I ran a quote and it cost $659 broken down to $621 fare and only $38 in taxes. So in this case you could save $621 in exchange for 26,000 points, which is 2.4 cents per point. This also works from Hawaii to Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. You can also do JFK to LAX for 25k points roundtrip.
• Shorter-distance flights can be a good deal as well. Roundtrip from Chicago to New York City is only 18,000 Avios points + about $30 in taxes. Charlotte, NC to New York City is only 12,000 Avios roundtrip. Los Angeles to Las Vegas is also 12,000 Avios roundtrip. Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon is 18,000 Avios roundtrip.

The Avios program has a lot of good airline partners and you can combine Avios within a household. I’ve also used the ability to household Avios to combine all the small Avios balances from my kids’ account and use them for an award seat on partner Japan Airlines.

Finding partner awards on BA.com is better than is was in the past, so try it first. Type in your to/from cities within the US, choose to book flights with Avios points (“Book” then “Book a flight with Avios”). As usual, it helps to book far ahead (or last-minute) and to be flexible with dates. Here’s a quick screenshot of a one-way flight booking from LAX to HNL for 13,000 points and $5.60 in taxes. Families can take note that there were 7 seats available at this price on the flight when I looked.

Use the American Airlines AA.com website and look the cheapest level awards. Record the exact flight dates and numbers, and then call at British Airways at 1-800-452-1201 to book them. If you can’t find the same flight on BA.com, they should waive the phone book fee (they did for me). Don’t be discouraged if you have to use this method, especially if you aren’t flying nonstop. Also, call back and talk with a different agent if they aren’t helpful initially.

Travel Together Ticket. Every calendar year that you spend $30,000 on your British Airways Visa Signature Credit Card, you get a “Travel Together Ticket” good for two years.

The Travel Together Ticket allows you to pay 50% of the Avios fare when travelling solo or gives you a second seat for a companion, on the same flight and in the same cabin when you book a reward flight on a British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus flights, including respective selected subsidiaries and franchise partners of these airlines originating from anywhere in the world, not just the United States. All you’ll have to pay is the taxes, fees, and carrier charges for the reward seats.

Beware of fuel surcharges on British Airways flights. Don’t use Avios for a economy British Airways flight from USA to Europe, because you’ll still be subject to taxes and fees on award redemptions, which are often half the entire cost of the ticket. I ran a quick search for a random New York City (JFK) to London (LHR) flight that cost $1,050, the taxes and fees alone were $650. You can get the $400 “fare” for 40,000 Avios points, but that’s only 1 cent a point value.

Bottom line. The British Airways Visa Signature® Credit Card earns you Avios, which are very flexible points good for not just between US and Europe, but also within the USA domestically and internationally via their many partner airlines. It’s a keeper card if you can take advantage of their companion ticket.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Limited-time offer increase to 75k. The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is the co-branded American Airlines card from Citi. Here are the updated card highlights:

• 75,000 American Airlines miles after $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
• First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation – savings of up to $400 per round trip.
• 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
• 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
• 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases*
• 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage(R) mile earned from purchases.
• $125 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $20,000 or more in purchases during your cardmembership year and renew your card.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees*
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights
• 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases when you use your card on American Airlines flights
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99.

Bonus details. Note the following language for the personal card, which has been changed from 24 to 48 months. Having the business version is okay.

AAdvantage® bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® account in the past 48 months.

To clarify, you can have one of both the consumer version of this card and the CitiBusiness® version designed for businesses under your name. The bonuses are also separate.

Baggage fee value. American Airlines recently announced they are going to charge a whopping $40 one-way for the first checked bag if you don’t prepay online ($35 if you prepay online). That’s $80 roundtrip for a single checked bag, per person. With this card, your first checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation. $80 roundtrip x 5 people = $400 potential benefit.

Bottom line.  The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum® Select® World® Elite® Mastercard® has® a® nice® bonus® offer®. As with most of these co-branded cards, a lot of the ongoing value comes when you fly on American and utilize the free first checked bag benefit for you and up to 4 companions (value of up to $80 per person, round-trip).

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.