Updated with limited-time offer. The card_name offers unique perks for regular United customers including free checked bags and expanded award seat availability for redeeming miles. Here are the highlights:

• Limited-time Offer: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• 5,000-mile “better together” bonus each anniversary when you have both the United^SM Business Card and personal Chase United credit card.
• Free first checked bag for both you and one traveling companion on the same reservation (a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms Apply.
• Two United Club^SM one-time passes per year, and priority boarding privileges.
• $100 United® travel credit after 7 United flight purchases of $100 or more each anniversary year.
• 2X miles per $1 spent on local transit and commuting, including train tickets, taxi cabs, mass transit, tolls and ride share services.
• 2X miles on dining, gas stations and office supply stores.
• 2X miles on United purchases and 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 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.
• Employee cards at no additional cost.
• Get one-year complimentary DashPass, a membership for both DoorDash and Caviar that provides unlimited deliveries with $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders. After that, you are automatically enrolled in DashPass at the current monthly rate. Activate by 12/31/24.
• $99 Annual Fee.

This card is considered a “new” card, differ from the old Business Explorer card:

This 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.

In addition, you can get this card and bonus if you had the consumer version of the United Explorer in the past 24 months (or have one now).

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, Uber/Lyft drivers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Note that Chase has an unofficial rule that they will most likely deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This rule applies on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

The good news is that small business cards from Chase hardly ever show up on personal credit reports, so getting this card in itself won’t affect your future 5/24 eligibility. This it makes a “free” application if you are already eligible.

This card is very focused on rewarding you for being a United customer. Before you board, you might use one of your free United Club lounge passes. You have the first checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The fee is now $40 per person, each way, so that this how they get the value of $160 each roundtrip. You also get Priority Boarding, which helps you find space for your carry-on.

Expanded award availability. This card also makes it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United. Expanded and exclusive award seat availability on selected flights are another perk of this card.

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

Bottom line. The card_name offers valuable 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 Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Updated with new 100k limited-time offer. The card_name is the IHG hotel card that includes special IHG perks but with no annual fee. Here are the highlights:

• 100,000 Bonus IHG Points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
• Earn up to 17 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Fourth Reward Night Free when you redeem points for any 4+ night stay. That means if you use points to pay for 3 nights in a row, the 4th night is free.
• IHG Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental(R), Crowne Plaza(R), Kimpton(R), EVEN(R) Hotels, Indigo(R) Hotels & Holiday Inn(R).
• No annual fee.

Note the following:

This product is available to you if you do not have a current IHG One Rewards Credit Card and have not received a new
Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Business Card Credit Card products.

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, I would use a conservative estimate of 0.50 cents of value per point, which would make 100,000 IHG points worth an estimated $500 value. Not bad for a no annual fee card. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

IHG stands for Intercontinental Hotel Group which has over 5,000 hotels including the following brands:

• Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts
• Crowne Plaza
• Kimpton
• Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express
• Staybridge Suites
• Candlewood Suites
• Hotel Indigo
• EVEN Hotels

IHG points expire after 24 months of inactivity, which is relatively long so with occasional activity you can easily save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to IHG points.

The 4th Reward night free perk can be very valuable and nice to see on a card with no annual fee. You get the fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay (only pay for 3 nights with points).

Total of 17x points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG. Here’s how this breaks down: Earn 5X points per $1 spent as an IHG® Rewards Club Traveler credit cardmember + 10X points per $1 spent from IHG® for being an IHG® Rewards Club Member, 5X points with this card, plus 2X points from IHG® with Silver Elite Status (a benefit of this card) for a total of 17X points total at any of their 5,400+ IHG® hotels & resorts.

Given my 0.5 cent per IHG point valuation, I would book my IHG nights on this card, but not my everyday purchases on an ongoing basis. I would just put a little spending on there to keep my IHG points from expiring.

• 3 IHG points per $1 spent at gas stations, dining, utilities, internet, cable, and phone services
  and select streaming services.
• 2 IHG point per $1 spent on all other card purchases

Upgrade to Premier? Downgrade to Traveler? If you can reliably use a anniversary night certificate (40,000 point value) and get $99 value out of it, you should consider going with the IHG Rewards Premier credit card mentioned on the same application page. The Premier card also adds some other small perks like Platinum Elite status and a TSA Precheck fee credit.

If you already have the Premier card and don’t want to pay for those added perks, you may consider asking if you can downgrade to this Traveler now without any annual fee.

Bottom line. The card_name now comes with no annual fee and a sign-up bonus. As with most of these co-branded cards, the best value is obtained if you can redeem for IHG hotel nights.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Updated with new 170k limited-time offer. The card_name is the premium IHG hotel co-branded card that includes special IHG perks like a free night award every year you keep the card, Elite status, and every 4th award night free. Here are the highlights:

• 170,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Free Award Night after each account anniversary year at eligible IHG hotels worldwide. Valid at IHG Hotels with a current point redemption cap of 40,000 points. NEW: You can now also pay the difference over 40,000 points to redeem your Anniversary Night at hotels above the 40,000 point redemption level.
• 4th Award Night Free. Enjoy a free reward night when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG(R) hotel stay. That means if you use points to pay for 3 nights in a row, the 4th night is free. You can even book 8 award nights total and get two of them free, and so on. Works on any award level.
• Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts.
• Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• Automatic Platinum Elite status included as a Premier card member. IHG points also don’t expire when you are an Elite member.
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS statement credit of up to $100 ($120 starting 10/1/24) every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• IHG One Rewards Bonus points are redeemable at Hotels & Resorts such as InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Kimpton®, EVEN® Hotels, Indigo® Hotels & Holiday Inn®.
• $99 annual fee.

Please note the following:

This product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of this credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of this credit card who received a new cardmember bonus for this credit card within the last 24 months.

What can you get with IHG points? The best redemption value for IHG points is for free hotel nights. The other options offer significantly less value. While the points don’t translate directly to a dollar value, but overall a conservation valuation is 0.50 cents of value per point, which would make 140,000 IHG points worth an estimated $700 value. You can perform the calculations for hotels that fit your needs. I tried a bunch of other various combinations and got between 0.5 cents and 0.8 cents per point equivalent value.

(IHG points are worth less than other points like Hyatt or Chase Ultimate Rewards points, but you get a lot more of them with this bonus!)

IHG stands for Intercontinental Hotel Group which has over 5,000 hotels including the following brands:

• Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts
• Crowne Plaza
• Kimpton
• Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express
• Staybridge Suites
• Candlewood Suites
• Hotel Indigo
• EVEN Hotels

Fourth Reward Night Free

The 4th Reward night free perk can be very valuable and nice to see on a card with no annual fee. You get the fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay (only pay for 3 nights with points). It showed up automatically for me when booking with points online.

For each standard room Reward Night stay of 4 or more nights, every 4th night is free. Applies only to 4 or more consecutive nights within the same Reward Night point redemption room stay at the same property. With this benefit, eligible members will be charged the Reward Night point redemption rate for the first 3 nights, and 0 points for the 4th night of the stay, as applicable. Members can utilize the 4th Reward Night Free benefit on an unlimited number of stays annually.

IHG points expire after 24 months of inactivity, so if you keep up your activity then you can save up these free nights for later. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to IHG points.

Total of 26X points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG. Here’s how this breaks down: Earn 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG One Rewards Member + 10X points with this card + 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status with Platinum Elite Status (a benefit of this card) = total of 26X points total at 5,400+ IHG® hotels & resorts.

The rewards on other purchases has improved to the following:

• 5X IHG points per $1 spent at gas stations, dining, and travel (including hotels).
• 3X IHG point per $1 spent on all other card purchases

I would keep this card if you can use the anniversary night certificate with the 40,000 point maximum value. You should be able to get $99 value out of it as long as you need a hotel night. Stay must be completed within 12 months from date of issue.

Don’t want a card with an annual fee? The no-annual fee Traveler version has a very competitive bonus right now.

Bottom line. The card_name includes a sign-up bonus and special IHG perks like a free night award every year you keep the card, Elite status, and every 4th award night free. As with most of these co-branded cards, the best value is obtained if you can redeem for IHG hotel nights.

I will be adding this to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Updated with new perks details. card_name is the ultra-premium AmEx business card with a very long list of perks and statement credits. You also get a broad airline lounge access program and an improved welcome offer. I’ve tried to keep it brief, but there is a lot to cover:

• Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• NEW: $200 Hilton Statement Credit. Enroll the Business Platinum through American Express and get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $50 per quarter) for eligible purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on the Business Platinum Card. Hilton for Business program membership is required. If you do not already have a Hilton for Business account, you will be registered for one at the time you enroll in the benefit.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to your Business Platinum Card® Account. Enrollment required.
• Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card(R). Enrollment required. More details below.
• 5X Membership Rewards(R) points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com.
• 1.5X Membership Rewards(R) points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
• 35% Airline Bonus. You can receive 35% Membership Rewards® points back after you use the Pay With Points feature for all or part of a flight booked with American Express Travel if the flight is either First or Business class or on your selected qualifying airline, up to 1,000,000 bonus points back per calendar year.
• Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Business Platinum Card®. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
• $199 CLEAR(R) Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR(R) Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card(R).
• $695 annual fee.
• See Rates and Fees

Note the following language: “Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.” You can only get the welcome offer on the Platinum Business AmEx once time per lifetime, so it is best to apply during an improved offer (and also the time when perks have been added but before the annual fee increase).

Annual statement credit details:

• $400 Dell Technologies credit. Enroll and get up to $200 in statement credits between July and December and up to $200 in statement credits between January and June on U.S. purchases with Dell Technologies on the Business Platinum Card through 6/30/25.
• $360 Indeed credit ($90 per quarter). Enroll and get up to $360 in statement credits (up to $90 back per quarter) for purchases with Indeed on the Business Platinum Card.
• $150 Adobe Creative Solutions credit. Enroll and get up to $150 in statement credits for eligible annual prepaid business plan purchases of Adobe Creative Cloud for teams or Adobe Acrobat Pro for teams on the Business Platinum Card through 6/30/25.
• $120 wireless telephone credit ($10 per month). Enroll and get up to $120 in statement credits per year for wireless telephone service purchases made directly with a wireless provider in the U.S. on the Business Platinum Card. That’s up to $10 back per month.‡

American Express Global Lounge Collection. The American Express Global Lounge Collection(R) can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.

• The Centurion® Lounge
• The International American Express Lounges
• Delta SkyClub®
• Priority Pass Select
• Airspace Lounge
• Escape Lounges

35% Airline Bonus details. Let’s say your selected airline is Delta, and you want to buy a couple economy Delta tickets for $1,000 using their Pay with Points features. This means that $1,000 ticket booked through AmEx Travel will only cost you 65,000 Membership Rewards points net (100,000 points and then 35,000 point rebated back). This improves the 1 cent per point value to 1.54 cents per point value. This means that 120,000 Membership Rewards points can be worth $1,848 in airfare on your selected airline.

Transfer partners. You can transfer Membership Rewards points to 16 airline and 3 hotel partners including Delta, British Airways, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Air Canada, Hilton, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Choice Hotels. If you’re good at snagging award tickets, you can get even better value this way.

Bottom line. card_name is the ultra-premium AmEx business card that includes a HUGE list of perks. Add them up for your own situation and see how it compares with the annual fee. Keep in mind that the annual fee can also count as a business expense.

The net first-year value of this card is easily over $1,000, as it is definitely one of the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

(See Rates and Fees)

Updated with new 70k offer and 2025 Pay Yourself Back details. Chase and Air Canada have partnered to create the card_name for US customers. If you fly Air Canada regularly, this card makes the experience better in many different ways. If you don’t fly Air Canada regularly, you can still use the new Pay Yourself Back feature where Aeroplan points can be redeemed at 1.25 cents per point towards any eligible travel purchase on ANY airline, for up to 200,000 points per year (for up to $2,500 back). Here are the highlights on the sign-up bonus and Air Canada perks:

• Up to 70,000 bonus Aeroplan points. 60,000 bonus points after $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open. Plus, 10,000 bonus points after your annual fee renewal payment posts and is paid in full.
• 70,000 points can be redeemed for $875 in travel. Redeem points at a rate of 1.25 per point as a statement credit to cover travel purchases including flights, hotels, car rentals, ride-shares and more. Through 12/31/2025, you can redeem up to 200,000 points for up to $2,500 back.
• Free first checked bags on Air Canada flights: one free checked bag for the primary cardmember and up to eight other travelers on the same itinerary.
• Automatically receive Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year, allowing primary cardmembers to enjoy benefits such as priority check-in, early boarding, upgrades and more on Air Canada flights.
• Each calendar year in which you spend at least $15,000 in purchases you earn Aeroplan 25K Status through the following calendar year.
• Up to $120 credit toward Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS every four years (as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card)
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $95 annual fee.

Here is the rewards structure on credit card spending:

• 3X points on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
• 3X points at grocery stores
• 3X points on direct purchases at Air Canada
• 1 point for each dollar spent on all other purchases
• 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a calendar month (up to a maximum of 1,500 points per calendar month)

Redeeming Aeroplan points for flights. It is very easy to redeem Aeroplan points on Air Canada, Air Canada Express, or Air Canada Rouge flights because “every Air Canada seat available to buy for cash is also available for points, no restrictions.” You simply run a search like normal on the Air Canada website, and it will tell you upfront the cost in Aeroplan points. It’s quite easy to compare the cash cost side-by-side. In addition, when you have this credit card, you get even better preferred pricing on flights when redeeming points.

Here is an example flight from San Francisco to Vancouver during our March Spring Break period:

At 8,300 miles + CAD$8 for a one-way flight, that means I could get 4 of these SFO-YVR roundtrip flights for 70,000 with some 3,000+ points left over. This means an entire family of four could get their flights covered. The cash cost for the one way was CAD$207 or US$161 at this writing, for a total redemption value of CAD$1,656 or US$1,288.

For a more general idea, here is a link to the Aeroplan rewards chart (PDF). The points required are based on distance.

You can also get excellent value by redeeming your points on a partner airline.

Finally, with this credit card, you get preferred pricing on award flights (less points required):

You, as the primary cardmember will often require fewer Aeroplan points to redeem for flight rewards through the Aeroplan program than Aeroplan Members who do not hold an Aeroplan co-branded Credit Card.

Redeem towards any travel at 1.25 cents per points. Via their Pay Yourself Back(R) feature, Chase allows an alternative option to redeem Aeroplan points at a rate of 1.25 cents per point to cover travel purchases including airline flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, rideshares, parking lots, and more. This provides a nice minimum floor on the value of an Aeroplan point. More Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back details here. Here are the updated eligible categories for 2025, which include eligible restaurants and grocery stores:

Pay Yourself Back®
Aeroplan® points may be redeemed for a statement credit using Pay Yourself Back for purchases made at select merchants within the 90 days before the redemption request date.? Redemptions using Pay Yourself Back against the following purchases made with your credit card will qualify: travel purchases and the prior payment of your annual fee. Currently, purchases made in the following promotional categories will also qualify: dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), grocery stores (including eligible delivery services, excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs). Each point you redeem through Pay Yourself Back for a statement credit towards qualifying travel purchases (up to 200,000 points or $2,500 annually) and the prior payment of your annual fee is worth $.0125 (one and a quarter cents), which means that 100 points equals $1.25 in redemption value. Each point you redeem through Pay Yourself Back for a statement credit towards qualifying purchases in promotional categories is worth $.008, which means that 100 points equals $.80 in redemption value. Valid through December 31, 2025.

Here’s all of what counts as “Travel”:

Merchants in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.

Personal experience. I have had this card, and here is why I renewed and paid the annual fee for another year. There are a lot of little things with this card that makes travel better.

• You get 25K elite status on Air Canada with this card (25K automatically for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year, later years with eligible spending), and that lets you check in using the speedy priority line with helpful humans! The same line as business class ticket holders. This 1 on 1 person can help you make flight changes, fix seats, check bags and just make flying smoother rather than trying to flag down the kiosk person trying to help 30 people at once.
• 25K status lets you pick better seats for free and gives you a 50% discount on the preferred seats with extra legroom on (non-basic) Flex economy fares.
• 25K status gets you Zone 2 boarding even on basic economy tickets, which is very early. You know how the line is usually split between “1st class/fancy folks” and “everyone else”? You get to board in the fancy folks line.
• Free checked bags for you and all travel companions with the card. For me, that means my family can check 5 bags for free. 25K status also gives the person with status 2 free checked bags.

Basically, this card helps me feel closer to a business class passenger when I just buy economy tickets and pay for the extra legroom seats. I get the nice check-in line, no hassles with checked bags, TSA PreCheck for security, and true priority boarding so no stress about carry-on space.

Bottom line. The card_name offers a generous sign-up bonus (redeemable for multiple Air Canada flights or use the Pay Yourself Back feature to offset travel purchased from ANY airline or hotel) and Air Canada flight perks (including free first checked bag and elite status).

I will be adding this offer to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Updated with improved offer. The card_name issued by Chase is the small business version of the consumer World of Hyatt credit card. They currently have an improved offer which includes a potential Free Night Award (Category 1-4) that can be worth $150+. Here are the details:

• 60,000 Bonus Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, 1 free night at any category 1-4 Hyatt hotel after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of account opening.
• 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.
• Up to 9X points total per $1 spent at Hyatt – 4 Bonus Points per $1 on qualifying purchases at Hyatt hotels & up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member
• 2X Points per $1 spent in your top three spend categories each quarter.
• 2X Points per $1 spent on fitness club and gym memberships
• 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 5 Tier-Qualifying night credits toward status and Milestone rewards for every $10,000 you spend in a calendar year.
• World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open. Plus, gift Discoverist status to up to five employees.
• 10% Redemption bonus. Spend $50,000 in a calendar year and get 10% of your redeemed points back for the rest of the year.
• $199 annual fee.

Under-the-radar benefit: The “2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in your top three spend categories each quarter” can cover a lot your spending at 2X Hyatt points per dollar spent. Eligible categories are:

• Dining
• Shipping
• Airline tickets when purchased directly with the airline
• Local transit & commuting
• Social media & search engine Advertising
• Car rental agencies
• Gas stations
• Internet, cable & phone services

Application details. Note the following:

This bonus offer 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.

The 5/24 rule is believed to apply to this card. On many Chase cards, there is an unwritten rule that they will automatically deny approval on new credit cards if you have 5 or more new credit cards from any issuer on your credit report within the past 2 years (aka the 5/24 rule). This rule is designed to discourage folks that apply for high numbers of sign-up bonuses. This is applied on a per-person basis, so in our household one applies to Chase while the other applies at other card issuers.

The value of Hyatt hotel points. The most valuable redemption options are for free hotel nights, points+cash hotel combinations, and/or room upgrades. Hyatt allows you the flexibility of combining your points with any other World of Hyatt member to redeem an award. They are also somewhat unique in that you can book a suite directly with points.

Below is their points award chart, and here is their award search tool. Free rooms start at 3,500 points, and you can book suites with points as well.

If you compare with the cash cost of these hotels, the number varies but you are nearly always getting between 1 cent and 2 cents per point value on the low end, and possibly much more on the luxury end. We stayed at Grand Hyatt Kauai on Hyatt points (earned via credit cards), where the cash value is $701 per night when you include all taxes and the $35/night resort fee. That worked out to 2.8 cents per Hyatt point.

I am conservative with point valuations, so I prefer to use a simple value of 1 cent per Hyatt point. However, in reality, I am only going to redeem a Hyatt point if I can get 2 cents per point value. I believe that Hyatt points are now the most valuable hotel points on a per-point basis, above Bonvoy, IHG, etc. In general, I would rather convert my Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt points than any other hotel program.

As such, a Free Night Award that is valid on up to a Category 4 hotel is worth up to 18,000 Hyatt points at Peak times, which equates to $180 in value at a conservative 1 cent per point.

Hyatt points expire after 24 months of inactivity, but earning points via this credit card counts as activity. Chase Ultimate Rewards points also convert to Hyatt points and the transfer counts as activity.

The free Discoverist status from this card gets you a free bottle of water daily, a free upgrade to premium WiFi internet, dedicated check-in area, and a 2pm late checkout upon request at participating locations. You are also eligible for a minor room upgrade within your type booked.

Bottom line. The new card_name offers the best value to small business owners that regularly stay at Hyatt properties. (This is me – World of Hyatt is my favorite hotel rewards program.) The first-year value on this business card is very strong. 60,000 Hyatt points even at a conservative 1 cent per point value is worth $600. As long as you have two $50+ charges at a Hyatt property (including a food or spa purchase), that is another $100. Ignoring every other perk and subtracting the $199 annual fee, that’s still an estimated first-year value of over $500. Right now, there is an improved offer that adds a potential Free Night Award (Category 1-4).

I will be adding this to my Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

The card_name 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:

• 50,000 United miles after $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 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 $95.

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 card_name 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.

Southwest Airlines Rapid points are very flexible, as they let you use points to book basically any available seat that could be bought with cash. A conservative approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to roughly $520+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 40,000 Southwest points. That also means 85,000 points is worth roughly $1,100 in Wanna Get Away airfare. Plus, they still offer two free checked bags on all flights.

In addition, their Companion Pass lets you pick one person to fly with free when you book both paid AND award flights (including to Hawaii!) on Southwest. Once you qualify by earning 135,000 points in a calendar year, you earn the Companion Pass for both the rest of the year in which you earn it AND all of the next year (ex. rest of 2025 + all of 2026). Importantly, all points earned from credit cards count toward the requirement, and each card also offers a 10,000 point boost toward the Companion Pass requirement. Oftentimes if you get both a new personal and a new business card in the same year, you can meet this requirement with the new cardmember bonuses alone (especially if you include the spending required to unlock the bonus).

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• 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Receive 3,000 anniversary points each year.
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year.
• 2X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• All points earned count towards Companion Pass(R).
• $69 annual fee.

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• 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Receive 7,500 anniversary points and a $75 Southwest® travel credit each year.
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year.
• 3X points on Southwest purchases.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• 25% back on inflight purchases
• 1,500 TQPs toward A-List status for every $5,000 spent in purchases annually (no limit on TQP earned).
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• $149 annual fee.

The following are business credit cards:

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• 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 9,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• NEW: 4X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 3X points on Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• NEW: 2X points on rideshare.
• 2X points on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable and phone services and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available.
• Inflight WiFi Credits (up to 365 x $8 credits per year).
• Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit. Receive a statement credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS.
• $199 annual fee.

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• 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 6,000 bonus points after each Cardmember anniversary.
• 3X points on Southwest(R) purchases.
• 2X points and Rapid Rewards® hotel and car rental partners.
• 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
• 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 2 EarlyBird Check-In(R) each year
• $99 annual fee.

Value of Rapid Rewards points. Redeeming Southwest points for flights varies in a narrow range, but a very reasonable approximation from my experience is 1.3 cents in Wanna Get Away airfare in per point. That works out to $650+ in Wanna Get Away airfare for every 50,000 points or $1,300+ in Wanna Get Away airfare from 100,000 points (you are still liable for taxes and fees from $5.60 one-way). Importantly, Southwest does NOT have blackout dates or seat restrictions when you redeem with points. This means that Southwest points are much easier to use than a “saver award” on traditional airlines.

Now, if you manage to qualify for the the Companion Pass on every trip that you book with those points, that doubles the potential value of each award redemption. In other words, 125,000 Rapid Rewards, would usually get you $1,850 in Wanna Get Away airfare, but with the Companion Pass you’d get an extra companion ticket for every flight booked.

There may be other options like gift cards, but the redemption value is less than half the value you could get from redeeming for flights.

Southwest points expiration policy, per Southwest.com:

Do the points I earn expire?

No, your Rapid Rewards points do not expire. However, if you choose to close your account, the points in your account will be terminated.

Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person. The fees on the other airlines have crept up to $30 per bag, each-way. That adds up.

Our family policy is to not try out a new credit card unless it offers us $500 in total value. Just the free award flights from the points are enough to satisfy that rule, and then you can add on the potential value of the companion tickets.

Card restrictions. All of these Southwest credit cards are subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

The product is not available to either (i) current Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, or (ii) previous Cardmembers of any Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card who received a new Cardmember bonus within the last 24 months. This does not apply to Cardmembers of the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Card and Employee Credit Card products.

Basically, you can get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest consumer card once every 24 months. You can also get one sign-up bonus from a Southwest business card once every 24 months.

Stack your Companion Pass with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest points on a 1:1 basis. If you book an award flight with those Southwest points while you have the Companion Pass, you can double the value of your Ultimate Rewards points as well.

Bottom line. Southwest credit cards offer new cardholders the opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars worth of Wanna Get Away airfare, but if you time things right and maybe combine the welcome offers from a personal and business card, you can also grab the Southwest Companion pass, which provides a free companion ticket on every flight bought with cash OR points booked both during the rest of the year in which you earned it, AND the full next calendar year. Finally, Southwest still includes two free checked bags per person on every flight.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers and the Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

Updated. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® is a solid business travel card from Citi and American Airlines. They have recently boosted their sign-up bonus with a limited-time offer. Here are the details:

• 75,000 American Airlines bonus miles after $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months.
• First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions.
• Preferred boarding on American Airlines flights.
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations.
• Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on other purchases.
• Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible mile earned from purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $0 annual fee for the first 12 months, then $99.

Note the following fine print:

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

To clarify, you can have both one of the consumer version of this card AND one of this business card version under your name. The bonuses are also separate.

Baggage fee value. Currently, American Airlines recently joined the other airlines and now charges $30 one-way for the first checked bag and $40 one-way for the second checked bag in Economy. That’s $60 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.

Redemption tips. American Airlines MileSAAver awards are still 25,000 miles for a round-trip ticket within the contiguous 48 states. Their online system is pretty good for looking for domestic AA awards. If the trip is less than 500 miles, then it is only 15,000 miles round-trip within the contiguous 48 states. Under-500 miles routes include Las Vegas to/from Los Angeles, Charleston to/from Miami, New York to/from Washington DC, Philadelphia to Boston, and many others.

Companion Certificate perk. I don’t see this available on the consumer version of this card: Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate for domestic main cabin travel after you spend $30,000 or more in purchases each cardmembership year and cardmembership is renewed. Redeeming the certificate costs $99 for the ticketing fee plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees, based on itinerary.

Business card eligibility. Many people aren’t aware that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. Any individual can be a small business. Perhaps you sell items on eBay, Craiglist, or Etsy. Maybe you do some graphic design, web design, freelancing and/or consulting. If you received a 1099-MISC tax form and filled out a Schedule C, that means you have business income, you pay self-employment taxes, and you’re a sole proprietorship. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Bottom line. The CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® offers a lot of potential value when you regularly fly on American and use the early boarding and free first checked bag benefit (now up to $80 per person, roundtrip). Right now, there is a limited-time sign-up bonus and the annual fee is waived for the first year.

Also see: Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.