The British Airways Visa Signature® 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.

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® 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.

The card_name is a premium travel rewards card with a flat 2 Miles per dollar on all purchases. 75,000 miles can be redeemed as a $750 credit towards any travel purchase made with the card (any airline website, any hotel website, AirBNB stays, Uber rides, no blackout dates). Here are the highlights:

• 75,000 Bonus Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening – that’s equal to $750 in travel.
• 2X Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
• 5X Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options. They offer a Price Match Guarantee.
• Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®.
• Enjoy two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or to 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges through the Partner Lounge Network. This perk is valid through December 31, 2024.
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase-or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
• Miles won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many you can earn.
• $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $95 annual fee.

Note the following about existing or previous cardholders:

Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible for this product if they have received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 48 months.

(Capital One’s “ultra-premium” card is the Venture X card, which has more perks including Priority Pass airport lounge access and a $300 annual travel credit through Capital One Travel, but also a higher $395 annual fee. This Venture card is more directly competitive with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, while the Venture X competes more directly with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.)

Redemption details. Capital One “miles” can be redeemed directly for a cash statement credit on a 1 mile = $0.01 basis when offsetting any travel purchase made on the card within the past 90 days. In other words, 50,000 miles = $500 toward travel. That means you can fly on any airline or stay at any hotel, pay with this card, and then “erase” that purchase using your miles balance later. This even includes AirBnB vacation rentals, car rentals, and Uber rides.

This means that earning 2 miles on on every $1 in purchases essentially makes this a 2% back card when applied towards travel. You also have the option of booking travel through their travel portal, similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you are not required to do so. You have the flexibility of booking through them or making the purchase directly through the airline, hotel, car rental counter, etc. This makes it easy to combine and spend all your Capital One miles.

Miles transfer options. Capital One now allows you to transfer your “miles” into select airline miles programs as well. Here are the airline transfer partners:

• Aeromexico
• Air France/KLM
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Avios
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad
• EVA
• Finnair
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
• TAP Air Portugal
• Turkish Airlines
• Virgin Red

Hotel partners

• Accor Live Limitless
• Choice Hotels

If you know how to leverage one of these international airline miles programs (my favorites are Aeroplan and Avios since you can combine family points), this can be a very valuable option. Otherwise, it’s nice to know you can always get a certain level of value by redeeming against any travel purchase.

Bottom line. The card_name earns 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, which you can either redeem against any travel purchase or transfer to one of their airline/hotel partners.

Due to the $500+ potential first-year value, I will be adding this card to my list of Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card issued by Chase is the small business version of the consumer World of Hyatt credit card. Here are the highlights:

• 60,000 Bonus Points after $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from 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. After the Marriott/Starwood merger, I believe that Hyatt points are now the most valuable hotel points on a per-point basis. In general, I would rather convert my Chase Ultimate Rewards points into Hyatt points than any other hotel program.

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 World of Hyatt Business Credit Card 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. One perk missing that is included with the consumer version of this card is the Free Night award each after your Cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort, but that is effectively replaced by the $100 statement credit. 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.

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

Updated with new big bonus for big spenders. The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a rewards business charge card offering a big early spend bonus offer in addition to ongoing unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases (or better). Instead of a standard credit card where you can carry a balance and pay interest, this is a charge card where the balance is due in full every month. Here are the highlights:

• One-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. You’ll also earn 2% cash back, which means you’ll earn a total of $600 + $2,000 = $2,600 in cash rewards on that $30,000 of spending. That’s a total of 8.6%!
• Additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. You can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of year 1.
• Unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere with no limits or category restrictions.
• Unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• Comes with no preset spending limit, so it can adapt to your needs based on your spending behavior, payment history and credit profile.
• Add employee cards for free, and earn unlimited 2% cash back from their purchases
• Spark Cash Plus has no APR because your balance is due in full every month.
• $150 annual fee; Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year.

Consider that if you exactly meet both of the spending requirements above ($30,000 within first 3 months), you will end up with the $2,000 cash bonus plus $600 from 2% cash back = $2,600 cash total. That’s effectively 8.66% back on $30,000 of card spending!

This card does have a $150 annual fee, which makes it best suited for businesses with significant spending needs. NEW: Spend $150,000 annually and Capital One will refund this fee every year.

That may all seem like a lot, but many businesses make a lot of purchases for raw materials and/or inventory. If you pay estimated taxes each quarter, you can also pay the IRS via credit card with a 1.82% fee and still come out ahead.

This card does not have all of the bells and whistles like top-level rewards, transferrable airline miles, or airport lounge access. For that, look into the Capital One Venture X Business Card and its higher annual fee.

If you also hold the Spark Miles, Capital One Venture, or the Capital One Venture X rewards cards, you can convert your cash back rewards into their “miles”, which are then transferrable to various airline miles programs including British Airways Avios. With the right companion card, $2,000 in cash rewards could be converted to 200,000 miles.

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.

Bottom line. The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a rewards business card where you pay in full each month. If you put a lot of purchases on a card, this card is offering a big early spend bonus offer in addition to ongoing 2% cash back on all purchases (or better).

Due to the high first-year value, I will be adding this to my Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

Updated with limited-time offer boost. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the premium co-branded rewards card for Marriott hotels. This card has a hefty annual fee, but a closer look reveals it’s not as bad as it looks initially due to perks like flexible dining credits, airport lounge access, and elite status. Here are the highlights:

• 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy(R) bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• $300 in Annual Dining Credits, valid at restaurants worldwide. Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 each month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant(R) American Express(R) Card at restaurants worldwide.
• Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status. This level includes better free room upgrades, including enhanced views or suites, when available at select properties and booked with a Qualifying Rate.
• Priority Pass™ Select airport lounge membership. Enroll and get unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. Enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location. Enrollment required.
• 6X Points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® for each dollar of eligible purchases.
• 3X Points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines.
• 2X points on all other eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant(R) American Express(R) Card.
• $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
• 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 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
• Free Night Award every year (worth up to 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) after your Card renewal month at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
• If you spend $60,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year on this card, you can select a “Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit”. Options include another 1 Free Night Award valued at up to 85K points.
• 25 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• $650 Annual Fee. (See Rates and Fees)
• Terms Apply.

Keep in mind the following:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.

Welcome offer not available to applicants who (i) have or have had The Ritz-Carlton® Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card in the last 30 days, (ii) have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 90 days, or (iii) received a new Card Member bonus or upgrade offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card from Chase in the last 24 months.

This is why you should be looking to get the best possible bonus (like a limited-time offer) if you do apply.

$300 Dining Statement Credit. As long as you make $25 in restaurant purchases on this card each month, they $300 in annual dining statement credits should be easily obtainable. This knocks down the scary $650 annual fee down to effectively $350 net. My first read of this perk was that you had to spend it at a Marriott hotel restaurant, but in fact you can make the purchase at any restaurant worldwide.

You can receive up to $300 in statement credits issued to your Card Account for eligible purchases charged to your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide. Purchases by both the Basic Card Member and Additional Card Members on an eligible Card Account are eligible for statement credits. Each Card Account is eligible for up to $25 in statement credits per month, for a total of up to $300 per calendar year in statement credits across all Cards on the Account.

Priority Pass Select. Includes access at over 1,200 airport lounges for the cardholder plus two guests free. Enrollment required. I’m not sure how I’d value this perk, but I’ve definitely enjoyed it in the past.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card Members must enroll in the Priority Pass™ Select program through the benefits section of their americanexpress.com account or by calling the number on the back of their Card to receive the benefit. Priority Pass is an independent airport lounge access program. At any visit to a Priority Pass Select lounge that admits guests, you may bring in two guests for no charge.

What is a reasonable estimate for the value of a Marriott Bonvoy point? As of April 2022, Marriott no longer has a fixed hotel category chart for booking points. You can still use these points at either long-time Marriott brands (Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Courtyard, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites) or former Starwood brands (Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, Le Méridien, Aloft), but now it is “dynamic” awards where the points required are more linked to the actual cash cost than before.

Based on multiple real-world searches of redeemable properties, I choose to use a conservative estimate of 0.70 cents per Bonvoy point. That means 95,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $665 redeemable value, and 185,000 Bonvoy points = estimated $1,295 redeemable hotel night value. Remember to compare the full price of the hotel price with all taxes, as that is what you would have to pay instead of just points. With the flexibility of points, you could book a week stay at a modest hotel or a couple nights at a luxury resort.

You can use the Marriott free night search tool to price out some sample hotels for yourself.

Free Night Award (85K) with Card Renewal. At your card anniversary (when you pay the annual fee), you will receive a Free Night Award that is good for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. This is a much better perk than the other 35K and 50K free night awards out there. It’s definitely not hard to get $350 of value out of this award. Here are some sample hotels that I have tried to book in the past that came in at or under 85,000 points for selected dates:

• The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Hawaii
• JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa
• Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris
• The St. Regis Deer Valley
• The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, DC
• The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Colorado.
• The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui (Thailand)
• The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (Big Island, Hawaii)
• The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
• Wailea Beach Resort – Marriott, Maui

NEW: Certificates can be combined with up to 15,000 points for nicer hotels. Marriott now allows you to supplement your free night certificates with up to 15,000 points of your own. In other words, if your certificate is worth 85,000 points, the maximum hotel value you can redeem for is 100,000 points after adding 15,000 points of your own. Here are details on the Free Night Award Top Off option.

Bonvoy Points can also be transferred to airline miles with a bonus. You can convert your Bonvoy points to miles at 39 participating airlines. The standard ratio with most programs is 3:1 (60,000 Bonvoy: 20,000 airlines) miles. Most programs will add on a bonus 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer to frequent flyer miles (does not apply to American Airlines AAdvantage, Avianca LifeMiles, Delta SkyMiles and Korean Air SKYPASS.) If you’re a United MileagePlus® member, you’ll get 10,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points you transfer. More information here.

Finally, Marriott points are also convertible to gift cards, but it takes 60,000 points to redeem for a $200 gift card for Marriott or retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, or Nordstrom. That ratio isn’t all that great, so you’ll definitely get the most value via hotel night redemptions or airline miles transfer.

Bottom line. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is the premium co-branded card between Marriott hotels and American Express. There is a long list of perks, including a flexible dining credit on restaurant purchases and a valuable free night award each card anniversary. As with all hotel cards, the value is dependent on your unique travel preferences.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

(See Rates and Fees)

The American Express® Gold Card has been refreshed in order to get back to its former glory as a status card with several new perks and credits mostly related to travel and dining. Here are the highlights:

• 60,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• $84 Dunkin’ Credit (NEW): Get up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at US Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment is required.
• $100 Resy Credit (NEW). Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. This is broken down into up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment is required.
• $120 in Uber Cash. Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment is required.
• The Hotel Collection benefit. At over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide that are part of The Hotel Collection, you can receive a $100 credit to use towards eligible charges, which may include food and beverage, spa, or other on-property charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Credit use varies by property.
• 4X Membership Rewards(R) points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 of purchases per calendar year, then 1X for the rest of the year).
• 4X Membership Rewards(R) points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of purchases per calendar year, then 1X for the rest of the year).
• 3X Membership Rewards(R) points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
• 2X Membership Rewards(R) points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
• 1X Membership Rewards(R) point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• Apply with confidence. Know if you’re approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you’re approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Terms apply.
• $325 annual fee (increased). Additional cards (authorized users) are free. (See Rates and Fees)

Note the following:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or the Premier Rewards Gold Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

The application will tell you if they detect that you are not eligible for the bonus based on their records.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline and hotel programs (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Rewards (Starwood)

You can also transfer to gift cards many retailers at varying rates, but many available at the rate of 10,000 MR points = $100 gift card. My most common redemption is a $100 Home Depot card for 10,000 points, sometimes less when they run special discount. However, don’t expect the cash-equivalent prepaid credit cards at that rate, it’s usually closer to a 0.6 cent/point ratio.

The value this card really depends on if you can use up their long list of annual credits, worth over $400 in value annually. Their target customer is a “food lover” that travels regularly. If you can take advantage of the credits, your potential first year value is higher than $800 with the current limited-offer.

Bottom line. The new American Express® Gold Card has a bunch of new features more targeted at the young, urban traveler including hundreds of dollars of potential credits related to dining out and travel.

(See Rates and Fees)

Updated with increased 100k offer. The American Express® Business Gold Card is a premium card for small businesses with excellent features like purchase price protection, travel accident insurance, car rental coverage, and the famous AMEX extended warranty that actually pays out. The card features have been changed as of October 2023 to include new rewards categories and perks. Here are the highlights:

• Welcome Offer: 100,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months.
• 4X Membership Rewards(R) points on the top 2 eligible categories where your business spends the most each month from 6 eligible categories. Your top 2 categories are allowed to change each billing cycle, and you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.*
• 3X Membership Rewards(R) points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.*
• $240 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. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment is required.
• Up to $155 Walmart+ Credit annually. 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. $12.95 plus applicable taxes on one membership fee. Enrollment is required.
• The Business Gold Card now comes in three metal designs: Gold, Rose Gold and Limited Edition White Gold. The new White Gold design is only available while supplies last.
• Annual fee is $375. (See Rates and Fees)
• *Terms Apply.

The six eligible categories for the 4X Membership Rewards(R) points are:

• Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• Purchases at US media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.

Membership Rewards points can be converted to the following airline and hotel programs (there are more, this is just a selection):

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy

Business card eligibility. Many people aren’t aware that they can apply for business cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. Sole proprietors are a small business. 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 card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

This card will require you to personally guarantee that you’ll pay them back what you purchase with the card, which means they’ll check your personal credit score like any other consumer card. However, as the card is a business card, American Express won’t have it show up on your personal credit report, so it won’t change things like your credit limits, average account age, or credit utilization ratio.

Bottom line. The new American Express® Business Gold Card is a premium business card that includes the classic American Express features like excellent customer service and customer-friendly protections. The card now offers the ability to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 categories where your business spent the most each month, on up to $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year. There is also a welcome offer for new applicants.

I will add this card to my list of Top 10 Best Business Card Offers.

(See Rates and Fees)

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:

• 140,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 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 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.

The card_name is a new premium travel card that offers a lot of added perks on United Airlines for a higher annual fee. Here are the highlights:

• Limited-time offer: 70,000 bonus United miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• First AND second checked bags are free for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $360 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms apply.
• Priority boarding.. The primary Cardmember and companions on the same reservation will be invited to board United-operated flights prior to general boarding.
• Up to a $125 United(R) purchase credit and up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits each year (terms apply).
• Earn up to 6,000 Premier qualifying points per calendar year (25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases).
• Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit.
• Expanded award availability and free upgrades. Having this card makes it easier to find that saver award economy ticket. No blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United.
• $250 annual fee.

Here are the ongoing rewards on purchases:

• 3X miles on United(R) purchases
• 2X miles on all other travel.
• 2X miles on dining.
• 2X miles on select streaming services.
• 1X mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• 25% Back on United inflight purchases (Wi-Fi, Food and Drinks).

The United Quest card is considered a new product, which means you can get this new bonus even if you’ve had other United card flavors in the past 24 months:

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.

This card is very focused on making it a better experience for regular United customers. You have the first and second checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The bag fees are $40 first bag and $50 second bag per person, each way, so that adds up to a potential $360 total value roundtrip.

After each card anniversary, you automatically get $125 back on United purchases charged to your card, which already covers half the $250 annual fee. You save another 5,000 points (up to twice a year) when you book an award ticket with miles. You also get Priority Boarding, and while onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

If you are trying to make Premier status on United, this card offers the ability to earn up to 6,000 Premier qualifying points a year (25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases).

Expanded award seat availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases, but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. No blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United. 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.

If you are a Premier® status member and traveling on an award ticket, with this card you can take advantage of Premier Upgrades on United-operated flights.

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 a long list of special perks for folks that fly United on a regular basis. For the right person, the benefits can be worth much more than the annual fee.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.