The Hotels.com Rewards Visa credit card is a no-annual-fee travel rewards credit card for folks who don’t have loyalty to a specific hotel chain. Instead, you earn free nights from the Hotels.com loyalty program (detail below). Right now, they are running a limited-time offer for new cardholders – 2 free rewards nights worth $250 total ($125 max value each). Here are the highlights:

• Limited Time Offer: Get 2 reward nights worth $250 total (max $125 per night)*, when you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. *Excludes taxes and fees. If a night costs less than $125, you won’t get the difference.
• Collect 1 stamp each time you spend $500 on purchases with your card. You also get 1 stamp for every night you stay at any eligible property booked on Hotels.com. When you collect 10 stamps, you’ll get 1 reward night to redeem on future bookings through Hotels.com. Choose from over 500,000 properties in 200+ countries around the world.
• Free Hotels.com Reward Silver tier status for the first 12 months, including perks such as free breakfast, airport transfers, free WiFi and more at select properties.
• Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card and get up to $600 protection against damage or theft (subject to a $25 deductible).
• No annual fee.

Bonus Rewards Nights details. The redemption value of each bonus reward night as part of this sign-up bonus is limited to $125 per night. If the night costs less than $125, you don’t get any refund. If the night costs more than $125, you just pay any difference. Note the following fine print about how it doesn’t cover taxes and fees. The limited-time offer is for 2 free nights, but the standard offer is only 1 free night.

If you choose a reward night room, apartment, or other equivalent accommodation that costs more than $125, you pay the difference and you are responsible for taxes, fees, and other charges. If you choose a room, apartment, or other equivalent accommodation that costs less than $125, the redemption value of the bonus reward night is limited to the cost of the accommodation before taxes, fees, and other charges. You cannot combine the bonus rewards nights’ values or apply the difference to any other reward night. There will be no cash refunds for any residual amounts.

Hotels.com Rewards program overview. This hotel program tries to make it more straightforward to get a free hotel night. Each night you book through Hotels.com at an eligible property, you get a “stamp”. Collect 10 stamps and you get a free night. The value of that reward night is based on the average cost of the nights you booked. So if you booked all $100 per night hotels, then the free night would be worth $100. If you booked all $500 per night hotels, then the free night would be worth $500. Fair enough.

The rewards from this credit card are meant to mix in seamlessly with your paid hotel nights. Every $500 you spend on this card, you will get another “stamp”, as if you stayed a night at a $110 per night hotel. So if you charged $5,000 on this card over time, via credit card spending alone you would have collected 10 stamps at $110/night and earned a free Reward Night worth $110. That works out to 2.2% back on purchases (110 divided by 5,000) when redeemed for a hotel night reward at full value or higher (just pay any difference).

The stamps also help you get “VIP status” with Hotels.com. Their Silver tier is free for the first year with this card, but otherwise requires 10 stamps in a year and includes perks like price matching, free breakfast, and free Wi-Fi at participating VIP Access properties. Their Gold tier requires 30 stamps in a year and includes free room upgrades at VIP Access properties.

Pros: Hotel room flexibility and no annual fee. An important factor is that this free night applies at at any of 500,000 hotel rooms worldwide, not just restricted to a specific chain and whatever inventory they decide to release. As long as there is a hotel room that is being sold for $110 and you have a $110 Reward night, you can book it, even if it is not a “standard room”. This card also has no annual fee. Wells Fargo is the issuer, which may make it easier to qualify for if you already have cards from the other major issuers like Chase and American Express.

Cons: Not enough premium over cash. Even though this card offers the equivalent of 2.2% back in value towards a very flexible hotel room, it is still not as easy to redeem as cash back. So you have to compare with straightforward 2% cash back, or possibly getting better than 2.2% value from a specific co-branded hotel credit cards like Hyatt or Hilton. If I was already a Hotels.com Rewards program user, then I might take the 2.2% value as it is even better than a 2% cash back card. If I was a Hyatt loyalist or didn’t stay at hotels frequently, then it wouldn’t be worth the added complications. When you book a hotel through Hotels.com (or similar site like Priceline or Expedia), you don’t earn chain-specific loyalty points on the stay.

Bottom line. The Hotels.com Rewards Visa credit card is a great fit if you already use the Hotels.com Rewards program instead of being loyal to a specific chain. You can earn 1 stamp per $500 spent on the card, which will help you get free hotel nights at a solid rate (2.2% value back) and also help you reach the next tier of VIP Rewards status. The limited-time sign-up bonus of 2 free nights worth up to $250 value is relatively strong for a card with no annual fee.

One of the most common resolutions is to pay down debt. Rewards-earning credit cards may not be optimal for those carrying balances and thus more impacted by 18% interest rates than a relatively puny 2% back on purchases. Consider the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card, which doesn’t offer a fancy rewards structure but has brought back their longest 0% APR intro balance transfer period. The highlights:

• 0% Intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers from date of first transfer and 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases from date of account opening. After that the variable APR will be 17.99% – 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance transfers must be completed within 4 months of account opening.
• There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
• Get free access to your FICO® Score online.
• With Citi Entertainment®, get special access to purchase tickets to thousands of events, including concerts, sporting events, dining experiences and more.
• No annual fee.

The strong part of this card is the long 21 month period, so you can spread out payments over 1.75 years and ideally pay it all off by the end. There is a 5% balance transfer fee ($5 min). However, if you’re currently paying 18% APR, then a 5% fee is the equivalent of paying 3.33 months of interest at that previous rate, and then you’ll still be left with 17.7 months at 0% interest.

Once the intro period on all 0% cards expire, the rates will go right back up. You’ll either need to pay it off or transfer your balance again if you need more time. This card lets you spread your payments out over 21 months instead of 6 or 12.

If you are certain that you can pay it off within a shorter time period, look for a card with no balance transfer fee. Compare with other low fee 0% APR balance transfer offers.

Bottom line. The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is a card targeted that for those serious about paying down their balances. The 0% introductory period of 21 months on balance transfers is the longest they offer, with a one-time 5% balance transfer fee ($5 min). No annual fee.

• Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card application link

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a rewards business card offering a big early spend bonus offer in addition to ongoing 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase. Here are the highlights:

5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

• Unlimited 2 Miles per $1 on every purchase, everywhere.
• 50,000 bonus miles – equal to $500 towards any travel-related purchases – when you spend $4,500 in purchases within the first 3 months.
• Unlimited 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee after that.
• Transfer your miles to 15+ travel loyalty programs.
• Redeem your miles instantly for any travel-related purchases, from flights and hotels to ride-sharing services.
• Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck(R).
• Miles never expire as long as your account is open.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Free additional employee cards.

Consider that if you meet the $4,500 spending requirement within 3 months, you will end up with 50,000 miles + 9,000 miles from 2X rewards = 59,000 miles = $590 towards travel purchases on $4,500 spending (13% cash back!).

Note that “Existing or previous Accountholders may not be eligible for this one-time bonus.” For comparison, there is also a Spark Select for Business and Spark Classic that are different cards with lower sign-up bonuses but no annual fee.

The 2 miles per dollar spent for all purchases is a strong rewards structure, and the annual fee is waived for the first year as well. From the second year onward, you’ll have to weigh that against the $95 annual fee after the first year. The math says that you would have to spend more than $19,000 every year ($1,583 a month) to make the 2X miles and $95 annual fee (Spark Miles)pay out more rewards than 1.5X miles and no annual fee (Spark Miles Select).

The travel can be booked directly through airlines and hotels, and there are no blackout dates or award seat limits to worry about.

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, 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.

If you are looking for a comparison with other strong business cards, check out my updated list of Top 10 Best Small Business Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The Chase Freedom Card is a popular cash back rewards credit card. What makes it unique is the combination having no annual fee and the ability to get 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter. Here are the highlights:

• Learn more about this card HERE

• $150 cash bonus after $500 in purchases within your first 3 months.
• 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate.
• New 5% categories every 3 months like Gas Stations, Restaurants, and Select Grocery Stores
• Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back.
• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. 3% intro balance transfer fee when you transfer a balance during the first 60 days your account is open, with a minimum of $5.
• Free credit score, updated weekly with Credit Journey^SM
• No annual fee.

Note the following text regarding the sign-up bonus eligibility:

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.

2020 5% Cash Back Category Calendar

From July 1st through September 30th, 2020 you can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the following categories:

• Amazon.com
• Whole Foods Market

Activate each quarter at ChaseBonus.com, via your online account page, or call the number on the back of the card.  The categories usually include at least one big-spending area, and seem to go with the seasons (home improvement for spring, gas and travel for the summer). This is another “keeper” card for me, as I can keep it around and use it when the bonus categories fit my spending needs.

If you’d rather have “set it and forget it” rewards, compare with the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card, which offers a flat 1.5% cash back on everything (no special 5% categories) and no annual fee.

Synergy with Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. Technically, you earn Ultimate Rewards points which can also be converted to airline miles or hotel points instead of cash if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

This turns the 5% cash back categories into 5X Ultimate Rewards categories. That’s like earning 5 United miles per dollar spent, or 5 Hyatt points per dollar spent. With the Sapphire Reserve, 5X Ultimate Rewards = 7.5% back towards travel (flights, hotels) booked through the Chase travel portal.

Bottom line. The Chase Freedom Card is a unique cash back rewards card that lets you earn 5% cash back on select categories each quarter. It’s a little extra work to keep track of things, but it allows me to earn hundreds of dollars in extra cash each year without buying extra stuff I don’t need.

• Learn more about this card HERE

Capital One has refreshed their card_name with a sign-up bonus, no annual fee, and unlimited 3% cash back at both restaurants and grocery stores (no Walmart/Target Superstores). Here are the highlights:

• One-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
• 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®). No spending cap.
• 3% cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services.
• 1% cash back on all other purchases.
• 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.
• 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply.
• No rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards; plus cash back won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how much you can earn.
• 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; reg_apr,reg_apr_type after that; balance transfer fee applies.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• No annual fee.

The application page provides some direct clarifications on the rewards structure.

What counts as dining?
Purchases at restaurants, cafes, bars, lounges, fast-food chains and bakeries.

What counts as entertainment?
Buying tickets to a movie, play, concert, sporting event, tourist attraction, theme park, aquarium, zoo, dance club, pool hall or bowling alley. Also, making purchases at record store and video rental locations. This excludes non-industry entertainment merchant codes like cable, digital streaming, and subscription services.

What counts as a grocery store?
A supermarket, meat locker, freezer, dairy product store and specialty market. Excludes superstores like Walmart® and Target®.

The rewards on this card are nice and simple. You earn cash, which can be redeemed as a statement credit or a mailed check. There are other options, but none are especially interesting or more valuable than cash.

Bottom line. The card_name has a $200 sign-up bonus, no annual fee, and unlimited 3% cash back at both restaurants and grocery stores (no Walmart/Target Superstores).

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card is a great way to earn American Express Membership Rewards points with no annual fee. Right now, there is also a welcome bonus and no balance transfer fee offer for new cardholders. Here are the highlights:

• 10,000 Membership Rewards Points welcome bonus after $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases.
• 2X points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1X). 1X points on all other purchases.
• 20% more points if you make 20 or more purchases in a billing period (less returns and credits).
• No annual fee.

Note the following:

Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

Earn Membership Rewards (MR) points with no annual fee. American Express has historically been a “premium”-only brand and most every card had an annual fee. This no-annual fee card is a move to welcome more consumers. In addition, if you have Membership Rewards points earned from other American Express cards, having this card would keep all of your MR points from expiring even if you closed those other cards (perhaps to avoid the annual fees). This way you keep the flexibility to transfer the points into a variety of airline miles or hotel points as needed. As there is no annual fee, I can keep this card open forever.

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

• Delta SkyMiles
• Hawaiian Airlines
• ANA Mileage Club (partner of United Airlines)
• Air Canada (partner of United Airlines)
• British Airways (partner of American Airlines)
• FlyingBlue (Air France/KLM)
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin America

With the 20% bonus for 20+ purchases per billing period, you would be getting 1.2 miles per dollar on all purchases and 2.4 miles per dollar at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year). A lot depends on how much value you can get out of those airline miles.

Unfortunately, there are many redemption options for Membership Rewards points that are worse than 1 cent per point value. Here are a few examples:

• Shop with Membership Rewards Points (~0.5 cents per point)
• Shop with Points at Amazon.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Use points at BestBuy.com (~0.7 cents per point)
• Gift Cards (varies from 0.5 up to 1 cent per point max)

Bottom line. The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card allows you to earn and maintain Membership Rewards points with no annual fee. The welcome offer currently includes a 10,000 Membership Rewards points welcome bonus and 0% APR on purchases for 15 months.