Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Inside the Fight: How American Airlines Is Using Its Employees To Battle Credit Card Regulations

by Gary Leff on October 20, 2023

Oct 20 2023

American Airlines is asking employees to lobby against legislation from Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall that would limit credit card interchange.

Interestingly, American presents the (true) argument to employees that they pushed back on me over for so long – that they lose money flying planes (cost per seat mile is greater than passenger revenue per seat mile, and even passenger revenue plus cargo, in many quarters) and only turn a profit by selling miles to banks.

Amex Refreshes Premium Hilton Card, And The Changes Are… Ok?

by Gary Leff on October 19, 2023

Oct 19 2023

Hilton’s premium co-brand is interesting because it straight up comes with Honors Diamond status, though I view Hilton Diamond as worth less than similar status at Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG (no guaranteed late check-out from Hilton or IHG, even, but at least IHG offers confirmed suites).

The premium card is also the only one where Hilton spend is more rewarding that putting it on an alternative card.

American Express Raises Fee On Main Hilton Card, Makes Product Worse

by Gary Leff on October 19, 2023

Oct 19 2023

There are folks who will come out ahead – those who already have unlimited Priority Pass and will get the full $200 per year value out of the statement credits – but overall judging the pure value of the card I don’t think this is a net improvement. It’s still a good value product but I don’t see this refresh as an improvement.

Swipe No More: Would Fed’s New Proposal End Free Checking?

by Gary Leff on October 18, 2023

Oct 18 2023

Prior to the Durbin amendment, 76% of checking accounts were free. That declined to 39% in 2012 after the rollout of the Durbin amendment and recovered slightly to 46% in 2022. Cramming down the debit revenue stream for banks will certainly benefit retailers, but we’ve seen that it isn’t paid for entirely by banks but by consumers through higher fees.

Brand New TAP Air Portugal Card Offers Limited-Time Bonus, Exclusive Benefits

by Gary Leff on October 16, 2023

Oct 16 2023

This new TAP Miles&Go American Express® Credit Card lets your spend contribute to Star Alliance Gold status, their award chart is reasonable especially ‘extra miles’ awards that let you travel on far more TAPs flight than are available to other airline partners.

Capital One’s Big Travel Sale Will Net You Flights For As Little As $1

by Gary Leff on October 11, 2023

Oct 11 2023

The flight discounts are available on one-way bookings not just roundtrip. So consider booking paid travel one way, award the other. Fly for.. $1?

Frequent Flyer Rewards Scheme Melts Down Thanks To Travis Scott

by Gary Leff on October 6, 2023

Oct 06 2023

One of the reasons you can’t get your hands on concert tickets to the best shows when Ticketmaster releases them is because of… their value in earning frequent flyer miles. But many rewards points collectors are now getting burned.

Amex $25 Rebate On Restaurant Spend For All Cardmembers (Earn Twice)

by Gary Leff on October 2, 2023

Oct 02 2023

American Express is bringing back Member Week for October 9 through 13. There’s one offer that really stands out to me – all Amex personal, business and corporate cardmembers can register to receive a $25 statement credit on $75 spend at over 200 participating Resy restaurants by December 8, 2023, and this can be earned twice (for a total of $50 back).

5,000 Bonus Miles And Elite Status Miles For Joining TAP Card Waitlist

by Gary Leff on September 29, 2023

Sep 29 2023

Cardless is launching a TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go American Express card. They haven’t released a lot of the product details yet, but it’ll be interesting to have this Star Alliance airline enter the U.S. co-brand market. They had just starting making an unfortunately-timed big push for U.S. customers right at the start of the pandemic, with easy access to inexpensive miles and Star Alliance Gold status. So this could be interesting.

Bilt Rewards Launches Bilt Experiences For Rent Day, October 1 NFL Suite Tickets Available

by Gary Leff on September 26, 2023

Sep 26 2023

News about Bilt’s latest Rent Day promotion is out. As usual there’s double points on their co-brand card; free Soul Cycle classes; free points for answering trivia; and opportunities to earn free rent.

Special for October 1’s Rent Day they’re offering 5x points-earning on their credit card for sports ticket purchases (up to 10,000 bonus points), and launching Bilt Experiences with an opportunity to redeem points for NFL game tickets, including for hosted suites.