Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Big Capital One Improvements To Transfers To Other Programs And New Airport Lounges Opening

by Gary Leff on April 19, 2021

Apr 19 2021

Capital One has done more than any other issuer, I think, to improve the benefits across several cards but most especially the Venture card which has a 100,000 mile initial bonus offer right now. On top of other new benefits, Capital One introduced transfer of its miles to several airline programs at the end of 2018.

Now Capital One has introduced new airline transfer partners and improved the rate that mileage transfers to some of those programs, and provided new details on its forthcoming network of airline lounges and new travel booking portal.

How The Welcome Gift Turned Off A New American Express Black Card Customer

by Gary Leff on April 16, 2021

Apr 16 2021

Marketing is all about knowing who your customers are, and figuring out how to find more people like that. It’s why it matters that marketing staff understand your customer base, and not just have models predicting the characteristics describing who the median customer is. Especially at the high-end, high-touch, send something… a little more personalized. Indeed, maybe a personalized welcome note to someone forking over $10,000 or more up front for a credit card?

[Amex Confirms] Change To Guest Policy For Centurion Lounges In 2023

by Gary Leff on April 9, 2021

Apr 09 2021

Currently American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders can bring two guests into a Centurion lounge.

Starting in 2023, only Centurion cardmembers as well as Platinum cardmembers who spend $75,000 per year or more on their card will continue to receive free guest access. Platinum cardmembers who do not spend that much on their card will have to pay $50 per guest.

New South Korean Marriott Card Provides Easy Platinum Status, Breakfast Credits

by Gary Leff on April 2, 2021

Apr 02 2021

Marriott has just introduced the first hotel co-brand credit card in the South Korean market, Marriott Bonvoy® The BEST Shinhan Card.

It lets cardmembers earn Platinum status with less spend and at a lower fee than U.S. customers have access to, and comes with a hotel breakfast credit benefit.

Interesting (Targeted) Chase Sapphire Bonus For Existing Cardmembers

by Gary Leff on April 1, 2021

Apr 01 2021

Chase is offering some Sapphire cardmembers 5000 bonus points for paying their monthly bill online from a Chase checking account.

American Express Ends Print Editions of Departures and Centurion Magazines

by Gary Leff on March 26, 2021

Mar 26 2021

American Express will no longer publish Departures or Centurion magazines in print. They are in-sourcing both publications which will be available online only. Meredith Corporation, which had been publishing for American Express, has “laid off most of the staff and halted publication of the seven-times-a-year print titles.” According to American Express, We regularly evolve our premium card offerings and have made the decision to transition the Departures and Centurion US magazine benefits to a new digital-first editorial platform. The magazines used to be produced in-house by American Express Publishing, which was sold to Time in 2013 and then Meredith in 2018. The final print issue of Departures is May/June and the final Centurion Magazine is Spring/Summer. These print publications lasted longer than many, since they were reaching a highly targeted affluent cardmember audience. However they’re…

Capital One Will Launch New Travel Rewards Booking Portal, Leads Hopper’s $170 Million Funding Round

by Gary Leff on March 24, 2021

Mar 24 2021

The Hopper app is a flight and hotel booking tool that helps you find the best prices, including making predictions about when to buy to get the best deal. Capital One is leading a $170 million funding round for Hopper, and partnering with them to launch a new travel portal for cardmembers.

Here’s what’s wrong with most online booking tools, and how Capital One and Hopper could beat them.

JetBlue Could Bail On Its Credit Card Issuer Again, Drop Barclays For Goldman Sachs

by Gary Leff on March 18, 2021

Mar 18 2021

JetBlue moved over from American Express to Barclays as issuer of its co-brand credit card in 2016. There’s probably a seven year deal in place expiring late in 2023. But JetBlue is already shopping their co-brand business to Goldman Sachs as they renegotiate with Barclays on an extension.

We rarely see large loyalty programs change issuers. It’s much more likely to see smaller brands with less lucrative products changing hands, which is why JetBlue could move again after just seven years.

American Airlines Cabin Crew Have New Incentive To Sign Passengers Up For Credit Cards

by Gary Leff on March 11, 2021

Mar 11 2021

With people thinking more about getting out more in the not too distant future, on board card promotion is back in a big way in fact for March and April they’re incentivizing this with additional cash and donations.

What’s perhaps most interesting though is the statistic they’re promoting, that only 14% of passengers on a given flight have an AAdvantage credit card.

For 2021, Marriott Amex Cards Will Reward Spending As Much As The Starwood Amex Used To

by Gary Leff on February 5, 2021

Feb 05 2021

When Marriott acquired Starwood and merged the loyalty programs, as much changed with their credit cards as with the loyalty program itself.

Chase’s Marriott cards used to earn 1 point per dollar. Starwood’s Amex cards earned 1 Starwood point per dollar. Marriott themselves declared 1 SPG point worth 3 Marriott points. In other words, the Amex cards were 3 times as rewarding for spending.