Category Archives for Credit Cards.
Here’s why American Airlines flyers should look to the new Citi Strate Elite.
AAdvantage transfers were on the table the last time Citi negotiated a deal with American, but Citi wouldn’t pay for the package that included transfers and exclusivity (hence the Barclays-issued card). This time they paid up. And it’s a huge boost to the value of Citi ThankYou Rewards.
I’m increasingly loving Bilt Rewards even without the credit card. If you aren’t a member (it’s free) you’re missing out – on points you could be earning, and on the most valuable points currency.
For Alaska Airlines customers who redeem points with a companion once a year, the annual companion award covers the cost of the annual fee completely. And this card is an Alaska Airlines tool – fee waivers, travel delay credits, points flexibility (family pooling, hotel transfers) and credit towards elite status.
Currently, two banks issue American Airlines credit cards in the U.S.: Citibank and Barclays. The airline’s new cobrand deal grants exclusivity for this business to Citibank starting next year. And Barclays cards are going to move over to Citi.
I’m earning transferable points with no fee using the no annual fee Mesa card. You don’t even pay your mortgage with the card. You just tell them how much your mortgage is, and they award you the points as long as you spend $1,000 on the card each month. I do that in a 3x category.
Every month I post what I find are the best credit card offers out there. Some of last month’s best credit card offers are gone or changed.
Here’s the current up to date list of best credit card offers right now – the most lucrative bonuses available.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is dropping Emirates as a transfer partner. October 15th is the last day to transfer from Chase to Emirates Skywards.
American Express is offering an initial bonus of 125,000 points after spending $8,000 within 6 months of cardmembership for the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. This is a nice improvement of a 100,000 point offer, and you have a full six months to meet the required spend.
Without Ameircan AAdvantage, the ThankYou points program was a bit of an also-ran. It lacked a strong U.S. airline, including just JetBlue. And while it has a number of hotel programs, it doesn’t have the top tier ones.
Now, though, it’s the only bank rewards currency that transfers to American. No bank has a better oneworld partner.
Along with this new card, Citi has also brought American AAdvantage onboard as a transfer partner, which is huge. AAdvantage cards earn 1 point per dollar on most spend. Even unbonused spend with this card earns 1.5x. So you’re earning more American miles for your spend than with an American card, plus you have flexibility to move points elsewhere (or redeem directly for travel, etc.).
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
