Category Archives for Credit Cards.
What does the new American Express Centurion Card look like? A reader shared photos unboxing the updated Black Card they received in the mail.
The benefits have been updated and there’s also an updated card design, which our reader says is “thinner and lighter” – not what you’d expect from a card designed to be a statement.
You can fly business class to Europe for 63,000 miles each way or Southeast Asia for 78,000. First class (Lufthansa) is 87,000 miles each way between the US and Europe. And that’s before special deals or cutting the cost with lower-cabin connecting flights.
And right now you can transfer points from Citi with a 25% bonus (or earn a 50% bigger than normal bonus from the LifeMiles credit card).
If you’re new to frequent flyer miles, the single fastest way to rack up miles quickly is with a rewards credit card. Roughly two-thirds of miles are earned with activities other than flying and the number one way is through credit cards.
The best rewards programs are the ones that let you transfer points to your choice of airlines. You pick later where to put the miles.
The biggest return on credit card spending is earning a card’s initial bonus. After that it’s either benefits that may be earned at specific thresholds on a card, or earning more than one mile per dollar on specific categories of spending. For me it’s about earning the elite benefits I care about, and some special perks on top that let me travel with my family more than I otherwise would.
While acknowledging that Sapphire Reserve caught them off guard and needing to respond aggressively, American Express claims to be way ahead of Chase.
Synchrony bank has introduced The Norwegian Reward Card, a co-brand Norwegian Air Mastercard for the U.S. market. This creates a new income stream for the struggling airline that has seemed to turn a corner lately.
According to American Express points are not your asset and points cannot be transferred by the government. Moreover in bankruptcy all points are going to go away.
The Department of Justice, though, prosecuted a woman for redeeming Membership Rewards points despite a government order not to hide or move assets. Who is right?
Already on their sixth transfer bonus of the year, having just launched transferable points, and Capital One has shared in the past that “limited-time offers like this will be another major perk for Venture and Spark Miles account holders to take advantage of.”
This month they’re back with a bonus on transfers to Air France KLM Flying Blue, a great program to pool points in, with reasonable redemption rates and good business class availability.
Citi is sending out year-end gift offers to Prestige cardmembers, though I don’t yet know wehther this is a targeted offer or something sent far and wide. It’s the opportunity to choose a complimentary gift from Tiffany & Co: a pen, a bowl, a platter, tumblers or wine glasses.
British Airways wasn’t showing up as an American Express Membership Rewards transfer option on the program’s list of transfer partners.
Several readers emailed about this. The disappearance was also reported at Monkey Miles and at MilesTalk.
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 »
