Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Visa Revamping Rates Charged To Merchants, May Affect Card Bonuses Some Banks Can Afford

by Gary Leff on February 6, 2020

Feb 06 2020

Visa is adjusting merchant swipe fees across the board for the first time in a decade. The fees grocers charge will go down. Rates will also be lower for health-care, education and real estate, areas where Visa would like to win market share away from checks. Meanwhile the fee for online (‘card not present’) transactions will go up.

Banks want to bonus small dollar, frequent spend like groceries to get customers in the habit of using their cards, keeping them top of wallet for unbonused spend. The categories where this makes sense to banks though will change based on the revenue associated with each type of transaction.

Special Restaurant Reservations For Chase Cardmembers

by Gary Leff on February 2, 2020

Feb 02 2020

A year ago Capital One launched a relationship with dining reservations site Resy, setting aside tables at great restaurants for cardmembers. American Express went and acquired Resy and now American Express has a much weaker Resy partnership. Capital One quickly went out and partnered with OpenTable.

Yet somehow I didn’t even realize that before these things happened – a full 19 months ago – Chase launched a partnership with restaurant booking site Tock, which sells tickets to restaurants (top end restaurants with limited seating charge you in advance for pre fixe meals through the site).

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Review [2020]

by Gary Leff on January 31, 2020

Jan 31 2020

While other cards have come along and upped their game since Sapphire Reserve’s introduction, this guide should tell you whether it’s still the best card for you to keep top of wallet.

Get Started on a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass In The New Year

by Gary Leff on January 11, 2020

Jan 11 2020

A companion pass is arguably the best deal in all of travel, it allows you to bring a companion along on your Southwest Airlines travels for just the cost of taxes – whether you buy your own ticket with cash or with points.

Now is the best time to prepare to earn one – because if you earn it at the start of 2020 it’ll last nearly two full years.

120,000 Point Signup Offer for Radisson Visa

by Gary Leff on January 11, 2020

Radisson Red Minneapolis - Oui Bar and Kitchen

Jan 11 2020

Back in December there was a first-ever 100,000 point signup bonus offer for the Radisson Rewards Visa.

Now though there’s a 120,000 point offer after $3000 spend within 90 days.

Chase Will Ban Third Party Apps That Use Your Password To Screen Scrape Their Site

by Gary Leff on January 4, 2020

Jan 04 2020

f you use Award Wallet to check your frequent flyer account balances, you give them the username and password for your accounts and with a single click they check your accounts for you (and you can log in with a single click as well).

Award Wallet and other services are going to have to change the way they interact with Chase, and the information they’re able to get may be limited

New: American Express 30% Transfer Bonus To Virgin Atlantic

by Gary Leff on December 9, 2019

Dec 09 2019

American Express is running a 30% bonus on transfers to Virgin Atlantic through December 28. You have to be logged into your Membership Rewards account to see the bonus.

There are some great uses for Virgin Atlantic’s miles.

Why the Hyatt Visa is the Only Hotel Rewards Card I Want to Spend Money On

by Gary Leff on December 7, 2019

Dec 07 2019

In general hotel rewards cards are good for their initial bonus offer, for status they give you just for having the card, and for an annual free night that’s worth more than the annual fee — making the card worth keeping.

That’s how I think about most hotel credit cards, but I go out of my way to spend on the World Of Hyatt Credit Card for 3 reasons.

The Apple Card is a Stumble Step on the Road to Perfecting Artificial Intelligence Advertising

by Gary Leff on November 28, 2019

Nov 28 2019

Major tech companies are moving into financial services because they think their ubiquity gives them the ability to succeed in an adjacent space, because they have strong brands, and because their tech focus allows them to appeal to a younger ‘new affluent’ demographic.

For the tech companies and issuers the biggest play is financial data.

Something I Realized About the New Southwest Airlines Business Visa

by Gary Leff on November 27, 2019

Nov 27 2019

I applied for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card because I want to earn a Southwest Airlines Companion Pass, which will allow me to take my wife with me on Southwest flights for just the cost of security taxes. Our daughter is still just one year old and flies free as a lap infant, but with Southwest’s open seating as long as there’s even one open seat on the flight it’s going to wind up next to us since no one wants to sit in a middle seat next to a baby.

But it was seeing those inflight wifi credits post, more than one time per day, that really made me realize the card will pay for itself.