Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Coming Soon: American Express Will Let Platinum Cardmembers Book Sold Out Restaurants By App

by Gary Leff on September 22, 2018

Sep 22 2018

American Express offers its Global Dining Collection program to The Platinum Card from American Express cardholders and to Centurion (Black Card) customers.

These are top restaurants where American Express has an arrangement to set aside some tables for cardmembers. You’ve had to make bookings through their concierge service. They’ll be launching searches for reservations, including special set-aside availability, through the American Express mobile app first in the UK starting next month and then in the US next year.

Sri Lanka’s Leader Plays Seinfeld With His Country’s Airline and Why the FAIR FEES Act Will Raise Fares

by Gary Leff on September 13, 2018

Sep 13 2018

A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.

Chase Launching 60,000 Point Offer for New Sapphire Banking

by Gary Leff on September 13, 2018

Sep 13 2018

In late August I wrote that Chase was about to introduce their new Sapphire Banking product — but not to sign up right away because a bonus would be on its way that you should wait for. They’ve now shared what that bonus will be.

Coming Thursday: Short-term 35% Transfer Bonus from Marriott to Aeroplan

by Gary Leff on September 11, 2018

Sep 11 2018

Aeroplan shared that there is going to be a 35% bonus on transfers from the Marriott programs (Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, Ritz-Carlton Rewards) running September 13-17. The offer will not appear on the Aeroplan website until Thursday, September 13 but the information is solid and hopefully this extra day gives you more time to think through whether you want to take advantage of this.

Competition Works: Starting Thursday Citibank Improves Points Transfer Ratio to JetBlue

by Gary Leff on September 10, 2018

Sep 10 2018

Last month Chase added JetBlue as a transfer partner. Chase transfers are one-to-one.

Responding to this competition Citi is introducing improved transfer ratios to JetBlue effective September 13.

Two Points Currencies Have 30% Transfer Bonuses to Virgin Atlantic at the Same Time

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

Sep 01 2018

Virgin Atlantic miles aren’t worth as much as other miles. However they do have strategic uses and I believe the single best one is ANA first class roundtrip from the Central U.S. and East Coast for just 120,000 miles per person. (San Francisco and Los Angeles is just 110,000 miles roundtrip, while business class runs 90,000 or 95,000 miles depending on the city.)

Another strong use of Virgin Atlantic miles is Delta business class between the US and Europe for 50,000 points each way, which becomes an amazing deal witht he 30% tansfer bonus. There are other award chart sweet spots, like Australia and New Zealand.

Google Now Tracks Your Offline Credit Card Purchases and Ties Those to Online Ad Clicks

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

Aug 31 2018

A couple of weeks ago we learned that if you have an Android phone, Google tracks you even when you turn location history off. Although Google says that when you turn location history off “the places you go are no longer stored” an Associated Press investigation found that isn’t true and “turning off your Location History only stops Google from creating a timeline of your location that you can view. Some apps will still track you and store time-stamped location data from your devices.” Now we know that Google has a deal with Mastercard – and possibly with other payment networks – to track retail purchases and compare those to online ad clicks in order to help determine the effectiveness of online advertising beyond immediate online purchases. Google then shares date with a test group…

Does Earning Credit Card Rewards Take Advantage of Other Consumers?

by Gary Leff on August 30, 2018

Aug 30 2018

I don’t think interest, or credit card interest is evil. I believe that consumers generally understand the choices they’re making, even if you or I might make different choices. And people do need credit. If you didn’t have credit cards, the need for credit would still be there, and consumers would be left with the next best option.

If you need to fix a car to get to work, or pay a medical bill, credit cards are a better way to do that than payday loans which are better than having your legs broken. You’re paying interest, but you’re also getting something of value in return.

Chase Adds New Airline Transfer Partner, Its 3rd US Airline: JetBlue

by Gary Leff on August 26, 2018

Aug 26 2018

Yesterday I discovered that Korean Air was still listed as a Chase transfer partner one day after it was supposed to be removed.

So I went to check again this morning to see whether Korean Air was still there. It’s not. But a new transfer partner appeared: JetBlue TrueBlue.

It’s August 25 — and Korean Air Still Shows Up as a Chase Transfer Partner

by Gary Leff on August 25, 2018

Aug 25 2018

Chase announced that the last day to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air’s SkyPass program would be Friday, August 24 and that effective today Saturday, August 25 Korean would no longer be a Chase transfer partner.

That notice is still on the Chase Ultimate Rewards website. However Korean Air is also still listed as a transfer partner and the website is allowing me to begin the process of initiating transfers.