Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Northwest Visa Offers

by Gary Leff on March 25, 2005

Mar 25 2005

Northwest has new offers up for their co-branded credit cards issued by US Bank. I’ve previously mentioned that US Bank is one of the biggest sticklers for one signup bonus per customer. However, a recent exchange with Gary Steiger (of Free Frequent Flyer Miles, where I came across this offer) made me realize that their limit is per card type. I first signed up for the Platinum Visa a few years ago when the offer was for 25,000 bonus miles over 2 years, requiring $500 in spending with Northwest for part of those miles. That signup qualified me for the 2002 Fly Free Faster promotion that netted another 10,000 miles. In 2003 I signed up for the Northwest Business Visa for 10,000 miles to qualify for that summer’s Fly Free Faster promotion. That was a…

American Mastercard Bonus

by Gary Leff on March 22, 2005

Mar 22 2005

The American Airlines Mastercard is again offering no fee for the first year and 15,000 bonus miles with first purchase. Citibank has been known to award the bonus miles even to people that have had the card in the past, despite terms that specify that the bonus can only be earned once. Best practice is to print out the application page which mentions the 15,000 bonus miles and also to print out the terms and conditions which mentions no annual fee for twelve months.

The importance of credit card miles to airline bottom-lines

by Gary Leff on March 20, 2005

Mar 20 2005

I’ve written here in the past about the importance of frequent flyer miles to airline bottom lines, and in particular the importance of co-branded credit cards which are the single largest source of non-flight miles. When United entered bankruptcy, BankOne (since acquired by JP Morgan Chase) provided $500 million in debtor-in-possession financing. The bank needed the airline to survive because their most profitable credit card product is the United Visa. Now the bank is talking about loosening restrictions on loan covenants in order to allow the airline room to operate. American Express pre-paid the purchase of $500 million worth of Skymiles in order to keep Delta out of bankruptcy. Again, an airline is kept afloat because it’s needed to sustain a credit card business. Credit card miles are big business, and not just for the…

Use Amex Points on OneWorld Carriers

by Gary Leff on January 5, 2005

Jan 05 2005

One of the great frustrations of the American Express Membership Rewards program is that American Airlines does not participate as a transfer partner. What’s more, it’s nearly* impossible to use American Express points to claim an award seat on any oneWorld carrier (American, British, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LanChile, Finnair, Aer Lingus). I say nearly because there are ways of working partnerships to get some seats, such as transferring points to Continental or USAirways to claim award seats on Qantas. But there aren’t any oneWorld partners in the Membership Rewards program. Right now there’s a brief window of opportunity, however, created by a confluence of two separate conversion bonuses. As I noted yesterday, transfers from American Express to Starwood earn a 50% bonus through March 31. And until January 31, transfers from hotel program into…

Free the First Year American Express Platinum

by Gary Leff on January 1, 2005

Jan 01 2005

Now that banks are able to issue American Express cards, some interesting offers may be coming down the pike. The first one that I’ve noticed is from MBNA, which is offering the American Express Platinum card free the first year and $195 after that. The card comes with MBNA Worldpoints as its rewards program rather than Membership Rewards. As far as proprietary rewards programs go, this one is pretty good but I still don’t like it as much as the various airline and hotel programs. So I wouldn’t put much spending on the card. Instead, I’d use the card for its benefits like airline lounge access. Amex Platinum cards come with access to Delta, Continental, and Northwest lounges when flying on the respective airline. The Platinum card is usually more expensive than straight lounge access,…

The Rise of Credit Cards in China

by Gary Leff on December 7, 2004

Dec 07 2004

What a great headline, “Western Plastic Breaches Great Wall”. Anyone looking for signs that China is edging its way into Western consumer culture should consider this: the Bank of China, the oldest indigenous Chinese bank, now issues a Great Wall platinum Visa credit card, and it comes with a frequent-flyer rewards program. Only 1 per cent of Chinese citizens hold Western-style credit cards; usually the wealthiest of urban sophisticates. Most people use cash for everything; they have no bank accounts or have never been offered credit by a bank. What little personal lending occurs is usually informally arranged among friends, family or business associates. Foreign banks will be allowed to offer banking services within China beginning in 2007. Currently 704 million bank cards are in circulation in China, most of which are debit cards.

16,000 Northwest Miles for Visa and 2 Partner Activities

by Gary Leff on November 17, 2004

Nov 17 2004

The Northwest Visa comes with a 10,000 mile signup offer. Northwest’s Fly Free Faster Second Chance bonus which runs through February 15th will award 5,000 miles for signing up for the Visa and completing two partner activities such as Mileage Mall purchases (minimum $25) or hotel stays or car rentals. Registration is required. If you register by December 31st in the Mile-Zilla promotion and get the card by January 31st, you’ll get another 1,000 miles. So your Northwest Visa signup by January 31st will net 16,000 miles. Plus you’re on your way to additional miles in the Mile-Zilla promotion with 40 credits. Ten more credits yields an additional 500 bonus miles, and can be earned by signing up for My NWA Info (5 points, but don’t do it until you’ve registered for Mile-Zilla!) and crediting…