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The no annual fee Mesa card is great. You earn points for your mortgage and don’t even have to pay the 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.
- And that’s pretty easy to do, because they have some amazing 3x earning categories. And the points transfer to some good partners.
Plus there’s a lot of value in the statement credits they offer (like for Costco membership and at Lowe’s), which is pretty much unheard of on a no annual fee card. They’re paying for my Costco membership so that’s real value. There’s also a $30 quarterly statement credit with Lowe’s, a $200 home maintenance credit with Thumbtack (also can be used for house cleaning or Christmas tree removal), and several more.
If there’s a knock on the card it’s that there hasn’t been an initial bonus offer most of the time, other than 5,000 bonus points for being referred to the card by an existing customer. (I think of the mortgage points as a signup bonus you receive every month, month after month, and not just for the first year.)
I got the card with no bonus, because it was such strong value. But right now there actually is a bonus, and it’ll be around for less than two weeks: through September 30 they are offering 50,000 points after $12,000 spend within 3 months when you apply and use promo code SEPT50.
The card earns 3x with home improvement expenses; heat, gas, electric, cable/internet utilities; home maintenance like cleaning, lawn care, pest prevention; decor and furniture; insurance and taxes; and daycare. Daycare, insurance and taxes are pretty amazing accelerators. Groceries and gas earn 2x. $12,000 is big spend but insurance, taxes and daycare will make it possible for many of you. The card is worth it without the bonus. A high spend requirement to earn one is much better than usual.
Here are their points transfer partners so far – they say they are adding more:
| Partner | Program | Transfer Rate |
| Accor | Accor Live Limitless | 1.5 : 1 |
| Air Canada | Aeroplan | 1 : 1 |
| Air India | Maharaja Club | 1:1 |
| Finnair | Finnair Plus | 1:1 |
| Hainan Airlines | Fortune Wings Club | 1:1 |
| SAS | EuroBonus | 1:1 |
| Thai Airways | Royal Orchid Plus | 1:1 |
| Vietnam Airlines | LotusMiles | 1:1 |
Their points are great to transfer to Avios, or for short haul United redemptions through Air India (which start at just 3,500 points for coach and 7,000 for domestic first class).
However Aeroplan is arguably the best Star Alliance frequent flyer program with highly accessible points and they partner broadly so wherever you have your points in various transferable currencies you can pool them here.
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