Tag Archives for american express.
Right now there are better Delta credit card bonus offers than we’ve ever seen, and it’s important to put them in context — and work through the best way to use these miles. Reader John challenges me to lay out the positives of SkyMiles as well.
American Express Membership Rewards points now transfer to Qantas. Points transfer 1:1 in 500 point increments instead of the usual 1000. Qantas is also a transfer partner of Capital One and Citibank, so there are plenty of ways to get and pool points into Qantas Frequent Flyer for US customers.
American Express has confirmed to me that U.S.-based cards offering Priority Pass will no longer provide credit in participating airport restaurants going forward.
Effective August 1 “the Priority Pass Membership benefit offered on American Express Platinum and Centurion Cards and Hilton Ascend, Hilton Aspire, and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ Cards will no longer include complimentary access to non-lounge airport experiences.”
We’re seeing what may be the beginning of the next big restriction on bank-provided Priority Pass cards: American Express has notified Hong Kong cardmembers that effective August 1 Priority Pass cards that come with their Centurion, Platinum, Peninsula Platinum, and Cathay Pacific Elite credit cards will no longer offer “non-lounge airport experiences” such as restaurants, cafes, and bars “where food/beverage credit is offered instead of entrance into a traditional airport lounge.”
This would cut American Express’ costs to issue these cards significantly, and be a huge cut in cardmember benefits. The worry here is that it could spread (1) to other American Express markets, and (2) to other issuers. I have asked American Express what their plans are for this restriction and will share anything that I learn.
A family is suing American Express and Dallas Fort-Worth airport because their two year old was bitten by a dog in the DFW airport Centurion lounge.
It seems like the issue here ought to be between the family and the dog owner, which doesn’t likely have the deep pockets that American Express or DFW airport does. What do you think, who is at fault here and in what proportion?f
American Express is running a 30% bonus on transfers to Virgin Atlantic through July 1. You have to log in to see the bonus.
Virgin’s miles are fantastic for ANA and Delta redemptions. However I’d only make the transfer to redeem a specific award, rather than doing to preemptively or viewing the program as a store of value.
I view Delta cards as strong, of course for their initial bonus and for the benefits they convey to passengers (especially those without elite status) flying the airline semi-regularly. I do not view them as a strong tool for spending, independent of weakness in the SkyMiles program itself.
That’s because even if you want to earn SkyMiles through credit card spend, American Express offers cards that earn Membership Rewards points faster than Delta miles, and Membership Rewards points will continue to transfer to Delta as well as having the option of being moved to other programs as-needed.
Apparently American Express is sending out 1099s to people who referred customers to their credit cards.
Just because Aemrican Express tells the IRS that Hilton points are worth 1.25 cents apiece doesn’t mean that’s the revenue on which you owe tax. You can dispute the value and pay less tax as a result. Here’s the process to do it.
For your strategic awareness, two American Express Centurion lounges will be closed temporarily starting Monday — Miami and Las Vegas.
I recently shared what’s in my wallet and I clearly use a lot of different cards for different purposes in different situations.
Keeping a strategy straight for yourself can be hard enough, but how do you make sure your spouse — who isn’t as attuned to these things as you are — uses the right card every time?
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 »
