amex

Tag Archives for amex.

57,000 Miles Business Class Roundtrip to Europe – 40% Off Virgin Atlantic Miami Awards, Any Class of Service

by Gary Leff

miami to london promo
Feb 10 2018

Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, and Citibank. So Virgin Atlantic miles are really easy to get. In general I don’t value their miles as much as many other currencies but there are strategic uses like 120,000 miles roundtrip for first class from the East Coast on their partner ANA.

Another strategic use is when they discount their own flights. Virgin adds fuel surcharges to awards, but when the mileage cost is low enough even that makes sense.

Continue Reading »

The Best Rewards Credit Cards in a Nutshell

by Gary Leff

people playing music with piano and singing
Feb 09 2018

We often delve into the extreme detail and minutiae of rewards cards, there are tons of benefits and features and lots of details but it’s easy to lose the forest from the trees.

I thought I’d try to keep it simple, with just a single statement to encapsulate the key value proposition offered by several of the best rewards cards. See if you agree with my cutting to the chase on each.

Continue Reading »

Federal Court Says Banks Don’t Have to Honor Charge Back if You’ve Paid Off Your Balance

by Gary Leff

credit card wallet
Feb 02 2018

Dr. Malik Hasan paid $1 million for wine from Premier Cru Fine Wines in Berkeley, California. He charged the purchases to American Express and Chase credit cards. Premier Cru went out of business without shipping these purchases. Neither American Express nor Chase fully honored his charge back request, and he sued under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

Continue Reading »

American Express Improves Membership Rewards Transfer Rate to Hilton

by Gary Leff

bungalow on canal
Jan 02 2018

American Express Membership Rewards points have historically transferred to Hilton at a rate of 1000 -> 1500. So 1 Amex point was worth 1.5 Hilton points.

That’s not a rate I’d want to transfer at. I value Hilton points at 4/10ths of a cent and Amex points at 1.8 cents apiece. Sometimes they’d run bonuses where 1 Amex point would yield 2 Hilton, still not a great deal but better of course.

Continue Reading »