My Latest Round of Credit Card Applications

As I discussed in this post, I apply for a new round of credit cards every 90 days.  Remember, this is not for you if you are a) working on improving your credit b) planning on applying for a loan such as a mortgage in the near future or c) if you periodically carry a balance on your cards.  The rewards that you'll gain in these cases will be heavily offset by either not being able to qualify for the lowest lending rate (due to recent inquiries on your credit report) or actually paying interest if you carry a balance.  Each application will typically ding your credit 2-5 points (those inquiries fall off over time and your score will go back up) thus the reasoning for applying for cards every 90 days on the same day.  The inquiries fall off roughly at the same time and on the day you apply, the other banks don't see that you applied for a card earlier in the day.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way...Here's an overview of my most recent card application including what I applied for and why.

1)  American Express Everyday Preferred

This is a new card from Amex that offers 15,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.  The annual fee (not waived for the first year) is $95.  Even though this sign-up bonus kind of sucks, I needed a quick way to rack up some Membership Rewards points to top off my account for an award and wanted to try out the new offering from Amex.  I value MR points at $.02 teach so this bonus is worth $300.

Result:  Instantly approved

2)  Chase United Explorer Business

This card offers 50,000 United miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days after approval.  The annual fee is normally $95 but is waived for the first year.  It is essentially the same version as the consumer card which I have had a couple of times in the past.  I wanted to pick up a couple of cards for my business and also need to work on replenishing my United mileage balance.  I value United miles at $.02 each so this bonus is worth $1,000.

Result:  Application pended but was approved without a call after a couple of days

Chase MileagePlus Explorer Business Card Welcome Email

3)  Citi AA Advantage Business

This card offers 50,000 American Airlines miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days after approval.  The annual fee is $95 and is not waived for the first year.  I value American miles at $.02 each so this bonus is worth $1,000.

Result:  Approved after a quick 10 minute call to Citi

Summary:

So I went 3/3 on this round.  After spending $6,000 (should be a slam dunk thanks to Amazon Payments) in 90 days and paying $190 in annual fees, I'll earn 115,000 points/miles that I value at $2,300 which will be put to good use towards future airline and hotel awards.

How to Reedem Barclays Arrival Points

Earlier in the year, I wrote about the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard.  Since then, a few readers have obtained the card and asked me how to go about redeeming their points.  While there are many redemption options (redeem for cash, merchandise, etc...) the best redemption option is to "pay yourself back for travel."  This will get you a 10% rebate back on your points (for each redemption) which is how the card generates a 2.22% cash back rebate on travel.

Redeeming is actually really simple.  Here are the steps:

• Login to your account
• Click on "Manage Rewards" on the right hand side of the page
• Click on "Pay Yourself Back for Travel"
• You will see a list of "Purchases available for redemption"
• In order to be eligible, purchases must be coded as "travel" and be $25 or greater
• Click on "Redeem Now"

That's it!  You'll receive a statement credit for the amount redeemed as well as a 10% rebate on your redemption.  So if you earn your 40,000 point bonus by spending $2,000 in the first 90 days (the current sign-up bonus offer) you'll have a total of 44,000 points.  If you bought an airline ticket for $440 you could redeem those points against the $440 charge.  You would also receive a rebate of 4,400 points back in your account.  You could then redeem those points against a $44 travel charge and receive 440 points back in your account.  This is a great new flexible card which guarantees you 2.22% back on travel purchases especially if you aren't fond of loyalty towards a specific airline or hotel chain.

One Credit Card Signup Bonus Can Get You to Europe

One card I consistently put spend on is the British Airways Chase Visa.  The current offer provides 50,000 Avios after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days of cardmembership.  The $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

The current is offer is good but you can do better

But from time to time, Chase and British Airways sweeten the offer.  Last November, I applied and was approved for the card with this offer:

• Spend $2,000 in the first 90 days and receive 50,000 Avios
• Spend $10,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,000 Avios
• Spend $20,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,00 Avios
• $95 annual fee which was not waived for the first year
• Earn 1.25 Avios for each dollar spent
• After spending $30,000 in any calendar year, receive a "travel together" ticket which is essentially a BOGO.  The certificate can even be used on an award ticket!  This benefit effectively "doubles" your mileage balance

I have hit the first two thresholds earning 75,000 bonus Avios already.  Let's look at a hypothetical example of someone who applied for the card on January 1st.

• Total spend of $30,000 in a calendar year earns 37,500 Avios
• Bonuses earn 100,000 Avios
• Travel together ticket doubles the effective balance to 275,000 Avios

Yes, you will still have to pay the taxes/fees if you redeem the travel together ticket.  But 200,000  Avios gets you two (2) roundtrip business class tickets from the US to Europe.  Taxes and fees will probably set you back around $1,000.  In this example, you would have enough points to get you to Europe and back and an additional 75,000 Avios.  From one card!

My bet is this offer comes back later in the year.  I will be sure to post when it does.  In the meantime, I am still working on getting to $30,000 in spend on this card using a couple of tricks I've laid out previously.  If you want to go to Europe in style, this is one of the best all around cards to help get you there.

What's in My Wallet - April 2014 Edition

I've been meaning to start a periodic series outlining the cards in my wallet and my rationale for spending on each.  I try to be as purposeful (and organized) as possible about the cards in my wallet and when each one comes out.  The best analogy is really a swiss army knife.  You want to have a handful of tools for different jobs and understand which tool to use for a specific job (purchase).  This will help you maximize your earning on spend.

Here are the four cards (in addition to my debit card) in my wallet for the coming month:

1)  HHonors Surpass Card from American Express 

I upgraded to this card from the standard HHonors American Express card during my January round of applications.  The upgrade will net me 50,000 HHonors points after spending $3,000 which I should complete in April.  The original offer netted me 50,000 points as well so I'm essentially earning 100,000 bonus points from one credit card application within a year.  Pretty good.  Since this card is still short of the minimum spend, I'm not worried about category bonuses.  I will use the points for a free night at the Conrad Centennial Singapore during out trip to Bali in July.

2)  Citi Executive AAdvantage World MasterCard 

I've already completed the minimum spend on my own version of this card.   So I'm actually an authorized user on Emily's version of the card helping her work towards the high ($10K in 90 days) minimum spend threshold.  But thanks to both of us using the card for everyday spend, Amazon Payments, and some taxes due, hitting the threshold should be no problem.  After we complete the minimum spend on this card, we'll have earned 217,500 American Airlines miles from both bonuses.  Good enough for 2 roundtrip business class tickets to Europe! 

3)  Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Card 

No minimum spend needed on this card.  Just my workhorse everyday card earning 2x (actually 2.14X when you include the annual 7% dividend) on travel and dining. This card is also linked to my United dining program account.

4)  Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card 

I've already met the minimum spend on this card but am working towards the secondary bonuses which will net me an incremental 25,000 points after spending $10,000 and another 25,000 points after spending $20,000 in the first year of cardmembership.  The second bonus tranche is a lot of incremental spend is going to be a bit of a stretch.  So I keep this card in my wallet and will use it on non dining/travel expenses after meeting the minimum spend thresholds for the first two cards.

Have I Hit the Minimum Spend Yet?

In the past couple of days, several people have asked me how I keep track of minimum spend requirements for all the cards in my wallet.  Generally speaking, when I apply for a new card I add the following detail to a simple spreadsheet:

• Name of the Card (i.e. Amex Starwood Personal)
• Date of application
• Bonus (i.e. 25,000 points)
• Spend threshold (i.e. spent $1,000 in 90 days)
• 1st year annual fee
• Annual fee in subsequent years
• Whether or not I want to keep the card when the annual fee comes due (if applicable)

I'll look back at the spreadsheet (example above) every month to make sure I'm on track to hit the minimum spend required for each bonus.  That said, sometimes I want to validate where I stand and there's no real way to do that without contacting the card issuer or adding up multiple statements online.  

Citi Executive AA 100,000 Miles Posted

As I posted about here and here, I applied for the 100,000 mile Citi Executive World Elite MasterCard offer in late January.  Well a couple of months later, the 100,000 total bonus miles have posted to my AA account.  Since I initially applied for the offer when it was just 75,000 miles (which Citi later adjusted to 100,000) the miles posted in two separate transactions.

I should note that the $200 statement credit and the $450 annual fee have both posted to my account.   So I did net 107,500 miles (including the $7,500 in spend) for $250.  Keep in mind that this card offers a 10% rebate on AA awards per year up to 10,000 miles.  A roundtrip first class flight to Asia is 135,000 miles.  Subtract the 10,000 mile rebate and that's 125,000 miles.  So this offer will get you pretty darn close to the amount of miles required to redeem for that ticket that retails for $5,000 - 10,000!

This is one of the best credit card offers in market today and I'm glad that I was able to take advantage of it.  There are rumors that the offer will be pulled by the end of March so if you're interested in taking advantage of this offer, now would be the time!

How to Manage Credit Cards with Annual Fees

Over the last few weeks, several readers (Matt & Ryan - this one is for you) have asked me the same question around managing credit cards with annual fees.  I've promised each of them that I would write a post on my strategy.  Because credit card sign-up bonuses fuel the majority of my points and miles stash, it's important to have a carefully thought out strategy when it comes to managing fees or the costs could add up quick...reducing the overall "value" of playing this game.  This is a bit lengthy and dense so please let me know if you have any questions.

I separate credit cards (not counting debit cards tied to a checking account) into three categories:

1. Cards that don't have an annual fee ever
2. Cards that have an annual fee but the first year is waived
3. Cards that have an annual fee and the first year is not waived

I have a different approach for each category:

1)  Cards that don't have an annual fee ever

This is the easy part.  Cards that don't carry a fee (such as the Hilton HHonors Card from American Express) should be kept in your sock drawer (or wherever you keep your cards).  This helps build your credit (having credit for a long period of time) score.  Every year or so, I will use this cards to reload my Starbucks card to ensure the card states active.  But other than that, these cards don't get used once I've received the initial sign-up bonus.

2)  Cards that have an annual fee but the first year is waived

There are many great examples in this category.  The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Starwood Amex are two that come to mind.  The first year is a no-brainer.  You spend as you normally would to receive the sign-up bonus and then have to make a decision at your one-year anniversary.  There are several annual fee cards that I keep year after year.  The Starwood Amex is one of them for a couple of reasons  First, I've had the card for 10 years and keeping that long standing line on my credit report is key to maintaining a solid credit score.  Second, the card provides credit towards Platinum elite status which I highly value.  So it's a great use of $65 per year for me.

For the other cards, I will call customer service a month prior to the one-year anniversary (approval dates is something I track on my spreadsheet) and ask for a retention bonus.  This is super easy...takes maybe 5 minutes per card and I've had good luck threatening to cancel the card and either receiving another year free or bonus points that out way the value of the annual fee.  Last year, American Express offered me 25,000 membership rewards to keep my Gold card opened for another year.  I gladly paid the $175 annual fee for those points that I value at around $500.

If the issuer won't offer me a retention bonus, then I will go ahead and cancel.  If I have to cancel, I always ask that my credit line be moved to another card that I carry with the issuer.  This helps preserve your credit line with each bank and is helpful in the future if you ever need to move credit around (this happens often) to get a new card opened.

3)  Cards that have an annual fee but the first year is not waived

This is the tricky part.  I try to steer clear of cards with an annual fee during the first year but sometimes there's an offer (such as the AA Exec 100,000 Mile Bonus) that is just too good to pass up.  In this case, I'm paying a $450 annual fee upfront (reduced to $250 with $200 in statement credits) for 100,000 miles that I value at $2,000.  So for me, the return is fantastic and I'll use the miles for an international first class ticket worth (at retail) around $10,000.  I will ask for a retention bonus at the one-year mark and if there isn't one, I'll go ahead and cancel the card.

Last year, I spent about $700 on credit card annual fees.  For that spend, I received well over 200,000 bonus points and miles that I value at over $4,000.  So the ROI on the $700 is pretty good.  During the first year of organized "card churning" my spend on annual fees was <$100.  And I earned over 1,000,000 points and miles!  But there are only so many cards and it gets harder and harder over time.  If you are just getting started, there are so many fee free cards that this won't be an issue for at least a year.

Hopefully this overview answers some of your questions.  If you have a specific travel goal in mind, even if you have to spend a few hundred bucks on annual fees, you'll most likely come out ahead vs. paying for your trip with cash.  

American Express SPG Referral Bonus - Easiest 5,000 Points Ever

Last week, I wrote about the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express referral bonus of 5,000 Starwood points.  This was one of the cards Emily applied for during her recent set of card applications.  I logged into my account this morning and noticed that the points already posted just four days after the application was approved.  This is a simple way to earn an incremental 5,000 SPG points if you already have this card.  I value SPG points at around 3 cents so the referral bonus is worth about $150.

If you would like a referral for this card, feel free to email me.

If you apply and are approved for the card, you'll earn 25,000 SPG points after spending $5,000 in 6 months.  So in total (with the spend) you'll earn 30,000 SPG points.  If you "keep it in the family" like we just did, you will earn a total of 35,000 SPG points.  Starwood allows you to transfer points between family members with the same address so it's easy to move points between two accounts for consolidation purposes.

Emily's Latest Round of Credit Card Applications

Last weekend, Emily applied for her quarterly round of credit card applications.  If you haven't already, check out these posts for my last round as well as background on the whole process.  Here is the overview and results.

1)  Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card

One of the best all around cards out there.  The current bonus is 10,000 SPG points after first purchase and an additional 15,000 SPG points after spending $5,000 in 6 months.  I will also receive 5,000 SPG points from the SPG Amex referral offer I posted about last week.  The $65 annual fee is waived for the first year.  30,000 total SPG points is good enough for 2-3 nights in a high-end Westin or W hotel in the US.  Or you could use 28,000 points for 5 nights (fifth night free) at the Le Meridien Bangkok!  I value SPG points at around 3 cents each so the value of this approval is $900.

Result:  Pended and then approved after waiting two days

2)  Citi Executive American Airlines World MasterCard

After getting in on this offer last month, I wanted to make sure Emily got to take advantage before the offer expires in March.  The $450 fee is not waived for the first year but the offer comes with a $200 statement credit and 100,000 AA miles after spending $10,000 in 90 days.  The annual fee and minimum spend are steep but it's well worth it in my book especially given the statement credit takes almost half the "sting" out of the annual fee.  100,000 AA miles is good enough for a free roundtrip business class ticket to Europe!  I value AA miles at 2 cents so the value of this approval is $2,000!

Result:  Pended.  Emily had to call, answer a few questions and was approved over the phone in about five minutes.

3)  Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card

I got in on this offer as well last month.  Emily was able to pick-up 30,000 miles with no spend requirement for a $75 annual fee.  For some reason, the offer is not showing up so the link above drives to an offer that provides 25,000 miles and a $100 statement credit after $1,000 in spend in 3 months.  Both pretty good deals.  We'll use these Alaska miles for a future first class flight on Emirates.  I value Alaska miles at 2 cents so the value of this approval is $600.

Result:  Auto approved.

Not a bad haul (three for three!) for about 30 minutes of work on Saturday.  Total "value" of approximately $3,500.  We'll need to spend $15,000 in 6 months but $6,000 out of that will be taken care of by Amazon Payments.  So $1,500 per month for 6 months is easily done.  And the end result will be well worth it.  Including minimum spend, we'll earn 175,000 miles and points for $325.

A very successful quarterly round of apps!

Starwood Preferred Guest Amex Referral Bonus is Back

Earlier in the week, I posted about the Starwood hotel category changes.  Starwood points coupled with the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex can help you achieve elite status as well as earn free hotel stays.  But did you know that the Starwood Amex has a referral program?

They ran this promotion a few years ago but then it seemed to die.  I received the following email earlier in the year about the program being back!  This works for both the personal and business versions of the card (I have both).

Are you in the market for a new SPG Amex card?  Email me and I'd be happy to refer you (you'll get the standard offer, I'll get 5,000 SPG points.  Who knows, you might find something special from me in your inbox as well.  Another great promotion from Starwood & American Express to kick off the new year!

Earn SPG points by referring friends/family

My Chase Sapphire 7% Dividend Posted!

One of the great features of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the 7% annual dividend on all spend.  This includes bonuses, an extra 7% on category bonuses like dining and travel, and 7% on top of your Ultimate Rewards earnings.  The bonus typically posts on the second statement of the year in February.  I received mine this morning.

An extra 7% for 2013 CSP Spend

I actually spent around $22K last year on this card.  About half was everyday spend (travel and dining) but I also leveraged Amazon Payments to get extra points across the year.  In total, I earned 2,926 bonus points which is 7% of roughly 42,000 meaning I earned an "extra" 20,000 points from category bonuses and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall last year.  Not bad.

The 7% dividend is a great feature of this card and receiving the bonus in February is always a nice surprise.

Update on Recent Citi AAdvantage Executive Application

As I wrote about here and here, I applied for the Citi AA Executive card with a 75,000 and $100 statement credit.  Three days after I applied (and was approved) Citi bumped the public offer to 100,000 miles and a $200 statement credit for $10,000 in spend.  Unfortunately timing I guess.  So I emailed Citi last night to see if they would honor the "better" offer.

Surprisingly, they offered to honor the "better" offer without increasing the minimim spend requirement.  So (factoring in the $200 statement credit) I will now earn 100,000 AA miles for $250.  Not a bad deal given that the miles can be used for a roundtrip business class ticket to Europe!  This is one of the best deals I've seen in a long time and I'm glad I was able to take advantage of it.

The full text of the response is shown below:

Better Citi Executive AAdvantage Bonus - 100,000 Miles

The Citi Executive World MasterCard AAdvantage offer I posted about over the weekend just got even better.  Via The Points Guy at this link, you can earn up to 100,000 American Airlines miles after spending $10,000 in three months.  The offer also comes with a $200 statement credit reducing the annual fee to $250 for the first year.

I've had a few people ask me if they should pull the trigger on the offer (I already did on Saturday at the lower bonus).  I absolutely think you should.  These types of offers only come around a few times a year so if you have plans to book a trip on American (or OneWorld partners) this could be a huge help.  The minimum spend threshold is steep but there are ways to minimize the impact.  The offer likely won't last long so take advantage if you can.

Sorry for all the posts on the same (or similar) topic.  I will try to mix it up over the next couple of weeks.

Meeting Minimum Spend Thresholds with Amazon Payments

Over the last week, I posted a few times on my latest round of credit card applications here, here, and here.  One of the common questions around periodically signing up for credit cards centers around the minimum spend thresholds (i.e. spend $3,000 in 90 days to get xyz).  At first, I had no idea how some people would obtain five new credit cards requiring them to spend $15,000 in 3 months.  Were they actually spending $5,000 per month or were they figuring out other ways to meet the threshold?

One trick I've learned over the last year is leveraging Amazon Payments.  Amazon has a payments service where they will allow you to send up to $1,000 in a calendar month to another person with their own (Amazon) account...on a credit card...for free.  So on the first of each month I send $1,000 to Emily and she sends $1,000 to me.  This process takes us about five minutes per month.

Fly to Hong Kong in First Class for $350

Last weekend, I completed my quarterly round of credit card applications.  Perhaps it was fortuitous timing or just luck that a phenomenal offer came out yesterday.

Via The Points Guy and available at this link you can earn 75,000 American Airlines miles for spending $7,500 in the first 90 days.  You can also earn an additional $100 statement credit by spending $100 on American Airlines within the first year.  The annual fee is $450 and is not waived for the first year so this certainly won't be for everyone. 

The card does get you Admirals Club Access (and USAirways clubs given the merger) which is a nice perk if you fly American a lot...especially given that membership can cost up to $475.

When these offers come around, if you are in a position to apply, you have to do so quickly.  In many cases, the offers are pulled quickly (sometimes hours) so if applying for the card makes sense, don't think just apply.  In this case, there was some speculation that offer was targeted but early reports proved that not to be the case. 

Since I had just completed my quarterly apps a few days earlier, I decided to apply.  Here are a few of my thoughts on why I pulled the trigger:

• Yes, $450 is a VERY steep annual fee.  
• Yes, $7,500 in spend in 90 days is a lot.  But there are some tricks to getting to that amount without "spending more" than you normally would that I'll share in a future post.  
• 75,000 miles will get you three (3) round trip economy tickets on American to anywhere in the US.  So if you live in NYC and want to travel to LA, this will get you there and back three times.  
•  I value AA miles at $.02 each so the bonus with the spend will net you 82,500 miles worth $1,650 for $350 in "cash."
• 75,000 American miles is a ton.  67,500 will get you one-way to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific First Class. 

For me the value is really in "buying" a one-way first class ticket (last bullet above) to Asia for $350 cash (annual fee - statement credit).  Everyone will think about it differently but that was my logic.  I applied for the card last night, received a notification that I needed to call to verify a few pieces of information, and was approved in 5 minutes.  I was able to verify the offer with the super nice Citi CSR and was on with my weekend. 

My Latest Round of Credit Card Applications: Results

Over the weekend, I applied for the following cards (read this post first if you haven't already).  This was one of the easiest rounds of applications ever.  I was done in less than 30 minutes all all three cards were auto approved onscreen.  It's not always this easy - sometimes you have to fight for an approval by calling the issuer and explain why you want the card.  In some cases I've had to move credit lines around when I have multiple cards with the same issuer to obtain an approval.  But at the end of the day, the banks want to approve vs. decline and keep you as a customer.  Agents are typically super friendly, knowledgeable and genuinely want to find a way to earn/keep your business.

I managed to grab screen caps of 2 of the 3 but missed on the Amex Surpass upgrade.  I'm always shocked at the credit lines these companies doll out. 

Barclays Arrival Auto Approval

Alaska Airlines BofA Auto Approval

All in, I value the points/cashback earned on these cards at $1,190.  Not my best haul but after a couple years of doing this, there aren't unlimited earning opportunities.  I am looking forward to diversifying my point mix a bit and earning Alaska miles definitely plays into that strategy.  I hope to be riding on the Emirates A380 one day soon!!  Stay tuned for the next round of applications in 90 days or so.

My Latest Round of Credit Card Applications - January 2014

As I discussed in this post, I apply for a new round of credit cards every 90 days.  Remember, this is not for you if you are a) working on improving your credit b) planning on applying for a loan such as a mortgage in the near future or c) if you periodically carry a balance on your cards.  The rewards that you'll gain in these cases will be heavily offset by either not being able to qualify for the lowest lending rate (due to recent inquiries on your credit report) or actually paying interest if you carry a balance.  Each application will typically ding your credit 2-5 points (those inquiries fall off over time and your score will go back up) thus the reasoning for applying for cards every 90 days on the same day.  The inquiries fall off roughly at the same time and on the day you apply, the other banks don't see that you applied for a card earlier in the day.  My FICO score has only approved over two years of doing this every quarter.  Before this round of applications, my score ranged from 765 - 780.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way...My quarterly "churn" happened to be this past weekend so here's an overview of the cards I applied for and why.  I'll provide an update on the results later in the week.

1)  Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature(R) Card

This card offers 25,000 miles upon approval.  Meaning no minimum spend required.  The card does offer an annual fee of $75 which is not waived for the first year.  I've been meaning to start stocking up on Alaska Miles since they introduced their partnership and award chart with Emirates.  For 100,000 miles, you can fly (one-way) from the US to the Middle East in First Class on the Emirates A380.  Not a bad way to travel especially when you know you can shower on-board.  I value Alaska miles at $.02 each making the sign-up bonus worth $500.

Starwood Preferred Guest Card Overview

I recently wrote about why the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of my favorite cards for everyday spend.  Another one of my favorite cards is the Starwood Preferred Guest(R) Credit Card from American Express.  Starwood owns many brands that you are likely familiar with including Sheraton, Westin, W, and St. Regis.  Many people believe that SPG points are the most lucrative given their organic value and transferability to a number of airline programs.

I've had this card for 10 years and over the last decade, SPG has become my favorite hotel loyalty program.  I have held top tier Platinum (requiring 25 stays or 50 nights in a calendar year) for 4 of the last 7 years which has provided some outstanding benefits.  While this card offers limited bonuses for category spend, it is an outstanding addition to your wallet.  If I am not putting category spend (like dining or travel) or trying to hit a sign-up bonus, I am putting spend on this card.

Here's why:

1. Current sign-up bonus offers 25,000 total SPG points after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months
2. When redeeming four nights, Starwood offers the fifth night free thus reducing the amount of points required by 25%
3. 2 stays and 5 nights toward elite status which gets you 20% to SPG Gold and 10% to SPG Platinum
4. When transferring 20,000 points to partner airlines, (here is the list) SPG offers a 5,000 point bonus so each transfer of 20,000 nets 25,000 miles
5. $65 annual fee waived for the first year
6. If you spend $30,000 in any calendar year, you will be awarded SPG Gold which is the mid tier status offering free internet, additional bonus points for hotel stays, and free upgrades
7. Earn 1 point per dollar for all spend and 2 points per dollar at Starwood hotel properties including hotel restaurants

Why I Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The most "abused" card I have in my wallet is the Chase Sapphire Preferred(R) card.  Beyond the awesome look (name on the front, numbers on the back) and feel (this card is heavy) the CSP has some outstanding benefits.  There are certainly more benefits but here are my top 10:

1. The current sign-up bonus is 45,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
2. 2x points on travel and dining
3. 3x points on dining on the first Friday of each month through the end of 2014
4. A 7% annual dividend on all points earned including the sign-up and category bonuses
5. $0 annual fee for the first year, $95 thereafter
6. The ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points between accounts (super useful for couples/families to consolidate balances)
7. Access to the Ultimate Rewards Mall for additional earning opportunities
8. Awesome transfer partners including United, Marriott, Hyatt, British Airways, and Korean Air
9. Most points transfer instantly so you can locate your award and then transfer the points
10. No foreign transaction fees when traveling abroad (typically 3%).  You can also get the card with a chip (like mine below) so you can use it in Europe.  Many places won't accept the card without the chip.

My "abused" CSP

If you don't already have this card, you should get it right away (post on getting started) and put it in your wallet.  For most people, these are the most lucrative category bonuses.  Approximately 50% of my spend falls into the travel or dining category.  Travel is pretty broad and includes airfare, hotels, rental cars, parking, etc...I have this card linked to my Uber account as those charges count as travel.

Here's a quick example if you get the card today:

• Spend $2,000 per month, 50% on travel and dining
• You would earn 3,000 points per month in spend (36,000 total for the year)
• 45,000 bonus points in month three for hitting the new cardmember bonus
• The 7% dividend would pay out 5,670 points at the end of the year

In total, you would earn 86,670 Ultimate Rewards points.  This doesn't take into consideration the 3x "First Friday" or any additional points earned through the Ultimate Rewards Mall.  Those points could be transferred to a variety of different partners but let's use a real world example.  You could transfer the points to Hyatt and redeem for 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Istanbul where we stayed in November.  When we stayed, the hotel was selling for $380 USD per night.  The hotel is a Hyatt category 5 and requires 20,000 points per night or 80,000 total.

So you would be getting $1,520 in "value" from $12,000 in spend.  That is a 6.33% return!  Pretty solid redemption and a great way to get a luxury hotel stay for managing your everyday spend efficiently. 

Getting Started: Credit Card Bonuses

2013 was a great travel year for us.  Emily and I took trips to Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Istanbul, Hawaii, and London!  Many of you have asked us how we afford to go on all these trips.  The answer is pretty simple…we don't usually pay for them.

I started looking into ways to save money on our honeymoon in early 2012.  We both wanted to go somewhere really special but didn’t want to completely break the bank.  So I started researching ways to use our existing miles and points, build on those balances, and then redeem them for our honeymoon.  There is a ton of information online (favorite blogs coming soon) that I consumed early on and blogs that I read on a regular basis.

Over the past 18 months or so, I’ve built up our point balances, redeemed for several ridiculous trips, and managed to train Emily to use the “right” credit card when going out to dinner, buying gas, or shopping online.  Since so many people have asked us about our trips, I’ve put together a top five list of sorts for those of you that are interested in learning more.  Here is the first post.