Last year, I published a year end checklist of sorts with various deals, offers & promotions that I thought were worth considering maximizing before they expired. A lot of you found it helpful so I did the same for this year with a quick list of offers or promotions that expire on 12/31/15 that you should seriously consider taking advantage of.

The clock is ticking…

1. Use the Airline Credit on the American Express Platinum ($200) or Premier Rewards Gold ($100) – Even though the official language regarding this credit is meant to cover baggage fees, lounge passes etc., I always buy gift cards to make sure I fulfill this credit, since I wouldn’t complete it on fees alone. Buying $50 Delta e-gift cards or $100 American Airlines gift cards does the trick. Make sure you have chosen the airline first!

2. Maximize Chase Freedom Q4 Bonus & Earn 10x at Amazon – The Chase Freedom Q4 5 10% Bonus category is Amazon, Zappos, Audible, & Diapers.com and you will earn 10% cash back up to $1,500 in spend in these categories. I’m a big Amazon shopper so I will always stock up on Amazon gift cards to make sure I hit the $1,500 in spend. You could take a similar approach for the other stores by buying gift cards for future purchases. I’ll gladly take earning 10x on all my Amazon purchases for next year!

If you plan to buy Amazon Gift Cards or reload your Amazon Gift Card Balance to maximize this promotion, please consider using my Amazon link here. I do earn a small referral for any purchase – thank you for your support!

3. Use Those Great Amex Offers – In the past quarter, American Express has released some of the better Amex Offers which can offer some substantial savings especially if you have multiple Amex cards in your household like I do. Here is a quick summary of the better offers expiring on 12/31 – if you don’t have anything to buy, consider a gift card.

• Amazon – Spend $60, Get a $15 Statement Credit
• Best Buy – Spend $199, Get a $20 Statement Credit
• Walmart – Spend $35, Get a $15 Statement Credit
• Dunkin Donuts – Spend $10, Get a $5 Statement Credit
• AirBnb – Spend $100, Get a $50 Statement Credit
• Newegg – Spend $200, Get a $25 Statement Credit

4. Maximize Discover + Apple Pay Promotion for 10% Cashback on In-Store Purchases – This is a huge deal that is valid on the first $10,000 of spending so you could earn a cool $1,000 on top of all normal cashback from Discover (such as their Double Cashback promotion so this is really worth $2,000). If you have no clue what I am talking about, read this post from Frequent Miler.

5. Apply for a CitiGold Checking Account for 50k AA Miles or 50k Thank You Points – You must have an American Airlines credit card (Platinum Select) for the AA offer using code 42ERCWNQU6 or a Thank You Points earning card (Prestige, Premier, Preferred) for the Thank You offer using code 42ERCZ42PY. I’ve written extensively about taking advantage of this offer and how to do it here, here and here (though this was a savings account which is also worth reading about).

6. Use the $300 Ritz Carlton Credit Card Travel Credit – This is similar to the American Express airline credit with the main differences being it can used across many airlines and that the credit is not automatic. You must call in and it has effectively gotten much tougher to get credit for items that normally don’t qualify for a credit, such as airline gift cards. You can try to go down that path if you are willing to fib about the actual charge so I recommend buying lounges passes or upgrading to economy comfort/plus seats for travel already booked for next year. You can see what others have had success with here.

7. Use the Citi Prestige $250 Travel Credit – Unless you have a December 31 close date on your statement, it is too late to do this but for those that do, make sure you use the $250 airline credit from the Prestige card. Unlike the Ritz or Amex cards mentioned above, this credit is not calendar year based but rather expires for the year on your December statement close date. So for example, if you statement closed on 12/20, it is now too late to use your 2015 credit but you can start using your 2016 credit today since that statement will close in 2016. This credit is also good for the purchase of anything from the airline – including actual tickets!

8. $15 Statement Credit for Using a Chase Freedom with Visa Checkout – This is pretty simple to execute, go to a store that accepts Visa Checkout (Staples, Newegg, Gap and more) and use your Chase Freedom for a purchase of $15 or more to see a $15 statement credit in a few weeks.

These are the ‘bigger’ offers I could think of – what did I miss?