Credit Cards

December 18, 2014

Refer a Friend Offer Now Available for the Barclays US Airways MasterCard with 50,000 Mile Bonus!

Barclays is really going all out to acquire new cardholders before it can no longer issue the US Airways MasterCard as they have not only raised the signup bonus on the card to 50,000 miles and will give you $25 to switch to paperless statements but they are now allowing existing cardholders to refer others to the card for either a 5,000 mile or 10,000 mile bonus! I have never heard of a refer a friend program from Barclays before so this is great news for cardholders. This offer does appear targeted as I got a 10k refer a friend offer but a follower of mine only reported a 5k refer a friend offer. Check your email for your offer!

BarclaysReferaFriend

Per the terms of the promotion, here is what you need to know:

  • You will receive either 5,000 or 10,000 miles per every approved account up to 50,000 bonus miles.
  • Your friend will receive the offer for 50,000 miles after first purchase. There is no 10,000 anniversary bonus on this offer. See this post for that link with the 50k + 10k offer which is meant for Preferred members but will work even if you don’t have Preferred status and are instantly approved.
  • Your friend must apply and be approved by January 18th.

This is the second best offer on the card now behind the 50k + 10k which is aimed at Preferred members. I recommend going for that offer before this one as the 10k anniversary bonus is worth it. However, I have heard reports that if Barclays does not automatically approve you and you have to call the reconsideration line, they may not approve you if they see you are in fact not a Preferred member. If you are risk-adverse, I recommend going just for this 50k offer since it is open to anyone and you can call reconsideration if not automatically approved and still have a good chance to get approved.

Feel free to email me at ralph@pointscentric for a referral or leave a comment and I will send you an email. Again, only apply for this if you are not a Preferred member and are risk-adverse!

Also I am giving away my 20% off award flights code on Southwest – click this post for details!

Thanks for the heads up to my Twitter Follower @4321ka!

December 17, 2014

Point & Center: 50,000 SkyMiles Offer on Delta Gold Amex, Free Gogo Internet for American Express Business Platinum Cardholders, New IHG “Set Your Sights” Promotion & IHG Buys Kimpton Hotels

It’s only Wednesday but it feels like a lot is going on in the points and miles world this week. Here is a quick summary of some items I haven’t blogged about yet.

1. 50,000 SkyMiles Offer on the Delta Gold American Express – With the new rules from American Express limiting a signup bonus to only once a lifetime for each personal card, it makes sense to only apply for a card now from American Express when the offer is at its peak. Currently, for one week only, the Delta Gold Amex (and the business card as well) is increased to a 50,000 mile offer if you spend $1,000 in 3 months.

DeltaGold50k

This is the highest offer I can remember is quite some time but here are they key details of the offer:

  • 50,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
  • $50 statement credit after first purchase with Delta in the first 3 months
  • Free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights
  • Annual Fee of $95 is waived for the first year
  • Offer expires December 21, 2014

If you are short on Delta miles or have a bunch of Delta flights upcoming in the next year and you want to avoid the checked bags fees, this card could make sense to get now when the offer is the highest. And with Delta introducing one ways awards starting 1/1, I’m hoping Delta miles get a bit easier to you though I’m not holding my breath on that.

Here is the link to the personal card.

Here is the link to the business card.

2. Free Gogo Internet for American Express Business Platinum Holders – Earlier this year, American Express added Boingo internet as a new benefit for personal Platinum cardholders and now they are following suit on the Business Platinum card by offering 10 Free Gogo internet passes annually. Gogo all day passes cost $16 so this benefit could be worth $160 annually if you fly enough. Just remember that Gogo is only on certain airlines including Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, United, US Airways & Virgin America (along with a few others).

3. New IHG Promotion “Set Your Sights” – IHG has been on a roll with unique, targeted promotions that have some real value to them if you are able to meet the stay requirements. They just announced their newest promotion, “Set Your Sights” in which each member has a list of requirements to meet to earn potentially 50,000+ points. My offer is below which I don’t think is all that great since it requires 5 nights minimum. I’ve seen offers where only 3 nights could meet all the criteria for the bonus points. Make sure to check out your offer and register for the promotion as it could be lucrative if it meets your travel plans.

IHGSetYourSights

4. IHG Buys Kimpton Hotels – In a potentially exciting move for IHG members, IHG has announced it has purchased the Kimpton boutique brand of hotels for $430 million dollars and will incorporate them under the IHG company. This is exciting because IHG members will eventually have the option to redeem points or the annual free night from the IHG credit card on Kimpton properties. Kimpton has 62 hotels, all in the US, but they are known for the uniqueness and willingness to provide great customer service. They have some great locations with exciting hotels including NYC, Aspen, and San Francisco.

I stayed in one in Phoenix for the #westcoastDO and had a nice stay while I was treated great as a top-tier Inner Circle member. My hope is the match top tier Inner Circle member to Ambassador status with IHG but it is too soon to tell how that will shake out.

December 16, 2014

The 140,000 Point Offer on Ritz Carlton Credit Card Is Back!

Earlier this year the 140,000 point offer was available though it was meant to be targeted and you needed a certain code from a mailer to apply (or you could just find the code on Flyertalk). I was able to get the card earlier this year but now the offer is available publicly at this link here. This is the highest ever offer I am aware on the card and even with an annual fee of $395, I will argue it is worth it in the first year even if you never plan to stay at a Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Ritz140k

Here are the key details:

  • 140,000 Ritz Carlton Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months. Remember these points can be used freely at Marriott hotels and with the highest Marriott tier only costing 45,000 points a night this signup bonus is worth at least 3 nights at any high end Marriott and anywhere from 4 to 7 nights at mid-tier Marriotts (category 4 to 7). And this is worth even more at low end Marriott properties.
  • $300 Travel Credit Annually. This is based on a calendar year basis so in your first year of card membership, you could take advantage of this offer twice for a total of $600, which more than offsets the $395 annual fee. Now the actual language of what is covered is “airline lounge day pass, or towards a yearly lounge membership of your choice; airline seat upgrades; airline baggage fees; in-flight internet/entertainment; in-flight meals; Global Entry fees.” However, per Flyertalk and a Saverocity thread, people have been able to redeem this credit for airline gift cards just like the Amex Platinum card (though it requires you to call in and request the credit, unlike Amex which is automatic) though it is advisable to not tell them it was a gift card purchase.
  • Ritz Carlton Gold Status. This basically gets you free internet, bonus points and a chance at room upgrades.
  • 3 Club Level Upgrades – If you are on a paid stay at a Ritz Carlton, you can use one of these upgrades to get club floor access which includes lounge access, complimentary food and drinks etc..
  • $100 Hotel Credit – Stay 2+ nights and pay with your Ritz Carlton credit card and you will receive a $100 hotel credit.

I only care about this offer for two things: the 140k points and the $300 annual travel credit. The other benefits are nice but hold no value for me since I don’t plan on having any Ritz Carlton stays (paid or award stays). As I mentioned above, even excluding the points (which is the main draw in this offer), I come out ahead financially with the airline gift cards which I know I will use in the future as there are no expiration dates on these. The 140,000 points are worth at least $.007 cents a point (a little less than the standard 1 point is equal to 1 penny) to me so that equates to a value of $980 for just the points. So the value of the points, $980, + $600 in airline gift cards – $395 annual fee equals a signup value of $1,185 for me. It could be worth more if you value the Gold status and club upgrades at all.

Additionally, an under-reported value here is the flight and hotel package that Marriott offers. Let’s say both you and your significant other signup for this card and earn 280,000 points combined. You can redeem those points for a 7 night stay at a Marriott resort and receive 50,000 to 120,000 miles transferred into the program of your choice (United, American etc) based on the chart below. Or you could have the miles transferred to Southwest and you would only be 10,000 points away from the Southwest Companion Pass!

One option for Flight & Hotel Package

One option for Flight & Hotel Package

A category 6 hotel costs 30,000 points a night so a 7 night stay will would cost 180,000 points (one night is free when you redeem points for at least 4 nights). With this package however, the hotel comes to the same cost as before but the major perk is you can transfer Marriott points into United (with 10% bonus) or American miles at a 1:1 ratio. This is a great value as Marriott hotels are worth about half that of airline miles. In fact, if you normally wanted to convert Marriott points to miles, the ratio is 4:1 so to get the same 100,000 miles, you would need 280,000 Marriott points. But with this package, it is like getting a 7 night stay free! Of course, I wouldn’t recommend ever converting your Marriott points to airline miles at that 4:1 ratio but you see my point.

Ugly Transfer Ratios

Ugly Transfer Ratios

I could go on about this flight and hotel package option but the Miles Professor did an excellent job summarizing this option, along with some great hotel finds including hotels in Aruba, Hawaii etc. I would give her post a read if you are interested in this option.