Promotions

December 14, 2014

Lots of American Express News – Here is a Quick Rundown of What You Need to Know

There has been a LOT of news, promotions and changes related to American Express and some of their partners in the past week or so. I’m bit behind in posting about all of these so I’ve consolidated the major announcements below with my quick thoughts on each.

1. There will be no limits on transfers to Delta SkyMiles from American Express – Earlier this year, I posted about a new policy that Delta was going to institute starting January 1st that you would only be allowed to transfer 250k American Express Membership Rewards Points to Delta each year but now Delta is rescinding that announcement.

Delta apparently entered into a new contract with American Express so this seems to be the most likely reason this restriction will no longer be implemented.  It was a terrible policy to begin with because 250k is too low a limit to cap transfers at annually – that wouldn’t even cover two business class tickets to Asia or Australia and it literally just covers enough for two business class tickets to Europe. I don’t transfer to Delta often but it is nice to see this policy not enacted.

2. American Express Hilton HHonors Surpass Credit Card 80k Bonus – I first saw this at Doctor of Credit, but American Express increased the bonus on the Surprass credit card to 80,000 HHonors points over the standard offer of 60,000 HHonors points. Here is a link to the offer.

Surpass80k

Here are the key details of the offer –

  • 80,000 HHonors Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months
  • You earn Hilton Gold Status for having this card (i.e. free breakfast, bonus points etc.)
  • Annual fee of $75 NOT waived in the first year
  • This card earns 12x points at Hilton hotels, 6x at restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations and 3x everywhere else.

In short, this is a decent offer but not one to jump on unless you need Hilton points. Remember Hilton points are severely devalued and 80k points doesn’t even cover one night at a top end hotel (though can cover 2 nights at mid tier hotels potentially). I still think the Citi Hilton Reserve is a better offer with two free nights. There is also a no fee Hilton card from Amex that currently offers 50k points + $50 statement credit. 

3. New Point Earning Structure on American Express Business Gold Rewards Card – Previously, this card offered 3x points on airfare, 2x points on gas, advertising, hardware/software purchases and shipping and 1x elsewhere but now American Express will let you choose which category earns the 3x bonus points! This is a great change as I (and I imagine may others) don’t spend a lot on airfare so it is great to have a different choice to earn 3x points at. The following categories are eligible to be chosen for 3x points and the ones you don’t choose will earn 2x points.

  • Advertising in Select Media
  • Gas Stations
  • Airfare (when purchased directly from the airline)
  • Shipping
  • Hardware, Software and Cloud Computing purchases from select vendors

I actually don’t spend a ton on any of those categories so I will most likely choose the gas station option since I already earn 2x airfare from my Sapphire Preferred card.

4. American Express & SPG Team Up for 500 Point Bonuses on Mobile Bookings – If you book your next Starwood stay via their mobile app and pay with an American Express Card (like the SPG Amex) you will earn an additional 500 Starpoints for the booking. Here is the link for more information on this promo.

SPGMobileBonus

This bonus can used for up to 3 times and stays must occur between now and March 31, 2015. Make sure to register for this promotion (members are not automatically enrolled).

5. New American Express Partner Air Bnb – Amex has teamed up with Airbnb to allow customers to use Membership Rewards points for Airbnb gift cards. The gift cards are available in $100 and $250 increments and cost 10,000 & 25,000 MR points respectively, yielding a value of 1 cent per point.

Airbnb

I personally won’t use this option and I don’t recommend it either unless you are a heavy user of Airbnb and cannot find any other way to use your MR points. I use my MR points for flights by transferring to British Airways most often. For example, it cost only 10,000 British Airways Avios to fly from JFK to Antigua and I guarantee that flight will always be over $100 (try closer to $300). That obviously is a very specific example but similar values are out there for flights with BA’s program and I’ll take a several hundred dollar flight instead of a $100 credit to Airbnb.

6. $5 for Downloading American Express Mobile App (Targeted) – Some customers are eligible to receive a $5 statement credit for downloading and logging into the American Express app on your phone – tablets/iPads will not work for the purpose of this promotion. Many people reported getting an email about this from Amex but it doesn’t hurt to try and replicate this offer if you didn’t get the email.

If you ever logged into the Amex mobile app, you will not be able to get this $5 statement credit. You must download the app between now and 12/31/14.

December 12, 2014

$25 Statement Credit for Switiching to Paperless Statements for Barclays Credit Cards

I logged into my Barlcays account online tonight and I noticed for the first time a popup that stated if I switched to paperless statements for my US Airways MasterCard, I could earn a $25 statement credit if I purchased something before December 31st, 2014. This was only available on my US Airways MasterCard but not when I clicked on my Arrival + card so I am guessing this might be targeted in some way.

BarclaysPaperlessCredit

This obviously is a no-brainer opportunity if you are able to see this on your account and you don’t need paper statements to remind you to pay your bills. It didn’t say anything about a minimum purchase amount so buying anything for under $25 and you will make money on this promotion. If you don’t see it right away and you have multiple Barclays cards, try switching back and forth between the cards online – that might do the trick. I’m guessing if you already have paperless statements you will not see this promotion but this is a good example why I still get paper statements until I’m offered something to switch (it happens more than you think).

This interestingly appeared on my brand new US Airways MasterCard and this promotion is perfect for this card. Since all I need to do is make one purchase on the card to earn 50,000 miles, I will buy myself a cup of coffee tomorrow that will satisfy the first purchase requirement for the miles AND trigger a $25 statement credit as well. So in effect, the 50,000 miles will cost me a net of $64 since I will use this $25 statement credit to offset the annual fee of $89 on my first statement. As a reminder, here is my write-up of the better offer for the US Airways MasterCard.

Gotta love easy, money-making promotions!

December 4, 2014

Point & Center: 1,000 Free Hyatt Points (Targeted), Double Points on Purchases at Small Businesses, Amex Small Business Saturday Credits Now Posting & Earn Miles for Parking

Here is a quick rundown of what you should know about in the points & miles blogosphere.

1) 1,000 Free Hyatt Points (Targeted) – Hyatt sent out emails to certain Hyatt members offering them 1,000 Free Hyatt points as a way to say thank you for being a member. If you got the email, all you had to do was click the link in the email by January 31st and you would receive the 1,000 points. It is widely speculated that the only members to receive the email from Hyatt were Chase Hyatt Visa credit card holders that were also Diamond members. I have the Hyatt Visa but I am not a current Diamond member (I was earlier this year) but I did not receive the email.

You can try to register for the free points at this link here but it wouldn’t work for any of the accounts I manage. Otherwise if you are a Chase Hyatt Visa holder and a Diamond member check your email folders, especially your spam folder as some people reported seeing their email in their junk folder.

Hyatt1000

2) Double Points on Purchases at Small Businesses for American Express Everyday Card Holders – If you have an American Express Everyday or Everyday Preferred credit card, you can register for a special promotion from American Express to earn 2x points on purchases made at small businesses. The link to register can be found here. This offer comes on the heels of Small Business Saturday (see next paragraph) so it is encouraging to see Amex entice customers to continue to shop small. 2x points won’t make you points-rich overnight but it’s better than nothing. Here is a map of small businesses that would qualify.

AmexShopSmall

3) $10 Small Business Saturday Credits Now Posting – This past Saturday was Small Business Saturday and I mentioned earlier how for each American Express Card you have (including authorized users cards, prepaid cards like Bluebird & Serve and even store Amex card like the Macy’s American Express) you could earn a $10 statement each time you spent $10+ at a small business, up to 3x per card. So you could effectively make three$10 transactions per Amex card and receive $30 in statements credits thereby making your purchases free!

Andrea & I had a total of ten Amex cards between us and we scored $300 worth of free stuff! We bought $200 in gift cards at a small, local grocer (swiping $10 at a time) and then purchased a $100 gift card to our favorite Italian restaurant in the area (again swiping $10 at a time). While checking my statements online today, I noticed that all the $10 credits hit my account thereby confirming we received $300 free in gift cards! While Amex does say it can take 90 days to receive the credit, check your account to see if your credits have posted.

AmexSBSCredits

4) Earn Miles for Parking – I’m always interested in earning more miles, especially in cases where I am not currently earning any miles. There are several parking programs, Thanks Again & PreFlight Parking in which you can miles for parking, mostly related to airport parking. The earning ratio appears to be a mile per dollar spent on parking in most cases which isn’t a ton but if you frequently park at airports before your travels, you might as well earn some additional miles for it. Check out MileNerd’s post for more details on the different programs.

December 1, 2014

Cyber Monday Deal: $100 Off Hotels with Orbitz & Visa Checkout

Orbitz announced its Cyber Monday promotion in which you can save $100 on any hotel room booked via Orbitz that is $100 or more and you pay via Visa Checkout. That means if you were able to find a hotel room that was exactly $100, it is free! This is an exceptional Cyber Monday deal as you would still save for example 50% off a $200 hotel room. Just make sure to signup for Visa Checkout first!

Orbitz

Key Facts:

  • This offer is only available to the first 10,000 people who book a hotel with promo code VISACHECKOUT and pay with Visa Checkout
  • Most major hotel chains excluded (Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt etc.)
  • Hotel must be paid for at time of booking
  • Stay must occur between December 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015
  • The start time for this promotion is unknown – basically it could go live at any point today on Orbitz.com and it will go quick once 10,000 people have used this code so keep checking if you really want to take advantage of this deal. MileNerd thinks it may start around 11am EST.
  • Eligible hotels must show the phrase “PROMO CODE ELIGIBLE” on the hotel details page

Link to more details about the offer.

The complete terms & conditions are as follows (emphasis mine on certain parts):

Offer is valid for a limited time only and is only available when displayed on http://www.orbitz.com. Available on desktop, mobile web, and on Orbitz mobile apps that include Visa Checkout as a payment option. Book a qualifying standalone, pre-paid hotel for $100 or more for a stay occurring between December 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 via Orbitz using Visa Checkout as the payment method and promo code VISACHECKOUT, and receive $100 off your booking. Most major chains are excluded; to find participating hotels look for the “PROMO CODE ELIGIBLE” message on Orbitz.com hotel listings. You must enter your promotion code prior to completing your booking to receive the savings; promotion codes cannot be applied to bookings previously made. Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per booking. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Promotion codes are non-transferrable, not for resale, and cannot be combined with other offers. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion.

(H/T SlickDeals)

November 9, 2014

Point & Center: 10-20% off Virgin America Flights, $50 off Marriott Hotels with Amex Sync & Using Credit Cards to Pay Bills with Evolve Money

I am in the Phoenix this weekend attending the #westcoastDO where about 100 or so points & miles fanatics meet to hear some interesting speakers talk and to share stories, tips and tricks about manufactured spending, travel hacking and trips they have taken. It’s been an awesome weekend but here is a recap of what’s going on in the points & miles world.

1) 10-20% Virgin America Flights – It seems Virgin America is always offering some sort of discount on flights as there is yet another promotion going on right now in which you can take 10-20% off Virgin America flights with promo code DEAL20. This deal isn’t as good as the one a few weeks ago (that one had a much wider travel period) but this deal does include weekend travel so it might work for a quick weekend getaway. Here are the key details:

  • Must book by 11:59 PST TONIGHT (11/9) using promo code DEAL20
  • Travel must be between December 3rd and December 16th
  • You can take 20% off if you travel on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday
  • You can take 10% off if you travel on the other days of the week (including Friday and Sunday which were excluded last time)

I see roundtrip fares from NY to LA at $242 for this promotion which is fantastic for a non-stop transcon. Play around with the dates to get the lowest price.

VADeal20

2) Take $50 Off Your Next Marriott Stay with Amex Sync – There is an American Express Sync offer that will allow you to take $50 off your next Marriott stay by tweeting #AmexMarriott and then booking a reservation directly with Marriott with your American Express card that is enrolled with Amex Sync. It kinda stinks so many Marriott brands are excluded (see below) but this could work if you are traveling for the upcoming holidays at an eligible Marriott Hotel.

Here is a direct link to the terms and conditions but the big things to know are:

  • Tweet using #AmexMarriott to add this offer to your connected American Express Card
  • Must book directly with Marriott Hotels as reservations must be made online at http://www.marriotthotels.com
  • The total amount charged must be over $200 for the $50 credit to hit. So even if the room rate is under $200, you can still charge any incidentals to your room to get to $200 and make this promotion work for you.
  • You must stay in a Marriott hotel between 11/6/14 and 12/31/14
  • Several Marriott Chains are excluded including The Ritz-Carlton®, EDITION®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Autograph Collection®, JW Marriott®, Renaissance Hotels®, MOXY(TM) Hotels, Courtyard®, SpringHill Suites by Marriott®, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott®, Protea Hotels(TM), Residence Inn by Marriott®, TownePlace Suites by Marriott®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Gaylord Hotels® and Marriott Vacation Club®

3) Use Credit Cards to Pay Bills with Evolve Money – I don’t think I’ve blogged about this before but Evolve money is a bill pay service that in the past let you use gift cards or debit cards to make bill payments for student loans, mortgages, utilities and more.  There was even a short time where you could use credit cards to pay those bills without a fee. Unfortunately, Evolve made some changes a while back that stopped allowing credit cards and limiting you to make only one payment per bill in a month.

Well the good news now is Evolve is “evolving” (I’ll be here all week folks) and they are now accepting at the moment, just Discover credit cards to use for bill payments. They also noted that in early 2015 they will be introducing plans to allow users to use Visa or MasterCard credit cards to pay bills. There are no fees for this service from Evolve but I do wonder if the credit card companies will consider this a cash advance instead of a purchase. And if that’s true, there is no point to do this. I don’t have a Discover card to check it out but I am looking forward to testing it once Visa/MasterCards are accepted.