AMEX Offers For You: $50 Cash Back on $250+ Hotel Reservation, Bluebird Savings Account Rumor, and Citi AA Retention Bonus Results
This is just a quick post before I head down to San Diego for my Miles and Points Meet Up. If you are close to San Diego and have nothing better to do than talk to a bunch of obsessed miles and points hackers, come join us (link).
Here is a rundown of random travel news:
If you have any Hilton or Hilton Resort reservation in the next 3 months, you might be interested in this AMEX Offer:
Better yet, if you have any hotel travel over the next 3 months, you might be able to score $50 statement credit for spending $250+ with AMEX Travel.
There are lots of other “good” AMEX Offers for You available. Check all your AMEX cards to see if you have any useful offers.
One of my blog readers sent me an email about a Bluebird survey he was involved in. According to the question, Bluebird might be thinking about offering interest on your available Bluebird balance. The offer will probably be somewhere between your normal savings account rates and the online-only savings account rates. I’m guessing around the 0.5% APR/APY range if they decide to implement this feature.
If you get asked to take any Bluebird or Serve surveys and discover an interesting question, please take a screenshot and email it to me. Thank you.
Last but not least, one of my recent credit card retention offers was regarding an old Citi American Airlines MasterCard. The annual fee was coming due soon so I called Citi last month (link) and was offered 3,000 bonus AA miles after spending $500 in the next 3 months. After a quick stop at CVS, the challenge was completed. At the end of the day, I “bought” 3,505 AA miles for the $4.95 activation fee. Not too shabby?
I value AA miles at 1.5 cents, so I value the bonus miles at $52, which essentially cuts the annual fee in half. This card is great because it also rebates 10% of the AA miles redeemed (up to 10,000 AA miles per card member year). This card goes nicely with my Citi American Airlines Executive Credit Card and the 100,000 AA mile sign up bonus from that card.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Hopefully I will see some of you later today in San Diego.
Hi Grant,
It should be 1 miles = 1 cents since you can go to buy 6 $500 OV for 3030 miles and cost you $30.
I’m confused. I bought one OVGC and paid the $5 gift card activation fee and received 3505 AA miles.
Hi Grant,
Sorry for the confusion. I mean if you use AA credit card to buy 6 $500 gift cards, the real cost will be $30 after you load them to BB account and you would earn 3030 miles or 1 mile = 1 cent.
Or you buy one $500 OV with AA credit card and earn 505 miles and cost you $5 activation fees so $5/505 miles = 1 cent/mile.
Yes, that is correct. Thank you Hoang.
I do have a Hilton reservation! I’m so excited to get this deal!
Excellent Steph, where are you staying?
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Hi Grant,
Curious, how were you able to purchase a $500 OVGC at CVS when I thought they stopped accepting credit cards?
Credit cards can still be used to buy OVGCs, the only stopped letting you buy VRCs.