Category Archives: Promotions + Deals

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My Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Plan for 2020

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Good morning everyone.  As you all probably know by now, the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card will be adding 2 new benefits (Lyft Pink Membership & DoorDash’s DashPass with a $60 yearly credit) along with raising the annual fee from $450 to $550, beginning on January 12.  Doctor of Credit has all the details on the key dates:

  • Annual fee will increase to $550 for new users on January 12, 2020
  • Annual fee will increase to $550 for existing users in April 2020
  • Not possible to product change to the card until after January 12, 2020 (new $550 annual fee will be charged)
  • Complimentary Lyft pink membership to be added on January 12, 2020
  • $60 DoorDash credit to be added for 2020 and 2021 (this is is an annual credit that is valid from 1/12 – 12/31 each year)

The first thing I wanted to do was take a look at my 2019 credit card statements and see when the $450 annual fee posted to my Chase Sapphire Reserve.  It looks like my annual fee posted on April 1, 2019.  The new $550 annual fee will increase in April 2020, but no specific date is listed.  If I am really unlucky, the $550 annual fee will post on my April 2020 statement, but if I am really lucky, the $550 annual fee will post next year on my April 2021 statement.  I should have my answer in 3 months…

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American Express Business Platinum Airline Credit Used for 2 $99 JetBlue Seat Assignments

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Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  As part of My 5 New Year’s Travel Resolutions for 2020, I said that I would “Use American Express Airline Fee Credits (Without Buying Airline GCs / eGCs).”  So far in 2020, I am following through on my resolution.  Last month, I used my JetBlue True Blue Points to book flights for Laura and I to fly from SFO to BOS.  It is a 5.5 hour red eye flight, so I looked at how much the Even More Space seats cost and found out the seats I wanted were $99 each.  Instead of purchasing those seats with cash in 2019, I decided to use the $200 airline fee credit that comes with my American Express Business Platinum Charge Card to cover the charges.  I selected JetBlue as my airline for 2020 and paid for the 2 seats with my AMEX Business Platinum.  The pending charge looked like a single $198 JetBlue purchase…

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4 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: American (26%), Spirit (30%), Wyndham (40%) & Air France / KLM (75%)

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Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found a few offers ending soon.  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 4 offers that end in the next week.  Up first, American Airlines is offering up to a 26% discount, depending on the number of American Airlines AAdvantage Miles you purchase.  This offer expires on January 12.

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Ask Me Anything (AMA): Hotel Edition

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  A few days ago, I wrote Ask Me Anything (AMA): Credit Card Edition.  I had some great reader questions and I am doing the second AMA, this time on hotels.  I like to describe myself as loyal to hotel loyalty programs, but not loyal to a specific hotel chain.  Here is a screenshot from AwardWallet of the hotel loyalty programs I belong to and their elite status:

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Here is a quick rundown of how I have these hotel elite statuses:

  • Best Western Diamond Select – status match from Hilton Diamond (status match link)
  • Caesars Rewards Diamond – status match from Wyndham Rewards (Middle Ade Miles blog post)
  • Choice Hotels Member – I think I have only spent 2-3 nights at Choice hotels in the last 2-3 years
  • Hilton Diamond – free thanks to my American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card (my blog post)
  • World of Hyatt Discoverist – free thanks to my old Chase Hyatt Hotel Credit Card
  • IHG Rewards Spire Elite – I spent a few thousand dollars at IHG in 2019 (mainly at the InterContinental Moorea for my pre-honeymoon)
  • Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite – I had a few different Marriott / SPG credit card elite nights stack in 2019
  • MGM Resorts Pearl – status match from World of Hyatt Discoverist (Doctor of Credit’s post)
  • Radisson Rewards Gold / Silver – I have 3 different US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Cards that come with Gold or Silver elite status
  • Wyndham Rewards Diamond – status matched from Caesars Rewards Diamond (Middle Ade Miles blog post)

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Ask Me Anything (AMA): Credit Card Edition

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I love talking about credit cards and recently wrote I Paid $4,588 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2019 & Was it Worth it? and Why Do We Keep 16 No Annual Fee Credit Cards?  I also do a series called “Keep, Cancel, or Convert?” where I explain why a credit card is worth keeping or why it should be converted or closed.

Today, I want to answer your reader questions.  If they are short and simple questions, I can answer them directly in the comments section.  If they are longer and more complicated questions, I might write a blog post about that topic. So without further ado, what questions do you have about credit cards?  Have a great weekend everyone!