Tag Archives: American Express

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“Reflecting” on My New Mirrored AMEX Business Platinum Card

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Good afternoon everyone, and happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, American Express unveiled their new mirrored-finish Platinum Card lineup, and as a longtime card enthusiast, I knew I had to add this shiny collectible to my collection. Instead of applying for a new card, I logged into my American Express online account and ordered a replacement American Express Business Platinum Card.

While waiting for the replacement card to arrive, I discovered something interesting: you can’t add your old AMEX Business Platinum Card to your Apple Wallet once you’ve requested a replacement. Every attempt I made to add it resulted in an error until the new mirrored card arrived and was activated.

This post walks you through ordering a replacement AMEX Business Platinum Card, the delivery timeline, design changes, activation process, and adding your new card to your Apple Wallet.

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No Upcoming Hilton Stay? Turn Your Credit Into a $50 Snack Shopping Spree

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last week, I received a reminder email from Hilton about the Q4 $50 Hilton credit on my American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Credit Card.  I also receive another Q4 $50 Hilton credit from my American Express Business Platinum Card.  In the past, it was easy to use both credits, I’d simply book a Hilton stay once a quarter.  But things are a little different now with a newborn at home.  So when Q3 was coming to an end, I had to get creative to make sure those Hilton credits didn’t go to waste.

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5 Credit Cards, $1,000 in Annual Fees: Which Retention Offers Did I Receive?

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  In the first week of July, I had 5 credit card annual fees post to my accounts, totaling over $1,000.  As part of my credit card / travel hacking philosophy, I call the credit card company every time an annual fee posts and see if there are any retention offers available, then I decide if I will keep the card open for another year or close the card.

Here are the 5 credit cards and the results of each retention offer call:

Credit Card Name Annual Fee Date Posted
Chase IHG Rewards Business Credit Card $99 7/1/2025
JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card $450 7/1/2025
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business Credit Card $125 7/2/2025
American Express Delta Platinum Business Credit Card $350 7/2/2025
Laura’s Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card $59 7/7/2025

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Cutting $2,000 in Credit Card Annual Fees: Our Simplified Wallet Strategy for 2025

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Good morning everyone!  For the past few years, I’ve shared a year-end recap of the total credit card annual fees I paid and whether the benefits were worth it. In my most recent post from December 2024 (I Paid $5,341 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2024 – Was it Worth it?), I calculated a net profit of $15,914, factoring in $5,341 in annual fees and $360 in retention offers.

I didn’t mind jumping through many hoops to maximize those card benefits last year, but with a baby girl arriving in early August, my wife and I recently decided it’s time to simplify our lives.  That means cutting back on complexity and costs by reducing the total annual fees we’ll pay in 2025. In this post, I’ll break down our credit cards into four categories: cards we have already closed, cards we plan to close later this year, cards we will downgrade, and cards with annual fees we will keep. Let’s get started..

Cards We Have Already Closed

Credit Card Name Annual Fee Notes
Laura’s AMEX Gold $325 Closed card in February
Barclays JetBlue Plus $99 Closed card in March
Bank of America Air France / KLM $89 Closed card in March

We didn’t receive any retention offers on these cards. While the AMEX Gold Card includes a variety of coupons / credits, it simply wasn’t worth the effort to maximize them this year. Continue reading →

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My 2025 Travel Predictions Midyear Review: Hits, Misses & Lots of Wild Guesses

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well. As we approach the midpoint of the year, I thought it would be a good time to check in on My Overly Ambitious 2025 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  Correct predictions are in green, incorrect predictions are in red, and half correct predictions are in orange.  Without further ado, here is my midyear review for my 2025 predictions:

Airline Predictions:

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will bring back their “convert travel funds to airline miles” feature.
    • No, these “convert travel funds to airline miles” have not returned yet in 2025.
  • Alaska Airlines will let you use the Companion Fare to book Hawaiian Airlines flights.
    • No, but I am still optimistic that we will see this happen before the end of the year.
  • American Airlines will return as a Citi ThankYou Points transfer partner.
    • No, not yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this happen in the next few months.
  • British Airways will lower their partner redemption prices for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
    • No, the redemption prices have not changed for American Airlines or Alaska Airlines.
  • Delta will increase the annual fee on their credit cards and increase the Delta SkyMiles discount to 20%-25%.
    • No, but the rumored super-duper-ultra-premium AMEX Delta credit card could have this benefit (link).
  • JetBlue will allow you to redeem points on a new partner airline (besides Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways).
    • Yes! With the United Airlines and JetBlue “Blue Sky” partnership, you can redeem JetBlue points on United Airlines and vice versa (link).
  • United Airlines will bring back their “family pooling” feature.
    • Yes! You can pool United Airlines miles, but they can only be used for United and United Express flights, not Star Alliance partners (link).

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