Tag Archives: American Express

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American Express Removed $25 Minimum Redemption Amount for AMEX Old Blue Cash Credit Card (OBC) on July 14

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  In news that probably only matters to me, there is a positive change on the American Express Old Blue Cash Credit Card (OBC).  I was reviewing my recent credit card statement and saw that American Express removed the $25 minimum redemption amount, effective July 14, 2022.  As far as I remember, this credit card has had the $25 redemption threshold since I initially got this credit card back in 2014.  I decided to check it out and redeem my entire balance… all $15.07 of it :)

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How to Top Off Marriott Free Night Certificate with up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points

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Good afternoon everyone.  A few months ago, Marriott introduced an improvement to their Free Night Certificates where you could combine a Free Night Certificate with up to 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points to book a hotel room that cost more points that your Free Night Certificate is worth.  To learn more about the process, read Marriott’s Free Night Award Top Off page.  I finally had a chance to use this feature yesterday for an upcoming stay in Seattle.  In this post, I will show you the booking process.

Sign into your Marriott Bonvoy account and go to the Activity tab to see your Free Night Certificates listed under the Earned Awards section.  I had a 35K Free Night Certificate available from my Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card that expires later this year.  I clicked on the How To Use Your Certificate link to get started.

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My 2022 Midyear Review of Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. Much like the corporate world with midyear reviews, I thought it would be fun / embarrassing to do a midyear review of My Wild and Crazy 2022 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  I copied the list from the previous post and will see how many predictions I got correct and how many were dead wrong.  But remember, there is still 6 months left in the year for the remaining predictions to come true…

My 2022 Airline Predictions (1 / 7)

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will bring back their “convert travel funds to airline miles” feature. – I still cannot believe this feature exists but Alaska and Southwest are not using it.
  • American Airlines will return as a Citi ThankYou Points airline transfer partner. – I still cannot believe that Citi can’t get American Airlines to come back to the ThankYou Points portal.
  • Avianca will give Turkish Airlines a run for their money for domestic Star Alliance awards.
  • British Airways will let you use Avios to pay the taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge portion of award tickets.
  • Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or United Airlines will introduce a “Miles and Cash” payment option for award tickets (pay 10,000 miles or pay 8,000 miles + $40).
  • JetBlue will partner with another US airline for award bookings. – Yes, you can book JetBlue flights using American Airlines miles.
  • United Airlines will be a transfer partner with Brex, Citi, or American Express.

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My Experience with AMEX Expand Your Membership with American Express Business Gold Card & Instant Card Number

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few weeks ago, Laura and I moved into a new home and we are in the process of getting custom closets installed in the bedrooms.  With that large purchase on the horizon, I wanted to get a new credit card to pick up another sign up bonus.  I saw that I was targeted by American Express to expand my membership by getting another business card.  I decided to get the American Express Business Gold Card.  I will share the application process and welcome letter below, but first, here are the front and back of the new card:

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American Express Business Platinum Authorized User / Employee Cards Increasing to $350 Annual Fee (Effective June 1, 2022) & New Executive Business Card?

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Good evening everyone, happy (almost) Friday.  I was reviewing my recent American Express Business Platinum Card statement and saw this upcoming change.  Effective June 1, 2022, if you have or add an authorized user / employee Platinum card, the cost will increase from $300 per card to $350 per card.  I believe the only real benefit of having an authorized user / employee Platinum card is the ability to get into Centurion Lounges when they are travelling by themselves.

Also, if you are a servicemember (thank you for your service), you will still be eligible for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) which waives all annual fees on American Express credit cards.

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