Tag Archives: American Express

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Transfer Times to JetBlue from AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points & Chase Ultimate Rewards

Good morning everyone.  A few days ago, Frequent Miler wrote a post that Citi Thank You Points Transfers to JetBlue were getting better (1,000 : 1,000 transfers), so I wanted to check out transfer times from all the major credit card programs.  I wrote a similar post about Transfer Times to KLM / Air France and Transfer Times to Singapore Airlines.  I tested transfers from American Express Membership Rewards Points, Citi Thank You Points, and Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.  I was going to try a transfer from Marriott Rewards to JetBlue, but the conversion was so bad, I couldn’t do it (see the screenshots below).  JetBlue TrueBlue Points do not have a fixed value and they can range in value from 1 cent up to 2.5 cents, if you find the right redemption.  In some cases, you are better off paying for JetBlue travel than redeeming JetBlue TrueBlue Points.

But with that said, sometimes it makes sense to transfer points into your JetBlue account.  I started with a transfer from American Express Membership Rewards Points since you can transfer in 250 point increments.  Unfortunately, since JetBlue is an American airline, American Express charges a fee for the transfer, either 30 Membership Rewards Points or 15 cents.  The amount of the fee varies depending on the number of points you transfer.

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Big, Better, Best Sign Up Bonuses on Hilton Credit Cards

Hilton is now the master of the co-branded hotel credit card domain. Back in January, Hilton began teaming up with American Express to offer co-branded credit cards. Many Hilton loyalists were excited by this transition away from Citibank to American Express because it increased the Hilton co-branded card offerings, which equated to more opportunities to earn Hilton points. And now, all four Hilton Honors American Express cards are offering elevated bonuses.

These are the best offers Hilton has had since these cards became part of the American Express Hilton portfolio of cards.

Recently a reader asked me what the different benefits were on the four co-branded Hilton American Express cards. Good question!

Benefits and Elevated Offers on the Hilton Honors Cards 

HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD : Earn 75,000 Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

  • No annual fee
  • Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status. Earn Gold status after spending $20,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year.
  • 7x Hilton Honors Bonus Points at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio worldwide
  • 5x Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations
  • 3x Hilton Honors Bonus Points on all other eligible purchases

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Which Password Do You Use to Sign Into Your New Marriott Account?

Over the weekend I received a bunch of calls and emails from friends and family members telling me they couldn’t sign in to their newly combined Marriott account. If it had only been one or two people I might not have thought much about it. But with this much confusion going on I wanted to dig deeper and see what the issue was.

I hadn’t logged into my own account for a few days, and sure enough when logging into my account after a few failed attempts I realized what the issue was. I’m sharing this just in case you or someone you know is having trouble or is confused. You may want to grab a shot of espresso because this is confusing.

Marriott/SPG linking accounts instructions

Is anyone else confused by this??

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Track Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses, Annual Fees & 5/24 Score with TravelFreely

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  A few weeks ago, I was in Denver and went to the Front Range Travel Hackers Meetup Group.  At the meetup, I met Zac, the founder of TravelFreely, a website he created to track credit card sign up bonuses (deadlines to complete the minimum spending requirements), track credit card annual fees, calculate your 5/24 Score, and make it easy for you to track your credit cards along with your spouse / companion’s credit cards.  And by the way, the service is completely free and you can set up your account in a few minutes (unless you have 30+ credit cards like me, in which case, it could take a little longer).  Without further ado, here is how TravelFreely works.  To get started, sign up for your free TravelFreely account here.  Enter your name, email address, and click the Get Started button.

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Why I’m Giving the New SPG Luxury Card a Pass

I’ve been on the fence about whether or not to apply for the new Amex SPG Luxury card and I’ve finally decided to pass. I’ve been a long time Amex customer and have had both the SPG personal and business cards for many years. I used them both, and put as much spend on them as I could. For years all my non-bonused spend went on the personal SPG card and the business card saw heavy use, too.

I really appreciated the Sheraton lounge access that came with the business card. SPG was for many years my number one hotel chain and until the SPG/Marriott merger, SPG was always in my top two. I’ve had multiple amazing SPG hotel stays on four continents.

I never got to Platinum status but did maintain Gold year after year and always felt my Gold status was acknowledged in many generous ways. The merger with Marriott was not one I would have voted for, but then my vote didn’t count :) My SPG cards came out of my wallet and my last Sheraton stay was 8 months ago. Continue reading