Tag Archives: American Express

a close-up of a credit card

Unboxing American Express Delta Platinum Business Credit Card: Card Art, Welcome Letter & Benefit Inserts

Good morning everyone, happy Friday! A few weeks ago, I was approved for the American Express Delta Platinum Business Credit Card and wrote Delta TakeOff 15 Benefit (15% Award Travel Discount) Available within 24 Hours of New Credit Card, But Cannot Use on Existing Award Ticket Reservations. The credit card was sent to me via UPS Next Day Air and came in a well-designed box with the welcome letter and benefit inserts.  I wanted to do an unboxing to show you what to expect when you receive your new credit card.

Here is the front and back of the credit card.  It has the same feel as an American Express Business Platinum Card, but the front is a dark purple-grayish color.

Continue reading

a blue and white logo

Delta TakeOff 15 Benefit (15% Award Travel Discount) Available within 24 Hours of New Credit Card, But Cannot Use on Existing Award Ticket Reservations

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  On Tuesday, I applied for the American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card through a targeted Delta mailer and was instantly approved.  The reason I applied for this credit card is because it comes with the new Delta TakeOff 15 card member benefit that provides a 15% discount on Delta award travel and I haven’t received the sign up bonus on this credit card before.  I have an upcoming Delta flight from San Francisco to Atlanta to Jacksonville (SFO-ATL-JAX) for an upcoming “free” Carnival Cruise and I wanted to save some miles on that award ticket (and future Delta award tickets I will book).

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading

a close-up of a credit card

My 2 Unsuccessful Retention Offer Calls for Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business & AMEX Gold

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well. Yesterday, I called Chase and American Express about 2 credit cards that had annual fees that just posted. When I called Chase about my Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card (no longer available for sign up or product change), I told the rep that the $99 annual fee just posted to my account and that I wasn’t using this credit card very much since I use my JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card (no longer available for sign up, but can be product changed into) for my Marriott purchases.  I asked the rep if they were able to waive the annual fee. The rep looked for retention offers and said there were no offers available.  For reference, in past years, I have received retention offers of $50 or $100.

Generally, I prefer to keep credit cards that are no longer available, unless there is a very good reason to close or product change them to another credit card, so I decided to keep the card open.  With that said, I can easily get more than $99 of value with the 35K Marriott Free Night Certificate that comes with this credit card each year. In fact, I already redeemed my 35K FNC for a stay later this month that costs more than $200.

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading

a yellow and blue logo

My Experience Using the InKind App at 3 Restaurants in Seattle

Good morning everyone.  A few days ago, I spent a long weekend with my brother and dad in Seattle.  We went to a few Seattle Kraken hockey games, a few Seattle Mariners baseball games, went on a locks cruise to Lake Union, took off in a sea plane from Lake Union, and wandered around Woodland Park Zoo.  With all of those activities, we worked up big appetites.  Luckily, I had some InKind credit to use and there were many excellent restaurants in Seattle that worked with InKind.  If you are unfamiliar with InKind, please read My Experience with the InKind App to Pay Restaurant Bill, $25 Referral Credit, & $50 AMEX Offer.

In today’s post, I will highlight the restaurants I went to, the issue I encountered with splitting an InKind bill with my brother, and the $24 March Madness bonus I unlocked.  Since I tend to eat early and I like good deals, we did happy hour at Bourbon Steak, Tavolata, and The Victor Tavern.  There are many restaurants throughout Seattle that partner with InKind.  To see the whole list, go to the Explore tab, type in the city name, and then click the up arrow at the bottom of the screen.

Continue reading

a blue sign with white text

My Recent Retention Offers for AMEX Blue Business Plus & US Bank Altitude Reserve

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Over the last few weeks, I made retention calls on 2 credit cards and I wanted to share my data points.  I started with the American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card.  Even though this credit card doesn’t have an annual fee, I had heard others had success getting retention offers, so I decided to call and see if there were any offers.  I started with the AMEX Chat, but the chat rep said I needed to call a specific department to talk about retention offers.  On the phone, I explained to the rep that I have been using my American Express Business Platinum Card and American Express Business Gold Card a lot recently and haven’t been using my AMEX Blue Business Plus very much lately and I was considering closing the card.  The rep checked the offers and said they could offer me a $50 statement credit with no spend.  I asked if there were any other offers, but there were no better offers available, so I gladly accepted the offer.  The $50 statement credit posted to my account a few days later.

a red and black line

Continue reading