Tag Archives: Hilton Hotels

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My July App-O-Rama Credit Card Results (Spoiler: 4 out of 5 Approved)

Updated on 7/20/2019 at 8am: I added the Barclays rejection letter to the bottom of this post.


Good morning everyone, I hope your 2 day Prime Day shopping spree is going well.  Even though I didn’t buy much on the first day of Prime Day, I did pick up a few new credit cards.  My last App-O-Rama was in March, so I patiently waited 3+ months until my July App-O-Rama.  As a reminder, I was approved for 3 out of 4 credit cards in my March App-O-Rama, including the American Express Gold Card, the US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Signature Credit Card, and the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card.  With those minimum spending requirements completed and the sign up bonuses redeemed, it was time to focus on these 5 credit cards.  Here is a quick summary of my July App-O-Rama:

  • Citi Premier Credit Card – instantly approved
  • American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card – pending, then approved (I called AMEX and had to close an old card to open up a credit card slot)
  • Barclay AAdvantage Aviator Business Credit Card – pending, then declined (too many recent inquiries)
  • Banco Popular Avianca Vuela Credit Card – instantly approved
  • Wells Fargo Propel World Credit Card – instantly approved (I called Wells Fargo to apply for this credit card over the phone)

Citi Premier Credit Card

I currently have a Citi Premier Credit Card that I have had for 4+ years, but I wanted to get another one since the sign up bonus is currently 60,000 Citi Thank You Points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.  If I was approved for a second Citi Premier Credit Card, my plan was to downgrade/convert my old Citi Premier Credit Card into a Citi Rewards+ Credit Card.

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Track Hotel Free Night Certificates & Credit Card Annual Fees with my Spreadsheet

Good afternoon everyone.  Last month, I was reading an article by Nick at Frequent Miler called Almost #Bonvoyed: a cautionary tale on free night certs.  In that post, Nick shared that after cancelling a Marriott stay booked with a free night certificate, the free night certificate did not automatically redeposit into his Marriott account.  He had to track down the cancelled reservation and call Marriott to get the free night certificate redeposited into his Marriott account.  Bonvoy!  Toward the end of the article, Nick stated, “You shouldn’t need a spreadsheet to track the history of your Marriott free night certs — but the reality is that you do need to stay organized with them.”

That’s when the idea hit me, I should create a spreadsheet to track my Marriott category 1-5 free night certificates… as well as my Hilton free weekend night certificates, Hyatt category 1-4 free night certificates, IHG 40k free night certificates, and Radisson Rewards anniversary points.  Here is my Hotel Free Night Certificate Tracker, maybe it will help you stay organized too.

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My Recent American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card Retention Offer

Good morning everyone.  2 months ago, I wrote Keep, Cancel or Convert? American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card ($450 Annual Fee).  In that post, I shared that I was offered a retention offer by the American Express rep: earn 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points after spending $2,000 in 3 months. 10,000 Hilton Honors points is worth about $50 to me and I was planning on keeping the credit card anyways, so I accepted the offer.  A few minutes after the call, I received the following email from American Express.  Unfortunately, the email did not mention any of the retention offer details, but I decided to spend $2,000 on the credit card anyway.

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6 Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending Soon: Hilton (100%), American (40%), Etihad (20%), Spirit (60%), Southwest (50%) & United (75%)

Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 6 offers ending in the next few days.  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 6 buy miles/points promos ending soon.  First up, Hilton Hotels is offering a 100% bonus, when you purchase at least 5,000 Hilton Honors Points.  This offer expires today – May 28.

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Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending Soon: British Airways (50%), Choice Hotels (30%) & Hilton Hotels (100%)

Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found a few offers ending in the next week.  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 3 buy miles/points promos ending soon.  First up, British Airways is offering a 50% bonus, no matter how many British Airways Avios purchases.  This offer expires tomorrow – May 21.

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