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The new month has brought with it several new credit card offers, while other offers have now come and gone. As always in the points and miles world, it’s important to stay on top of what’s old and what’s new. That’s why each month I put together a list of the top credit card offers currently available. Since offers change regularly, the list changes often as well, which is why it’s important to check back each and every month for updates.
As I go through the list, I’ll share the basics on each card’s sign-up bonus and benefits, but I’ll also talk about how I’ve been able to maximize the perks and points from each card. For instance, the limited-time 35,000-point offer available right now for signing up for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express sounds great, but it’s what you can get with those bonus points — such as my recent trip to the all-new St. Regis Maldives that I was able to book with just 130,000 Starpoints I earned between the card and hotel stays — that makes it all worthwhile.
If you don’t have a lot of experience with credit cards — or even if you do — check out these posts for more information on credit scores, application processes and more before you apply. Opening new cards can actually help rather than hurt your score in the long run, but it’s important to have the right information and to know what you’re doing.
So without further ado, here’s this month’s list of the best travel credit cards. As always, if you’d like to see a list of all the cards that are currently available, visit our All Cards Hub.
The Short List
Here’s the short list of this month’s cards, with more details on each below.
1. Ink Business Preferred Card from Chase
2. The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN
3. Chase Sapphire Preferred
4. Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express
5. The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
6. United MileagePlus Explorer Card and the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
7. Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card
8. Citi Prestige Card
9. The Platinum Card from American Express and The Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz
10. Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard
Bonus: Chase Sapphire Reserve – The 100,000-point offer is available in Chase branches until March 12.
The Details
Let’s dive into each of these cards — their sign-up bonuses, benefits and some of the ways I’ve been able to maximize each.
1. Ink Business Preferred Card from Chase
Current Bonus: You’ll earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Standout Benefits: The card earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel, shipping, social media advertising and internet/cable/phone services, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Perks include primary auto rental insurance and cell phone insurance when you use the card to pay your cell bill. No foreign transaction fees and employee cards at no additional cost.
Annual Fee: $95 (waived for the first year if you apply in a Chase branch)
Why it’s worth it: Chase Ultimate Rewards is a terrific program, and 80,000 points is one of the best sign-up bonuses currently available. That’s enough to get a one-way business-class award on Singapore’s A350 route from San Francisco to Singapore right now, and even after Singapore’s devaluation on March 23, you’ll need only a few thousand extra points along with this bonus to book that flight. Or you can transfer these bonus points to fly first class one-way on Korean Air’s A380 between the US to Korea as I did recently. These are both tickets that would cost thousands of dollars if you paid cash for them.
Along with the sign-up bonus, you can use this card to get 3 points per dollar on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines, up to a total of $150,000 in combined spending each year. Plus not only can you transfer your points to Chase’s airline and hotel travel partners, but you can get 1.25 cents per point on direct redemptions through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
There aren’t many cards that come with primary rental car insurance, making that a unique benefit in and of itself. But this card also has cell phone insurance, which means you’ll get up to $600 in protection against any covered damage or theft for you and any other included lines — up to three claims per year with just a $100 deductible — so long as you pay your cell phone bill with the card along with the costs for any employees listed on the bill. And since phone services are a bonus category, putting your cell phone bill on this card earns 3 points per dollar spent.
This card is a relatively recent addition to the Chase business lineup and a perfect companion to personal cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. If you’ve got a business, it’s a card you should strongly consider.
2. The Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN
Current Bonus: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards points — 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 on the card and an additional 25,000 points after spending an additional $10,000, all within your first three months of cardmembership.
Benefits: Earn 5 points per dollar on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amextravel.com (as of March 30, 2017) and 2 points per dollar on other eligible purchases when you book through American Express Travel, 1.5 points per dollar on purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 1 million additional points per year) and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. Transfer Membership Rewards to 20 airline and hotel partners or redeem directly for airfare and get a 50% points rebate when booking first or business class, or any seat on the airline of your choice. Access to Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (with two guests) and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta). A $200 annual airline fee rebate andGlobal Entry or TSA PreCheck application rebate.
Annual Fee: $450
Why it’s worth it: 75,000 Membership Rewards points is an impressive sign-up bonus, even though there’s a significant spending requirement. But you’re guaranteed to get at least 2 cents per point in value which makes this bonus worth at least $1,500 without even counting any of the other benefits. That 2 cents per point comes from the 50% points rebate — you get half your points back when redeeming for air travel with the same carrier you select for the annual airline fee credit, or when you book business or first-class airfare with any airline through Amex Travel. It’s a feature that has totally changed the way I book travel, and thanks to the flexibility of Membership Rewards, you can sometimes get even more value by transferring points to one of the program’s 20 transfer partners. Additionally, as of March 30, 2017, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar spent on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amextravel.com.
If you’re a regular traveler, you’ll want to keep this card in your wallet like I do since it gives you access to Centurion Lounges in the US and soon worldwide starting in Hong Kong, plus Priority Pass lounges and Delta Sky Clubs when you’re flying on Delta. If the $450 annual fee gives you pause, keep in mind it’s partially offset by both the $200 annual airline credit and the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. The Business Platinum has always been a card with great benefits, and now with the recent enhancements on the redemption side, this card is a winner.
3. Chase Sapphire Preferred
Current Bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can earn another 5,000 bonus points by adding an authorized user and making a purchase within the first three months.
Standout Benefits: Earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide. Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to 11 travel partners, including British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest and United, among others. Other benefits include primary auto rental insurance, trip cancellation coverage and waived foreign transaction fees.
Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, then $95
Why it’s worth it: I’ve always been a huge fan of the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and even with all the great new options on the credit card market, it remains a terrific choice, especially if your credit score isn’t quite high enough to qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Since you earn 2 points per dollar for dining and across a large range of travel purchases, you’ll accumulate plenty of Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to any of Chase’s 11 great travel partners or redeemed directly for airfare at 1.25 cents per point. The cherry on top is that the already reasonable annual fee is waived the first year, which makes this card one of my favorites for those just starting out.
4. Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express
Current Bonus: For a limited time, earn up to 35,000 bonus Starpoints — 25,000 points when you make $3,000 in purchases with the personal card or $5,000 with the business card within the first three months. Then earn an extra 10,000 points when you make an additional $2,000 in the purchases on the personal card or an additional $3,000 on the business card within the first six months.
Standout Benefits: You’ll earn 2 Starpoints per dollar on purchases at participating Starwood (and now Marriott) hotels, and 1 Starpoint per dollar on all other purchases. The card comes with 2 stays and 5 nights of credit toward SPG elite status each year and automatic Gold status when you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year. Both the personal and business cards include no foreign transaction fees, complimentary unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at once and complimentary premium in-room internet access. The business version gives free access to Sheraton Clubs when you book rates that are eligible to earn Starpoints and comes with OPEN program perks and discounts.
Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $95
Why they’re worth it: If you’ve been considering getting one of the Starwood Preferred Guest cards, this is a particularly good time to do it, as you can earn 10,000 extra points by meeting an additional spending requirement in the first six months. SPG hotel redemptions can be valuable in and of themselves at properties such as the St. Regis Osaka, where I stayed last fall. But you can also transfer Starpoints to over 30 airline partners and get a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring in blocks of 20,000 points, which makes this card a popular one for many. In addition, you can now also transfer points from Starwood to Marriott Rewards at a 1:3 ratio, opening up even more redemption options such as Marriott Hotel + Air packages which combine a hotel stay with free airline miles — and in some cases even a Southwest Companion Pass. These cards may disappear entirely at some point given Marriott’s takeover of Starwood, and the elevated 35,000-point offers will only be around until April 5. So if you’re interested in signing up, this is the month to do it.
5. The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
Current Bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of cardmembership.
Standout Benefits: Earn 3 points per dollar on a category of your choice from a list of five options and 2 points per dollar on the four remaining categories, up to $100,000 in purchases in each of the five categories per year. After that you’ll earn 1 point per dollar on all purchases. This card has no foreign transaction fees.
Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $175 thereafter
Why it’s worth it: I love using this card for my small business expenses thanks to the 3x category of choice and the range of 2x spending categories, which include airfare purchased directly from airlines, US purchases for advertising in select media, US purchases at gas stations, US purchases for shipping and US computer hardware, software and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers. Even though this card doesn’t have the fancy benefits of the premium Business Platinum Card, the Business Gold Rewards card has only a $175 annual fee and it’s even waived the first year.
The beauty of pairing this card with the Business Platinum Card is that I can redeem the nearly 300,000 extra Membership Rewards points a year my business earns from the 3 points per dollar on advertising for premium seats like JetBlue Mint transcontinental business class, starting at only 29,950 points ($599) one-way when redeeming directly at Amex Travel. At that price, I could use the points from my advertising spend alone to bring nine of my friends along with me! But I can also transfer Amex points to partners like Aeroplan and redeem for Lufthansa first class with a stop at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal. It’s a terrific card with a great earning structure, and a perfect choice if your business spend fits into one or more of its many bonus categories.
6. United MileagePlus Explorer Card and the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card
Current Bonus: 50,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months, plus earn another 5,000 bonus miles by adding an authorized user and making a purchase within the first three months (for the personal version).
Standout Benefits: Earn 2 miles per dollar on United purchases and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. You’ll get priority boarding and a free checked bag for you and one companion on United flights, along with enhanced award availability and two United Club passes each cardmember year.
Annual Fee: $95 (waived the first year for the business card)
Why they’re worth it: If I were a regular United flyer, this would be a card I’d definitely get if only for the extra award seats I’d have access to just by having it. But on top of that, both versions of the card come with elite-like benefits such as a free checked bag and priority boarding. The standard sign-up bonus for both the personal and business versions of this card is just 30,000 miles, so the current higher offers are a good chance to earn some extra MileagePlus miles, which can be redeemed for flights on United or any Star Alliance partner. Some cardholders are even being targeted for a 70,000-mile offer, so if you’re one of the chosen few, you can rake in even more miles toward your next award flight. Also, if you plan to qualify for United elite status this year, remember that you can waive the Premier-Qualifying Dollar (PQD) requirement for all status tiers except for United Premier 1K by spending at least $25,000 on this card in a calendar year.
7. Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card
Current Bonus: Earn 75,000 Hilton Honors points after making $2,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Standout Benefits: Earn 6 points per dollar spent at Hilton hotels, 3 points per dollar spent at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases. Hilton Silver status as long as you are a cardmember and fast-track to Hilton Gold by making 4 stays within 90 days of opening your account or $20,000 in spend in a calendar year. 10,000 Hilton Honors points at the end of each calendar year in which you spend $1,000 or more in Hilton stays.
Annual Fee: $0
Why you should get it: The standard offer on this card is only 40,000 bonus points, so this 75,000-point sign-up bonus is a major improvement, especially if you redeem the points at a Hilton with expensive cash rates such as the Conrad Tokyo. The card offers decent bonus multipliers on major spending categories such as supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations, so you’ll have no trouble racking up points. Hilton also just made some changes to its loyalty program, adding several new perks including reduced minimums on point ranges at its hotels, which means that in the future a Conrad Tokyo Hilton redemption might be as low as 49,000 points per night. It will also implement a Points & Money redemption option, allowing for a minimum redemption of just 5,000 points when you mix points with cash, which means the points from this card could save you a decent chunk of change in the long run. Not bad for a card with no annual fee.
8. Citi Prestige Card
Current Bonus: 40,000 Citi ThankYou points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. Note that you may be eligible to receive 50,000 points after $5,000 in spending in the first three months if you use this link.
Standout Benefits: Earn 3 ThankYou points per dollar on air travel and hotels, 2 points per dollar on dining out and entertainment and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Get a 4th Night Free at hotels when you book through Citi’s concierge service. Redeem your points for air travel at a rate of 1.33 points cents apiece or 1.6 cents apiece on American Airlines (until July 23, 2017), then at 1.25 cents per point afterwards. Transfer points to 14 different travel partners, including Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Hilton Honors. Redeem a $250 annual air travel credit each calendar year and get Priority Pass Select lounge access.
Annual Fee: $450
Why you should get it: The 4th Night Free benefit will remain the highlight of this card even after Citi changes the way it calculates the rebate on July 23, 2017. My recent trip to the Park Hyatt Maldives cost almost $1,800 less thanks to this perk, and it will definitely be a prominent card for my hotel bookings in the months ahead even though after July 23 taxes will no longer be included in the discount. While July will also bring the elimination of Admirals Club access for existing cardholders, the reduction of direct airfare redemptions to 1.25 cents across all airlines and the end of the free rounds of golf, the card will still have a $250 air travel credit for expenses like airfare, lounge access and some in-flight purchases. That along with the 4th Night Free benefit easily makes the $450 annual fee worth it for me.
9. The Platinum Card from American Express and The Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz
Current Bonus: 40,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first three months on the regular Platinum, or 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first three months on the Mercedes Benz version. Also check for targeted offers through the CardMatch Tool since you could be eligible for special bonuses like 60,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months, which we last saw in November.
Standout Benefits: 5 points per dollar on airfare and 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels purchased at Amex Travel. A $200 annual airline rebate, a $200 annual Uber rebate, access to Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Priority Pass lounges, Amex Centurion Lounges and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application rebate. You can transfer the Membership Rewards points you earn with this card to 20 airline and hotel partners.
Annual Fee: $450 for the regular Platinum, $475 for the Mercedes Benz Platinum (both are increasing to $550 on March 30)
Why it’s worth it: At the beginning of the month Amex announced several new benefits which will launch on March 30 for its personal Platinum cards, including a $15 per month Uber credit ($35 in December), 5x points on prepaid hotel purchases at the American Express travel portal and a physical metal card. The bad news is the annual fee will be increasing by $100, but that won’t happen until March 30. So if you apply for the card this month, you’ll get the lower annual fee for an entire year while still enjoying the new benefits. That’s a great reason to grab this card right now, plus you’ll enjoy the existing 5x bonus for purchases made directly with airlines along with perks including the $200 airline fee and Global Entry credits, access to the Centurion Lounges, Hilton Honors Gold and Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status (and thus Marriott Rewards Gold status), Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits and 20 Amex transfer partners. You’ll also have a new option for adding users — starting March 30 you can get up to 99 authorized user Gold cards for no additional fee at all. Those user cards will earn 5x points on airfare and hotels (credited to the master account), but the Platinum card’s other benefits such as an additional $200 airline fee credit, Uber rides and lounge access are not included. However, you can still get three additional Platinum authorized user cards for $175 with each user getting their own Global Entry fee reimbursement and lounge access, which is a great option for a family that travels often.
10. Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard
Current Bonus: For a limited time earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 or more in the first 90 days, which can be redeemed for a $500 travel statement credit.
Standout Benefits: Earn 2 miles per dollar on all purchases and get 5% of your miles back when you redeem for travel statement credits. There are no foreign transaction fees.
Annual Fee: $89 (waived the first year)
Why it’s worth it: This card earns 2 miles per dollar on all spend, and since Arrival miles are worth 1.05 cents apiece when redeemed for travel, you’ll get a decent overall return of around 2.1% for every charge you put on the card. But the fixed-value miles themselves certainly come in handy when you can’t use other travel rewards to cover purchases like theme park tickets, renting a campsite or dealing with carrier-imposed surcharges on airline award tickets or upgrades. Not long ago I used 70,000 Arrival miles to “wipe away” the $700 fee I paid to use Avios to upgrade to first class on a British Airways flight from London to Austin, which is a textbook example of how this card can be used for valuable travel redemptions.
Bonus: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Current Bonus: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you apply in a Chase branch until March 12, or 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points online. The bonus points for either offer come after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.
Standout Benefits: Earn 3 points on travel and dining at restaurants and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. Redeem points through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal for 1.5 cents apiece. $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass Select lounge access, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, no foreign transaction fees, primary auto rental insurance and trip cancellation coverage.
Annual Fee: $450
Why it’s worth it: The Chase Sapphire Reserve is still one of the most popular new cards on the market, with the ability to redeem points directly for airfare, hotels and other travel bookings at the Ultimate Rewards travel portal for 1.5 cents apiece, along with the flexibility of transferring them to Chase’s travel partners. The card also comes with a fantastic benefits package, including a $300 annual travel credit, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit and 3x travel and dining earning bonuses. You can’t get the 100,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus online anymore, but you should be able to get it in Chase branches through March 12.
Source: thepointsguy.com