Saturday Roundup: Airline Card Bonuses & More
Rounding up the special offers…
Tl;dr: Plenty of deals available now, especially on airline co-branded credit cards.
Sometimes there are new offers floating around that don’t quite merit a full post, but are probably worth mentioning. Thus: the roundup. Here is a collection of the best deals I’ve seen lately that I think are worth noting, but don’t need the extended treatment:
Airline Cards
Now is a great time to pick up an airline card, especially if you are looking to make some holiday travel plans. Many such cards offer a free checked bag when flying with the airline, a perk that is great for loading up with holiday treats, especially those that can’t be carried on the plane.
United: United’s Chase cards are currently offering decent returns, including 60,000 for the $95-fee Explorer card. The Explorer is one of my favorites, offering double miles on United, hotel, and dining purchases, the free checked bag and priority boarding, plus two passes to the United Club lounge each year. Although it is not unusual to see 60k points available on this card–and the best I have seen is 65k–it is more common to see 50k, so this represents a good deal on a good card.
Alaska: I was targeted with an offer for 70,000 miles plus Alaska’s companion fare after spending $3,000 within 90 days and paying the $95 annual fee. That roughly matches the best offer I’ve seen on this card, and far exceeds the public offer, which offers only 60k miles and requires $6,000 in spending to earn the companion fare. If you live on the west coast and are interested in Alaska, sign up for Alaska’s marketing emails and check your inbox; deals like this arrive every few months–it would be a waste to miss out by taking the public offer.
Southwest: I’ve already written about the great current offer on Southwest cards. Although SWA since announced that their points will decrease in value next year, the 75k points on offer here are still enough for a bunch of flights. If you are interested, act fast, because these offers end on December 11.
Targeted Offers on Chase and Amex Cards
If you have a Chase or Amex card, look out for great opportunities for offers. Chase currently offers some cardholders a $50 credit when booking $500+ worth of travel through Chase’s travel portal.
I currently have several great offers on my Amex cards, including: 10% back on prepaid hotels via Expedia (special link required); $5 back on a $40+ Apple Pay purchase, up to three times ($15 total); +5 points per dollar spent at Amazon; $40 of $200+ purchase at Frontier and Jetblue; and +2 points per dollar at Phillips 66, 76, and ConocoPhillips gas stations.
Miscellaneous
If you’re near Dulles, Boston, or several Canadian airports, this month’s FlyingBlue promo awards offer pretty good deals on flights to Europe. If you have Amex, Bilt, Chase, or Citi points, they can be converted into FlyingBlue points.
If you haven’t already linked your Marriott Bonvoy and Uber accounts, now is a great time to do so. The bonus opportunities are limited to delivery (with triple points if the delivery is to a Marriott hotel) and premium rides (XL, Black, SUV, and comfort), so food pickup and normal Uber rides don’t earn bonus points. But it’s harmless to link the accounts, and you might happen into some bonus points. If you sign up now, you can get 1,000 bonus points if you take one of the aforementioned premium rides or order $40+ in delivery by the end of the year.
The latest offer from the Delta and Starbucks partnership is a $20 Starbucks card reward when buying $300+ in Delta gift cards. I won’t be jumping at this offer. If you use a gift card to purchase your entire plane ticket, you will lose out on the valuable travel protections a good credit card could offer (trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage delay, and baggage loss insurance). The value of your card will also erode over time due to inflation if you can’t use it right away. But if you have any imminent plans to travel on Delta, paying $300 to get $320 is a solid deal that might make sense, especially if you plan to buy a $301+ ticket and use a card that offers those protections when used to cover any portion of the ticket.
[Edited 12/11: I just flew Delta and the deal on-board was a $25 Starbucks card with the purchase of a $250 Delta card. If you’re flying Delta and have access to the in-flight Wifi you might want to see if that offer is still available.]
The Amex Gold Card is one of my favorites, and TPG is saying you can get a sign-up bonus of up to 90k points via their CardMatch Tool. CardMatch does a soft pull of your credit and gives tentative offers pending a full application. While 90k points isn’t the best offer I’ve seen on this card (90k + $200 in statement credits with a referral from a friend), it is close. But not everyone will get that deal, and I wouldn’t recommend settling for much less; certainly not less than the 75k points available via Resy.
Conclusion
While none of these deals are can’t-miss, there are some solid opportunities for the right person at the right time.