Renés Points

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our advertising policy, visit visit this page.

I have made it very clear I am not a Marriott fan. I am not pleased that my favorite SPG hotels are being slurped up soon by Marriott CORP. At the same time that move has caused me to check out Hyatt for the first time ever and I am enjoying that experience. But folks, when Chase is willing to offer me, after spending $3000 and adding an AU or authorized user and they make a purchase, over 90,000 points I would be foolish to say no<-LINK.

After all, I need to start thinking about next year’s Utah Ski trip and with this many points, for just the $85 fee for the card, I will be able to pay for a week of lodging for only a few dollars a day. That kind of travel match just works for me. I will be applying for this card later today!

EDIT: I was approved today but only after applying and then calling the Chase reconsideration line & moving some credit lines around: (888) 245-0625

The other card I would go for, if I did not already hold it already, is the current 60,000 point Chase INK Plus card<-LINK.  I think everyone on the planet agrees Ultimate Rewards points, with their many outstanding transfer partners or the ability to book with 1.25 cents each in value, makes the current bonus offer after spending $5000 a great value.

Both of these cards are also smart to consider NOW because it seems soon Chase is putting an end to those of us who go for many cards a year (a.k.a. churners). For cards like the Chase Sapphire there already is in place the “5/24 rule”. That is, if you have got more than 5 cards, FROM ANY BANK, in the past 24 months then Chase is simply going to tell you no to that card as well as others issued directly from Chase. Word on the street is in March the same happens to business cards like INK and next up after that will be co-branded cards like the Marriott card (and others).

I hold a bunch of Chase cards. I LOVE my IHG card and have held it for years. If you have been looking at ANY Chase business or co-branded cards, NOW would be a good time to consider going for them if you are the type of person who is not willing to wait 2 years between credit card applications! – René

I have a very simple way of earning a bunch of points each year as I out line HERE in the rookie tab. I have been doing this for years and years. I have no need to go for a MASSIVE amount of cards when I apply for them as 3-5 every 91-ish days for my wife and I does meet our travel needs. But this round I ran into some trouble with one of … Continue reading →

Barclays is a very strange bank. Outside the USA they are very well known but inside the USA they are much less so. In fact I was talking to an AMEX phone rep about Barclays once and they had never even heard about the bank. Barclays was one of the first banks EVER to give us a result in a turn down for a credit card card (for my wife). No amount of calling or … Continue reading →

What a year for Delta flyers (and that really is an understatement). In years past, when speaking at frequent flyer events and defending Delta SkyMiles online, I could always point out that those who scoffed at the value of a SkyMile to be low just did not know or care to know how to extract value from their SkyMiles. That is an argument that is much harder to make right now especially with the end … Continue reading →

[This offer has expired] If you have been waiting to get in on the current amazing (especially MQMs) Delta AMEX offer you are the KING (or Queen) of procrastinators. Well, I have some news. While the official wording CLEARLY states that you must APPLY before the 30th of June 2015, that is, have your application in before the end of the day tomorrow – the offer may just be pulled a little bit early tomorrow. … Continue reading →

[This offer has expired] Time is just about up for one of the biggest offers AMEX has had for a long time in both SkyMiles and, more importantly to many, bonus MQMs for elite status. This is the final weekend you can get in on the following increased offers for the: Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express     First off you have the main post, here on the blog, with all the … Continue reading →

[This offer has expired] The official word I have from the reps I have talked to is, as confusing as it sounds, for the personal Delta cards all three are considered the same “family” of cards, that is, if you have one you can not get the bonus for the others. But, for the Delta AMEX business cards, each card is it’s own so you could get and hold more than one of them AND … Continue reading →

I love good news. We already know that the non-Delta AMEX Platinum card personal, as well as the non-Delta business AMEX Platinum card both qualify for $200 in incidentals and the sweet spot for those cards is $50 e-Gift cards (the $100 ones will not work). Now I can confirm that the new $100  Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express  $100 travel credit benefit works just the same way as you can see from the … Continue reading →

Time for my wife’s latest round of travel cards and the first one was really a simple choice and you can support the blog if you want to go for this card as well (I just can not direct link to it) that is the Citi ThankYou  Premier Card. The result, as you can see, was an instant approval. But why this card? It gives her (us) 50,000 points after $3,000 spend. She can spend … Continue reading →

One of the questions that was asked this past week at the TES was how banks in general handle the cut of perks from a partner. Take for example the cut in Skyclub guest perk from the Delta Reserve card. Delta did not tell their credit card partner they were going to cut this and it was going to be reduced to just the card holder. It REALLY upset a bunch of people. Plus, there … Continue reading →

I love FlexPerks points. These points are great for both earning SkyMiles and MQMs when buying Delta tickets (and other airlines too – I guess). I love that there are now 3 cards you can get and each gain you up to 20,000 bonus points after spending $3500 on any of them inside the first 4 months:   I love that a husband and wife can pool all their FlexPerks into one single account to … Continue reading →

USbank ✜ Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card <—LINK The link above that is still currently live is the same one I used about 6 months ago to get my US Bank Club Carlson card. Now there are some interesting bits on that application page. One of the most important to me is the perk that when you book two days in a row, the second night is free. This, as we have seen … Continue reading →