American Express today announced major new (but temporary) perks for many of their cards. The most exciting news involves statement credits for several of their ultra-premium travel cards which can go far towards rebating the high annual fees on these cards. This makes a lot of sense because most of us are currently unable to take advantage of the travel perks that these cards offer.
Highlights
- Consumer Platinum cardholders gain up to $320 in rebates towards cell phone and streaming services.
- Business Platinum cardholders gain up to $520 in rebates towards cell phone, shipping services, and Dell purchases.
- Hilton Aspire cardholders can earn their $250 resort credit through restaurant charges.
- Hilton cardholders can now use free weekend nights on any night of the week, and new free nights are valid for 24 months.
- Green cardholders gain up to $80 in rebates towards cell phone service.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders can earn the $300 credit through restaurant charges.
- Many cards now offer bonus points at US Supermarkets through July
Below you’ll find the changes, by card, sorted from most exciting to least (in my judgment):
The Platinum Card from American Express
Up to $160 rebate for cell phone service ($20/month May-Dec)
Up to $160 in statement credits when you use your Platinum Card on select wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (up to $20 per month, from May through December 2020).
Up to $160 rebate for streaming services ($20/month May-Dec)
Up to $160 in statement credits when you use your Platinum Card on select streaming services (up to $20 per month, from May through December 2020).
The following streaming services qualify: Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Apple TV+, AT&T Now, Audible, CBS All Access, Disney+, ESPN+, Fubo TV, HBO Now, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Kindle Unlimited, Luminary, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, Netflix, NHL.TV, Pandora, Prime Video, Showtime, Sling TV, SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV
The above are in addition to the usual rebates:
- $200 in Uber Credits: Amex will reimburse $15 per month ($35 in December) for Uber and Uber Eats charges.
- $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue Credits: Up to $50 in credits each year from January through June; and another $50 July through December.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit. Up to $200 a year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline
See also: Amex Platinum Complete Guide
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Up to $160 rebate for cell phone service ($20/month May-Dec)
Up to $160 in statement credits when you use your Platinum Card on select wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (up to $20 per month, from May through December 2020).
Up to $160 rebate for shipping services ($20/month May-Dec)
Up to $160 in statement credits when you use your Platinum Card on U.S. purchases for shipping (up to $20 per month, from May through December 2020).
Up to $200 additional rebate for Dell purchases ($100 May-June + $100 July-Dec)
Business Platinum Card Members will receive up to $200 in additional statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell Technologies, for a total of up to $400 in statement credits in 2020
The above are in addition to the usual rebates:
- $200 in Dell Credits: Up to $100 in credits each year from January through June; and another $100 July through December.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit. Up to $200 a year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline
See also: Amex Platinum Complete Guide
Hilton Aspire
Weekend night becomes anytime night
Unexpired and new Free Weekend Night rewards issued through December 31, 2020 can now be used any night of the week.
New free nights valid for 24 months
New weekend free night awards issued from May 1 to December 31 2020 will be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance (previously 12 months).
Dining, takeout, and delivery qualify toward $250 resort credit benefit
Consumer Card Members’ eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will now qualify toward the $250 Hilton resort credit benefit (June through August 2020).
12X points at U.S. supermarkets
Hilton Surpass and Aspire Consumer Card Members will now earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets (May through July 2020). Bonus Points earned through eligible purchases on all Hilton American Express Cards, that post to the Card Member’s Hilton Honors account between May 1 through December 31, 2020 will be considered Base Points and will count towards Elite tier qualification and Lifetime Diamond Status.
See more about the Hilton Aspire here.
Hilton Surpass
Weekend night becomes anytime night
Unexpired and new Free Weekend Night rewards issued through December 31, 2020 can now be used any night of the week.
New free nights valid for 24 months
New weekend free night awards issued from May 1 to December 31 2020 will be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance (previously 12 months).
12X points at U.S. supermarkets
Hilton Surpass and Aspire Consumer Card Members will now earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets (May through July 2020). Bonus Points earned through eligible purchases on all Hilton American Express Cards, that post to the Card Member’s Hilton Honors account between May 1 through December 31, 2020 will be considered Base Points and will count towards Elite tier qualification and Lifetime Diamond Status.
See more about the Hilton Surpass here.
American Express Green Card
Up to $80 rebate for cell phone service ($10/month May-Dec)
Up to $80 in statement credits when you use your Green Card on select wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (up to $10 per month, from May through December 2020).
See more about the Green Card here.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Dining, takeout, and delivery qualify toward $300 Statement Credit benefit
Consumer Card Members’ eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will now qualify toward the $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit benefit (June through August 2020).
6X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $7,500 spend)
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card Members will now earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $7,500 in eligible purchases (May through July 2020).
See more about the Bonvoy Brilliant here.
Delta SkyMiles Cards
4X miles at U.S. supermarkets
Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Platinum, Gold and Blue Consumer Card Members will now earn 4X miles at U.S. supermarkets (May through July 2020).
Marriott Bonvoy Consumer Cards
6X points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $7,500 spend)
Marriott Bonvoy and Brilliant Consumer Card Members will now earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $7,500 in eligible purchases (May through July 2020).
All Amex Consumer Cards
U.S. Consumer Card Members will soon have complimentary access to a one year Premium membership with Calm, the sleep and meditation app, and half off the following year, if they are not currently Premium subscribers.
My Take
Overall, I expect that most Platinum cardholders will be happy with these additions. Even though the consumer Platinum card offers less in total new rebates, the new rebates should be very easy for most of us to take advantage of. Business Platinum cardholders should be able to easily use the cell service credits, but some may have a harder time taking full advantage of the new shipping credits and additional Dell credits. That said, I certainly don’t mind finding additional stuff to buy from Dell. And, with the shipping credits, maybe I can pick up $20 per month in stamps for free.
In my opinion, the Consumer and Business Platinum card additions are potentially interesting enough to sway new cardholders into the fold. If you haven’t had one of these cards before and you think you can benefit from the rebates (both old and new), I’d recommend watching for enhanced welcome bonuses.
Hilton Aspire and Surpass cardholders should be thrilled with the changes to the free night awards. The ability to use them any day of the week is a great enhancement. I hope they roll this over to 2021.
Green Card cardholders should be pretty happy too with the $10/month cell service credits. I’m not convinced that this makes the card a no-brainer, but if you get targeted for a good welcome bonus it might be worth picking one up.
Bonvoy Brilliant and Hilton Aspire cardholders should be happy that the annual statement credits offered for in-hotel spend can now be had with restaurant spend (including takeout and delivery). Keep in mind that this benefit doesn’t kick in until June and lasts only through August!
Bonus points at grocery stores are nice too, of course, but I think that the people who benefit the most are those who are also working towards big spend bonuses such as earning MQMs on Delta cards, a free weekend night on the Hilton Surpass card, Diamond status with the Surpass card, or a second free weekend night on the Hilton Aspire card.
And that Calm benefit? That’s so lame it hardly calms me at all. But I guess if it’s something you want anyway, it can’t hurt.
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[…] course this year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amex has increased the Dell credit by adding an additional $100. That means cardholders each have $200 in total credits to use from July to December (if you have […]
We know Uber Eats orders will count towards the Platinum Card Uber credits with any remaining billed amounts categorized sometimes as restaurant and other times as transportation. So if I use the Hilton Aspire card for an Uber Eats order, there appears to be a good chance it may not code as restaurant and thus the resort credit will not be applied? Do you have any idea of what percentage of Uber Eats orders code as restaurant? Thanks.
[…] $325 travel credit can be used towards dining purchases through December 31, 2020, similar to how the Hilton Aspire’s resort credit can temporarily be used towards dining purchases (although that’s only valid from June to […]
[…] had to work harder to convince cardholders that their expensive travel cards are worth keeping. Amex was first out of the gate with terrific temporary perks for their ultra premium credit cards. Some of those perks are so good, that it actually makes sense to sign up for those cards now. […]
[…] American Express has added a number of great “stay at home” perks to a number of their travel cards (this year only) as a way of keeping customers satisfied during this time of minimal travel. […]
[…] the beginning of the month, Amex announced many new benefits for cardholders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those benefits was set to be a a Premium membership with the Calm sleep and meditation app. […]
Is there a limit for the grocery spend for the Aspire like the Bonvoy cards ($7,500)? Thanks.
No. There is no stated limit on the Hilton grocery bonuses (which makes some sense in that US Supermarkets are a regular bonus category on the Surpass with no annual limit).
Thank you Nick!!! Appreciate the quick response.
[…] high. For example, Business Platinum cardholders will be glad to see Dell at 10x / 10% given the increased credit being offered for Dell purchases. There are plenty of other good rates as […]
Thanks for the info! I surprisingly really enjoy the calm app and was thinking of upgrading to premium so this is kinda awesome!
That’s great to hear.
[…] recently announced a slew of new (but temporary) perks for many of their cards. I covered the details here. The most impressive perks are specifically for their Platinum and Hilton credit […]
[…] through July 2020, Hilton Surpass and Aspire Consumer Card Members earn 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets. Bonus Points earned through eligible purchases on all Hilton American Express Cards that post to […]
[…] that Amex has announced a number of awesome, but temporary enhancements to their Platinum cards, many are wondering if it’s time to get […]
[…] on the Air, Greg and I agreed that the Platinum cards have suddenly become compelling thanks to the recent Amex enhancements. But Greg perplexed me when he said that he thought the personal Platinum card is a better deal for […]
[…] For more about the above enhancements, please see: Amex adds great stay-at-home perks to ultra-premium travel cards (this year only). […]
Hello – I searched the comments and post but don’t see anything here or on the main Amex page about authorized users?
I have a platinum card with 3 additional users (pay the $175/annual fee).
Does anybody know:
* Do the authorized card users get their own benefits/bonuses or is it per account?
* Do charges on authorized cards trigger the bonuses or only charges on the primary card?
No, authorized users do not get their own credits.
Yes, charges on authorized cards trigger the bonuses (for the primary account)
Thanks for the follow-up Greg. I imagined that was the case but couldn’t find anything specifically (though it’s probably buried somewhere deep in the fine print). Stay safe!
So it appears the 12X grocery on Hilton Aspire and Surpass is uncapped. I’ve had no issue doing $15K grocery (~95% MS) for the free night on the Surpass over about 3 months in each of the last 2 calendar years, so I’ll do at least that much (still need the full 15K for this year’s free night). I could either do $14.9K and leave the last ~100 until I need the cert or December (to get the later expiration date on the cert), or blow well beyond the 15K now since 12X is a great deal and unlikely to ever be seen again! How much grocery MS do you think is safe on these cards over the next 3 months? I equate 12X HH to the 4MR on the Gold, so I’d think the gold grocery limit of 25K is probably safe (which is probably where I’ll stop if I don’t stop at 14.9K). 12X HH is definitely better than the old Blue Cash (which netted ~4.5% after taking into account the first 6.5K at 1%), and the latter versions of the old Blue were capped at 50K, so I certainly wouldn’t push this beyond 35K-40K.
Sorry I have no idea how much is safe, but I agree with you that it’s a fantastic deal.
I have a personal Plat card. Is there a way that I can take advantage of the $20/month streaming service without an active subscription? For example, can we just buy gift card directly from the streaming service, which hopefully count as the “streaming service”?
I don’t know but I’m sure there’s some way!
With the Hilton resort credit–I have used mine for my current year, but my card anniversary is in the beginning of August. I should be able to use the new credit in August, correct? The wording was just a little odd (“members who have not fully used” credit will be able to apply remaining credits to restaurant purchases).
My best guess is yes.
Nothing for Hilton Business? I suppose it’s not considered as “Surpass”, so won’t get the Supermarket credits, will it?
No, it’s a separate card (the Surpass and Aspire cards are personal/consumer cards). No bonuses on that card.
Chase didn’t add any bonuses on business cards, either. My take-away is that I think issuers don’t really want to encourage heavy spending on business cards (this makes sense; the reality is that many small businesses may fold right now). Instead, the aim here was mostly to capture the types of purchases that average people are spending on right now and to make those ultra-premium cards seem worth keeping in an era when nobody is traveling. My hunch is that banks won’t be too upset about losing the risk of small business customers on most credit cards, but Amex likely did want to be sure to try to keep people paying for the $450-$550 annual fee cards.
Does anyone know when the $250 resort credit resets on the Aspire, or how to figure it out? My AF already hit but it is not paid yet. Does it go by the date the AF posts on the account, or the date it is due? I looked on my account, but did not see a place to view that amount (I hoped it would be next to the tracker for the $250 airline credit).
I would have potentially used it in late March on spring break for a quick 1 or 2 day visit to Chicago, but … coronavirus. I was set to downgrade until these new additions, now I might instead use that as an excuse to try for a retention offer even though I will probably keep it another year now.
According to the Flyertalk thread:
19) Is the credit per membership year or per calendar year?
Per membership year. Your first reward year begins on your account opening date. Each subsequent reward year begins on the anniversary of your account opening date.
Thanks Nick. Unfortunately this was an upgrade from the no-fee Hilton, so my records are not so good for the account opening date. I do have my email from May 06, 2012 that says “Thank you for Activating Your American Express Card” which presumably means I signed up for it a few days prior. So I am probably right on the boundary, maybe I could hustle and pull some prepaid shenanigans to get it to credit this year … but I think I will just write it off. Still might be worth a call to Amex to get them to maybe throw me a bone for missing out on it.
Maybe try a chat rep? Or try calling in late. I have had no trouble reaching phone reps around 10pm Eastern. I’d think a phone rep could look up whether or not you’ve used it and when your anniversary date is.
Well of course it was worth a conversation with Amex :-). I did a chat this morning and to summarize, they are giving me a $250 statement credit. The rep stated this tidbit (no idea if it is applicable for everyone or not):
“Card Members whose $250 Resort Credit expired between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020 are eligible to receive up to $250 in statement credits as a gesture from American Express in response to COVID-19.”
He did say it would be 24-72 hours before seeing the credit, so it is not on the account yet. I have the whole chat captured as screen shot (it would not let me copy/paste?) in case anyone is interested, but the rest is mostly just pleasantries.
I called Amex about last membership year’s resort credit, and not being able to use it. Today I started a new year with Aspire. After a mid-length hold I was told it was rolled over and I now have $500 resort credit available. Sweet.
I wish it showed on the site like the airline incidentals do.
Similar situation as AF hits May 12 and I have not been able to use resort credit for this year. Were you given the full $500 in restaurant credits?
Re. the resort/restaurant credits, does anyone know and can validate if food delivery services such as Door Dash, Grub Hub, etc. are categorized as “restaurants” and not something else? Currently I use my Chase United card for this spend as it gets me 2x miles and these services are indeed coded as restaurants. For my Chase Ink, I’ve had issues with hotels booked through certain OTA/web booking sites (and even the homepage of a chain’s own site) being coded as ‘travel agency’ and not a ‘hotel’ and thus losing out on bonus category points. Happy to put the extra spend via this channel if these services are coded correctly. Thanks.
OTA’s aren’t hotels, so those will almost never trigger a bonus category that has to be hotel (they should trigger a “travel” bonus category in most instances, but not “hotel” since you’re not paying the hotel but rather the travel agency). Booking directly through the hotel and paying at the front desk would work for a hotel bonus category.
Most of the bonuses we’re seeing for restaurants say “including takeout and delivery”, so I would expect those delivery services to work.
I totally get the OTA’s Nick (the rare posting is unique indeed), but my point (and example) was that even a hotel’s very own website (that I use) where you make reservations/book directly with them and they process payment doesn’t trigger it because they have categorized themselves as a travel agency and not hotel. This is probably since they also happen to sell packages with airline tickets. You can’t pay at the hotel on site since they charge the balance of your stay prior to arrival. Take out and delivery could be ordered and payed directly with the restaurant; when paying through a delivery service, it may not be categorized the same way. That is what I would want to verify first.
You might be right. Maybe better to wait until June and see what happens when you test it with a small order or when someone else does. Since credits like those usually post within a few days, it should be easy enough to find out quickly.
Do the new consumer Platinum credits apply to all flavors of Platinum (i.e. including Schwab, Ameriprise)?
Yes
Is there an easy way to track progress towards lifetime Diamond at Hilton?
No idea
For the Hilton Aspire, do you think that Gift Cards bought at the restaurant will qualify for the reimbursement credit?
I don’t see why they wouldn’t. Any charge at a restaurant likely processes through the credit card machine the same way.
[…] See this post on Frequent Miler for full details. […]
[…] Express sent out good news today to Hilton Surpass and Hilton Aspire cardholders. We separately reported on the ability to earn 12X at grocery stores and the fact that the Hilton Asp…. In this post, though, I’ll specifically point out the enhancements to the free weekend […]
Will this work if I sign up for an Aspire card right now? Can I use the $250 towards restaurants and get the free night for 24 months or does it only apply to existing users? Thanks!
Yes it will work if you sign up now
Greg
The arbitrary timeline of June thru August is bit distressing for some customers on Hilton Resort credit. I have credit expiring May 31 and AMEX will not extend it or allow me to use for another purpose. This seems like a very unfair policy to put in place.
That stinks. I imagine that’ll be the case no matter when they institute the timeline for someone.
How about booking a hotel that charges a deposit for a future stay.
See this post: https://frequentmiler.com/hilton-extending-status-until-2022-pausing-point-expiration-flexible-bookings/
Relevant content: Any reservations you make—even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”)—that are booked between today and June 30, 2020 for any future arrival date can be changed or cancelled at no charge, up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival day.
Great thought, Nick. However….
“Advance Purchase Rates/Non-Refundable Rates are not eligible for the resort credit.”
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card-application/apply/prospect/terms/hilton-honors-aspire-credit-card/25330-10-0#offer-terms
Not advance purchase – that won’t work as it’s charged by a different arm of Hilton. I said book a hotel that charges a deposit — that’s different. I can see how my comment was confusing since it includes the advance purchase info. Sometimes, you book a 10-night stay and they charge you a deposit for the first night up front (you pay the balance at the hotel). That works – advance purchase rate does not. Plenty of DPs. If you’re a member of our Facebook group, you might try searching the group as there have been a number of threads about this. You’ll likely find similar discussion in other forums.
[…] There’s a new targeted Amex Offer out today that’s good for +4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at Dell. That’s awesome when combined with this morning’s Amex announcement that includes extra statement credits at Dell for Business Platinum cardholders (assuming you get targeted on a Business Platinum Card). See: Amex adds great stay-at-home perks to ultra-premium travel cards (this year only) […]
Greg: Any official word or thoughts on the airline fee credits? I’m a Aspire cardholder and while the Summer restaurant spend for resort credits is welcomed and a suitable substitute, I cancelled many airline trips for March-May which might be extended into the Summer and beyond. So those will most likely go unused.
Book something speculative that can be canceled if you change your mind and use your airline credits on that. Southwest might be a good airline to choose.
https://frequentmiler.com/southwest-extends-status-companion-pass-will-let-some-vouchers-convert-to-points/
It’s for incidental charges/ancillary fees, not tickets so mainly used for onboard purchases.
I understand that. You might have to think outside the box a bit. Here are some posts you may want to read:
https://frequentmiler.com/amex-airline-fee-reimbursements-still-works/
https://frequentmiler.com/on-my-mind-amex-airline-fee-credits-and-gift-card-edition/
https://frequentmiler.com/southwest-extends-status-companion-pass-will-let-some-vouchers-convert-to-points/
Based on personal experience chasing Amex offers in the past, Google Fi wasn’t considered a US cellular provider. Has that changed recently? Looking for more recent dp.
Google Fi stopped earning 5x / 3x on the Chase Ink cards recently. My bet is that it might not work.
[…] Amex cards are offering this bonus at US Supermarkets (not international) and with a higher cap (see this post for a lot more on Amex updates); no word on whether or not Chase works at foreign grocery stores. Chase is also offering […]
[…] yesterday that the Marriott Bonvoy cards were adding groceries as a bonus category today and just this morning Amex announced a huge overhaul focusing on rewarding spend and offering statement credits towards things people are spending on […]
[…] night, the news broke about Bonvoy credit cards getting a bonus on groceries. This morning, Amex announced a major overhaul bonusing US Supermarkets on many cards and making statement credits available for dining, […]
I realize I am asking you to speculate, but with Amex’s ongoing Draconian clawback policies, do you see any danger in me canceling a prepaid hotel night that I already received the Bonvoy Brilliant credit on in order to then apply it to restaurant spend? I have a night booked at the end of July that I am still holding out hope for (and no incentive to cancel now versus waiting) though I’d just assume get that rebate from restaurant spend and deal with the hotel night later.
I don’t think there’s any likely danger in that. Many people are obviously cancelling reservations now.
“Select providers” Where can I find that list? I read the press release, but it has no links to a list of which providers will qualify for the Amex Plat credit.
We don’t have a list yet of cell phone providers, but streaming services probably match what can be found here (scroll to Streaming Services): https://www.americanexpress.com/us/rewards-info/retail.html
FWIW, I just had an Amex offer to spend 3x on a cellular bill and get $55 back. I paid my wife’s ~$10/mo Red Pocket service and it qualified. No idea if they will restrict the list more for this credit or not, but if they use the same list then I would expect a lot of services to qualify.
Were there any extra benefits added for the Delta Skymiles Business cards?
I don’t think so
I was looking for that too. The DL Reserve biz card is so light on benefits as it is, I hoped to see more added there.
What about AMEX platinum holders in Canada?
I don’t know
I really wish Verizon Unlimited didn’t charge an extra $10/mo per line for using a credit card. I’ve moved it from my CIP to the new SoFi debit Mastercard since it provides at least a small cell phone accident benefit.
Greg — what are your thoughts about the cell phone benefit here for holders of the business preferred card? My cell bill is $200. I get 3x with business preferred. So, to switch to Amex would cost 400 points each month since Amex is only 1x on cell purchases plus I lose cell phone insurance. I guess I could try to split pay — $20 on Amex and $180 on Chase. But will that show up on the bill in a way that voids the cell phone insurance if I have to make a claim if they see only a partial payment with the chase card?
Great question. I don’t know the answer about what would happen with the insurance. Personally I’d risk it and put $20 per month on the Amex, but that’s just me.
Hi Greg, are you saying partial $20 payments count or the whole bill needs to be paid?
Yes you can pay just $20 per month in order to get the rebate.
Larry, I do know that they ask to see your statement preceding the date of loss (and sometimes additional statements) and my guess is that’s to make sure that the bill was paid in full with your bus preferred card, as per the terms.
Thanks patty. I have been trying without success to find the benefits guide online but I’ve found some blogs that seem to quote it and it appears that you must charge the “entire” cell phone bill on the business preferred. So, this is a hard decision for me. It’s a nice benefit and it has saved me about $200 in the past but it’s hard to turn down $160. I think the tie breaker for me is missing out on the 3x. If I can’t partial pay, then the way I figure it, using Plat for 8 months instead of Business Preferred on my bill ($220) each moth costs me 440×8 chase reward points — 3520 points is about $60 in value to me. So is 8 months of insurance on four fairly new iphones worth an extra $100 to me? I think this is a yes unless I can get some confirmation that partial pay with Amex each month won’t affect my coverage. I wish there was some other way to use the Plat credit.
Edit– This is the wrong way to look at it. I can still pay everything on Chase except $20 to Amex and so the benefit of giving up the insurance actually is closer to the full $160. Bah. Tough decision. Murphy’s Law is that if I give up the insurance we’ll drop a phone for sure I guess!
I have no idea what the phone companies charge for insurance (or how long it takes to kick in) but would it be an option to add that temporarily until you’ve used up the Amex credits?
Good idea. Problem for me is we have four phones and the great thing about the business preferred is that it covers them all while Verizon appears (I will double check) a per line fee for insurance. With one phone, it doesn’t make sense to give up $160 for insurance I don’t think but four newish iPhones it is a harder choice for me.
There was a post you had not too long ago with ideas for purchases to make at Dell. It had some ideas I had not thought about that I was going to try in July. I can’t find it now. I have searched your site and my emails. Any ideas of which post that might be? Good time to buy something an recoup part of my AF.
Thanks!
Funny thing is that I can’t find that either. Maybe you’re thinking of the picture in this post of misc stuff like an Echo Dot, software, etc?
https://frequentmiler.com/200-business-platinum-dell-benefit/
I buy the XBOX LIVE gift cards. They’re actually just microsoft.com credit, so you can do it for xbox games, office subscriptions, etc.
Changes to aspire free night certs. Can be used any day of the week and certs issued after May 1 get extended expiry.
Thanks. Just saw that info on Facebook. Makes Aspire much more interesting in my opinion.
Agree. My timing on this was bad — I just got a cert last month so not eligible for the extension but at least I have the opportunity to use it any night.
But weren’t there already announcement earlier that existing certs got extended to something like next year August?
Yes, they were. All unexpired certs as of March 11th and newly issued certs after that were extended to August 31, 2021. But today’s extension is more generous.
Basically, this means:
-If you had an existing cert that wasn’t yet expired on March 11th, it is valid until 8/31/21
-If you got a new cert from March 12th-April 30th, it is valid until 8/31/21
-If you get a new cert issued between May 1st and December 31st, it is valid for 2 years.
So definitely not bad. If Larry waits, he’ll get another cert next April and can theoretically use both together for a 2-night stay before 8/31/21.
If you already received the $300 statement credit for Marriott spend with the Amex Brilliant card will you still get a $300 restaurant credit?
No. With Marriott and Hilton it is just another way to qualify for the same credit.
And, with the shipping credits, maybe I can pick up $20 per month in stamps for free.
Can you explain this please.
Sure. I expect that the $20/month shipping credit on the Biz Plat card will count towards USPS spend. So, spend $20 per month to buy forever stamps and you should get that $20 back. That’s assuming you don’t have other actual shipping charges to put on the card.
Also just noticed USPS sells thank you cards and other cards as well so could be another option to pick up some cards for free
Do you know if stamps.com will code as shipping? Awardwallet merchant lookup tool says “other-miscellaneous.”
Just saw Nick’s post about DoC reference on this… looks like USPS.com will work for stamps.
Sapphire reserve is now 5x grocery. So, Aspire at 12x or Sapphire at 5x?
We’re going to publish that soon. 5X UR gives you 7.5% towards travel at 1.5 cents per point. 12X Hilton gives you 6% towards travel at .5 cents per point. So, unless you’re working towards $60K Aspire spend (for the free night), I’d go for CSR
surpass free night at 12x and $15k sounds good
Given we do ~$1K/month organically in grocery spend, I will probably do both after adding in some GC spend. If I get a little more comfy with going out and about, my local Meijer also codes as grocery and can cover nearly all household essentials.
I could see the $60K free night interesting some people. I am waiting for the FM analysis of spending the way to lifetime Diamond Status using the bonus points from this promo.
I am sure this will be in your analysis, but the Chase promo goes through June, and Amex through July. So for some people, the Aspire may be a good grocery card in July.
With the varying dates on these promos, I ended up making a cheat sheet today.
So nothing for Gold ?
Gonna cancel when next annual fee comes up..
I’m thinking that the Gold card’s perks were already good for stay-at-home (and go out to grocery store) spend so Amex didn’t think they needed to add more.
True, but there’s that $100 airline incidental credit…
I cannot find anything about this on Amex’s website or within my account. When will this be more broadly publicized? Also, any information on which streaming services will count? I’ve currently just got Disney+ and ESPN+ (should probably drop this for a while), so not $20 worth, but I’ll happily add Hulu and/or Netflix for the rest of the year.
Unfortunately Verizon will be a pain to deal with to get max benefit from my card and my wife’s. There’s no way to split auto-pay, so I will have to do manual payments for at least one of us. Small price, I guess.
I don’t think they’ve released specifics yet (such as which streaming services are included), but the press release is here: https://about.americanexpress.com/press-release/business-charge-cards/american-express-helps-consumers-and-small-businesses-get-most
With Verizon closing the credit card auto pay loophole, it is a bummer that using a credit card will essentially revoke the $10/month per unlimited line for current plans (less for some grandfathered ones, e.g., Go Unlimited). Families will have to do the math, but in my case with four lines, I would eke out small savings and additional MR points when when paying with one Green and two basic Platinum cards.
Gordon, can you please elaborate on the closed auto pay loophole. I just paid my verizon bill using three different credit cards. Will I be charged an additional fee? Thx for your reply.
Mark, this pertains to the unlimited plans for which Verizon requires you to pay with a debit or checking account with auto pay and paperless to receive the $10/month discounted pricing per line. There used to be the ability to pay a portion of the Verizon bill with a credit card and not lose the auto pay discount. This was great for a host of reasons such as MS, spend requirements, 5x UR with a Chase Ink Business, etc. If you use a credit card, Verizon will most likely charge you a $10 per line non-compliance fee the following month. I forget the wording but you should have seen a warning when attempting to pay by credit card if you have the unlimited plans.
Thanks for taking the time to reply so thoroughly. I’m constantly learning great new tricks/strategies/hacks in this hobby from good folks like you.
Does the AMEX green cars cellular benefit apply to the business green card?
No. Strangely they didn’t add anything for Business Green cardholders. What’s up with that Amex?
Where can I find more info about this from Amex? I haven’t gotten an email from them or anything.
Thanks, added link at top of post to press release. But here it is too: https://about.americanexpress.com/press-release/business-charge-cards/american-express-helps-consumers-and-small-businesses-get-most