If you think it’s been eerily quiet lately, that’s because it has. Holidays, last-minute gift hunting, running against the time… However, it’s not that there hasn’t been any news at all. And I’m about to prove it.
First, my new 2015 books revisions are going to hit the stands (well, virtually speaking), and hopefully before the year’s end. There has been a lot of changes in 2014, but one change that a lot of people feared so much has not materialized. Our hobby is as strong as ever. Things can and do change all the time, but the point is, we have adopted. I need to count the miles and points I’ve earned this year to make sure, but I believe my results are better than last year.
Next, My best credit cards offers for FREE FLIGHTS and FREE STAYS are now current.
So, OK, what’s new!
American Express Membership Rewards
Got my 2014 $200 airline reimbursement after following this Dan’s Deals forum thread. Worked like a charm for the second time; first time, it was for the personal Amex Platinum card that I closed back in January. Just follow the guide to the letter (Delta to Israel), and you are golden. Took three days from booking to reimbursement. Yes!
As per Doctor of Credit, you can get an Amex Platinum 100,000-point offer after spending $10,000 in three months. All you have to do is call and ask nicely. Yes, just like that.
Also per Doctor of Credit, you can trigger an Amex Business Gold 50,000-75,000-point offer. I tried to use this method out of curiosity, but never got the 75K. However, I consistently received a 50,000-point offer after meeting the $5,000 threshold in three months. That is nothing to sneeze at. If you do want 75K ($10K in 3 months), you can keep trying, or use a different trick I posted here:
AMEX Business Gold 75,000-Point Bonus Can Be Yours–with a Twist
To finish with the American Express Membership Rewards program, here are two more pieces:
AMEX offers 40% bonus to transfer Membership Rewards points to British Airways Avios. That’s a solid promo; good AMEX bonuses have been scarce lately, and besides, you don’t pay any fees when you transfer to foreign airlines.
AMEX Membership Rewards -> BA Avios 40% Bonus
AMEX Business Platinum Card also gives you 10 Gogo inflight internet passes in a calendar year.
Today, we are proud to announce a new partnership with American Express to offer Business Platinum Card Members a complimentary Gogo benefit. The program is called the Gogo Preferred Program and American Express Business Platinum Card® Members will be able to access 10 complimentary Gogo inflight internet passes each calendar year as part of the program. With the Gogo Preferred Program, Card Members will be able to use each pass for inflight Wi-Fi internet access on any Gogo equipped flight segment, including international flights. More information on the benefits of the Business Platinum Card can be found online here.
SPG: Free WiFi for Everyone
SPG Free WiFi for Starwood Members
SPG will provide free WiFi to every Starwood member, who books their travel on www.spg.com. If you are an elite, they will give you a faster version. Found here on TBB site.
Getting an elite status with SPG other than by the old-fashioned butt-in-bed method is not easy. I got my gold SPG status with my first Amex Platinum credit card many moons ago. Since then, I have closed and opened my Amex Platinum accounts more often they I care to count, yet, they have never removed my SPG gold status. I have always alternated between a personal and business card, to avoid paying the second year’s annual fee. Still, at one point, I was without a Platinum card for about two years, and I still remained Gold. This is not normal, and I’m pretty sure, it has been a glitch. Well, I’m not complaining. 🙂
Being paranoid, I’ve always stayed quiet about it, but what the hell–I’m pretty sure they don’t read my tiny blog, LOL. And even if they do, I’m holding an Amex Platinum Biz card right now, anyway.
American Express Delta Credit Card 50,000-mile offer
The Delta Personal and Business Credit Card 50,000-mile offers that were supposed to die on December 21st, are still working (at 1:15AM ET). If you want that bonus–and there is no reason why you shouldn’t–check if the applications are still loading when you get up in the morning. Remember that you can’t have the second bonus for the same personal card, and that you can’t have the second bonus for the same business card if you’ve had it within the last 12 months.
Chase British Airlines Credit Card 50,000-Mile No Fee Offer is Extended
The Chase BA 50K offer was supposed to die by Dec 31, but it’s been extended until March 31, 2015. No rush, but do get this card if you can, for Avios are awesome! Chase will give you the second bonus as long as you haven’t received it in the last 24 months, and aren’t holding the card at the time of the application.
Chase British Airways Credit Card 50,000-Mile/No Annual Fee Offer is Extended until Mar 31, 2015
Vanilla Reload Will Be Dead on April 1st
No, it’s not April 1st joke. To be honest, VR has been dead to me for quite a long time–ever since CVS killed it for me and most people across the nation. I remember I wept. 🙁
IHG Buys Kimpton Hotels
Kimpton is a unique brand with 62 hotels in the US. Lucky is sad about the acquisition, but to me, the more–the merrier. Every addition of an interesting property to our favorite international chains is welcome news. Think about it this way: before this event, we couldn’t stay at a Kimpton hotel for free. Now we are able to (well, maybe not, but we will be). Win-win! 🙂
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Photo By: CGP Grey
