Fortunately the tides at Boeing are slowly turning. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified the 737 MAX 7, which is exciting for Southwest (basically the only airline with the plane on order). We knew that 737 MAX 10 certification shouldn’t be too far behind, and it now looks like we may just be days away from that happening (thanks to isaacC for flagging this)…

Boeing 737 MAX 10 should be certified within days

Reuters is reporting that Alaska Airlines expects the Boeing 737 MAX 10 to be certified before the end of September, which would be in the next six days.

Admittedly Alaska is an airline and not an aircraft manufacturer, but I’d guess that they have a reason to believe this timeline, especially given the company’s very close relationship with Boeing. Also keep in mind that Alaska is expected to be the US launch customer for the aircraft (though WestJet will be the global launch customer).

This narrative also matches what we’ve heard from Boeing executives in recent times, with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg saying last week that 737 MAX 10 certification is coming “very soon.”

It’s worth noting that even once the plane is certified, it’ll still take some time for it to actually enter service. For example, Alaska executives emphasize that they still need to complete certification work related to the heads-up display used by pilots after the aircraft itself is certified, and that process could take a few months. For the Seattle-based oneworld carrier, the current goal is for the first plane to be in service in April or May of 2027.

As a reminder, the 737 MAX 10 is the highest capacity but shortest range version of the 737 family. Obviously there’s a compromise between size and range, given that all variants use the same types of engines. The 737 MAX 10 will have the best per-seat economics of any Boeing narrow body plane in history.

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 has major implications for airlines

The recent Boeing 737 MAX 7 certification has huge implications for Southwest, which has hundreds of these planes on order, while virtually no other airline has placed a meaningful order for the aircraft type. The 737 MAX 10 is a totally different story.

There are nearly 1,500 firm orders for the 737 MAX 10. Here in the United States, Alaska, American, Delta, and United, each have 100 or more of these planes on order. You’ll find similarly large orders at Ryanair, WestJet, Pegasus Airlines, Akasa Air, and more. So this plane has proven super popular with airlines.

What makes the 737 MAX 10 attractive is obvious — the plane has amazing per-seat economics, so if you don’t need the incremental range of the smaller variants (which most airlines don’t, since they’re not looking to cross oceans), then it’s pretty obvious to choose the largest variant, so you get more seats with only very small incremental operating costs.

Now, this is also a bit of a trap. Seats are only worth anything if you can actually fill them. Flying a larger variant with theoretically better per-seat economics doesn’t exactly help you if the plane isn’t close to full:

• This “concern” is the exact reason that Southwest has been very conservative, focusing on the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8, with no 737 MAX 9 or 737 MAX 10 aircraft on order (I feel like that’s the wrong decision, especially with the airline introducing extra legroom seating and eventually probably first class, but that’s besides the point)
• Arguably switching to larger aircraft has also been a real issue for ultra low cost carriers in the US, as they loved the sound of a low cost per air seat mile, but then struggled to actually fill those seats

For passengers in the United States, the 737 MAX 10 should be a great plane. I suspect airlines won’t be using the extra space to necessarily cram in a ton more seats, but instead, I imagine we’ll see even more premium seating.

We know that American and Delta each plan to install at least 24 first class seats on these planes, more than they’ve otherwise had across any narrow body fleet type (United, meanwhile, still has a problem to solve). I’d expect a lot of extra legroom seats as well. I imagine US airlines will be staying well under the 200-seat count number, so that they don’t have to staff these planes with more than four flight attendants.

Bottom line

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 is expected to be certified in the coming days, just weeks after the 737 MAX 7 was certified. Even if the FAA does give the 737 MAX 10 the green light, expect it’ll be the spring of 2027 before the plane actually enters service.

The 737 MAX 10 has the best per-seat economics of any Boeing narrow body plane, and that’s why there are nearly 1,500 of these on order. We’ll eventually see hundreds of these 737 MAXs flying in the US, including for Alaska, American, Delta, and United. Expect very premium layouts, given the extra space that airlines have to play with.

What do you make of the 737 MAX 10 nearing certification?

With demand down so much, Qatar Airways has just quietly retired a fleet type, and is even sending some of its pilots to go work in Rwanda…

Qatar Airways quietly dumps its Airbus A330 fleet

Reuters reports how Qatar Airways has just retired its passenger Airbus A330 fleet, which made up 7% of capacity at the airline as of earlier this year. In fairness, these planes were already near retirement before the war started, so this is hardly the most drastic move. For that matter, the planes were actually supposed to be retired years ago, but were kept due to delivery delays on other aircraft, so the airline needed them to meet demand.

Qatar Airways also started leasing four additional A330s from Oman Air last year, but the planes never actually entered service. Over the past couple of decades, Qatar Airways had 45 Airbus A330s, including 29 A330-200s and 16 A330-300s. They started to be delivered in 2002, but were phased out over time. With the A330s being retired, one can’t help but wonder how much life the small A380 fleet will have left…

In a statement, a Qatar Airways spokesperson said the airline regularly reviews its fleet, and “retiring older aircraft and introducing newer, more efficient aircraft as they are delivered” is a normal practice. It was also pointed out how the airline expects to receive 138 new aircraft over the next five years.

With the airline having an excess of pilots, Qatar Airways has also given some pilots the opportunity to work at RwandAir, which has longstanding ties with Qatar Airways. RwandAir even acquired an ex-Qatar Airways A330 earlier this year.

Regarding pilots moving from Qatar Airways to RwandAir, the airline spokesperson said “a group of Qatar Airways A330 pilots are being offered a voluntary short-term secondment opportunity with RwandAir.”

Qatar Airways also hasn’t been able to raise fares

Airlines across the globe have of course been grappling with the issue of much higher fuel prices, which are a massive expense for airlines. However, on a global basis:

• Demand has continued to remain robust, so at least there’s not an issue with filling planes
• Airlines have broadly been able to increase fares to largely offset their higher fuel bills, which helps avoid this being a full-on crisis across the board

Unfortunately in the case of Qatar Airways, they’re being screwed on both ends — they’re seeing a massive drop in demand, and they’re also unable to raise fares.

Skift recently reported on how Qatar Airways CEO Hamad Al-Khater said the carrier is not passing on increased fuel costs to customers. He commented that “we’re just kicking the can down the road from that side of things, and as a result, we just have to get used to this fuel price that’s higher.” He continued that “we don’t want to pass it to our customers just yet, that’s going to be an option of last resort, just because of the competitive landscape.”

Indeed, Qatar Airways isn’t keeping fares lower out of the kindness of its heart. I mean, any reasonable company would try to recoup higher costs. However, the issue is that when demand is down and many people are scared to travel through a region, trying to compete on price is one of the only options.

Frankly I’m a little confused by the “last resort” comments more broadly. Presumably the pricing decision is based on an analysis of the elasticity of demand. What is the “last resort” that would cause the airline to decide that significantly increasing pricing is the right move?

Not to make this political, but one certainly wonders how Qatar is feeling about its Boeing 747-8 gift to Trump, given how this war has impacted the country (including the national airline), with seemingly no exit strategy.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways is struggling at the moment due to a combination of reduced demand plus much higher costs — fortunately the carrier’s owner has very deep pockets. 😉 Nonetheless, Qatar Airways is taking action to protect the business, and that includes retiring the Airbus A330 fleet, which is no longer in passenger service. Given the excess pilots the airline has, some are even being sent to RwandAir.

While all airlines are suffering from higher jet fuel costs, Qatar Airways (and other carriers in the Gulf) haven’t really been able to raise fares due to the extent to which demand is down, so that’s a double whammy for them.

What do you make of Qatar Airways’ A330 retirement? Do you think we’ll see A380s retired soon as well?

In recent weeks, we’ve seen American Airlines and United Airlines announce their new summer 2027 routes. American added three new destinations, while United added 10 new destinations (its biggest expansion in history). Well, Delta has just announced its summer 2027 expansion, and it includes zero new destinations. I guess there are no new “premium” places left to fly. 😉

Delta adds three new Europe routes, no new cities

Delta plans to add three new routes to Europe in the summer of 2027. They’re all to existing destinations, and one of these has already previously been announced:

• Between March 27 and October 24, 2027, Delta will offer daily seasonal flights between Austin (AUS) and Paris (CDG) using an Airbus A330-900neo
• Between May 7 and October 29, 2027, Delta will offer 4x weekly seasonal flights between Boston (BOS) and Venice (VCE) using an Airbus A330-300
• As of June 8 and October 28, 2027, Delta will offer 3x weekly seasonal flights between Detroit (DTW) and Athens (ATH) using an Airbus A330-200

I would like to commend Delta, because for the first time that I’ve seen in a while, the airline didn’t once use the term “premium” in its press release, with the exception of referring to Premium Select (which is fair, since it’s the name of the product).

I’m not sure if Delta is just turning over a new leaf and toning down the BS, or if Delta executives are so embarrassed by this announcement that they can’t even bring themselves to use the word. Either way, kudos!

What’s going on with Delta’s lack of Europe growth?

It’s incredibly odd to see even American outpacing Delta on Europe growth, so what exactly is going on here? I mean, we’re seeing literally zero new destinations in Europe, and I don’t remember the last time Delta didn’t add a single new European city in an entire year.

The simple answer is that Delta is actually really growth constrained at the moment. Unless you’re going to cancel existing routes, growth is otherwise reliant on taking delivery of new aircraft. With that in mind:

• Delta has 16 Airbus A330-900neos on order, which will only be delivered as of 2029
• Delta has 18 Airbus A350-900s on order, but nearly all of those will only be delivered as of 2029
• Delta has 30 Boeing 787-10s on order, which will only be delivered as of 2031
• Delta has 20 Airbus A350-1000s on order, which will be delivered as of 2027, so those are the most significant deliveries coming to Delta

But the reality is that Delta’s A350s are now increasingly centered around long haul flying to places other than Europe. We’ve seen Delta launch Hong Kong (HKG) flights, Riyadh (RUH) flights are in theory launching soon (are they really?), and Manila (MNL) flights are also coming soon. So that just doesn’t leave much room for summer seasonal growth.

A major part of the issue here is that American and United are taking delivery of Airbus A321XLRs, which are long haul, narrow body aircraft. These are the ideal planes to add new destinations in Europe, given their range, plus low capacity. Delta elected not to order these planes, and that greatly limits growth.

I will say, ultimately if your current routes are working, it’s not like you need a bunch of new routes to directly turn a greater operating profit. However, there’s also no denying that Delta considers itself to be a cool lifestyle brand, and people pay attention to these new routes.

From a competitive standpoint, this is yet another situation where United is generating hugely positive headlines for its biggest expansion in history, while nobody will be taking about Delta (well, other than about how underwhelming this announcement is). If Delta wants to be an industry leader, the optics here aren’t exactly great.

Bottom line

Delta has just announced its summer 2027 expansion, and it’s the most disappointing expansion we’ve seen from any of the “big three” carriers in as long as I can remember. Delta is announcing two new routes, from Boston to Venice and Detroit to Athens, and it’s (re)announcing its Austin to Paris route. So while United announced its biggest expansion in history, Delta announced its smallest…

What do you make of Delta’s 2027 transatlantic route announcement?

Details of the new SAS Lounge Copenhagen Airport

SAS will be opening a new primary lounge at Copenhagen Airport in June 2027, which will be larger, more stylish, and with more amenities, than the old facility.

The new lounge will be located on the fourth floor of Terminal 3, and it will cover 3,700 square meters (40,000 square feet), making it around 40% larger than the existing lounge. It’ll have 1,095 seats, and will be able to accommodate up to 4,000 visitors per day. Unlike the old lounge, this will just be on one level.

The facility will feature panoramic runway views and dedicated spaces for working, relaxing, sleeping, eating, and socializing, including 24 private work pods, expanded shower and restroom capacity, and private hotel rooms (it’s not yet clear how those will be made available). There will even be a dedicated area specifically for SAS’ most loyal top tier customers, offering the an elevated lounge experience.

When it comes to food & beverages, in addition to the standard selection, the lounge will have a dedicated bar with barista service, and a bakery with fresh pastries, treats, and snacks. You can expect that this lounge will follow standard SkyTeam lounge access rules, so it’ll be open to SkyTeam Elite Plus members as well as SkyTeam business class passengers.

Here’s how SAS Chief Commercial Officer Paul Verhagen describes the new lounge:

“Our new signature lounge will be a destination of its own, redefining the journey. Designed with clean Nordic aesthetics and a calm atmosphere, it is built to give travelers space to breathe. Alongside our popular barista service, a fresh bakery, runway views, and a dedicated bar with signature drinks, we are introducing a very special Exclusive Zone tailored specifically for our top-tier customers – providing an elevated, thoughtful upgrade to the overall airport experience.”

“As passenger numbers grow and we strengthen Copenhagen as our main hub, this lounge reflects our ongoing development. Designed to handle high demand without feeling crowded – while offering dedicated spaces for our most frequent travelers – and connected with our recent re-introduction of European business class and partner lounge upgrades across Europe, it represents a very concrete step in our effort to improve every step of the journey for our frequent flyers.”

It’s great to see the positive changes at SAS

SAS has undergone quite the transformation in recent times, coinciding with the airline going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and getting a new ownership structure. Air France-KLM now have a stake in the airline (which is expected to grow), and we’ve also seen SAS move from Star Alliance to SkyTeam.

Ultimately nothing has been that revolutionary, but the airline has been making consistent, positive changes. The carrier has leaned into Copenhagen as a global hub, has brought back intra-Europe business class, and more. SAS has also announced quite the fleet modernization plans, including ordering Airbus A330-900neos, Embraer E195-E2s, etc.

Bottom line

SAS will be opening a new lounge at Copenhagen Airport in June 2027, which will be 40% larger than the old lounge. Not only is the additional lounge capacity great news, but it will also feature a new design, along with new amenities, ranging from hotel rooms, to private workstations, and more.

What do you make of SAS’ lounge plans for Copenhagen?

The airline has now announced that it’s nearly doubling that order, meaning it has nearly twice as many jets on order as it currently has in its fleet. One can’t help but wonder if all of these planes will actually be delivered, or what…

Biman Bangladesh picks up Boeing 787s & 737 MAXs

Earlier this year, Biman Bangladesh placed a firm order for 14 new Boeing aircraft, including for eight 787-10s, two 787-9s, and four 737 MAX 8s:

• The Boeing 787-10s are being ordered for the first time, and will be used to serve high demand flights to the Middle East
• The Boeing 787-9s complement the existing 787-9s, and will be used to support long haul service to Europe and North America
• The Boeing 737 MAX 8s are being ordered for the first time, and will be used to connect Bangladesh to destinations across the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia

We’re going to have to be patient with this order, though, since deliveries are expected between November 2031 and October 2035, so that is quite the wait (and that’s best case scenario, and we know Boeing isn’t great at delivering planes on time).

Now the airline has placed an order for an additional 11 Boeing jets, including five 787-10s and six 737 MAX 8s. The delivery timeline for these 11 incremental orders hasn’t yet been announced, though one would assume that they’ll join the fleet after the previously ordered planes, which would take us into 2035 and beyond.

In total, this means the airline has 13 Boeing 787-10s, two Boeing 787-9s, and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, on order.

Here’s how Biman Bangladesh Chairman Rumee Hossain describes the carrier’s growth plans:

“Today’s supplemental agreement is an important step in Biman’s ongoing fleet renewal and network expansion. This order responds to specific requirements in our fleet plan. Our team’s working relationship with Boeing over the years has given us confidence in the delivery and support arrangements. As the national flag carrier, we remain committed to developing Biman’s network and capabilities in a manner that responds to the connectivity needs of the people of Bangladesh, our expatriate community, business and tourism. This agreement is one part of a broader, carefully considered plan to strengthen the country’s international connectivity in the years ahead.”

How does this order fit into Biman Bangladesh’s fleet?

For context on Biman Bangladesh’s fleet, the airline currently has 19 aircraft, including four Boeing 737-800s, four Boeing 777-300ERs, six Boeing 787s (four 787-8s and two 787-9s), and five De Havilland Dash 8s. These newly ordered planes obviously don’t replace the turboprops, so it’s pretty wild to see a non-startup airline with 14 jets ordering 25 more jets.

One would assume that the 737-800s and 777-300ERs will eventually be retired, so if the airline keeps around its existing Dreamliners, it would eventually have 21 787s, which is quite the large fleet.

It’s also interesting how the airline only has plans to have 10 737s, so it’ll have more than twice as many wide bodies as narrow bodies. But I understand the logic. Biman Bangladesh often operates in high volume point-to-point markets, like between Bangladesh and destinations in the Middle East, so there’s need for the capacity.

While this is cool, if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t necessarily count on this all playing out as promised:

• Given that some deliveries are potentially more than a decade down the road, I imagine there’s some flexibility here
• This latest order was announced as part of a larger trade deal with the United States and Bangladesh, so sometimes those deals aren’t fully followed through on
• Biman Bangladesh doesn’t exactly have a great track record with following through on its aircraft orders; in June 2023, the airline revealed it intended to order 10 Airbus A350 aircraft for its long haul fleet renewal, though that was never finalized

Also, random side note. The airline talks about how it wants to expand to North America, though keep in mind that Bangladesh doesn’t have a Category 1 rating with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), so airlines from Bangladesh can’t currently launch flights to the United States. That could change over time, though, but it definitely limits North America growth!

Bottom line

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is continuing to grow its Boeing aircraft order book. Earlier this year the airline placed an order for 14 jets, and now the airline has placed an order for 11 more jets.

In total, the airline now has 13 Boeing 787-10s, two Boeing 787-9s, and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, on order. That’s pretty remarkable, when you consider the carrier’s jet fleet otherwise consists of 14 aircraft. With deliveries only expected to start in late 2031, I’m curious to see how many planes actually end up being delivered, and exactly what growth the airline has planned. I’m also curious to see the onboard product.

What do you make of Biman Bangladesh’s Boeing order?

Air France ending Denver route after five years

In the summer of 2021, Air France launched flights between Paris and Denver. Initially the route operated seasonally, before operating year-round in 2024, only to then be operated seasonally again as of 2025.

Unfortunately now it looks like the route won’t operate in either season. Up until now, the plan has been for the service to operate through October 10, 2026 (marking the end of the summer 2026 season), and to then resume as of April 26, 2027 (marking the start of the summer 2027 season).

However, as flagged by JonNYC, Air France is now zeroing out inventory for the route as of next spring, meaning that the flight in a few weeks appears to be the last scheduled Air France flight to Denver. The flight has typically been operated 3x weekly, and Air France has used a variety of aircraft for the route, including the Airbus A350, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787.

This comes as United is launching Denver to Paris flights

One would certainly assume that Denver wasn’t one of Air France’s more profitable destinations in the United States, given the extent to which frequencies and seasonality in the market differed over the years that the service was offered.

However, I imagine the real reason this route is being cut is that as of late May 2027, United Airlines plans to launch daily flights between Denver and Paris. Competitively, that makes it really hard for Air France to compete with its 3x weekly frequencies:

• United of course has a huge advantage in Denver, given its massive hub and loyal local customer base, so it’s not easy for Air France to compete with substantially fewer frequencies
• While Air France probably has better name recognition in Europe and a bigger local customer base in Paris, this route was intended primarily for a US point of sale, particularly to transport Americans to Europe for the summer
• For service beyond Paris, both Lufthansa and United also offer one-stop service to a vast majority of the same destinations that Air France could serve
• Air France’s Denver to Paris flight have operated as part of the SkyTeam transatlantic joint venture with Delta, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, but it’s not like they have a particularly big customer base in Denver

Bottom line

As of October 2026, Air France will cut its route between Paris and Denver. The service was supposed to resume in the spring of 2027, but that inventory is now being removed. It’s not surprising that this route no longer makes sense when United is also adding service between the same cities, given the overwhelming US point of sale, plus United’s dominance in Denver.

Air France has been quite successful with adding new North America markets in recent years, but it’s also not surprising that not every route works in the long run, especially given the competition.

What do you make of Air France cutting Paris to Denver flights?

Lufthansa tells customer to stop messaging, lol

An X user tagged Lufthansa’s official account, and wrote the following:

Why are you ignoring my messages and emails @lufthansa ? You approved our payment months ago, yet you dodge responsibility and act unlawfully! Shame on you! Answer your emails and process Case C-999983-G1X8 IMMEDIATELY!

Lufthansa responded almost immediately, essentially telling the customer the response isn’t going to “magically” change, and that he should stop asking on different platforms:

We’ve already responded to you numerous times via DM on different social media platforms. The response isn’t going to magically change just because you’re asking the same question on X now. /Flo

This post ended up going viral. It currently has 1.2 million views, but that number keeps increasing. A little over 20 hours later, the airline apologized in a follow-up post, writing the following:

We sincerely apologize for our last reply to you – this is not the way we treat our passengers. We understand your frustration in this matter and are doing everything we can to speed up the process. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

People are divided on Lufthansa’s social media response

I think we can all agree that Lufthansa’s response to a customer on X was unprofessional. Admittedly we don’t know the full story here. The traveler seemingly claims that some sort of compensation was approved, but hasn’t been paid. I don’t know if that’s true or not, though I’d sure love to know the backstory.

I would imagine that anyone who has worked in frontline customer service has probably wanted to respond to a customer in this way at one point or another (or in some cases, maybe constantly). And I’ll also say that the internet adds a level of anonymity that makes so many customers complete jerks.

You know, you’ll see an airline posting about a new route or lounge on social media, and then there are dozens of responses from people all basically just saying “f*** you, you s*** airline, you lost my bags, I’m never flying you again.” I don’t know how the people working the social media accounts have the patience to be apologetic and deal with customers, when they receive such a lack of respect.

Also, to Lufthansa’s credit, at least it seems the airline still has humans responding to customer service complaints, rather than AI (unless they’ve programmed their AI to be that sassy). There’s something to be said for that!

I see some people suggesting that Lufthansa must’ve outsourced customer service, and that this is the reason for this kind of a response. If anything, this response strikes me as being a completely blunt German. Germans don’t really beat around the bush with sharing how they feel, and that’s very much the vibe here.

I remember a Lufthansa flight I took earlier this year, where someone came up to first class during boarding and was obviously trying to take pictures of seats in a way where they tried to make it look like they were sitting in them.

The flight attendant proceeded to come up to the guy and said “what do you think you are doing?” He responded by making up some excuse about how he just wanted to see the seat, and she responded with “no, I know what you are doing, you are trying to fake that you are flying in first class for social media.” Lol, perhaps it was a bit aggressive, but she certainly shut him up, and she definitely clocked him on that one.

Bottom line

Lufthansa is getting quite a bit of criticism after a customer demanded immediate help with a compensation issue. A representative for the airline responded by telling the customers that they’ve responded to him numerous times on different social media platforms, and that the response wouldn’t magically change because he’s asking on X.

Well, that caught the attention of a lot of people, and a little under a day later, the airline apologized. So I guess maybe asking on X does magically change the response? 😉

What do you make of Lufthansa’s response to a customer on X?

Iranian president flew from Tehran to New York via Algiers

On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, the Iranian president made his way from Iran to the United States on a government Airbus A340. Specifically, the plane operated with the callsign “Iran 02,” with the following routing:

• The plane took off from Tehran Mehrabad International Airport (THR) at 8:18AM local time, and then landed at Algiers Houari Boumediene Airport (ALG) at 11:49AM local time, after a flight time of 6hr1min
• Then the plane spent a little over two hours on the ground refueling, before it took off again from Algiers at 2:10PM local time, and landed at New York Kennedy International Airport (JFK) at 6:13PM local time, after a flight time of 9hr3min
• Then at 9:22PM the plane was flown from New York to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), where it landed at 10:02PM, after a flight time of 40min; presumably it’s just parking there until the delegation is ready to return to Iran

I think the refueling stop in Algeria is no surprise, as it’s on the way, and is more of a “friendly” country toward Iran than many of the other countries in the region.

Some people might be surprised to see that the plane took a really direct routing, and didn’t at all avoid European Union airspace.

Note that while commercial Iranian planes are banned from European Union airspace, those same restrictions don’t typically apply when an aircraft is operating a state flight. However, diplomatic clearance is required from each country that is potentially being overflown.

Legality aside, it’s interesting that the Iranian government chose to fly over European Union airspace, since that could’ve also pretty easily been detoured around. Then again, the decision might’ve been made that it’s safer to fly over the European Union than some other countries.

The fascinating Airbus A340-300 the Iranian government uses

So, on which aircraft did the Iranian president fly to New York, exactly? Iran’s aviation system is unusual, since the country has been facing sanctions for a very long time, so hasn’t had access to new Airbus and Boeing aircraft. That’s why so many planes operating for Iranian airlines have essentially been smuggled in, using some very shady arrangements.

Anyway, this journey to New York took place on an Airbus A340-300 with the registration code EP-IGI. The backstory on this plane is interesting:

• The plane is 34 years old, as it was initially delivered in 1992; as a matter of fact, it has the Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 002, so it was the second one ever produced (by Delta standards, it’s a premium spring chicken!)
• The plane flew for Virgin Atlantic from 1997 until 2011, then it was purchased by some shady company (presumably with the intent of smuggling the plane to Iran), and then in 2012 it started flying for Iran Aseman Airlines
• Interestingly, just two weeks ago, the plane was formally handed over from Iran Aseman Airlines to the Islamic Republic of Iran Government, so it entered service on September 11, 2026 (which… that’s quite the day for that to happen!)
• The reason the Iranian government just recently took over this plane is because the previous A340-300 was destroyed in an airstrike earlier this year

Up until recently, the plane was configured with the original Virgin Atlantic configuration, including 240 seats, consisting of 34 business class seats, 35 premium economy seats, and 171 economy seats. My assumption is that the plane wasn’t really retrofitted much in recent times, so the government officials were probably flying in Virgin Atlantic’s herringbone seats.

Bottom line

Iran’s president arrived in New York yesterday for the United Nations General Assembly. He flew on a government Airbus A340-400 from Tehran, with a refueling stop in Algiers. After landing, the plane was positioned to Baltimore, where it’s parking until the return flight.

The 34-year-old ex-Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300 only joined the government fleet within the past couple of weeks, as it was inherited from Iran Aseman Airlines. That was only necessary because the previous A340 was destroyed in an airstrike earlier this year.

So if you’re flying through Baltimore today and think you’re hallucinating when you see an Iranian government plane on the ground, now you know why.

What do you make of the Iranian president’s journey to New York?

US uses sanctions to ground Iranian airlines

The United States has long had sanctions against Iran, and those have only intensified since early this year, with the start of the war. While Iranian airlines have been banned from flying to countries with direct sanctions against Iran, they’ve been able to continue flying to most other countries.

Well, if the Trump administration is to be believed, that’s no longer the case. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Iranian airlines are being shut down around the world as of today, Wednesday, September 23, 2026. According to Bessent, here’s how this is being done:

“How do we do that? If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system.”

So if this is to be believed, foreign countries servicing Iranian planes would face complete exclusion from the American banking system. And without the ability to refuel or provide services, it obviously makes it very difficult for Iranian carriers to fly abroad.

This aviation embargo comes as the Trump administration is trying to increase economic measures against the Iranian regime, under Operation Economic Fury.

Iranian airlines cancel some flights, operate others

In light of these new sanctions as of September 23, 2026, Iranian airlines have already canceled some flights, including to Baghdad (BGW), Baku (GYD), Doha (DOH), Muscat (MCT), and Tbilisi (TBS).

However, other international flights are continuing to operate. For example, Mahan Air operated flight W581 from Tehran (IKA) to Guangzhou, China (CAN) today, using an Airbus A340-300 with the registration code EP-MMC. Interestingly, there seems to be some coordination here with Chinese authorities, because the website of Guangzhou’s airport specifically didn’t list this flight, and surely that’s not a coincidence.

Furthermore, Mahan Air also operated flight W557 to Phuket, Thailand (HKT), and landed this morning, using a Boeing 777-200ER with the registration code EP-MTB.

Both the Guangzhou and Phuket flights are expected to return to Tehran in the coming hours, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. Did China and Thailand refuel the planes and provide services? I wouldn’t be surprised if China simply doesn’t care about threats of sanctions from the United States, but I’m a bit more surprised to see Thailand be onboard with this.

Bottom line

The Trump administration is stepping up sanctions on Iran, and that includes trying to ban Iranian airlines from operating internationally. While Iranian carriers have been banned from countries directly sanctioning Iran, the latest is that if foreign countries service Iranian aircraft, they’ll face complete exclusion from the American banking system.

While Iran Air and Mahan Air have canceled most of their international flights, we have seen some flights to China and Thailand continue. I suspect China just doesn’t care about threats of US sanctions, but Thailand is an interesting one.

How do you see this playing out for Iranian airlines?

A few days ago, I covered how the airlines revealed that they’d be launching a codeshare agreement. I mentioned how I hoped that loyalty reciprocity would be next. Good news — it has now been confirmed that this is in the works, so let’s recap everything we know.

American & Starlux codeshare agreement details

Starlux and American are expanding their partnership from an interline agreement to a codeshare agreement. For context:

• An interline agreement allows passengers to book a ticket that includes travel on both Starlux and American, and have more of a seamless journey, with bags being checked between carriers
• A codeshare agreement allows the airlines to place their “code” on the flights of the other airline, and essentially market the flights of the other airline

Let me emphasize that while a codeshare agreement is a higher level of cooperation than an interline agreement, it doesn’t guarantee loyalty reciprocity, and it’s also a far cry from a joint venture (where airlines can coordinate fares and schedules).

The new codeshare agreement initially allows American to place its code on Starlux flights between Taipei (TPE) and Los Angeles (LAX), Ontario (ONT), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA). Oddly, the Phoenix (PHX) route is not initially part of the codeshare agreement when it comes to American placing its code on transpacific Starlux flights. In the other direction, this allows Starlux to place its code on domestic American flights out of Los Angeles and Phoenix.

American & Starlux working on loyalty reciprocity

In its post on Instagram about the new codeshare agreement, Starlux has confirmed that there’s more cooperation on the way. The airline wrote that “a frequent flyer partnership is also in the works, opening up even more ways to earn miles and redeem award tickets.” Those are all the details we have as of now, so it remains to be seen when the loyalty aspect of this will go live.

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A post shared by STARLUX Airlines (@starluxairlines)

I’d assume that at some point in the not-too-distant future, it becomes possible to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on Starlux, and vice versa:

• Don’t count on travel on Starlux earning Loyalty Points, though, since AAdvantage doesn’t generally offer Loyalty Points for travel on non-alliance partners, like Etihad
• It’s great to have more ways to redeem AAdvantage miles, but this will mean that there’s even more competition for a limited number of premium cabin seats on Starlux; I also wouldn’t expect first class awards to be bookable through partner programs, since that’s also currently not possible

I’m not surprised to see this increased level of cooperation, especially when you consider that Alaska and American partner pretty closely, and Starlux and Alaska have a partnership, which includes frequent flyer reciprocity, among other things (admittedly Alaska takes a different approach to loyalty than American does).

The thing is, the politics here are also complicated. We also know that Starlux wants to join the oneworld alliance, and big picture, that makes sense in terms of industry dynamics. That’s because the two other full service airlines in Taiwan — China Airlines and EVA Air — belong to the other two global alliances. But that’s reportedly not happening, because Cathay Pacific has veto rights, and is blocking Starlux’s entry into the alliance (while seemingly being fine with Philippine Airlines joining).

The added complexity here is that while American’s Asia network is limited, the airline does have a transpacific joint venture with Japan Airlines, so has a strong incentive to route Asia traffic through Japan, given the revenue sharing agreements in place.

Unless American plans to launch its own flights to Taipei (which doesn’t strike me as terribly likely), it’s not like the revenue upside here is huge, by simply codesharing with an airline. At the same time, I imagine that competitively, American realizes it needs to up its game across the Pacific in terms of giving customers choice, even if it’s not on its own metal, or that of a joint venture partner.

So I’m not surprised to see this codeshare agreement, and I’m happy to see that we can also expect loyalty reciprocity, as that’ll be great for AAdvantage members.

Bottom line

In the middle of 2025, Starlux Airlines and American Airlines launched an interline agreement, a really casual level of cooperation. Now a little over a year later, the two airlines are launching a codeshare agreement, which is a closer level of cooperation.

While the timeline remains to be seen, we know that the airlines are now working toward loyalty reciprocity as well, so it should eventually be possible to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on Starlux. We know that Starlux would like to join oneworld, but is being blocked by Cathay Pacific, so I wouldn’t expect to see that happen.

What do you make of American and Starlux launching a codeshare agreement, and the upcoming addition of loyalty reciprocity?

We’re finally getting closer to these routes actually commencing. A few months ago, Qantas announced it would launch nonstop Sydney to London flights as of October 2027, with flights going on sale as of February 2027. The airline has now also announced when we’ll see the launch of nonstop New York flights… though we’ll have to be patient for around two more years.

Qantas’ record breaking Sydney to New York flights unveiled

Qantas has announced that it plans to launch nonstop flights between Sydney and New York as of mid-2028, with flights going on sale as of August 2027. This will represent the first-ever regularly scheduled nonstop flights between Australia and New York.

Qantas has been flying between Sydney and New York since 1958, as part of its inaugural round-the-world service, reaching the city via Fiji, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Currently, the airline flies daily between Sydney and New York via Auckland (AKL), using Boeing 787-9s.

The new nonstop flights will cut around three hours off the travel time compared to existing one-stop services. Even when the nonstop Sydney to New York flight is launched, the airline still plans to maintain its one-stop service from Sydney to New York via Auckland.

Qantas will launch this nonstop service once it has five A350-1000ULRs — two planes are needed to operate each route, and then they also need a spare. You can expect the flight will take around 18 hours eastbound and around 20 hours westbound, so it’s quite the long haul journey. At 9,950 miles, it’ll be the world’s second longest flight, after the 10,573-mile London flight.

As usual, Qantas is very skilled at creating hype and publicity around new service. The airline has been promoting this Project Sunrise concept for a decade, and seems to have had a party just now in New York, celebrating this route.

That’s a bit confusing, because we’ve known this route was coming, and it seems odd to host a party with the concept of “hey, in about a year we’re going to start selling tickets on a flight that will launch about a year after that.” But don’t worry, I’m sure there will be another party as well!

Here’s what Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson had to say about Project Sunrise New York service:

“Conquering the tyranny of distance has been part of who Qantas is from the very beginning. Reaching New York non-stop completes a vision we set out many years ago, and it’s a moment of enormous pride for the thousands of our people who have been working hard to make Project Sunrise a reality.”

“New York has always captured the imagination, and for generations, reaching it from Australia has meant breaking up the journey somewhere along the way. From 2028, our customers will be able to board in Sydney and arrive in New York around 18 hours later without stopping once, cutting around three hours off the current fastest travel time. That changes what’s possible for travel between our two countries.”

“Flying these distances is only worth doing if our customers arrive feeling their best, and that belief has shaped everything we’ve built. Over the past decade, working alongside experts, we’ve designed the aircraft and the onboard experience around the science of ultra long-haul travel, from the lighting to the meals to a world-first Wellbeing Zone. This is a fundamentally different way to fly.”

Qantas A350-1000ULRs will have 238 seats in four cabins

Qantas has a total of 12 Airbus A350-1000ULRs on order, which feature extra fuel tanks, as well as a higher maximum takeoff weight than the standard A350-1000, which the airline also has on order. Note that the airline only plans to use six of the planes for the “real” Project Sunrise flights, and will then use the remaining planes to grow in other markets.

Qantas’ A350-1000ULRs will be specially configured for long haul flying, and will be in a very spacious configuration:

• Qantas’ A350-1000ULRs will carry just 238 passengers, which is way fewer seats than you’ll find on most carriers’ A350s
• The planes will feature four classes of service, including six first class seats, 52 business class seats, 40 premium economy seats, and 140 economy seats
• Economy will feature 32-34″ of pitch, which is slightly more spacious than what you’d typically find in economy (where 31″ is the standard for long haul flights), though the airline has already taken away some legroom, as initially the plan was for all seats to have at least 33″ of pitch
• Qantas will be introducing a new first class suite and business class seat with a door on A350-1000s
• Qantas A350-1000ULRs will feature a dedicated wellness zone
• All Qantas A350-1000s will feature fast and free Wi-Fi, in partnership with Viasat

I’ve talked more about the cabin interiors in a separate post, because there’s lots to cover. AeroLOPA also has a seat map of the new cabins, which is interesting to look at.

I have to say, as much as I enjoy flying, these flights are really getting to a length where I wonder if I might just prefer a connection, so I can stretch my legs. I guess if you’re in first or business class it’s hard to complain, though in premium economy or economy, this seems like quite the undertaking. But I guess that’s the beauty of choice, as there are also plenty of one-stop options.

We know that Qantas is hoping to charge about 20% more for these flights over itineraries with connections, though of course the market will decide whether consumers are willing to pay that.

Bottom line

Qantas has announced the timing of its second Project Sunrise route, as the airline will start flying between Sydney and New York as of mid-2028, with flights going on sale as of August 2027. The airline will operate this route with Airbus A350-1000ULRs, which is a unique aircraft type the airline has on order.

At just under 10,000 miles and with a flight time of around 20 hours, this will be the second longest flight in the world, after the Sydney to London flight, which launches in October 2027.

What’s your take on Qantas’ plans to fly from Sydney to New York? Would you like to take this flight, or would you rather connect?

During Skytrax’s recent 2026 World Airline Awards, Air France was recognized for having the world’s best first class. To celebrate that, along with commemorating the 70th anniversary of La Premiere, Air France has released an incredible documentary about the evolution of its first class cabin, which aviation geeks and premium product enthusiasts will no doubt appreciate.

Air France’s documentary about the history of La Premiere

Air France has released a 35-minute documentary about the history and evolution of its La Premiere first class, and it’s just so incredibly well done. While all the conversations in the documentary take place in French, there’s a version that’s fully dubbed in English, so it’s easy to follow along (the embedded version below might not have the dubbing, but if you click the link and go to YouTube, the audio is correct there, for whatever reason).

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith is featured throughout the video, and the idea is that he has conversations with all kinds of people involved in the La Premiere experience. This includes frontline La Premiere staff, ranging from flight attendants to the personal assistants who work on the ground. He also talks to some people from brands Air France partners with on La Premiere, including chef Alain Ducasse, and Sisley co-founder Isabelle d’Ornano.

The most incredible part is that the video also includes a visit to Musée Air France, which is a specialized documentation center and corporate archive for Air France. This isn’t open to the public, but instead, it serves as a resource for historians and researchers, and it’s rare to get an inside look like that, and see all the old cabin layouts, uniforms, amenities, etc.

Ben Smith’s passion is my favorite part of this video

It’s no secret that I have a lot of respect for Ben Smith — I think he’s an incredible leader, he’s a genuinely nice guy, and he’s also the world’s biggest aviation geek. It’s just so refreshing to see leaders at airlines who are not only so passionate about their company, but also about the industry as a whole.

There are so many airline executives who are just there for a paycheck, and quite frankly, seem miserable (don’t make me name them). You have other airline executives who are passionate about the business side of things, but for all they care, they could be working in any industry.

And then you have people like Smith — while there are lots of passionate people in the airline industry, you rarely see them in the CEO position, as that job all too often goes to CFO types. His passion for the industry really comes through here — this obviously wasn’t something he was annoyed to participate in, but instead, he was delighted by it.

For those who aren’t that familiar with Smith, I think this video really bring out his passion. I love the details he shares, how the 747 was his favorite plane (and he even remembers specific seat pitch!), and he talks about how his first car had “747” on the license plate, and his personal email address even has “747” in it.

And beyond passion, his knowledge is just absolutely endless. He knows as much about the cabin layout of a random plane from the 1950s as Delta CEO Ed Bastian knows about the importance of injecting the word “premium” into every sentence (and that’s a lot — I’m also guessing Bastian’s email address doesn’t have 767-300ER in it!).

Look, I don’t want to say that you have to be an aviation geek to be a good airline CEO. However, I think a genuine passion goes a long way in motivating employees, and aligning them with the mission of the company. It’s why I’ve mentioned in the past that American needs a CEO like Smith, who can actually change labor dynamics at the airline, and inspire employees to care again.

I’m loving this trend of Air France releasing these thoughtful videos. Earlier this year, Air France also released a video to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Concorde, which is also worth a watch, if you have the time. Keep it up, Air France!

Bottom line

It’s not often you see an airline release a documentary about its first class product, which is why Air France’s video about its La Premiere cabin is such a treat. It’s very cool to see Air France’s premium products from decades ago, and Ben Smith’s interest in all of this is also part of the fun.

Anyone else enjoy this Air France La Premiere documentary?

Air New Zealand flight mysteriously canceled due to the pilots

This incident happened on September 7, 2026, and involves Air New Zealand flight NZ7, a Boeing 787-9 scheduled to operate from San Francisco (SFO) to Auckland (AKL). Shortly before departure, passengers were informed that their flight was canceled due to crew issues. Per an email to passengers, “due to sickness, the pilot scheduled to operate your flight is no longer able to operate your service.”

Okay, pilots do sometimes get sick, so this isn’t totally unheard of. After all, the pilots were on a layover, and simply finding an extra Air New Zealand pilot on the other side of the Pacific at the last minute isn’t exactly straightforward.

However, as time went on, it became clear that there was more to this story. Reports quickly suggested that two of the pilots had some sort of an altercation during their layover at SFO, which ultimately resulted in them not being able to work together.

In a statement, Air New Zealand’s Chief Safety and Risk Officer, Nathan McGraw, stated that “we are aware of a matter between two crew members off duty in the United States which is currently being investigated,” but stressed that “there was no incident onboard the aircraft.”

New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority has been notified of the incident, but hasn’t yet decided whether to take action, sharing that “we consider all information brought to our attention, and determine whether any regulatory action is required.”

Travelers were then rebooked for a flight the following day, as another crew had to be flown in, and still needed mandatory rest before being able to fly back.

What kind of disagreement did Air New Zealand pilots have?

It’s common for pilots to be crewed with different colleagues on every trip. As you’d imagine, not all people get along equally well, though pilots are of course trained in crew resource management (CRM), and to focus on safety, and working together in a way where personalities shouldn’t impact performance.

However, pilots are humans, and sometimes they just can’t see eye-to-eye. So while it’s extremely rare, every so often we hear of flights being canceled because pilots couldn’t get along.

This story has made its way around Air New Zealand pilot circles, and reports seem to suggest that the disagreement began during the flight from Auckland to San Francisco, before escalating at the layover hotel.

Air New Zealand obviously isn’t being very forthcoming about what happened, which is fair enough, since it’s not like internal matters are typically shared publicly. Air New Zealand denies there was an “incident” onboard a flight, but I don’t think that means that the disagreement didn’t start in some way on the outbound flight.

The rumor among pilots seem to be that (at least) two of the pilots got into a heated debate over union matters, and ultimately, one of the pilots reported the other pilot to the company. Then matters only escalated during the layover, when the altercation even got physical.

Again, that’s the widely believed rumor, though who knows what really happened. The pilots were then deadheaded back to New Zealand (so they flew in the cabin, as passengers), reportedly on separate planes.

You’d hope that pilots would be able to put aside any differences they have. But if they truly are incapable of doing so, it’s better that they ultimately decide not to fly, rather than ending up in a situation where they can’t safely work together.

Bottom line

An Air New Zealand flight from San Francisco to Auckland was canceled due to lack of pilots able to work the flight. While the airline initially claimed this was “due to sickness,” it’s clear that there’s more to the story, with the belief being that there was some sort of a fight between two or more pilots.

The airline has indirectly confirmed this, and regulators in New Zealand are still deciding whether to take action.

What do you make of this Air New Zealand flight cancellation?

Thousands of flights delayed or canceled due to ATC issues

On Monday, September 21, 2026, thousands of flights in the United States were either canceled or delayed. The issues started at around 9:45AM EDT, when workers accidentally cut a telecommunications line in New Jersey, which is used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA then had to suspend arrivals at several airports in the Northeast, including in Boston (BOS), New York (JFK & LGA), Newark (EWR), and Philadelphia (PHL). It took over eight hours for the issues to be completely resolved, with all ground stops being lifted by 6:30PM.

As you’d expect, even when the issues were resolved, it’s not like operations immediately resumed as normal, given the huge domino effect to airline operational issues, due to how many planes and crews were out of place. It’s not like airline operations can just recover from one second to the next.

Looking at FlightAware data, United was hit hardest, with 361 cancelations (11% of flights) and 777 delays (24% of flights). American, meanwhile had 116 cancelations (3% of flights) and 1,301 delays (37% of flights). Delta had 47 cancelations (1% of flights) and 922 delays (25% of flights). None of those numbers include regional subsidiaries. Expect that operations will still potentially be impacted on Tuesday, given how long a recovery can take.

The timing of this was also especially bad when you consider that leaders from around the world were enroute to New York yesterday, for the annual United Nations General Assembly.

Fiber optic line failure becomes a blame game

The entire air traffic control system stopped working because a single fiber optic line in New Jersey was cut. Specifically, work was being performed on a rail car storage project, at a yard near the Northeast Corridor line in New Brunswick.

That severed cable knocked out all communications between New York’s metro area air traffic control and the system in Philadelphia, which controls much of the airspace in the region. That cable had been serving as a backup to the primary circuit system, which failed.

Who was to blame for that? Well, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initially claimed that an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber optic line in New Jersey, causing the telecom outage.

However, that didn’t actually appear to be accurate. Instead, it was an NJ Transit contractor who performed the work, and not an Amtrak employee.

But even there, the blame wasn’t necessarily that straightforward. A spokesperson for NJ Transit insists that the contractor had been “approximately 10 feet from the utility markings” when they cut through the cable, so the organization also claims it’s not at fault.

Verizon, which owns the fiber optic line in question, also insists it had no responsibility in any of this:

“We have a fiber cable running adjacent to an Amtrak rail line in New Jersey. Construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable. Verizon’s facilities were fully functional up to that point. Verizon bears no responsibility for this incident. We immediately deployed our technicians to the scene. We and our partners are actively working to repair the damaged cable and restore connectivity as quickly as possible.”

Ironically, this fiber optic cable was supposed to be a solution, given the chaos we saw last year, when the communication lag on outdated copper wire caused momentary outages for air traffic controllers. However, clearly there was a lack of redundancies in place.

Bottom line

Yesterday was a rough day for air travel in the United States, given the meltdown that we saw in the Northeast. A fiber optic line in New Jersey was accidentally severed, and that had been serving as a backup to the primary circuit system, which failed. A ground stop was issued at several major airports a little before 10AM, and the ground stop wasn’t lifted until after 6PM.

What do you make of this ATC meltdown? Were any OMAAT readers caught in this mess?

Geneva Airport’s mysterious, abandoned Airbus A321

In early 2022, we saw Russia attack Ukraine, a war that has now been going on for well over four years. When it comes to global aviation, this has also had major implications. We’ve seen Russian airlines sanctioned, and we’ve also seen Russia respond by closing much of its airspace to foreign airlines.

Immediately after the start of the war, we saw a lot of Russian planes stuck in countries they could no longer fly out of, though over time, most of those issues have been resolved. However, there’s perhaps one most notable exception, as flagged by aeroTELEGRAPH.

An Aeroflot Airbus A321 with the registration code VP-BOE has been parked at Geneva Airport (GVA) since early 2022. It arrived in Geneva from Moscow (SVO) on the afternoon of February 27, 2022, and it was supposed to turn right around and operate the return flight to Russia.

However, as the plane taxied out to the runway, it became clear that all airspace would be closed to the plane, so the aircraft had to return to the gate, and the flight was canceled.

Since then, almost nothing has happened with the plane. Reports suggest that the A321 has full fuel tanks, and there are even meals in the galley, with the belief being that the plane is rat infested. It’s much worse than that, though. The Airbus jet is reportedly starting to have cracks form, engines haven’t been covered, and there are problems with the electronics, so it’s highly questionable whether the plane will ever fly again, unless it undergoes a prohibitively expensive amount of work.

In the over four years that the plane has been at the airport, it has only been moved once. That was in June 2022, when it had to be towed away from its parking position so that the Swiss Air Force could use the parking spot for a United Nations conference.

What’s also noteworthy is that the parking fees for the plane reportedly continue to be paid. The cost is 30,000 CHF (36,540 USD) per month. So if that payment has actually been made for the entire time the plane has been parked, we’re talking about two million USD in parking fees.

Why this one Aeroflot A321, specifically, is “stuck”

At the start of the war, lots of planes flying on behalf of Russian airlines were stranded, but over time, most of these situations were resolved. For example, many planes were actually owned by Western leasing companies, so the planes were seized, with many now flying for other airlines.

This particular Aeroflot Airbus A321 was owned by Russian leasing company GTLK, and more specifically, by an Irish subsidiary that it had. However, due to sanctions against Russia, that Irish subsidiary had to be liquidated, given that it was financially benefiting Russia.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) explains the issue here. Sanctions prohibit the sale or export of aircraft to Russia, as well as the overhaul or maintenance of aircraft, for the benefits of companies in Russia. Furthermore, Russian aircraft are prohibited from taking off from Swiss territory.

The only factor that would allow the plane to be moved is if it poses a safety or environmental risk. Of course the irony is that with the plane having been abandoned for years, it has gotten to the point where it almost certainly can’t fly anymore, so at some point, just parting out the aircraft might be the only option.

So yeah, basically this Aeroflot A321 is unique for the fact that it was owned by a leasing company with Russian interests (unlike most Aeroflot planes), it was on the ground when sanctions were imposed, and it missed its ability to take off by just minutes, as European countries closed their airspace to Russian airlines, one by one.

This plane clearly won’t fly again anytime soon, so I’m curious what ends up happening here. I understand the need for sanctions, but this situation seems to benefit no one. But what are you gonna do, I guess?

Bottom line

An Aeroflot Airbus A321 has now been parked at Geneva Airport since February 2022, when sanctions against Russia were imposed. While many planes were temporarily grounded at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most planes eventually “moved,” particularly as foreign leasing companies repossessed the planes.

One exception has been the Aeroflot Airbus A321 at Geneva Airport. The plane missed its ability to leave Switzerland by a matter of minutes, and Swiss sanctions prevent companies with Russian interests from doing business in Russia, or of Russian planes leaving the country.

So that’s why an Aeroflot A321 is still parked at the airport. At this point the plane reportedly has cracks, and can’t even fly anymore, so it’s anyone’s guess how this all plays out. Presumably at some point the plane will just be parted out, though will that happen in a matter of months, a matter of years, or what?

What do you make of this Aeroflot A321 at Geneva Airport?

Air Canada cuts Vancouver to Singapore flights as of early 2027

AeroRoutes flags how Air Canada has quietly updated its schedule, reflecting that the airline will discontinue its route between Vancouver (YVR) and Singapore (SIN) as of January 24, 2027.

Air Canada launched this route in April 2024, and it has operated anywhere from 3-5x weekly. The flight has most commonly been operated by a Boeing 787-9 with the following schedule:

AC019 Vancouver to Singapore departing 11:15PM arriving 7:00AM (+2 days)
AC020 Singapore to Vancouver departing 8:40AM arriving 7:45AM

At 7,967 miles, and with a block time of up to 16hr45min, this has been Air Canada’s longest distance route. With this route being cut, there will also be no more nonstop links between Canada and Singapore.

Why is Air Canada cutting its flights to Singapore?

We’ve seen a trend in North America toward airlines operating more ultra long haul flights. There are many factors that have contributed to this, including more capable aircraft for these types of missions, along with more of a focus on premium leisure travel, as well as a network that helps bolster a loyalty program.

Air Canada is an airline that definitely punches above its weight when it comes to its global route network. It’s interesting how the airline has had more success flying from Vancouver to Bangkok (BKK), as that route started as seasonal, but has become year-round ever since.

On the one hand, Air Canada has some nice advantages flying ultra long haul transpacific routes like this. Vancouver’s geography is impossible to beat for Asia flying. Air Canada also has a fortress hub in Vancouver, and has somewhat of a cost structure advantage over its peers in the United States.

Even so, this kind of ultra long haul flying is challenging, unless there’s a massive amount of high yield point-to-point traffic. The Vancouver to Singapore market has a healthy amount of origin & destination demand. However:

• A lot of the demand in this market is price sensitive, and Vancouver has no shortage of Asian carriers operating one-stop service between Vancouver and Singapore, some of which are able to undercut Air Canada on price
• Air Canada had marketed this route as also being about connections, and the reality is that it’s hard to make the economics work when you’re relying on connecting passengers, given the number of one-stop options that exist, which don’t involve ultra long haul flights
• Due to the length of this flight, cargo has presumably been pretty limited, since there’s not much payload left on a 787 operating a sector this long
• I imagine that the current jet fuel price situation was just the nail in the coffin for this service, because this route is probably performing particularly poorly at the moment

Bottom line

As of January 2027, Air Canada will discontinue its route between Vancouver and Singapore, a little under three years after it was launched. This is Air Canada’s longest route. I suspect the economics here didn’t end up being great in the first place, and only got worse with the current jet fuel situation.

What do you make of Air Canada cutting Singapore flights?

New Citi Strata Card bonus rules explained

The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more), Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more), and Citi Strata℠ Card (learn more), is Citi’s excellent trio of personal cards earning ThankYou points. Up until now, these cards have followed Citi’s standard 48-month rule when it comes to eligibility for the bonus.

This has meant that you’ve been eligible for the welcome offer on each card as long as you haven’t received a welcome bonus on that exact card within the past 48 months. For example, here’s what the terms for the Citi Strata Elite used to say:

Bonus ThankYou Points are not available if you have received a new account bonus for a Citi Strata Elite account in the past 48 months or if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a new account bonus in the last 48 months into a Citi Strata Elite.

However, this language has now been updated, as flagged by Doctor Of Credit. There’s no more mention of 48 months, but instead, you’re potentially not eligible for the welcome bonus if you have or previously had the card. Here are the new terms:

New account bonus offer is not available if you currently have or previously had a Citi Strata Elite account. You also may not be eligible for the new account bonus offer based on a number of factors, such as your history of opening, closing and using credit cards.

Time will tell how strict these new Citi bonus rules are

On the surface, the new Citi Strata bonus rules sound very strict. Based on a literal interpretation, you’re now eligible for the welcome bonus on each of the Citi Strata products once, and if you’ve already had it, you can’t earn the bonus again. It goes beyond that, though:

• According to the terms, you might not be eligible for the bonus on a card even if you product changed from another card on which you never received a bonus
• There’s also new general language about how “a number of factors” may impact your eligibility for a bonus

Now, it’s worth mentioning that this might not be quite as strict as it sounds. For one, typically even card issuers with a “once in a lifetime” rule don’t actually enforce the rules as strictly as that suggests. For example, with Amex’s similar policy, it seems that a “lifetime” actually correlates to somewhere around seven years.

Next, it’s anyone’s guess if Citi has actually updated its bonus rules in the background, or if it has just updated the language on the application page, in hopes of deterring those people who might primarily be applying for cards in order to take advantage of the welcome bonuses.

So this is obviously a negative change, in the sense that there’s less clarity and (on the surface) it’s harder to earn bonuses. However, we’ll have to wait for some data points before we truly know the scope of these changes. For what it’s worth, as of now these changes only seem to apply to the Citi Strata lineup, and not to any other Citi cards. For example, Citi AAdvantage card eligibility rules remain unchanged.

Bottom line

Citi has updated the welcome offer eligibility on its portfolio of Citi Strata cards, including the Citi Strata, Citi Strata Premier, and Citi Strata Elite. Previously you were eligible for the welcome offer on a particular card as long as you hadn’t received a bonus on that exact card within the past 48 months. Per the new terms, it would appear that the bonus on each card is once per lifetime.

We’ll see what enforcement of this actually looks like. Once in a lifetime bonus rules are rarely as strict as one might assume. But no matter how you slice it, this is a negative change for those looking to earn bonuses on these cards.

What do you make of these new Citi Strata bonus rules?

Turkish Airlines pilots confused over ATC instructions

This incident happened in the very early morning hours of September 15, 2026, and involves Turkish Airlines flight TK30, an Airbus A350-900 operating from Newark (EWR) to Istanbul (IST). In this incident, the Turkish Airlines plane entered the runway without permission. However, the actions of the pilots weren’t quite as reckless as they might sound.

Let’s step back for a moment. The interaction started with the air traffic controller giving the Turkish plane permission to taxi:

Turkish pilot: “Control, good evening, Turkish 4YT heavy, ready to taxi.”
Newark ATC: “Turkish 4YT, Newark, expect runway 4l for departure, taxi via B.”
Turkish pilot: “Expecting runway for departure 4L via taxiway B, Turkish 4YT.”

Okay, simple enough, right? The plane then started its taxi out toward the runway, and the communication continued as follows:

Newark ATC: “Turkish 4YT heavy, you’ll be next for departure, advise when you’re ready, please.”
Turkish pilot: “We’ll advise when ready, Turkish 4YT.”
Turkish pilot: “Tower, Turkish 4YT, ready for departure.”
Newark ATC: “Roger, thank you.”

At that point there was a roughly 50 second gap. It’s worth understanding that the plane was just short of the taxiway that leads to the runway, so it wasn’t quite at the hold short point for the runway. It also wasn’t at all a busy night, as there were no other planes around. Nonetheless, the controller obviously wanted to know why the plane wasn’t going all the way to the hold short point for the runway:

Newark ATC: “Turkish 4YT heavy, are you able to continue for the runway?”
Turkish pilot: “Affirmative.”
Newark ATC: “Okay, continue for the runway.”
Turkish pilot: “Continue for runway, Turkish 4YT.”

The Turkish plane then proceeded to taxi onto the runway, and lined up and waited:

Newark ATC: “Turkish 4YT heavy.”
Turkish pilot: “We need 30 seconds, Turkish 4YT.”
Newark ATC: “Uh, yes, you’re, you know that you’re on runway 4L, correct?”
Turkish pilot: “Affirmative, there’s a slight technical difficulty, just five seconds.”
Newark ATC: “Okay, I’m gonna have to give you a phone number here because you were not cleared onto runway 4L.”

The plane then had to taxi off the runway, and the pilots were given a phone number to call for a possible pilot deviation. You can hear the ATC audio below, and see a visualization of what happened.

Why can’t US ATC use standard phraseology?

Just about everywhere else in the world, air traffic control uses standardized phraseology when communicating with pilots. That’s logical, when you consider you have pilots from all over the world, and if you want a system that’s as safe as possible, it’s important to minimize potential miscommunications.

Let me be clear, the Turkish Airlines pilots were at fault here, in the sense that in the United States, pilots are never allowed to enter the runway unless they’re explicitly given the instruction that they’re cleared for takeoff, or that they’re cleared to line up and wait. That wasn’t given here… period.

At the same time, this controller’s instructions were anything but clear, and I can see exactly how this happened. The controller told the Turkish pilots to let her know when they’re ready to go (presumably in anticipation of granting takeoff clearance), they said they were ready to go, and then she said “continue to the runway,” which they interpreted as permission to line up and wait.

Ultimately this isn’t about which party is right or wrong, it’s about creating a system that minimizes the chances of miscommunication. Instead of saying “continue for the runway,” the controller should’ve said “continue your taxi,” or “continue your taxi, hold short of runway 4L.”

The thing is, this wasn’t even an isolated incident. Earlier this year, a Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777 had a very similar incident in Houston (IAH), where the plane also taxied onto the runway without permission, due to confusion around language.

I don’t understand why the United States can’t have more of a focus on training controllers to use standard language. Again, the pilots were at fault here, and it’s not the fault of controllers that the United States doesn’t really enforce standards in this regard. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist.

Bottom line

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 taxied onto the runway at Newark Airport without permission. The controller had asked the pilots to let her know when they were ready to go, one of the pilots let her know, and the pilots were advised to “continue for the runway,” which just isn’t useful language.

While the pilots should’ve known better, it doesn’t change the fact that this is a repeated problem, and it could be addressed by adapting similar air traffic control standards to the rest of the world.

What do you make of this Newark ATC incident involving Turkish Airlines?

Link: Learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review, let me briefly summarize the key details of the card:

• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex annual fee: $650 (Rates & Fees)
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex welcome offer: 150K Marriott Bonvoy points plus a $250 statement credit after spending $6,000 within the first six months (limited time offer for applications through September 30, 2026)
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex rewards: 6x Bonvoy points for spending at Marriott properties, 3x Bonvoy points on restaurants worldwide and flights booked directly with airlines, and 2x Bonvoy points on all other eligible purchases
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex foreign transaction fees: none (Rates & Fees)
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex elite status: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status for as long as you have the card, plus 25 elite nights toward status annually, which can help with earning Choice Benefits
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex annual credits & benefits: Anniversary free night award worth up to 85K points, up to $300 annual dining credit, Priority Pass perks, and more

Beyond that, here are what I consider to be some of the major pros and cons of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card:

• The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex pros include the huge welcome offer, plus the suite of benefits that easily offset the annual fee, including valuable elite status, a free night award, and dining credits
• The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex cons include that it’s not very rewarding for actually spending on, and fully taking advantage of the dining credits requires a monthly reminder

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card welcome offer, eligibility, & fees

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is Marriott’s most premium credit card. While the card has a hefty annual fee, the perks should more than justify the cost, in my opinion. The card even offers Platinum Elite status, without any sort of a spending requirement. This is a card I have, and that I’ve found to be valuable.

To kick off my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review, let’s take a look at all of the details of the card, including the welcome offer, incredible benefits, and more.

150,000 Bonvoy points + $250 statement credit offer

For applications through September 30, 2026, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has a limited time, two-part welcome offer where you can earn 150,000 Bonvoy bonus points plus a $250 statement credit after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months.

Based on my latest points valuations, I consider Bonvoy points to be worth 0.7 cents each, given all the great ways there are to redeem them, so I would value 150,000 points at $1,050. Add in the $250 statement credit, and you’re looking at $1,300 in value, which is excellent for this card.

Marriott Bonvoy credit card eligibility rules

Given how many American Express and Chase Marriott cards there are, there are some pretty complicated restrictions regarding eligibility for this card.

On the most basic level, the welcome offer is not available to applicants who have had this product, or the Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card (which is briefly what this card was known as).

Furthermore, the welcome offer is not available to applicants who:

• Have or have had The Ritz-Carlton Credit Card from JPMorgan or the J.P. Morgan Ritz-Carlton Rewards Credit Card in the last 30 days
• Have acquired the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, in the last 90 days
• Have received a new cardmember bonus or upgrade offer for the Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase, Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card from Chase, the Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, or the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Business Credit Card from Chase, in the last 24 months

The key thing to understand is that you are eligible for this card (including the welcome offer) if you have the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (learn more) or Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (learn more).

General Amex card application restrictions

I find Amex cards easy to be approved for if you have excellent credit. Anecdotally most people I’ve heard from have reported instant approvals on this card, so it really shouldn’t be very tough to be approved for. Just make sure you know that:

• You can be approved for at most two Amex credit cards in a 90 day period
• You can have at most five American Express credit cards at any point (this doesn’t include cards without a preset spending limit)

See this post for all major credit card application restrictions to be aware of.

$650 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has a $650 annual fee. You can add additional cardmembers at no extra cost (Rates & Fees). Obviously the fee is steep, but for many people, the benefits will more than outweigh the cost.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card points earning structure

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has some bonus categories, though generally speaking this isn’t a card I’d be using for my everyday spending. However, the card does have a significant incentive to spend $60,000 per year, and the math could work out. Let’s talk about how the bonus categories on the card work.

6x Bonvoy points at Marriott hotels

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers 6x Bonvoy points on eligible purchases at Marriott hotels globally.

Since I value Bonvoy points at ~0.7 cents each, that’s the equivalent of a ~4.2% return on hotel spending. Personally, I still prefer to use the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (learn more) for my Marriott hotel spending, as it offers 4x Ultimate Rewards points.

The above amounts of course only cover the credit card component of the rewards that you earn for Marriott hotel stays. As a standard, members earn up to 10x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at most brands, and elite bonuses can range from 10-75%. However, you can earn those rewards regardless of which card you pay with.

3x Bonvoy points on restaurants & flights

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has some bonus categories that offer 3x points, including for purchases with:

• Restaurants worldwide
• Flights booked directly with airlines

Based on my valuation of ~0.7 cents per point, that’s like a ~2.1% return on spending, which isn’t amazing. Personally, I think there are better credit cards for both restaurant purchases and airfare purchases.

2x Bonvoy points on all other purchases

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers 2x points on all other eligible purchases. Personally, I don’t consider 2x points per dollar spent to be especially compelling since I value that at a ~1.4% return on spending, and there are better cards for everyday spending.

Choice Rewards benefit for spending $60K

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card allows you to select a Choice Rewards benefit when you spend $60,000 in a calendar year. Specifically, you’re able to choose one of the following:

• Five Nightly Upgrade Awards, each of which can be used to confirm a room upgrade for one night up to five days prior to arrival
• 50,000 Bonvoy bonus points
• A free night award, valid at a Marriott property costing up to 85,000 points
• $1,000 off a bed from one of Marriott’s hotel boutiques

This is in addition to whatever Choice Benefits you’d ordinarily earn for crossing 50 or 75 elite nights in a year. This could be a real incentive to spend money on the card, especially when you consider the opportunity to get a free night certificate worth up to 85,000 points.

No foreign transaction fees on spending

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so it could be a good option for purchases abroad.

How to redeem Marriott’s Bonvoy points for best value

Broadly speaking, how would I approach the value of Marriott Bonvoy points? As mentioned above, based on my valuations, I consider Bonvoy points to be worth 0.7 cents each. I’m not going to suggest that Bonvoy points are my favorite points currency — they’re not — but the reality is that Marriott has a huge global portfolio, and many of the properties are quite decent.

Generally you’ll find that Bonvoy award stays cost anywhere from 10,000 to 200,000 points per night, though some hotels do fall outside of that range. You can maximize value by taking advantage of the fifth night free benefit, which is open to elite members.

One unique thing about Bonvoy points is they can also fairly efficiently be converted into airline miles. You can transfer your rewards to dozens of different airline programs, and a vast majority allow a 3:1 transfer ratio. On top of that, you get a bonus of 5,000 airline miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer. In other words, with most programs you can convert 60,000 Bonvoy points into 25,000 airline miles, which is potentially a decent value.

For more details, see my guide to redeeming Bonvoy points.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card benefits & credits

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers a variety of perks, ranging from Platinum Elite status, to an annual dining credit of up to $300, to an anniversary free night certificate. For many people (including me), the benefits more than offset the annual fee on the card. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits offered by the card.

Complimentary Bonvoy Platinum Elite status

On an ongoing basis, just for having the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, you receive complimentary Platinum Elite status. This status ordinarily requires 50 elite nights per calendar year, and offers the following benefits:

• 50% bonus points on hotel stays
• Guaranteed 4PM late check-out at non-resorts
• A room upgrade, including to a standard suite
• Executive lounge access at most brands, assuming the hotel has a lounge
• A welcome gift, including breakfast at many brands

It’s amazing that you can now receive Platinum Elite status just for having a credit card, with no spending required. For what it’s worth, the Platinum Elite status earned with this card (as well as the elite nights) do count toward lifetime Elite status.

Up to $300 per year in restaurant credits

Just for having the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, you receive up to $300 per year in restaurant statement credits. This comes in the form of a $25 credit each month, which you can use for purchases at restaurants worldwide. This benefit is available the first year, and all subsequent years.

This should be easy enough to maximize — if you spend at least $25 a month at restaurants, you should get the full value out of this.

Annual free night award worth up to 85K points

Another major perk that makes the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card worthwhile is that you get a free night award every year on your renewal month, valid for a one-night hotel stay at a property costing up to 85,000 points (certain properties have resort fees). You receive your first one of these on your first anniversary.

The free night certificates offered on most other Marriott cards are valid at properties costing up to 35,000-50,000 points per night, so using these at properties costing 85,000 points per night is awesome. This gets you access to all kinds of luxury hotels.

Marriott even lets you top off free night certificates with up to 25,000 points, so you could redeem these certificates at hotels costing up to 110,000 points.

25 elite nights toward Bonvoy status

Just for having the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, you receive 25 elite nights toward status annually. Several co-branded Marriott credit cards offer elite nights for being a cardmember, though this is the only card to offer 25 elite nights. Furthermore, you can only receive this benefit on one personal and one business card.

So if you had this card plus the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, you’d start every year with 40 elite nights.

Of course you already get Platinum Elite status with this card, but those elite nights could come in handy if you want to earn Choice Benefits (like Nightly Upgrade Awards) or go for Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite status.

$100 Ritz-Carlton & St. Regis property credit

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card also offers a $100 on-property credit at Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis hotels when you book stays of at least two nights. The catch is that you have to book an “eligible rate,” which is going to be equivalent to the best available/non-discounted rate. Personally, I don’t consider that to be so valuable. Why?

• You have to book a specific rate, so points stays, discounted member rates, etc., don’t qualify
• All of these hotels belong to Marriott STARS, and some of these hotels belong to Virtuoso, which offer similar benefits

Priority Pass™ membership

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers a Priority Pass™ membership (Enrollment required), giving you access to 1,300+ lounges worldwide. You can bring two guests with you into lounges, space permitting. This is a great way to make your airport experience more pleasant, and I’d say this is one of the best cards for getting such a membership.

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card offers a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every 4 years. You’re eligible for either program, but not both. Simply charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card. (Enrollment required)

Access to the Amex Offers program

One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which gives members savings on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible so that you can get these offers on multiple cards.

Is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card worth it?

With the basics of my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review out of the way, let’s now talk about if the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is worth it. If you stay at Marriotts with any frequency, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is a slam dunk, in my opinion. The biggest perk is Platinum Elite status, so getting that just for having a credit card is huge.

Even beyond that, though, the annual fee is easy to justify. I consider the $300 restaurant credit to more or less be worth face value, while I think the free night certificate valid at a property costing up to 85,000 Bonvoy points is easily worth $350.

To me, that’s an excellent deal. The card has plenty of other perks that are also potentially valuable:

• The card offers a Priority Pass™ membership, giving you access to 1,300+ lounges around the world
• The card offers 25 elite nights toward status annually, which can help you achieve higher elite tiers, or receive Choice Benefits
• The card offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit, which is useful for security and immigration

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant vs. Bonvoy Bevy Card comparison

American Express has two personal co-branded Marriott cards, with the other card being the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (learn more), which has a $250 annual fee (Rates & Fees). Many people may be trying to decide between these two cards, so which is more compelling?

• The Bonvoy Bevy Card is arguably the best for Marriott spending, as it offers 6x points per dollar spent, plus 1,000 bonus points per Marriott stay
• The Bonvoy Bevy Card offers Gold Elite status just for being a cardmember plus 15 elite nights toward status annually
• The Bonvoy Bevy Card doesn’t offer an anniversary free night award just for being a cardmember, but instead you have to spend $15,000 on the card per calendar year to get a free night award; that free night award is worth up to 50,000 points

I prefer the Bonvoy Brilliant Card, since I think it’s worth paying for the Platinum Elite status and the valuable free night award. On top of that, the $300 restaurant credit also helps offset the annual fee. Some may feel differently, but I think the choice here is pretty obvious.

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant vs. Bonvoy Business Card comparison

Speaking of co-branded Marriott Amex cards, I should also mention the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (learn more), which has a $125 annual fee (Rates & Fees). As I see it, the two cards potentially make great complements — for example, I have both of them.

Here’s the logic for having the Bonvoy Business Card as well:

• The Bonvoy Business Card offers a free night award on the account anniversary every year (valid at a property costing up to 35,000 points), and on top of that, the card offers up to 15 elite nights toward status annually
• What I value so much is that you can stack the elite nights on the Bonvoy Brilliant Card and Bonvoy Business Card, so if you have both cards, you start each year with 40 elite nights, which is pretty awesome, and gets you close to the first threshold for Choice Benefits

Other cards to consider in lieu of the Bonvoy Brilliant

Obviously the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is primarily targeted by Marriott loyalists, or at least those who stay at Marriotts with some frequency. I think there’s absolutely to be had, though it’s not like it’s the most well rounded single credit card out there.

In general, here are a few other options to consider in lieu of the Bonvoy Brilliant Card:

• If you’re looking for a premium credit card with more well-rounded airport lounge access and a larger selection of credits, consider the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more), Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more)
• If you’re looking for a card earning flexible points that has a more reasonable annual fee, consider the American Express® Gold Card (learn more), Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), or Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more)

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card FAQs

Bottom line

That’s my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card review, so I hope that covers all the details people are curious about for Marriott’s most premium credit card. The card has a $650 annual fee, but offers perks like Platinum Elite status, an up to $300 annual restaurant credit, an annual free night certificate valid at a property costing up to 85K points, and much more. Add in all the money-saving offers available with Amex Offers, and you should easily come out ahead with this card.

Personally, I think the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is worth it. If you’ve been considering picking up this card, now would be the ideal time to apply, given the welcome offer that’s available.

If you want to learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees), and Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (Rates & Fees).

This post is my in-depth Hilton Surpass Card review, especially as the card is currently offering an elevated limited time welcome offer, making it the ideal time to apply. Hotel credit cards are generally among the most underrated credit cards out there, in my opinion, given the perks that they potentially offer, from elite status to free night certificates.

Link: Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card

Hilton Surpass Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Hilton Surpass Card review, let me briefly summarize the key details of the card:

• Amex Hilton Surpass Card annual fee: $150 (Rates & Fees)
• Amex Hilton Surpass Card welcome offer: 130K Hilton Honors points plus a free night award after spending $3,000 within the first six months (limited time offer for applications through January 13, 2027)
• Amex Hilton Surpass Card rewards: 12x Hilton Honors points for spending at Hilton properties, 6x Hilton Honors points on U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations, 4x points on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3x points on all other eligible purchases
• Amex Hilton Surpass Card foreign transaction fees: none (Rates & Fees)
• Amex Hilton Surpass Card elite status: Hilton Honors™ Gold Status for as long as you have the card, Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status if you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
• Amex Hilton Surpass Card annual credits: Up to $200 per year in Hilton credits

Beyond that, here are what I consider to be some of the major pros and cons of the Hilton Surpass Card:

• The Hilton Surpass Card pros include the huge welcome offer, the reasonable annual fee, the valuable elite status and ongoing credits that justify the annual fee, and the “sweet spot” of spending $15,000 per year on the card
• The Hilton Surpass Card cons include that it’s not very rewarding for non-bonused spending, and that getting full value from the credits can be challenging, given how they’re broken up quarterly

Hilton Honors Surpass Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

The Hilton Surpass Card is probably Hilton’s most popular co-branded credit cards. Let’s first take a look at the details of the welcome offer, the card eligibility, and the fees, since these are obviously major considerations that sway decisions when people consider whether or not to apply for a card.

Limited time welcome offer of 130K points & free night

For applications through January 13, 2027, the Hilton Surpass Card has a limited time welcome offer where you can earn 130,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a free night award after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.

This is an incredible welcome offer, among the best we’ve ever seen on the card, especially when you factor in the additional free night award that’s offered. That free night award can be redeemed at a property costing up to 250,000 points, and is valid for 12 months from when it’s issued.

Based on my most recent valuation of Hilton Honors points, I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, meaning that I value the points at $650. The free night award has a potential value of up to 250,000 points, depending on where you redeem.

Hilton Honors credit card eligibility rules

In line with Amex’s “once in a lifetime” rule, the welcome offer on the Hilton Surpass Card isn’t available to those who currently have the card, as well as those who have had the card in the past. You are eligible for the bonus if you have had any other Hilton card, though, including the no annual fee card, the business card, or the premium card.

I find that Amex cards are fairly easy to be approved for, assuming you have excellent credit. Just make sure you know that:

• You can be approved for at most two Amex credit cards in a 90 day period
• You can have at most five American Express credit cards at any point (this doesn’t include hybrid cards)

See this post for all major credit card application restrictions to be aware of.

$150 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card has an annual fee of $150. You can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost. (Rates & Fees) This makes it among the more affordable hotel cards out there to hold onto.

Hilton Honors Surpass Card rewards structure

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card offers some bonuses that could make the card worth using for your everyday spending. The card offers 3-12x Hilton Honors points per dollar spent, depending on what categories you’re spending money in.

In addition to the actual points you earn with the Hilton Surpass Card, spending can also unlock higher elite status, or a bonus free night award.

12x points at Hilton hotels

The Hilton Surpass Card offers 12x Hilton Honors points for eligible spending at Hilton properties globally. This includes all Hilton brands, from Hampton Inn to Waldorf Astoria.

I value Hilton points at 0.5 cents each, so to me that’s like a 6% return on hotel spending, which is excellent.

6x points in select categories

The Hilton Surpass Card offers 6x points per eligible dollar spent at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations.

That’s the equivalent of a 3% return on spending in those categories, which is one of the best returns you’ll find in these categories on a co-branded credit card. Earning bonus points in three categories this broad is awesome.

4x points on U.S. online retail purchases

The Hilton Surpass Card offers 4x points per eligible dollar spent on U.S. online retail purchases. For those wondering, this is defined as purchases on a website or a digital app from a U.S. retail merchant that sells physical goods or merchandise directly to consumers. That’s the equivalent of a 2% return on spending for online purchases.

3x points on other purchases

The Hilton Surpass Card offers 3x points on other eligible purchases, which I value at a return of 1.5%. On the surface there are better cards for everyday spending, but as I’ll explain below, there are some tricks to do even better.

No foreign transaction fees

The Hilton Surpass Card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s an excellent card for purchases abroad, especially for stays at international Hilton properties (Rates & Fees).

How to redeem Hilton Honors points for best value

Hilton Honors has a huge global footprint, with thousands of hotels across dozens of brands. Personally I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, though there are definitely ways to get more value from points than that by maximizing your Hilton Honors points.

Hilton Honors doesn’t publish an award chart, though generally you’ll find that free night redemptions cost anywhere from 5,000 points to 250,000 points per night (with a vast majority of properties costing somewhere between those amounts). The Hilton Points Explorer tool can be used to check real time award price ranges over the next 30 days, so that’s quite useful.

You can get the most value from your points by redeeming for hotels with standard rooms available, since that gets you the best pricing. Furthermore, Hilton Honors elite members get a fifth night free on award redemptions, which can stretch your points further.

Just as an example, I’ve redeemed points at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, which costs 250,000 points per night. That’s the equivalent of $1,250 “worth” of points, while the cash rate is typically more than double that. And the value gets even better if you can stay five nights, so that you get the fifth night free.

Beyond Hilton’s managed and franchised properties, I really love how Hilton Honors has a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which opens up redemptions at hundreds of boutique, independent properties, at which you couldn’t otherwise efficiently redeem points. That’s super useful. For example, I recently redeemed a Hilton free night award at Miramonti Boutique Hotel in the Dolomites, which belongs to SLH, and that was incredible. The hotel would’ve otherwise cost close to $1,000 per night, so it was a great use of the certificate.

Note that while Hilton Honors points can be converted into airline miles, it’s really not a good value. For example, you can convert 10,000 Hilton Honors points into 1,000 airline miles with a variety of partners, but that’s a really inefficient use of points. So if you’re looking to earn airline miles for your credit card spending, you’ll want to consider a different card.

One last thing I really like about Hilton Honors is how the program allows points pooling, so that you can combine your points with those in other accounts, as that makes it easier to unlock redemptions at top properties.

Hilton Surpass Card benefits & credits

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card is a well-rounded credit card, though the area where it really shines is with its benefits. This card can be worth having even if you don’t want to spend that much on the card. Why is this card so worthwhile?

Hilton Gold elite status for being a cardmember

Just for having the Hilton Surpass Card, you get complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold elite status. This is one of the lowest annual fee cards that offers Gold status with Hilton without any sort of spending requirement.

For someone who occasionally stays at Hiltons, Gold status is excellent, as it offers the following benefits:

• Free breakfast and/or executive lounge access (in the United States you receive a food & beverage credit)
• Late check-out, subject to availability
• Preferred rooms
• 80% points bonus
• Fifth night free on award stays

Hilton Diamond elite status with $40K spending

You can earn Hilton Honors™ Diamond elite status for spending on the Hilton Surpass Card. If you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year, you’ll earn Hilton Diamond elite status, which comes with the following perks:

• Guaranteed executive lounge access for participating properties with lounges
• Free breakfast at properties without lounges (or a food & beverage credit in the United States)
• Room upgrades, including up to suites, at the hotel’s discretion
• Late check-out, subject to availability
• 100% points bonus

Extra Hilton free night award with spending

With the Hilton Surpass Card, you can earn a free night reward after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year (this is independent of any free night awards being offered as part of the welcome offer). This is an ongoing benefit, and could make it well worthwhile to put spending on the card.

For example, this could be redeemed at properties costing up to 250,000 points per night. If you put $15,000 of spending on the card in non-bonused categories, you’d earn 45,000 Honors points plus a free night, which is an excellent deal if you redeem it for a top property.

Up to $200 in Hilton credits annually

The Hilton Surpass Card offers up to $200 in statement credits annually for Hilton purchases. The way this works, you get up to $50 in statement credits each (calendar) quarter for purchases made directly with a Hilton property when paying with your card.

So as long as you spend at least $50 per quarter with Hilton (even if it’s on incidentals), this perk could earn you $200 per year, more than covering your annual fee. That’s awesome.

National Emerald Club Executive status

The Hilton Surpass Card offers National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status for as long as you have the card, as long as you enroll. National is my favorite major rental car company, and this status gets you Executive Area Access in the United States and Canada, letting you pick your car from the lot. You can register for this through your online account using the card.

Purchase & extended warranty protection

The Hilton Surpass Card offers some potentially valuable purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. While you’ll want to check your cardmember agreement for all the details, you can potentially expect:

• Purchase protection, offering protection on eligible purchases that are accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost; valid for up to 90 days, and $1,000 per occurrence, and $50,000 per calendar year
• Extended warranty, where you can get up to one extra year added to the original manufacturer’s warranty, for warranties of five years or less

On top of that, the card offers access to Amex’s Global Assist Hotline, baggage insurance, and secondary rental car coverage.

Purchase Protection is an embedded benefit of your Card Membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect Covered Purchases made on your Eligible Card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date. The coverage is limited to up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Coverage Limits Apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Access to the Amex Offers program

One of my favorite features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible, so that you can get these offers on multiple cards.

Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year. You can access these offers by logging into your account and scrolling down to the bottom of your account summary page.

Is the Hilton Surpass Card worth it?

Hilton is one of the largest hotel groups in the world, and the Hilton Honors Surpass Card is a great option for anyone who is looking to get started with Hilton Honors. At a minimum, the card is worth having for Hilton Gold status, which could pay for itself after just one or two stays thanks to free breakfast and more. The card could also be worth putting spending on, in order to earn a free night reward and Hilton Diamond status.

Two other things stand out about the card:

• If you stay at Hiltons at least once every quarter, then picking up this card is a no-brainer, given that you’ll get up to $200 in statement credits annually
• There’s value to spending $15,000 on the card per year in order to earn the annual free night certificate

Of course choosing a credit card isn’t just about the absolute proposition of a card, but it also requires taking into account what other cards are available. So let’s just compare this to some other products…

Hilton Surpass Card vs. Hilton Amex Card comparison

Hilton also has the no annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees), so how does that stack up compared to the $150 annual fee Surpass Card?

The no annual fee card doesn’t offer complimentary Hilton Gold status, and doesn’t give you the opportunity to earn Hilton Diamond status or a free night reward with spending. Personally, I think the Surpass Card is well worth the annual fee. You can always try out the Surpass Card and then downgrade it after a year.

Hilton Surpass Card vs. Hilton Business Card comparison

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (learn more) is essentially the business version of the Hilton Surpass Card, and it has a $195 (Rates & Fees). There’s some overlap between the cards, including that both cards offer Hilton Gold status automatically, and Hilton Diamond status with $40,000 in annual spending.

As I see it, there are three biggest differences:

• First, the Hilton Business Card offers up to $240 per year in Hilton credits ($60 per quarter), rather than the Hilton Surpass’ $200 per year in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter)
• Second, the Hilton Business Card has a simpler rewards structure, as you earn 12x points on Hilton spending, and 5x points on all other spending (up to $100,000 per calendar year, and then 3x points), rather than the more complicated 3x points, 4x points, 6x points, and 12x points structure, on the Hilton Surpass Card
• Lastly, the Hilton Surpass Card lets you earn an extra free night award with spending, which the Hilton Business Card doesn’t let you earn

Hilton Surpass Card vs. Hilton Aspire Card comparison

I should also mention that Hilton has the excellent $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees) Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (learn more) (review). I think the Hilton Aspire could be well worth it, though many people will be put off by the annual fee. However, the card does offer:

• Hilton Diamond status for as long as you have the card
• Up to $400 in Hilton resort credits annually; get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton resorts
• Up to $200 in flight credits annually; get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com
• A free night reward on your account anniversary annually, and additional free night awards for passing $30,000 and $60,000 in annual spending
• Up to $219 in CLEAR+ credits annually
• National Emerald Club Executive status for as long as you have the card (Enrollment required)

Hilton Surpass Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Hilton Honors Surpass Card is an excellent mid-range card that offers a great bonus for new members. On top of that, the Hilton Surpass offers valuable ongoing perks.

The card can be worth having for the Hilton Gold status alone, and the annual fee is easy to justify thanks to the up to $200 in statement credits annually for Hilton stays. It could also be worth putting $15,000 or $40,000 of spending on the card per year for the threshold bonuses, including a free night award and Hilton Diamond status.

Even if you don’t stay at Hiltons that often, the value of free breakfast and upgrades will add up quickly. And if you’ve been considering this card, now is the ideal time to apply, given the welcome offer that’s available.

If you want to learn more about the Hilton Surpass Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees), The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).

What an absolute treat it was to visit PS LAX, especially when this was included with my ticket (given that it otherwise retails for $1,295+). While I’m not going to suggest this is some incredible deal or that it offers huge time savings, it absolutely is a lovely way to start a trip, and it definitely redefines the airport experience.

In addition to PS LAX, you’ll also find PS ATL, PS DFW, and PS MIA, and the concepts and pricing are similar across the board (though as you’d expect, the design does differ — PS LAX is the original location, so I imagine the newer ones have even better design).

PS LAX pricing & booking process

Let me emphasize that since PS LAX was included with my Starlux first class ticket, my booking process for PS LAX was different than it would be for others, and I also didn’t have to pay extra to use it. So first let’s talk about the general pricing and booking process, and then I’ll share my exact experience.

You can find PS pricing below, with the cost being the same across locations.

In all situations, access is permitted up to three hours before the scheduled flight departure time. If you’re traveling internationally and checking bags, you’re asked to arrive at least two hours in advance, while for domestic itineraries, you’re asked to arrive at least 90 minutes in advance.

What’s the difference between The Salon and Private Suite?

• The Salon is a shared lounge offered by PS, which multiple guests can use at once; so it’s not totally private, but then again, my understanding is that the idea is that this is supposed to be a bit of a social experience (meeting “like minded” people who are also willing to spend $1,295 to elevate their pre-flight experience), so some people appreciate that 😉
• Private Suite is the more private concept for PS, where you get a suite that’s for your exclusive use, and it has a living room, a bathroom with shower, etc.

As you can see, a PS visit will generally cost you $1,295 per person without a membership, but that pricing can drop as low as $895 per person with a membership. There are also some programs that offer some number of complimentary visits. For example, Amex Centurion Card members and even American Concierge Key members sometimes get a free visit allotment with PS.

In general, you need to book PS at least 24 hours in advance, and PS promotes how if you book within 24 hours, there’s a 45% service fee, in the event that guests can be accommodated. Bookings are available directly through the PS website.

In the case of Starlux, first class passengers can book PS LAX by reaching out to the exclusive first class service line at least three days before departure, not including the day of travel.

There’s an online form that can be filled out to make the request, or alternatively, you can just call the service line.

It’s interesting how at most outstations, Starlux either offers chauffeur service or access to a private terminal. As you can see above, Los Angeles is the only US city to have a private terminal experience, but it’s also the only US city to not have chauffeur service.

The Starlux first class service line called me shortly after submitting my request, and they just asked me to confirm how many checked bags I’d have, and how I would be arriving at PS LAX. I then received my confirmation directly from PS within an hour. It was all very impressive service.

PS LAX location & arrivals experience

PS LAX is located at 6875 W Imperial Hwy in Los Angeles, so that’s the address you’ll want to give your driver. The facility is located on the very south side of the field (where you see the red pin below), even south of runways 25L and 25R. It’s located right by the private jet and cargo facilities.

In theory the big convenience is of course that you can skip the main part of the airport. However, since I had landed the same day from Miami, I had to take a rideshare from the airport terminal to PS. The entire arrivals experience feels pretty badass.

There’s a gate as you pull up, where the security guard asked for my details. Upon confirming I had a reservation, he just asked the driver to wait for a moment so that they could “prepare” for my arrival. After about a minute, the gate opened, and we pulled into the driveway.

There I was greeted by two PS employees — one immediately took my checked bag, while the other escorted me straight into The Salon. For those curious, I was checking a bag specifically because of Starlux’s fascinating handling of first class checked bags, whereby they place the bags in a dedicated first class branded crate.

Anyway, I was asked for my passport, and was invited to have a seat in The Salon, where I’d be waiting until it was time to head to the gate for my flight. I was presented with a piece of paper stating that I should be ready by 11:35PM, in anticipation of my 12:35AM departure. For what it’s worth, I arrived at PS LAX at 9:35PM, exactly three hours before departure, which is the earliest you can arrive.

I must say, I find the logistics of all of this to be fascinating. Around 30 minutes after arriving in the lounge, I was presented with my boarding pass on Starlux ticket stock. A Starlux agent somehow also showed up in the lounge, simply to confirm that I had no lithium-ion batteries in my bag.

Given the distance between the terminal and PS, I can’t help but be curious about the logistics. Are the bags and boarding passes shuttled in separate vehicles? How did the Starlux representative get to the lounge?!

The Salon at PS LAX layout & seating

The Salon at PS LAX is a pretty intimate facility — it exclusively consists of one room, with a wall going through the middle. What you see in the below three pictures is basically the extent of it.

There are a dozen seats at the bar, with half on each side.

There are then what I’d consider to be four little living room-style seating arrangements, so ideally you don’t have to share one of those spaces with another party.

The Salon at PS LAX also has a beautiful outdoor terrace space, though unfortunately all of the furniture was already covered up during my visit.

For those curious about crowding, the facility remained mostly empty during my visit late on a Saturday night. When I arrived there were three other guests, then eventually there was one other guest, and then eventually I had the facility to myself.

The Salon at PS LAX bathrooms & shower

The Salon at PS LAX has two bathrooms down a hall from the main area, and one doubles as a shower suite. The main bathroom has a sink, a toilet, and a urinal, and it was spotlessly clean.

Then there’s also the shower suite, which has a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower.

Bath amenities were from Le Labo, and there were also a small number of other amenities that guests could help themselves to, including dental kits, Marvis toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.

PS LAX food & drinks

Upon sitting down at PS LAX, I was immediately presented with a menu and drink list. All food and drinks are included with visits, and the selection is impressive.

You can find the PS LAX food menu below.

You can find the PS LAX drink list below.

PS offers a signature caviar welcome, and upon sitting down, I was asked if I wanted to partake in that… of course! That was presented to me within 15 minutes. It included a glass of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut, plus a personal tin of Italian Calvisius caviar, served with blinis, chips, sour cream, and chives. I must say, that’s a lovely presentation!

Once that was complete, I ordered the signature PS Martini, with vodka, gin, vermouth, lemon, and a caviar-filled olive. Yum.

While I was trying to save my appetite for onboard the flight, I figured I had to try a couple of the dishes, to check out the quality. To start, I ordered the grilled corn salad, with cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, corn vinaigrette, pickled sweet peppers, and cilantro.

Then for my main course, I ordered the branzino, with potato and leek vichyssoise, heirloom bean salad, salsa verde, and pickled carrots.

Lastly, I asked for a matcha latte. PS LAX has a great espresso machine, and the hot drinks are in partnership with Alfred.

The food and beverage situation at PS is phenomenal. What a treat — the food was restaurant quality, and the drinks were truly bar quality, so I have nothing but good things to say. It’s actually worth eating and drinking here.

I think one other thing worth mentioning is that food can also be prepared to go, so if you prefer, you can have them prepare food for you to enjoy on the flight. Since I was flying Starlux first class, I figured I wouldn’t need anything else to eat. 😉

PS LAX TSA security & limousine service

At 11:35PM, as expected, I was fetched, and told it was time to head to my flight. I was then escorted toward the private TSA checkpoint, which was frictionless. It was the same TSA PreCheck experience I’d usually get, just without the crowds.

Past the checkpoint, there was a fridge with a variety of canned and bottled non-alcoholic drinks, which guests could grab and take with them.

At that point I was placed in the BMW 7-Series that would be taking me to my departure gate. As an aviation geek, it’s of course a real thrill to get to drive across the taxiways. It’s also quite a long drive, given the location of PS LAX in comparison to the terminals.

The drive over to Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) took around 10 minutes. For those curious, you don’t drive across the runways, as there’s a tunnel that takes you under the two parallel runways. You do drive along the taxiways, though.

Once there, we pulled right up to gate 207, right next to the Starlux Airbus A350… what a stunner!

Boarding was scheduled for 11:55PM, 40 minutes before departure. So I was asked to just wait for a few minutes for boarding preparations.

At that point, I was walked across the apron to an elevator that goes between the ground floor and terminal level.

At the top of the elevator, I was greeted by the Starlux staff (including the station manager), and was escorted to the door of the aircraft, where I was the first onboard. It was an utterly seamless experience, and I was super impressed.

PS LAX service

Across the board, I found the staff at PS LAX to be exceptionally professional. They really operate at a different level than what you’ll generally find in the terminal. This was true of the person who greeted me and escorted me to the car service, it was true of the servers working in The Salon, and it was true of the person who drove me to the plane.

It’s clear the staff are really proud of working here, so it’s a very well executed experience.

Bottom line

The Salon at PS LAX is a great experience, and I’m delighted that it was included with my Starlux first class ticket. This is unlike any experience you’ll have within the terminal at an airport in the United States, in terms of how seamless everything is, combined with the quality of the food and beverages.

Admittedly the experience also comes at a hefty cost, so it’s definitely a splurge. For that matter, I don’t really buy the time saving argument, since you still have to show up two hours before departure if on an international flight with luggage to check.

But hey, this was a great experience, and I also think the price is fair for what’s being offered, in terms of the amount of coordination required, and what the cost of running this facility must be (which isn’t to say that I’d pay the retail cost, but I’m just saying, I couldn’t imagine it being much cheaper, while maintaining its exclusivity). Anyway, if you have the chance to visit a PS location, you’re in for an absolute treat!

What’s your take on The Salon at PS LAX?

If you ask me, this is an intriguing card that’s worth giving a try, if nothing else. While it has a hefty annual fee, it also has some interesting bonus categories, and offers credits and benefits, plus some lounge access perks. In particular, I think this card is interesting for those who are looking to earn American miles. This is my in-depth Citi Strata Elite review, including a look at the overall value proposition of the card.

Link: Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

Citi Strata Elite Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Citi Strata Elite Card review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $595
• Welcome offer: 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• Points earning rate: 6-12x points on Citi Travel bookings, 3-6x points on dining, and 1.5x points on everything else
• Perks & credits: Up to $300 in annual hotel credits, up to $200 in annual “Splurge Credits,” up to $200 in annual Blacklane credits, and more
• Airport lounge access: Priority Pass membership and four Admirals Club lounge passes every year
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Consumers who value the Priority Pass membership and Admirals Club passes, and those who can take advantage of the annual credits

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Citi Strata Elite Card.

Citi Strata Elite Card bonus, eligibility, & fees

For someone looking to earn Citi ThankYou points, the Citi Strata Elite Card is the premium, flagship card in the portfolio, and one of only two cards open to new cardmembers that earns ThankYou points that can be redeemed at maximum value. Let’s go over the details of the welcome offer, eligibility, and annual fee.

Welcome bonus of 75K ThankYou points

The Citi Strata Elite Card has a welcome bonus where you can earn 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $6,000 within three months. Personally, I value Citi ThankYou points at roughly 1.7 cents each, so I’d consider the bonus to be worth $1,275.

I should mention that when the card launched, we saw a bonus of up to 100,000 ThankYou points. However, it’s anyone’s guess if/when such an offer returns, as this has now been the standard offer for quite a long time.

Card eligibility restrictions & rules

The Citi Strata Elite Card welcome bonus has a “once in a lifetime” bonus rule, so it isn’t available to those who currently have the card, or those who have had the card in the past.

Beyond that, eligibility for this card (including the bonus) is unrelated to whether you have any other Citi ThankYou card. That means you’re eligible for the bonus on this card if you have the Citi Strata℠ Card (learn more) or Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more). You’re even eligible for the bonus if you have the Citi Prestige Card, which is no longer open to new applicants.

Beyond that, Citi has fairly limited rules when it comes to getting approved for cards. The most important restriction to keep in mind is that you can typically only be approved for one Citi card every eight days, and at most two Citi cards every 65 days. Here’s my experience getting approved for the card.

$595 annual fee & $75 authorized user fee

The Citi Strata Elite Card has a $595 annual fee for the primary cardmember, and a $75 annual fee for each authorized user.

While that’s a steep annual fee, the card offers lots of perks that should help offset that. Many people will also find it worthwhile to add authorized users, as they receive their own Priority Pass™ membership as well, so $75 is a reasonable cost for that. As a matter of fact, I’d consider this to be one of the best cards for authorized users.

Keep in mind that if you’re a Citigold customer, you can receive a $145 annual rebate on your annual fee, bringing the fee down to $450 per year. That’s a very nice perk, and helps the math on the card.

Citi Strata Elite Card points earning structure

The Citi Strata Elite Card could be worth spending money on, given its rewards structure. The card has the following rewards structure:

• 12x ThankYou points on hotels, rental cars, and attractions, booked through Citi Travel
• 6x ThankYou points on air travel booked through Citi Travel
• 6x ThankYou points on restaurants on Citi Nights purchases, on Fridays and Saturdays between 6PM and 6AM ET (regardless of where in the world you are)
• 3x ThankYou points per dollar spent at restaurants any other time
• 1.5x ThankYou points on all other eligible purchases

This Citi Strata Elite has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a great card to use both within the United States and abroad. Let’s take a closer look at how these bonus categories work.

6-12x ThankYou points with Citi Travel

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers bonus points when booking through Citi Travel, which is Citi’s travel portal. Specifically, the card offers 12x ThankYou points when you book hotels, rental cars, and attractions, and 6x ThankYou points when you book air travel through the portal.

Usually I’m hesitant to book through a credit card travel portal, since there’s often an opportunity cost to doing so. For example, you typically don’t earn points or receive elite perks with your preferred hotel loyalty program, and you might encounter more friction during your stay. That being said, this is an excellent return on that spending, and I’m sure some people will find that to be worthwhile.

Based on my valuation of ThankYou points, that’s like a 20.4% return on hotels, rental cars, and attractions booked through Citi Travel, and a 10.2% return on air travel booked through Citi Travel.

3-6x ThankYou points on dining & restaurants

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers bonus points on dining, and this is structured interestingly. First, the card offers 6x ThankYou points at restaurants for Citi Nights purchases. The way this works, you earn 6x ThankYou points on your dining spending on Fridays and Saturdays between 6PM and 6AM ET, regardless of where in the world you are. That’s an unbeatable return on dining spending, though of course only within a limited timeframe.

During all other times (so for 144 hours per week), the card offers 3x ThankYou points at restaurants.

The restaurants and dining category generally includes cafes, bars, lounges, fast food restaurants, takeout, and delivery. You generally won’t earn bonus points for purchases made at bakeries, caterers, and restaurants in other establishments (like hotels, department stores, grocery stores, discount stores, convenience stores, and warehouse clubs).

Based on my valuation of ThankYou points, that’s like a 10.2% return on Citi Nights dining, and a 5.1% return on dining during all other times.

1.5x ThankYou points on everyday spending

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers 1.5x ThankYou points on everyday spending, with no cap. Based on my valuation of ThankYou points, that’s like a 2.55% return on everyday spending.

That’s a solid return on spending, though as I’ll cover below, there could be a better play here. You could also pick up the no annual fee Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more) as a complement, and then earn up to 2x ThankYou points on everyday spending, after paying your bill.

Mastercard World Legend purchase & travel protection

The Citi Strata Elite Card is a Mastercard World Legend product, and with that, the card offers purchase and travel protection, including things like extended warranty protection, purchase protection, and trip delay reimbursement.

While it’s good to have some protection, you will find more comprehensive offerings on other premium cards, if that’s something that’s important to you. Be sure to check the benefits guide for all the details as to what exactly is offered.

Citi Strata Elite Card ThankYou points redemptions

How can you redeem the Citi ThankYou points earned on the Citi Strata Elite Card? You have a couple of options, with one being much better than the other, in my opinion.

The most straightforward (but less lucrative) way to redeem your points is essentially as cash toward purchases. Your points are worth 0.75 cents each cash back, or up to 1.0 cents each toward travel purchases, gift cards, etc. Personally, I don’t think that’s the way to maximize the points, though.

What I find much more interesting is the ability to transfer points to one of the Citi ThankYou airline or hotel partners. This can be done at the below rates.

Note that having this card also allows you to pool your points on less premium cards, such as the Citi Strata℠ Card (learn more) or Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more), and maximize the value on those. There are only two Citi cards currently open to new cardmembers that offer the highest possible transfer ratio, so that’s a major incentive for having this card.

Just to give a couple of examples, I’ve redeemed 80,000 EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (moved from Citi ThankYou) for an EVA Air business class ticket from the US to Asia, when that would otherwise cost many thousands of dollars. If you were to otherwise redeem those points for one cent each, that’s the equivalent of paying just $800 for a business class ticket across the Pacific, which is amazing!

Citi Strata Elite Card airport lounge access

As is the case with many premium credit cards, the Citi Strata Elite Card offers airport lounge access perks. This includes both a Priority Pass™ membership, plus limited Admirals Club access.

Priority Pass™ membership

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers a Priority Pass™ membership, which gets you access to the world’s largest collection of independent lounges. Best of all, this membership allows you to take two guests with you at no additional cost.

Priority Pass has 1,300+ airport lounges around the world, so access to these lounges will prove useful to just about any traveler. This benefit applies both for the primary cardmember and for authorized users. Being able to add authorized users for $75 each, and having them get a Priority Pass membership, is among the best such values out there.

American Admirals Club lounge passes

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers American Admirals Club lounge access passes. Every calendar year, the primary cardmember receives four Admirals Club lounge passes:

• These passes are issued digitally, and each pass is valid for 24 hours across multiple lounges
• One pass is required for each person 18+, but those under 18 can be brought in as guests, without requiring additional passes
• Passes can only be redeemed for adults accompanying the primary cardmember, so they can’t just be gifted to others
• You must be traveling same day on American or a oneworld partner, with a departing or arriving boarding pass

This could come in handy for someone who occasionally flies American, who doesn’t need a full Admirals Club membership, but still values lounge access in some form. For what it’s worth, American ordinarily charges $79 per day pass, so this is a value of up to $316 per year (admittedly I wouldn’t value it nearly that high).

Citi Strata Elite Card credits & perks

As is the case with many premium cards nowadays, the Citi Strata Elite Card has a steep annual fee, but then offers quite a few credits and benefits that can help offset those. The card offers many hundreds of dollars of credits each year, though admittedly not everyone will be able to maximize all of them. Let’s go over the details of each of these.

Up to $300 annual hotel credit

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers up to a $300 annual hotel credit. The way this works, each calendar year, you can receive up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.

You need to book a pre-paid stay, and must charge the cost to an eligible Citi card, and then the $300 credit will be applied at the time of booking. If your reservation is less than $300, the remaining amount of the annual hotel benefit will be available for your next qualifying purchase in that same calendar year.

While I don’t love booking through a credit card travel portal, this could be pretty easy to maximize. For example, if you booked a two night stay at the rate of $150 per night, you’d pretty nicely recoup value there.

Up to $200 annual “Splurge Credit”

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers up to a $200 annual “Splurge Credit,” as it’s described. The way this works, each calendar year, you can receive up to $200 in credits for purchases with select businesses.

This is valid with 1stDibs, American Airlines, Best Buy, Future Personal Training, and Live Nation. You need to register with merchants to do this, and you can register for up to two merchants at a time, at this link.

There are exclusions with each merchant, but for the most part, they’re pretty straightforward. I imagine for most OMAAT readers, American will be the most interesting partner here, and tickets qualify for this credit. So booking a single $200 flight ticket would get you full value from this. For most prospective cardmembers, that should basically be good as cash.

Up to $200 annual Blacklane credit

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers up to a $200 annual Blacklane credit. This is a semi-annual credit, so you receive up to a $100 credit in January through June, and up to a $100 credit in July through December.

Blacklane is essentially a global premium chauffeur service, that allows you to book rides in advance. Blacklane isn’t cheap, but that’s because it’s a “real” pre-booked chauffeur service, rather than an on-demand rideshare service (at least in most cities).

I’m sure some people will have no issues maximizing this, while others likely won’t get much value from it, given the high pricing. Based on my own research, Blacklane is much more reasonably priced in some cities than others, and there’s also a more affordable on-demand service in cities like Dubai and Miami, where this could come in handy.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

The Citi Strata Elite Card offers an up to $120 credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years. Just charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

Obviously this isn’t an annual perk, but if you want to annualize the value over the course of having the card long term, it’s the equivalent of a $30 value per year.

Is the Citi Strata Elite Card worth it?

The Citi Strata Elite Card isn’t some earth shattering card, and I think the value proposition is pretty sustainable, which is probably good (since cards that seem too good to be true typically don’t last long before we see major changes). So, is the card worth it? I have a few thoughts…

First of all, I think there’s a strong argument to be made for applying for the card and giving it a try, given the welcome bonus being offered, and strong first year value. The fact that many of the perks are tied to the calendar year rather than the cardmember year makes the first year value particularly good.

Hopefully you find the card perks to be worthwhile, but if you don’t, you should be able to product change it to a lower or no annual fee card, which gives you lots of flexibility.

Personally, I think it’s not too hard to make the math on the Citi Strata Elite Card work. Yes, there’s the $595 annual fee, but:

• The $200 Splurge Credit should basically be worth close to face value, as you can just use that to book a $200 American flight
• I actually think the $300 hotel credit is pretty easy for most people to maximize — just book a two night stay through Citi Travel for $300, and you get $300 back, so that’s pretty straightforward
• The American Admirals Club passes will prove useful for someone who flies American once in a while, but doesn’t necessarily value outright buying a membership
• If you don’t otherwise have a Priority Pass™ membership, this is a good pathway for getting that
• I think it’s worth just generally emphasizing the value of being involved in the Citi ThankYou ecosystem, especially with American AAdvantage being a transfer partner

Just between the hotel credit and the Splurge Credit, that’s $500 in value right there, which is significant, and offsets a vast majority of the fee. There’s also the Blacklane credit, but given how much the company charges for rides, I don’t place all that much value on it.

There’s a lot of value to complementing the Citi Strata Elite with one of the no annual fee cards that can help you maximize value. First there’s the Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more), which earns 1x ThankYou points when you make a purchase, and 1x ThankYou points when you pay for a purchase. Earning 2x ThankYou points for your non-bonused spending categories is awesome.

Then there’s the Citi Strata℠ Card (learn more), which offers incremental value like 3x ThankYou points at supermarkets, on select transit, on gas and EV charging stations, and on self-select categories of your choice.

So the ability to create a portfolio of cards here really is quite tempting. Beyond that, let me share some other cards that people may be considering, so you can decide for yourself whether the Citi Strata Elite is a good fit.

Citi Strata Elite vs. Citi Strata Premier comparison

There are two cards open to new applicants that unlock the full value of the ThankYou ecosystem. In addition to the Citi Strata Elite Card, there’s also the Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more). When it comes to the Citi Strata Premier:

• The Citi Strata Premier has a reasonable $95 annual fee, and you can add authorized users at no cost
• The Citi Strata Premier offers 3x ThankYou points on dining, gas and EV charging, supermarkets, airfare, and hotels, so purely in terms of the rewards structure, that’s incredibly compelling
• The Citi Strata Premier offers a $100 annual hotel credit, valid for a single hotel stay of $500+ (excluding taxes and fees), when booked through Citi Travel

The way I see it, the Citi Strata Elite is the better option if you value the airport lounge access perks and can take advantage of the credits, while the Citi Strata Premier is better if you’re simply looking for the best points earning structure and easiest entry into the Citi ThankYou ecosystem. See my detailed comparison of the two cards.

Citi Strata Elite vs. Citi AAdvantage Executive comparison

I imagine that many people interested in the Citi Strata Elite Card may also be considering the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (learn more). When it comes to the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card:

• The Citi AAdvantage Executive has a $695 annual fee, and you can add up to three authorized users for a total of $175 (so that’s potentially under $60 each)
• The Citi AAdvantage Executive offers Admirals Club membership for the primary cardmember, and Admirals Club access for authorized users, and that’s the primary selling point of the card
• The Citi AAdvantage Executive also offers a variety of credits, as well as up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year, so the card can help you earn AAdvantage elite status

As I see it, the Citi Strata Elite is the more well rounded of the two cards, in the sense that it earns transferable points, and I also find the credits to be a bit easier to maximize. That being said, the Citi AAdvantage Executive is absolutely the more lucrative card if you value consistently having Admirals Club access.

Citi Strata Elite vs. Citi AAdvantage Globe comparison

While we’re comparing Citi ThankYou and American AAdvantage cards, we should also mention the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (learn more).

• The Citi AAdvantage Globe has a $350 annual fee, and you can add authorized users at no extra cost
• The Citi AAdvantage Globe also offers four Admirals Club passes per year, much like the Citi Strata Elite
• The Citi AAdvantage Globe also has a variety of other perks, ranging from up to 15,000 Loyalty Points per year, an American $99 companion certificate on the account anniversary, up to $100 back annually on American inflight purchases, and more.

The four annual Admirals Club passes aside, I don’t otherwise view these cards as otherwise being comparable. The Citi Strata Elite is great if you’re able to maximize the more generic perks, and value a Priority Pass membership, while the Citi AAdvantage Globe is better if you’re a frequent flyer on American, and value the more airline specific perks.

Citi Strata Elite vs. Amex Platinum comparison

The American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) has historically been thought of as the gold standard among premium cards, so how does it compare? There are so many benefits to be aware of, so I recommend checking out my Amex Platinum review to compare. However, let me hit on a few highlights of the differences between the cards, as I see it:

• The Citi Strata Elite has more lucrative rewards on spending than the Amex Platinum, between the bonus points on dining plus the higher return on everyday spending; the Amex Platinum is a card I keep primarily for the perks
• The Amex Platinum has a more robust lounge access benefit, as it offers Amex Centurion Lounge access and Delta Sky Club® access, along with a Priority Pass membership (as you’ll find on the Citi Strata Elite) (Enrollment required)
• While both cards offer a variety of credits, personally I find the credits on the Amex Platinum to be a bit easier to maximize, including the up to $600 in annual hotel credits, up to $400 in annual dining credits, etc.

So there’s not a right or wrong answer as to which is better. It all depends on your spending and travel patterns, and for some people, it could be worth having both.

Citi Strata Elite vs. Capital One Venture X comparison

Comparing the Citi Strata Elite to the other major premium cards, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) is Capital One’s premium personal travel card, and I’d argue it’s perhaps the easiest to justify premium card on the market:

• The Venture X has a much more reasonable $395 annual fee
• The Venture X offers a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, as well as 10,000 anniversary bonus miles every year; as I see it, those two perks basically offset the annual fee on an ongoing basis
• The Venture X offers a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent, so I consider it to be the best premium personal card for rewards on everyday spending
• The Venture X offers access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership

It’s really hard to argue with the value of that card, if you ask me. Of course we’re all looking for different things, but I think many people may prefer the Capital One Venture X to the Citi Strata Elite.

Citi Strata Elite Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Citi Strata Elite Card is Citi’s premium credit card earning ThankYou points. The card has a $595 annual fee, but offers value for that. It offers anywhere from 1.5-12x points per dollar spent, lounge access (including a Priority Pass™ membership and Admirals Club passes), and provides up to $820 in annual credits, or potentially even more.

I think there’s a strong case to be made for applying for this card and giving it a shot, at a minimum. I also think there’s merit to the overall value of the Citi ThankYou points ecosystem, and potentially complementing this card with either the Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more) or Citi Strata℠ Card (learn more), to maximize your rewards. If you’re looking to maximize the AAdvantage miles you earn, this is now the card ecosystem to pay attention to.

If you want to learn more about the Citi Strata Elite Card or want to apply, follow this link.

The Sapphire Reserve Business has a high annual fee, but also offers strong perks that will for many people more than help justify that fee. This post is my Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business review. If you’re willing to put in the effort, this card can absolutely be worth it, especially if you value airport lounge access. The welcome bonus on the card is also a major incentive to pick it up.

Link: Learn more about the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business summary & key details

Before I get into my Sapphire Reserve Business review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $795
• Welcome offer: 200,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $30,000 within the first six months
• Points earning rate: 8x points on Chase Travel bookings, 5x points on Lyft rides (through September 30, 2027), 4x points on direct flight & hotel bookings, 3x points on select advertising, and 1x points on everything else
• Perks & credits: Up to $500 in annual hotel credits, up to $400 in annual ZipRecruiter credits, up to $300 in annual travel credits, up to $200 in annual Google Workspace credits, and more
• Airport lounge access: Access to Chase Sapphire Lounges and a Priority Pass membership
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Small businesses who value airport lounge access, who spend a decent amount on categories eligible for bonuses (airfare, hotels, advertising), and who can take advantage of the credits to help offset the annual fee

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Sapphire Reserve Business.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business bonus, fee, & eligibility

The Sapphire Reserve Business has a huge welcome bonus, so let’s start by going over that, including eligibility requirements for the card, since that’s something that many people care about. I’ll also cover the annual fee.

Welcome bonus of 200K Ultimate Rewards points

The Sapphire Reserve Business is offering a huge limited time welcome bonus of 200,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $30,000 within the first six months.

While the spending requirement is significant, so is the bonus, so this is a great opportunity for those looking to replenish their balance of Ultimate Rewards points. Personally, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the points are worth $3,400.

Card bonus eligibility restrictions & credit score tips

Since the Sapphire Reserve Business is still quite new, lots of people should be eligible for the card, including the welcome offer. Eligibility for this card is unrelated to having any other Chase card, whether it’s a personal card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), or a business card like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more).

Cards don’t get much easier than this in terms of being eligible for the offer. That being said, Chase business cards can sometimes be hard to get approved for, though there are ways to maximize your odds of approval.

Chase is known for the 5/24 rule, whereby you sometimes won’t be approved for cards if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts across issuers in the past 24 months (excluding certain business cards). So, what’s the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business 5/24 situation?

In theory, the Sapphire Reserve Business is subject to 5/24. However, Chase no longer consistently enforces this, so it seems to only be enforced on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, while you need to be under the 5/24 limit to qualify for a Chase business card, opening up a Chase business card doesn’t add an extra card to the 5/24 “counter.” As a result, I always recommend applying for Chase business cards before you apply for Chase personal cards.

$795 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Sapphire Reserve Business has a $795 annual fee, aligning it with the annual fee on the personal version of the card. This is among the highest annual fee business cards out there.

You can add Sapphire Reserve Business employee cards at no extra cost. However, note that employee cards (authorized users) don’t receive the same perks as primary cardmember in terms of lounge access, credits, etc. So if you add authorized users, do it because you want them to be able to spend on your account and have you rack up points, rather than anything else.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business points earning & rewards

The Sapphire Reserve Business has a lucrative points earning structure, and offers quite a few bonus categories, in addition to more rewards if you reach a certain spending threshold. Obviously when applying for a credit card, I always recommend getting one with bonus categories that align with your typical spending profile. The card offers up to 8x points per dollar spent, so let’s go over the details of that.

8x points on Chase Travel portal bookings

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, which is Chase’s travel portal. This includes spending on flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. While there’s sometimes an opportunity cost to booking this way, I’d consider this to be pretty awesome, since earning 8x points on flight bookings is industry leading.

Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, to me that’s the equivalent of a 13.6% return on travel spending, but only through Chase Travel. I’d consider that to be pretty enticing, assuming you don’t mind booking through a portal.

5x points on Lyft rides

Chase and Lyft have a partnership, and with this, the Sapphire Reserve Business earns 5x points on Lyft rides, valid through September 30, 2027. To me, that’s the equivalent of an 8.5% return on Lyft spending, making this one of the best cards for rideshare spending.

4x points on direct flight & hotel bookings

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers 4x points on flights and hotels that are booked direct. That means if you book a flight directly with an airline or a hotel stay directly with a hotel (rather than through an online travel agency), you get an excellent return on that spending.

Based on my valuation of points, that’s the equivalent of a 6.8% return on that spending.

3x points on select advertising

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers 3x points on social media & search engine advertising. Note that as of November 15, 2026, this category will be capped at $1 million in spending each anniversary year, and after that, cardmembers will earn 1x points in this category.

This is a popular spending category for many businesses, and I value 3x points at a 5.1% return.

No foreign transaction fees

The Sapphire Reserve Business has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally, since you can earn valuable rewards while not being stuck with those fees, which are sometimes 3%. This is especially useful for spending in the hotel and airfare categories, since you can earn bonus points while also avoiding foreign transaction fees.

$120,000 annual spending bonus benefits

If you spend $120,000 per calendar year on the Sapphire Reserve Business, you receive a slew of extra benefits, including the following:

• IHG One Rewards Diamond status, which is IHG’s top tier status, offering perks like complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, and more
• World of Hyatt Explorist status, which is Hyatt’s mid tier status, offering perks like room upgrades, bonus points, guaranteed 2PM check-out at most hotels, and more
• Southwest Rapid Rewards A-List status, offering perks ranging from priority seating to free checked bags
• A $500 Southwest credit, for flights booked via Chase Travel
• A $500 Shops at Chase credit, valid for purchases with select brands, including Baccarat, Bang & Olufsen, Breitling, Tumi, and more

Everyone will value these perks differently, but I’d say this has the potential to factor nicely into the overall value proposition of spending on the card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business points redemption options

The Sapphire Reserve Business earns Ultimate Rewards points, which I find to be one of the most valuable flexible points currencies. Not only that, but having the Sapphire Reserve Business means that you can potentially redeem your points for more than you could if you had other cards. As I’ll explain below, there are a couple of ways that you can most efficiently redeem your Ultimate Rewards points.

Transfer points to airline & hotel partners

My favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners. This is a great option if you want to book aspirational travel, like staying at a five star hotel or redeeming for first or business class travel.

Just make sure you study up on this, and learn the tips & tricks of maximizing points. Below are the Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.

What makes points transfers so useful is how you can get disproportionate value if you put effort into maximizing your points. For example, I’ve redeemed 60,000 Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles for a transatlantic Air France business class ticket (which would’ve cost thousands of dollars), and I’ve also redeemed 45,000 World of Hyatt points for a night at the Park Hyatt Tokyo (which would’ve cost $1,500). So that gets you way more value than you’d typically otherwise get when cashing out those rewards.

Redeem points for up to two cents each toward travel

You can also redeem Ultimate Rewards points through Chase’s website, for everything from gift cards, to flight and hotel redemptions. Typically, Ultimate Rewards points will get you a minimum of one cent per point of value toward travel redemptions, though thanks to the Points Boost feature, you can sometimes get more value with points than that.

For example, if you have the Sapphire Reserve Business, you can redeem points for two cents each toward The Edit by Chase Travel luxury hotel bookings, and for airfare on select airlines. The exact value you get ranges, with the elevated Points Boost options providing anywhere from 1.25-2.0 cents of value per point. If you can get two cents of value per point, I’d say that’s a pretty great opportunity.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business lounge access perks

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers excellent airport lounge access perks, including a Priority Pass™ membership and access to Chase Sapphire Lounges. Note that these benefits only apply for the primary cardmember, and not for authorized users.

Priority Pass™ membership

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers a Priority Pass™ membership, which gets you access to the world’s largest collection of independent lounges. Best of all, this membership allows you to take two guests with you at no additional cost.

Priority Pass has 1,300+ airport lounges around the world, so access to these lounges will prove useful to just about any traveler.

Chase Sapphire Lounge access

The Sapphire Reserve Business also offers Chase Sapphire Lounge access. These lounges are exceptional, among the best credit card lounges out there, and among the best in the United States. Primary cardmembers on the Sapphire Reserve Business receive unlimited visits annually, with the ability to bring two guests.

This network of lounges is a huge reason to consider picking up this card, as these lounges really are a treat, especially the ones at New York LaGuardia and Boston Logan. The one caution I’d add is that while Chase Sapphire Lounges are very high quality, the network currently isn’t as large as the Amex Centurion Lounge network.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business credits & benefits

What really sets the Sapphire Reserve Business apart from other business cards is the strong perks that it offers, including lots of credits. Admittedly there are hoops to jump through, and not everyone will be able to maximize the benefits.

But hopefully for many people, the perks will go a long way to offsetting the annual fee (if they don’t, you might be better off with another card). Some people will even be able to come out ahead with all the credits and benefits. The credits partly overlap with those on the personal version of the card, but there are also some significant differences.

Up to $500 annual hotel credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $500 in annual hotel credits. This benefit is specifically valid for hotel bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel, which is Chase’s collection of luxury hotels, where cardmembers can receive extra perks when booking through the program. In order to take advantage of this credit, cardmembers need to book a stay of a minimum of two nights, with the “pay now” feature.

This credit is semi-annual, meaning you can get a $250 credit in January through June, and a $250 credit in July through December. Personally, I wouldn’t value this credit at close to face value, since many hotels belonging to the portfolio are quite expensive. That’s not to say that people won’t get use from this benefit, but I just wouldn’t factor this into the math on the card too much.

Note that as of 2027, this benefit will be getting even better, as the credit will double from $500 to $1,000. However, this will be split up into four credits with the same restrictions you’ll currently find.

Up to $400 annual ZipRecruiter credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $400 in annual ZipRecruiter credits. This credit is semi-annual, meaning you can get a $200 credit in January through June, and a $200 credit in July through December. This benefit is currently valid through December 31, 2027.

Obviously this is extremely niche, and I imagine most cardmembers won’t be able to maximize this.

Up to $300 annual travel credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $300 in annual travel credits. This credit is easy to use — there’s no registration required, and any purchases that are coded as travel will be reimbursed automatically. This could include flights, rideshares, taxis, train tickets, hotels, and more. You don’t have to use the entire credit in one transaction, but rather, can use it across as many transactions as are needed.

Note that this benefit is based on the anniversary year rather than the calendar year, and you can track your progress with using this benefit on Chase’s website or app. Since I consider this to basically be good as cash, I tend to think this lowers the card’s out of pocket by around $300.

Up to $300 DoorDash credit & DashPass membership

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers benefits with DoorDash. For one, you receive a complimentary DashPass membership, valid for at least one year, if you activate by December 31, 2027. This is a value of up to $120 per year.

With DashPass, you pay a $0 delivery fee when ordering from thousands of restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. Certain minimums apply in order to get the $0 delivery fee. You also receive reduced service fees.

On top of that, the card offers up to $300 in DoorDash credits each year, in the form of up to $25 in monthly credits. However, this is broken down quite a bit — it includes a $5 monthly promo credit to spend on restaurant orders, and two $10 promo credits to spend on groceries, retail, and more.

Personally, I wouldn’t place much value on this in terms of justifying the annual fee, but some people will certainly still save.

Up to $250 one-time Chase Travel Hotels credit

In addition to the annual hotel credit with The Edit by Chase Travel, the Sapphire Reserve Business also offers up to $250 in hotel credits on a one-time basis. This is specifically valid through December 31, 2026, when booking select hotels through Chase Travel Hotels.

Specifically, it works for prepaid Chase Travel hotel bookings for stays with IHG Hotels & Resorts, Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Virgin Hotels, Minor Hotels, and Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, with a two night minimum stay required. While this isn’t an ongoing perk, it sure can add quite a bit of one-time value.

Up to $200 annual Google Workspace credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $200 in annual Google Workspace credits. This is more straightforward, and the entire credit can be used at once. This applies for qualifying purchases with Google or Workspace.Google.com. This benefit is currently valid through December 31, 2027.

Up to $120 annual Lyft credit

In addition to 5x points on Lyft rides, the Sapphire Reserve Business also offers up to $120 in annual Lyft credits. This credit is monthly, meaning you receive a $10 credit each month. This can be applied toward Lyft rides for Standard, Extra Comfort, XL, Black, or Black SUV ride modes. This benefit is currently valid through September 30, 2027.

Up to $100 annual giftcards.com credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $100 in annual giftcards.com credits. Specifically, this applies for purchases of “curated” gift cards from this page. This credit is semi-annual, meaning you can get a $50 credit in January through June, and a $50 credit in July through December. This benefit is currently valid through October 31, 2028.

While small in terms of the total amount, this credit is worth close to face value, if you ask me. For example, you could pick up a $50 DoorDash credit every six months, if you wanted to. You just have to remember to do so.

Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit

The Sapphire Reserve Business offers a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years. Just charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status

Above I covered how the Sapphire Reserve Business offers top tier IHG One Rewards Diamond status if you spend $120,000 per year on the card. However, the card also offers mid tier IHG One Rewards Platinum status, just for being a cardmember. This offers perks like 60% bonus points, room upgrades subject to availability, welcome amenities, and more.

Complimentary status is currently available through December 31, 2027, though it’s possible the benefit gets extended beyond that. You must link your Chase and IHG accounts to take advantage of this.

Other card benefits & protections

Beyond the benefits listed above, the Sapphire Reserve Business offers additional lifestyle benefits, including access to Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables (on OpenTable), and concierge services for dining, entertainment, and travel.

The card also offers valuable travel and purchase protections, though you’ll want to consult the cardmember agreement for all of those details, as they’re always subject to change, and frankly, I’d have to include way too many disclaimers to list them all here.

Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business worth it?

The Sapphire Reserve Business is still fairly new to the market, and there just aren’t that many business cards that are quite this premium. Admittedly the card has a high annual fee, so it won’t be for everyone. How you feel about the personal version of the card is probably very similar to how you feel about the business version of the card.

So, is the card worth it? To start, it’s worth pointing out that the welcome bonus on this card is absolutely massive, and that’s an incentive to pick up this card, assuming you can reach the minimum spending requirement. Even if you’re not sure if the card is right for you in the long run, you might as well give it a try, given the huge bonus.

What’s my take on the overall value proposition of this card? Obviously you’d primarily want to get the card because of the bonus categories on spending that it offers, and/or because you value the lounge access.

When it comes to trying to recoup that $795 annual fee, here are my thoughts on that:

• I consider the $300 annual travel credit to basically be worth face value, lowering the real out of pocket on this card to $495 per year
• I actually think the $100 annual giftcards.com credit is the next easiest to use, as it basically allows you pick up a useful $50 gift card every six months
• The ZipRecruiter and Google Workspace credits are also a bit more niche, so I imagine that most cardmembers won’t be able to maximize those, but some people will
• The DoorDash and Lyft credits do add up over time (at least as someone who uses both of those frequently), though admittedly the monthly quantities are so small that it’s hard to get too excited
• The Edit by Chase Travel credit could also be valuable, but there’s often an opportunity cost to booking that way, so I wouldn’t factor that too much into my decision of whether to keep the card

Everyone will have a different take as to how rewarding this card is, but those are my thoughts. For what it’s worth, I’ve had this card for around a year now. While I find the card to be valuable, the issue is that I also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and there’s quite a bit of overlap between the two cards. Based on my own spending patterns, I think my plan is to keep the personal version of the card, but probably not the business version of the card.

With that out of the way, let me compare this to some other cards, including the personal version of the card, other premium business cards, and more.

Sapphire Reserve Business vs. Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve Business is based on the Sapphire Reserve, so how do the two cards compare? There’s a lot of overlap between the two products, including the annual fees for the primary cardmember, so let me highlight some of the key differences:

• The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on dining, while the Sapphire Reserve Business offers 3x points on select advertising
• The Sapphire Reserve charges $195 per authorized user (and they receive lounge access), while the Sapphire Reserve Business charges $0 per authorized user (but they don’t receive lounge access)
• The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in annual dining credits, up to $300 in annual Stubhub & viagogo credits, and up to $288 in annual Apple TV & Apple Music benefits, while the Sapphire Reserve Business offers up to $400 in annual ZipRecruiter credits, up to $200 in annual Google Workspace credits, and up to $100 in annual giftcards.com credits
• The Sapphire Reserve offers Air Canada Lounge access, while the Sapphire Reserve Business doesn’t

The similarities between the cards outnumber the differences, so the best option really depends on what return on spending you value most, and also what credits and benefits you would get the most value out of.

Sapphire Reserve Business vs. Ink Business Preferred

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) has a $95 annual fee, and is another popular business card. There are lots of things to love about this card — it has a reasonable annual fee, a generous welcome bonus, and a great rewards structure.

While both cards are rewarding when it comes to earning points, otherwise, these are very different products. The Ink Business Preferred is a great value card, given the combination of the fee and rewards structure. However, the Sapphire Reserve Business is great for offering lounge access and lots of credits that help offset the fee.

Everyone will have to decide for themselves which card makes the most sense. Either could be a good value, and heck, I’d argue that both cards could be worth applying for, as they’re not mutually exclusive.

Sapphire Reserve Business vs. Amex Business Platinum

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) has an $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and is probably the most direct competitor to the Sapphire Reserve Business. Which of the two cards is better? There are so many benefits to be aware so, if I recommend checking out my Amex Business Platinum review to compare, though let me hit on a few highlights of the differences of the cards, as I see it:

• The Sapphire Reserve Business has much more lucrative spending bonus categories, while I primarily find the Amex Platinum to only be useful for a limited number of business spending categories
• Both cards are great for airport lounge access, so which is better depends on which lounge network you’d get more value from — the Sapphire Reserve Business is better for Chase Sapphire Lounge access, while the Amex Business Platinum is better for Amex Centurion Lounge access and Delta Sky Club® access (both cards get you Priority Pass™ access) (Enrollment required)
• While both cards offer a variety of credits, personally I find the credits on the Amex Business Platinum to be a bit easier to maximizing, including the up to $600 in annual hotel credits

So there’s not a right or wrong answer as to which is better. It all depends on your spending and travel patterns, and for some people, it could be worth having both.

Sapphire Reserve Business vs. Amex Business Gold

The American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more) has a $375 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and while I wouldn’t say it’s a direct replacement to the Sapphire Reserve Business, it definitely is a competitor.

Rather than being about airport lounge access and other travel perks, the Amex Business Gold is instead all about points, as the card offers up to 4x Membership Rewards points on spending in certain categories. On top of that, the card offers credits that can help offset the annual fee.

Personally I’d only consider this card if the bonus categories match up closely with your spending patterns.

Sapphire Reserve Business vs. Venture X Business

The Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) has a $395 annual fee, and is Capital One’s premium business travel card. I’d argue it’s perhaps the easiest to justify premium card on the market.

• The Venture X Business offers a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, as well as 10,000 anniversary bonus miles every year; as I see it, those two perks basically offset the annual fee on an ongoing basis
• The Venture X Business offers a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent, so I consider it to be the best premium personal card for rewards on everyday spending
• The Venture X Business offers access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership

So while the card might not be quite as robust as the Sapphire Reserve Business or Amex Business Platinum, it’s also not as much of a chore to actually extract a lot of value from the card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Business Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Sapphire Reserve Business is Chase’s premium business card, built on the basics of the Sapphire Reserve. The card has a steep $795 annual fee, but offers lots of perks, which for many people will help justify the annual fee.

The most valuable perks are lounge access, including a Priority Pass™ membership and access to Chase Sapphire Lounges. The card also offers a potentially valuable rewards structure, with bonus categories offering 3-8x points in select categories.

The challenge is recouping that $795 annual fee, which is obviously steep. That’s where the credits come into play. This includes everything from a very easy to use $300 travel credit, to more niche credits with ZipRecruiter and Google Workspace, to frequent and small credits with DoorDash and Lyft. Everyone will be in a different boat when it comes to their ability to justify the fee based on those credits.

I hope my Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business review answered any questions you may have about the card.

To learn more about the Sapphire Reserve Business follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).

Why I took this trip

This was a review trip, plain and simple, with which I had a couple of primary motivations. First of all, prior to this trip I had flown almost every first class product in the world, with Starlux Airlines and Air Côte d’Ivoire being the two exceptions.

Given how close I am to having checked out every first class experience in the world, I made it a goal to check out those two remaining products before the end of the year. Fortunately we recently saw the introduction of a more attractive way to book Starlux first class, so I decided to knock that out first.

For the return trip, I found a good business class fare on Philippine Airlines, allowing me to check out the carrier’s new flagship Airbus A350-1000, ahead of the airline joining oneworld.

I decided to make Japan the focus of this trip, and also took the opportunity to check out one hotel in Tokyo and three hotels in Osaka. So as you can see, I was actually able to spend a fair bit of time on the ground with this trip, while still checking out some interesting airline products.

Below is the map of the itinerary I flew (at least the portion I’ll be reviewing, excluding positioning flights), which covers four segments and 16,755 miles. That’s a downright chill trip, by my standards!

The airlines I flew on this trip

I often book super complex itineraries, so this one was actually pretty straightforward.

For the outbound, I flew Starlux Airlines first class from Los Angeles (LAX) to Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) to Tokyo Narita (NRT), with the first segment on the Airbus A350-900, and the second segment on the A350-1000. I booked the following for 120,000 Starlux COSMILE miles plus $306.20 in taxes and carrier imposed surcharges:

9/13 JX1 Los Angeles to Taipei departing 12:35AM arriving 5:40AM (+1 day)
9/14 JX800 Taipei to Tokyo departing 8:30AM arriving 12:55PM

Now, here’s the thing — Starlux first class award availability is wide open, and on the surface, that’s a great redemption rate. The issue is that earning Starlux miles is very difficult. Fortunately the airline recently started selling miles, at the rate of four cents each. In other words, I purchased 120,000 miles for a staggering $4,800, and when you factor in the taxes and fees, I paid a total of $5,106.20 for my ticket.

Of course that’s a ton to spend on a one-way ticket, and it’s the second most expensive ticket I’ve ever booked. However:

• This is way cheaper than the cash fare, which is typically around $9,000 for a similar ticket
• I’m so close to trying every first class product that I feel like I have to just bite the bullet and try them all, even if the value of it is rough

For the return, I flew Philippine Airlines business class from Osaka (KIX) to Manila (MNL) to San Francisco, with the first segment on the Airbus A330-300, and the second segment on the A350-1000. I booked the following for 116,442 Chase points, because I redeemed points for 1.5 cents each toward the $1,746.63 fare:

9/19 PR411 Osaka to Manila departing 3:15PM arriving 6:40PM
9/19 PR104 Manila to San Francisco departing 11:15PM arriving 9:10PM

Some might be surprised that I decided to redeem Chase points for 1.5 cents each, given that you can potentially get more value on a cent per point basis with other redemptions. In this case my logic was simple — ultimately the cash fare was attractive, I didn’t want to spend more cash on this trip than I was already spending, and booking this way got me a points rate comparable to finding saver level award availability.

In addition to flight reviews, you can expect reviews of the following lounges:

• The Salon at PS LAX
• The Starlux First Class Lounge Taipei (TPE)
• The Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Lounge Manila (MNL)

For those curious, I positioned between my home in Miami and the West Coast on American, though I won’t be reviewing those flights.

The hotels I stayed at on this trip

On this trip, I checked out a total of four hotels, all in Japan, with one being in Tokyo, and three being in Osaka (which has been a rapidly expanding luxury hotel market).

First, I stayed at the BVLGARI Tokyo. The BVLGARI hotel brand is interesting, and I had heard that the Tokyo location is the best in the system, so was excited to check that out. My last three Tokyo reviews were all of points properties — the Park Hyatt Tokyo, the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon, and the Tokyo EDITION Ginza — so I always like seeing how other options compare.

Then in Osaka, I first checked out the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, which I’ve heard amazing things about, since the hotel opened in 2025. I’m impressed by the direction the Waldorf Astoria brand has gone over the years, and I appreciate good properties where points can be redeemed.

Next, I checked out the Osaka Station Hotel, Marriott Autograph Collection. This is a property that has been on my radar as a Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador member for a long time, thanks to its “Specialty Salon,” essentially a fancy club lounge. While most Bonvoy elite members don’t get access to it, Ambassador members do.

Lastly, I decided to check out Patina Osaka. For those not familiar with Patina, it’s a brand that belongs to Capella, which I’m a big fan of. When it comes to loyalty programs, Patina participates in GHA Discovery, so I was looking forward to giving my new Titanium status a try. Not that I value this list much, but Patina Osaka recently ranked 33rd on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list.

Bottom line

I just had a super fun trip to Japan, with fascinating flights in both directions (some great, and some less so…).

On top of that, I’ll never turn down the chance to spend some time in Japan, as it’s my favorite country to visit. Admittedly with checking out four different hotels, my actual time spent exploring was limited, unfortunately. While all the stays were excellent, I was kind of surprised with the impression I ultimately walked away from the experiences with.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

This is my in-depth Chase Sapphire Reserve review. Let’s start with a basic summary, and then we’ll get into a lot more detail. If you’re willing to put in the effort, this card can absolutely be worth it in the long run, especially if you value airport lounge access.

Link: Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Learn More

Why we like this card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the most popular premium travel cards on the market, offering a strong rewards structure with 8x points on Chase Travel℠ bookings, 4x points on direct flight and hotel purchases, and 3x points on dining. The lounge access perks are a standout, with a Priority Pass Select membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, and access to select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges. While the annual fee is steep, the annual travel credit is easy to use and helps justify the cost, and there are hundreds more in additional credits for dining, entertainment, DoorDash, and more. It’s best for frequent travelers who value lounge access, can maximize the various credits, and want a strong earning card for travel and dining spending. Chase Sapphire Reserve Review →

Earn 100,000 bonus points

Chase Sapphire Reserve summary & key details

Before I get into my Chase Sapphire Reserve review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $795
• Welcome offer: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• Points earning rate: 8x points on Chase Travel bookings, 5x points on Lyft rides (through September 30, 2027), 4x points on direct flight & hotel bookings, 3x points on dining, and 1x points on everything else
• Perks & credits: Up to $500 in annual hotel credits, up to $300 in annual travel credits, up to $300 in annual dining credits, and more
• Airport lounge access: Access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, access to select Air Canada Lounges, and a Priority Pass membership
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: People who value airport lounge access, who spend a decent amount on dining and travel, and who can take advantage of the credits to help offset the annual fee

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase Sapphire Reserve bonus, fees, & eligibility

To start, let’s take a look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve welcome bonus and the annual fee. These are the two factors that prospective cardmembers often consider first. After all, we want big rewards up front, though a high fee can be a deterrent to applying for a card.

Fortunately this card has a big welcome bonus, and while the annual fee is steep, make sure you consider all the card perks before drawing too many conclusions based on it.

Lucrative welcome offer of 100K bonus points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is offering a welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 within the first three months. Personally, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the points are worth $1,700.

This is a great bonus on the card, though I should mention that the best-ever offer we saw was for 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points. However, it’s anyone’s guess if/when such an offer returns.

Card bonus eligibility restrictions & credit score tips

Officially, here are the Chase Sapphire Reserve application eligibility restrictions:

This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open. The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed in determining your bonus eligibility.

We’ve seen Chase tweak bonus eligibility rules over time, and under the current rules, the card essentially follows a “once in a lifetime” rule for the bonus on this card specifically.

That means you likely won’t be eligible for the bonus on this card if you currently have it, or if you have had it in the past. However, eligibility for this card (including the bonus) is unrelated to whether you have or have had the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more), etc.

It’s also worth remembering the Chase 5/24 rule, whereby you sometimes won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (certain business cards are excluded). However, that no longer seems to be consistently enforced.

Fortunately nowadays Chase uses a pop-up feature during the application process, which should let you know if you’re not eligible for the bonus on a card (this appears after submitting your application), before there’s a hard pull on your credit.

It’s also worth being aware that Chase will often let you product change from one card to another, assuming you’ve had a card for at least 12 months. For example, if you apply for the Sapphire Reserve, you could later downgrade it to the Sapphire Preferred. Just keep in mind you wouldn’t be eligible for the bonus on a card if you get it through a product change.

What kind of a credit score do you need to get approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve? Credit card issuers don’t publish a minimum credit score required to be approved for a card, though in general, I’d recommend having an excellent credit score to be approved for the card. I wouldn’t apply for the Sapphire Reserve if my credit score were under 700, and ideally, it would be over 740.

It’s possible to get approved with a lower score, and it’s also possible to be denied with a higher score. There are many factors that go into card approval, including your income, your existing relationship with Chase, and more.

$795 annual fee & $195 authorized user fee

The Sapphire Reserve has a $795 annual fee. Among the super-premium credit cards out there, this is toward the higher end of the fees. The good news is that the card offers all kinds of benefits that should help cardmembers offset that fee.

You can add authorized users to the Sapphire Reserve, and there’s a $195 fee per person. Some people will find this to be worthwhile — not only do authorized users get all the increased points earning rates, but they get the full suite of lounge access benefits, including a Priority Pass™ membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, access to select Air Canada Lounges, etc.

Chase Sapphire Reserve points earning structure

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a very lucrative points earning structure, thanks to some well-rounded bonus categories. When picking a credit card, I always recommend getting one that has bonus categories that match up with your spending profile. Some cards offer bonus points on dining, gas stations, supermarkets, etc., so pick the card that works best for you.

8x points on Chase Travel portal bookings

The Sapphire Reserve offers 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, which is Chase’s travel portal. This includes spending on flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. While there’s sometimes an opportunity cost to booking this way, I’d consider this to be pretty awesome, since earning 8x points on flight bookings is industry leading.

Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, to me that’s the equivalent of a 13.6% return on travel spending, but only through Chase Travel. I’d consider that to be pretty enticing.

5x points on Lyft rides

Chase and Lyft have a partnership, and with this, the Sapphire Reserve earns 5x points on Lyft rides, valid through September 30, 2027. To me, that’s the equivalent of an 8.5% return on Lyft spending, making this one of the best cards for rideshare spending.

4x points on direct flight & hotel bookings

The Sapphire Reserve offers 4x points on flights and hotels that are booked direct. That means if you book a flight directly with an airline or a hotel stay directly with a hotel (rather than through an online travel agency), you get an excellent return on that spending.

Based on my valuation of points, that’s the equivalent of a 6.8% return on that spending. That makes this among the best cards for airfare and hotel spending.

3x points on dining

The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on dining purchases globally. Chase’s dining category is pretty broad, and includes everything from sit-down restaurants, to fast food. While there are other competitive cards for dining, this is a solid bonus for this spending, as I value this at a 5.1% return.

No foreign transaction fees

The Sapphire Reserve has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally, since you can earn valuable rewards while not being stuck with those fees, which are sometimes 3%.

Best of all, I find that a large percentage of my purchases abroad are in the categories of dining, hotels, and airfare, so I can avoid foreign transaction fees while also maximizing points — that’s the best of both worlds!

$75,000 annual spending bonus benefits

If you spend $75,000 per calendar year on the Sapphire Reserve, you receive a slew of extra benefits, including the following:

• IHG One Rewards Diamond status, which is IHG’s top tier status, offering perks like complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, and more
• World of Hyatt Explorist status, which is Hyatt’s mid tier status, offering perks like room upgrades, bonus points, guaranteed 2PM check-out at most hotels, and more
• Southwest Rapid Rewards A-List status, offering perks ranging from priority seating to free checked bags
• A $500 Southwest credit, for flights booked via Chase Travel
• A $250 Shops at Chase credit, valid for purchases with select brands, including Baccarat, Bang & Olufsen, Breitling, Tumi, and more

Everyone will value these perks differently, but I’d say this has the potential to factor nicely into the overall value proposition of spending on the card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve points redemption options

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns Ultimate Rewards points, which I find to be one of the most valuable flexible points currencies. Not only that, but having the Sapphire Reserve means that you can potentially redeem your points for more than you could if you had other cards. As I’ll explain below, there are a couple of ways that you can most efficiently redeem your Ultimate Rewards points.

Transfer points to airline & hotel partners

My favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to one of the Chase Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners. This is a great option if you want to book aspirational travel, like staying at a five-star hotel or redeeming for first or business class travel.

Just make sure you study up on this, and learn the tips & tricks of maximizing points. Below are the Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.

Redeem points for up to 2.5 cents each toward travel

You can also redeem Ultimate Rewards points through Chase’s website, for everything from gift cards, to flight and hotel redemptions. Typically, Ultimate Rewards points will get you a minimum of one cent per point of value toward travel redemptions, though thanks to the Points Boost feature, you can sometimes get more value with points than that.

For example, if you have the Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem points for up to 2.5 cents each toward select The Edit by Chase Travel luxury hotel bookings, and also at an improved rate toward airfare on select airlines. The exact value you get is constantly changing, and it’s extremely rare to find redemptions of 2.0 cents per point or more. So they’re worth looking for, but I don’t consider this to be something you can really rely on.

Chase Sapphire Reserve airport lounge access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers excellent airport lounge access perks, and this is something that has become even more valuable in recent times, as Chase has continued to invest in its network of airport lounges. This could be a great reason to not only pick up the card, but also to add authorized users to the card, since they get the same lounge access perks.

Priority Pass™ membership

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a Priority Pass™ membership, which gets you access to the world’s largest collection of independent lounges. Best of all, this membership allows you to take two guests with you at no additional cost.

Priority Pass has 1,300+ airport lounges around the world, so access to these lounges will prove useful to just about any traveler.

Chase Sapphire Lounge access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers Chase Sapphire Lounge access. These lounges are exceptional, among the best credit card lounges out there, and among the best in the United States. While the lounges in the United States can be accessed once annually for all Priority Pass members, those with a Priority Pass™ membership through the Chase Sapphire Reserve receive unlimited visits annually, with the ability to bring two guests.

This network of lounges is a huge reason to consider picking up this card, as these lounges really are a treat, especially the ones at Boston Logan, New York LaGuardia, and Philadelphia.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers Air Canada Lounge access. This is valid at more than 20 Air Canada Lounge locations, and you must be traveling Air Canada or a Star Alliance partner airline in order to get lounge access.

Note that for Air Canada Lounges, one complimentary guest is allowed, and then additional guests can be brought in for an extra fee. It’s pretty awesome to get access to Air Canada’s airport lounge facilities without otherwise having a membership, since there’s not another US-issued card that offers this.

Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits & credits

What really sets the Chase Sapphire Reserve apart is the incredible benefits that it offers, including lots of credits. While the card has a steep annual fee, it potentially offers thousands of dollars in annual value from its benefits.

Many people should be able to come out ahead on the annual fee with these credits and other perks. At a minimum, they should help massively offset the annual fee, making holding onto the card more justifiable, so that you can maximize the return on spending and lounge access, among other things. Let’s go over all the details.

Up to $500 annual The Edit by Chase hotel credit

The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $500 in annual hotel credits. This benefit is specifically valid for hotel bookings with The Edit by Chase Travel, which is Chase’s collection of luxury hotels, where cardmembers can receive extra perks when booking through the program. In order to take advantage of this credit, cardmembers need to book a stay of a minimum of two nights, with the “pay now” feature.

The way this works, you can receive a $250 credit up to twice per calendar year, based on eligible bookings. Personally, I wouldn’t value this credit at close to face value, since many hotels belonging to the portfolio are quite expensive. That’s not to say that people won’t get use from this benefit, but I just wouldn’t factor this into the math on the card too much.

Up to $300 annual travel credit

The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in annual travel credits. While quite a few credit cards offer travel credits, there are typically lots of strings attached. That’s not the case with this credit, which couldn’t be easier to use.

There’s no registration required, and any purchases that are coded as travel will be reimbursed automatically. This could include flights, rideshares, taxis, train tickets, hotels, and more. You don’t have to use the entire credit in one transaction, but rather, can use it across as many transactions as are needed.

Note that this benefit is based on the anniversary year rather than the calendar year, and you can track your progress with using this benefit on Chase’s website or app. Since I consider this to basically be good as cash, I tend to think this lowers the card’s out of pocket by around $300.

Up to $300 annual dining credit

The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in annual dining credits. This benefit is valid at a limited number of restaurants in major cities, and you can find a full list here. These are all restaurants participating in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program, offered through OpenTable.

This credit is semi-annual, meaning you can get a $150 credit in January through June, and a $150 credit in July through December. Admittedly the list of eligible restaurants is quite small. Personally, I value this at close to face value, since some of my favorite restaurants in Miami are on the list, while others will probably struggle to maximize this perk.

Up to $300 annual Stubhub & viagogo credit

The Sapphire Reserve offers up to $300 in annual entertainment credits. This benefit is valid for the purchase of concert and event tickets with Stubhub and viagogo.

This credit is semi-annual, meaning you can get a $150 credit in January through June, and a $150 credit in July through December. Note that this benefit is currently valid through December 31, 2027.

Up to $300 annual DoorDash credit & DashPass

The Sapphire Reserve offers benefits with DoorDash. For one, you receive a complimentary DashPass membership, valid for at least one year, if you activate by December 31, 2027. This is a value of up to $120 per year.

With DashPass, you pay a $0 delivery fee when ordering from thousands of restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. Certain minimums apply in order to get the $0 delivery fee. You also receive reduced service fees.

On top of that, the card offers up to $300 in DoorDash credits each year, in the form of up to $25 in monthly credits. However, this is broken down quite a bit — it includes a $5 monthly promo credit to spend on restaurant orders, and two $10 promo credits to spend on groceries, retail, and more.

Personally, I wouldn’t place much value on this in terms of justifying the annual fee, but some people will certainly still save.

Up to $288 annual Apple TV & Apple Music benefit

The Sapphire Reserve offers benefits with Apple. Cardmembers can receive a complimentary subscription to Apple TV and Apple Music, through June 22, 2027. This benefit is a value of up to $288 per year. So if you’d otherwise pay for that, it’s a pretty substantial savings amount.

Up to $250 one-time Chase Travel Hotels credit

In addition to the up to $500 annual hotel credit with The Edit by Chase Travel, the Sapphire Reserve also offers up to $250 in hotel credits on a one-time basis. This is specifically valid through December 31, 2026, when booking select hotels through Chase Travel Hotels.

Specifically, it works for prepaid Chase Travel hotel bookings for stays with IHG Hotels & Resorts, Montage Hotels & Resorts, Pendry Hotels & Resorts, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Virgin Hotels, Minor Hotels, and Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, with a two night minimum stay required. While this isn’t an ongoing perk, it sure can add quite a bit of one-time value.

Up to $120 annual Lyft credit

In addition to 5x points on Lyft rides, the Sapphire Reserve also offers up to $120 in annual Lyft credits. This credit is monthly, meaning you receive a $10 credit each month. This can be applied toward Lyft rides for Standard, Extra Comfort, XL, Black, or Black SUV ride modes. This benefit is currently valid through September 30, 2027.

Up to $120 annual Peloton membership credit

I’d consider this to be really niche, but the Sapphire Reserve offers up to $120 in annual Peloton membership rewards. This credit is monthly, so you can receive a $10 credit each month, with eligible memberships including Peloton All-Access Membership, Rental, App+, Guide, App One, or Strength+ memberships. This benefit is currently valid through December 31, 2027.

While it’s niche, I should also mention that the Sapphire Reserve offers 10x points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases when paying with the card. You can earn up to 50,000 points this way, and this is currently valid through December 31, 2027.

Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years. Just charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

IHG One Rewards Platinum status

Above I covered how the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers top tier IHG One Rewards Diamond status if you spend $75,000 per year on the card. However, the card also offers mid tier IHG One Rewards Platinum status, just for being a cardmember. This offers perks like 60% bonus points, room upgrades subject to availability, welcome amenities, and more.

Complimentary status is currently available through December 31, 2027, though it’s possible the benefit gets extended beyond that. You must link your Chase and IHG accounts to take advantage of this, and the activation process can take up to three weeks.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star status

On account of being a Visa Infinite, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star status. This is available just for enrolling. Hertz Five Star offers perks like improved points earning, a wider selection of cars, free additional drivers, and more.

Primary rental car coverage

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers primary collision damage waiver coverage against damage up to the cost of most rental car vehicles provided you decline the CDW coverage offered by the rental agency. This includes economy through luxury class vehicles, vans that carry fewer than seven passengers, and SUVs. You’ll want to check your cardmember agreement for full details.

Valuable travel & purchase coverage

The Sapphire Reserve is a Visa Infinite Card, so comes with all kinds of great travel and purchase protection.

What’s especially awesome is that you earn bonus points for many travel purchases with the card, so you can put your travel purchases on this card, and then automatically be covered with the benefits. Airline mileage award tickets qualify for this benefit as well, assuming you put the taxes on the Sapphire Reserve.

Below are the basic details of the coverage, though you’ll want to consult the cardmember agreement for all the details.

Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve worth it?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has become an extremely popular card over the years. Admittedly the product recently underwent a refresh, so people will feel differently about the card than before — some people find it more valuable than in the past, while others don’t.

Personally, I find this card to be easy to justify. Here’s how I generally approach the math on the card:

• While the $795 annual fee is steep, I consider the $300 annual travel credit to basically be worth face value, lowering the real out of pocket on this card to $495 per year
• Then there are the hundreds in extra credits, which people will value differently; for me, the $300 dining credit is good as cash, while I get big value from some of the other credits, but don’t necessarily factor them into the math
• The card offers exceptional lounge access, including a Priority Pass™ membership, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, Air Canada Lounge access, and more
• The card has a great rewards structure, particularly earning 8x points on Chase Travel purchases, 4x points on direct airline and hotel bookings, and 3x points on dining
• The card also offers amazing travel coverage and rental car protection, which is a perk that any frequent traveler should have

Personally, I think the math on the card checks out nicely, at least in my situation. That being said, if you can’t stomach the annual fee, I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a useful alternative, and I think for some cardmembers that could make more sense.

Consider the Chase Freedom Unlimited as well

If you have the Sapphire Reserve, then you should also consider getting the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® (learn more). Why? Because the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers points that can be pooled with the Sapphire Reserve, and it offers 1.5x points on all purchases.

The best strategy is to have both cards and put spending eligible for bonus categories on the Sapphire Reserve (where you earn 3-8x points), and all your other spending on the Freedom Unlimited (where you earn 1.5x points, rather than 1x points). To me, that’s among the best credit card duos out there.

Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve comparison

The Sapphire Reserve is the evolution of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), so which of the two cards is better? Here’s a comparison of a few factors:

• Welcome bonus — the Sapphire Preferred has a welcome bonus of 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 within three months, while the Sapphire Reserve has a welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 within three months
• Annual fee — the Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, while the Sapphire Reserve has a $795 annual fee
• Points earning — the Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, gas, EV charging, on vacation rentals (like Airbnb, VRBO, and more), and select streaming services, 2x points on travel, while the Sapphire Reserve offers 8x points on Chase Travel, 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly, and 3x points on dining
• Both cards offer a TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, or Global Entry fee credit every four years,
• Other perks — the cards have some overlap in terms of benefits, though the Sapphire Reserve has the edge of offering a bunch of benefits, including up to $500 in annual hotel credits, up to $300 in annual travel credits, up to $300 in annual dining credits, a Priority Pass™ membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, Visa Infinite perks, and more

Long term I think the Sapphire Reserve could be worth it if you value lounge access, and if you can maximize the credits and other benefits. However, I think for many people, the Sapphire Preferred may be more compelling overall, and a better value — the card has some better bonus categories on spending, and a $100 hotel credit, all with a much lower annual fee.

Sapphire Reserve vs. Sapphire Reserve Business comparison

The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) is based on the fundamentals of the Sapphire Reserve. What are the differences between the cards? Let me point out some of the things that differentiate the business version of the card, for better or worse:

• The Sapphire Reserve Business offers a huge limited time welcome bonus of 200,000 bonus points after spending $30,000 within six months
• While the bonus categories are largely similar, the exception is that the Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on dining, while the Sapphire Reserve Business offers 3x points on social media & search engine advertising on up to $1 million in spend each anniversary year, starting 11/15/26
• The Sapphire Reserve Business has no annual fee for authorized users, but authorized users also don’t receive lounge access
• The Sapphire Reserve Business doesn’t offer Air Canada Lounge access, as that perk is exclusive to the personal version of the card
• The credits offered by the card differ a bit, as the Sapphire Reserve Business offers credits with ZipRecruiter, giftcards.com, and more

There’s potentially merit to having both cards, though if I had to choose, I’d say the personal version of the card is probably a bit easier to justify, on average.

Sapphire Reserve vs. Amex Platinum comparison

The American Express Platinum Card® (learn more) is probably the most direct competitor to the Sapphire Reserve, so which of the two cards is better? There are so many benefits to be aware of, so I recommend checking out my Amex Platinum review to compare, though let me hit on a few highlights of the differences of the cards, as I see it:

• The Sapphire Reserve has much more lucrative spending bonus categories, while I primarily find the Amex Platinum to only be useful for airfare purchases, and it’s otherwise a card I keep primarily for the perks
• Both cards are great for airport lounge access, so which is better depends on which lounge network you’d get more value from — the Sapphire Reserve is better for Chase Sapphire Lounge access and Air Canada Lounge access, while the Amex Platinum is better for Amex Centurion Lounge access and Delta Sky Club® access
• While both cards offer a variety of credits, personally I find the credits on the Amex Platinum to be a bit easier to maximize, including the up to $600 in annual hotel credits, up to $400 in annual dining credits, etc.

So there’s not a right or wrong answer as to which is better. It all depends on your spending and travel patterns, and for some people, it could be worth having both.

Sapphire Reserve vs. Capital One Venture X comparison

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) is Capital One’s premium personal travel card, and I’d argue it’s perhaps the easiest to justify premium card on the market:

• The Venture X has a much more reasonable $395 annual fee
• The Venture X offers a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, as well as 10,000 anniversary bonus miles every year; as I see it, those two perks basically offset the annual fee on an ongoing basis
• The Venture X offers a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent, so I consider it to be the best premium personal card for rewards on everyday spending
• The Venture X offers access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership

So while the card might not be quite as robust as the Amex Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve, it’s hard to argue with the value of it!

Chase Sapphire Reserve FAQs

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of the most popular and compelling premium travel cards on the market. While it has a high annual fee, it also has very strong perks.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is great for its lounge access benefits, including a Priority Pass™ membership, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, and even Air Canada Lounge access. The card also has an excellent rewards structure, offering bonus categories with 3-8x points per dollar spent.

The card’s annual fee can also largely be offset (or even be more than offset) with the credits and benefits offered, ranging from $300 in easy to use travel credits, to a slightly trickier $500 in hotel credits, to $300 in dining credits, to $300 in entertainment credits, and more.

Personally I find the annual fee to be easy enough to justify, but of course everyone should crunch the numbers for themselves.

To learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, follow this link.

In this post, I’d like to take a detailed look at the card, as this is a good time to apply — let’s analyze the welcome bonus, annual fee, rewards structure, perks, and more.

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business with 150K bonus miles

Capital One Venture X Business summary & key details

Before I get into my Capital One Venture X Business review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $395
• Welcome offer: 150,000 Capital One miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months
• Rewards earn rate: 2x Capital One miles on everyday spending, 5-10x Capital One miles on Capital One Travel spending
• Airport lounge access: Access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership
• Perks & credits: $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Business owners who want a straightforward with a great return on spending, and who value airport lounge access and other perks that can help offset the annual fee

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Capital One Venture X Business.

Capital One Venture X Business 150K miles bonus

The Capital One Venture X Business is offering a welcome bonus where you can earn 150,000 bonus Capital One miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months. For what it’s worth, I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each. So to me, 150,000 miles are worth $2,550, which is an excellent bonus.

Admittedly the spending requirement is big, but if you have a business with a good amount of spending, this shouldn’t be too hard to unlock. Keep in mind that the card ordinarily earns 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent, so upon spending $30,000, you’d earn a total of 210,000 miles.

Venture X Business welcome bonus eligibility rules

If you’re going to apply for the Capital One Venture X Business, Capital One’s general application restrictions apply. Note that you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus on this card if you currently have the Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more). However, you are potentially eligible if you have any other Capital One card, including a different kind of Spark or Venture product.

For what it’s worth, if you’re concerned about staying under the Chase 5/24 limit, applying for the Venture X Business shouldn’t count as a further card toward that limit.

Read my guide to getting approved for the Venture X Business.

Capital One Venture X Business $395 annual fee

The Capital One Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, which applies to the primary cardmember.

While that annual fee might sound significant, everyone should be able to get outsized value from that fee, and holding onto the card should end up costing you very little. I’ll talk about that in more detail below, but the card offers two annual benefits that more than offset the annual fee, in my opinion.

Venture X Business $0 authorized user fee

Aside from the fee for the primary cardmember, the Capital One Venture X Business has no fee to add authorized users. This allows you to rack up rewards for the spending of everyone on your account, and that can be really lucrative, given the card’s great rewards structure. The card also have tools to make it easier to manage that spending, including an itemized spending reports feature.

The thing to understand is that if you add authorized users at no extra cost, they don’t receive lounge access. However, if you do want lounge access for authorized users, you have to pay a fee of $125 per user, for up to four users.

Capital One Venture X Business rewards structure & spending ability

The Capital One Venture X Business has a lucrative rewards structure, and offers 2-10x Capital One miles per dollar spent. On top of that, the card has no preset spending limit and no foreign transaction fees. Let’s go over the details of each of these points.

Venture X Business 5-10x miles with Capital One Travel

The Capital One Venture X Business offers bonus rewards for travel booked through Capital One Business Travel. Specifically, you can earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked via Capital One Business Travel.

Based on my valuation of 1.7 cents per Capital One mile, that’s like a 17% return on hotels and rental cars, and an 8.5% return on flights. Some people might find it to be worthwhile to book through Capital One Business Travel to earn those rewards, but there’s often an opportunity cost to using a portal.

Venture X Business 2x miles on all other purchases

One of the greatest things about the Capital One Venture X Business is that it offers a minimum of 2x Capital One miles on all purchases. That makes this one of the best cards for everyday spending, as I value that at a 3.4% return on spending. I’d highly recommend using this card as your business card for everyday spending, since you won’t find a better return on any other business card.

While some other cards may have lucrative bonus categories, it’s hard to beat the ease and general value of earning 2x miles on all purchases.

Venture X Business no preset spending limit

The Capital One Venture X Business has no preset spending limit. This means that the card adapts to your spending needs over time based on spending behavior, payment history, credit profile, and other factors.

While this doesn’t mean that you can necessarily make a purchase of any amount on the card, this is a useful feature for businesses that frequently make large purchases that might not be covered by a traditional credit line.

Venture X Business no foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Venture X Business has no foreign transaction fees, making it a great card for purchases abroad. Not only can you avoid foreign transaction fees (which can be around 3% on some other cards), but you can earn rewards abroad as well.

Venture X Business travel & purchase protection

The Capital One Venture X Business offers a variety of purchase and travel protection benefits, including emergency medical protection, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, extended warranty, purchase protection, and rideshare protection.

Just keep in mind some benefits are provided through the card being a Visa Infinite, so you’ll need to see the Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Capital One Venture X Business airport lounge access

The Capital One Venture X Business offers a robust airport lounge access program, including access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership. These benefits apply for the primary cardmember, as well as to authorized users if you pay the $125 lounge access fee for them.

Venture X Business Capital One Lounge access

The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member access to Capital One Lounges. These lounges feature grab & go food, cold brew on tap, and delicious food and drinks to enjoy in the lounge.

When it comes to guesting, you’re not allowed to bring guests into the lounge as a standard. However, if you spend $75,000 per calendar year on the card, then you can bring two guests into lounges. That benefit applies for the calendar year in which you complete the spending, plus the following year.

If you fly out of DFW, IAD, DEN, LAS, or JFK with any frequency, there’s big value to having access to a Capital One Lounge, in my opinion. In terms of future locations, there’s also a Capital One Lounge coming to CLT.

When it comes to authorized user Capital One Lounge access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember. The guesting privileges would be the same, and would be based on $75,000 of spending on the overall account.

Venture X Business Capital One Landing access

The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member access to Capital One Landings. So far, Capital One has locations in Washington (DCA) and New York (LGA).

Think of Capital One Landings as essentially being top notch airport restaurants, with menus designed by Chef José Andrés. It’s really a great twist on the traditional lounge concept, since it’s a place to get great food and drinks before your flight, without actually visiting a traditional lounge.

Primary card members on the Capital One Venture X Business receive unlimited visits to Capital One Landings, and you’re not allowed to bring guests into these facilities as a standard. However, if you spend $75,000 per calendar year on the card, then you can bring one guest into Capital One Landing locations. That benefit applies for the calendar year in which you complete the spending, plus the following year. Guests otherwise cost $45 each.

When it comes to authorized user Capital One Landing access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember, including the same guesting privileges, based on whether there’s $75,000 in spending on the account.

Venture X Business Priority Pass™ membership

The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member a Priority Pass™ membership. A Priority Pass™ membership offers access to 1,300+ lounges around the world. With the Priority Pass™ membership issued through the card, you can bring two guests into lounges with you at no extra cost. There’s no requirement for $75,000 in spending to unlock that.

When it comes to authorized user Priority Pass access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember, including the same guesting privileges.

Venture X Business authorized user lounge access

I explained this above, but just to be abundantly clear about how Capital One Venture X Business authorized user lounge access works:

• Authorized users only get lounge access if you pay the $125 per person lounge access fee, which is possible for up to four authorized users; if you don’t pay that fee, there’s no lounge access
• If you do pay the $125 lounge access fee, then lounge access perks are identical for authorized users and the primary cardmember, so they’d receive access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, plus a Priority Pass membership
• Priority Pass allows two guests, while being able to bring guests into Capital One Lounges or Capital One Landings is based on spending $75,000 on the card per year

Venture X Business $75,000 lounge access guests rule

While the Priority Pass membership issued through the Capital One Venture X Business offers guesting privileges, being able to bring guests into Capital One Lounges or Capital One Landings requires spending $75,000 per year:

• That spending requirement is per calendar year, and not per account anniversary year
• The spending requirement is across the card account, so both primary user and authorized user spending would count toward it
• If you reach that $75,000 spending threshold, you unlock the lounge accessing guesting for the remainder of the current calendar year, plus the entire following calendar year
• As a reminder, this allows two guests in Capital One Lounges, and one guest in Capital One Landings, and it applies to both the primary cardmember and authorized users who pay the $125 lounge fee

Instead, only the card member as such receives access. The exception is if you spend $75,000 per year across the card account, in which case you continue to enjoy the same guesting privileges. This includes two guests at Capital One Lounges, and one guest at Capital One Landings.

Capital One Venture X Business benefits & credits

The Capital One Venture X Business really shines when it comes to the perks that it offers. Beyond the airport lounge access above, I’d argue that the additional perks help completely offset the annual fee, including the $300 annual Capital One Business Travel credit, 10,000 Venture anniversary bonus miles, and more. Let’s go over the details of each of these.

Venture X Business $300 annual Capital One Travel credit

The Capital One Venture X Business offers a $300 annual credit that can be used through Capital One Business Travel, starting your first year. You can apply this to a $300 purchase through Capital One Business Travel, and can use it toward a flight, hotel, or rental car. This is quite straightforward to use — my preferred method is to simply book a $300+ flight, and get $300 off that purchase amount.

I’d consider that credit to more or less be worth face value, so to me that is the equivalent of a roughly 75% rebate on the card’s $395 annual fee.

Venture X Business 10,000 miles anniversary bonus

The Capital One Venture X Business offers 10,000 Capital One miles on your account anniversary every year, starting on your first anniversary. At a minimum, you can redeem those 10,000 miles for one cent each toward a travel purchase, so that’s worth a minimum of $100. However, if you’re a savvy points redeemer, you can get even more value out of that perk.

Venture X Business Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

The Capital One Venture X Business offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit once every four years. You just have to charge the application fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. Both of these programs offer a lot of value if you’re a frequent flyer. I recommend signing up for Global Entry, since that comes with TSA PreCheck, while the inverse isn’t true.

Capital One Premier Collection & Lifestyle Collection

Capital One has a collection of hotels where you can receive extra perks when booking through Capital One Travel, and having the Capital One Venture X Business gives you access to this.

When booking eligible properties belonging to the Premier Collection, you can receive extra perks including a $100 property credit per stay, daily breakfast for two, room upgrades when available, early check-in and late check-out, and more. Meanwhile with the Lifestyle Collection, you can receive extra perks that include a $50 property credit per stay.

Ultimately this is worth being aware of, but don’t get too excited, as there are lots of hotel programs nowadays that offer these kinds of perks, and they don’t require having a credit card.

How to redeem Capital One miles

As you can see above, the Capital One Venture X Business earns Capital One miles, and you earn a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent on purchases. How can you actually redeem those miles, though? There are a couple of ways to most efficiently redeem Capital One miles:

• Miles can be redeemed for one cent each toward the cost of a travel purchase
• Miles can be transferred to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners, typically at a 1:1 ratio

Let’s briefly talk about both of those redemption methods.

Redeem Capital One miles toward travel costs

One way to redeem Capital One miles is at the rate of one cent per mile toward the cost of a travel purchase. This means you’re earning two cents per dollar spent toward travel, since the card offers unlimited 2x miles.

If you want to redeem your miles toward the cost of a travel purchase, the best way is by “covering travel purchases” through the rewards dashboard on your card. With this, you can make an eligible travel purchase using your card, and then you can go online after the fact and use your miles to pay for the purchase within 90 days of the date of purchase. Your credit will then be applied within two to three days.

Eligible travel purchases using your Capital One miles include purchases made from airlines, hotels, rail lines, car rental agencies, limousine services, bus lines, cruise lines, taxi cabs, travel agents, and timeshares.

It’s so nice to have the flexibility to make your travel purchase however you’d like, and then have the purchase reimbursed after the fact. Alternatively, you can book through Capital One Business Travel, and pay for your purchase directly with miles.

I can’t emphasize enough how lucrative it is to at least get a return of two cents on the dollar on all your business spending. A vast majority of people using travel rewards cards for everyday spending aren’t getting that level of return.

Convert Capital One miles into airline or hotel points

Personally my preferred way to redeem Capital One miles is to transfer them to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners. Capital One has around 20 travel partners, ranging from Air Canada Aeroplan, to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, to British Airways Club, to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

If you put some effort into learning how to redeem miles & points, you can get way outsized value this way. For example, with Air France-KLM Flying Blue being a transfer partner, you can redeem just 60,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Europe. This is potentially an incredible deal.

If paying cash, that ticket would have cost thousands of dollars. Meanwhile I booked it for just 60,000 miles, the equivalent of $600 worth of travel. Not bad, eh?

Is the Capital One Venture X Business worth it?

The Capital One Venture X Business has a great value proposition, and I think this might now be one of the most well rounded business cards out there. A few key points:

• While the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, for mental accounting purposes, I consider the $300 Capital One Travel credit plus the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles to offset that on an ongoing basis
• The Venture X Business has an excellent return on spending, that’s better than most people will get on other cards; earning 2x miles on everyday spending is awesome, and these rewards give you flexibility to redeem as cash toward a travel purchase, or to transfer to travel partners
• The Venture X Business has a huge welcome offer that’s very lucrative, and absolutely worth taking advantage of, if you’re able to
• The icing on the cake is the lounge access offered by the card, including a Priority Pass™ membership, Capital One Lounge access, and Capital One Landing access

Before I finish up this review, I’d just like to provide a few comparison to other cards that people may be considering either in lieu of or in addition to the Venture X Business.

How does the personal Capital One Venture X compare?

The Capital One Venture X Business is based on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), so how do the two cards compare? Truth be told, there are a lot more similarities than differences between the cards:

• Both cards have the same $95 annual fee, and that’s easily offset by the $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles
• Both cards offer lounge access, though the major difference is that the Priority Pass membership on the personal card doesn’t come with guesting privileges, no matter how much you spend, while the business version of the card does
• The major differences are that the cards have different welcome offers, and that the Venture X Business has no preset spending limit, while the Venture X is a traditional credit card

All-in-all, I’d say the business card is slightly more lucrative, given that Priority Pass distinction. However, there’s potentially merit to having both cards.

How does the Capital One Venture Business compare?

If you don’t love the idea of having to pay the annual fee on the Capital One Venture X Business, it’s worth considering the Capital One Venture Business (learn more), which is the more basic version of the card. The card also offers an excellent welcome bonus, so how does it compare?

• Both cards earn 2x Capital One miles on everyday spending, as a minimum return
• The Capital One Venture Business has a $95 annual fee, while the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee
• I’d say there’s big incremental value to the Venture X Business, including no preset spending limit, a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 Venture anniversary bonus miles, a Priority Pass™ membership, and unlimited access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings

Between the two cards, I think the Venture X Business is the better value at this point. However, I understand that many people just aren’t willing to pay such a high annual fee on a card (even if the value is potentially there), so it’s worth being aware of the lower cost option.

What other business credit cards should you consider?

Every business card has its pros and cons, so let me just share some other premium business cards that people may want to consider:

• The Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more) is essentially the cashback equivalent of the Venture X Business, as it has a $150, and offers a minimum of 2% cash back on all spending; I’d consider this to be a better card if you have a business that spends a lot and want to earn cash back rather than travel rewards
• The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) is one of the most well rounded and reasonably priced business cards, as it has a $95 annual fee, and has lucrative 3x points categories, though it doesn’t offer airport lounge access
• The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) is Chase’s most premium business card with a $795 annual fee, but it offers strong perks, including airport lounge access, credits, and more
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) is Amex’s popular premium card with a $895 (Rates & Fees), and it has a very robust lounge access perk, along with a large number of credits

Capital One Venture X Business FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X Business is Capital One’s premium business card, and it offers an excellent value proposition.

While the card has a $395 annual fee, that’s easy to justify thanks to the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles. On top of that, the card offers a Priority Pass™ membership, Capital One Lounge access, Capital One Landing access, and a great return on spending, all with no preset spending limit.

The icing on the cake for this card is the huge bonus. If you’re eligible for this card, I’d highly recommend applying. I picked up the card when it launched, and it has gotten quite a bit of my spending over time…

If you want to learn more about the Venture X Business or want to apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card boasts a solid welcome offer with the annual fee waived for the first 12 months. On top of that, the card offers useful perks, plus can help you earn AAdvantage elite status, so there are lots of reasons to get this card. It’s a card that I personally have, and have gotten good value from. With that out of the way, let’s get into my in-depth Citi AAdvantage Business Card review.

Link: Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®

Citi AAdvantage Business Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Citi AAdvantage Business Card review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $99, waived for the first 12 months
• Welcome offer: 65,000 AAdvantage miles after spending $4,000 within the first four months
• Rewards earn rate: 2x AAdvantage miles on American Airlines purchases, telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations, and 1x miles on all other purchases, plus 1x Loyalty Points per dollar spent
• Perks & credits: First checked bag free on domestic American itineraries, preferred boarding on American, 25% savings on inflight American purchases, companion certificate with spending
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Business owners who want to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points for their business spending

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Citi AAdvantage Business Card.

Citi AAdvantage Business Card welcome bonus & fee

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is American’s primary co-branded business card. To start, let’s cover the welcome bonus, eligibility rules, annual fee, and more.

Welcome bonus of 65,000 AAdvantage miles

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is offering a welcome bonus of 65,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first four months.

The minimum spending requirement is reasonable, given that you have four months to complete it. Personally, I value AAdvantage miles at ~1.5 cents each, so to me, those 65,000 miles are worth around $975.

For what it’s worth, this seems to be the “standard” welcome offer on the card. In the past, we’ve seen offers of up to 75,000 miles, though it’s anyone’s guess if/when such an offer returns.

American AAdvantage credit card eligibility rules

If you’re applying for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, there are some restrictions to be aware of, as you’d expect. First, there are Citi’s general application rules, which include that you can only be approved for one Citi credit card every eight days, and at most two Citi credit cards every 65 days.

On top of that, there’s also the 48-month rule on this card, which means you can’t receive the bonus on this card if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past 48 months. However, you are eligible for the bonus even if you’ve received bonuses on any other American Airlines credit cards.

$99 annual fee, waived for the first 12 months

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has a $99 annual fee, though it’s waived for the first 12 months. This is a great way to “try” the card before you have to really pay an annual fee on it. You can also add authorized users to the Citi AAdvantage Business Card at no extra cost, which is useful if you have any employees you want to add.

Citi AAdvantage Business Card rewards structure

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has a limited number of bonus categories that cardmembers can take advantage of, and on top of that, spending can also count toward elite status. Let’s talk about how that works.

Earn 1-2x AAdvantage miles on spending

When it comes to actually spending money on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, there are some categories eligible for bonus miles:

• Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations
• Earn 1x AAdvantage miles on all other purchases

Those are some potentially useful bonus categories, though there are also other cards offering bonuses in those categories.

Earn 1x Loyalty Points per eligible dollar spent

Nowadays elite status in the AAdvantage program can be earned with Loyalty Points, which is the currency that determines your status. AAdvantage elite status requirements are as follows:

• AAdvantage Gold status requires 40,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum status requires 75,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro status requires 125,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum status requires 200,000 Loyalty Points

Spending money on AAdvantage credit cards earns you Loyalty Points, as you earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent. This means your spending on the card can help you earn elite status (all the way up to Executive Platinum), and it can also help you earn Loyalty Point Rewards, allowing you to select from perks like systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, and more.

Authorized user Loyalty Points earning quirk

One quirk to be aware of with the Citi AAdvantage Business Card is that spending from authorized users will count toward their own total of Loyalty Points, rather than toward the Loyalty Points total of the primary cardmember.

This is one of the few cards that directly rewards authorized users in that way (at the expense of the primary cardmember). Obviously the primary cardmember is still on the hook for making sure that all bills are paid, but it sure is unique to see an authorized user earning rewards in that way.

When it comes to the AAdvantage miles (beyond the Loyalty Points), those will post to the AAdvantage Business program account, and can then be distributed by the primary cardmember as they see fit.

AAdvantage Loyalty Points double dip opportunity

Officially, the Citi AAdvantage Business Card earns one Loyalty Point per dollar spent, credited to either the primary cardmember or the authorized user. However, this is where an incredibly rewarding promotion (of sorts) comes into play.

For a couple of years now, select Citi AAdvantage Business Card users have been targeted for a Loyalty Points double dipping opportunity. The idea is that authorized user spending earns Loyalty Points for both the authorized user and primary cardmember, so think of it as a “two for one” status opportunity.

Currently this is valid through December 31, 2026, though it has been extended before, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it extended again. Let me emphasize this isn’t a published card perk, so if you’re not already eligible, there’s no guarantee that you will be. That being said, eligibility does seem to be very widespread, so I think odds are good.

No foreign transaction fees

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a good option for purchases you make abroad.

Citi AAdvantage Business Card benefits & perks

In addition to the great welcome bonus and the ability to earn elite status with spending, there are some other reasons to get the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, which may justify the annual fee for some small businesses. Let’s go over the benefits and perks you should be aware of with this card.

First checked bag free on American Airlines

Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive a first checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for themselves and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation. There’s no need to actually pay for the ticket with the card, you just have to make sure it’s linked to your AAdvantage account.

American ordinarily charge $35-40 for the first checked bag, so that’s a $70-80 value per person roundtrip (and if you had four companions all checking a bag, that would be a value of $350-400).

Preferred boarding on American Airlines

Primary cardmembers on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive preferred boarding on American Airlines flights. Having this card allows you to board with Group 5 on American Airlines flights, which should help to ensure that you can board while there’s still room in the overhead bins. This applies globally, and there’s no need to pay for the ticket with the card, as long as you’re the primary cardmember with your AAdvantage account linked.

25% inflight savings on American Airlines purchases

Those with the Citi AAdvantage Business Card receive 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights when paying with the card. You’ll pay the full amount in advance, and then you’ll receive a statement credit for 25% of that amount. If you fly American with any frequency and make inflight purchases, this could save you a bit of money.

American Airlines companion certificate with spending

You can receive a domestic main cabin companion certificate when you spend a minimum of $30,000 in purchases on the Citi AAdvantage Business Card in a cardmember year, and when you renew your card. Personally, this isn’t something that I’d take advantage of unless you were going to spend that much anyway, since there are better cards on which you can spend that much money.

When it comes time to redeem the companion certificate, there are some restrictions to be aware of:

• It’s only valid for travel within the lower 48 states
• It’s only valid for a roundtrip ticket in economy
• You have to book your ticket through American Airlines Meeting Services, so it can’t be booked online
• The certificate is valid for one year from the date of issue
• You have to pay $99 plus taxes and fees when redeeming it
• The companion booked with this certificate isn’t eligible for mileage accrual or upgrades

American AAdvantage Business program benefits

AAdvantage Business is American’s free small business rewards program:

• AAdvantage Business offers the individual traveler one bonus Loyalty Point per dollar spent on eligible airfare (that’s not a redeemable mile, but just a Loyalty Point toward earning elite status)
• AAdvantage Business offers the business one AAdvantage redeemable mile per dollar spent on eligible airfare (which can be transferred to an individual member)

As you can see, it’s a nice way to rack up additional rewards for money you’d spend with American anyway. There’s a card benefit in here as well, though. Usually to be able to redeem through this program, you need at least five unique travelers who have credited flights to the AAdvantage Business account, totaling at least $5,000 in revenue over the course of a year.

However, if you have the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, the AAdvantage Business program minimum is waived, so there’s no minimum spending or minimum number of travelers. That can help you be rewarded much more easily with the program.

Is the Citi AAdvantage Business Card worth it?

There’s a lot of merit to applying for the Citi AAdvantage Business Card. For one, the card is offering a good welcome bonus with the annual fee waived for the first year.

Furthermore, the benefits for having the card, including a first checked bag free, preferred boarding, and inflight savings, could more than justify the annual fee after the first year for many, especially if you’re an occasional American flyer. I also think people undervalue the benefit of getting access to the AAdvantage Business program without any minimums, since that can make all your travels on the airline more rewarding.

As far as spending on the card goes, this is a card I’d primarily consider for those purposes if you’re pursuing elite status with American AAdvantage. Nowadays a lot of people are spending their way toward status, given how American has evolved its loyalty program.

However, if you’re not going for elite status, this isn’t the credit card that I’d recommend using for your everyday business spending. That’s because there are so many other cards that are more rewarding for everyday spending.

How does the Citi AAdvantage Executive Card compare?

While it’s a personal card, some people may also be considering the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (learn more), which is American’s most premium co-branded card.

This card has a $695 annual fee, but is incredibly perks rich, as the card offers an Admirals Club membership, up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year (unrelated to card spending), more priority services on American, and up to hundreds of dollars in annual credits.

If you fly American frequently and value Admirals Club access, this card could definitely be worthwhile.

How does the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card compare?

While also a personal card, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (learn more) is another potentially lucrative co-branded American card.

It has a $350 annual fee, and offers many benefits, including up to 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points as a “Flight Streak” bonus, up to $100 in annual American inflight credits, an annual American Airlines companion certificate, four Admirals Club passes per year, and more.

How does the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card compare?

The single most direct comparison to the Citi AAdvantage Business Card is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (learn more), as the products have a lot of overlap. Both have similar fees, and similar perks (first checked bag free, preferred boarding, etc.).

So what are the differences?

• The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card earns 2x miles on American Airlines purchases, gas stations, and restaurants, and 1x miles on all other purchases, so the bonus categories are different
• The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card offers a $125 flight discount after spending $20,000 or more on the card in an anniversary year and then renewing, rather than the companion certificate after spending $30,000

What other business credit cards should you consider?

If you’re just looking for a well-rounded and rewarding business card with an annual fee that gives you a lot of flexibility, here are some other cards to consider:

• The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) is one of the best value business cards, as it has a $95 annual fee, and has lucrative 3x Ultimate Rewards points bonus categories
• The Capital One Venture Business (learn more) has a $95 annual fee, and offers a flat 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent, so that’s a great rewards structure
• The American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more) has a $375 annual fee (Rates & Fees), but it has some big 4x points bonus categories and credits that can help offset that fee

Citi AAdvantage Business Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Citi AAdvantage Business Card is offering a good welcome bonus with the annual fee waived for the first year. 65,000 miles is a great bonus, and is a reason to pick up this card and see how it works out for your small business. The card also offers perks like a first checked bag free and preferred boarding, which some people might get value out of.

On top of that, spending on American Airlines credit cards can help you earn status, as you earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent. For some people, that could be enough reason to put some spending on this card.

If you want to learn more about the Citi AAdvantage Business Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees).

In this post, I’d like to share my in-depth review of the Spark Cash Select, look at all the details of the card, and talk about under what circumstances it makes sense.

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Spark Cash Select

Capital One Spark Cash Select summary & key details

Before I get into my Capital One Spark Cash Select review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: None
• Welcome offer: $750 cash bonus after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• Cash back earn rate: 5% cash back on select Capital One Business Travel purchases, plus 1.5% cash back on all other purchases
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Business owners who value the lack of foreign transaction fees, and who don’t spend that much on credit cards (because if you spend a lot, you should instead get the Spark Cash Plus, as I’ll explain below)

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Capital One Spark Cash Select.

Capital One Spark Cash Select bonus, fees, & rewards

While you’ll find more well-rounded business credit cards out there, the Capital One Spark Cash Select is a pretty solid no annual fee option. The card has a huge welcome bonus, no foreign transaction fees, and a pretty decent return on everyday spending. Let’s cover the details.

Spark Cash Select $750 welcome bonus

The Capital One Spark Cash Select is offering a welcome offer of $750 cash back after spending $6,000 within the first three months. For a no annual fee card this is an excellent bonus, and a great incentive to apply.

Spark Cash Select bonus eligibility requirements

You’re eligible for the welcome bonus on the Capital One Spark Cash Select if you haven’t had this specific card before. You are eligible for the card (including the bonus) even if you have or have had another Capital One business card. Capital One has few consistent other restrictions when it comes to being approved for cards.

Spark Cash Select no annual fee

The Capital One Spark Cash Select has no annual fee, so it’s pretty awesome to have a rewarding card that doesn’t have an annual fee.

You can also add additional users to the card at no extra cost, so it’s a great option for adding employee cards. While it won’t be valuable for everyone, it’s also worth mentioning that the card offers some business management tools, including year-end spending summaries.

Spark Cash Select 1.5% cash back on everyday spending

The Capital One Spark Cash Select offers a minimum of 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, with no limits or category restrictions. This is super straightforward, as the cash back can be redeemed for any amount, and doesn’t expire as long as the account remains open and in good standing.

The Spark Cash Select also offers some extra protections on spending, including an extended warranty on eligible items purchased with the card. Just keep in mind some benefits are provided by Mastercard, so you’ll need to see the Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Now, let me note that among cash back cards, I generally consider 2% cash back to be the gold standard. However, there are limited options of cards that have no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, all while offering an otherwise solid return.

Spark Cash Select 5% cash back with Capital One Business Travel

Beyond the flat 1.5% cash back with the Capital One Spark Cash Select, there’s just one bonus category. The card offers 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through Capital One Business Travel, which is Capital One’s travel portal for small business cards.

Spark Cash Select no foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Spark Cash Select has no foreign transaction fees, and I think that’s specifically worth highlighting. Most cash back business cards with no annual fee do have foreign transaction fees, so this sets the card apart. Other cards sometimes have foreign transaction fees of 3% or more, quickly wiping out any rewards you’d otherwise earn.

Convert Spark Cash Select cash back into Capital One miles

There’s an interesting twist to Capital One Spark Cash Select, for those looking to earn travel rewards rather than cash back:

• While the Capital One Spark Cash Select earns cash back, you can potentially convert cash back into Capital One miles
• If you have the Spark Cash Select in addition to a card earning Capital One miles, like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more), or Capital One Venture Business (learn more), then each cent can be converted into one mile
• This can be done directly through Capital One’s website using the “Move Rewards” feature
• Capital One miles can be converted to over a dozen airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio; because of this functionality, I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each

This is a pretty exciting opportunity, since it means that this no annual fee card also potentially earns 1.5x transferable points with no foreign transaction fees. It also means that the welcome bonus of $750 is potentially worth 75,000 Capital One miles.

Is the Capital One Spark Cash Select worth it?

The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a great card for a certain type of business, but isn’t for everyone.

If you have a small business and don’t want to pay an annual fee for a card, don’t spend that much on cards, and/or frequently make international purchases, then the Spark Cash Select is a great option. You’re not going to find a more rewarding no annual fee business card with no foreign transaction fees and no caps on rewards.

Similarly, if you have another Capital One card earning miles, then some might appreciate the ability to really earn 1.5x miles per dollar spent on a no annual fee card with no foreign transaction fees.

Who shouldn’t consider the Capital One Spark Cash Select? Well, if your business spends a lot of money, or if you’re happy to pay an annual fee for big rewards, then there are definitely other cards to consider. I’ll take a look at some alternatives below, but the most obvious is the Capital One Spark Cash Plus — so that I don’t bury the lede, if you plan to spend at least $30,000 per year on the card, then that’s definitely the better option.

How does the Capital One Spark Cash Plus compare?

If you like the general idea of the Capital One Spark Cash Select, but want a card that’s a bit more rewarding, consider the Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more) instead:

• The card has a $150 annual fee, but you can get that $150 annual fee refunded if you spend at least $150,000 on the card per anniversary year
• The card offers 2% cash back on all purchases, which is 0.5% more than on the Spark Cash Select
• The card also has no foreign transaction fees
• The card offers a much bigger welcome bonus, as you can earn a cash bonus of $2,000 after spending $30,000 within the first three months, plus a further $2,000 cash bonus for every $500,000 spent within the first cardmember year, and you can earn that multiple times

If you spend quite a bit on business cards and want to earn cash back rewards, then the Capital One Spark Cash Plus is the obvious choice. I’d argue it’s one of the best cash back business cards out there.

Just to put some concrete numbers to it, there’s a 0.5% cash back spread on the rewards between the two cards (1.5% cash back vs. 2% cash back). So if you spend $30,000 per year on a card, you’d earn an extra $150 in rewards on the Spark Cash Plus, which offsets the annual fee compared to the Spark Cash Select.

Which no annual fee Amex business cards are worth it?

If you definitely want to stick to a no annual fee business card, there are two Amex business cards that are probably the closest competitors to the Spark Cash Select:

• The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (learn more) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2x Amex points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (and then 1x points)

What’s the catch? As you can see, the generous rewards are capped to the first $50,000 spent each calendar year. On top of that, the cards have foreign transaction fees, so they’re only worth using for purchases in USD. Lastly, the welcome offers on the cards aren’t too much to get excited about.

Which no annual fee Chase business cards are worth it?

Chase also has a couple of potentially very lucrative no annual fee business cards, which are in some ways a competitor to the Spark Cash Select:

• The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (learn more) has no annual fee, and offers a flat 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases with no caps
• The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (learn more) has no annual fee, and offers 5% cash back on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines, 2% cash back on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations, and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

These are actually very lucrative cards, as they have great welcome offers, and they also make up part of the overall Chase ecosystem. If you have them in conjunction with another card earning Ultimate Rewards points, then you can convert your rewards at the rate of one cent per point.

As I see it, the main downside compared to the Spark Cash Select is that the cards have foreign transaction fees, so they’re not good if you do a lot of spending in foreign currencies.

Capital One Spark Cash Select FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a no annual fee business card worth being aware of. The card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no foreign transaction fees, and the card also has a generous welcome bonus. If you have the card in conjunction with something like the Capital One Venture X, then rewards can also potentially be converted into miles.

Personally I still prefer the Capital One Spark Cash Plus. While it has a $150 annual fee, the card offers 2% cash back on all purchases, an even bigger bonuses, and potential spending bonuses as well. It’s an unbeatable cash back business card.

If you want to learn more about the Capital One Spark Cash Select or want to apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (Rates & Fees).

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Spark Cash Plus with a $2,000 bonus offer

Capital One Spark Cash Plus summary & key details

Before I get into my Capital One Spark Cash Plus review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $150, but cardmembers receive an additional $150 cash bonus if they spend $150,000 or more on the card per anniversary year, wiping out the fee
• Welcome offer: $2,000 cash bonus after spending $30,000 within the first three months, plus an additional $2,000 cash back bonus for every $500,000 spent during the first year
• Cash back earn rate: 5% cash back on select Capital One Business Travel purchases, plus 2% cash back on all other purchases
• Foreign transaction fees: None
• Best for: Business owners who spend large amounts on credit cards, and want a simple, lucrative rewards structure

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Capital One Spark Cash Plus.

Capital One Spark Cash Plus bonus, fees, rewards, & perks

Is the Capital One Spark Cash Plus worth the annual fee? The card offers an industry-leading return on business spending, a lot of flexibility, and a huge welcome bonus, making it one of the all-around most rewarding business cards. If you don’t have this card yet, there are lots of reasons to consider it, so let’s go over the details.

Spark Cash Plus $2,000 cash back welcome bonus

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is currently offering a massive multi-part welcome bonus, though admittedly the spending requirement is significant. The bonus breaks down as follows:

• Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 within the first three months
• Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500,000 spent during the first year; you can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of the first anniversary year

Just to crunch some numbers here, if you were to complete the minimum spending requirement of $30,000, you’d earn a total of $2,600 cash back. That’s because there’s the $2,000 bonus, and on top of that, the card offers a minimum of 2% cash back, which would be an extra $600 in rewards.

So that comes out to the equivalent of an ~8.67% return on that first $30,000 in spending, which is pretty great. Even if you were to subtract the card’s $150 annual fee, you’re still looking at $2,450 in first year rewards.

Spark Cash Plus welcome bonus eligibility rules

When it comes to eligibility for the welcome bonus on the Capital One Spark Cash Plus, what should you be aware of? Officially, if you look at the application, you’ll see the following restrictions:

The bonuses may not be available for existing or previous Capital One Business card holders

As you can see, that’s really vague. Anecdotally, Capital One has very few consistent application restrictions. The major restriction to be aware of is that you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus on this card if you have or have had this card, or if you currently have the Capital One Venture X Business. However, if you had the Capital One Venture X Business in the past, you would be eligible.

Aside from the above, eligibility is unrelated to having any other Capital One card. There shouldn’t be any other significant restrictions to be worried about. For what it’s worth, if you’re concerned about staying under the Chase 5/24 limit, applying for the Spark Cash Plus shouldn’t count as a further card toward that limit.

Spark Cash Plus $150 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus annual fee is $150. That’s not a massive fee, but it’s also not exactly a no annual fee card. Fortunately the card’s welcome bonus can (way) more than help recoup the annual fee, so that has to be factored into the math as well. As I’ll cover below, there’s even a way to receive a credit for $150 to offset the annual fee, if you’re a big spender.

The Spark Cash Plus also lets cardmembers add employee cards at no extra cost, so that you can rack up rewards for the spending of your employees. For added security, Capital One also offers virtual cards.

Spark Cash Plus unlimited 2% cash back on everyday spending

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, with no limits or category restrictions. There are no foreign transaction fees, so this is even great for purchases abroad. This is in line with the best rewards structure you’ll find on any business card without any sort of major restrictions.

Spark Cash Plus 5% cash back with Capital One Business Travel

Beyond the flat 2% cash back with the Capital One Spark Cash Plus, there’s just one bonus category. The card offers 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through Capital One Business Travel, which is Capital One’s travel portal for small business cards.

While it’s nice to have an elevated bonus category, I don’t think this will really sway the decision for most people as to whether the card is worth it or not. After all, there’s often an opportunity cost to booking through a travel portal.

Spark Cash Plus annual $150 cash bonus

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a further reward beyond offering 2% cash back. If you spend $150,000 or more on the card in an anniversary year you’ll receive an annual $150 cash bonus. Essentially think of it as a refund of your annual fee, which is an innovative feature you don’t see on many cards.

Spark Cash Plus issued as charge card

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a charge card, rather than a credit card. What are the practical implications of this?

• There’s no pre-set spending limit, so this is great for businesses that frequently make larger purchases
• You’ll have to pay your balance in full each billing cycle (I generally don’t recommend using credit card financing anyway, given how expensive it is)

This seems to me like an interesting direction for Capital One to take:

• Financing charges are a big source of revenue for credit card companies, and Capital One is largely giving that up
• Amex has been moving away from charge cards and toward credit cards, while Capital One is doing the opposite

Convert cash back into Capital One miles

There’s an interesting twist to the Capital One Spark Cash Plus for those looking to earn travel rewards rather than cash back:

• While the Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns cash back, you can potentially convert Spark Cash Plus cash back into miles
• If you have the Spark Cash Plus in addition to a product like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more), or Capital One Venture Business (learn more), then each cent can be converted into one mile
• This can be done directly through Capital One’s website using the “Move Rewards” feature; you can always do this in the future, if you don’t currently have a Capital One card earning miles, but plan to pick up one in the future
• Capital One miles can be converted to over a dozen airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio; because of this functionality, I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each

This is a pretty exciting opportunity, since it means that this card gives you some unrivaled flexibility. You can earn 2% cash back, or in conjunction with another card, you could earn 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent (which I personally value at a 3.4% return). This also applies to the welcome offer, as those rewards can also be converted into Capital One miles.

Is the Capital One Spark Cash Plus worth the annual fee?

Is the Capital One Spark Cash Plus worth the annual fee? I think the Spark Cash Plus is fantastic for many types of businesses, especially those that spend a lot. The current welcome bonus is incredibly generous as well:

• For those looking to earn cash back, you won’t find another major business card offering 2% cash back with no foreign transaction fees or caps on earning
• For those looking to earn travel rewards, you won’t find a major business card that does better than offering 2x transferable points with no foreign transaction fees or caps on earning (though you do need to have another card, like the Capital One Venture X, in conjunction with it)
• For businesses that spend a lot, the $150 annual cash bonus will cover the $150 annual fee, essentially making this the equivalent of a no annual fee card
• For businesses that spend a huge amount, the incremental $2,000 in rewards for every $500,000 spent within the first year are very nice as well, especially since you can earn this bonus multiple times (I realize this only helps a tiny percentage of consumers)

I can’t think of any other business card in the market that offers that kind of value proposition and flexibility.

Just to demonstrate how much cash back you could earn with the Spark Cash Plus, let’s just look at various first year spending levels, factoring in the 2% base cash back, the welcome bonus, and the additional $2,000 bonus for every $500,000 spent.

I should also mention that the $150 annual fee being refunded when you spend at least $150,000 in net purchases isn’t factored into this. So just to specifically crunch the numbers on three levels of first year spending (admittedly these are all high, but those are also the businesses with the most upside with this card:

• If you spend $30,000 the first year, you’d earn $2,600 in rewards; if you subtract the $150 annual fee, that’s an 8.17% return on spending
• If you spend $150,000 the first year, you’d earn $5,000 in rewards; you would get the annual fee refunded, so that’s a 3.33% return on spending
• If you spend $500,000 the first year, you’d earn $14,000 in rewards; you would get the annual fee refunded, so that’s a 2.8% return on spending

For a business that spends a lot on cards, those are some phenomenal returns on spending. To be fair, though, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus isn’t for everyone:

• For small businesses that don’t spend a lot of money on cards, the rewards probably won’t justify the annual fee, especially in comparison to a cash back business card like The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (learn more), which has no annual fee (Rates & Fees)
• If you’re into maximizing rewards, including getting multiple cards and maximizing bonus categories, a card like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) will probably be a better fit

How does the Capital One Venture X Business compare?

The Capital One Venture X Business is Capital One’s premium travel rewards card, and I’d say it’s probably the best alternative to the Capital One Spark Cash Plus. Let me share some of the key details:

• The Venture X Business earns Capital One miles, rather than cash back, so you can directly earn travel rewards with the card
• The Venture X Business has a welcome bonus of 150,000 Capital One miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months
• The Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, though that’s nicely offset by the card’s annual $300 Capital One Travel credit, plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles
• The Venture X Business is also a charge card, so has no pre-set spending limit
• The Venture X Business offers all kinds of valuable perks, including access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, a Priority Pass™ membership for participating locations, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years, and more

If you’re into travel rewards, I think the Venture X Business is an unbeatable card. While the annual fee is higher, I think it’s quite easy to justify, due to the annual travel credit and bonus miles. The only reason not to get this card is if you explicitly want to earn cash back that you can redeem toward anything, rather than rewards that can primarily be redeemed toward travel.

Read a full review of the Capital One Venture X Business.

How does the Capital One Venture Business compare?

For those looking to earn travel rewards, the Capital One Venture Business should be on your radar as an alternative. How do the two cards compare? Let’s look at a few key elements:

• The Venture Business earns Capital One miles, rather than cash back, so you can directly earn travel rewards with the card
• The Venture Business has a welcome bonus of 100,000 Capital One miles after spending $10,000 within the first three months
• The Venture Business has a $95 annual fee
• The Venture Business is a credit card rather than a charge card, so it has a pre-set spending limit
• The Venture Business offers some unique travel perks, including a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years

In my opinion, the Spark Cash Plus is better if you’re looking to earn cash back, often make large purchases, spend a lot on business cards annually, and can take advantage of the full welcome bonus. Meanwhile, I think the Venture Business is better if you want to directly earn travel rewards and if you value travel perks.

Read a full review of the Capital One Venture Business.

How does the Capital One Spark Cash Select compare?

Purely in terms of card branding, it’s worth being aware of the Capital One Spark Cash Select, which is essentially the more basic version of the Capital One Spark Cash Plus. How do the two cards compare? Here are the things to be aware of:

• The Spark Cash Select also earns cash back, though it can be converted into Capital One miles in conjunction with another card
• The Spark Cash Select has a welcome bonus of $750 cash back after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• The Spark Cash Select has no annual fee
• The Spark Cash Select earns 1.5% cash back on everyday spending

In the long run, the key difference here is that the Spark Cash Plus earns 2% cash back, while the Spark Cash Select earns 1.5% cash back. Just to crunch some basic numbers:

• The breakeven on spending between the two cards would be $30,000 per year (since the 0.5% difference in rewards on spending between the two cards would be $150, equal to the annual fee)
• So if you spend more than $30,000 per year, you’ll come out ahead with the Spark Cash Plus, while if you spend less than $30,000 per year, you’ll come out ahead with the Spark Cash Select, though that doesn’t factor in the value of the welcome bonus

Just to make the math a bit clearer, below is a chart comparing the return on spending, not factoring in the welcome bonus or first year rewards.

Read a full review of the Capital One Spark Cash Select.

Capital One Spark Cash Plus FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a lucrative business card that offers a massive welcome bonus, plus 2% cash back on all spending with no foreign transaction fees, a $150 bonus when you spend $150,000 on the card in a year (essentially a refund of the annual fee), and has no pre-set spending limit.

If you spend a lot on your business card and want to earn cash back rewards, then this card is a no-brainer. Similarly, the ability to convert rewards into Capital One miles in conjunction with a card like the Capital One Venture X is also an interesting angle here.

Alternatively, the Capital One Venture X Business is another great card to consider, especially if you’re looking to earn travel rewards.

If you want to learn more about the Capital One Spark Cash Plus, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (Rates & Fees).

Hotel credit cards are generally among the most underrated credit cards out there, in my opinion, given the perks that they potentially offer, from elite status to free night certificates. However, the Hilton Aspire Card really takes that to the next level.

This post is my in-depth Hilton Aspire Card review, especially as the card is currently offering an elevated limited time welcome offer, making it the ideal time to apply.

Link: Learn more about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Hilton Aspire Card summary & key details

Before I get into my Hilton Aspire Card review, let me start by briefly summarizing the key details of the Aspire Card:

• Amex Hilton Aspire Card annual fee: $550 (Rates & Fees)
• Amex Hilton Aspire Card welcome offer: 200K Hilton Honors points after spending $6,000 within the first six months (limited time offer for applications through January 13, 2027)
• Amex Hilton Aspire Card rewards: 14x Hilton Honors points for spending at Hilton properties, 7x Hilton Honors points on U.S. restaurants, and select flights, hotels, and rental cars, and 3x points on all other eligible purchases
• Amex Hilton Aspire Card foreign transaction fees: none (Rates & Fees)
• Amex Hilton Aspire Card elite status: Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status for as long as you have the card
• Amex Hilton Aspire Card annual credits: Up to $400 per year in Hilton resort credits, up to $200 per year in airline credits, and up to $219 per year in CLEAR+ credits

As I see it, the Hilton Aspire Card is an incredibly lucrative card, and it’s easy to come out way ahead on this product:

• The Hilton Aspire Card pros include the huge welcome offer, the valuable elite status, the annual free night award, and the credits, which should easily offset the annual fee
• The Hilton Aspire Card cons include that it’s not very rewarding for non-bonused spending, and that getting full value from the credits can be challenging, given how they’re broken up quarterly, semi-annually, etc.

Hilton Aspire Card bonus & fees

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is one of the highest annual fee hotel credit cards, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. If you stay at Hilton properties with any frequency, then this card should be in your wallet, in my opinion. Let’s talk about the welcome offer, card eligibility, fees, and more.

Limited time welcome offer of 200K bonus points

For applications through January 13, 2027, the Hilton Aspire Card has a limited time welcome offer where you can earn 200,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months.

For context, I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, meaning that I value the 200,000 points at $1,000.

Hilton Honors credit card eligibility rules

The welcome offer on the Hilton Aspire Card is not available to those who currently have or who have had the Hilton Aspire Card. However, you are eligible for the bonus if you’ve had any of the other Hilton Amex cards, including the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. I find that Amex cards are fairly easy to be approved for, for those with excellent credit.

Just keep in mind Amex’s general card application rules:

• You can be approved for at most two Amex credit cards in a 90 day period
• You can have at most five Amex credit cards at any point

Both of those limitations are specific to credit cards, and don’t include Amex charge or hybrid cards.

$550 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee

The Hilton Aspire Card has a $550 annual fee (Rates & Fees). The annual fee isn’t waived for the first year, and you can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost (though authorized users don’t get most of the great perks offered by the card, other than the primary cardmember being able to earn points for their spending).

Hilton Aspire Card points earning structure

The Hilton Aspire Card offers bonuses on spending in some useful categories. The card offers 3-14x points per dollar spent, depending on what categories you’re spending money in.

That sounds like a lot of points, though not all points currencies are created equal. So in which of those categories should you be spending money on the card?

Earn 14x points at Hilton hotels

The Hilton Aspire offers 14x Hilton Honors points for spending at Hilton properties globally. This includes all Hilton brands, from Hampton Inn to Waldorf Astoria.

I value Hilton points at ~0.5 cents each, so to me, that’s like a 7% return on hotel spending, which is excellent. The Hilton Aspire Card is the best credit card for Hilton hotel spending.

Earn 7x points with three bonus categories

The Hilton Aspire offers 7x Hilton Honors points per eligible dollar spent in the following categories, with no caps:

• Flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com
• Car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies
• US restaurants

I value 7x Hilton Honors points at the equivalent of a ~3.5% return. Those are some pretty good bonuses, though keep in mind there are other good cards for airfare and restaurant spending.

Earn 3x points on other everyday purchases

The Hilton Aspire offers 3x Hilton Honors points on all other eligible purchases, which I value at a return of ~1.5%. I’d argue there are better cards for everyday spending.

No foreign transaction fees

The Hilton Aspire Card has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so it’s an excellent card for purchases abroad, especially for stays at Hilton properties abroad.

Redeeming Hilton Honors points for best value

Hilton Honors of course has an absolutely massive global footprint, with thousands of hotels across dozens of brands. Personally I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each, though there are definitely ways to get more value from points than that by maximizing your Hilton Honors points.

Hilton Honors doesn’t publish an award chart, though generally you’ll find that free night redemptions cost anywhere from 5,000 points to 250,000 points per night (with a vast majority of properties costing somewhere between those amounts). The Hilton Points Explorer tool can be used to check real time award price ranges over the next 30 days, so that’s quite useful.

You can get the most value from your points by redeeming for hotels with standard rooms available, since that gets you the best pricing. Furthermore, Hilton Honors elite members get a fifth night free on award redemptions, which can stretch your points further.

Beyond Hilton’s managed and franchised properties, I really love how Hilton Honors has a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which opens up redemptions at hundreds of boutique, independent properties, at which you couldn’t otherwise efficiently redeem points. That’s super useful.

Note that while Hilton Honors points can be converted into airline miles, it’s really not a good value. For example, you can convert 10,000 Hilton Honors points into 1,000 airline miles with a variety of partners, but that’s a really inefficient use of points. So if you’re looking to earn airline miles for your credit card spending, you’ll want to consider a different card.

Hilton Aspire Card benefits & perks

The real reason to get the Hilton Aspire Card is because of the incredible long-term perks it offers, which should more than offset the annual fee year after year. Why is the Hilton Aspire Card worth it? Let’s take a closer look at the benefits…

Hilton Diamond elite status for being a cardmember

Just for having the Aspire Card, you receive complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond elite status. This is Hilton’s top status without a spending requirement, so it’s pretty incredible to get that just for having a credit card. Hilton Diamond status comes with the following perks, among other things:

• Free breakfast and/or executive lounge access (in the United States you receive a food & beverage credit)
• Room upgrades subject to availability (this may include standard suites, at the hotel’s discretion)
• Late check-out, subject to availability
• 100% points bonus
• Fifth night free on award stays

As is the case with all hotel programs, the treatment you’ll receive will vary depending on where in the world you are. I’ve found Hilton Diamond recognition to be excellent in Asia, for example, while it’s generally hit or miss in the United States (well, more miss).

Just to emphasize the points earnings rates we’re talking about here, Hilton Honors awards 10x points per dollar at hotels for most brands. Diamond members receive a 100% bonus, bringing points earning to 20x points. Then if you pay for your stay with the Hilton Aspire Card you earn another 14x points, for a total of 34x points per dollar spent. That’s excellent.

Annual free night reward certificate

Just for having the Hilton Aspire Card, you receive a free night reward every year that correlates to your account anniversary. You even receive this in the year that you get your card.

This could get you a stay at a property costing up to 250,000 points per night. Personally I value this certificate alone at right around the annual fee, and I’ve used these certificates at properties ranging from the Waldorf Astoria New York, to the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, and in each case, the cash retail cost would’ve been $1,000 or more per night. Talk about outsized value!

Here are some basic things to know about the free night reward offered by the Hilton Aspire Card:

• It’s issued within 8-12 weeks of when you open the card and the account anniversary
• It’s valid for stays up to a year from when it’s issued
• It can be redeemed for one night in standard accommodation
• There’s a small list of excluded properties
• While you can view your free night certificate online, you have to call 1-800-446-6677 to actually make your booking

Up to two additional free night reward certificate

While the Hilton Aspire Card offers a free night reward certificate on your account anniversary every year, you can earn up to two more free night reward certificates with spending:

• Earn a second free night reward certificate if you spend $30,000 on the card in a calendar year
• Earn a third free night reward certificate if you spend $60,000 on the card in a calendar year

If you’re a big credit card spender, I think a good argument could be made for spending $60,000 on the card each year. You’d earn a minimum of 180,000 Hilton Honors points (since you earn at least 3x points per dollar spent), plus two free night certificates, each worth up to 250,000 points.

Up to $400 annual Hilton resort credit

For having the Hilton Aspire Card you receive up to $400 in statement credits annually for eligible purchases made directly with Hilton resorts using your card. You receive up to a $200 statement credit to be used between January and June, and up to a $200 statement credit to be used between July and December.

This is valid specifically for purchases at Hilton resort properties worldwide, and you can find all participating resorts here. You can apply this credit toward room rate, or even toward incidentals, as long as the incidentals are charged to your folio. In other words, you could redeem points for a stay, and then get a $200 credit toward dining, spa treatments, etc. There’s no registration required to use this perk.

If you stay at Hilton resort properties at least twice per year, this should be worth face value.

Up to $200 annual flight credit

For having the Hilton Aspire Card you receive up to $200 in statement credits annually for eligible flight purchases using your card. The way this works, you receive up to a $50 statement credit to be used each quarter.

Eligible flights include those either booked directly with any passenger airline, or through amextravel.com. Honestly, this should be pretty easy to maximize. Most US airlines don’t have change fees nowadays on most kinds of fares, so you can always book a fairly cheap ticket and then use the travel credit toward a future itinerary, in case you don’t have a specific flight in mind.

Up to $219 annual CLEAR+ credit

For having the Hilton Aspire Card you receive up to $219 per year in CLEAR+ credits. Just use your card to pay for a CLEAR+ membership, and you’ll receive a statement credit of up to $219 per year. This is enough to cover an annual CLEAR+ membership.

For those not familiar with CLEAR, this company can save you time at security, by allowing you to use your biometric data to skip the ID check.

National Emerald Club Executive status

For having the Hilton Aspire Card you receive National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status for as long as you have the card, as long as you enroll.

National is my favorite major rental car company, and this status gets you Executive Area Access in the United States and Canada, letting you pick your car from the lot. You can register for this through your online account using the card.

$100 Hilton on-property credit at luxury hotels

The Hilton Aspire Card also offers a $100 on-property credit at Waldorf Astoria and Conrad when you book stays of at least two consecutive nights with an eligible rate through this page.

Personally, I don’t consider that to be so valuable. Why?

• You have to book a specific rate, so points stays (including using free night awards), discounted member rates, etc., don’t qualify
• Most of these hotels also belong through Hilton for Luxury or Virtuoso, which offers a similar credit and more

Access to the Amex Offers program

One of my favorite features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible, so that you can get these offers on multiple cards.

Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year. You can access these offers by logging into your account and scrolling down to the bottom of your account summary page.

Is the Hilton Aspire Card worth the annual fee?

Hilton is one of the largest hotel groups in the world, and the Hilton Aspire Card is a card that comes in handy for those instances where I want to stay at a Hilton property.

I’ve consistently redeemed the free night certificate at properties retailing for well over $550 per night, so in and of itself that covers the annual fee. Heck, in many cases I’ve used it at properties retailing for well over twice that much. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on the value of the card, when you then add in elite status, the credits, and more.

That being said, personally this is a card that I would get for the perks, rather than a card I would necessarily spend a lot of money on, as there are better cards for that.

To be balanced, let me say that this card might not be for everyone. If you don’t care much about staying at luxury hotels, then the card’s value might not be as good, since you probably won’t value the free night award as much as I do. Furthermore, if you never stay at Hilton resorts, it’ll be harder to make full value of the up to $400 per year in Hilton resort credits. In those situations, making the math on the card work may be a bit more challenging.

Hilton Aspire vs. Hilton Surpass card comparison

I know some people try to decide between the $550 annual fee Aspire Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card with a $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees). How do the two cards compare?

Personally, I think the $550 annual fee card is worthwhile, though for many people only occasionally staying at Hiltons, the $150 annual fee Surpass Card might be worthwhile as well. The Hilton Surpass Card offers:

• Hilton Gold elite status for as long as you have the card
• Hilton Diamond elite status when you spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year
• A free night reward when you spend $15,000 on the card in a calendar year
• Up to $200 in Hilton credits annually — get a $50 statement credit each quarter you can use toward Hilton stays

Many people are put off by a $550 annual fee card, so for those people, this is perhaps a more manageable option. The card also pays for itself, given that you can get $200 in Hilton credits annually with the card, which is more than the annual fee.

Cards to consider in place of the Hilton Aspire Card

While I think the Hilton Aspire Card is a great option, here are some other options to consider, if it doesn’t interest you, for whatever reason:

• If the annual fee on the card is too high for your liking, consider the Hilton Honors American Express Card, which has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), while still letting you earn Hilton Honors points; however, obviously the card isn’t as lucrative
• If you prefer a business card, consider the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (learn more), which has a more reasonable $195 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and still has solid perks, but not as strong as the Hilton Aspire
• If you don’t have a great card with a rewards structure for maximizing your credit card spending, I’d consider a well rounded product like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), American Express® Gold Card (learn more), or Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more)

Hilton Aspire Card FAQs

Bottom line

The Hilton Aspire Card is one of the most rewarding hotel credit cards out there. While the card has a $550 annual fee, it offers some valuable incredible perks, including Hilton Diamond elite status, a free night reward annually, up to $400 in Hilton resort credits, up to $200 in flight credits, and much more.

If you stay at Hiltons with any frequency — and especially if you stay at Hilton resorts at least once every six months — then having this card is a no-brainer. I hope my Hilton Aspire Card review answered any questions people may have about the card, though if I missed anything, please let me know.

If you want to learn more about the Hilton Aspire Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Hilton Honors American Express Card (Rates & Fees), The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card (Rates & Fees), and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (Rates & Fees).

Is the Amex Business Platinum worth it, and if so, under what circumstances? It’s a card that I’ve personally had for years, and have received strong value from, receiving credits worth more than the ongoing fees. That being said, it won’t be for everyone. Let’s start with a brief summary of the basics, and then we’ll get into the details.

Link: Learn more about The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Amex Business Platinum summary & key details

Before I get into my Amex Business Platinum Card review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $895 (Rates & Fees)
• Welcome offer: As high as 300,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months; welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer
• Points earn rate: 5x points on select flights & hotels, 2x points in select business categories, and 1x points on other purchases
• Annual credits: Up to $600 annual hotel credit, up to $360 annual Indeed credit, up to $300 annual ChatGPT credit, up to $250 annual Adobe credit, up to $219 annual CLEAR+ credit, up to $200 annual Hilton credit, up to $200 annual airline fee credit, up to $150 annual Dell credit, up to $120 annual wireless credit, and more (enrollment required, see terms)
• Travel benefits: Airport lounge access with Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass, elite status with multiple hotel groups and rental car companies
• Foreign transaction fee: None (Rates & Fees)
• Best for: Business owners who can take advantage of the card’s premium travel benefits and statement credits, particularly those who value airport lounge access and want to maximize the value of Membership Rewards points when booking eligible flights through Amex Travel

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Amex Business Platinum Card.

Amex Business Platinum bonus, fees, & eligibility

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers some outstanding perks, though the card also has a steep annual fee. So let’s start by taking a look at the welcome offer, eligibility, fee, and more.

Welcome offer as high as 300K bonus points

At the moment, the Amex Business Platinum has an incredible welcome offer where you can earn a bonus as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 within the first three months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

Personally, I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me those 300,000 points are worth $5,100 (assuming you’re eligible for the offer).

Card application restrictions & rules

The welcome offer on the Amex Business Platinum isn’t available to those who currently have the card or those who have had the card in the past, in line with Amex’s “once in a lifetime” rule. If you’ve had the card in the past, you’re still eligible to be approved, you just won’t get the bonus.

The standard rules of applying for Amex cards apply as well. Anecdotally speaking, I find Amex business cards to be quite easy to be approved for, at least for those with excellent credit. The good news is that this isn’t a credit card (but is instead a hybrid card), so this card won’t count toward Amex’s five credit card limit.

Furthermore, if you’re concerned about staying under Chase’s 5/24 limit, applying for an Amex business card won’t count toward that, since it doesn’t show up on your personal credit report in that way

$895 annual fee & $400 authorized user fee

The Amex Business Platinum has an annual fee of $895 (Rates & Fees). This is one of the highest annual fee cards out there.

When it comes to adding authorized users, the fee is $400 (Rates & Fees) per user, which is steep. Authorized users receive the lounge access perks of the card, as well as most of the hotel perks. However, authorized users do not receive most of the additional credits (for hotels, airline fees, Adobe, CLEAR, Dell, etc.).

Amex Business Platinum points earning structure

Personally, I think the Amex Business Platinum Card may be worth having for the benefits it offers, though there are fairly limited circumstances under which it makes sense to spend money on the card if you’re looking to maximize your return on spending.

Some other Amex cards offer big bonus categories, and I’ll talk more about those cards in a bit. So, in what categories does this card offer bonus points?

5x points on select flights & hotels

The Amex Business Platinum offers 5x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels and flights that are booked through Amex Travel. This is fairly restrictive. It could make sense to book flights through Amex Travel to earn 5x points, though for many small businesses, that might not be the best or most practical option.

The downside to booking prepaid hotels through Amex Travel is that you generally won’t earn points with your preferred loyalty program for third-party bookings, which includes Amex Travel bookings.

The one exception is Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, where prepaid reservations earn 5x points. That can be a good deal because of the perks you get, and also because you still earn points with your preferred hotel loyalty program. I’ll talk more about that in a bit.

2x points in select business categories

The Amex Business Platinum offers 2x Membership Rewards points for purchases that meet specific criteria. These include the following:

• Purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers
• Eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, regardless of the category

The earning rate of 2x points is valid for up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year, and then cardmembers earn 1x points. This will be useful for some small businesses, though for others, it won’t add much value.

1x points on other purchases

The above are the only bonus categories — otherwise, the Amex Business Platinum offers 1x points per dollar spent on other eligible purchases, which isn’t especially good. There are other Amex cards offering 1.5-2x points per dollar spent, so I would much rather put my spending on those cards, or on another card that’s best for everyday spending for small businesses.

No foreign transaction fees

The American Express Business Platinum offers no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), should you find yourself making purchases abroad.

Additional bonus for spending $250K+ per year

The Amex Business Platinum offers an extra incentive for those who spend a significant amount on the card annually. Specifically, if you spend $250,000 per calendar year on the card, you can receive up to $3,600 in statement credits:

• Receive up to $1,200 in statement credits for American Express Travel flights
• Receive up to $2,400 in statement credits for American Express One AP monthly fees

While the American Express Travel flight credits are potentially valuable, the second set of credits is more niche. If you’re just looking to maximize your return on spending, odds are that this specifically won’t move the needle.

Purchase & travel protection on card spending

You’ll need to check the cardmember agreement for full details, but the Amex Business Platinum offers a variety of purchase and travel protection benefits, ranging from extended warranty protection, to purchase protection, to trip cancellation and interruption insurance, to trip delay insurance. So be sure you take a look at the card’s benefits guides to get more details, as lots of terms apply.

Amex Business Platinum points redemption options

The Amex Business Platinum Card earns Membership Rewards points. This is one of the major transferable points currencies. There are two best ways you can redeem Amex points — you can transfer them to an airline or hotel partner, or you can redeem them as cash toward the cost of an airline ticket.

Let’s look at those two options below. One awesome thing about the Amex Business Platinum is that having the card gives you special redemption rates when redeeming the points as cash toward an airline ticket. It’s the best rate you’ll get through any Amex card.

Transfer points to airline & hotel partners

The best way to redeem your Amex points is to transfer them to one of the Membership Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the below 22 partners, including 18 airline partners and four hotel partners, as you’ll see below.

The reason this represents such a good option is that you can get outsized value toward premium airfare, especially for travel in first and business class. These tickets are often super expensive if paying cash, while they can be a good deal with points. On top of that, Amex often has transfer bonuses, which can get you even better value.

Redeem points for over 1.5 cents each toward airfare

Ordinarily, you can redeem Membership Rewards points for about a cent each toward the cost of an airfare purchase, which isn’t that great. However, if you have the Amex Business Platinum you can redeem points at a special rate.

If you book your flight through American Express Travel® using the Membership Rewards Pay with Points feature, you get 35% of those points back with a few key terms/limitations:

• You need to book a flight on your selected qualifying airline
• You can get up to one million points back per calendar year using this redemption method

In other words, you could book a $1,000 ticket for 100,000 points on your airline of choice, and then you’d get 35,000 points back, meaning, in the end, you’re paying 65,000 points. That’s a value of ~1.54 cents per point, which is excellent.

Amex Business Platinum credits & benefits

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers so many benefits just for being a cardmember, and some of the most valuable benefits are credits. The card potentially offers over $2,000 in credits annually. Of course, most cardmembers aren’t going to be able to maximize every single one of those, though hopefully on balance, cardmembers use enough of these perks to more than justify the annual fee.

Below I’ll cover these all in detail, though let me start with a chart consolidating the primary annual Amex Business Platinum credits. Let me emphasize that enrollment is required, and terms apply. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

Up to $600 annual hotel credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers up to $600 per year in hotel credits. This is a semi-annual credit, so you get a $300 credit in January through June, and a $300 credit in July through December. This is actually a pretty easy perk to use — just book a prepaid hotel through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® (no minimum stay) or The Hotel Collection (two night minimum stay) through American Express Travel®, and you can receive up to a $300 credit semi-annually.

If you ask me, this perk alone can help recoup most of the card’s annual fee. So a major point in deciding whether this card makes sense is crunching the numbers as to whether you can get full value from this.

Up to $360 annual Indeed credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers up to $360 in annual credits for Indeed purchases. This is broken up into a $90 per quarter credit. This can be used for all Indeed hiring and recruiting products, and products and services to post open positions and find talent. Personally, I’d consider this to be pretty niche, but some people might be able to get value from it.

Up to $300 annual ChatGPT credit

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers up to $300 in annual credits for purchases of ChatGPT Business made directly with OpenAI in the U.S. Enrollment is required.

For what it’s worth, the minimum cost of ChatGPT Business is $20 per user per month, with a minimum of two users required. So that means you’d pay a minimum of $40 per month for two users, or $480 per year. With the $300 credit, you’d be paying just $180, or $15 per month total for two people.

Up to $250 annual Adobe statement credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers an annual statement credit of $250 after spending $600 or more on U.S. purchases made directly with Adobe each calendar year. Enrollment is required. Much like with the Indeed credit, personally, I’d consider this to be pretty niche.

Up to $219 annual CLEAR+ credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers an annual credit of up to $219 toward a CLEAR membership. CLEAR offers expedited security at select airports in the United States — instead of lining up to have your ID checked, you can instead have your biometric data taken, and then you’re escorted to the front of the line.

Charge the membership fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

Up to $200 annual Hilton credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers up to $200 in Hilton credits annually. There’s no minimum spending beyond that, so as long as you spend $50+ at any eligible Hilton property each quarter, you’ll receive a statement credit for that amount.

Up to $200 annual airline fee credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers an up to $200 annual airline fee credit, which can be used toward airline incidentals and fees. One is offered every calendar year, so it follows a strict January 1 through December 31 calendar.

Every year you can designate on which airline you want to receive the credit, with the following choices:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines

You can change your airline selection in January of each year. If you don’t change your selection, then you automatically keep the same airline choice as the previous year.

Unfortunately, you can’t use your credit toward the following:

Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees.

This is useful for airline ticket change fees (though there are fewer of these than in the past), baggage fees, and other costs you may incur with an airline. Personally, this is something I have no trouble maxing out.

Up to $150 annual Dell statement credit (or more)

The Amex Business Platinum offers up to $150 per year in statement credits on U.S. purchases made directly with Dell, with an additional $1,000 statement credit after spending $5,000 or more on those purchases each calendar year. Enrollment is required.

Dell sells a surprising number of items from other companies. For example, you can buy Bose headphones through Dell, so this is more useful than you might assume.

Up to $120 annual wireless credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers a $120 annual wireless credit. This comes in the form of a $10 monthly statement credit toward purchases made directly from any U.S. wireless telephone provider. For most cardmembers, this credit should be (almost) good as cash. The only catch is that it’s such a small amount, so it’s very much a “coupon book” benefit.

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit

The Amex Business Platinum offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit every four years. Just charge the enrollment fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.

Since I have quite a few cards offering this perk, I simply use it for friends and family members. As a reminder, Global Entry ordinarily costs $120, while TSA PreCheck ordinarily costs $85. If you’re approved for Global Entry, you also receive TSA PreCheck at no additional cost, so that’s the best play here, if eligible.

Amex Business Platinum travel benefits

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers a variety of valuable travel perks, ranging from hotel elite status, to rental car status, to discounts on premium airfare. Let’s go over these below. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

Gold Elite status with Hilton Honors

You receive complimentary Hilton Honors™ Gold Status for as long as you have the Amex Business Platinum. This status is useful, and offers the following perks:

• Free breakfast, a hotel credit, and/or executive lounge access
• Late check-out, subject to availability
• Preferred rooms
• 80% points bonus
• Fifth night free on award stays

Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy

You receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status for as long as you have the Amex Business Platinum. That status offers the following perks, among other things:

• 25% bonus points on hotel stays
• 2PM late check-out
• A room upgrade, subject to availability

Sterling status with Leading Hotels of the World

The Amex Business Platinum offers Leaders Club Sterling status from Leading Hotels of the World. Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of independent, luxury properties, so this offers perks at some properties that don’t otherwise participate in major global hotel groups.

This status typically requires $5,000 in annual spending at these hotels and offers perks such as five pre-arrival upgrades per year.

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle status

The Amex Business Platinum offers Hertz President’s Circle elite status, the highest tier of status offered by Hertz. Your status is valid as long as you remain a cardmember. This should take some of the pain out of renting cars, and offers the following perks:

• Guaranteed car upgrades, a minimum of one-class, at participating locations
• Freedom to choose any vehicle in the President’s Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge
• No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United States
• 50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards points on all qualified rentals
• Expedited vehicle pick-up at over 1,000 locations worldwide
• No stopping at the counter at over 50 airports
• eReturn, whereby you don’t have to wait when returning your car
• Hertz Valet, whereby you can take advantage of a terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times per year
• A dedicated President’s Circle call center line

Also keep in mind that rental car companies are often pretty generous with status matches, so you can also potentially use your Hertz status to match with other brands, like Enterprise and Sixt.

National Emerald Club Executive status

The Amex Business Platinum offers National Emerald Club Executive status. You have to enroll to take advantage of this, and it’s valid for as long as you have your card. National is my favorite rental car company, and Executive status lets you pick out your car from the lot, and skip the counter altogether.

Avis Preferred Plus status

The Amex Business Platinum offers Avis Preferred Plus status. You have to enroll to take advantage of this, and it’s valid for as long as you have your card. Avis Preferred Plus status offers perks like a one-class car upgrade, discounts on rentals, and more.

Access to Platinum Member Airfares program

With the Platinum Member Airfares program (formerly known as the International Airline Program), you can save on the cost of international first class, business class, and premium economy airfare, on around two dozen airlines. This typically provides discounts even on already discounted tickets, so is a spectacular value.

If you book paid international premium cabin travel with any frequency, this could cover the card’s annual fee over and over.

Access to Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®

The Amex Business Platinum offers access to the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® program, allowing you to receive extra perks for stays at over 1,000 luxury hotels around the world. These benefits include the following:

• Daily breakfast for two people
• Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
• A unique property amenity (usually a $100 property credit, free massage, car transfer, etc.)
• Guaranteed 4PM check-out
• 12PM check-in, subject to availability
• Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi (exclusions apply)

Best of all, the rate is typically in line with the best available, flexible rate. Having the Amex Business Platinum gets you access to this, and if you prepay your reservation you even earn 5x points. Keep in mind you can even stack this with the card’s hotel credit to get the most value.

Just keep in mind that Virtuoso offers similar perks, and doesn’t require any specific credit card. The main benefit here is that you can stack this with the hotel credits offered by the card, to really maximize value.

Speaking of access to other programs, I should mention that the card also gives you access to the Amex Cruise Privileges Program, though I don’t consider that to be a particularly valuable perk.

Amex Business Platinum airport lounge access

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers one of the most comprehensive lounge access benefits of any card. This perk is called the Global Lounge Collection®, and it offers access to over 1,550 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting. This includes proprietary Amex lounges, as well as access to lounges run by other airlines and companies. Let’s go over the details of what that entails. Before I do, let me mention that Lufthansa lounge access has been cut as of October 1, 2026, which is why I’m not including it in the list.

Amex Centurion Lounge access

Amex is well known for its Centurion Lounges. These are significantly better than what you’ll find in most U.S. airline lounges, with a solid selection of hot food and cocktails.

Currently, U.S. locations include Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, with more to come. There are also Centurion Lounges in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, and Tokyo, among other international destinations.

You can access these lounges up to three hours before departure of your flight (if you’re connecting, then the three-hour limit doesn’t apply). Please note that you’re only eligible to bring in guests on a complimentary basis if you spend at least $75,000 per calendar year on the card. If you don’t, you’ll have to pay $50 per person (children under two can enter for free, while children two to 17 years old get a discounted fee of $30 per visit).

Delta Sky Club access

The Amex Business Platinum also offers access to the Delta Sky Club®, with some limitations. Cardmembers can receive access within three hours of a departing or arriving flight, and must present their card, a boarding pass showing a confirmed reservation for an eligible Delta flight, and a government-issued ID.

Eligible cards issued in the United States receive 10 visits to the Delta Sky Club® each year, to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year, with all visits within a 24-hour period counting as a single visit. It’s also possible to earn an unlimited number of visits by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on a card account in a calendar year.

Priority Pass membership

The Amex Business Platinum offers a Priority Pass™ membership, which gives you access to lounges around the world. You can bring up to two guests into these lounges. While these aren’t the most exciting and high quality lounges, there’s no denying that this gives you access to a comprehensive collection of lounges.

Escape Lounge access

The Amex Business Platinum offers access to the growing network of Escape Lounges. Just present your card and you’ll be admitted, and you can even bring in two complimentary guests.

Plaza Premium Lounge access

The Amex Business Platinum offers direct access to the Plaza Premium Lounge network, with two complimentary guests. Admittedly many of these lounges can also be accessed through Priority Pass.

However, some Plaza Premium locations are only accessible through other means (like the Amex Business Platinum), and in some cases directly presenting an Amex card also comes with better access terms, ranging from included showers, to longer stays. So when visiting a Plaza Premium Lounge, just present your Amex Business Platinum rather than your Priority Pass membership.

Is the Amex Business Platinum Card worth it?

Like most cards, the answer here is that it depends on the circumstances. In general, I would say that the Amex Business Platinum Card is a business card that you get in the long run for the benefits that it offers, rather than for the return on spending that it directly offers.

It could make sense to spend money on the card if your business consistently makes $5,000+ purchases, but other than that, there are better cards for everyday spending.

The card offers big benefits but also has a steep annual fee. When it comes to accounting for the value of the card, I recommend considering the following:

• How much do you value the various credits, as those are potentially worth thousands of dollars?
• How much do you value the Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite status, Hilton Honors™ Gold status, Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club status, as well as the Hertz, National, and Avis elite status?
• How much value will you get from Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® and the Platinum Member Airfares program?
• How much do you value the lounge access perks offered by the card?

Personally, I think the annual fee on this card is easier to justify than ever before. The most substantial benefit is a $600 annual hotel credit, so if you can maximize that, then I think it’s super easy to make the math on the card work. When you add in the massive welcome offer, there’s huge merit to picking up the card.

How does the personal Amex Platinum compare?

Obviously the Amex Business Platinum is based on the American Express Platinum Card® (learn more), which is a personal card. The fundamental value proposition of both cards is similar, in the sense that they both have steep annual fees, both offer airport lounge access, and both provide credits that can potentially help (more than) offset the annual fee.

There are pros and cons to each of the cards, and I covered that in more detail in my comparison of the personal and business Amex Platinum. Long story short, which card is better depends on which credits you value more, which categories you spend in, etc. For some people, it could even make sense to have both.

How does the Amex Business Gold compare?

If you’re looking for an Amex card with big bonus categories, the American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more) is excellent, and you should consider adding it to your wallet. The card has a $375 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the two categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle from six eligible categories. You earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1x thereafter). The eligible categories are as follows:

• Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.

While the card’s annual fee is steep, the good news is that the card also offers credits and benefits that can greatly help offset that. As I view it, the Amex Business Platinum is about the perks, while the Amex Business Gold is about the points, assuming the card matches your spending patterns.

How does the Amex Blue Business Plus compare?

If you want to rack up as many Amex Membership Rewards points as possible through business spending, then there’s another Amex card you should really consider, which makes a great complement to the Amex Business Platinum.

Specifically, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and it offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (1x points after that). This is one of the best cards out there for non-bonused spending up to that limit, so there’s no reason not to get it as a complement to the Amex Business Platinum, so you can take advantage of rewards on both cards.

How does the Chase Sapphire Reserve Business compare?

The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) is another Amex Business Platinum competitor worth considering. The card does have a steep $795 annual fee, but there are lots of reasons that could be worth paying. The card has a massive welcome bonus, it offers a variety of credits (including a $300 annual travel credit), it offers airport lounge access (including Chase Sapphire Lounge access and a Priority Pass membership), and it also has a great rewards structure.

Specifically, the card offers 4x points on direct airline and hotel spending, plus 3x points on social media and search engine advertising, on up to $1 million in spend each anniversary year, starting November 15, 2026. If you spend a lot on search engine advertising, that cap of $1 million is much higher than the cap of $150,000, so it could be a major reason to get the card.

How does the Capital One Venture X Business compare?

I’d argue that the Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) is another card that’s quite a competitor to the Amex Business Platinum Card, given how lucrative it is. The card also has an excellent welcome bonus, so applying for the card is easy to justify.

The card offers 2x miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees. While the card has a $395 annual fee, that’s easy to make the math work thanks to the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, and much more.

Capital One miles can also be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners. Lastly, the card offers lounge access, including a Priority Pass™ membership, and access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings.

I’d say this card is much more approachable and easy to justify than the Amex Business Platinum, given that it also offers lounge access, and has a much more reasonable annual fee that’s also easier to justify.

Amex Business Platinum FAQs

Bottom line

The Amex Business Platinum Card is a perks-rich card that also has one of the highest annual fees of any business card. This is the ideal time to get this card, given the current welcome offer — that in and of itself is a reason to give this card a try.

If you’re considering applying for this card, I’d do so if you think you’d get value out of the perks. This includes an incredible lounge access benefit, up to $600 in annual hotel credits, up to $200 in airline fee credits, up to $200 in Hilton credits, and much more. I think the math on this card is easy enough to justify nowadays, and I’d say the value proposition is better than in the past. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

If you want to learn more about the Amex Business Platinum Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees), The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).

While many people may be familiar with the American Express® Gold Card (learn more), the business version of the card is also worth being aware of, and I’d argue it’s one of the best business cards out there for earning points.

Link: Learn more about the American Express® Business Gold Card

Amex Business Gold summary & key details

Before I get into my Amex Business Gold Card review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:

• Annual fee: $375 (Rates & Fees)
• Welcome offer: As high as 200,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months; welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer
• Points earn rate: 4x points in the category in which your business spends the most each billing cycle (from a choice of six) on up to $150,000 in spending per year, 3x points with select Amex Travel purchases, and 1x points for all other eligible purchases
• Credits & benefits: Up to $300 annual ChatGPT business subscription credit, up to $240 annual flexible business credit, up to $155 annual Walmart+ credit, up to $150 annual Squarespace credit, and more (enrollment required for all perks)
• Foreign transaction fee: None (Rates & Fees)
• Best for: Business owners who want to earn Membership Rewards points for their spending, who spend in categories that align with the bonuses, and ideally those who can also take advantage of the credits to offset the annual fee

Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Amex Business Gold Card.

Amex Business Gold bonus, fees, & eligibility

Let’s take a look at some of the key details to be aware of if you’re thinking of applying for the Amex Business Gold Card, including the card’s welcome offer, the annual fee, eligibility for the card, and more.

Amex Business Gold welcome offer as high as 200K points

The Amex Business Gold Card welcome offer is incredibly lucrative, as the card currently has an offer as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

Based on my most recent points valuations, I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me those up to 200,000 points with the welcome offer are worth $3,400. This is an absolutely massive welcome offer, assuming you’re eligible for the headline amount (or anything close to it). It’s a huge incentive to at least give the card a try for a year.

Amex Business Gold eligibility requirements

If you’re applying for the Amex Business Gold Card, be aware of Amex’s general restrictions on applying for cards, including the “once in a lifetime rule.” That means you’re not eligible for the welcome offer on the card if you’ve already had this card, though you are potentially eligible for the bonus if you’ve had other Amex cards. Anecdotally, I find Amex business cards to be quite easy to get approved for.

There are two other things to keep in mind, that are kind of cool:

• While Amex typically has a five credit card limit, the Amex Business Gold doesn’t count toward that, because it’s a hybrid card, and not technically a credit card
• If you’re concerned about staying under Chase’s 5/24 limit, applying for an Amex business card won’t count toward that, since it doesn’t show up on your personal credit report in that way

Amex Business Gold $375 annual fee

The Amex Business Gold Card has an annual fee of $375 (Rates & Fees). You can add additional cardmembers to your account at no extra cost. This is one of the higher annual fee business cards out there, but fortunately the card offers some perks that will help offset that.

Amex Business Gold authorized user fee

Want to add Amex Business Gold authorized users? Beyond the annual fee for the primary cardmember, the card also has a fee to add authorized users. The cost is $95 for the first five authorized users (that’s total, not per person), and then $95 for each additional authorized user beyond that (Rates & Fees). It’s possible to add up to 99 employee cards to your account.

The good news is that Amex offers some business management tools that make it easier to control spending and help with accounting if you add several employee cards, like connecting to QuickBooks (to manage employee business expenses), along with an account manager and year-end summary feature.

Purchase protection, extended warranty, rental car coverage

As you’d expect for a card of this caliber, the Amex Business Gold offers some decent purchase protection benefits. You’ll want to consult the full cardmember agreement, but the card offers an extended warranty, purchase protection, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance, and trip delay insurance.

These are perks that are really worth it in those rare situations where they’re needed, so it’s worth using a card like that for your spending.

Amex Business Gold points earning structure

One of the primary reasons you may want to consider the Amex Business Gold Card (other than the great welcome offer) is because of the bonus categories that it offers on purchases. The card offers up to 4x points, though the way in which these bonus points are awarded is pretty nuanced, so let’s take a look at the Amex Business Gold rewards structure.

Earn 4x Membership Rewards points in select categories

Amex takes an interesting approach to offering bonus points with the Amex Business Gold, because the categories in which you earn 4x points adjusts along with your spending every billing cycle.

Each billing cycle you earn 4x Membership Rewards points in the two categories where your business spends the most. There are a total of six eligible categories to choose from. Note that you earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year, and then 1x points thereafter. Categories eligible for 4x points include:

• Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.

It’s worth specifically emphasizing how five of the six possible 4x points categories are limited to U.S. purchases, so this isn’t a great card for a business that makes a lot of purchases abroad, or in foreign currencies.

Based on my valuation of Membership Rewards points, that’s the equivalent of a 6.8% return on spending in those categories, which is incredible.

What qualifies for 4x points bonus categories?

How does Amex define the bonus categories on the Amex Business Gold? Here are some general guidelines to be aware of:

• U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing includes Apple, CDW, Dell, HP, IBM, Intuit, Lenovo, Microsoft, Newegg, Oracle, Rackspace, Sage Software, Salesforce.com, Symantec, and Tiger Direct
• U.S. advertising in select media includes Google, Facebook, Yahoo, NBC National Broadcasting, and CBS Radio
• U.S. wireless service providers include monthly charges from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more, and it doesn’t include purchases for hardware, bundled services, VoIP services, and purchases from resellers or third party sellers

The gas station, restaurant, and transit categories are mostly self-explanatory. Just keep in mind that gas station and restaurant categories are limited to U.S. locations.

The Amex Business Gold Card limits you to earning 4x points on a total of $150,000 of spending every calendar year. That’s across all the bonus categories, and it doesn’t matter how it’s split up. There’s no limit to the total number of points you can earn with the card, though there is a limit to the 4x points categories.

Earn 3x Membership Rewards points on Amex Travel

The Amex Business Gold Card earns 3x points on flights & pre-paid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com. While you don’t earn any bonus rewards on direct travel purchases, this could be worth it if you find good travel options through Amex Travel.

Earn 1x Membership Rewards points on other purchases

For categories in which you can’t earn 4x points or 3x points, the Amex Business Gold Card offers 1x points per dollar spent. There are generally going to be better cards for everyday spending.

No foreign transaction fees on spending

The Amex Business Gold Card has no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so you can use it for purchases globally. Just keep in mind that some of the 4x point categories are largely restricted to U.S. purchases.

Amex Business Gold points redemption options

The Amex Business Gold Card earns Membership Rewards points. This is one of the major transferable points currencies, and is a favorite points currency for many. These points can efficiently be transferred to airline and hotel partners, and that’s super valuable.

Transfer Amex points to airline & hotel partners

The best way to redeem your Amex points is to transfer them to one of the Membership Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the below 22 partners, including 18 airline partners and four hotel partners.

The reason this represents such a good deal is that you can get outsized value toward first and business class travel. These tickets are often super expensive if paying cash, while they can be a good deal on points.

For example, if you’re strategic, it’s not unusual to find one-way transatlantic business class award tickets that cost 60,000 to 80,000 points, when they would cost many thousands of dollars if paying cash. If you were otherwise to assume points are worth one cent each, that’s like paying “just” $600 to $800 for such a ticket.

On top of that Amex often has transfer bonuses, which can get you even better value, so always keep an eye out for those. Just as an example, I’ve redeemed 75,000 Aeroplan points for one-way transatlantic business class tickets on Lufthansa (recently from Austin to Frankfurt), or 60,000 Flying Blue miles for one-way transatlantic business class tickets on Air France (recently from Miami to Paris to Venice).

How not to redeem Amex points

While you can redeem Membership Rewards points toward the cost of merchandise (including with Amazon), toward gift cards, toward travel purchases with Amex Travel, or to pay off your statement, these aren’t good uses of your points.

You’ll typically only get up to one cent of value per point, and often much less value than that, so that’s not how I’d redeem them. Instead, focus on redemptions that get you well over one cent of value per point, if possible.

Amex Business Gold benefits & credits

The Amex Business Gold Card offers several benefits that cardmembers may find useful, including up to $845 in annual credits (sadly none of them are for airlines or hotels, unlike so many other premium cards nowadays). Do the benefits justify the annual fee, though? Let’s take a closer look.

Up to $300 annual ChatGPT business subscription credit

The Amex Business Gold Card offers up to $300 back annually for purchases of ChatGPT Business made directly with OpenAI in the U.S., and enrollment is required. That’s of course a perk that matches the times.

For what it’s worth, the minimum cost of ChatGPT Business is $20 per user per month, with a minimum of two users required. So that means you’d pay a minimum of $40 per month for two users, or $480 per year. With the $300 credit, you’d be paying just $180, or $15 per month total for two people. That could definitely be a good value, though unless there’s a promotion (which there sometimes is), this is unlikely to get you something “free.”

Up to $240 annual flexible business credit

The Amex Business Gold Card offers up to $240 back annually for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx (through 10/01/2026), Grubhub, and office supply stores.

This comes in the form of up to $20 per month in statement credits toward eligible purchases. Enrollment is required for this perk, and for many, this will be worth face value. I’d say that it’s easy enough to spend $20 per month in any of those three categories.

Up to $155 annual Walmart+ membership credit

The Amex Business Gold Card offers up to $155 per year in Walmart+ credits, which comes in the form of a $12.95 monthly credit toward a Walmart+ membership, covering the entire cost of it. Walmart+ can save you money on shipping and delivery of Walmart purchases, as well as on prescriptions and gas. You need to enroll for the Walmart+ benefit.

Up to $150 annual Squarespace credit

The Amex Business Gold Card offers up to $150 back annually for U.S. purchases with Squarespace, and enrollment is required. Note that this can be used as a one-time credit, so there’s no need to break this down into monthly credits, or anything like that.

Squarespace can help you build a website or online store, and it’s very popular. I can’t say I’ve used this benefit or value it much, but others will feel differently, and will recoup the full value from this benefit.

Access to the Amex Offers program

One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings or bonus points on purchases with all kinds of retailers. The more Amex cards you have, the more offers you’ll have access to, so it’s another reason to get the Amex Business Gold.

Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year. You can access these offers by logging into your account and scrolling down to the bottom of your account summary page.

Access to The Hotel Collection

For staying two or more nights at select luxury hotels, you can receive extra benefits through The Hotel Collection, and having the Amex Business Gold unlocks that. Benefits include a $100 hotel credit and a room upgrade if available. This is different than Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, which requires having an Amex Platinum Card.

Is the Amex Business Gold worth it?

I tend to think that the Amex Business Gold Card is a pretty polarizing card. Either it’s absolutely a no-brainer for your business, or there are probably better cards out there.

Personally, I think it makes sense to get the Amex Business Gold Card if you have a business that spends a significant amount in the categories that are eligible for 4x points, since there are some unique categories there where not many other cards offer bonuses.

If you spend quite a bit in any of those categories, then it should be easy enough to justify the annual fee on the card, especially when taking advantage of the up to $845 in credits offered by the card annually.

Meanwhile if you have a small business, don’t spend much on credit cards, can’t maximize the credits, and the bonus categories don’t align with your spending, then there are absolutely better cards out there. Speaking of that, let’s take a look at some other business cards that people may consider, to see how they compare.

Use Amex Blue Business Plus as Amex Business Gold complement

If I could get just one Amex business card, it would probably be The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more), which offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (1x after that). This is a no annual fee card (Rates & Fees) that should be a no-brainer for just about anyone.

This is a great complement to the Amex Business Gold Card:

• You can earn 2x points on non-bonused spending with the Blue Business Plus
• You can earn 4x points in bonus categories with the Business Gold

Amex Business Gold vs. Business Platinum

If you’re considering the Amex Business Gold, odds are that you’re also at least looking at The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more). The card has a $895 (Rates & Fees) annual fee, which is obviously even steeper.

As I see it, the Amex Business Gold and Amex Business Platinum are quite different — the Amex Business Gold is one you get for the rewards structure, and you try to use the credits to justify it. Meanwhile the Amex Business Platinum is one you get for the perks, as it’s not as rewarding for spending. The only exceptions are that the Amex Business Platinum offers 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels via Amex Travel, and that it offers 2x points on purchases of $5,000 or more in a single transaction, on up to $2 million of spending per calendar year.

If you ask me, the Amex Business Platinum is quite easy to justify, in my opinion, as the card offers airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and all kinds of credits that can justify the annual fee. In many ways, I’d say the two cards could even be complements, even though I realize we’re talking about a lot of fees at this point. but still, the cards serve different purposes.

Amex Business Gold vs. Chase Ink Preferred

One of the best business credit cards out there is the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more). The card has a massive welcome bonus, a reasonable $95 annual fee, offers 3x points in useful categories, has a great cell phone protection plan and rental car coverage, and more.

Personally, I think the Ink Preferred is a more well-rounded card with a more reasonable annual fee. If I could only get one card, I would get the Ink Preferred.

However, for some businesses, it could make sense to get both cards, or if you’re already in the Amex card ecosystem, then there’s value in continuing to earn Membership Rewards points.

Amex Business Gold vs. Sapphire Reserve Business

The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) is another Amex Business Gold competitor worth considering. The card does have a steep $795 annual fee, but there are lots of reasons that could be worth paying. The card has a massive welcome bonus, it offers a variety of credits (including a $300 annual travel credit), it offers airport lounge access (including Chase Sapphire Lounge access and a Priority Pass membership), and it also has a great rewards structure.

Specifically, the card offers 4x points on direct airline and hotel spending, plus 3x points on social media and search engine advertising, on up to $1 million in spend each anniversary year, starting November 15, 2026. If you spend a lot on search engine advertising, that cap of $1 million is much higher than the cap of $150,000, so it could be a major reason to get the card.

Amex Business Gold vs. Venture X Business

I’d argue that the Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) is another card that’s quite a competitor to the Amex Business Gold Card, given how lucrative it is. The card also has an excellent welcome bonus, so applying for the card is easy to justify.

The card offers 2x miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees. While the card has a $395 annual fee, that’s easy to make the math work thanks to the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, and much more.

Capital One miles can also be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners. Lastly, the card offers lounge access, including a Priority Pass™ membership, and access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings.

In many ways, the Amex Business Gold and Venture X Business are the opposites — the former is great for its bonus categories, while the latter is great for everyday spending.

Amex Business Gold FAQs

Bottom line

I know it was long, but there’s my Amex Business Gold Card review. This is one of American Express’ best business cards for earning Membership Rewards points. The card has a steep annual fee, so it’s best for those who can maximize the bonus categories. It’s easy enough to help offset the annual fee by using the up to $845 in annual credits offered by the card.

If you’d benefit from the 4x points categories, the welcome offer, and the ongoing credits, then I think the card is definitely worth it. Otherwise, I think there are other business cards to consider.

If you want to learn more about the Amex Business Gold Card, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees), The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).

Taking advantage of this Rakuten sign-up bonus is truly a no-brainer, as I’d view this as a way to get $50 worth of stuff for (basically) free. For that matter, you’re missing out more broadly if you’re not earning additional rewards for your online shopping, beyond what you earn with your credit card.

In this post I’d like to go over all the details of Rakuten, including how the Rakuten referral bonus works, and the easiest way to maximize it.

Link: Sign-up for a Rakuten account with a best-ever $50 bonus

How the Rakuten online shopping portal works

Rakuten is a free online shopping and rewards platform that pays users either cash back or points for the shopping they do online. Rakuten partners with over 3,500 online retailers, many of which are well known, ranging from Lowe’s, to Nike, to Target. The Rakuten shopping portal concept is simple — if you click through from Rakuten to the partner website, Rakuten tracks the purchase and gets paid a commission, and then you get a reward as well.

Note that as a consumer, Rakuten is free to use. The commission is paid by the business, so you’ll pay the same price you’d pay if you just went directly to the retailer’s website. To maximize your savings, you can even download the Rakuten browser extension, which will automatically notify you when you can earn extra rewards.

I should mention that there are several online shopping portals out there to choose from, so Rakuten isn’t alone. Personally I find that Rakuten is my favorite because it has among the largest selection of partners, it gives you the flexibility to earn cash back or points, and I also find the earnings rates to be very competitive.

It can always pay to use a site like Cashback Monitor to compare the earnings rates for retailers across portals, so that you’re maximizing your rewards. In some situations you may be better off using other portals, so it’s always worth understanding what your options are.

$50 Rakuten referral bonus details & terms

Through September 30, 2026, Rakuten is offering a generous elevated refer-a-friend bonus. Specifically, if you refer a friend to Rakuten and they spend $50 within the first 90 days, then both the person referring and the person being referred each receive $50.

This is truly a best-ever bonus, as we’ve previously only seen a bonus of up to $40 — though admittedly this offer has stuck around for quite some time.

This is a very good deal. Essentially Rakuten is giving out $100 total for a $50 purchase, between the person referring and the person being referred. Long term you can potentially get even more value with Rakuten, as rewards can be converted into Amex or Bilt points.

How to get the Rakuten $50 bonus: step-by-step

Actually earning the $50 Rakuten sign-up bonus is really straightforward:

1. Join Rakuten using a qualifying referral link, and you can even then decide if you want to earn Amex or Bilt points in lieu of cash back going forward (more on that below)
2. Make a qualifying purchase of at least $50 within the first 90 days
3. Keep an eye on your account for the rewards to post; first they’ll show as pending, and then you’ll actually receive the rewards per Rakuten’s standard payout rules

What’s the timeline with which you’ll actually receive the rewards? With Rakuten you’re paid (either in cash or points) once quarterly, and there’s a cutoff for payments:

• For activity between January 1 and March 31, get paid on May 15
• For activity between April 1 and June 30, get paid on August 15
• For activity between July 1 and September 30, get paid on November 15
• For activity between October 1 and December 31, get paid on February 15

The easiest way to trigger the Rakuten sign up bonus

Rakuten partners with literally thousands of retailers, and an eligible purchase worth at least $50 with any eligible retail partner would qualify. When you click over to the partner site, just make sure you keep an eye on any exclusions, since some types of purchases may not qualify for rewards.

Don’t have anything you need to buy right now? There are easy ways to unlock the $50 bonus, including simply purchasing a $50 gift card through giftcards.com. This is so easy — you can pick up a $50 gift card with a variety of retailers, and then you’ll receive $50 in cash.

There are also often amazing opportunities to earn close to 100% back or 100x points with select retailers, which is a rate at which I’d gladly buy points all day long, without even factoring in the service being sold.

Earn the Rakuten bonus as cash or rewards points

The reason that Rakuten is my favorite shopping portal is because Rakuten rewards can be converted into Amex Membership Rewards points or Bilt Rewards points. The exact way this works depends on the currency you choose to earn.

With the Rakuten and Amex Membership Rewards partnership, you can consistently earn one point in lieu of one cent, assuming you have an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points. So if a retailer offers 10% cash back, you can instead earn 10x Amex points.

Based on my latest points valuations, Amex Membership Rewards points are worth 1.7 cents each, because of all the ways there are to redeem the points for first and business class international travel, while getting outsized value. To me that increases the value of the rewards by 70%.

This just requires changing one setting in your account, so it’s super easy. The only thing to be aware of is that this points earning opportunity doesn’t apply to the welcome bonus, but does apply to all spending beyond that.

That’s not the only opportunity, though. The Rakuten and Bilt Rewards partnership lets members earn Bilt Rewards points in lieu of cash back. Bilt elite members can earn one point in lieu of every one cent, while non-elite members can earn one point in lieu of every two cents. Much like Amex Membership Rewards points, I also value Bilt Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, as there are also many good uses of this points currency.

What’s cool here is that your cash back can retroactively be converted into Bilt points for the entire Rakuten “payout” period (roughly quarterly), and that means even the refer-a-friend bonus can be converted into points.

If you have the choice between one Amex point or one Bilt point, I think many people might prefer the latter, given the value of the rewards, plus how hard they are to earn. However, if the ratio isn’t one point per cent, then I’d go with the Amex partnership instead.

Maximize credit card rewards with Rakuten purchases

Beyond the rewards you earn directly with Rakuten, your spending with retailers can of course also earn credit card rewards.

Rakuten’s co-branded Amex card is among the best cards for Rakuten spending, as it earns 4% cash back on those purchases, on up to $10,000 per calendar year. Beyond that, purchases with online retailers typically don’t qualify for any exciting bonus categories, so most consumers will want to use one of the best cards for everyday spending.

For personal cards, this would include options like the Bilt Palladium Card (learn more), Chase Freedom Unlimited® (learn more), Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more), Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more), and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more). For business cards, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more) and Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) are among the best.

Of course there are exceptions, since Rakuten also partners with some brands that may be in categories eligible for bonus rewards on some cards. There are a couple more Rakuten tips I should mention:

• Some credit cards offer monthly, quarterly, or annual credits, so don’t forget to stack those; for example, if you’re buying something through Dell or lululemon, you can always go through the Rakuten portal first to earn bonus rewards, even if you still get a statement credit for those purchases
• Always keep an eye on programs like Amex Offers or Chase Offers, which provide discounts with select retailers, as sometimes those opportunities can be stacked with shopping portals

Refer friends to Rakuten after earning the bonus

Once you join Rakuten, you too can then refer friends and family members, and earn an unlimited number of referral bonuses. Finding your link is easy. Just log into your Rakuten account, and then click on the “Refer & Earn” button at the top left. Then you can either email them an invitation, or you can just send them the URL, and they can apply through that.

OMAAT readers are welcome to leave their referral links in the comments section below.

Rakuten referral bonus frequently asked questions

Bottom line

Rakuten is my favorite online shopping portal, and the company is currently offering its best-ever new member bonus. Through September 30, 2026, the Rakuten sign-up bonus is for $50 — this is a great bonus, and it’s exclusively available if you’re referred by another member with an eligible link.

Since only a $50 purchase is required for the Rakuten referral bonus, that’s like getting $50 worth of stuff more or less for free. Then long term you can even earn Amex Membership Rewards points or Bilt Rewards points in place of cash back, which I value significantly more. If you don’t yet have a Rakuten account, this is the time to sign up.

Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture Card

What is the current Capital One Venture Card bonus?

The Capital One Venture Card is currently offering a limited time, lucrative, two-part welcome offer, whereby you can earn 75,000 Capital One bonus miles, plus a $300 Capital One Travel stays credit, after spending $4,000 within the first three months.

For context, Capital One miles can be redeemed for a minimum of one cent each, meaning the 75,000 miles will get you at least $750 in value. However, I value the miles at 1.7 cents each based on my latest analysis (see my methodology here), thanks to the value you can get by transferring the miles to travel partners. That means that to me, the 75,000 miles are worth $1,275.

That doesn’t include the value of the $300 Capital One Travel credit. The idea is that this can be used for a hotel or vacation rental booking through Capital One Travel in your first cardmember year, and it’s valid across one or multiple stays. In other words, you could use it to pay virtually nothing for a $300 hotel stay. All-in-all, I’d say the Capital One Venture bonus is worth up to $1,575.

How does the current Capital One Venture limited time bonus compare to past offers?

• We’ve never seen a publicly available welcome offer of over 75,000 miles (in terms of the mileage component), though in 2024 there was a targeted offer of 100,000 miles
• We have seen a $250 Capital One Travel credit offered along with the miles a couple of times in the past, and this time we’re seeing a $300 Capital One Travel credit, so on the surface, it’s the biggest credit we’ve seen on the card to date
• The limitation is that this time around, the $300 credit is unfortunately limited to accommodations, while the previous $250 credits could also be applied to things like flights

Who is eligible for the Capital One Venture Card bonus?

When you look at the bonus terms on the Capital One Venture Card, you’ll find the following language:

You are not eligible for this product if you have received a new cardmember bonus for the Capital One Venture card or the Capital One Venture X card in the past 48 months.

As you can see, the card follows a 48-month rule, so you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus on this card if you’ve received a new cardmember bonus on this exact card or on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) in the past 48 months.

Other than that, eligibility is unrelated to having any other credit card, and Capital One doesn’t have many consistent restrictions when it comes to getting approved for cards.

Is the Capital One Venture Card worth it?

The Capital One Venture Card has a reasonable $95 annual fee, and offers a variety of perks beyond the excellent welcome bonus:

• The Venture Card offers 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars, booked through Capital One Travel, plus 2x miles on all other purchases
• The Venture Card has no foreign transaction fees, making it one of the best cards for everyday spending, as I value that at a 3.4% return on spending
• The Venture Card offers an up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years
• The Venture Card offers access to the Capital One Lifestyle Collection, with a $50 experience credit and other benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booking
• The Venture Card offers rental car coverage — for full details review the guide to benefits

There are lots of great ways to redeem Capital One miles, as they can be transferred to Capital One’s roughly 20 airline and hotel partners. That’s my preferred use of them, as you can get some amazing travel experiences this way.

Partners include programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and more. These are all programs that allow you to really maximize your points and get outsized value.

Capital One Venture vs. Venture X: which is better?

While the Capital One Venture Card is awesome, how does it compare to the Capital One Venture X Card, which is Capital One’s ultra premium credit card? The Venture X has a $395 annual fee, so the fee is significantly higher, but it also offers several great perks that should more than justify the annual fee. Among other things, the Venture X offers:

• A $300 annual travel credit plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, which to me more than justifies the $395 annual fee
• A Priority Pass™ membership (giving you unlimited access to 1,300+ lounges around the globe), plus unlimited access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings
• Great travel benefits, including primary rental car coverage and cell phone protection

So when it comes to the Capital One Venture vs. Venture X, personally I think the Venture X is an even better value than the Venture. However, I know some people just want to avoid higher annual fee cards in general, so for those people, the Venture could be a better option.

Capital One Venture Card bonus FAQs

Bottom line

The limited time Capital One Venture Card bonus currently offers 75,000 Capital One miles plus a $300 Capital One Travel credit upon completing minimum spending. This Capital One Venture bonus is significantly better than usual, so if you’re eligible for the card based on the 48-month bonus rule, I’d absolutely recommend applying.

Anyone plan to pick up the Capital One Venture Card with this great bonus?

Promotion on purchased Finnair Plus Avios

Finnair Plus is offering a limited time bonus on purchased Avios. If you purchase Finnair Plus Avios between September 21 and October 5, 2026, you can receive the following deal:

• Buy 7,000-24,000 Avios, receive a 30% bonus
• Buy 25,000-54,000 Avios, receive a 35% bonus
• Buy 55,000-89,000 Avios, receive a 40% bonus
• Buy 90,000-200,000 Avios, receive a 50% bonus

Now, here’s where it gets interesting — Finnair lets you select the currency in which you want to buy Avios (you can find the option to switch currencies at the top of the screen), and the price differs:

• If paying in JPY, Finnair ordinarily charges 3.33 JPY per Avios (2.11 cents in USD)
• If paying in USD, Finnair ordinarily charges 0.0217 USD per Avios (2.17 cents in USD)
• If paying in EUR, Finnair ordinarily charges 0.021 EUR per Avios (2.41 cents in USD)

So based on current exchange rates, you’re best off paying in JPY, followed by USD, followed by EUR. If you maxed out the promotion with a 50% bonus and paid in JPY, the best deal you could get would be to pay $4,229 for 300,000 Avios (including 100,000 bonus Avios), which comes out to 1.41 cents per Avios (in USD).

Note that this offer is only available to Finnair Plus members who have a minimum balance of 100 Avios in their account (though those Avios can be transferred from another “flavor” of the currency).

Which credit card should you buy Finnair Plus Avios with?

Finnair Plus Avios purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach minimum spending, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.

Since the purchase of Finnair Avios can potentially be billed in a foreign currency, there is one other great option. The Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite^® Credit Card (learn more) offers 3x points on foreign purchases, so that’s a fantastic card for this kind of purchase.

Is buying Finnair Plus Avios worth it?

What should you expect from Finnair Plus award pricing, and the best ways to redeem to Finnair Plus Avios?

Below you can find the one-way Finnair Plus award redemptions rates for travel on Finnair.

Awards also have surcharges, though they’re at least mild. If you have a connecting itinerary, you’ll only be charged the surcharge correlated to the most expensive segment flown.

When your award booking includes a connecting flight, Avios are charged separately for each flight, except for flights within Finland and Northern Europe. For example, a Frankfurt to Helsinki to New York business class award would cost you 82,500 Avios (20,000 Avios plus 62,500 Avios). One awesome thing is that Finnair Plus has an award seat guarantee, meaning there’s pretty consistently award availability when booking far in advance.

Finnair Plus also allows redemptions on partner airlines, though the pricing isn’t particularly attractive, for the most part. The more important thing to keep in mind is that it’s possible to transfer Avios between the various “flavors” of the currency.

Therefore this promotion is also an opportunity to earn Avios that you can transfer 1:1 to programs like Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Club, Iberia Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, etc. That opens up more redemption opportunities.

Bottom line

Finnair Plus has launched a promotion on purchased Avios. With this, you can receive up to a 50% bonus when purchasing Avios, which is an opportunity to buy them for 1.41 cents each (in USD, when paying in JPY).

This isn’t some amazing deal that everyone should take advantage of, but with a short term use in mind, I think many people could find this to be valuable. In particular, keep in mind that this is an opportunity to earn rewards with other “flavors” of Avios, thanks to the 1:1 transfer options.

Does anyone plan on taking advantage of this promo on Finnair Plus Avios?

This is not much to get excited about, but it’s better than nothing. I’d like to post a reminder of this offer, because it’s valid for stays as of today, so be sure you register.

Marriott Bonvoy offering 1,500-4,500 bonus points per stay

With Marriott Bonvoy’s new global promotion, members can earn 1,500 bonus points per stay of two or more nights, plus an additional 3,000 bonus points if that stay is at a resort (for a total of 4,500 bonus points).

Registration is required for this promotion, and as you’d expect, there are some terms to be aware of:

• The promotion is valid for stays between September 22 and November 22, 2026, regardless of when they’re booked
• Registration is required prior to your first eligible stay, and registration closes on November 13, 2026; if you’re having issues with the registration link, log into your Marriott Bonvoy account and go to the “promotions” tab
• Only stays paid with cash qualify toward this promotion, so award stays (including Cash + Points stays) don’t qualify
• The bonus points will typically post within 10 days of completion of an eligible stay
• You must select Bonvoy points as your points earning preference (rather than airline miles)
• You can only earn this bonus for one room booked per stay (so if you book multiple rooms, you wouldn’t earn this multiple times)

Let me emphasize that this isn’t a targeted promotion. All too often people do have issues registering for Marriott Bonvoy promotions, but that’s due to glitches. So if you’re having issues, try a different browser, use the app instead of the website, etc.

How valuable is this Marriott Bonvoy promotion?

The math on this promotion is easy. I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, and you earn 1,500 bonus points on paid hotel stays of at least two nights, and 4,500 bonus points on paid resort stays of at least two nights. Based on my valuation, that’s like a return of $10.50 and $31.50, respectively.

When you consider that stays need to be paid in cash and need to be at least two nights, it’s hard to get very excited about that.

I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I have a hard time imagining that offers like this drive much incremental business. For that matter, the promotion period is quite short, and covers just two months.

Normal Bonvoy points earning rates for hotel stays

Not factoring in this promotion, Marriott Bonvoy members ordinarily earn:

• 10x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at most brands
• 5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at select limited service brands

Then there are elite bonuses:

• Bonvoy Silver Elite members earn 10% bonus points
• Bonvoy Gold Elite members earn 25% bonus points
• Bonvoy Platinum Elite members earn 50% bonus points
• Bonvoy Titanium Elite & Ambassador Elite members earn 75% bonus points

The above doesn’t include the points you can earn for credit card spending at hotels:

• You can earn up to 6x Bonvoy points per dollar spent on most co-branded Marriott cards, including the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (learn more) and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (learn more)
• Otherwise, you can earn up to 3x transferable points on hotel spending (with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou)

As an Ambassador member with a co-branded credit card, I ordinarily earn 23.5x Bonvoy points per dollar spent at full service brands. At a valuation of 0.7 cents per point, that’s like a ~16% return on hotel spending.

Bottom line

Marriott Bonvoy has just launched its latest global promotion, so make sure you register. With this, members can earn 1,500 bonus points per stay of two or more nights, plus an additional 3,000 bonus points if that stay is at a resort, for a maximum of 4,500 bonus points per stay.

This offer is better than nothing, but it’s also really hard to get excited here, because we’re looking at a return of $10.50 per hotel stay or $31.50 per resort stay, and that assumes you’re staying two or more nights on a cash booking.

What do you make of Marriott Bonvoy’s new global promotion?

Transfer Citi points to Japan Airlines with 30% bonus

Effective immediately, the Japan Airlines Mileage Bank program has been added as a Citi ThankYou transfer partner. If you go to Citi’s website for points transfers, you’ll now see this functionality live.

If you have a card earning Citi ThankYou points that has an annual fee, the standard transfer ratio is 1:1, while if you have a Citi ThankYou card without an annual fee, the standard ratio is 1:0.7. There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.

To celebrate the launch of this partnership, we’re seeing a 30% transfer bonus between the two programs from September 20 through October 24, 2026, so through this promotion you’d get 1,300 Japan Airlines Mileage Bank miles for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred, assuming you have a premium card.

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is increasingly partnering with transferable points currencies, which is great. Among the major bank transferable points currencies, you can also move points to Japan Airlines from Bilt Rewards (at a 1:1 ratio) and Capital One (at a 4:3 ratio). So it’s awesome to see Citi adding Japan Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.

Is this Citi to Japan Airlines transfer bonus worth it?

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is a niche frequent flyer program that we historically haven’t paid much attention to in the United States. When it comes to actually redeeming for travel on Japan Airlines, I’d say the program is sort of valuable:

• Japan Airlines releases the same saver level award space to its own members as it does to partner program members; the advantage is that you get access to some awards that are priced a little higher, but with much better availability
• Redemption rates through Japan Airlines Mileage Bank may be a little lower than through partner programs, but given how hard it is to accrue the points, that’s not necessarily the reason you’d want to redeem through the program
• One advantage of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is that you get access to award space 360 days out, right when the schedule opens, which is ideal in terms of accessing first and business class awards, especially given that the airline consistently opens award seats when the schedule opens

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank also has lucrative redemption rates on other airlines, including oneworld partners, and select non-oneworld partners, like Air France, Emirates, etc. For example, below is the distance based business class award chart.

There’s also a oneworld award chart, if you’re traveling on two or more oneworld airlines, with the benefit of multiple stopovers being allowed.

One thing to keep in mind is that Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has restrictions on who you can redeem for. You can only redeem miles for family members, who you are related to by marriage or blood. So if you’re going to participate in Mileage Bank, you’ll definitely want to read up on some of the technicalities before making a transfer, as this isn’t as straightforward as some other programs.

So yeah, I’d say there’s quite a bit of value to be had, potentially, especially with the 30% transfer bonus. However, you’ve gotta know what you’re doing, as this isn’t the most straightforward currency to redeem.

Bottom line

Citi ThankYou has just added Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner, and the standard transfer ratio is 1:1 on premium cards. On top of that, through October 24, 2026, you can receive a 30% bonus on transfers, offering a 1:1.3 ratio. This could be a very good deal, though I also wouldn’t move points without a specific use in mind.

What do you make of Citi ThankYou adding Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a transfer partner, and having a 30% bonus for a limited time?

Transfer Citi points to Lifemiles with 25% bonus

Between September 20 and October 24, 2026, the Citi ThankYou program in the United States is offering a 25% bonus on points transfers to Avianca Lifemiles.

Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:1 ratio (in 1,000 point increments), while through this promotion you’d get 1,250 Avianca Lifemiles for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred.

We see transferable points currencies frequently offer bonuses when moving points to Avianca Lifemiles, and we’ve seen such promotions from most major transferable points currencies in the past year.

There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (learn more), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.

Should you transfer Citi points to Lifemiles?

Avianca is in the Star Alliance, which means you can redeem Lifemiles on all Star Alliance airlines without any fuel surcharges. Really this is the core value proposition of the program, since this is a great way to book Star Alliance premium cabin seats at a huge discount. Check out my guide on how to redeem Lifemiles for ideas on how to use these miles.

With a specific use in mind, this could represent a great value, especially for redemptions in business class on partner airlines (there are also some limited first class opportunities, but they’re few and far between). Everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves and decide whether this makes sense or not.

Let me emphasize that in some cases, Lifemiles doesn’t have access to the same award availability as Star Alliance partners, for better or worse. Sometimes Lifemiles doesn’t have access to partner awards that other programs do have access to, and other times the inverse is true.

That’s why I always recommend doing some “dummy” award searches before buying miles, so you can get a sense of how award availability lines up with your needs.

Bottom line

Through October 24, 2026, the Citi ThankYou program is offering a 25% bonus on points transfers to Avianca Lifemiles. If you’re looking to redeem on Star Alliance partners, there’s definitely some value to be had here. With the 25% bonus, you can potentially get a very reasonably priced award on Avianca or one of its Star Alliance partners. As always, the challenge is actually finding award availability.

Do you plan on taking advantage of this Citi transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles?

In this post, I’d like to cover the differences between charge cards and credit cards, as there are some important distinctions. What’s the difference between a charge card and a credit card?

What makes a charge card different than a credit card

What separates a charge card from a credit card? It’s possible that you’ve been using a charge card without even knowing it. Let me start with a chart comparing the basic differences, and then I’ll get into more detail below.

Charge cards have no preset spending limit

Probably the most obvious thing that separates a charge card from a credit card is that a charge card has no preset spending limit, while a credit card has a credit limit.

On a traditional credit card, you have an exact published maximum amount of credit that you’ll be extended, and you can’t exceed that. However, on a charge card, the maximum amount you can spend isn’t published.

Now, to be clear, that doesn’t mean you can spend an unlimited amount. There’s still a maximum amount you can spend, it’s just that you’re not told what that is. Charge cards are also more likely to adjust to your spending patterns over time, so you may quickly notice that your ability to spend increases.

On balance, cards with no preset spending limit generally allow you to spend more than cards with specific credit lines, but that’s not always the case.

Charge cards have to be paid in full each billing cycle

On a credit card, there’s a minimum balance you have to pay each billing cycle, but then you can finance the rest of your bill over time. That’s because it’s a revolving credit account. I generally wouldn’t recommend doing this, since credit card interest rates can be really high, so it’s not how I’d advise accessing money, unless you have some amazing 0% intro APR offer.

With charge cards, you generally have to pay your balance in full each billing cycle, since it’s not a revolving credit account, so the card typically carries no interest. This distinction gets blurred a bit, because a lot of charge cards will let you enroll in a plan to pay over time. However, this is something that you usually have to explicitly opt into, and it’s not offered on all cards, unlike on credit cards.

Charge cards don’t count toward credit utilization

Maintaining a good credit score is important, and credit utilization makes up 30% of your credit score. Credit utilization is how much of your available credit you’re using, typically measured at the time that your statement closes (though there are some tricks to lowering this).

While your spending patterns on credit cards count toward your credit utilization, your spending on charge cards doesn’t. That’s because there’s no preset spending limit, and therefore there’s no denominator for measuring your credit utilization. So if you’re going to make large purchases and don’t plan to pay them off before your statement period closes, there’s a big advantage to using a charge card.

Let me emphasize that just because charge cards don’t impact your credit utilization, doesn’t mean that they don’t impact your credit score. Charge card activity is still otherwise reported to the major credit bureaus, including for things like missed payments.

Charge cards may require higher credit scores

While there are some credit cards for those with bad credit scores, there aren’t really charge cards for those with bad credit scores. I don’t think this impacts most OMAAT readers, since those of us into miles and points generally have good to excellent credit, which is required for many premium cards. Besides, we pick up these cards because of the rewards that they offer, rather than for access to a credit line.

The reason for this distinction is that there are plenty of secured credit cards for those who are building their credit. The same concept wouldn’t really work for a card with no preset spending limit.

The Amex five credit card limit is a consideration

Admittedly this is niche to the average consumer, but it’s worth pointing out how sometimes this distinction can impact whether you can get approved for a card. For example, Amex has a five credit card limit, whereby most consumers can’t get more than five credit cards from Amex, between personal and business cards.

However, there are cards with no preset spending limit, which don’t count toward that credit card limit (I’ll cover them in a dedicated section below). So this is an easy way to potentially hold onto more than five Amex cards at a time, and potentially allows you to take advantage of more great welcome offers.

Should you get a charge card or a credit card?

Personally I have a mix of credit cards and charge cards. I decide to pick up cards based on their overall value proposition, rather than based on this specific distinction. Just as an example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) is a traditional credit card, while the Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) has no preset spending limit — I have both of them, and find them to both be worthwhile.

For some people I think the distinction will be more important. For example, if you frequently make very large purchases that would be close to the credit limit on a traditional credit card, then you might be better off with a charge card. That’s because those purchases wouldn’t count toward your credit utilization.

Conversely, if you don’t often make large purchases, there’s value to potentially having a credit card, so that your credit score can benefit from your spending patterns.

Bigger picture, I select cards based on their fees, rewards structures, and perks, and those factors are more important to me than whether a product is a charge card or credit card.

Which popular products are not credit cards?

So, among the popular rewards credit cards, which are not considered credit cards? All things considered, they’re relatively rare nowadays. With Bank of America, Chase, and Citi, all major cards are considered credit cards. However, there are some Amex and Capital One cards that aren’t considered credit cards.

Specifically, the following Amex cards don’t have a preset spending limit, so wouldn’t count toward the Amex five card limit:

• American Express Platinum Card® (learn more)
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more)
• American Express® Gold Card (learn more)
• American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more)
• Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card (learn more)

No Preset Spending Limit means your Spending Limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set Limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

While all Capital One personal cards are credit cards, there are some business cards that are charge cards. These include the Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) and Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more).

Charge card vs. credit card FAQs

Bottom line

While most people know what a credit card is, fewer people are familiar with charge cards (or cards without preset spending limits, or hybrid cards, as they’re sometimes referred to). There are some significant distinctions, like charge cards not having a preset spending limit, having to be paid in full each billing cycle (at least without registering for some payment plan), not counting toward credit utilization, and more.

What’s your take on credit cards vs. charge cards?

There are many innovative things about Bilt, including that there’s a Bilt Rent Day promotion on the first day of each month. With a new month being right around the corner, we’ve just learned the details of the October 2026 Bilt Rent Day offer, which includes transfer bonuses to Hilton Honors and Amtrak Guest Rewards, as well as status opportunities with Hilton Honors. Let’s go over the details, as I’m sure these offers will interest many people.

Details of the October 2026 Bilt Rent Day promotion

There are a couple of aspects to the Bilt Rent Day promotion, including the ability to earn bonus points (which is the same every month), plus at least one additional promotion.

Note that Bilt Rent Day promotions are generally valid from 12:00AM ET until 11:59PM PT, so technically you have around 27 hours to take advantage of them.

Earn double Bilt points on Rent Day purchases

Bilt has a portfolio of credit cards, including the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 annual fee Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) (Rates & Fees). Personally, I think the Bilt Palladium Card is by far the most lucrative.

On the first day of each month, you earn double those rewards on these cards, and earn up to 1,000 bonus points each month. It could be worth strategically making some purchases on the first day of each month to maximize this as much as possible.

For example, with double points, the Bilt Palladium Card offers 4x points on everyday spending on the first day of the month, so that’s pretty awesome (up to a cap of $500 worth of spending, since that would earn you 1,000 bonus points).

Get an up to 200% Hilton Honors transfer bonus, plus status

On October 1, 2026 only, Bilt is offering a transfer bonus when you move points to Hilton Honors. The transfer bonus you’re eligible for depends on your Bilt elite status, as follows:

• Bilt Blue members can receive a 75% transfer bonus
• Bilt Silver members can receive a 100% transfer bonus
• Bilt Gold members can receive a 150% transfer bonus
• Bilt Platinum members can receive a 175% transfer bonus
• Bilt Platinum members who opt-in to the buy-up can receive a 200% transfer bonus

All Bilt Rewards members can buy-up one bonus tier, using $200 in Bilt Cash. Members can move up to 100,000 Bilt points while receiving the bonus.

This offer also includes a Hilton Honors elite status fast track offer, where you receive status in advance, and then extend that (or even elevate your status) based on qualifying activity:

• Bilt Blue & Silver members can receive instant Hilton Honors Silver status, and need to stay six nights in 90 days for Gold status
• Bilt Gold members can receive instant Hilton Honors Gold status, and need to stay 12 nights in 90 days for Diamond status
• Bilt Platinum members can receive instant Hilton Honors Diamond status, and need to stay 12 nights in 90 days to maintain Diamond status

Making a points transfer of any amount will trigger the instant status through the end of the year. The challenge must be completed by the end of the year in order to keep status through the end of 2027.

Admittedly Hilton Honors status isn’t hard to earn, but that is a potentially lucrative offer. When it comes to the transfer bonus as such, I value Hilton Honors points at 0.5 cents each. So given the standard 1:1 transfer ratio, even with a 200% bonus, that’s like getting 1.5 cents of value per Bilt point. That’s not bad, but also not that exciting, in my opinion.

Up to 125% Amtrak Guest Rewards transfer bonus

On October 1, 2026 only, Bilt is offering a transfer bonus when you move points to Amtrak Guest Rewards. The transfer bonus you’re eligible for depends on your Bilt elite status, as follows:

• Bilt Blue members can receive a 25% transfer bonus
• Bilt Silver members can receive a 50% transfer bonus
• Bilt Gold members can receive a 75% transfer bonus
• Bilt Platinum members can receive a 100% transfer bonus
• Bilt Platinum members who opt-in to the buy-up can receive a 125% transfer bonus

All Bilt Rewards members can buy-up one bonus tier, using $400 in Bilt Cash. Members can move up to 100,000 Bilt points while receiving the bonus.

Bilt points typically transfer to Amtrak at a 2:1 ratio, and I consider each Amtrak point to be worth 2.6 cents, meaning you ordinarily get 1.3 cents of value per Bilt point by making these transfers. Obviously if you could get a 125% transfer bonus, you’re looking at getting over 2.9 cents of value per Bilt point, which is pretty amazing. Of course this assumes you actually want to take Amtrak…

Bottom line

On the first day of each month, Bilt offers a Rent Day promotion. In addition to earning up to double points for purchases, for October 2026, there’s the opportunity to take advantage of an up to 200% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors, a Hilton Honors status match challenge, and an up to 125% transfer bonus to Amtrak Guest Rewards.

It’s cool to see two Rent Day offers the same month, and I think people will find some value here.

Are you taking advantage of the Bilt Rent Day promotion for October 2026?

In this post, I’d like to provide a rundown of what I’d consider to be the best complimentary spa treatments you’ll find in airport lounges. I’ll rank them roughly in order of quality and availability. If I get any details wrong or there are any good ones I’m missing, please let me know, and I’ll update the post.

As you’d expect, a good number of lounges offering these services make my list of the world’s best first class lounges and the world’s best business class lounges.

Qantas First Class Lounge (MEL & SYD)

Qantas has spas in its first class lounges in both Melbourne and Sydney. In these spas, passengers can receive a complimentary 20-minute treatment, with the choice of a facial, a neck and shoulder massage, a hot stone back massage, or a foot massage. These treatments are lovely, and I’d say that this is the nicest complimentary lounge spa treatment environment you’ll find anywhere.

Treatments are available on a first come, first served basis. Qantas first class passengers can generally reserve treatments by email the day before travel, while other guests (including oneworld Emerald members) can inquire about availability when arriving at the lounge.

Chase Sapphire Lounge (LGA, PHL, & DFW)

The network of Chase Sapphire Lounges keeps growing, and three of the locations — at Dallas Fort Worth, New York LaGuardia, and Philadelphia — offer complimentary 30-minute facials from Face Haus. There are a variety of treatments to choose from, based on your skin needs.

Treatments are available to all guests on a first come, first served basis, and can be reserved through your smartphone by scanning one of the QR codes in the lounge. Admittedly given the limited window with which these lounges can be accessed, plus the amount of demand, actually snagging an appointment isn’t easy.

Air France First & Business Class Lounge (CDG, JFK, LAX, & LHR)

Nowadays, Air France is the only major airline to offer complimentary spa treatments to both its first class and business class passengers. The airline has spas in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and London and they’re available on a first come, first served basis:

• The Air France Lounges in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and London, have spas in partnership with Clarins, offering complimentary 20-minute face treatments to Air France business class passengers, as well as Flying Blue Platinum and Gold members; treatments include jet-lag relief, detox time, and eye-mist
• Air France first class (La Premiere) customers passing through Paris receive a complimentary 30-minute treatment, with more options available; this spa is in partnership with Sisley

Cathay Pacific The Pier & The Wing First Class Lounge (HKG)

Cathay Pacific has spas in both The Pier First Class Lounge and The Wing First Class Lounge in Hong Kong. In these spas, passengers can receive a complimentary 15-minute treatment, with the choice of foot reflexology, a head massage, a neck & shoulders massage, or an eye revitalizer. While the environment isn’t as nice as in the Qantas First Lounge, it’s still a lovely experience.

If you’re flying in Cathay Pacific first class or are a Cathay Diamond member, you can make a reservation in advance through the manage booking function (on the website or app). All others (including non-Cathay Pacific oneworld Emeralds, if eligible for access) can reserve treatments on a first come, first served basis.

Etihad First Class Lounge (AUH)

Etihad Airways has a spa attached to its lounge complex at Abu Dhabi Airport. While any passenger can pay for a treatment, complimentary treatments are available to select passengers.

Passengers traveling in The Residence can receive a complimentary 30-minute facial, or two 15-minute treatments. Meanwhile first class passengers and Etihad Guest Platinum members receive a complimentary 15-minute massage or other treatment. Appointments are generally pretty readily available, in my experience.

Emirates First Class Lounge (DXB)

Emirates offers first class passengers in Dubai a complimentary 15-minute treatment. The spa is actually located just outside the first class lounge, and sometimes I’ve found it’s tough to get an appointment without a lot of advance notice, so make sure you request one as soon as you arrive in the lounge.

There are several options to choose from, including a back massage, leg & foot reflex therapy, a head massage, a body stretch, or a hand massage. While this is better than nothing, personally I think a bit more effort could be put into making the experience more spa-like, as the whole thing feels a bit like an afterthought.

Encalm Xenia Lounge (DEL)

The Encalm Xenia Lounge Delhi is a phenomenal contract lounge, and all guests are entitled to a complimentary spa treatment, as there are two massage chairs in a private space.

Guests can choose to either have a foot massage or a head and shoulder massage. I believe officially the massage lasts 10 minutes, though when I visited, mine lasted for closer to 20 minutes. Treatments are available on a first come, first served basis.

Delta One Business Class Lounge (JFK)

The Delta One Lounge New York JFK is one of the best lounges in the United States, and it offers many amenities. Among them is a complimentary spa treatment in the wellness area.

Treatments are available on a first come, first served basis, and anyone with access to the lounge can get a treatment. Treatments last 10 minutes, and include an eye treatment, a hand and arm massage, and a shoulder, scalp, and temple massage.

The Coral Finest Business Class Lounge (BKK)

Thailand is known for massage, and the airport in Bangkok is no exception. There are several Priority Pass lounges in the terminal that are branded as The Coral Finest Business Class Lounge, and they all offer complimentary 15-minute shoulder massages.

These are available over select hours, on a first come, first served basis. I can’t think of any other “proper” Priority Pass lounges that consistently offers such a perk.

“Be Relax” airport spas with Priority Pass

While not a complimentary spa treatment with an airport lounge, I think it’s worth calling out how many “Be Relax” spas at airports participate in Priority Pass. There are a few treatments to choose from, including a 10-minute foot massage, or a 15-minute lounger massage.

Note that since this is considered a Priority Pass experience, so if get your Priority Pass™ membership through select credit cards, you may not be entitled to this.

Bottom line

Airport lounge operators try to find all kinds of ways to differentiate themselves, and one of those ways is to offer spa treatments. There’s not much rhyme or reason as to which lounges offer these, but you can expect to find them in some lounges operated by Air France, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Etihad, Emirates, Qantas, and Chase. If there are any other good ones I missed, please let me know.

What’s your favorite airport lounge spa treatment you’ve had?

In this post, I’d like to recap the frequent flyer programs that continue to allow free stopovers on award tickets, though admittedly they come with varying degrees of generosity.

Stopovers, open-jaws, and connections

First let’s discuss some of the important terminology. What’s a stopover, what’s an open jaw, and what’s a connection? These terms mean very different things, so let’s cover those upfront.

Stopover

A stopover is usually defined as a stay of 24+ hours in a connecting city between your origin and final destination. That could be an airline’s hub, or any city enroute to your destination.

You can oftentimes get creative with routings and stopover in places you might not ordinarily think to travel through. For example, if traveling from the United States to Asia it might be possible to route via Europe, and have a stopover there.

Connection

A connection is usually a stop in a city for less than 24 hours, though depending on the program the maximum connection time can be as short as four hours for award itineraries. Award programs sometimes use the word transfer to mean connection when writing out award rules or program terms and conditions.

Open-jaw

An open-jaw is when you fly into one city and out of another. For example, say you’re flying from the United States to Asia and want to fly into Singapore and return out of Bangkok. That would be considered an open-jaw, as illustrated below.

Stopovers on award tickets

With the above basics out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the airline loyalty programs that continue to allow stopovers on award tickets. I’ll list these roughly based on how generous the policies are, starting with the most generous.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Air France-KLM Flying Blue allows free stopovers on awards. Specifically, you’re allowed a free stopover on a one-way award, including for travel on partner airlines. You can even mix and match partners, as long as you’re traveling between a valid city pair for the purposes of award travel.

There are no additional miles required, but taxes and fees could be higher (though in fairness, for partner awards, pricing is generally additive when there are multiple segments, so the savings may not be huge). Note that you’ll need to book these kinds of stopovers by phone for the time being, through the Flying Blue call center.

This is an incredible opportunity, as there’s not another frequent flyer program that allows stopovers for free on all kinds of awards. So whether you’re flying on Air France or KLM, or are traveling with a SkyTeam or non-SkyTeam partner, the opportunities here are fantastic.

Alaska Atmos Rewards

Alaska Atmos Rewards is one of the most generous programs when it comes to its stopover policy. Atmos Rewards will let you have a stopover on an award ticket, as long as you’re traveling between regions. Atmos Rewards has a variety of airline partners, so as an example, this means you could fly Japan Airlines from Los Angeles to Singapore via Tokyo, with a stopover in Japan.

Since a stopover is allowed on a one-way, this means you could potentially have two stopovers on a roundtrip ticket. There are lots of great uses of Atmos Rewards points.

There’s no fee to book the stopover, and you can book these directly through Alaska Airlines’ website by using the multi-city feature.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan is one of my favorite frequent flyer program, thanks to the huge variety of airline partners that Air Canada has. Aeroplan will let you add a stopover on a one-way award for just 5,000 additional points. You can include a stopover with each one-way award.

Stopovers are not available on awards for travel wholly within North America. Keep in mind that Air Canada Aeroplan is somewhat a distance based program. With that, the further you fly the more expensive your award will be. You can get creative with your routings, but you may end up paying more miles for it.

Best of all, Aeroplan stopovers can be booked directly on aircanada.com, making the ticketing process really easy.

Emirates Skywards

Emirates Skywards is generally the best program through which to book Emirates first class awards, assuming you have elite status in the program (which isn’t too hard to earn). Emirates lets you book stopovers in Dubai on one-way tickets, but only when booking “Flex Plus” awards.

Note that all first class awards book into the “Flex Plus” fare band, while business class and economy class awards generally book into this when reserving a one-way (while there may be lower pricing when booking roundtrips).

This can be a great way to stop in Dubai enroute to your final destination — Dubai is of course an easy and popular stopover city.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

ANA Mileage Club is a lucrative and complicated program, and is even an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. ANA has attractive redemption rates, though booking through the program can kind of be a pain.

ANA Mileage Club allows a stopover on a roundtrip, regardless of whether you’re traveling on All Nippon Airways or a partner airline (the only exception is if you’re originating in Japan, in which case you can’t have a stopover).

Most awards (including stopovers) can be booked online, even though the interface looks super outdated. Be aware of partner surcharges, which can be quite high, though.

Asiana Club

Asiana Club is another airline with a generous stopover policy. For award travel on Asiana Airlines, you can have a stopover in Seoul, even on one-way awards.

Award travel on Star Alliance carriers get a bit trickier. In theory the stopover rules are even more generous, but your mileage may vary when you actually go to book these awards. You’re allowed up to eight segments on a roundtrip award, and you can have up to seven stopovers. That means you can stop for as long as you’d like in each connecting city.

However, there are limits on the number of segments for certain awards, and you might have to pay for reservations separately if you exceed the MPM (maximum permitted mileage). Asiana Club award rules are a bit of a black box, and don’t count on them being interpreted how they’re written.

Asiana Club miles are hard to accrue, as only Marriott points transfer to Asiana Club. Otherwise you’ll have to earn them through good old fashioned flying. However, keep in mind this program will be discontinued as of December 2026, as it’s merged into Korean Air SkyPass.

Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest is the best program for redeeming on Etihad in premium cabins in advance. The program allows stopovers in Abu Dhabi for award tickets, but you have to book the awards by phone. It is important to note that Etihad Guest generally restricts you to connections of up to only eight hours, whether traveling with Etihad or a partner. That means a connection of anything longer than eight hours is considered a stopover.

Etihad has a number of partners you can redeem miles for, and there are unique charts for each partner. Etihad Guest permits stopovers when traveling on Air Canada, Air Europa, Air Seychelles, All Nippon Airways, American, Asiana, Gulf Air, Hainan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, and Royal Air Maroc.

While that’s how the rules are written, booking partner awards with Etihad Guest can be an adventure, so I’d expect to have to work hard to get a stopover on a partner airline.

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has among the most generous stopover policies, but only if you’re traveling with partners. The airline has a distance based award chart, meaning the price of your award depends on the total distance you travel. Having a generous stopover policy makes sense, as you’ll pay more miles to travel further distances and each segment should in theory add to the total trip price.

The program has different rules depending on how you’re redeeming your miles. Essentially Mileage Bank offer three different award types:

• JAL awards, for travel entirely on Japan Airlines
• Partner awards, for travel on a single JAL partner
• oneworld award tickets, for travel on two or more oneworld airlines

For travel on JAL, stopovers aren’t permitted.

If you’re traveling on a single partner award, you can have up to three stopovers on an award. With a few exceptions, you’re allowed six total segments. There are some limitations for specific partners, though:

• If you’re traveling on Korean Air, you’re only allowed two segments, but you can include a stopover
• If you’re traveling on China Eastern, you’re only allowed four total segments and you cannot have a stopover in China
• If you’re traveling on Hawaiian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, or Vistara Airlines, you’re only allowed four total segments

If you’re traveling on a oneworld award, you’re allowed a whopping seven stopovers. You can only have eight segments in total on an award, so that does limit the practicality of the stopovers. If you were to maximize all seven stopovers, you’d have to stopover in each city in which you make a connection.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Singapore KrisFlyer allows stopovers when traveling on Singapore Airlines, though only on certain kinds of tickets:

• When booking a Saver award, you’re allowed one stopover on a roundtrip, but no stopovers on a one-way
• When booking an Advantage award, you’re allowed two stopovers on a roundtrip, or one stopover on a one-way

Note that your stopover can only be for up to 30 days, or else it will be considered two separate awards. Singapore Airlines used to allow additional stopovers for $100, but unfortunately that’s no longer possible.

Turkish Miles&Smiles

Turkish Miles&Smiles is a Citi ThankYou transfer partner, and can offer some solid value redemptions. The program allows a free stopover in Istanbul on a roundtrip award, though you do have to book by phone, and that can be a bit of a pain.

Turkish Miles&Smiles also allows stopovers on Star Alliance partner awards — you can have one stopover on a roundtrip. However, this is only available if the award costs at least 60,000 miles for travel in economy, 90,000 in business, or 135,000 in first.

TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go

TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go doesn’t allow stopovers when redeeming for travel on TAP, though the program does allow stopovers when redeeming on partner airlines. Specifically, you can have one stopover per roundtrip. While TAP is part of the Star Alliance, the airline also has some unique partners, like Emirates.

British Airways Club

British Airways Club is a unique program in that the price of your award is calculated by the distance and cabin of service for each segment. You can book as many segments as you’d like on a single ticket, but you’ll pay for each one of them, as the price is cumulative.

In many cases the cost for short segments is low, so you can visit multiple destinations at a reasonable cost.

British Airways Club also has a “secret” multi-carrier award chart. If you’re traveling on two or more oneworld airlines (three or more if any segments are on British Airways), you can use this award chart and pay fewer Avios than if you were to book each segment individually.

You can book up to eight flight segments this way, and have a stopover in each city if you’d like. You’re not allowed to backtrack, and you’re only permitted a single open-jaw. With a bit of flexibility and creativity these awards can offer a fantastic value for redeeming Avios.

Many agents don’t even know this chart exists, so it often requires calling a few times to find someone who knows how to book multi carrier awards or being insistent and having the agent double check the policy for booking multi carrier awards.

Korean Air Skypass

Korean Air SkyPass used to be one of my favorite frequent flyer programs — it was a Chase Ultimate Rewards partner, stopovers were allowed on one-way awards, and award costs were reasonable. Unfortunately the program isn’t what it once was.

Korean Air SkyPass no longer allows stopovers, except on “SkyTeam Round the World” awards. You can travel in business class around the world for 220,000 SkyPass miles and make up to six stopovers. Outside of that niche award, no stopovers are permitted for award travel. I don’t see much value in that, given how hard it can be to find SkyTeam partner award space for so many segments.

Bottom line

Stopovers can be a great way to stretch your miles & points further. Unfortunately many airline programs have eliminated this opportunity over the years, though there are still some programs that allow this.

Personally I think the best options are with Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Alaska Mileage Plan, and Air Canada Aeroplan. Beyond that, I quite appreciate the policy of Emirates Skywards, as it’s a way to get a stopover in Dubai when traveling between two other points.

There are some other programs that still offer stopovers, though they’re of varying degrees of usefulness.

What has your experience been with airline award ticket stopovers?

So that I don’t bury the lede, generally the best use of Bilt points is to move them to the program’s airline and hotel partners, as this can offer the most outsized value. Bilt has some valuable and unique partners, and that’s what makes the ecosystem so lucrative.

Link: Apply for a Bilt credit card (Rates & Fees), with three options to choose from

The basic value proposition of Bilt’s credit card ecosystem

The easiest way to rack up Bilt points is with the three co-branded credit cards, issued by Column N.A. and serviced by Cardless, including the no annual fee Bilt Blue Card (learn more), $95 annual fee Bilt Obsidian Card (learn more), and $495 Bilt Palladium Card (learn more) — read my Bilt credit card review and comparison (Rates & Fees). Not only do these cards earn points, but they also earn you Bilt Cash, which can be redeemed to earn even more points (up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year).

I think the Bilt Palladium Card is the most lucrative card in the portfolio, despite its high annual fee. The card earns 2x points on all spending, plus the option to earn 4% back in the form of Bilt Cash. Bilt Cash can be used to earn points on your housing payments (rent, mortgage, and/or HOA), and as a general rule of thumb, you need to spend about 75% as much as your housing payment on the card to earn 1x points per dollar spent on housing (there’s a bit more nuance to that).

Bilt Cash can also be redeemed for spending accelerators, so that you earn an additional 1x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, up to a certain limit.

Long story short, the card nets me well over 3x points per dollar spent on everyday purchases, which is pretty unrivaled (assuming you have enough spending that doesn’t qualify for good bonus categories on other cards, and can make the annual fee work — admittedly those are two major caveats).

The ways to redeem Bilt points, from best to worst

Earning lots of points is one thing, but how can you actually redeem points earned in the Bilt ecosystem? Bilt points are quite competitive with the other major transferable points currencies out there, so there are lots of great uses of them.

Let me go over the different ways to redeem Bilt points, ranked from most valuable to least valuable (in my opinion).

Transfer Bilt points to 25 travel partners (airlines, hotels, rail)

For those of us into miles and points, the good news is that Bilt has 25 travel transfer partners, as the program partners with 17 airline loyalty programs, seven hotel loyalty programs, and one rail loyalty program. Points transfer to most currencies instantly.

Bilt partners with the following 17 airline loyalty programs:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Alaska Atmos Rewards
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Iberia Plus
• Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Bilt partners with the following seven hotel loyalty programs:

• Accor Live Limitless (ALL)
• Hilton Honors
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Preferred Hotels I Prefer Hotel Rewards
• World of Hyatt
• Wyndham Rewards

Bilt partners with the following one rail loyalty program:

• Amtrak Guest Rewards

The transfer ratios for these programs are 1:1, with four exceptions:

• With Accor Live Limitless, the transfer ratio is 3:2, so that’s not quite as good as a 1:1 ratio
• With Amtrak Guest Rewards, the transfer ratio is 2:1, so that’s half of the typical ratio
• With Marriott Bonvoy, members can receive a bonus of 5,000 Bonvoy points for every 20,000 Bilt points transferred; so in the right increments, the transfer ratio is 1:1.25
• With Preferred Hotels I Prefer Hotel Rewards, the transfer ratio is 1:2, so that’s better than a 1:1 ratio

There’s quite a bit of overlap here with other transferable points currencies, though I should call out three things:

• Accor Live Limitless is interesting, since it’s a revenue-based program, and 2,000 Accor points gets you €40 of spending with the brand; this means you can redeem 3,000 Bilt points for €40 off an Accor stay, which is an easy way to cash out points at a not-bad value
• Alaska Atmos Rewards is a useful program for redemptions on both oneworld partner airlines, as well as on non-oneworld partners, like Condor, Starlux, and more
• World of Hyatt is otherwise only a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards, and there are lots of great uses of World of Hyatt points

Redeem Bilt points toward a home downpayment

Since Bilt is designed largely for people who rent, here’s a cool way you can redeem your Bilt points. If you buy a home, you can redeem your Bilt points toward a down payment at the rate of 1.5 cents each, which is quite good. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $150 toward a downpayment.

To use this option, you just email Bilt with proof of a home purchase, and include how many points you’d like to redeem. That’s pretty straightforward, and a good value!

Redeem Bilt points with the Bilt Travel Portal

Bilt has a travel portal, and you can choose to either earn or redeem points when booking travel through the portal. If you’d like to redeem points, Bilt points are worth 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $125 toward a travel purchase.

The Bilt Travel Portal allows you to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities, so you have quite a bit of flexibility.

The one exception to the redemption rate of 1.25 cents per point is that you can book BLADE flights through Bilt’s travel portal, though when you redeem that way, you only get 0.7 cents of value per point, so that’s a horrible redemption. The much better value for BLADE is to redeem Bilt Cash, and if you have Bilt Platinum elite status, you may also be entitled to some free BLADE flights.

Redeem Bilt points for shopping, fitness, and lifestyle

There are a variety of other ways you can redeem Bilt points, though personally I wouldn’t recommend these:

• You can redeem Bilt points through Amazon, at the rate of 0.7 cents per point
• You can redeem Bilt points toward select fitness classes, typically at the rate of somewhere around 1.0 cents per point
• You can redeem Bilt points toward the Bilt Collection (which includes apparel, art, home decor, and more), but the value is generally around 1.0 cents per point

Redeem Bilt points to pay your rent

Bilt lets you redeem your points to pay rent. However, each point only gets you 0.55 cents toward a rent payment. In other words, 10,000 points would get you $55 toward rent. This is a very poor use of points, so it’s not how I’d recommend redeeming Bilt points.

My strategy with redeeming Bilt points for best value

If you’re looking to maximize value (hopefully you are!), you shouldn’t redeem your Bilt points for any of the options that get you one cent of value per point or less. In other words, avoid paying rent with your Bilt points, and don’t use them for Amazon purchases, or for any of the fitness classes or lifestyle options.

Then there are two options that aren’t necessarily the best way to redeem your points, but which could still prove to be worthwhile:

• Redeeming Bilt points for 1.5 cents each toward a home downpayment could be a good deal, though admittedly, this is pretty niche
• Redeeming Bilt points for 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase could be a decent option, assuming you’re struggling to otherwise get more value with your points

My preference is to transfer Bilt points to the program’s airline and hotel partners. After all, you can get such outsized value, especially for premium travel (first and business class flights, and five star hotels).

There are potentially deals to be had with most of Bilt’s transfer partners, though personally here’s my strategy with these points:

• On the hotel front, I think World of Hyatt is the most exciting transfer partner for Bilt, given all the amazing uses of these points, and also given that the only other partner for World of Hyatt is Chase Ultimate Rewards; I think Accor Live Limitless is also interesting, in terms of a decent “cash out” value of points toward a hotel stay (based on current exchange rates, you’re getting over 1.5 cents of value per point that way)
• On the airline front, Alaska Atmos Rewards is the program that excites me the most, given that no other major transferable points currency partners with the program, and I use the points all the time, particularly for redemptions on American; I also see value with Emirates Skywards and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, as no other major transferable points currencies have 1:1 transfers to those programs
• We see a monthly Bilt Rent Day promotion, and we’ve seen some amazing transfer bonuses, especially for those who have Bilt elite status; members should keep an eye on these offers, as they could be worth a speculative transfer, and I think that’s the other best way to maximize Bilt points

Up until now, I’ve exclusively used my Bilt points for situations where there are transfer bonuses. I hope these offers continue, as that’s how I’ll continue to use my points.

Bottom line

In recent years, Bilt has created a really competitive transferable points currency, and there are lots of ways to get value with the points. In particular, Bilt has 25 airline, hotel, and rail transfer partners, and I’d say it’s about the best portfolio of partners that you’ll find. In particular, I appreciate Alaska Atmos Rewards and World of Hyatt, and I also often take advantage of Rent Day offers.

You can also redeem your Bilt points for 1.5 cents each toward a downpayment for a home, or for 1.25 cents each through the Bilt Travel Portal. While there are further lower value redemptions, I wouldn’t recommend redeeming your points that way.

If you do want to rack up Bilt points, I’d recommend the Bilt Palladium Card, given the 2x points on all eligible spending, plus the 4% back in Bilt Cash, which can be used to earn even more points.

What’s your favorite use of Bilt points?

In those situations, how long do you have to cancel a card, while still receiving a refund on the annual fee? The policy varies by bank, so I’d like to take a closer look at that topic in this post.

Grace periods for credit card annual fee refunds

How long after a credit card annual fee is billed can you cancel the card and get the annual fee refunded? Each card issuer has its own policy, both in terms of how long you have, and based on whether you’re canceling a card altogether, or are downgrading it to a no annual fee card.

In this post, I’d like to take a look at the annual fee refund policies of the major card issuers. Let me emphasize that these policies are always subject to change, so view this post more as a general overview of what to expect, rather than a listing of hard and fast rules.

Let me also specifically call out that Massachusetts has a law whereby if a resident cancels a credit card any time during the year, they are entitled to a pro-rated refund of two-thirds of the annual fee. However, I’ve heard that actually getting banks to honor that isn’t necessarily so easy, and also keep in mind that banks can decide whether to make you eligible for welcome offers in the future, so… 😉

Anyway, let’s compare the card annual fee refund policies of the biggest card issuers in the miles & points space, in alphabetical order…

American Express annual fee refund policy

With American Express, you can typically cancel or downgrade a card within 30 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded.

In the event that you choose to cancel a card more than 30 days after the annual fee is billed, you wouldn’t get any sort of prorated refund. However, if you downgrade a card to another product more than 30 days after the annual fee is billed, you can often get a prorated refund. You might want to think twice about downgrading an Amex card, though, given the “once in a lifetime rule,” which would make you ineligible for a bonus on that card in the future (even if you don’t earn a bonus when downgrading).

Bank of America annual fee refund policy

Bank of America is one of the only major issuers to not have a consistent policy for refunds after the annual fee is billed. Many people report getting a refund within 30 days of an annual fee hitting an account, but this isn’t a consistent policy, and it seems to come down to your relationship with the bank.

Barclays annual fee refund policy

With Barclays, you can typically cancel or downgrade a card within 60 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded. Barclays doesn’t generally offer prorated refunds beyond the 60-day window.

Capital One annual fee refund policy

Capital One is one of the more inconsistent card issuers when it comes to its annual fee refund policy. The common wisdom is that you can cancel a card within 39 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded. However, the same isn’t consistently possible with downgrading cards, where you may still be billed the entire annual fee.

Cardless annual fee refund policy

Cardless is becoming an increasingly popular co-brand card issuer, given its partnership with Bilt. Data points on Cardless annual fee refunds are mixed. On several products there have been reports that once the annual fee is billed, it can no longer be refunded, which would be the industry’s strictest policy. However, at least for Bilt cards specifically, the policy seems to be that you have 30 days from when the annual fee is billed to cancel the card and get a refund.

Chase annual fee refund policy

With Chase, you can typically cancel or downgrade a card within 30 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded. It’s that straightforward, and Chase doesn’t generally offer prorated refunds beyond the 30-day window.

Citi annual fee refund policy

Citi’s policy is that you can typically cancel or downgrade a card within 37 days of the annual fee being billed, and get it refunded. Citi doesn’t generally offer prorated refunds beyond the 37-day window.

Why credit card annual fee refund policies matter

Why is it important to be aware of a card issuer’s policy on annual fee refunds?

• Many of us aren’t that organized, and don’t mark our calendars to know in advance when annual fees will hit, but rather figure it out based on looking at our credit card statements; that means we’re only aware we were charged an annual fee after the fact
• When an annual fee comes due, I always think it’s worth crunching the numbers on the value you’ve received from the card, and considering either canceling the card or downgrading the card, assuming it’s no longer proving worthwhile (I recommend reading the linked posts, as there are several things you’ll want to consider, like the possibility of losing rewards)
• It’s generally not advisable to cancel a credit card within the first year, in which case at least waiting until shortly after the anniversary is a best practice

Bottom line

Each card issuer has a different policy when it comes to getting a refund on the annual fee shortly after it’s billed. As a general rule of thumb, you often have a 30-day window where you can cancel a card and get the fee refunded, but as you can see, it varies. Some issuers don’t have a consistent policy at all, while others give you up to 60 days.

What has your experience been with getting refunds on credit card annual fees?

So in this post, I’d like to share what I consider to be the best current credit card welcome offers for earning travel rewards, across a variety of categories. I’ll cover the best transferable points card offers, the best business card offers, the best hotel card offers, and the best airline card offers. The details of the best offers are always changing, so that’s why I think it’s useful to keep a current list with the best opportunities, which I try to constantly update to reflect offers.

I’ll share what I consider the 20 best credit card offers right now to be, across four categories (business transferable points cards, personal transferable points cards, hotel cards, and airline cards). Before I do, let me just point out a few things:

• I’m including publicly available offers that are available online — in some cases people may have better targeted offers, but it’s hard to include those
• When I list the value of a welcome offer, that’s based on my published valuation of points
• The minimum spending requirements between these offers vary wildly, so everyone will have to factor that in based on their spending ability

Why you should care about credit card welcome offers

Simply put, most people want to travel better, but don’t know how. One of the best ways to improve your travel experience is to pick up an excellent credit card that can add value to your wallet.

After all, doesn’t this…

…look better than this?

When applying for a credit card, consider three main points:

• The welcome offer or bonus — how many points can you earn for signing up for the card and completing some amount of spending; this typically ranges from a single purchase to several thousand dollars
• The rewards structure — pick a credit card that offers bonus points in the categories you spend the most on, whether that’s dining or groceries or gas or airfare
• The perks & ongoing benefits — some cards offer perks that more than justify the annual fee, even if you don’t spend money on the card

In this post I’m focusing primarily on the welcome bonuses, which can be one of the best ways to get rewarded quickly. Often a good credit card bonus will be enough to earn you an international ticket in first or business class, which many would otherwise assume is off limits.

Best business travel card welcome offers & bonuses

Business credit cards tend to have among the most lucrative welcome offers of any cards out there, so if you’re eligible to apply for them, there are some incredible opportunities. Admittedly these cards often have large minimum spending requirements, but if you can unlock them, these cards can earn you an incredible amount of travel.

Below are what I consider to be the five best welcome offers on business cards that earn travel rewards. Specifically, these are focused on transferable points currencies, which give you the most flexibility (I’ll cover some airline and hotel business cards below, in separate sections).

1. Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

• Current Sapphire Reserve Business welcome offer: Limited time offer of 200,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $30,000 within the first six months
• Sapphire Reserve Business welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Chase card, card generally follows Chase 5/24 rule
• Sapphire Reserve Business welcome offer value: I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $3,400
• Sapphire Reserve Business annual fee: $795
• Why the Sapphire Reserve Business is worth it: The Sapphire Reserve Business has a steep annual fee, but offers valuable perks, like a $300 annual travel credit, a Priority Pass™ membership, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, and more
• Sapphire Reserve Business links: Read my Sapphire Reserve Business review, learn more about the Sapphire Reserve Business

2. Capital One Venture X Business

• Current Venture X Business welcome offer: 150,000 Capital One bonus miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months
• Venture X Business welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Capital One card, with the exception of the Spark Cash Plus
• Venture X Business welcome offer value: I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $2,550
• Venture X Business annual fee: $395
• Why the Venture X Business is worth it: The Venture X Business is easy to justify thanks to the $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 bonus anniversary miles, and access to participating Priority Pass™ lounges, access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, and more
• Venture X Business links: Read my Venture X Business review, learn more about the Venture X Business

3. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

• Current Ink Business Preferred welcome offer: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 within the first three months
• Ink Business Preferred welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Chase card
• Ink Business Preferred welcome offer value: I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $1,700
• Ink Business Preferred annual fee: $95
• Why the Ink Business Preferred is worth it: The Ink Business Preferred is one of the most well rounded business cards, given its reasonable annual fee, plus great rewards structure, as you earn 3x points on the first $150,000 spent each account anniversary year in combined purchases on travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• Ink Business Preferred links: Read my Ink Business Preferred review, learn more about the Ink Business Preferred

4. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

• Current Amex Business Platinum welcome offer: You may be eligible for a welcome offer as high as 300,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 within three months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Find out your offer.
• Amex Business Platinum welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Amex card
• Amex Business Platinum welcome offer value: I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth up to $5,100
• Amex Business Platinum annual fee: $895 (Rates & Fees)
• Why the Amex Business Platinum is worth it: The Amex Business Platinum has a steep annual fee, but the perks potentially add up, between an up to $600 annual hotel credit, plus valuable lounge access, including to Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club®, and more.
• Amex Business Platinum links: Read my Amex Business Platinum review, learn more about the Amex Business Platinum

5. American Express® Business Gold Card

• Current Amex Business Gold welcome offer: You may be eligible for a welcome offer as high as 200,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 within three months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Find out your offer.
• Amex Business Gold welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Amex card
• Amex Business Gold welcome offer value: I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth up to $3,400
• Amex Business Gold annual fee: $375 (Rates & Fees)
• Why the Amex Business Gold is worth it: The Amex Business Gold is one of the best cards for earning Membership Rewards points, as the card has lucrative 4x points categories, and offers credit that can help offset the annual fee
• Amex Business Gold links: Read my Amex Business Gold review, learn more about the Amex Business Gold

Best personal travel card welcome offers & bonuses

Personal credit cards are of course the most popular for those looking to earn travel rewards for their credit card spending. These cards can be all over the place in terms of their annual fees and perks, but many are worth having.

Below are what I consider to be the five best welcome offers on personal cards that earn travel rewards. Specifically, these are focused on transferable points currencies, which give you the most flexibility (I’ll cover some airline and hotel personal cards below, in separate sections).

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card

• Current Sapphire Reserve welcome offer: 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• Sapphire Reserve welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Chase card, card generally follows Chase 5/24 rule
• Sapphire Reserve welcome offer value: I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $1,700
• Sapphire Reserve annual fee: $795
• Why the Sapphire Reserve is worth it: The Sapphire Reserve isn’t cheap to hold onto, but offers worthwhile perks, like up to a $500 annual hotel credit, an up to $300 annual dining credit, a $300 annual travel credit, a Priority Pass™ membership, Chase Sapphire Lounge access, Air Canada Lounge access, and more
• Sapphire Reserve links: Read my Sapphire Reserve review, learn more about the Sapphire Reserve

2. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Current Capital One Venture welcome offer: Limited time offer of 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months, plus $300 to use on hotel and vacation rental bookings through Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year
• Capital One Venture welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Capital One card
• Capital One Venture welcome offer value: I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $1,575, including factoring in the $300 credit
• Capital One Venture annual fee: $95
• Why the Capital One Venture is worth it: The Capital One Venture is great for everyday spending, as it offers a straight 2x miles per dollar spent
• Capital One Venture links: Read my Capital One Venture review, learn more about the Capital One Venture

3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• Current Sapphire Preferred welcome offer: 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within the first three months
• Sapphire Preferred welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Chase card, card generally follows Chase 5/24 rule
• Sapphire Preferred welcome offer value: I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth $1,275
• Sapphire Preferred annual fee: $95
• Why the Sapphire Preferred is worth it: The Sapphire Preferred is one of the best starter travel rewards cards, between its excellent rewards structure, an up to $100 annual hotel credit, and more
• Sapphire Preferred links: Read my Sapphire Preferred review, learn more about the Sapphire Preferred

4. American Express Platinum Card®

• Current Amex Platinum welcome offer: You may be eligible for a welcome offer as high as 175,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $12,000 within six months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Find out your offer.
• Amex Platinum welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, eligibility unrelated to having any other Amex card
• Amex Platinum welcome offer value: I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth up to $2,975
• Amex Platinum annual fee: annual fee (Rates & Fees)
• Why the Amex Platinum is worth it: The Amex Platinum is the gold standard of premium cards, with a huge number of credits that can help justify the fee, ranging from an up to $600 annual hotel credit, to an up to $400 annual Resy credit, and much more
• Amex Platinum links: Read my Amex Platinum review, learn more about the Amex Platinum

5. American Express® Gold Card

• Current Amex Gold welcome offer: You may be eligible for a welcome offer as high as 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 within six months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Find out your offer.
• Amex Gold welcome offer eligibility: “Once in a lifetime” rule, and you’re also not eligible for the welcome offer if you have or have had the Amex Platinum, so you’ll want to apply for the Amex Gold first
• Amex Gold welcome offer value: I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, making the welcome offer worth up to $1,700
• Amex Gold annual fee: annual fee (Rates & Fees)
• Why the Amex Gold is worth it: The Amex Gold has a fairly high annual fee, but is one of the best cards for dining, thanks to its bonus categories, and it also offers some dining focused credits that help offset the fee
• Amex Gold links: Read my Amex Gold review, learn more about the Amex Gold

Best hotel credit card welcome offers & bonuses

I’m a huge fan of hotel credit cards, given the incredible value they can offer on an ongoing basis. Even if you don’t spend a lot on these cards, there’s potentially value to having them, thanks to their perks, like hotel elite status, free night awards, and more.

Below are what I consider to be the five best welcome offers on hotel credit cards, including both personal and business cards.