Well, it appears as if American Express is trying to add more rewards to their Gold cards and narrow the gap, as they just introduced the American Express Gold Hotel Collection.

Booking through this program offers a $75 resort credit and room upgrade at participating hotels.

The terms and conditions for booking through them are as follows:

Valid for new bookings of at least two consecutive nights made through American Express Travel. Payment must be made with an American Express Card in U.S. Gold Card member, Platinum Card member or Centurion member’s name. Card member must travel on itinerary booked. Room upgrade based on availability. $75 credit excludes room nights, taxes, gratuities, fees. Benefit restrictions vary by hotel and cannot be redeemed for cash. Credit cannot be carried over to another stay, nonrefundable and applied in USD or equivalent in local currency based on exchange rate on day of arrival. May not be combined with other offers or programs unless indicated. Limit one benefit package per room, per stay. Three room limit per Card member, per stay; back-to-back stays within a 24-hour period at the same property considered one stay. Participating providers and benefits subject to change.

As you can see, the biggest catch seems to be that this is only valid for stays of at least two nights, while with Fine Hotels & Resorts or Virtuoso you get more benefits for stays of even just one night.

Anyway, you can search participating hotels and look up rates here, on their fairly easy to use hotel search tool.

Based on my search they seem to have a bit of overlap between Fine Hotels & Resorts properties, though not a complete overlap. The good news is that for all the hotels I searched, the rate offered by American Express matched the “best available” rate offered by the hotel. And as is the case with Fine Hotels & Resorts, booking through this program should still earn you points and stay credits.

So is this a killer new option? No, probably not. But it’s another option to consider when making your hotel bookings, in addition to Fine Hotels & Resorts, Virtuoso, and the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.

Full disclosure: I earn a referral bonus for anyone that signs up through the above links. It’s the best available offer, and of course I’m very appreciate of your support, regardless of whether or not you use my links

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

While many of those benefits didn’t interest me as an Executive Platinum member with American (since I get them anyway), I loved the 10% refund on AAdvantage award tickets, up to 10,000 miles per year. Given the $95 annual fee, that basically means I’m “buying” 10,000 miles per year for less than a cent each, which is a fantastic value.

While these benefits didn’t apply to American’s business credit cards, Citi did announce some new benefits for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage World Mastercard yesterday, including the following:

• Earn More Miles From Select Purchases. Earn two AAdvantage® miles for every $1 of purchases on American Airlines and on business purchases at certain office supply, telecommunications, and car rental merchants.
• Enjoy An AAdvantage Mileage Anniversary Bonus When You Renew Cardmembership. Receive a five percent AAdvantage® mileage bonus based on eligible purchases made with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® during the cardmembership year, provided cardmembership is renewed.
• Save Money While Traveling on American Airlines. First checked bag is free for the primary cardmember and up to four companions traveling on the same domestic reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after May 14, 2012. For a business owner and four employees traveling together within the U.S. in the main cabin, this would save $250 roundtrip. In addition, the cardmember will receive 25 percent savings on in-flight purchases of food, beverages and headsets when purchases are made with a Citi® / AAdvantage® credit card.
• Save Time in the Airport. Priority boarding for the primary cardmember and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after May 14, 2012.
• Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate. Earn an American Airlines Companion Certificate for domestic main cabin travel each year in which $30,000 in eligible purchases are made on the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® and the card is renewed. Redeeming the certificate costs a $99 ticketing fee (plus $21.60 to $43.20 in government taxes and fees based on itinerary).

While these benefits may prove valuable to those without elite status, there’s nothing here that really makes the card a “keeper” for me. Two miles per dollar spent on American? I’d rather earn three Membership Rewards points per dollar spent with the Premier Rewards Gold card or 2.14 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The 5% annual points bonus? I’d still rather earn the 7% annual points bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, or use the Starwood American Express card, where I can convert the points to American with a 25% bonus when transferring in increments of 20,000 points.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see them adding benefits, though in my case they just don’t justify the annual fee. I’m sure these new benefits more than justify the annual fee for many of you.

As I wrote about in April, I was thrilled to be approached by the Starwood American Express to join their SPG Amex Stars program, whereby I’ll get to experience a lot of the great benefits of the Starwood American Express credit card throughout the year. Best of all, for each experience I have you guys will get to have an equally awesome experience as well. Over this year I’ll be giving away 210,000 SPG points plus a $250 gift card courtesy of the Starwood American Express.

This partnership has already taken me to the Tribeca Film Festival, and will also take me to New York Fashion Week, the US Open, the new St. Regis Bal Habour, and more!

In this series of posts I’ll be sharing with you the amazing experience I had in New York at both the Sheraton Tribeca as well as American Express’ Starwood card member screening of “Mansome,” which was hilarious. Best of all, there were plenty of people from both Starwood and American Express, so it was great to be able to provide them feedback and also hear their thoughts during the cocktail reception. It’s clear they’re looking at maintaining the card’s industry-leading position.

Cocktail reception before screening

But before I get too deep into the trip report, it’s time to give away some points. Like I said, with each of my experiences there will be a corresponding giveaway, and for the Tribeca Film Festival the giveaway is 25,000 SPG points, enough for two nights at the Sheraton Tribeca. Of course you’re more than welcome to use the points in New York, though the beauty of SPG points is how much flexibility they have.

Here are just a few examples of what you could do with 25,000 SPG points:

• Spend two nights at the Sheraton Tribeca.
• Spend eight nights at Le Meridien Bangkok using Starwood’s awesome Cash & Points option. Instead of redeeming 7,000 SPG points per night you can redeem 2,800 points plus $45 per night, which is a spectacular value.
• Convert them to 30,000 airline miles with American, Delta, US Airways, or any of a number of other airlines. For every 20,000 points you transfer to an airline program, you get a 5,000 point bonus, which for me is one of the key selling points of the card.
• Spend ten nights at Le Meridien Chiang Rai. The hotel can be as cheap as 3,000 SPG points per night, and when redeeming SPG points for free nights the fifth night is free. So at 3,000 points per night with the fifth night free, 10 nights at Le Meridien Chiang Rai takes only 24,000 SPG points.

Sheraton Tribeca lobby

While I’ll be running the giveaways through a variety of methods, the first giveaway will be through Twitter.

How to enter:

1. Follow @OneMileataTime on Twitter.

2. Tweet which Starwood hotel you’d like to stay at in New York (here’s a list), and be sure you include both @OneMileataTime and the hashtag #SPGAMEX in the Tweet

3. You can Tweet me once per calendar day (let’s define that as 12:00AM ET till 11:59PM ET), and the contest will run through 11:59PM ET on Sunday, May 27.

For example, an eligible Tweet would be:

@OneMileataTime I’d stay at the Sheraton Tribeca #SPGAMEX

Basic terms:

While I won’t post the full four pages of terms and conditions, the basics are that you have to be at least 18 years old and have an SPG account to be eligible to win. If anyone needs any clarification, feel free to ask below in the comments section or email me.

Picking a winner:

A winner will be picked at random within a week of the end of the giveaway. Each eligible Tweet counts as one entry, so the more days you enter, the better your chance of winning. If my math is right you can enter up to 14 times.

Good luck, happy Tweeting, and let me know if you have any questions! Tomorrow we’ll pick up at the Sheraton Tribeca.

Just a quick reminder that this promo expires on Friday, May 11, so you have two more days to take advantage of this.

To recap the promo, you simply have to register any Visa Signature credit card, which includes cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, British Airways Visa, United Explorer Visa, etc.

Hyatt Platinum (their entry level status) gets you free internet, 2PM late check-out, a 15% point bonus, and a few more benefits.

But as discussed in this post, one of the other benefits is that if you’re planning on applying for the Hyatt Signature Visa credit card, you’ll get an additional two confirmed suite upgrades if you’re a Platinum member before applying. You get Platinum status with the card automatically, but the two suite upgrades really are incredibly valuable. So if you think you might apply for the Hyatt Signature Visa card in the next 90 days (or just have upcoming Hyatt stays), be sure to register.

I value most of the better mileage/points currencies at 1.5-2.0 cents per point, while I’ve found most consumers value points closer to a cent each, since they consider redeeming points for gift cards to be about the best value out there.

That being said, there are some cash back credit cards that are tempting even for someone like me, which I’ve added to the “Best Credit Card Offers” page of the blog. They’re as follows:

American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card Application

This is probably the most tempting card of all if it matches your spend patterns. The card offers 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on everything else. The card offers $150 cash back after spending $1,000 within three months, and comes with a $75 annual fee.

The part that I’m personally interested in is the 6% cash back at supermarkets, the 3% cash back at department stores, and possibly the 3% cash back at gas stations. The 6% at supermarkets is a no brainer, as is the 3% at department stores, as I don’t have a card that would otherwise accrue bonus points for department store spend. For gas I’d otherwise use my American Express Premier Rewards Gold card, which offers two Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on gas. Ultimately I value Membership Rewards points at slightly above 1.5 cents each so I’d probably still use the Premier Rewards Gold card, but others might value them differently.

With 6% cash back you have to spend $1,250 per year at supermarkets to break even (not factoring in the $150 sign-up bonus, which essentially pays your annual fee for the first two years). Of course I’m trying to think creatively in regards to purchasing gift cards at supermarkets to accrue the 6% cash back, though the T&Cs read (in part) as follows:

Each eligible purchase shall qualify for a reward of 6, 3, or 1% of the purchase amount as follows: 6% for eligible purchases at supermarkets (excluding superstores and warehouse clubs), 3% for eligible purchases at department stores and for automobile gasoline purchased at stand-alone gas stations, and 1% for all other eligible purchases posted to your account. Eligible Purchases means purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchases of American Express Travelers Cheques, purchases or reloading of American Express prepaid cards or purchases of other cash equivalents. Additional terms and conditions apply.

I don’t really have much experience with gift cards, though does anyone know if the above is standard AmEx language, or whether in practice you could actually earn cash back on gift card purchases (restaurant, gas, etc.)? It’s not something I’ve ever done, though I’d think that if you buy a gift card along with groceries they wouldn’t really have a way of breaking up the bill, right? It would certainly be tough to beat 6% cash back on gift cards for places you’d otherwise spend money at anyway.

Anyway, if you’re going for a cash back card, this one is pretty compelling in the above categories.

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card Application

This is the most basic version of the above card, given that it has no annual fee. The card offers a sign-up bonus of $100 cash back after spending $1,000 within three months, and offers 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on everything else.

None of those bonuses are tempting enough to make me stop using a mileage earning credit card, though for those of you that want a cash back card, that’s a pretty compelling offering with no annual fee, in my opinion.

American Express Costco Card Application

For those of you that have a Costco membership and value cash back, the Costco American Express is great as well, as it has no annual fee and offers 3% cash back on gas (on up to $3,000 spend), 2% cash back on dining and travel, and 1% cash back on everything else. Again, none of those amounts are enough to get me to switch spend to the card, though it’s another really solid cash back card for those of you in that camp.

(Tip of the hat to Frugal Travel Guy)

Full disclosure: I earn a referral bonus for anyone that signs up through the above links. It’s the best available offer, and of course I’m very appreciate of your support, regardless of whether or not you use my links

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

The timing of this is actually pretty convenient, given that the value of Membership Rewards points has plummeted over the past year, given that Continental was discontinued as a transfer partner, not to mention Aeroplan and British Airways devalued their award charts as well.

I don’t think there’s a more “aspirational” award out there for the average consumer than Singapore Airlines first class (they still have the reputation of having the best product in the world, be it for the right or wrong reasons), so I figured I’d cover the basics of redeeming Membership Rewards points for travel on Singapore Airlines.

So before I analyze the best redemption values, let me answer some basic questions:

How long does it take to transfer Membership Rewards points to Singapore KrisFlyer?

Transfers from Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer take 12-24 hours, in my experience.

How do I search for award availability for travel on Singapore Airlines?

You first need to sign up for a KrisFlyer account, which can be done here. Once you’ve signed up and are logged into your account, go to the main page of singaporeairlines.com and enter your dates, route, and preferred cabin. Make sure you tick “KrisFlyer redemption,” and if you want a stopover be sure you click the button that reads “Add a stopover?”

On the next page you’ll be looking for space in the “Saver” column, and you’ll want it to say “Available” and not “Waitlisted.”

If you don’t seen an option you like you can just click “Change details” at the top of the page and make modifications as you’d like.

Can I redeem miles for first class on the Airbus 380?

No, not really. Singapore Airlines doesn’t have first class on the Airbus 380, but instead has “Suites Class.” This is excluded from the new saver redemption policy. So you’ll pay around a million miles for a roundtrip ticket to Singapore in “Suites Class,” which probably isn’t worth it to just about all of us.

Can I use my KrisFlyer miles for someone else?

Singapore lets you nominate up to five people at a time that you can redeem miles out of your account for. You just have to fill out a simple form online to do so, which can be accessed in your KrisFlyer profile.

What cancellation fees does Singapore charge on award tickets?

If you need to redeposit an entirely unused award ticket, the cost is $30 if done online or $50 if done over the phone. If you cancel within 24 hours of departure the fee is $75.

Does Singapore allow stopovers on award tickets?

For saver awards Singapore allows one stopover on a roundtrip ticket (no stopovers are allowed on a one-way ticket).

How many miles are required for an award ticket?

Singapore has a pretty useful mileage calculator on their website, which will show you the cost of a roundtrip saver award ticket in your preferred cabin. It’s worth noting that you get a 15% discount on award redemptions by booking online, which isn’t factored into the displayed costs.

How far in advance does Singapore open up award space?

They open up their schedule 350 days out, though that doesn’t mean all award space will be released at that point. They typically continue to release space as the departure date approaches.

Does Singapore release the same award space to the Star Alliance?

As a rule they don’t. Occasionally they’ll release some business class award space to Star Alliance partners, though I’ve never seen them release first class award space to their partner airlines. But award availability found on Singapore Airlines’ website is by no means an accurate indicator of award space that Star Alliance partners have access to.

What destinations does Singapore Airlines serve in the US?

Here’s a map of their route network to the US:

With that out of the way, I’ve priced out each individual award possibility out of the US, and here are the results (in USD for travel exclusively on Singapore Airlines factoring in the 15% discount for redeeming online):

San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore:
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Hong Kong: 127,500 miles + $371.30
First Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Hong Kong: 140,250 miles + $371.30
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore: 136,000 miles + $696
First Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore: 182,750 miles + $722

San Francisco to Seoul to Singapore:
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Seoul: 131,750 miles + $484.20
First Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Seoul: 148,750 miles + $510.20
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Seoul to Singapore: 136,000 miles + $696
First Class Saver roundtrip cost San Francisco to Seoul to Singapore: 182,750 miles + $722

Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore:
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Tokyo: 131,750 miles + $366.50
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Tokyo: no first class — only suites class
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore: 136,000 miles + $734.20
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore: no first class — only suites class

Los Angeles to Singapore:
Aircraft: Airbus A340-500
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Singapore: 136,000 miles + $696
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Los Angeles to Singapore: no first class — all business class configuration

Newark to Singapore:
Aircraft: Airbus A340-500
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Newark to Singapore: 144,500 miles + $696
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Newark to Singapore: no first class — all business class configuration

New York to Frankfurt to Singapore:
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost New York to Frankfurt: 97,750 miles + $563.20
First Class Saver roundtrip cost New York to Frankfurt: no first class — only suites class
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost New York to Frankfurt to Singapore: 144,500 miles + $696
First Class Saver roundtrip cost New York to Frankfurt to Singapore: no first class — only suites class

Houston to Moscow to Singapore:
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Houston to Moscow: 97,750 miles + $482.50
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Houston to Moscow: 114,750 miles + $434.50
Business Class Saver roundtrip cost Houston to Moscow to Singapore: 144,500 miles + $712.80
First Class Saver roundtrip cost Houston to Moscow to Singapore: 187,000 miles + $738.80

My thoughts:

No, you’re not crazy, the above makes no sense. I’m sure a few of the above amounts make you scratch your head, and don’t worry, you’re not alone. As usual, airline pricing isn’t totally rational. For example, why are the mileage costs and fuel surcharges substantially higher for San Francisco to Seoul than San Francisco to Hong Kong, given that it’s actually a shorter flight? Along the same lines, why are the taxes and surcharges higher for business class than first class for Houston to Moscow? Yeah, it makes no sense.

The premium for first class is minimal (and well worth it). Many argue that Singapore Airlines shot themselves in the foot with their new business class product, given that the seat itself is almost as good as the first class seat (I reviewed the business class seat here). That being said, Singapore Airlines is all about the service and food, and that’s substantially better in first class. For the best redemptions on the chart, the premium really is minimal. For example, between San Francisco and Hong Kong, first class is only an extra 6,375 miles over business class per direction. In instances like that it’s a no brainer.

The best redemption values. San Francisco to Hong Kong and Houston to Moscow are both by far the best redemption values, in my opinion, and well worth the cost for first class. ‘Nuff said.

For the time being I actually consider these awards to be among the best uses of Membership Rewards points. As a reminder, as discussed in yesterday’s post, the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card is by far the best card for accruing Membership Rewards points.

Any questions?

At the end of the day the Premier Rewards Gold card is all about the rewards, and that’s in the form of points. I don’t remember the last time I “got” anything from the card other than points. Conversely, the Platinum card is all about the benefits. While the annual fee is steep at $450, I have no problem paying it thanks to the benefits that come with the card. But here’s the kicker: I don’t remember the last time I charged even a dollar to the card. The Platinum card offers a flat point per dollar, regardless of the category, so it’s not at all rewarding in terms of points. So yeah, I pay a $450 annual fee for a credit card I don’t even use for purchases… but it makes perfect sense!

So why do I gladly renew each card year after year?

The Premier Rewards Gold card comes with a $175 annual fee (waived the first year), and for that I get the most rewarding card out there for the categories in which they have bonuses — triple points on airfare, double points on gas and groceries, and 15,000 bonus points for any year in which you spend $30,000 on the card. Admittedly I spend a ton on airfare every year (mostly reimbursable), so for $30,000 worth of airfare spend I’m earning 105,000 Membership Rewards points (three points per dollar plus 15,000 bonus points for spending $30,000 on the card annually). The next best card for that spend amount would be the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which would earn me two points per dollar plus a 7% annual points dividend, for a total of 64,200 Ultimate Rewards points. Anyway, for gas, groceries, and airfare, this is my go to card. If you don’t spend as much on credit cards as I do (like I said, I have a lot of reimbursable expenses) the card might not justify the annual fee, but in my case it does.

While the value of Membership Rewards points has depreciated over the past year or so, I actually have a new appreciation for the value of them now that they can be efficiently redeemed on Singapore Airlines, especially after my flight on them a couple of days ago.

Singapore Airlines first class

The Platinum card has a $450 annual fee (which is not waived the first year), and for that I get:

• A $200 annual airline fee credit, which anecdotal evidence suggests can be used to purchase gift cards with most airlines. I value a $200 American Airlines gift card at close to face value, so that basically lowers the annual fee to $250. Even better if you’re considering the card is that the credit is based on calendar years, so with your first year’s annual fee you can really pick up the fee credit twice, essentially bringing down the annual fee for the first year to $50.
• Lounge access with American, Delta, US Airways, and Priority Pass. When it comes to lounges I really have the best of both worlds. If it weren’t for the Platinum card I’d be stuck buying an Admirals Club membership every year for $350, and that wouldn’t give me nearly as many lounge benefits as the Platinum card. In Tampa the one airline in American’s concourse with a lounge is US Airways, and thanks to my Platinum card I get access to US Airways Clubs as well, even when not flying with them.
• Global Entry fee credit. While this only applies once every five years, the Platinum card will reimburse you for your Global Entry enrollment fee, which is usually $100. I don’t know how I lived without Global Entry, because it literally revolutionizes international travel, in my opinion.
• Fine Hotels & Resorts. American Express has an exclusive hotel program for their Platinum and Centurion card members which gets them room upgrades, guaranteed 4PM late check-out, free breakfast, and an added amenity (usually a $100 food and beverage credit) when staying at select luxury hotels. I never thought it would be a benefit since Virtuoso is a similar program that doesn’t require membership (you just need to find a Virtuoso travel agent), though I’ve made over a handful of bookings this year through Fine Hotels & Resorts. Why? Some hotels belong to Fine Hotels & Resorts but not to Virtuoso, like the Westin Frankfurt, Le Meridien San Francisco, and St. Regis Bangkok, just to name a few. Furthermore, American Express has the exclusive rights to guaranteed 4PM late check-out at the hotels that belong to their program, so you don’t get that through Virtuoso. So in many cases it does work out better, and for me it’s a benefit I’d actually pay money for.
• Add up to three additional card members for $175. I think this is the only card where paying $175 to add three additional card members is considered a good deal. But for that price each person gets all of the above, with the exception of the airline fee credit. So for $625 per year you’re looking at one of the best lounge access programs for four people. You really can’t beat that.

St. Regis Bangkok

I have a lot clients that have the American Express Platinum card thinking it’s the best card out there for earning points, given the annual fee. If it’s points they’re after I always advise them to downgrade to the Premier Rewards Gold card, while if they enjoy the benefits of the Platinum card I always advise them to get the Premier Rewards Gold card in addition. Many get angry that American Express doesn’t offer the “best of both worlds” with such an expensive annual fee on the Platinum card, though I see where American Express is coming from. They’re segmenting the market into those most interested in rewards and those most interested in benefits, and if someone likes both they can always have both cards. But while the annual fee is high on the Platinum card, I still consider it to be a great value, and I certainly see why American Express doesn’t want to add more points earning opportunities to the card without raising the annual fee. Then again, maybe it’s time for a Premier Platinum Rewards card from American Express, that offers everything?

Lastly, keep in mind that both the Premier Rewards Gold card and Platinum card are charge cards as opposed to credit cards, meaning you have to pay your balance in full every month. As a result, I’ve always found both cards to be easy to be approved for, especially the Premier Rewards Gold card. I even had an 18 year old reader with no credit history email me last week to let me know he got approved for the Premier Rewards Gold card. Yikes, Scooby!

The best available offer on the Premier Rewards Gold card is currently 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 on the card in three months. The best available offer on the Platinum card is 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within three months. I’ve seen better offers on the Platinum card in the past, though it has been a long time since I’ve seen a better offer on the Premier Rewards Gold card. If either of the above links doesn’t work (AmEx links can be screwy at times), try a different browser and make sure you’re logged out of your American Express account and it should work,

Full disclosure: I earn a referral bonus for anyone that signs up through the above links. It’s the best available offer, and of course I’m very appreciate of your support, regardless of whether or not you use my links

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

So I was quite excited when Starwood and American Express invited me to participate in a new program they’re launching to illustrate the benefits of the Starwood American Express.

Through this program I’ll have access to some really cool experiences (for which the Starwood American Express is covering my expenses), including:

• The Tribeca Film Festival
• The US Open
• New York Fashion Week (Qantas pajamas are considered fashionable, right?)
• A stay at the new St. Regis Bal Harbour
• Two nights at any Starwood property in the US
• A “staycation” at a local Starwood property

I’ll be sharing my experiences for each event and hope to make this quite interactive. The best part is that for each event I attend, you get to have a similar experience which will be covered by American Express. This includes things like:

• A stay at a Starwood property of your choosing in New York
• A stay at a Starwood property with a world class tennis facility
• A $250 American Express gift card for fall fashion shopping
• A stay at the brand new St. Regis Bal Harbor
• A stay at your local Starwood property
• A stay at any Starwood hotel in the US

I’ll announce the details of each giveaway as I recap each of my experiences, the first of which should be next week.

Some of these giveaways will be run through the blog, while others will be run through Twitter, so be sure you’re following me there.

The first event will be the Tribeca Film Festival next week, for which I’ll be American Express’ official Tweeter.

Thanks to the Starwood American Express for this awesome partnership, and I look forward to interacting with all of you regarding these experiences!

Link: Chase Hyatt Visa Card Application

I don’t for a second take for granted the fact that I get to do what I love every day, from my 10 second commute from my bedroom to my living room, to the fact that I don’t have to report to anyone except you guys. And one of the ways I’m able to do that is through the blog.

Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I now have an affiliate link for the Chase Hyatt Visa credit card. Previously they only allowed select publishers to promote the card, though we now have access to it as well. The link appears both at the top of the post as well as on the “Best Credit Card Offers” page of the blog. The reason I mention it is because I’m always surprised by the generosity of some of you guys. When I don’t have a link to a certain credit card I often get emails from readers asking if there’s a link of mine they can use to support the blog. Typically when I don’t post an affiliate link of mine it’s because there’s a better publicly available offer or because the card doesn’t have one.

The Chase Hyatt Visa really is a great card, though. The standard sign-up bonus is two free nights at any Hyatt hotel in the world after your first purchase. If you’re a Platinum member you get two free nights plus two confirmed suite upgrades you can use on a revenue stay. And if you’re a Diamond member you get two free nights in a suite at any Hyatt in the world.

The cool thing is that Hyatt is currently offering a free 90-day Platinum trial if you have a Visa Signature credit card (such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, British Airways card, etc.). That means that if you sign up for the Platinum trial and then sign-up for the credit card you’ll receive both the two free nights and two confirmed suite upgrades.

Those confirmed suite upgrades can be used to upgrade any Hyatt revenue Hyatt stay for up to seven nights each. I’ve used my suite upgrades at the Andaz West Hollywood, Park Hyatt Shanghai, Andaz 5th Avenue, and Andaz Wall Street, just to name a few.

So anyway, while there’s no rush to sign-up, it is a very good sign-up bonus that I plan on taking advantage of during my next churn (I’m one of the more cautious people when it comes to Chase personal applications).

As far as the sign-up bonus goes, in the past I recommended that non-Diamond members get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card instead, given that it used to offered 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to Hyatt, and the highest category Hyatt costs 22,000 points per night, so you could get that card and still come out ahead compared to the Chase Hyatt Visa. But now that the bonus has dropped to 40,000 points, the Hyatt offer is once again more compelling.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that while the annual fee is $75, you get a free night at any category 1-4 Hyatt upon your card anniversary each year, so that more than covers the annual fee (you can find a list of category four Hyatt hotels here). Furthermore, you get Gold Passport Platinum status for as long as you have the card, which gets you free internet, late check-out, and the occasional room upgrade at Hyatt hotels. That makes this a card that’s not just worth getting for the sign-up bonus, but actually worth keeping.

And on an unrelated note, tonight or tomorrow I get to announce a really exciting promo/contest/whatchamacallit that will have me going some fun places, and a handful of you going to fun places as well!

And once again, a sincere thanks to all of you for the continued support. I hope to cross paths with more of you over the coming months.

As I posted about earlier today, Chase is pulling their current sign-up bonus offer on the Chase Ink Bold card tomorrow at 10AM ET, and it looks like the minimum spend requirement to earn the 50,000 points will go from $5,000 to $10,000, as is already the case on Chase’s own website.

I actually followed my own advice (shocker, I know!) and applied for the card. As a reminder, I had the Chase Ink Bold card from before they changed the benefits late last year. I find it funny that they won’t just let you “convert” the card to the new version, but instead have you apply for a new one, which “costs” them 50,000 points.

Not only did I apply for me, but I also had both of my parents apply. The result? Pretty soon we’ll be 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points richer.

Chase used to have awful customer service, but between the cards that get you a direct line to a human and the reconsideration line, I’m thinking they now have among the best.

Anyway, for all three applications we submitted we got the “pending decision” page. Within minutes we each called Chase’s business reconsideration line (800.453.9719), which is immediately answered by a (competent) human being. We were each asked basic questions about our business, like the nature of the business, income last year, expected income this year, number of employees, expected expenses vs. profit, etc. It was all pretty basic stuff, and we all got instantly approved on the call, none of which lasted more than five minutes. I was fully expecting to have to close my current Chase Ink Bold card (so I proactively transferred my points from the Chase Ink Bold card to my Chase Sapphire Preferred card), but that wasn’t even necessary. They let me keep both cards!

Seriously, I knew the process was easy, though it was even easier than I had remembered. Keep in mind you don’t need to have an incorporated business in order to get approved for a business credit card. You can just have a sole proprietorship and use your personal social security number as the tax ID.

So thanks, Chase, for the 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points. And thanks for having an awesome reconsideration line that takes the waiting out of the credit card approval process!