Stay Out of (Amex) Jail

Well, I’m sad to report that I’m writing this week from Amex jail. 

We recently had a big expense come up unexpectedly. Those are always unfortunate, but I saw a silver lining: a chance to use the spending to get a big sign-up bonus on a new credit card in one fell swoop. For this bonus, I wanted an Amex. I saw a number of good offers when logged into my account, but every time I tried to apply for a card, Amex informed me that I wasn’t eligible for the welcome offer. It was the dreaded pop-up jail. 

Sometimes, Amex’s algorithm decides that you’re not worthy of a sign-up bonus. The process is a bit opaque, but it seems to be a way to weed out people who will get the bonus and then stop spending on their cards. And because I’ve pretty much done precisely that with my last four Amex cards… fair enough. 

In my defense, though, Amex has a few good keeper cards that offer great travel perks, but not many cards that are actually useful for everyday spending. Most reports say the solution to pop-up jail is to wait a while and actually start put meaningful spending on Amex cards. That doesn’t work for my current collection, so getting a Gold Card, with its 4x on dining, could be my way to eat my way back into Amex’s good graces.

But doing that would eventually put me in Chase’s doghouse thanks to their 5/24 rule and, since I’ve had a Gold Card before, I wouldn’t be able to even get a bonus for my troubles. So sadly, I won’t be able to perfectly optimize this big purchase. 💔 

Lazy Take 🦥

But all was not lost. There’s usually an option out there—I’ll be putting our big purchase on a new Citi card. Not the perfect option, but a way to at least turn this big expense into a points haul. And it took years—and a wallet stuffed with 10+ cards—to get to this point, so if you’re new to this, rest assured that you can probably do this the lazy way for a good long while. 

This week on the blog 📝

Since Bilt launched their partnership with Rakuten, it has been possible for anyone to earn Bilt points instead of cash back at a 1%=1x ratio through the shopping portal. No more. If you don’t have elite status with Bilt, now you’ll earn only 0.5x. With that change in effect, which Rakuten rewards should you choose going forward? 

Quick Points of the Week ⚡

Major News 🚨

Hyatt award changes are live. Thrifty Traveler did a comprehensive evaluation and calls it “brutal.” Daily Drop says it’s “not so bad.” It might depend on where you look: value on luxury properties and peak dates has plummeted, but the cheap rooms I would actually book with points got cheaper.  

More value 📈

Book Philippine Airlines flights with Avios. A new partnership with Qatar Airways offers a new option for points bookings to Asia. The value doesn’t look great, but there could be some value, especially when there’s a transfer bonus to Avios. (MSN)

Extra Points 🪙

Rove has a punny promotion. “It Pays to Chase More Rove Miles.” There are big deals on its shopping portal and bonuses if you make your first hotel booking. Plus, Chase Sapphire cardholders can get extra miles with some merchants if they check out with Paze. (MilesTalk)

Giveaways (kind of) 🎟️ 

Hilton road trip experiences for just 250 points. They promise “unforgettable adventures” to celebrate America’s anniversary… if you can snag one. (Hilton) 

Devaluations 📉

Are hotel upgrades going extinct? Airlines have started selling upgrades for cheap rather than upgrading elite members. It looks like some hotels are starting to do the same. (View from the Wing)

More fees on British Airways award tickets. If you’re willing to deal with BA’s customer service and UX, you’ll be paying even more now for the privilege. (TPG) 

New partnerships 🤝

Earn points on rent with a Flying Blue card and Bilt. But it doesn’t make much sense to me unless you are deeply committed to Flying Blue. (Award Wallet)

Deals 🏷️

Extra points on summer Hilton stays. Always check for promotions before booking and again before checking in. Even if they’re modest. 💡 (Frequent Miler)

Sign up bonus of the week 🎯

Links marked with an * are affiliate or referral links, meaning we may earn if you apply via our link. 

When I was a kid, there was a furniture store that ran a big “sale” every week, running constant TV ads ending with “hurry, sale ends Monday!” Then Tuesday would come and there would be a different commercial with a new sale ending the Monday after that. 

I thought of this when I learned that there are new offers on Amex Hilton cards—didn’t they just have an elevated bonus? (They did, and it ended on April 15th). So we’re not going to file this under “get it while it’s hot.” But the offers on the high-end Aspire and no-fee Honorsare solid and meaningfully better than the standard offer. For whatever reason, the mid-range Surpass isn’t getting the same love.

The Aspire (review) is offering 175,000 points after spending a manageable $6,000 in the first 6 months. The Honors is offering 100,000 points and a $100 statement credit after spending $2,000 in the first six months. 

I love my Aspire and this is about as high as offers get on that card (the peak offer is 180k points), so it could be a great time to pick it up if you’re interested. 🔥🔥 I still preferred the previous Hilton Honors offer (70k plus a free night), but this is still a great one for a solid no-fee keeper card. 🔥

Other great sign-up bonuses this week

50,000 points+ $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

100k points + 25k companion discount on the Atmos Summit (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

150k points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve* (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)

185k points on the IHG Premier (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)

125k points on the IHG Traveler (our take: 🔥)

100k points on the JetBlue Premier (our take: 🔥)

90k miles on the Citi AA Globe (our take: 🔥)

150k points on the Morgan Stanley and Schwab Platinums (our take)

100k miles on the Citi AA Executive (our take)

Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)

How we rate bonus offers. 

Lazy Pick ✅ (Affiliate)

Stay cool. It’s getting warmer, so it’s time for me to break out my JISULIFE portable fan. I mostly use it as a desk fan in the office, but it’s also handy as a portable charger and handheld fan when I’m hiking or walking around in the heat. 

Enjoy the weekend! 🦥

Try to stay out of jail. 🚔

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