With the recent changes to the Chase Sapphire Reserve which includes a fee increase of $550 for new card holders effective January 12, 2020 and for existing card holders as of April 1, 2020 and moving forward. One positive is if your annual renewal is prior to April 1, 2020 you will be able to get one more year at the $450 annual fee and still receive all the benefits they added. In this post we will look at 7 reasons to have the Chase Sapphire Reserve in 2020. We won’t be focusing in on the $300 travel credit, of the 3x multiplier on travel purchases. We will be looking at 7 ways to justify this card for 2020. For a detailed post of all the changes click here. These 5 reasons are listed in no particular order.

Do you like Airports?

If so this card comes with complimentary airport lounge access. You’ll receive a Priority Pass Select membership. Which is valued at $99. You can bring two guests with you free of charge. Each additional guest will cost $27. This Priority Pass Select Membership also allows you to use it at select restaurants inside airports towards $28 worth of food at most of the 28 or so participating restaurants, not to mention the 20 or so bars that you can use that credit. Some restaurants allow you to bring one guest and get another $28 worth of food credits, totaling $56. Which is a sweet deal. These credits can’t be applied towards a tip however, so be sure to bring a few bucks for that.

Personally I do not have this benefit as I generally don’t spend much time in airports. I usually get there in time for my flight and once I land I’m headed on to my destination. There are examples of people using this benefit at multiple participating restaurants in the same airport allowing them to use that $28 credit two or even three times. If you’re someone who travels often for work or takes international trips with layovers, this benefit could be very beneficial.

Hate Waiting in line

Are you someone who is always running late or rushing through the airport to catch your flight? Or maybe you just hate waiting in lines. Well, then this is one reason to consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I am talking about the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit that you get with this card. If you only travel domestically than all you really need is TSA Precheck. But if there is even a chance you might travel internationally within 4 years of getting this, I always recommend going for Global Entry since TSA-Precheck is included in that. If you pay the $85 for TSA PreCheck or the $100 for Global Entry with the Chase Sapphire Reserve you will receive that credited back to your account. You can use this credit once every four years. Which is about how long each membership lasts before it’s time to renew.

Who needs a car?

Do you live in a densely populated area like New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles? Or maybe you travel for work and instead of renting a car you take a rideshare option. If so you may find yourself taking either Uber or Lyft. Now with the Chase Sapphire Reserve it might make more sense to use Lyft with these new perks.

• 10x points per dollar spent with Lyft
• Complimentary Lyft Pink Membership

With these added perks, not only will you save 15% off your rides, you will earn a higher bonus rate. Plus a few other perks that you can read about here. The 10x benefit is currently being advertised only through March 2022. It will be interesting to see if they extend it or go with a different perk. Although I suspect since American Express has a deal with Uber, Chase will stay with Lyft.

Transfer Partners

Chase has some of the best transfer partners of any of the major credit card players. If your focus is on travel, this card is hard to beat. Points are worth 1.5 cents each when redeemed towards travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal. But many times, you can extract more value by using transfer partners. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio and sometimes chase even offers bonuses when you transfer to one of their partners.

Here are the Ultimate Rewards transfer partners:

No matter if you only need to rent a car once a year or with every monthly excursion. This benefit is hard to beat. The Sapphire Reserve offers primary collision damage waiver coverage. This basically means that you are covered for any damages that happen to your rental car, regardless of whether you carry other insurance or not. You do have to pay for the rental with this card and decline the collision insurance, for the policy to kick in. Check your cardmember agreement for full details of what type of rentals may not be covered. While thankfully I have never had to use a benefit like this. Knowing that if you use this card to pay for your car rental gives a bit of relief.  

Do you eat?

One of the new changes to this card involves DoorDash. The Sapphire Reserve offers a 1-year DashPass membership. With this service you pay $0 delivery fees when ordering at least $12 from participating restaurants.

You also get $120 of DoorDash credit. This is broken up over two years. You will receive $60 of credit in 2020 and another $60 of credit in 2021. Not a bad benefit overall and one that just about every card holder should be able to take advantage of.

We don’t need no stinking fees!

This card is advertised as a travel card. As such you wouldn’t expect a travel card to have any foreign transaction fees. The Sapphire Reserve doesn’t disappoint. This is an excellent card for purchases made internationally while traveling or even from merchants who may be based in other countries. Say goodbye to those 3% fees.

Those are just 7 reasons why the Chase Sapphire Reserve is still a great option to have in your wallet. Is there a reason that I didn’t include that is a reason you keep this card? We’d love to know. Drop us a comment below, on YouTube, or one of our social media accounts.

The post 7 Reasons to keep the Chase Sapphire Reserve in 2020 appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

American Express and Delta announced back in October of 2019 that changes would be coming to all 4 personal co-branded credit cards as well as the business versions. These effects take place on January 30, 2020. Since these changes are about to kick in. I thought it would be a good time to dive into these changes. Let’s take a peek.

Sign-Up Bonus

Since American Express only allows you to earn one sign-up bonus per lifetime on each product. Equally, you want to try and earn a sign-up bonus when it is at or near its highest offer. The public offer always starts off at around 40,000 SkyMiles after $3,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. We have seen as high as 75,000 SkyMiles with $5,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. I would strongly suggest waiting for one of the higher offers. As part of the sign-up bonus you will also receive 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs). These are put towards Elite Status with Delta Airlines.

Moreover, you can generally get a great sign-up bonus by using a referral link. Use our LINK, just click on “VIEW ALL CARDS WITH A REFERRAL OFFER” and you’ll currently get 75,000 Delta SkyMiles after you spend $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. This current promotion ends 01/29/2020. We will see if there will be an increased offer coming on 01/30/2020 to help promote the new versions of these cards.

In addition, the best strategy is to use a computer to go onto Delta.com and purchase a $100 gift card. Because, if you try this from your phone or tablet that the credit will not kick in. Why this is I don’t know. But don’t chance it. You may even want to use incognito mode.

If you really want this card the best strategy is to apply for this card by January 29, 2020. By doing this you will get the current $450 annual fee. If you apply on January 30, 2020 or later the higher annual fee of $550 will be in effect.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Benefits

We will look at the benefits this card will have effective January 30, 2020.

• 3X on Delta Purchases
• Complimentary Access to the Centurion Lounge
• Delta Sky Guest Passes
• Complimentary Upgrades
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
• Status Boost
• Companion Certificate
• MQD Waiver
• Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding
• Concierge
• First Checked bag free

What is Status Boost?

If in any calendar year you spend $30,000 or more on your Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card you will receive 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs). You can earn this up to four times in one calendar year. So, if you spend $120,000 or more in a calendar year you can earn 60,000 MQMs. Delta defines the calendar year ending on December 31 of any year. The purchase must post to your account on December 31. MQMs are not redeemable. They count towards earning Elite Status with Delta. If you have this credit card you probably already have or are planning on earning Delta’s highest loyalty program. Diamond Medallion Status.

Companion Certificate

Every card anniversary month. So, beginning on your 1^st year anniversary holding this card. You will receive a Companion Certificate in your account on Delta.com in your renewal month. This certificate can be used for travel within the United States only with some exceptions when it comes to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. You only pay the taxes and fees, no more than $75. If traveling across the country the value of the ticket you would be getting more than covers the $250 annual fee.

Delta Sky Club Access

These lounges inside airports allow you and complimentary access to these lounges when traveling on a same-day Delta flight. This is a unique perk of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card. If you are traveling on an airline other than Delta, you may still access the Sky Club for a cost of $39. You may also bring up to two guests to enter for $39 per person. Children under 2 years of age may enter for free with the Card Member. You will have to pay for this with your Delta SkyMiles Platinum Credit Card, so be sure to carry it with when traveling. Card Member and guests must be flying on same-day Delta or Delta partner flight. Generally, the $39 fee is not worth the cost of admission. If you happen to have a long layover or had a flight cancellation it’s better than sitting around in the terminal. But Ultimately, you’ll have to decide if he cost is worth it.

Each year with this card you will receive two complimentary guest passes for the Delta Sky Club. These one time passes expire one year from the date of issuance. So if you don’t use them, you lose them. You as the card holder will have to be present with your guests. So you can’t just give these passes to your friends as a gift. The guests must also be travelling on a same day Delta flight or Delta operated flight.

This benefit has a lot of restrictions. But if you have this card you are flying Delta every time you are in the skies anyway. This shouldn’t be too hard for you to use if say taking your family on a vacation.

The Centurion Lounge Benefit

One of the more luxurious perks of this card if you will is the complimentary access to all locations of The Centurion Lounge. Same rules apply as for the Delta Sky Club Access. Must be traveling on a same day Delta flight or partner flight. The eligible flight must be booked on a U.S. issued American Express charge or credit card. How they determine if this was done, I’m not sure. I guess they will have access to your itinerary and receipt.

Overall Thoughts

The assumption I am making is that if you have this credit card you already fly Delta or are about to start flying Delta on a very regular basis. Probably monthly. Overall the benefits I feel more than cover the annual fee if you visit lounges. This is a great card to help you reach the Elite Diamond Medallion Status. The earning categories are lack luster in my opinion only have a Delta earning multiplier. The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card has better earning categories in my opinion and you could partner that card with say The Hilton Honors Surpass card with gives you 10 visits to Priority Pass lounges each year and pay only about $350 per year in annual fees instead of the $550 annual fee with this card. Like with any card, run the numbers for any credit card you are considering to see if it makes sense for you.

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American Express and Delta announced back in October of 2019 that changes would be coming to all 4 personal co-branded credit cards as well as the business versions. These effects take place on January 30, 2020. Since these changes are about to kick in I thought it would be a good time to dive into these changes. While the overall changes are more negative than positive. This card still comes with some nice benefits and an amazing perk. Let’s take a peek.

Sign-Up Bonus

Since American Express only allows you to earn one sign-up bonus per lifetime on each product. You want to try and earn a sign-up bonus when it is at or near its highest offer. The public offer always starts off at 35,000 SkyMiles after $1,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. We have seen as high as 75,000 SkyMiles with $2,000 to $3,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. I would strongly suggest waiting for one of the higher offers.

You can generally get close by using a referral link. If you’d like to use our LINK, just click on “VIEW ALL CARDS WITH A REFERRAL OFFER” and you’ll currently get 75,000 Delta SkyMiles after you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. You will also get a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new card within the first 3 months. This current promotion ends 01/29/2020. We will see if there will be an increased offer coming on 01/30/2020 to help promote the new versions of these cards.

The best strategy is to use a computer to go onto Delta.com and purchase a $100 gift card. Data points suggest that if you try this from your phone or tablet that the credit will not kick in. Why this is I don’t know. But don’t chance it. You may even want to use incognito mode.

If you really want this card the best strategy is to apply for this card by January 29, 2020. By doing this you will get the current $195 annual fee. If you apply on January 30, 2020 or later the higher annual fee of $250.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Benefits

We will look at the benefits this card will have effective January 30, 2020.

• $250 annual fee
• 3X Miles at Hotels
• 3X Miles on Delta Purchases
• 2X Miles at Restaurants
• 2X Miles at U.S. Supermarkets
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit
• Companion Certificate
• First Checked Bag Free for you and up to 8 passengers traveling with you on the same reservation
• Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Delta Sky Club Access for $39
• Status Boost

What is Status Boost?

If in any calendar year you spend $25,000 or more on your Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card you will receive 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs). You can earn this up to twice in one calendar year. So, if you spend $50,000 or more in a calendar year you can earn 20,000 MQMs. Delta defines the calendar year ending on December 31 of any year. The purchase must post to your account on December 31. MQMs are not redeemable. They count towards earning Elite Status with Delta.

Companion Certificate

Every card anniversary month. So, beginning on your 1^st year anniversary holding this card. You will receive a Companion Certificate in your account on Delta.com in your renewal month. This certificate can be used for travel within the United States only with some exceptions when it comes to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. You only pay the taxes and fees, no more than $75. If traveling across the country the value of the ticket you would be getting more than covers the $250 annual fee.

Delta Sky Club Access

These lounges inside airports allow you and up to two guests to enter for $39 per person. Children under 2 years of age may enter for free with the Card Member. You will have to pay for this with your Delta SkyMiles Platinum Credit Card, so be sure to carry it with when traveling. Card Member and guests must be flying on same-day Delta or Delta partner flight. Generally, the $39 fee is not worth the cost of admission. If you happen to have a long layover or had a flight cancellation it’s better than sitting around in the terminal. But Ultimately, you’ll have to decide if he cost is worth it.

Overall Thoughts

As mentioned at the outset of this post this card still packs some power. That Companion Pass is hard to beat. Checked bags on Delta run you a smooth $30 per bag each way. If you and your travel buddy each check a bag that would cost you $120. Those two perks alone more than cover the $250 annual fee. To get the lower annual fee of $195 in year one be sure to apply by January 29, 2020.  What do you think about this Card?

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American Express and Delta announced back in October of 2019 that changes would be coming to all 4 personal co-branded credit cards as well as the business versions. These effects take place on January 30, 2020. Since these changes are about to kick in I thought it would be a good time to dive into these changes.

Sign-Up Bonus

Since American Express only allows you to earn one sign-up bonus per lifetime on each product. You want to try and earn a sign-up bonus when it is at or near its highest offer. The public offer always starts off at 30,000 SkyMiles after $1,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. We have seen as high as 75,000 SkyMiles with $2,000 to $3,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening. I would strongly suggest waiting for one of the higher offers.

You can generally get close by using a referral link. If you’d like to use our LINK and You’ll currently get 60,000 Delta SkyMiles after you spend $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. You will also get a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new card within the first 3 months.

The best strategy is to use a computer to go onto Delta.com and purchase a $50 gift card. Data points suggest that if you try this from your phone or tablet that the credit will not kick in. Why this is I don’t know. But don’t chance it. You may even want to use incognito mode.

If you really want this card the best strategy is to apply for this card by January 29, 2020. By doing this you will get the current $95 annual fee waived for your first year. If you apply on January 30, 2020 or later the higher annual fee of $99 kicks in and is not waived in year one.

Delta SkyMiles Gold Benefits

We will look at the benefits this card will have effective January 30, 2020.

• $99 annual fee
• 2X Miles at Restaurants
• 2X Miles at U.S. Supermarkets
• 2X Miles on Delta Purchases
• $100 Delta Flight Credit, after you spend $10,000 in a calendar year
• First Checked Bag Free for you and up to 8 passengers traveling with you on the same reservation
• Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding

Overall Thoughts

As mentioned at the outset of this post this card is perfect if you fly using Delta at least twice a year as a solo traveler or once a year with a travel buddy. Checked bags on Delta run you a smooth $30 per bag each way. If you and your travel buddy each check a bag that would cost you $120. That more than pays for the $99 annual fee. To avoid the annual fee in year one be sure to apply by January 29, 2020. It’s also a great card to get your feet wet and earn some increased earnings at the supermarket and gas station while enjoying some nice travel benefits. This is a keeper card in my book.

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What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

If you’re unfamiliar with what the Southwest Companion Pass is check out our other post here or this video for a full break down and the best strategy. But simply put, this companion pass allows you to bring a plus one on any paid or reward flight for up to 2 years. You need to earn 125,000 rapid rewards points in one calendar year to ge it. It’s truly the best travel hack available and it’s easier to get than you might think. The easiest way is through credit cards.

Southwest partners with Chase for all of their credit cards. Something to keep in mind if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months. If you have you wont be approved for a Southwest credit card.

What are the Two Best Credit Cards to Earn The Southwest Companion Pass?

Now these can be subjective. But if your goal is to earn the Southwest Companion Pass that means you plan on flying Southwest frequently. So, with that in mind, don’t you want to get the most out of every flight?

I knew you would say a resounding yes!

To earn the companion pass fast and easy you need to open two of these Southwest credit cards. You will need to open up one personal credit card and one business credit card. Now you might be thinking, I don’t own a business. Well, if you sell anything online that is considered a business. 

For the personal credit card you will want to get the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card which comes with a $149 annual fee. For the business version you will want to get the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card which comes with a $199 annual fee. 

• 

So now you have two cards in your wallet that are costing you $348 per year. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Let’s look at the numbers.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card Benefits

Let’s take a look at the personal credit card first. What do you get for $149 per year? After the 75,000 point sign-up bonus which is worth about $1,125, here is what else you will get:

• 7,500 points every anniversary ($112.50 value)
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available ($30-$50 value per pass)
• $75 Southwest annual travel credit
• 20% back on inflight drinks and WiFi
• 2 points per $1 on Southwest Airlines purchases

Since you won’t receive your 7,500 points until your year one anniversary we won’t include that into our valuation. I also don’t value the boarding passes at $30. I value those at a modest $10 since I would easily pay that amount. So that means in year one you are getting a whopping $1240. Now once those points have been used. Does it still make sense to keep this card?

Now we can include those 7,500 anniversary points as those can be used to redeem for flights. Just on the value of the points and the annual travel credit alone you are already at $187.50 which gives you more than the $149 annual fee. Add in $40 worth of value for those 4 boarding passes and based on my value you’re sitting at $227.50 worth of value. This card more than pays for itself and this is the one I always recommend to apply for between the three.

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card Benefits

Now let’s take a look at the Business credit card. What do you get for $199 per year? After the 70,000 point sign-up bonus which is worth about $1,050, here is what else you will get:

• 9,000 points every anniversary ($135 value)
• Four Upgraded Boardings per year when available 
• Inflight Wifi Credits (limited to 365 $8 credits per year)
• $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check statement credit every 4 years
• 3 points per $1 on Southwest Airlines purchases
• 2 points per $1 on social media and search engine advertising, Internet, cable, and phone service

Since again on this card you won’t receive your 9,000 points until your anniversary we won’t include that in our year one valuation. We also use the same value for the boarding passes. We now have have a couple more things to add that we get with this card. We get those inflight WiFi credits as well as that $100 Global Entry Credit. Even though it is every 4 years, we will include that in the year one valuation instead of averaging it out over 4 years. Now the inflight credits are going to be based on how many times you fly. If you are getting the companion pass the plan is to fly as often as possible. For the sake of this article we will use a consevative number of 6 flights to use that credit. That means in year one you are getting $1,238 worth of value.

Now let’s look at year two and beyond. Without the signup bonus value and the global entry credit. But we now get to add the value of the 9,000 rapid reward anniversary points. The value of everything comes to $223. Which is $24 more than you’re paying for the annual fee. 

Final Thoughts

If you already fly Southwest or plan on it. These two cards are must adds. We’ve done the math and know the value you are getting more than covers the cost of the annual fees. All that’s left to do now is to plan your trip.

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If you have been thinking about applying for a Southwest Credit Card now is the perfect time to apply. All 3 personal credit cards have an increased sign-up bonus. You’ll have to hurry though as this limited time offer ends 02/10/2020. You can earn up to 75K sign-up Bonus on all 3 southwest credit cards. These signup bonuses only put you 50,000 points away from earning the coveted Southwest Companion pass. In this article we will take a quick look at how to earn those 75,000 points and the benefits of each card.

The three personal cards are the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card. All three cards come with the same tiered sign-up bonus. So the card you go with will come down to which benefits you want. 

How to Earn the 75K Sign-Up Bonus

It is a tiered sign-up bonus. You’ll earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months of when you open the account. Then You’ll earn an additional 35,000 points for an additional $4,000 spent in the first 6 months of account opening. Totaling $5,000 spent in the first 6 months of account opening. Which should be attainable for most.

What Each Card Comes With

What to Know Before Applying

You won’t be able to earn these sign-up bonuses if you already have a personal Southwest credit card. You are only allowed to have one open at a time. You also can not have earned the sign-up bonus on a Southwest personal credit card in the last 24 months. Also, if you have opened 5 or more credit cards within the last 24 months Chase won’t approve you for a new credit card.

Overall Thoughts

There is no better time than now to apply for one of these cards to be well on your way to having plenty of points for travel or 60% on your way to earning that Southwest Companion Pass. So, what do you think about these increased sign-up bonuses and which credit card will you get?

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With the recent updates announced to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. A lot of credit card enthusiasts have been talking about changes. One of which involves Chase teaming up with Lyft. In this article we will look at how you can earn more on Lyft Rides with Chase. Particularly 10X ultimate rewards points per dollar spent beginning January 12, 2020.

I just found out by doing some reading on lyft.com that this perk is currently slated to last until March of 2022. But I also read about some other exciting information that applies across multiple Chase credit cards.

Chase Credit Cards that earn more with Lyft

Chase Sapphire Reserve: 

        10x total points on Lyft Rides 

        1 year of complimentary Lyft Pink membership per account (business profile is not eligible)

Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus: 

        5x total points on Lyft Rides 

Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited: 

        5% total cash back on Lyft rides 

Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited:

        5% total cash back on Lyft rides 

How to earn

Getting started is a breeze.

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of the Lyft app downloaded.

Step 2: Set your eligible Chase card as your default payment method.

Step 3: Earn on rides through March 2022.

Please note starting on Jan 12, you’ll be able to activate the Lyft Pink membership. Set your Chase Sapphire Reserve card as the default payment method in the Lyft app (not available for business profiles) by March 2022 and in-app messaging will guide eligible cardmembers through the complimentary enrollment.

How each Chase card earns with lyft

Without taking into consideration other benefits and only looking at the lyft multiplier we will do the math and see where the breakeven point is.

• Chase Sapphire Reserve

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you will earn 10X points which can be worth up to a 20% return. Since this benefit is only being added for Chase to up the annual fee by $100. We will use that amount as the breakeven point. You’d have to spend $500 on lyft each year to cover the cost of the $100 fee increase.

$500 X 20% = $100

• Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus cards all having a $95 annual fee and earning 5X points which can be worth up to a 10% return. You’d have to spend $950 on lyft each year to cover the cost of the $95 annual fee.

$950 x 10% = $95

• Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited and the Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited

With the Chase Freedom, Student, and Unlimited cards and the Chase Ink, Cash, Business, and Unlimited cards you earn a flat 5% back. These cards have no annual fee. So there is no break even point here as you have no annual fee to cover. 

What is the best Chase Credit Card to use for lyft?

If you already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and use Lyft on a regular basis you will probably benefit from keeping it to pay for your Lyft rides.

I think the sweet spot will be to use one of the credit cards with a $95 annual fee. The Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire, Ink Preferred, and Ink Plus as these cards had no increase of the annual fee as of the writing of this article. 

If you have never used lyft before, you can get a free $5.00 credit by clicking here. 

Overall Thoughts

Chase teaming up with Lyft makes sense as a way to add perks that the competitor has.  American Express and Uber have teamed up a while back now. However for those with the Sapphire Preferred in their wallets, this change is pretty lackluster for most. For those with any of the other Chase credit cards mentioned, they will probably receive the most benefit since there is no extra charge attached. 

The post Chase Teaming up with Lyft | Earn with these cards appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

This amount is up from the $450 annual fee that many of the cards loyal supporters have grown comfortable with and for good reason. As this credit card offered some amazing perks, especially the initial sign-up bonus of 100,000 chase ultimate reward points.

What’s New?

Well, besides the obvious bad news of the $100 annual fee increase. Let’s look at what your new $550 annual fee will get you. The annual fee increase takes effect on January 12, 2020 for new card holders. If you currently have the Chase Sapphire Reserve you will be locked into the $450 annual fee if your anniversary date is prior to April 1, 2020. The below benefits however will go into effect on January 12, 2020 for current and new card holders alike.

• 10x points on Lyft rides — up from the current 3x rate for Lyft rides and all other travel purchases

• Complimentary Lyft Pink membership — you can activate a year for free. Lyft charges $19.99 per month for this service. This will get you access to 15% off car rides, priority airport pickups, surprise offers, relaxed cancellation policies, and up to three free 30-minute bike and scooter rides (including with Citi Bike) per month in certain metropolitan areas

• Up to $120 in DoorDash credits for food delivery — in addition to offering Sapphire Reserve cardmembers a complimentary year of DashPass membership with DoorDash for waived delivery fees and more. DoorDash charges $9.99 per month for this service. Chase is also adding statement credits for the food-delivery service DoorDash. You’ll get up to $60 in 2020, and up to $60 in 2021.

Do these new benefits justify the new annual fee?

Is Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee increasing to $550 worth the price? It’s a simple question that has more than one answer. It really boils down to if you already use these services that are being added. One year of Lyft Pink membership is valued at $239. One year of DashPass membership is valued at $119. The two years of DoorDash credits you will get is a value of $120. That’s a value of $418 in the first year alone. If Chase decides not to extend the Lyft Pink membership or the DashPass membership you are still receiving $478 in value in the first two years alone.

But, that is only real value if you already use these services and value them as such. If you only start using these services because you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you aren’t saving money. The DashPass membership and DoorDash credit will most likely be easier to use and justify. Many people love their cars and rarely use rideshare services unless it’s for a ride to the airport or you live in a metropolitan area.

If you use Lyft regularly, I’d say 2-3 times per week. Getting 10X chase points per dollar now will be extremely exciting and will more than cover the $100 annual fee increase.

Is Chase Removing Any Benefits?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve will still include the same benefits you have come used to relying on, including:

• $300 in annual statement credits towards travel
• Priority Pass select membership for airport lounge access
• 3X points on travel and dining
• No foreign transaction fees
• Trip delay and cancellation coverage

It would have been nice to see an increase in the travel and dining multiplier or an added earning category like gasoline or groceries. However, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they haven’t taken any benefits away.

The Verdict

Ultimately it will come down to your spending habits and if you find value in these new added benefits. The value provided can come in handy and save you some serious green. Sadly, if you won’t use these credits it is going to be hard to justify keeping this card in your wallet for that steep $550 annual fee. Thankfully, instead of cancelling the card you have plenty of downgrade options.

Check back for more updates soon as we will be diving into plenty of information on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and many other great credit cards. If you like earning 5X points check out the ABOC Platinum Rewards Mastercard.

The post Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee increasing to $550 appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

This card is bringing it’s A game to the table and I expect it to be a real competitor in the 5% and 5X cash back credit card market. It is a rotating cash back credit card, so it puts it in the same category as the Discover IT card, Chase Freedom, and the U.S. Bank Cash + cards. In this post we will look at how this card earns, some of the perks it comes with, including a sign-up bonus, and of course the categories it earns 5X in.

What is a rotating cash back credit card?

The credit card issuer chooses a category or categories each quarter. For example, the 1st quarter of 2020 is January-March, The Discover IT card’s 5% categories are Grocery Stores, Walgreens and CVS. You earn 5% cash back on your first $1,500 of spending in each quarter in all categories combined. With a maximum earning potential of $75 each quarter. Any spend after the $1,500 and all spend outside of the category earns at a 1% cash back rate.

How to earn points?

The ABOC Platinum Rewards mastercard is no different in the way it earns. You earn 5X points per dollar spent on your first $1500 for all categories per quarter. For ABOC this is calculated at the base rate of 1X point per dollar spent and then an additional 4X points per dollar spent in the given category or categories. Any spend after the $1500 and all spend outside of the category earns at a 1X cash back rate. If you max out the quarters you will have earned $300 cash back without any extra effort on your part.

For any of the 1X cash back rate that you might spend on this card, there is no cap on the points you can earn and the points will never expire. Another thing I like about this card is that once you register your account with this new credit card you don’t have to activate or enroll in any of the quarters 5X bonuses, unlike the Discover IT, Chase Freedom and others. 

You can redeem your ABOC points on Travel, gift cards, merchandise, and cash back in the form of a statement credit. I suspect the Travel and cash back redemption options will be the best route. It will be interesting to see what kind of gift cards will be available. I’ll be sure to update you as new information is released. 

Easy Sign-Up Bonus

This credit card will have one of the easiest sign-up bonuses on the market. You only have to spend $1,200 in the first 90 days of account opening to receive a $150 statement credit. Which is a nice 12.5% return on your spend for purchases you were going to make anyway. The 90 days starts from the day you applied and were approved for the card and not when you receive the card. 

It’s a 5X Cash Back Travel Credit Card? Sorta…

Check out this new 5X #cashback #creditcard. You can even save on Travel, Unbelievable!
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This card has no foreign transaction fees, so you don’t have to worry if you use this card when traveling abroad or even making purchases with international merchants, Although I suspect you’d have a better card option in your wallet while traveling.

Let’s take a look at the categories. What I really like is that ABOC has released their 5X calendar for the whole year of 2020. They did the same in 2019. This is excellent for those of us in the credit card points, miles, and cash back community as it allows us to plan ahead so we can best optimize our credit card use.

At the outset of this post I stated that this 5X cash back credit card from ABOC Platinum Rewards Mastercard is bringing it’s A game and I truly believe that. All of the categories chosen for 2020 are on par with the big boys. The quarter where I think this card really shines is going to be in quarter 3 July-Sept. You will be able to earn 5X points back on travel. This includes airlines, hotels, car rental, and even travel agencies. 5X back on travel is hard to come by and almost never happens on a no annual fee credit card.

They had the same category in the same quarter in 2019. I think it would have been better at least from a consumer standpoint to have this category in the second quarter for 2020. Since most families are traveling during the summer months, most of these trips were planned and paid for prior to July. But I’ll still take it as an option because this is an amazing category to have available. 

Overall

I think for a no annual fee credit card that comes with an easy to reach sign-up bonus and plenty of fire power options when it comes to how to earn the 5X points, this card is a must add to your wallet. Having no foreign transaction fees is a nice addition too. I suspect it won’t be long before all credit cards do away with them. If you like an extra $300 every year then you should consider getting the ABOC Platinum Rewards Mastercard

The post New 5X Cash Back Credit Card appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

When we travel, we are able to go to places that allow us to relax, have experiences that we wouldn’t otherwise have and experience cultures that enhance the way we view the world. All while making memories that we can revisit time and time again.

When it comes time to book a flight, a hotel or an Airbnb, getting a rental car, and the cost of food, traveling can be expensive. But, it doesn’t have to be! Whether you are looking to take the family on a Disney vacation or wanting to book a bungalow in the Maldives for a getaway you can save big by using points, miles, and cash back.

This is where Credit Cards come into play. Credit Card points are a great way to book travel for amazingly low costs and sometimes free travel. We at Credit Card IQ explore practical ways to use your everyday spending to earn those credit card points, miles,  and cash back so you can travel further for cheaper.

We focus on smart financial decisions and we always advocate for treating your credit card like a debit card. Don’t buy something if you don’t have the money in the bank, plain and simple.

So what are you waiting for? Start planning your next trip by reading a blog post or watching a video on our Youtube channel.

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