This is a cash back card that comes with no annual fee. This is something that is good to keep in mind as this is a card you could keep for the long haul. This card also comes with no foreign transaction fees, which is a selling point of all Capital One cards. This card also comes with a moderate sign-up bonus of $150 cash back bonus after spending $500 on purchases with the first 3 months of account opening.

Sign-Up Bonus tips

When it comes to the sign-up bonus there are a few things to consider. The first one is capital one includes language in their terms that suggests customers are only eligible for the sign-up bonus if they are a new customer. This is generally being applied to new accounts for a product. So, if you have never had the Savor One card before you should be okay. But bear in mind that the way the language is worded you could be at risk for not receiving the sign-up bonus.

More on not receiving a sign-up bonus. Some have complained that when they used the pre-qualify tool on capital one’s website and then approved they never received their sign-up bonus after meeting the requirements. Keep in mind these are complaints from disgruntled customers, so there may be more to the story. But just to play it safe I would recommend using the pre-qualifying tool and if it looks like you have a good shot at being approved either clear your cookies or open an incognito browser.

Savor One Categories

• 3% cash back on dining and entertainment
• 2% cash back at grocery stores
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

What is an Entertainment Purchase for Savor One?

According to Capital One and entertainment purchase is defined as a ticket purchase made at a movie theater, record store, video rental location, does not include streaming and subscription services. Tourist attraction, amusement park, aquarium, zoo, dance hall, billiard and pool establishment, bowling alley, professional sporting event, theatrical promoter, or concert promoter.

Ultimately if the merchant you are purchasing your entertainment from uses an entertainment code that Capital One determines falls under one of those categories, your purchase will earn you 3% cash back. Some restaurants and stores inside say a sporting arena may be coded as “food” or “merchandise”, respectively.

Interestingly, Capital One lists a few non-qualifying entertainment purchases that they don’t offer 3% cash back for. These would be purchases made at golf courses, country clubs (including membership fees), collegiate sporting events categorized as “universities”, charitable organizations that provide live entertainment, amusement park tickets purchased on third-party sites or on entertainment and resort packages categorized as “travel” or “hotel”.

What is a Dining Purchase with Savor One?

Like the entertainment category, it will mainly come down to how the merchant has set up codes for their business. But according to Capital One, you can expect purchases at restaurants, fast-food places, coffee shops, cafes, lounges, bakeries, bars and nightclubs to count towards Dining purchases.

You can see there are plenty of opportunities to earn that 3% cash back with the Capital One Savor One credit card. While the big brother, if you will to the Savor One card. The Savor card earns 4% on dining and entertainment it does come with a $95 annual fee (waived in year 1).

Earning on Groceries

While not game changing, this card does earn a respectable 2% cash back at the grocery store.  There is no cap to the amount of cash back that you can earn in any category, so that is a plus. But frankly there are better options out there when it comes to purchasing groceries. If you are willing to pay a $95 annual fee The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 in spending each year.

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee the Walmart Credit card and the Target Red card (both debit and credit versions) offer 5% back that you can use on grocery purchases.

SavorOne Earning Potential

One nice thing about the Capital One Savor One card is that there is no maximum to the amount of cash back you can spend. So if you spend a lot in entertainment and dining out you can rack up that cash back quickly. If you think you spend $10,000 or more you may want to consider the regular Savor card which has a $95 annual fee and you can earn 4% cash back in the dining and entertainment category. Also with no cap on earning potential.

Overall Thoughts

If you like eating out and not paying for an annual fee this very well might be the best option for you. The sign-up bonus is decent for a no annual fee card and you can even use this while travelling internationally. If you want a no annual fee credit card that earns 3X in more than just dining and entertainment. The Wells Fargo Propel card might be a better option for you.

The post Capital One Savor One Review | Deliciousness Straight to your Wallet appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

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.

The post DELTA SKYMILES RESERVE CARD 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. 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?

The post Delta SkyMiles Platinum Review 2020 | Get a FREE TICKET 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.

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.

The post Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Review 2020 appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express credit card is quickly becoming one of the most popular credit cards around. For good reason too. In this post we will take a look at how this credit card earns and an amazing perk that more credit cards should offer.

Sign-Up Bonus

This card comes with an outstanding sign-up bonus for a no annual fee credit card. This card earns in points. So you will earn 20,000 points after only spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. Those 20,000 points are worth a cool $200. Which gives you a 20% return on your spend.

How The Wells Fargo Propel Earning Potential

• Earn 3x points on
  • Eating out and ordering in
  • Gas stations, rideshares, and transit
  • Flights, hotels, homestays, and car rentals
  • Popular streaming services
• Earn 1x points on other purchases
• No limit to the points you can earn
• Points never expire as long as your account is open

Wells Fargo Propel Unique Perk

This card had a benefit that more cards need to include. That is cell phone protection. All you have to do is pay you cell phone bill monthly with the Wells Fargo Propel Credit Card and you receive up to $600 cell phone protection per claim. This covers damage or theft of your cell phone. You must pay a $25 deductible towards the coverage of repairs or replacement of your original phone. No more than $1,200 can be covered in a 12 month period. 

The cell phone coverage goes into effect the 1st day of the calendar month following your first cell phone bill where you pay your cell phone bill.

The terms and conditions on the Wells Fargo website states that this benefit does not cover phones that are lost (i.e. disappear without explanation). It also does not apply to phones that are rented, borrowed, or received as part of a prepaid plan.

I would recommend keeping the receipt for your cell phone purchase incase it is asked for when making a claim. Also do the math to make sure the coverage makes sense over getting one with your cell phone carrier or cell phone company. With many of the hottest phones costing about $1,000 you may not get enough to cover the cost of that new phone of yours.

Additional Benefits

This card also comes with purchase and travel protections that includes:

• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Roadside assistance
• 24/7 travel and emergency assistance, and emergency cash advances
• Retail Protection
• Extended Warranty

Link to all the details of each coverage here as it has a lot of legal jargon that I don’t want to mis-represent.

Overall Thoughts

For a no annual fee credit card, the Wells Fargo Propel card is hard to beat. You earn 3X points in some pretty major categories as well as get a solid cell phone protection benefit. I think this card is a contender for the best no annual fee credit card and can definitely be a card that everyone should consider having for the long haul.

If you love cash back cards we bet you’ll love this card that gives 5X back on travel.

The post 9 Amazing Categories for the Wells Fargo Propel appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

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.

The post Southwest Companion Pass | The Two Best Cards appeared first on My Credit Card IQ.

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.

What if I told you that you could get a buy one, get one on every plane ticket you purchased for the next two years. Would you be interested? Of course you would. It’s easier than you might think. But it does require a bit of planning, but it will be oh so worth it. In this article we will be looking at the Southwest Companion Pass and the best strategy to earn it.

What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

The Southwest Companion Pass allows you to choose one person to fly with you free, all you have to do is pay the taxes. (Which starts at $5.60 each way per person.) This works every time you purchase or redeem points for a flight. YES! You read that right. This even works with flights booked with points. How great is that?

How to earn the Southwest Companion Pass!

There are two ways to earn this golden ticket:

• Fly 100 one-way flights on Southwest in a calendar year

                                   OR

• Earn 125,000 rapid rewards points in a calendar year

Prior to October of 2019 it was only required to earn 110,000 rapid rewards points in a calendar year. Even though the points required has increased now is the perfect time to try and earn the Southwest Companion Pass. I discuss the best way to do this in this youtube video starting at about the 2:15 mark.

Ways to earn Rapid Rewards Points

One way is going to be by flying. You earn rapid rewards points each time you pay for a ticket. A second way is going to be by shopping and dining. You can do this by linking a credit card or debit card to you rapid rewards account. You earn extra points for purchases at participating restaurants and retailers. You can also use the shopping portal for extra points. Last and the way we will focus on is through credit cards and the signup bonus. This is by far the easiest and fastest way to earn The Southwest Companion Pass.

Best time to earn the Southwest Companion Pass?

The best time to obtain it is at the beginning of the year. You want all 125,000 rapid rewards points to hit that account in the same year. As of the writing of this article the date is January 9, 2020. This is an ideal time to get started. Why? Because you earn the companion pass for the remainder of the year in which it was earned and the following full calendar year. So you could get this amazing benefit for nearly a full two years if you plan accordingly. But no worries, I have done all of the homework for you.

Let’s talk strategy

We have already established that the easiest and fastest way to earn The Southwest Companion Pass is with credit cards. We will have to get two Southwest credit cards through Chase bank. Now keep in mind there is well known “rule” in the credit card game with Chase affectionately referred to as The Chase 5/24 “rule”. I use quotes because this isn’t something that Chase actually says exists. What this so called rule entails: If you have opened 5 or more new credit accounts with any bank within the last 24 months (some business cards may not count) you aren’t eligible for any Chase credit cards.

There are 5 different Southwest Credit cards. There are 3 personal versions and 2 business versions. You are only allowed to have 1 personal card. So to earn this you will have to open a personal Southwest credit card and 1 business Southwest credit card. If you sell products, goods, services, etc on any platform that is considered a business. But make sure to check the laws in you local area to make sure you qualify.

The three personal cards have annual fees that range from $69 up to $149. I highly recommend going with the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card which does have the highest annual fee at $149. But the value you get more than covers that fee. But from now until February 10, 2020 no matter which card you choose this strategy will work for you as you will earn 75,000 rapid rewards points. After you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of account opening you will earn those 75,000 points. You earn it in a tiered way. Meaning you earn 40,000 of those points after only $1,000 of spending within the first 3 months of account opening and then you earn the additional 35,000 points after $5,000 of spending total within the first 6 months.

Now it is time to turn your attention to the business cards. There are two of them. At this time either card will help you obtain the needed amount of rapid rewards points so choose the best option for you.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card: you will earn 70,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. This card comes with a $199 annual fee.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card: you will earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. This card comes with a $99 annual fee.

Are you keeping score?

So now you have spent $8,000 to $10,000 within a 6 month period and have earned at least 143,000 points. You also earned at least 1x point per dollar on $8,000. 

This has put you well over the needed 125,000 rapid rewards points to earn the coveted Southwest Companion Pass. Congratulations, you did it!

Want to know the best part?

Those 143,000 rapid rewards points you earned can still be used to redeem for flights. So get to earning and get to flying. The hardest part might be picking your next destination or maybe your companion to fly with?

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