IHG Reward Club Premier Credit Card 140,000 point bonus!

The IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card from Chase has a bonus of 140,000 points right which is the highest it has ever been. This should get you at least several free nights at IHG brand Hotels including; Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza, Candlewood Suites, InterContinentals and more. Redemptions start at 5k points, so you could possibly get up to 28 free nights out of the bonus (not counting the 4th night free.) I'm not sure if you will be able to find them at that rate but I have been able to find redemptions for 10,000 at Candlewood Suites.

The minimum spend is $3,000 to get the bonus. The $89 annual fee is higher than the old IHG card ($49). Benefits include a $100 statement credit toward Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check every 4 years, purchase and travel protection, cell phone protection of up to $800 per claim and $1000/year when you use it to pay your bill and a free anniversary night every card anniversary. So if you keep the card and use the Anniversary night alone you would be getting your money's worth. The anniversary night can be up to 40,000 points. If you have the old card do not upgrade it! You can have both cards and enjoy the benefits of both.

Spending on this card will only earn a good rate of return when spending at IHG. IHG points are worth about .6 cents which is considerably less than Ultimate Reward Points. You can earn 25 points per dollar at IHG including the 10 for being an IHG rewards club member, but I have enough points I will not be doing this anytime soon. For restaurants, groceries and gas stations your earn 2 pts/dollar and 1 on everything else.

By holding the card you also get Platinum Elite Status, which has some reasonable perks like complimentary room upgrades and earning extra points. You also get the fourth reward night for free which is a great benefit.

I like this card so much that I made my wife get it even though I have the old IHG card as well. We hate spending money on hotels, but with around 300,000 points we won't have to worry about that for awhile.

Mike

Getting your First Business Credit Card

A few weeks ago I applied for the Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card and after waiting a few days I called Chase (888-338-2586) to check the application status. I was happy to hear it was approved. Now I am on my way to earning 50,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points which can be transferred to many airlines or hotels since I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

The card earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. It also earns 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year and 1% back on everything else. There is no annual fee.

As you may already know, many banks including Chase will reject your application for a new card if you have already applied for and received 5 cards (including authorized users) in the last 24 months. This is referred to as the 5/24 rule. The great thing about a business Credit card is it does not count toward this number. You still have to be under 5 when you apply for the first one, but once you have a business credit line it is separate from your personal credit.

Do you Qualify?

Many people do not think they would qualify for a business credit card, but the truth is anyone who does a little on the side does. That means if you sell things online, mow lawns, etc. you technically have a business. That does not mean you will be automatically approved for a business credit card, but if you have decent credit you probably will be.

Applying

When you apply for your first Business credit card, just be honest on the application about how much your business makes, expects to make, or if you have not made any money just put that. Businesses still have expenses even if they have not made a cent and banks know this. I would err on the side of underestimating your business income in case they want you to prove it. Under the description choose the category that best fits your business. If you have a sole proprietorship you will put your name for the name of the business and use your SSN instead of a EIN. If the card issuer suspects you are not being honest or if you are applying for a harder to get card like the Chase Ink Preferred Card they may ask for more information. This happened to a friend of mine and also to me when I applied for the Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card. Bank of America asked for proof of a registered business and also a copy of my taxes. Since I have a sole proprietorship I was not able to provide an EIN and gave up. With Chase it may have helped that I have a checking account with them and several cards, so I had no trouble.

Summary

If you are feeling unsure about applying for a business card be assured there is no reason you won't be approved for one as long as you are honest and have reasonable credit. The main benefit is that once you have a Business Credit line you will be able to get more credit card bonuses without going above your personal 5/24 rule. You can also get two of the same credit cards this way (personal and  business versions) and really rack up some bonus points.

Mike

Feeling like a Travel Hacker

We are on our way to Auckland, NZ (AKL) and have 13 hours of layover in San Francisco (SFO). I thought we would be able to hang out gateside for the duration of our layover as they usually check our bags to the destination when departing the USA, but that was not to be.

As we arrived in Terminal 3 which has two restaurants that take Priority Pass, I was hoping to utilize them before going into the International terminal and visiting the KLM Lounge. When we checked into Indianapolis this morning we were told we would have to collect our bags and get our tickets to AKL in SFO. The gate agent claimed the reason was the layover is over six hours.

This dashed my plans of free food and drinks all day, but we decided it was worth the risk to just let our bags wait for a bit at the baggage claim while we got a decent breakfast. We came close to maxing out our $56.00 limit, but that is easy to do in airports when you eat decent food. After breakfast we decided it would be a long time before we wanted food again and we wanted to check on our bags. They had been brought over to the United baggage desk. We asked if we could leave them while we left the airport for a little exploration. Surprisingly the United employee agreed. That was travel hack 1.

This actually gave us a chance to get some fresh air and get away from the airport which was a nice change, but riding buses and dragging carry on bags has its limitations. We decided to return from our adventure early and see if it was possible to check in earlier than the three hours the gate agent had claimed was the earliest to check in.

While eating breakfast I tried checking in online for our SFO to AKL leg, but the United app said I needed to verify my return ticket in order to check in. I thought this might just give me an excuse to bypass the kiosks which United makes economy passengers use to print their tickets, and more importantly the three hour limit imposed by the normal system.

After picking up our bags we dragged them across the airport and took a long shot. Low and behold it worked! I simply approached the agent, told her what the app told me, and she checked us in, took our bags and gave us our tickets over 4 hours before the flight. That was travel hack 2.

By this point I had realized my plan of visiting the KLM lounge was in danger as it was in International Terminal A, not G where our flight departed from. After a little searching online, I found some people had had success with visiting terminals that were different than their flights departure terminal. We approached the TSA checkpoint and after being told it was the wrong terminal, I explained I wanted to go to the lounge and was ok with going through security twice. The TSA employees had no problem with this. Also, having TSA precheck made this a lot easier than going through normal security twice. That was travel hack 3. Now I am sitting in the Lounge after filling myself with free food and writing this little post. I am feeling very Hobbitlike. Maybe even a bit like a burglar.

So while there is a lot to be excited about going to New Zealand, I am still pretty chuffed about pulling off these three "travel hacks."

Now off to Middle Earth and Hobbiton!

Mike

Update: On our United flight to Auckland we were able to sit in Premium Plus seating for no charge. This may have been due to the seats being in the middle of the middle row and nobody choosing those seats. Other premium plus seats would have cost additional money on the website. I appreciated the extra legroom and larger screen, but it was inconvenient when nature called.

Chase Freedom Unlimited $200 bonus

Chase is offering a really good bonus on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card after you spend $500 in the first 3 months. If you use my referral to apply I will get 5k points.

The card is great for getting 1.5% back on all other purchases that do not fall under categories you can get a higher return on like 2% for travel if you have the Sapphire Preferred card, or 5% on the rotating categories of the Chase Freedom card.

This card also has lots of additional benefits, like purchase protection, but you can read about those on their website.

Merry Christmas,

Mike

PGA MSP Lounge and AE Gold Delta SkyMiles card.

Updated: Feb, 2020

I recently returned from a trip to see my brother and sister in law in Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC). I flew from Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID), had a stop in Minneapolis St. Paul and was able to visit the PGA MSP Lounge.

I was traveling with my parents, who they let go through TSA Precheck even though they didn't sign up for it or pay the $85 fee. My wife and I both got TSA Precheck even though I am the only one who has it.

On our return trip we had 3 hours layover in Minneapolis, so we used Priority Pass Select which is a benefit of the Chase Saphire Reserve card to visit the PGA MSP Lounge. The Lounge is at the North end of the Sky Mall and is accessed by either taking an elevator just inside of Ike's restaurant or a wide set of stairs. You check in at the desk in the PGA store and then tucked away to your left is a door to the actual lounge. Each guest gets a $15 voucher good for either food and drink or a golf experience. Normally lounges will have food an drinks, but they only had limited drinks in the lounge. We chose food over golf. They give you a few options for food, which include a bar within the PGA store, Ike's, French Meadow and Rock Bottom. An employee tipped us off that Rock Bottom had lower prices than the restaurant underneath the Lounge.

After a nice hamburger and beer, we went up to check out the Lounge. Soft drinks, water, coffee and snacks (think airline snacks) were free in the lounge, but it was staffed by only one person, who took peoples orders, went downstairs and returned with food from the restaurant below. On the plus side, the lounge was nearly empty. There was however only one restroom. There were also two small strange rooms commemorating two golfing legends. I think they should add toilets to them as they are just wasted space as is.

Overall I was satisfied with he experience even though the $15 is less than the $28 allowed at restaurants who accept Priority Pass. This is made up by the fact that you also have lounge access. Lounges do not usually have as much food options as a restaurant so this was a good mix of both worlds.

One last note about the trip. I signed up for the Gold Delta SkyMiles American Express card and was instantly approved. It was only a 30,000 mile bonus after spending $1000 in the first three months, and a $50 statement credit after using it for a Delta purchase within three months. The miles don't expire and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. You and up to 6 people also get your first checked bag free on Delta Flights as long as you booked the flights together. They have a referral program as well, so you can earn an extra 12,500 miles for getting someone to sign up for the card using your referral. This and the above link are my referral links. (This offer is now only 5,000 for a referral.)

I may get my wife to sign up for one as well and then see if I can use the miles with Virgin Australia.

Update Feb 2020:
I got my wife and mom to use my referral links and they got 50,000 point (current offer is 40,000) bonuses while I received 25,000 points for the referrals. We used 40,000 points each to fly from Darwin, Australia to Indianapolis.

I also downgraded the card to the Blue Delta SkyMiles American Express card to avoid the annual fee. I then realized I would be flying on Delta soon after and upgraded to the Gold the day before the flight. The Delta gate agent allowed my wife and I the checked bag waiver even though it had not updated in their system that I had the Gold card. I will also get a 15,000 point bonus for upgrading the card after a minimum spend and my annual fee will not be charged until next January. I had heard about these kinds of offers for card upgrades in the past, but was pleasantly surprised that I would get one when I had just downgraded from the Gold a few month prior.

All for now,

Mike

Booked a Rewards Flight to New Zealand

We usually visit my parents and my wife's parents in the States over the holidays. This year has been no different. I used Qantas points to get here, flying from Darwin to Indiana on an American Airlines flight to reduce the taxes and fees that Qantas would charge. I was considering the best way to get back to Australia as it was only a one way ticket.

United seems to have the best combination of point redemption and low taxes and fees for flights from the U.S. to Australia. I checked on the award maximizer tool first anyways. It is also easy to transfer my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points over to United almost instantaneously.

Unfortunately they do not offer reward flights to Darwin. They do offer flights to many other places including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland, New Zealand. For 40,000 points each, I booked two flights. The days to fly for this price point were a little slim, and at one point I thought I had missed my opportunity, The next day, the day I had been eyeing was back at 40k instead of 100k points. I quickly transferred my points to United and booked it, which I can cancel within 24 hrs free of charge.

Now I need to come up with some more points fast or else pay for the airfare from AKL to DRW. The last time (several months ago) I applied for a credit card to get the bonus points I was declined. The reason being I had gotten too many cards in the last few years. I had read that people routinely wait six months and then apply for more, and as long as they have good credit it usually works. my credit is around 775.

I know Chase has a 5 card limit for a 24 month period, so I tried signing my wife up for another card. Even though I know she hadn't gone over this limit, the same thing happened to her. I am not sure, but it seems like the banks are cracking down on the Bonus seekers. I am going to try again, as it has been a few months, but I am not holding my breath.

Mike

Finally able to use my Qantas points

I had been looking for flights from Australia to the USA and noticed rewards flights seemed to be a bit higher than last year. United was still 40,000 each way plus taxes and fees of $99, but Chase was not giving me good redemptions on travel. Most if not all of the flights I saw were going through China and they were 45,900 Ultimate Rewards Points.

Early in the year I had seen flights through the Chase travel redemption tool for around 33,000 points with the Sapphire Reserve card benefit of getting 50% more on travel redemptions compared to the 25% on the Sapphire Preferred card. This could be in part the result of ticket prices going up from Darwin (DRW) to Bali (DPS) as Airasia stopped flying the route and left Jetstar with no competition. Many of my Google Flight searches to Bali now go through Singapore (SIN) first. I also think ticket prices are higher than the same time last year in general.

In an effort to come up with something better I bought a cheap ticket to Brisbane (BNE) thinking that I might use it as a better starting point. I was even considering going through Auckland (AKL) using some Qantas points I had accumulated when I did a few searches to see how much a Australia to USA flight would be. I usually do not consider this as a good option due to the high taxes and fees Qantas imposes on flights leaving Australia, but this time I ran across an American Airline flight that imposed much smaller fees. AA reward flights to the US are not common on Qantas classic rewards, but when you can find them they are a great way to us your points without getting hit with heavy fees.

I was able to book one way flights for 60,000 Qantas points and $160. While this may not seem as good as the 40,000 point and $99 option from United, I do not value Qantas points nearly as much as Chase Ultimate Reward Points which can be turned into cash, transferred to many partners or redeemed for travel. This flight is from Darwin to Indianapolis, which I was not able to see on the United website when searching for reward flights.

Last year there some very cheap flights from the US to SE Asia which I took advantage of (LAX to DPS for around $475) . I am hoping ticket prices will drop a bit for the return leg or that some better redemptions will come up.