I was at the airport, and lines were building up at the entrance to the jetway. There had already been several delays and I was getting nervous. Would I miss my connection? Would there be enough overhead space for my bags? Will they serve water? These questions vexed me for what felt like an eternity until I finally heard the announcement that we'd be boarding soon. When the airline called boarding for people with disabilities, I felt a sigh of relief. Although the check-in person looking at me questioningly — my disability is invisible.
3 cards have best-ever offers right now — which 1 should I choose?
23.02.2024 - 15:19 / thepointsguy.com / Airlines
Throughout the years, I've opened travel credit cards that have offered lucrative welcome bonuses that I eventually redeemed for dream-worthy vacations. I've been able to fly worldwide with transferable credit card points using my Chase Sapphire Reserve and The Platinum Card® from American Express. (Hello, summer in Italy.)
Several Chase and Amex cards are currently offering valuable welcome bonuses. Note that to be approved for a Chase card, you are subject to the 5/24 rule, which means you cannot have opened five or more personal cards across any banks in the previous 24 months.
Since I haven't opened a new card in almost two years, I have been patiently waiting to find the right offer. Three welcome offers have caught my eye this month — but are any of these cards worth the annual fee? Keep reading to find out which card(s) I'm applying for.
Though I travel frequently, I am not loyal to one particular hotel brand. Some TPG staffers are keen on using hotel cobranded credit cards to obtain status perks such as late checkout, complimentary breakfast and free room upgrades. For me, I just try to find the best award redemptions by using transferable points with travel rewards credit cards.
I do not have a hotel credit card in my arsenal and didn't plan to sign up for one in 2024, but Marriott's best-ever welcome offer on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card may be too good to pass up.
With this card, which only has a $95 annual fee, I can earn five free night awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening the account. That's 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, which TPG values at up to $2,100.
While I don't necessarily value hotel status enough to chase it year after year, this card would give me automatic Silver Elite status. This would be a nice perk if I didn't already have Gold Elite status through my Amex Platinum.
Since Marriott has an international portfolio, there are endless possibilities for where I can redeem my five free night awards. However, Marriott's awards expire one year from when they were issued, and I don't have a specific redemption in mind.
While the Marriott Boundless card offers an attractive welcome bonus and a low annual fee, the expiration on the award nights has me questioning if I will maximize this perk before losing the certificates. Therefore, I will hold off on signing up for the Bonvoy Boundless card until my travel plans align with potentially redeeming free night awards.
Related: Marriott 50K free night certificate: 6 best hotels in the world to use your award redemption
Currently, I hold the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card. As a somewhat frequent Delta Air Lines flyer, I signed up
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
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