You lose more when Citi cuts Prestige’s 4th night free benefit – and the economics behind it

After a few months’ silence with its premium travel card Citi Prestige, Citi finally rolls out the revision of the premium card’s benefit. A major change is that after 2019.09.01, Citi will allow customers to use its lucrative benefit of fourth-night-free two times per year. Current cardholders can use Citi Prestige card to book (almost) any hotel in the world,…
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Avianca LifeMiles just became an Amex transfer partner!

Yesterday we noticed that American Express has just added Avianca LifeMiles as one of the Membership Rewards transfer partners. The transfer rate is currently 1:1. The partnership between Amex and LifeMiles undoubtedly boosted the value of Membership Rewards points, especially in terms of redeeming Star Alliance flights. Now Amex has four SA partners: Avianca LifeMiles, ANA Mileage Club, Air Canada…
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Let’s face it: Airlines don’t want your loyalty anymore

Today it was announced that American Airlines is going to raise the revenue requirements for Executive Platinum. At American, it used to be the case that you need to spend $12,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) to earn the Executive Platinum status. Now the EQD threshold has increased to $15,000, representing a 25% hike. This move actually mirrored what United has done…
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Now You May See Increased Sign-up Bonuses from AmEx (via Incognito Mode) from Referral Links!

2019.2 Update: See this post for a new update about the increased bonuses from referral link. You should already know that, when you apply for some AmEx credit cards, you may see some higher signup bonuses if you use incognito mode, or with a VPN to increase your chance. See this post for details. For example, AmEx Everyday usually has…
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Ally Bank Checking+Savings Review

There are so many banks in the US. Some big banks with a lot of branches, such as Chase, BoA, Citi, Wells Fargo, have real people to serve you, but the interest rates of these banks really suck. Online banks, such as Ally, Discover, Barclays, Marcus, have much better interest rates, but these banks also have some disadvantages. Each bank…
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Guide to Shopping Portals: Earn Extra Cashback and Miles with Everyday Spend (2018.10 Update: Discover Deals Will Be Discontinued Soon)

2018.10 Update: Discover Deals will be ended on 2018.10.31. It was good especially for Apple stuff. R.I.P. Introduction Shopping portals provide a phenomenal way to earn extra miles and cashback while making online purchases through thousands of different vendors. From Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Amazon to smaller stores, you should never make an online purchase without first checking to see if…
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Chase College Checking Account Review (2019.7 Update: $100 Offer)

Chase College Checking Account Review Application Link Chase College Checking Benefits New Checking Account Bonus: $100! See below for the requirements to get this bonus. College student must be 17–24 years old to open a Chase College Checking account and must provide a valid student ID or proof of enrollment/acceptance, college name, and expected graduation date at account opening. Otherwise…
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Discover it Business Credit Card (New Card)

Discover it Business Credit Card Review Application Link Discover it Business Benefits Earn 1.5% cash back per $1 spent on all purchases. Double all cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, including Discover Deals. In other words, this card is 3% cash back on everything for the first year. There are some pretty good discounts if…
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Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve Churning Rule Changed from 24 Months to 48 Months

Update: It seems referral links still show the old 24-month term. Get it while you can. Dead now. Previously, Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) and Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) have a churning rule: The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus…
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Summary of Marriott & SPG Co-branded Credit Cards Bonus Limits

Starting from Aug 26, 2018, AmEx and Chase work together to limit the bonuses on their Marriott & SPG co-branded credit cards. Now AmEx SPG cards can affect the eligibility of Chase Marriott credit cards, and vice versa. Here’s a summary of the limits. Chase Co-branded Credit Cards Chase cards have their own limits: Chase 5/24 rule: Chase Marriott Premier…
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