Starting today, new cardholders that sign up for the Chase IHG Rewards Premier card will earn 175,000 points after spending $3,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening. Wow, that’s a whopper of a bonus.

According to Chase, this is the best points offer ever on the card, and for those of you that stay at IHG hotels even once a year, this is a great deal to take advantage of, and it seems to only get better as IHG further polishes the IHG One Rewards Program.

For folks who are unfamiliar with IHG, similar to Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton, IHG is one of the largest global hotel chains.

With a family of 17 hotel brands and the IHG One Rewards, one of the world’s largest hotel loyalty programs, IHG has nearly 6,000 hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline.

Under the IHG umbrella are the following brands you are likely familiar with: Kimpton, Six Senses, Intercontinental, Regent, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, and more.

Hotel cards are too often a secondary thought among GSTP readers, with so much of the card effort going towards things that help the few hours in the air to reach a given destination, and not as much time spent on cards which improve the days actually in destinations.

With only a $99 annual fee, the recently refreshed Chase IHG Rewards Premier World Elite Mastercard offers the following elite status perks and travel benefits:

• 5X points on dining and at gas stations
• 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Up to 26X points on stays at IHG hotels and resorts
• Anniversary free night certificate redeemable up to 40,000 points
  • Cardmembers earn an anniversary free night certificate on their account anniversary date each year. IHG’s loyalty program also allows cardmembers the ability to add unlimited points from their account to redeem the anniversary free night at hotels above the 40,000 point level
• Automatic Platinum Elite status
  • Cardmembers can also earn IHG Diamond Elite status after spending $40,000 on purchases and making one additional purchase each calendar year with their card
• Redeem points for 3 award nights, and get the 4th night free
  • NOTE: This is a perk ONLY available to cardholders and not a perk for general IHG Rewards loyalty program members
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS statement credit
• Cardmembers can earn both an additional 10,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $20,000 on purchases and making one additional purchase each calendar year
• Up to $50 United^® TravelBank Cash each calendar year

Given the global footprint of IHG alone, I think just about everyone should consider this card, for the anniversary free night certificate if nothing else. The 40,000 point anniversary bonus alone can be worth more than double the $99 annual fee, so to me, the Chase IHG Rewards Premier is kind of a no-brainer.

Plus, this card is more compelling than ever before, given its recent refresh, and also because IHG’s loyalty program was recently revamped to better compete with the likes of Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton.

For those of you out there who don’t like cards with annual fees, the Chase IHG Rewards Traveler card could be an option to consider, as this $0 annual fee card is also currently running a limited-time offer.

New Chase IHG Rewards Traveler cardmembers will earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within 3 months of account opening. And while less lucrative in terms of the perks, this is still a great sign-up bonus for those looking to put some extra points into their personal travel bank and not pay an annual fee.

A similar product to the Chase IHG Premier Rewards personal credit card, the Chase IHG Premier Business credit card is basically a business version carbon copy of the personal card. And right now, new Chase IHG Premier Business cardmembers will earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.

What do you think of the new Chase IHG card sign up bonuses and recent refreshes? Check out the 175,000 point bonus to learn more.

The post Chase Launches Whopping 175,000 Point IHG Hotel Card Offer appeared first on God Save The Points.

Some people love to pore over their credit card benefits. They carry dozens of cards, switching the one they used based on the category of purchase they’re making. One card for restaurants, a different one for Uber, etc. They relish the hunt and spend hours reading blogs, searching for that elusive incremental point.

This post is for the rest of you.

Citi Double Cash Card Now Comes With A $200 Bonus

The Citi Double Cash Card is as easy as it gets for a high reward credit card, and is the perfect card for someone who doesn’t enjoy analyzing bonus categories (or doesn’t spend much in them). You receive 2% back for every purchase you make. It doesn’t have to be in a specific category or through a particular channel. You buy it, you get 2% back. Period. You get 1% back when you make the purchase and 1% when you pay your bill. There is no limit on the amount of rewards that you can accumulate.

Annual fee? Forget it. Remember, this card is meant to be easy.

Start with $200 in Citi ThankYou Points and Build from There

The Double Cash card almost never offers a sign-up bonus, so it’s particularly relevant now. Spend $1,500 in the first six months and you’ll earn $200, which is delivered to you in the form of 20,000 Citi ThankYou points.

Note: You can also exchange the points in this program for Choice and Wyndham hotel points, or JetBlue TrueBlue points. That sounds great, but the rate you’ll get is inferior to the one that you’d receive if you also have one of Citi’s premium (Premier or Prestige) card. Those cards will also open up a dozen or so more airline choices. You’re probably best off sticking to cash if this is your only Citi card.

I’ve always thought that this was a key card to have because of that flat 2% return, but a limited-time sign-up bonus makes this the time to get it. You can learn more about it here (You may need to scroll down a bit.).

The post Amazing Offer: Best Everyday Credit Card Adds A Sign-Up Bonus! appeared first on God Save The Points.

From backpacker to people with bag packers…

Credit cards scare people, annual fees scare people – but like many things in life, it’s all about how you use them. Regardless of how steep the annual fee, the best travel credit cards can help travellers come out far ahead on their annual travel expenses while opening up new levels of service and luxury too. Here are the best UK travel credit card options in 2019, whatever type of traveler you are.

Best All-Around – American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Not sure whether you need airline miles or hotel points? This card is one of the most flexible on the UK market, with the ability to create Amex, Virgin, Emirates, Hilton and other points instantly, but with the added safety of being able to transfer your points to many different airline or hotel programs, rather than commit to one.

Amex Gold cardmembers earn 3x points when they book with Amex Travel, 2x points when they book flights directly with an airline and earn 2 lounge passes each year.

Good for: Non to semi-frequent travellers who don’t often book business class flights outright.

Annual fee: Waived for the first year. £140 after that.

Sign up Bonus: 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points after £2k in the first 3 months. 10,000 bonus points each year you spend £15,000 in a year, for at least 25,000 points a year ongoing. Plus, earn 9,000 points for every friend you refer.

Earning: 1x points on everything, 2x on flights booked with airlines, 3x with Amex Travel.

Key benefit: 2 Airport VIP lounge passes annually, doesn’t matter what airline you’re flying.

Best Value Miles Earner – HSBC Premier World Elite

This is a card that competes with Amex Platinum, with half the annual fee and greater acceptance. The benefits are clever, the earnings are powerful and most importantly, it looks great. Half kidding about that being the most important part, of course.

This is a brilliant card if you’d like to earn flexible points, which are convertible to a variety of airlines or wish to simply redeem for a great travel rebate, good toward any purchase. If you can get approved with the strict criterion, it’s a no brainer.

Good for: High net worth spenders who enjoy lounge access when flying a variety of airlines, and want options when they cash in their points via multiple airline choices. Read criterion here.

Annual fee: £190, with an option to add up to three supplementary cardholders for £60.

Sign up Bonus: 40,000 HSBC Points when you spend £2k in the first 3 months of card opening, plus an additional 40,000 when you spend £12k in the first 12 months. 80,000 HSBC Points equal 40,000 airline miles with British Airways, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore and Etihad.

Earning: 2x points (1 airline mile) per £ on everything, 4x (2 airline miles) on foreign transactions.

Key benefit: Unlimited annual airport lounge visits, iPass wifi subscription (in-flight wifi too).

Best For Points Nerds – Starwood Preferred Guest Amex

Have you read some blog posts about obscure frequent flyer programs, where there’s no way to create points other than actually flying, or by converting SPG/Marriott Bonvoy Points? If so, this is your card. Even though SPG is now Marriott Bonvoy, all the brilliant ways to use your points from this card remain intact.

You can do incredible things with SPG (nor Marriott Bonvoy) Points, from hotel stays with Marriott to priceless experiences to converting these points into airline miles with more than 35 airlines! Here are the coolest airline tricks you can only unlock with SPG, in case you’re curious!

Good for: Points nerds looking to use the fewest points for the greatest flying experiences, and people who want a strong earning card for free hotel stays. The more you spend, the better.

Annual fee: £75 per year.

Earning:  3 Marriott Points for every £1 spent on the card. 3 Marriott points = 1.25 airline miles when you redeem 60,000 points at a time. Earn additional points at all Marriott and Starwood properties.

Sign up Bonus: 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points after £1000 in spending in the first 3 months. Earn Marriott Gold elite status after £15k per year in spend, and a free night award after £25k in spend per year.

Key benefit: Convert points to airline miles with 35 airlines, all from one card.

Best For Luxury Travel – American Express Platinum

With an annual fee of £450 a year, you’ll undoubtedly be expecting a lot from this card. And if you travel frequently, and enjoy luxury travel – you’ll get it. The Amex Platinum is the Swiss Army Knife of luxury travel, unlocking hotel upgrades, a fast track to amazing frequent flyer status, discounts and flight benefits, all while offering perks like airport lounge access.

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts unlocks buy 2 get 1 free offers, dining credits with each stay and other perks which can more than offset the annual fee in a single transaction. The card also comes with complimentary Marriott Gold Status, Hilton status and a Shangri La status you can parlay into Star Alliance Gold frequent flyer status.

Good for: People who spend money on luxury hotels, enjoy instant, complimentary elite hotel guest status and enjoy airport lounge access, regardless of airline or cabin.

Annual fee: £450 per year.

Earning: 1x points on everything, 2x with Amex Travel. 18,000 points per card referral.

Sign up Bonus: 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points after £2k in the first 3 months. These points can be converted into hotel points or airline miles, with a variety of choices.

Key benefit: Fast track to Star Alliance Gold, lounge access, hotel discounts and upgrades.

Best For Free Flights – Virgin Atlantic Premium Mastercard Or British Airways Premium Amex

British Airways or Virgin Atlantic? For the easiest route to unlock free flights from the UK, both cards offer great value and a very similar proposition. The benefits are slightly different, but each card offers an opportunity to earn the most points with each respective airline for each purchase, including your morning coffee.

In addition, you can unlock 2 for 1 offers where two people can travel for the miles needed for just one, upgrades and other perks. If you’re a loyalist to either airline these cards make a lot of sense. If you travel across tons of airlines, perhaps one of the above.

Good for: Loyalists of either airline, who stick (as much as possible) to the program.

Annual fee: British Airways Amex is £195 per year. Virgin Atlantic Premium is £160.

Sign up Bonus: The British Airways Premium Amex offers 25,000 Avios points after £3k in spending within the first 3 months. The Virgin Atlantic Mastercard offers 15,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles after your first purchase, within 90 days of card opening.

Earning: The British Airways Premium Amex offers 1.5 Avios per £ on all purchases and 3 on British Airways purchases.The Virgin Atlantic Premium Mastercard also offers 1.5 Flying Club Miles per £, and 3 miles on Virgin Atlantic purchases.

Key benefit: Both cards offer a 2 for 1 voucher when you spend £10,000 in a year. The British Airways version is good for any cabin, whereas the Virgin Atlantic version is only good for economy, unless you’re a Silver or Gold Virgin flyer. The Virgin Atlantic card however also offers more choice for rewards, like an upgrade to Premium, or lounge passes, if you don’t need a companion.

What’s your favorite UK Travel credit card?

Featured image courtesy of the St. Regis Bora Bora.

The post The 5 Best Credit Cards For Points And Perks For UK Travellers appeared first on God Save The Points.

Free Nights

Free night are the first credit card tie breaker. Mastercard, Visa and American Express negotiate deals each year with hotels to give free nights on stays. Mastercard currently offers up to two free nights if you book with their card for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa with Starwood Hotels.

American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program for Platinum Cardholders (Learn More), offers free nights and other perks, depending on hotel. Visa free night offers can be found here.

The Citi Prestige card offers the fourth night free on all hotel stays worldwide. The offer can be combined with other free night offers to create multiple free nights.

Bonus Points

Return on your spend is crucial. You can earn up to 5X points on hotel purchases using US credit cards. The Chase Sapphire Reserve (Learn More), Citi Prestige and Citi ThankYou Premier each offer 3X points on all hotel purchases. The American Express Platinum Card (Learn More) offers a whopping 5X points on all prepaid hotels booked directly with AmexTravel.

In other parts of the world, pick the card which will offer the most valuable points for your travel needs. In other words: if one card offers 1 point per dollar and so does the other, pick the more valuable currency of points.

Free Perks

Much like free nights, Mastercard, Visa and American Express negotiate perks for bookings made directly through their websites. AmexTravel will often include a $75 food and beverage credit. Visa and Mastercard traditionally offer a $25 food a beverage credit, complimentary breakfast and a one category upgrade for booking with any of their cards on their websites. If you have multiple cards, be sure to compare potential benefits for each card.

One Chain

Now -almost all this advice can change if you only stay at one chain, wherever you are in the world. Most hotels now offer their own credit cards, which come with lucrative guest perks and potentially more points per dollar spent.

If you are an extreme brand loyalist, look into what credit cards are offered from your favorite hotel chain – before booking with another card. For example, Hilton now offers a US card with instant Diamond status (Learn More), the chains highest elite guest frequent traveler status.

The Verdict

You’ve already completed the most important step: thinking. Earning points up to 5X faster, or saving hundreds of dollars on free nights is too important to pass up. Sure, it may add to your time to get something booked, but the return is phenomenal.

Our top four credit card picks for US travelers booking hotels would be: Amex Platinum (Learn More), Citi Prestige, Citi ThankYou Premier and Chase Sapphire Reserve (Learn More). Between the points and potential for free nights and perks they are extremely solid options. For those outside of the U.S, Amex Platinum or any Mastercard would offer the most free nights and perks for hotel bookings, consistently. Enjoy.

What’s your favorite card for booking hotels?

The post The Best Credit Cards For Booking Hotels… appeared first on God Save The Points.

The Basics

When traveling your main expenses are flights and hotels. Incidental things like meals, tours and local transportation take a big back seat, but they’re still important, though you’d likely incur those same costs at home. The most powerful basic advice out there is to acquire credit cards which will offer you the best rates using points and miles for the hotels and flights you’d like to take. If you want to make the taxes, surcharges meals and other stuff free too, grab a cash back card, which helps refunds those purchases. Let’s talk strategy below…

Strategy For FREE Flights #1…

The most instantly gratifying strategy is to go for two cards whose points can be combined, thus giving you enough points for two round trip economy, or one round trip business class flight almost anywhere in the world. For example, you’d get a card from the airline you want to fly or whose partners you want to fly, the options are endless. Next you’d get a card with transferrable points like an Amex Gold, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi Prestige or any card whose points you can transfer to many different airlines, mainly, including the airline whose card you just grabbed. For example, if you got a Delta Amex and then a regular Amex, you could combine the points all into one big pile with Delta. Picking an airline who has their own credit card with a generous bonus AND is also a partner of Chase, Amex or Citi is a great move. Simply Google the airline you want and credit card, like “Asiana Credit Card” to see options…

Strategy For FREE Flights #2…

If you can spend a lot on a card without paying interest, either through your business or a relatively high level of income, the best card out there is probably the Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express. Even though it’s a hotel card, you can use and transfer it’s points on a variety of airlines, many of whom are impossible to earn points with any other card. You can unlock incredible values at shockingly low rates, like 80,000 points for round trip First Class between the US and Europe on Emirates, or around the world in First Class for 150,000 miles. Best of all, for every 20,000 points you transfer to an airline, you get 5,000 bonus miles.

Strategy For FREE Hotels #1…

Many hotel credit cards around the world offer generous bonuses including a free night at any of the hotel chain’s properties. For an easy leg up, it never hurts to grab one or two of these cards, which immediately unlock a free night (or more) and gets you well on your way to many more nights. The best current example of this is in the United States, where the Ritz Carlton Rewards card offers 3 free nights at almost any of it’s properties when signing up for the card and hitting a reasonable spending goal. Three free nights in a Ritz Carlton and it’s safe to say that the start of your vacation is sorted. Other opportunities generally include the IHG Rewards Card, Hilton Card, Marriott Card or Hyatt card.

Strategy For FREE Hotels #2…

If the places you want to stay don’t offer a free night up front from their credit card, focus on excellent low points hotels which offer excellent value. In each city there are almost always “sweet spot” hotels where you can stay in a nice property which requires a smaller than usual amount of points. Figure out where you want to go, look for an IHG Points Break hotel, a hotel that’s nicer than the category the chain has put it in. For example, there are some really nice Sheraton’s which Starwood Preferred Guest has put at a lower than normal tier, requiring just 10,000 points per night.

Strategy For FREE Meals, Expenses…

Wherever we are on earth we need to eat, but when we’re traveling it can really add up and so can tours, transportation and purchases. If you want to offset those meals and purchases, consider grabbing a lucrative cash back card to compliment your mileage earning arsenal. I’m a big fan of the Chase Freedom which offers rotating 5% cash back categories, as well as the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which offers unlimited 1.5X cash back.

The post The BEST Credit Card Strategies For FREE Flights, Hotels And Meals Anywhere In The WORLD! appeared first on God Save The Points.