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Our “must read” on credit cards: The Pros and Cons of Credit Cards
As the credit card market has gotten more competitive, banks have had to come up with increasingly interesting ways to get you to use their card. Limited-time offers like this one for 60k points (Best Offer of July 2019) have proven particularly useful. In fact, it was good enough that I applied for it yesterday. Should you get a credit card with a travel bonus?
One of our partners is offering a card which will earn you a profit of up to $655 just for signing up and hitting the minimum spend. You’ll find it on the list of our favorite credit cards*. Here’s the best way to play this deal.
Pros – Credit Card with a Travel Bonus
- Our choice for of a credit card with a travel bonus has a tremendous sign-up bonus. Earn 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 (total) in the first three months as a cardholder. 60,000 points will get you $600 in gift cards, but the best play is to use it for travel through the bank’s travel booking site. They’ll give you 1.25 cents per point, worth $750.
- Looking to fly? Great. You can transfer points 1:1 to miles at 15 airlines, including some of the global premier carriers, such as Etihad, Qantas and Singapore.
- The card offers excellent spending bonuses. You’ll earn three points per dollar spent for travel and gas stations; two at restaurants and entertainment; and one point for all other purchases.
Some Negatives
- While the double/triple point bonuses come in high volume categories, earning a single point per dollar on other purchases isn’t great. Coincidentally, this same bank offers a card that pays 2% on every purchase, every day, but you cannot apply for them both on the same day. Get one, and then wait 8-9 days if you want to get the second one.
- The bank issuer is dumping some of the ancillary benefits that often come with credit cards, like baggage delay protection and medical evacuation. Sadly, that’s the way that the entire industry is going.
- There is a $95 annual fee. Given the sign-up bonus, it’s not a big deal, but it’s there.
Added Value from Miles + More to Come
I value frequent flyer miles at 1-2 cents each, although they can be a lot more if you use them for international business class tickets. And JetBlue points convert at almost exactly 1.5 cents each for most flights. In other words, these points can be worth even more than $750 if you convert them to miles and then use those miles to book a great flight. We will be sharing articles on some of the best transfer partners for these points, as well as making you aware of excellent transfer bonus offers.
Card Requirements – Credit Card with a Travel Bonus
The partner card above requires excellent credit. If you have a few blemishes on your record, we have another option from the same bank. It comes with the following:
- 15,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first three months. That’s good for up to $150 in gift cards.
- Cool gimmick #1: They’ll automatically round up to the nearest 10 points on every purchase.
- Cool gimmick #2: You’ll get a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points you redeem each year.
- No annual fee.
About Credit Cards
We don’t plan to push credit cards too hard, but this was too good a deal to pass up. Be sure to read our credit card disclosures and we truly appreciate it if you get it through the page of our favorite credit cards. Still not sure? Join us in the LVA Travel Forum, LVA Travel Facebook Group or leave a comment below.
*The purpose of this article is figuring out if it makes sense to get a credit card with a travel bonus. Suffice it to say that this Premier Offer shouldn’t be too hard to find on our partner credit cards page.
