The Basics of American Express Membership Rewards

Note: All information about the American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card and The Amex EveryDay® Card has been collected independently by MileValue.

Out of the four most popular transferable currencies in the points and miles industry, Membership Rewards might just be the most powerful.

New $200 American Express Travel Hotel Credit – Don’t Sleep on It

If you’ve been following the news in our hobby, you’ve probably already heard of the “enhancements” recently added to The Platinum Card® from American Express: 

Annual fee is now $695 (Rates & Fees) for new accounts opened on or after July 1, 2021 

For existing cardmembers, the new annual fee will take effect on the annual renewal date on or after Jan.

LifeMiles Sweetspot: One-way to Europe in Business Class for 35,000 Miles

Avianca’s frequent flyer program, LifeMiles, is a program many people love to hate. Yes, there is a somewhat quirky web interface, hard to reach customer service and often the program doesn’t show the same award space as other Star Alliance partners.

5 Ways to Offset American Express Gold Card Annual Fee

The American Express® Gold Card is a rather compelling choice for foodies looking to maximize the return on spending. The card earns a rewards multiplier on purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and the perks include dining credits at select restaurants and Uber cash credits for Uber Eats orders.

When making purchases with the Amex Gold Card, you’ll earn rewards at the following rates:

4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants (including take-out and delivery)4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S.

Best Ways to Australia with Points and Miles

Many travelers have Australia on their bucket list. There really is something for everyone, from the snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef to wineries, cool cities and spectacular beaches. 

The competition for the very limited number of award seats to get there, however, is fierce. Airlines’ frequent miler programs certainly don’t make it easy and finding award space on the nonstop flights from the U.S. could be quite a challenge.

Credit Card Reward Programs for Travelers: An Introduction

In the coming weeks we’ll be looking at different types of credit cards and their reward programs, with an aim to introduce you to those frequently used by travelers. Such a topic can be divided into three categories: transferable programs, airline and hotel branded cards, and fixed point value cards.

100k Sign Up Bonus for Business Platinum Ends Tomorrow

Reminder: The 100k sign-up bonus offer for the Amex Business Platinum ends tomorrow. 

Through August 8, 2018, the American Express Business Platinum Card is offering 100,000 total bonus Membership Rewards after spending $25,000 in the first three months:

50,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 in the first three months
50,000 more bonus points after spending another $15,000 in the first three months

Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Credit Cards.

This is a big

SPG Luxury Card Loophole: Apply Aug 23-25 Before New Rules Hit

The Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card, which will be the latest addition to the Marriott family credit card portfolio, is actually scheduled to launch August 23, 2018.

Eligibility Rules for New Marriott & SPG Cards Hit Aug 26

Despite the fact that Marriott and the Starwood Preferred Guest programs are merging into one unified loyalty program on August 18, both Marriott and SPG credit cards will continue to be issued for the time being, by Chase and Amex respectively. Both banks have published new terms for all current (and future) Marriott-family credit cards that define who is and isn't eligible for sign up bonuses, as of August 26.
Why These New Rules are Different
Sign up bonus rules are not new to the miles and points community.

Pay With MasterCard & Get 3rd Night Free at SPG Properties

If you book a participating Starwood Preferred Guest hotel or resort on your MasterCard by October 31, 2017, you can get the third night free on reservations of three nights or more.

Use promo code Z3H for Starwood hotels
Use promo code Z3R for Starwood resorts

Here's the link to the promo or you can call Starwood Preferred Guest Reservations (1-866-716-8147) and feed the rep the appropriate code.

Variations of this same promotion have been offered before, so it seems like it's not a bad idea to try your luck with the promo code any time you're booking a paid