Here are the latest updates on credit card bonuses over the last week. The links in the credit card tab were updated as soon as I found a better offer (so that you don’t miss out on any miles & points!), but I’m blogging about it now.
1. 30,000 SkyMiles with the Gold Delta American Express
I don’t know why all the credit card websites have been buzzing about this 30,000 mile offer from Delta!
The best previous offer for the Delta credit card was also 30,000 miles (not 20,000 or 25,000 miles as has been mentioned elsewhere) after spending $1,000 ($500 in the current version) within 3 months.
I found that offer on Freefrequentflyermiles.com while researching cards for the best credit card bonuses tab (another reason why you should check out the Airline, Hotel, and Bank Rewards card tabs for the best offers or swing by Freefrequentflyermiles.com!)
The current offer gives you 30,000 miles after spending $500 within 3 months, but I wouldn’t recommend this card unless you are a regular Delta flyer who checks bags (you can check 1 bag for free with the card) and doesn’t have elite status.
Sure, you can get 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta, board the plane a little earlier than everyone else, and get 1 free checked bag for up to 9 persons on the same reservation (when was the last time you traveled with 9 other people on the same reservation?), but the 30,000 sign-up bonus is very low and won’t get you very far on Delta.
Delta has 3 award tiers, low, medium, and high. They say that you can use 25,000 SkyMiles for a domestic low award, but those awards are few and far apart.
If you recently applied for the 20,000 SkyMile version in the last 2 or 3 months, you could call or send American Express a secure message and ask them to match the 30,000 bonus.
2. 50,000 Membership Rewards points with the American Express Platinum
Online Travel Review found a link to the American Express Platinum card which offers 50,000 Membership Rewards points for a $450 annual fee after spending $1,000 within 3 months.
This is MUCH better than the 25,000 Membership Reward points offer which I see on other websites and internet banner advertisements.
This is also better than the American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum card which also offers 50,000 bonus points, but has a $25 higher annual fee of $475.
This card comes with many benefits including lounge access to Delta, US Air, and American Airlines lounges, and a$200 credit to be used for travel incidental expenses.
One way to leverage the American Express Platinum cards may be to sign up for the card now, and use the $200 travel credit to buy airline gift cards in 2011 and another $200 in 2012 (since the $200 travel benefit is per calendar year) and to cancel the card after that.
You’re not technically supposed to be able to be able to to use the $200 travel credit towards gift cards, but there have been reports of low value purchases ($50) triggering a statement credit. But your experience could be different.
Since American Express prorates the annual fee when you cancel, you could end up with 50,000 Membership Rewards points + $400 in airline gift cards + 4 months lounge access for $150 (if you cancel the card after 4 months)!
3. 50,000 AAdvantage miles + $150 statement credit+ 2 lounge passes with the Citi AAdvantage Visa or American Express
Citi has a new American Airline credit card offer which offers a $150 statement credit, in addition to 50,000 AAdvantage miles and 2 lounge passes.
However, you have to spend $3,000 within 4 months instead of $2,500 in the offer without the statement credit.
You earn the $150 statement credit when you purchase eligible items from American Airlines within 12 months. You could purchase a $150 gift card from American Airlines, which would effectively be free since you would get a $150 statement credit!
Or you could buy something really cheap (sandwich or a drink) on your next American Airlines flight or even pay to check in a bag ($25) just to get the $150 statement credit.
Don’t forget to use the 2-browser trick to get both the personal Visa and AMEX version at the same time for 100,000 miles!
I suspect that we’ll see larger Citi American Airlines offers after December 1 when miles earned from all sources stop counting towards American Airlines elite status.
(Hat Tip to Doug and the many readers who sent this my way!)
Here’s what the terms say:
The $150 will appear as a billing statement credit from Citi® after you make your first eligible purchase with the card within 12 months of cardmembership, for items billed by American Airlines as merchant of record. Products or services that do not qualify are car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines VacationSM packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles, duty-free purchases, and AA CargoSM products and services.
4. 25,000 points with the American Express Premier Rewards Gold
While returning from the Chicago seminars, I noticed a booth at O’Hare airport with a banner offering 25,000 Membership Rewards points for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold.
This is better than the current 15,000 point offer. I’ve noticed a trend where lucrative airline and travel credit card offers debut at the airport first, and then make their way online.
I’m betting the sales commission on this card is high, because one of the sales guys grabbed my hand as I was leaving the booth and told me that it would be better to take care of the application now before I forget about it later! I told him I’d sign up for no less than a 75,000 point bonus. 
If you’re considering a Premier Rewards Gold card, you may want to consider waiting for a better offer than the current 15,000 point offer or the 25,000 point offer at airports.
Chase is offering 50,000 points on their Ultimate Reward cards (Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Bold), and I suspect that American Express will have to increase their sign-on bonus to compete with Chase. Unfortunately, I don’t know when exactly that will happen!
Please let me know of any better offers than the ones in the credit card tab, since I want to list only the best credit card bonuses!
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Disclosure: I don’t get any commission or payment from American Express, Chase, Citi or anyone else for this post or for the links in this post.
I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
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Regarding the AMEX Platinum offer, if you have no other AMEX cards at the moment, and you cancel the Platinum after 4 months, do you lose those 50,000 MR points if don’t spend them by the time you cancel?
Regarding the 50,000 AMEX points – I’m trying to convince my wife that these points pretty much cover the $450 annual fee, so the annual fee is pretty much just paying for a flight or hotel stay. Is that right? Are there any current transfer bonuses for converting MR points to airlines or hotels?
@Christian, one trick is to get the card now, and then get your $200 travel rebate in Dec and then in Jan: it’s $200 per *calendar* year, so you would really only pay $50 for the 50K points!
@Ralph - Yes, you lose the Membership Reward points if you don’t spend them and cancel your AMEX account and don’t have another one. But you could transfer the points to airline partners before you close the account.
@Christian – There are no current bonuses, but if as, Ed, says you can also get $400 in airline gift cards, the card may be worth it to you!
@Ed –
@Ralph – I’d wait a month or 2 and then try again. I haven’t read of much success if you’re denied because of having the card previously.
I didnt know where to post. There is a 20% off sale going on with purchasing Starpoints. Do you think this is a good enough deal to jump in. How about if one uses some of this to complete those minimum spending requirements.
btw, is this a better deal than the cash and points trick you mentioned somewhere else in your blog. If you could kindly post link to that, I would appreciate it.
Question about the AA card $150 statement credit… So even if you were to spend $5, you get the other $145 credited to the balance of your account? Can I buy something off the AA shopping mall for a minimal amount to get the credit?
Also, I’m doing that double deal where I signed up for both their VISA and AMEX AA cards. Their offer says the credit is one time for first time card holders, does that mean I can get the $150 for one of the cards, or does it mean I can get it for both my cards? I’m applying for the Biz one 65 days after my last application, I suppose I will no longer qualify for the $150 statement credit then?
@Drymartini – I don’t think the 20% off is a great deal unless you had a use for them soon and could save money by booking with points. It may also be a good use to buy SPG points and transfer them to AA if you are close to getting lifetime status with AA. Priority Club cash and points is better.
@Walid – The terms seem to suggest that spending any amount with American Airlines appearing as the seller will qualify you for a statement credit of $150. The AA shopping mall transactions don’t post as “American Airlines” as the seller so they would not be eligible for the credit. If you apply for both personal cards at the same time and get approved for both you will get both cards and hence 2 $150 credits. The biz cards are considered separate from the personal cards so you will be able to get the $150 credit again!
If I already applies once and got approved for the amex platinum, and cancelled it. Can I apply again for it and get the points?
@Jennifer - You may be able to get the new bonus if it is ~2 years since your last AMEX platinum card. AMEX usually gives you the difference in sign-up bonuses, so if you previously got 25K points, you’d get the difference of 25K points with this offer.
Darius, do you know if the Chase Ultimate Rewards is offering Southwest as a transfer partner? I thought I read somewhere that it is, but I can’t find it anywhere else.
@Lyssa – I don’t believe they are currently offering Southwest as a transfer partner, but I suspect they will soon since Chase also issues the Southwest card.
I am about to booking AA tickets soon, wondering does the $ 150 statement credit only applied when I book directly through AA website or I may have travel agent to book it through their system? Also, not quite sure about the two free AA Admirals one-day passes, does it come with the approved credit card or after you meet the spending requirement of $ 3000 within 4 months? Thanks !
@Elnimo- The terms say that any purchase which appears on your statement from American Airlines will qualify you for the $150 credit. It depends on how your travel agent will bill you – will there be 2 charges, 1 from AA for the ticket, and another from the agent for the service fee. Or will you just pay the agent a flat fee for both the ticket and service fee? The terms seem to say that you get the Admiral’s passes after getting approved for the card.
Darius – i’m new to this card/mile hustle, having recieved a 500$ flight bonus sign-on with AMEX blue sky, and just got the southwest rapid rewards card thru chase. I’ve already cashed out my southwest rewards.. Would there be any benefit or reason to keeping the chase card? Seems like chase pretty much locks reward hunters out after an initial offering
@rob – Welcome! I wouldn’t cancel the card immediately after getting it since Chase may tag you as someone who opens cards just for the bonus. Much better to keep the card until you need to close it to get approved for another card or when the fee comes due.
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Daraius, thank you for introducing me to this hobby.
I did the 2-browser trick for Citi AA cards. I got denied. After writing a letter to Citi, I got approved for the Amex with 50k miles after spending $2.5k in the first 4 months (I applied before Nov 3). I’ve called cust service today and asked for the newer offer: 50k and $150 credit after spending $3k. The answer was “can’t do.” From your experience, do I have any chance to get the new offer? If so, how can I increase my chances to succeed? Thanks again.
@ Vladone – Others on the blog have reported been able to get matched to the offer by sending Citi a secure message! But your experience may be different since Citi is usually very variable with their processes.
I signed up for the AA Visa & Amex when it was the 75k mile offer. Then I applied for the AA business card under the 50k mile offer (75k mile offer was dead). My question is, do I get the 2 free Admiral’s Club lounge passes and the $150 statement credit under all 3 cards or just under the card with the 50k mile offer?
@E - You get the lounge pass and the statement credit for an AA purchase only on the business card you applied for. But you could send Citi a message and call them and ask if they could match the offer for you! No guarantees that it will work, but if you don’t ask you won’t know.
The Citi AA deal didn’t work for me. I applied for the $2,500 spend promos (personal Amex and Visa). When I got the cards, I called in to verify the promo. Apparently, the promo was removed from both cards. According to the rep, I am only allowed one promo. They are going to put the promo back onto the Visa, tho. Supposedly, my call to them didn’t matter. The promo was already removed. Bummer. Maybe because I had to call in to speak to a rep to verify both the applications AND activation (not approved online)? Who knows. 50K miles is not worth it for me. I may just cancel the cards and look elsewhere.
@ jason – I had a similar problem but I called with each individual application ID. It seems that when you call with the app id, they either can’t see or don’t look for other applications. I got my second citi aa approved after escalating to a manager. The reason I was denied was too many applications, but that didn’t really hinder me much…
Daraius – I applied and recieved both the Citi AA Visa and Amex. Regarding the $150 statement credit, is that for BOTH cards? So should I purchase, lets say an AA gift certificate, on my Visa and Amex? For a total of $300? Thanks so much.
Do you know if the admirals club passes expire?
@Jason – I’d wait to see what happens when you actually complete the spending on the cards. Or try asking another rep separately to confirm the bonus on your cards.
@Fewtreezy – Thanks for helping out!
@Amanda – The $150 statement credit is per card, so it should work for both the Visa and the AMEX versions. However, American Airlines has to be the seller for you to get the $150 credit.
@Some guy – I haven’t got them so I don’t know when they expire. I’m guessing that they’d be valid at least for 1 year.
I remember reading something about purchasing Gift certificate and AMEX notes it one way and VISA notes the purchase anotherway. I read it’s hard to get the $150 credit for one of them because of how it is noted. So, I looked online and saw the AAdvantage Visa transaction listed as “AMERICAN AIAMERICAN AI 00xxxxxxxxDALLAS TX” and the other for AMEX as “AA MISC 00xxxxxxxxxxx DALLAS”. Is there a problem with getting the $150 credit with either of these “eligible” purchases? What have your experiences been. I can’t find the original post to re-read.
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I stupidly didn’t search for any discussion or post regarding credit card deals, and signed up for Citi AAdvantage bonus 30k miles after 1st $750 purchase, additional 10k miles after spending $5000 in the 1st 6 months, $100 statement credit for American Airlines purchase; which was inferior to the offer posted on this website. My account was openend 10/14, which was a little more than 3 months ago.
I just got off the phone with Citi retention department, and after 30 minutes I was only able to get them to offer me $85 statement credit and additional 750 miles for $750/more spending every billing cycle in the next 12 months. They told me that they would only match me to the better offer, if I have the mail offer and can fax it to them. I declined their offer.
Does anyone have an unused mail offer for the 50k bonus miles after $3000 spend, $150 statement credit, plus 2 Admiral Passes that you wouldn’t mind sharing with me? I don’t really need the actual paper, a scanned image/copy should be sufficient. I’d be really grateful!
@Becky- I’ve tried it with the business Visa recently, but haven’t got the credit as yet. I’ll post when I do. Both the transactions say “AA” so it certainly looks like American Airlines is the merchant and you should get the credit.
@lovepeaceandjoy – That stinks. I don’t have the original offer, but perhaps you can mail in a copy of the screen offer here
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Hello Daraius,
First, I wanted to say I really like this blog. I applied for the 2 citi AA cards using your link (the 2 browser trick worked nicely), but I did not save the screen shots with the offer stating 50K bonus $150 credit and 2 admiral passes. Now I just got confirmation of the cards being sent to me, but no mention of the bonus offer in either one of the cards mailers. I just tried your link above, and it takes me to a regular citi website (not the screed that I applied through). Do you have the previous screed saved? If so, can you send me that screen shot? In your experience, do the terms in the mailer (that they send prior to you getting the card, tell you about the bonus offer you will be gettting? or does that come with the card). Am I worried for no reason? Thank you,
@maggie – Thanks for writing in! You can confirm the bonus offer when you call to activate the card. I didn’t receive the Admirals pass with the card, but after about 6 weeks. You get the $150 statement after making an AA purchase, but I have still not received my statement credit. In my experience, you won’t get any confirmation via mail, but you can confirm when you call to activate the card. I don’t have a saved copy of the offer, but will search again tonight. You should get the offer for which you applied for!
Thanks for your reply. I will definitely confirm when activating the cards. I also got the chase sapphire offer via a mail with 50K points after first purchase- no minimum spending required. The thing is, that I would rather spend the 3K and get the bigger 75K offer. What are the chances of getting that? I also have the Freedom offer (also from mail) sitting on the table… I wanted to get that as well to complement the sapphire, but im not sure how long to wait before applying (I could easily max out the bonus category, so I will miss out on 75oo bonus points if I wait 60-90 days). I only have one other Chase card (TJmaxx) that I got years ago. The citi AA cards are through my hubby so it should not affect my chances at all. Should I call and ask, or should I just wait?
Also, after reading your blog and checking out the offers I am thinking of getting the priority and starwood cards, what should my timeline be for applying for those (I’m waiting for the targeted priority with 80K in points and also waiting til June/July for the starwood to increase to 30K) but I’m not sure which one to do first. Do you recommend getting business versions of each card? I have an “independent contractor” 1099 claim on my taxes in addition to a regular W2, and have had it for years for doing consulting work on the side- would that count as a business? How do business cards affect one’s credit? Another question I had is: if you buy priority points using cash and points trick, could you then transfer these to an airline for miles? Thank you so much, and I’m sorry for asking so many questions,
maggie
@maggie – I really don’t know the likelihood of getting the 75K offer, but you could wait a while and hope for the best! You could apply for the Priority Club 80K offer once you get the offer. However the business version of the card offers much less than 80K miles. The business version of the AMEX SPG is a good way to double dip since it offers the same amount of points (currently 25K). The credit inquiry for a business card sits on your personal credit report, but the line of credit is on a separate report. I wouldn’t recommend transferring priority club points – they are best used for Priority Club hotel redemptions. Don’t worry about the questions – I know that this can seem complex at first!
Thank you Daraius. I think I will just call and ask if they would consider increasing the bonus on the Sapphire if I offer to spend the 3K. Doesnt hurt to ask right? I will let you know how it goes. Thank you again for all your help. We travel a lot, and using your tips will considerably reduce our costs. I will make sure to use your links when applying whenever possible.
@maggie – It doesn’t hurt to ask, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting a targeted offer by calling. But it would be great if you did! Thanks for using the links on the blog – most of them are links to the best offers which don’t pay a referal, but some do, and I appreciate your support!
Citi AAdvantage deal appears to be dead now.
@Bumpershine – The links in the Hot Deals tab still work.
Daraius,
I applied using the “two-browser trick” the other say and was approved for both cards! Exciting. This morning, I received an e-mail confirming I had been approved: “Congratulations! You’ve been approved for the Citi® / AAdvantage® card.” The e-mail didn’t specify whether they were referring to the AMEX or Visa, and I only received one e-mail. Should I be concerned that something is a little screwy here?
Thanks.
@Josh - I wouldn’t worry about it – it may take a few days to get the other email. If you’re concerned, you could call Citi twice (once for each card) and confirm that you were approved.
did you get $150 credit for your AA gift card? I am also thinking about getting one AA gift card using each citi card, just getting confirmation from you that you received credit for $150.
@Shahab – Not yet, but it’s been ~3 weeks since I bought the card. I’ll keep you posted when I get the credit.
Daraius,
Just signed up for the Citi AAdvantage deal involving the $150 credit. Does the purchase from AA that triggers the credit count towards the $3000 minimum spend? In other words, if I buy $150 gift card from AA and spend $2850 on other purchases in the first four months, does this mean I have met the $3000 threshold?
Thanks so much for this site! You really are doing a great service here.
applied Citi Visa/AMEX for 50k each using 2 browers trick and got instantly approval.
now have to figure out how to spend 6000$ in 4 months. LOL. i don’t think it’s really hard for 1500$/month for the family size like us.
QQ: i am heading to Japan flying coach via United(they merged as Unites Mileage Plus as of today), i have a K class, based on the website, i need 30k to upgrade one-way to Business, 1) do i need to pay co-pay? 2) does it worth it? the flight is full.
thanks dude. I hope you can get some referral $ from Citi, this website is great, i was considered Mileage Guru by friends, now i see what is really guru.
2-browser trick worked out like a charm. Also, got confirmation when calling to activate that each card would get me 50K miles after spending $2,500 on each card. The only question I have is whether it would be any issue preventing me from getting these bonuses if I add both cards to my already existing Citibank Online Banking profile?
Just a reminder to everyone- Whenever you apply for a credit card under one of these great promotions, make sure you take a screen shot of the promotion. When I signed up for the Citi Visa AAdvantage card in December 2011, I’m certain part of the promotion was a $150 statement credit. This blog still lists it as such…I called today to just make sure and they told it was only $100. I asked for the extra 50 bucks was politely denied. Anyway, it’s only 50 bucks, but hey, if only I’d taken that screen shot
@Josh – I still haven’t got my $150 credit, so I’d hold off buying the gift card. But, yes, it would count towards the $3000 minimum spend on the card.
@Ben – Congrats on the 2 cards! I don’t get any referral commission from the 50K Citi AA cards, but the 50K offers are much better than the 30K or 40K AA offers which do pay a referral commission. You would need to co-pay, and usually paying miles and a co-pay isn’t a good value. But if someone else paid for your ticket, or you really don’t want to sit in coach, it could be worth it. Here’s a post on how to complete the minimum spending requirements.
@Al - If you’ve been approved for the cards, you almost always get the bonuses, even if you add both to your online profile.
@Courtney - Thanks for the reminder. In future, I’ll try to post complete screenshots wit the offer terms for situations like this. I’d also hold-off on the $150 credit, because I still haven’t got my credit!
Just wanted to share that although it’s been over 2 years since I’ve previously opened a Citi card with the same offer (75k back then), I was just declined. It is NOT correct to tell your readers that it needs to be 17 months since you’ve opened such a card.
The correct information, according to the Citi rep I was speaking with, is that it needs to be 12 months or more since you CLOSED THE CARD (not since you opened it). Because of this incorrect info, I was declined on both the Citi Visa and AmEx offers (although I have great credit otherwise. Not cool, not cool at all, MMS!
@Mike – Many on Flyertalk reported that they were able to get second set (Visa and Amex) of AAdvantage bonuses even while having the original set open. I think it’s a case of YMMV. However, from what I read, you are quite safe to get approved if you wait 20 months since you last opened your cards.
Thanks, CMM. It’s been well over 20 months since I last opened the cards and I was still declined. The specific reason they gave me is that it hasn’t been a year since I closed my last card that had such an offer. It’s a shame to have gone through this and get a declined report on my credit score.
@Mike – Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear you were declined. But I’ve always said that ~18 months you *may* be able to get the bonus again. I’ve been able to get the bonus again and many other folks have been able to get it as well. Often times, reps don’t have accurate information. The credit inquiry will show on your credit report, but there won’t be any mention that you were declined the card on your credit reports.
@CanadianMillionMiler – It is a very YMMV situation and sometimes things don’t work out. I got denied for the Citi AA biz card before finally getting it again last December.
@Mike, the entire blog is as-is and YMMV, @D doesn’t get any commisssion and he said already most people. nobody force you to apply for the credit card. WTF blame on @D.