Category Archives: Big Spenders

The Best Credit Cards to Use With American Express Bluebird

Posted on October 25, 2012 by | 107 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily & I get a referral for all the credit cards in this post except for the Delta Platinum (better offer than my referral link), Chase United Explorer, Chase United Club, Chase British Airways, Fidelity American Express, & Capital One Venture cards.]

There are many different debit and credit cards which you can use with American Express Bluebird, so let’s take a look at a few different options.  We’ll look at credit cards today and debit cards tomorrow.

After all, you don’t want to buy thousands of dollars worth of Vanilla Reload packs from CVS, Walgreen’s or other locations. with just a single credit card.

American Express Bluebird Credit Card

Which Cards to Use With American Express Bluebird?

Using different cards will help reduce the potential of attracting attention with Chase since you are spreading your purchases among different cards. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, American Express, Big Spenders, British Airways, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Churning, Citibank, Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Delta Skymiles, Hyatt, Mortgage, Pre-Paid Debit Cards, Southwest, Starwood (SPG), United Airlines

Big Spenders: Transferable Points Cards

Posted on October 3, 2012 by | 18 Comments

[Disclosure: Emily and I get a referral for links in this post, except for the J.P. Morgan Select Card & Barclays US Air card.  The links to the American Express Mercedes Benz Platinum & the Citi American Airlines get you a higher sign-up bonus than my referral link.]

As a reminder, in the Big Spender series of posts, I will NOT list cards which give you extra points for spending in certain categories (e.g. gas, groceries etc.), but will cover that in a future post.  This series focuses primarily on regular spending with credit cards for Big Spenders

Big Spender Series:

Transferable Point Cards

These cards are the best cards to spend large amounts of money on if you don’t really care about earning airline elite status, cash back, companion passes, etc. via credit card spending and want to fly in First or Business class and stay in nicer hotels.

Earning points which can be transferred to airline or hotels (hence the name transferable points) are valuable because they give you more options when it comes time to redeem your points.

However, besides the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card & the J.P. Morgan Select card, none of the transferable point cards offer extra miles for spending a certain large amount on the card.  The old Chase Ink Bold offered spending threshold bonuses, but the current version does not. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Big Spenders, Business Credit Cards, Chase

The 10 Best Ways to Pay Your Taxes With Credit & Debit Cards

Posted on September 11, 2012 by | 33 Comments

 Disclaimer:  I am NOT a tax professional, so please consult YOUR tax professional before you make any tax-related decisions.  Information in this post continually changes, so please double check before applying for cards or making any payments.  I get a referral for some of the cards in this post.

Many folks who are self-employed have to pay estimated taxes to the IRS.  However, they can make up to 2 payments a quarter using a credit or debit card, but have to pay a convenience fee.

The IRS website suggests that you can only make 2 payments a quarter using a credit card, but it isn’t clear if that is 2 payments per quarter per credit card service provider or if it is a blanket restriction on the number of payments you can make through any credit card service provider.

However, the website for paying my Kansas state taxes did NOT have a restriction on the number of payments which I could make per quarter.  So I’d use multiple cards with lower credit limits to pay my state taxes and “save” my cards with larger credit limits to pay my federal taxes.

For paying federal taxes, the lowest fee for using a Visa or MasterCard credit card is 1.89% through Pay USA Taxes and the lowest fee for using an American Express credit card is 2.29% from Value Tax Payment.  For Kansas state tax, the lowest fee which I could find was 2.25% for all card types from Pay KS Tax.  So try to use your American Express cards for state payments first, and save your Visa/MasterCard for federal payments to take advantage of the lower convenience fees.

For most folks, it could be worth it to pay a convenience fee just to meet the minimum spending requirement for a credit card sign-up bonus.  If you’ve got a small tax payment you could even earn 5X points by using a Vanilla Visa and following Frequent Miler’s instructions.

But Big Spenders get to choose from additional benefits!  I’ve drawn from my series on Big Spenders to list the best ways to pay your taxes with a credit card if you’ve got tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax payments.

I’ve listed the options according to cost (so American Express cards end up at the bottom because of the additional fee), my preferences and what I value.

Card
Tax Paid
Convenience Fee (%)
Convenience Fee ($)
Benefits
Delta Debit Card$35,000-$3.4935,000 Delta Miles
Citi Hilton Reserve$40,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)1.89%$756120,000 Hilton Points + Top-Tier Hilton Diamond Status +1 Free Weekend Night
Chase Southwest Premier$110,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)1.89%$2,079110,000 Southwest Points + 1 Companion Pass
Chase United Explorer Personal

Chase United Explorer (Business)		$25,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)1.89%$47335,000 United Miles
Chase United Club (Personal)

Chase United Club (Business)		$10,0001.89%$18915,000 United Miles
Chase British Airways$30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)1.89%$567 1 Travel Together Ticket + 37,500 British Airways Avios Points
American Express Premier Rewards Gold$30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)2.29% $687 45,000 Membership Rewards Points
American Express SPG (Personal)

American Express SPG (Business)		$20,000

$30,000 (Within 1 Calendar Year)		2.29%

2.29%		$458

$687 		- 20,000 Starwood Points (Convertible to 25,000 Airline Miles)

- 30,000 Starwood Points + Starwood Gold Elite Status
Bank of America Virgin Atlantic$15,000
$25,000
(Within 1 Calendar Year)		2.29%$344

$573		- 30,000 Virgin Atlantic Miles (or 60,000 Hilton Hotel Points)

- 52,500 Virgin Atlantic Miles (or 105,000 Hilton Hotel Points)
American Express Delta Platinum & Reserve$55,000


$110,000


$170,000


$280,000
(Within 1 Calendar Year)		2.29%


2.29%


2.29%


2.29%		$1,260


$2,519


$3,893


$6,412 		- 80,000 Delta Miles & Silver Status

- 160,000 Delta Miles & Gold Medallion Status

-250,000 Delta Miles & Platinum Medallion Status

- 410,000 Delta Miles & Diamond Medallion Status

Continue reading →

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Posted in Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Big Spenders, British Airways, Credit Cards, Delta Skymiles, Paying Taxes, Southwest, Suntrust Delta Debit Card, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic

Big Spenders: Companion Passes for Big Spending

Posted on August 28, 2012 by | 26 Comments

[Disclosure:  I do not currently get a referral for the links to the cards below.]

BIG SPENDER SERIES:

Companion Passes via Credit Card Spending

Big Spenders can earn companion passes on Southwest Airlines and British Airways for spending Big Money on their credit card.

The Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is a true companion pass because it lets your companion travel with you free, for an unlimited amount of flights during the validity of the Companion Pass, on both award and paid tickets.  This is one of my favorite airline perks.

The British Airways Travel Together Ticket is valid for only 1 use and you can’t earn more than one Travel Together ticket a year plus you have to pay hefty fuel surcharges. 

But it is worth it, in my opinion, if you use the Travel Together ticket for travel on business or first class. Continue reading →

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Posted in Big Spenders, British Airways, Chase, Earn Miles, Hilton HHonors, Southwest

The AMEX SPG Credit Card is Overrated & Not Worth its Annual Fee to Me, But I’ll Still Get it! [Expired]

Posted on August 18, 2012 by | 52 Comments

[Disclosure:  The links to many of the cards in this post give me a referral.  Emily and I are always grateful for your support!]

Link:  American Express Starwood Refer a Friend 5,000 Point Business & Personal Referral

Link:  American Express Starwood 30,000 Point Personal Credit Card

Link:  American Express Starwood 30,000 Point Business Credit Card

The American Express Starwood (SPG)  personal and business credit card is offering 30,000 points up to September 4, 2012, though you should see if you can either refer or get referred for the card for an additional 5,000 SPG points.

I’ll certainly get both the personal and the business versions, because the regular offer is for only 25,000 points and the increased offer of 30,000 points has happened for only a month each summer over the last few years.  So this is as good as it gets.

But I certainly won’t be paying the annual fee and keeping these cards past the first year because the card doesn’t offer me any value after then.

It seems like every month there is a new “BEST CARD EVER!!” to have.  And while SPG points are valuable, this isn’t a card which I’ll keep when the $65 annual fee comes due. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Big Spenders, Cancel Credit Card, Chase, Citibank, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt, Starwood (SPG), Ultimate Rewards, Uncategorized

Big Spenders: Spend Your Way to Lifetime Airline & Hotel Elite Status

Posted on July 31, 2012 by | 9 Comments

[Disclosure: Emily and I get a referral for the links to the Delta Reserve card in this post.  However, the links to the Delta Platinum card in the post have a better sign-up bonus than my referral link.]

BIG SPENDER SERIES:

Last week we saw how to earn hotel elite status and airline elite status via credit card spending.

You can also work your way towards lifetime elite status on Delta Airlines or Marriott via credit card spending.

I wouldn’t count on any “lifetime” status lasting until the end of your life (and may you have a long healthy life filled with lots of travel and happy memories!)

The “lifetime” usually refers to the lifetime of the hotel or airline frequent flyer program and can be terminated or the benefits can be watered down whenever the airline or hotel feels like it. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Big Spenders, Chase, Delta Skymiles, Marriott, Uncategorized

Big Spenders: Spend Your Way to Airline Elite Status

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | 32 Comments

[Disclosure: Emily and I get a referral for the links to the Delta Reserve & Virgin America card in this post.  The links to the Delta Platinum card in the post have a better sign-up bonus than my referral link.]

BIG SPENDER SERIES:

Airline Elite Status via Credit Card Spending

Airline elite status is a great benefit if you travel frequently on paid tickets because it will help you save time at the airport and you will get additional miles for flights.  But I wouldn’t spend my way to airline elite status if I was an occasional traveler.

You can earn – outright – all levels of Delta Medallion status via credit card spending and Silver elite status on Virgin Atlantic via credit card spending.

For $280,000 in annual spending (less the 1st year because of the sign-up bonuses) you could earn top tier Delta Diamond status which puts you first for upgrades, gets you 125% more miles for paid flights, free lounge access, and the ability to gift Delta Gold elite status to anyone.

Delta is the only US airline which lets you get top tier status via credit card spending.

American Airlines, Southwest, US Airlines, Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic don’t let you earn elite status outright via credit card spending, but you can earn elite qualifying miles or points which could help you reach an elite status level. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, American Express, Bank Of America, Barclays, Big Spenders, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Citibank, Delta Skymiles, Southwest, US Air, VIrgin America, Virgin Atlantic

Big Spenders: Spend Your Way to Hotel Elite Status

Posted on July 23, 2012 by | 26 Comments

Disclosure: Emily and I get a referral for the links to the SPG personal and business card in this post. 

BIG SPENDER SERIES:

Hotel Elite Status via Credit Card Spending

The following cards give you extra hotel elite points once you cross a certain amount of spending on the card.

In my opinion, the best deal is spending $40,000 within a calendar year on the Citi Hilton Reserve card or the American Express Hilton Surpass card and earning top-tier Hilton Diamond status which gets you room upgrades, free breakfast and internet, and other perks of being a top-tier elite member.

You will also get 120,000 Hilton redeemable points for spending $40,000 on both cards.  However, you will get 1 free night for spending more than $10,000 on the Citi Reserve card.

If you spend the $40,000 on the American Express Hilton card you will get access to the AXON awards where you only need 145,000 Hilton points (instead of 200,000 points) to book 4 nights at a top category 7 Hilton using an AXON award.

Spending $30,000 for Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Gold status seems like a waste to me, especially since you can get SPG Gold status for free with the American Express Platinum card.

I also wouldn’t spend $20,000 on the American Express Surpass card just to get Hilton gold status, when I can get it for just a $95 annual fee with the Citi Hilton Reserve card.

Continue reading →

→ 26 Comments

Posted in American Express, Barclays, Big Spenders, Chase, Citibank, Hilton HHonors, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Starwood (SPG)

Big Spenders: Airline & Hotel Credit Cards with Bonus Miles for Big Spending

Posted on July 11, 2012 by | 18 Comments

[Emily and I get a referral for the Delta Reserve personal card, American Express SPG personal and business, and for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card in this post]

BIG SPENDER SERIES:

Airline & Hotel Credit Cards with Bonus Miles for Big Spending

The following cards give you extra redeemable miles and points once you cross a certain amount of spending on the card.

I’ll cover credit cards which earn elite miles or points (which count towards airline or hotel elite status) in a later post in this series.

Note that the calculations do NOT take into account the sign-on bonus – because you may already have these cards – but just the recurring benefit for regular big spending (that is spending which doesn’t qualify for category bonuses) on the credit card.  The calculations also assume that you will meet the spending threshold to earn the bonus points. Continue reading →

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Posted in Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Express, Bank Of America, Big Spenders, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Delta Skymiles, Hilton HHonors, United Airlines, US Air, Virgin Atlantic

Big Spenders: Sign-Up Bonuses, Cash Back & Domestic US Flights

Posted on July 3, 2012 by | 23 Comments

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BIG SPENDER SERIES:

In today’s post we’ll see how Big Spenders can use credit cards for:

  • Sign-up Bonuses
  • Cash Back
  • Domestic US Flights

As a reminder, in this series of posts, I will NOT list cards which give you extra points for spending in certain categories (e.g. gas, groceries etc.), but will cover that in a separate post later on.  This series focuses primarily on regular spending with credit cards. Continue reading →

→ 23 Comments

Posted in American Express, Bank Of America, Big Spenders, Chase, Credit Cards