News You Can Use – AMEX Transfer Bonus, 0% Plastiq Fees Ending, 300 Free La Quinta Points, $20 Off at UnderArmour

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1.   Earn Virgin America Gold Status With Your AMEX Membership Rewards Points

When you transfer 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to Virgin America anytime through December 31, 2015, you’ll earn Virgin America Gold status.

You do NOT have to transfer the 80,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points all at once to qualify.

Your Gold membership will be good through February 2017!

With Virgin America Gold status you get perks like:

• Free Express seats (sit up front and get off the plane quickly)
• Upgrades to Main Cabin select when available (more leg room)
• Lounge Access at Los Angeles (LAX) Airport
• Priority check-in and boarding
• Check up to 3 bags for free

Plus, you’ll get a 25% bonus on AMEX Membership Rewards points you transfer to Virgin America through October 8, 2015.

However, this isn’t a great deal for most folks.  That’s because even with the transfer bonus, you don’t get a favorable transfer ratio.  On top of that, you’ll have to pay a fee on the points you transfer.

For example, when you transfer 80,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points you’ll pay a $48 fee and only get 50,000 Virgin America points.

That said, Virgin America has good deals on inter-Hawaii flights, and this is a nice deal for folks who already book a lot of paid flights on Virgin America.

See my series on Virgin America points for more ideas on how you can use the points.

2.   Last Call for 0% Fees With Plastiq

I’ve written about how you can pay your utility bills, rent, taxes, and more with a credit card using Plastiq.  

They usually charge a fee of 2.5%.  But for a limited time folks who pay with their American Express or MasterCard only pay a 1.99% fee.

I don’t normally recommend folks pay a fee to put their bills on a credit card.  However, this could be a good deal if you need to quickly meet minimum spending requirements.

Million Mile Secrets readers who sign-up using our link and set up 6 recurring utility payments through Plastiq can pay these bills with their MasterCard for NO fee!

But time is running out because both of these deals end September 14, 2015.

That said, some folks are reporting problems with Plastiq sending out timely payments.

Using Plastiq, you can easily meet minimum spending requirements to earn the sign-up bonus on cards like:

• Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard – 2X Barclaycard Arrival miles per $1 you spend (worth 2.1% back when you redeem for $100+ travel purchases)

• Citi Double Cash Card – 1% back when you make a purchase, and 1% back when you pay it off

• Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard – 1 American Airlines mile per $1 you spend

• Citi Prestige Card – 1 Citi ThankYou point per $1 you spend

• Citi ThankYou Premier Card – 1 Citi ThankYou point per $1 you spend

3.   An Easy 300 La Quinta Points

Via In A Cents, you earn 300 La Quinta points for watching a video.  This will keep your La Quinta points from expiring for another 18 months!

You used to be able to skip through the videos and still earn the bonus points, but that doesn’t seem to be working now.

You answer a couple of quick questions about your travel plans and then watch a 3 minute video.  And you can always put the video in the background while you get other things done.

The 300 La Quinta points should credit to your account within 72 hours.

4.   $20 Off $100 at UnderArmour.com

When you spend $100 or more at UnderArmour.com, you can get a $20 statement credit with your American Express card.

This deal ends November 8, 2015.  Check your American Express account to see if you qualify.  And you may be able to get this deal on each AMEX card in your wallet!

Terms & Conditions

• Not valid in-store
• Gift cards are excluded
• Purchases made for in-store pick-up do NOT qualify
• If your purchase isn’t shipped until after November 8, 2015, you may not earn the statement credit

Let us know if you’re able to take advantage of these deals!

Also, tomorrow is the last day to enter to win 10,000 airline miles.  And on Saturday, Emily and I will be giving away 10,000 Starwood points!