Delta Amex Card - Sign up By 1/29/2020 to Avoid Annual Fee Increases

This week, American Express announced changes to their Delta Amex credit cards.  Among the changes is annual fee increases for all of the Delta-branded Amex cards.  Some benefits have been improved or added, though this post does not delve into all the changes.  This post is a heads-up that signing up now makes sense, to get the card before the annual fee increases take effect.

The changes take effect on Jan 30, 2020.  

Also, this week, Amex announced higher-than-normal sign-up bonuses for its personal Delta Amex credit cards.  (The business versions of the Gold, Platinum, and Reserve Delta Amex cards currently have mediocre sign-up bonuses; only the personal versions are worth signing up for right now.)

These good sign-up bonuses are typically offered twice a year. These offers were previously offered 1st quarter 2019.

The increased bonuses for the Platinum and Reserve card are currently available only via referral from existing cardholders.  The Gold card signup bonus is the same via referral as the public offer.  

Please click my link if you are interested in any of the offers below.

http://refer.amex.us/JASONWc8CN?XLINK=MYCP

After clicking the referral link, click the 'View all Cards with a Referral Offer' link, then click the 'Looking for a Personal Card?' link to see the personal Delta Amex cards.

Background Reading

Frequent Miler and Rene's Points both have decent recaps and analysis of the changes.  Many of the changes are positive and many are negative.

For current cardholders it is really a personal decision as to how the card changes affect your own decision whether to cancel, keep, downgrade, or replace one card with another.  For me, the loss of 15k bonus SkyMiles at $30k and another 15k miles at $60k is a major blow.  That, along with the annual fee increase, has me feeling that the Reserve card is no longer worth it.

My bottom line analysis is that post-changes, the Platinum card makes more sense than the Reserve card for most folks.  More details available in the articles below:

https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/delta-credit-cards-huge-changes-coming/https://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2019/09/30/major-changes-and-higher-fees-coming-to-delta-american-express-cards/https://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2019/09/30/my-thoughts-on-the-new-delta-american-express-benefits-fees-and-more/

Travel Accessory Hot Deal - Universal Power Adapter $10

Universal Power Adapter for International Travel - $10

Amazon has a great price on a travel adapter that works in several different countries.  $10 each after applying the coupon code.

Coupon discount works for quantities greater than 1, which is often NOT the case.  Great stocking stuffer idea.

Please support my local soccer club by doing your Amazon shopping through the Amazon Smile link for Lowell Area Select Soccer Organization!  Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-3359604 and AmazonSmile donates to Lowell Area Select Soccer Organization whenever you purchase stuff from Amazon.

This is a typical model with a wall plug and also 4 USB ports - two x 2.4 amps + two x 2.1 amps.  Charge multiple USB devices at the same time.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Travel-Adapter-EPICKA-Including-Charging/dp/B074QMDBXF

Discount code:  enter code ZEATOQ8O on the Checkout screen to reduce the price from $17 to $10

$15-20 is a typical, decent price for an international power adapter.  10 bucks is about as cheap as these models go

Last Day for Increased Delta Amex Credit Card Signup Bonuses

Weds April 3rd - today - is the last day to get higher-than-normal signup bonuses for several Delta-branded American Express credit cards.

The increased bonuses for new customers are available only via referral from existing cardholders.  Please click my link if you are interested in any of the offers below.

http://refer.amex.us/JASONW2rUF?XLINK=MYCP 

After clicking the link, click the View all Cards with a Referral Offer to see the other Delta Amex personal credit cards.  To see the Delta Amex business credit cards, click the Looking for a Business Card? link

Recap of Current Signup Bonuses - Delta Amex Personal Credit Cards

• Gold Delta SkyMiles card:  60,000 SkyMiles + $50 statement credit after $2,000 spend in first 3 months.  Annual fee waived first year, then $95/yr
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles card:  75,000 SkyMiles + 5,000 MQMs (toward elite status earning) + $100 statement credit after $3,000 spend in first 3 mos.  $195 annual fee (NOT waived first year)
• Delta Reserve card:  75,000 SkyMiles + 5,000 MQMs after $5,000 spend in 3 mos.  $450 annual fee (NOT waived first year)
• Blue Delta SkyMiles card - this is NOT a good card.  Signup bonus is only 10,000 miles after $500 spend in first 3 mos.  No annual fee.  Earning rate is only 1/2 SkyMile per $1 on most purchases except Delta purchases - terrible

Recap of Current Signup Bonuses - Delta Amex Business Credit Cards

The business cards have signup bonuses that are in some cases better than the personal cards, although not everyone may be comfortable applying for a business credit card.  For some reason, the increased signup bonuses are not working via referral link, but they are still publicly available.  Click the Frequent Miler article below for links to the application pages

• Gold Delta SkyMiles Business card:  70,000 SkyMiles + $50 statement credit after $4,000 spend in 3 mos.  Annual fee $95/yr waived first year
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business card:  80,000 SkyMiles + 5,000 MQMs + $100 statement credit after $6,000 spend in 3 mos.  $195 annual fee (NOT waived first year)

Background reading

https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/increased-referral-offers-on-delta-personal-cards/
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/inceased-delta-biz-offers-now-too/

[DEAL GONE] Detroit to Hawaii $355+ Round Trip Apr 2019 - Feb 2020 on United Airlines

UPDATE: This sale is expired :(

$355+ Detroit to Hawaii Apr 2019 - Feb 2020

Book now and decide later!  PLEASE follow this advice if you are interested in this deal.  This sale could end at any moment.  Flights have a 24-hour free cancellation period after booking.

Too many people wait and try to contact friends and get things arranged and figure out logistics before booking the flights, then come back to book once everything is 'set' and they discover the cheap flights are gone.

Detroit (DTW) to Hawaii:

• From $355 round trip in basic economy
• From $445 round trip in regular economy

To These Hawaiian Airports

• Honolulu (HNL)
• Kona (KOA)
• Lihue (LIH)
• Kahului (OGG)

Context

Christmas timeframe is excluded from this fare sale.  Otherwise, dates are widely available from today through Feb 2020.

This is a great price to Hawaii and includes summer travel.  One- or two-stop flights from DTW.  United does not fly nonstop from DTW to Hawaii.

This is as good or better than Hawaii flights from Toronto, which is usually a much cheaper origin than Chicago or Detroit.

Secret Flying reported this deal on March 28 (though their post is dated March 29).

Search on Google Flights and click through on desired flight to book directly with United.

Google Flights Search - Regular Economy

Selecting one carry-on bag from the search filter eliminates basic economy itineraries from the results

Sat 3/30 - Mon 4/8 $450 (regular economy) - last-minute Hawaii spring break trip for cheap!

Fri 8/23 - Sat 8/31 $445 (regular economy) - summer travel before school starts

Tues 11/19 - Thur 11/28 $445 (regular economy) - Thanksgiving timeframe

Google Flights Search - Basic Economy

Mon 12/30 - Sat 1/11 $393 (basic economy) - New Years week

Fri 1/31 - Sat 2/15 $359 (basic economy)

Background

Secret Flying - Detroit to Hawaii from $355 round trip 

Toronto & Other Canadian Cities to Hawaii $300 or less RT Jan-June 2019

Great Airfares Canada to Hawaii Jan - June 2019

From

• Toronto (YYZ) from $388 CAD ($293 USD)
• Vancouver (YVR) from $293 CAD
• Ottawa (YOW) from $402 CAD
• Montreal (YUL) from $415 CAD

To These Hawaiian Airports

• Honolulu (HNL)
• Kona (KOA)
• Lihue (LIH)
• Kahului (OGG)

Context

Flights to Hawaii are generally cheaper from Toronto (YYZ) than from Detroit or Chicago.  Typical YYZ to Hawaii prices are $400s-$500s round trip, which is quite cheap. 

Secret Flying reported this deal on January 7.  Prices from YYZ as low as $399 CAD, approx $299 USD.  Their post says availability only April 2019, but these cheap prices are showing up now thru much of June 2019.

Google Flights is showing flights as low as $300, but searches on www.skyscanner.ca then booking thru online travel agencies are even cheaper in some cases.

Toronto - Hawaii Google Flights Sample Search $300+ Round Trip

Google Flights June 4 - 17 $331+ USD RT

Google Flights March 28 - April 7 (Spring Break) $337+ USD RT

Google Flights April 2 - April 15 $300+ USD RT

Toronto - Hawaii SkyScanner Flights Sample Search $255+ Round Trip

SkyScanner Flights April 8 - 16 $293+ USD RT

Background

Secret Flying - Toronto to Hawaii from $399 CAD

Secret Flying - Vancouver to Hawaii from $299 CAD

Secret Flying - Ottawa to Hawaii from $402 CAD

Secret Flying - Montreal to Hawaii from $415 CAD

Chicago to Scandinavia $303+ Round Trip Departures Thru Early May 2019

This is cheaper than flying to *Florida* for spring break!

• March/April 2019 flights are wide open from Chicago to Oslo Norway (OSL) and Copenhagen Denmark (CPH).  Other European cities also available for slightly more $
• Prices on Google Flights, with links to book directly with the airlines, are as low as $327.
• Searching on Momondo and booking with smaller online travel agencies, the prices can be as low as $303 to CPH and $310 to OSL.
• Cheapest flights are on Star Alliance carriers - Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS).  Some of the fares are even nonstop.
• SkyTeam alliance airlines (e.g. Delta, Air France, KLM) and OneWorld alliance airlines (e.g. American, British Airways) also have fares under $400 as well, with 1 or 2 stops each way.
• At these low prices, many of the flights are basic economy (typically:  checked bags not included, no advance seat assignment, elite status flyers not eligible for complimentary upgrades, etc).
• Regular economy unfortunately costs a LOT more on many of these flights - approx $180 more on SkyTeam.  One of the flights on American Airlines was $260 more in regular economy than basic economy!

How to Get the Deal

Search on Google Flights to find cheap flights based on preferred dates, trip duration, etc.

If you are feeling adventurous, search on Momondo.com and book thru an OTA to save $30-70 vs. booking directly with an airline.

Book now, think later!  You have 24 hours to cancel with no penalty.

Secret Flying reported these deals yesterday, and prices seem to have dropped after they posted, so the cheap seats will be selling out very fast.

Background Information

• Chicago to Oslo Norway from $310 roundtrip
• Chicago to Copenhagen Denmark from $303 roundtrip
• Prices increase to mid $400s after May 8 departures, but the cheap flights are widely available in March and April.  January and February are much more scattered availability at the cheapest prices.

Sample Searches

Google Flights - ORD to OSL/CPH Mon April 1 - Mon April 8

Google Flights - ORD to OSL/CPH Mon Mar 25 - Thurs April 4

Google Flights Price Calendar - 7 day trip

Best Cash Back Credit Cards - late Dec 2018

Cash back credit cards are a dime a dozen.  With so many out there, which one is best?  In response to a friend asking about the best cash back credit card for a small business, today I did some research and came up with what I think are the best cash back credit cards worth signing up for right now.

Referral Links

The Chase Ink Business Preferred is the only card in this post for which I have a referral link.  If you decide to apply for this card, please use my link, as I'll earn 20,000 Chase points when you are approved!  The signup bonus via referral is 80,000 points - same as the public offer on the Chase website.

Chase Ink Business Preferred - referral link

General Comments

• Personal credit cards can be used for business expenses, and vice versa
• Business cards usually have larger signup bonuses than personal cards
• Signup bonuses on cash back credit cards are generally smaller than the signup bonuses on travel points credit cards
• Some cards allow their 'travel points' to be redeemed for cash back (usually at 1 cent per point)...these can be very flexible cards, but not ideal if you plan / want cash back as your rewards currency.  Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Ink Business Preferred are two great examples of this rare type of card that's flexible enough to provide the best of both worlds.
• Category bonuses can make a significant difference in the amount of rewards earned via card spend.  Many cards offer 5% cash back in certain categories. If you have expenses that may fall in dining, travel, gasoline, office supply, utilities, grocery...these categories often have category bonuses from various cards.  Some category bonuses are capped on a fairly low amount of quarterly or annual spend.
• How much annual spend do you anticipate?  Some cards have huge signup bonuses based on high initial spend requirements - e.g. Capital One Spark Cash.
• 2% cash back is the best flat rate out there for all spend (regardless of category).  1.5% cash back cards are much more common.
• More than 2% cash back overall is possible, by leveraging category bonuses (which rotate quarterly for some cards, vs. cardholder can choose desired categories for other cards) -- but the spend you'll have may not fit any of these categories.
• Will you need numerous authorized user cards for employees, or just one main card or maybe a second one?  Many business cards offer free employee cards, but some charge for that.

Bottom-Line Advice

• My personal strategy for anyone is to get a new card every year or two.
• The signup bonus from a new cash back card can be as much or nearly as much as the cash back earnings from a year's worth of spend on a card.  E.g. spend $30k a year, earn $450-600 at 1.5%-2% cash back.  A few cash back cards have $400-600 signup bonuses.
• Why not sign up for a new card every year or two, if this strategy could mean earning twice as much cash back as using the same card for several years?

Resources

• CardRatings.com best cash back cards - very good roundup of cash back cards, focused mostly on the good ones
• CompareCards.com Cash Back Cards List - good roundup of cash back cards, though many listed are not great choices
• Doctor of Credit best credit cards for various situations - great page with lists of good cards for people with spending focused in certain categories and other situations
• Frequent Miler best credit card signup offers - one of my favorite travel and credit card blogs.  This page requires some drill-down to find the cash back cards, though.
• CardMatch tool - see if you are targeted for potentially better offers than publicly available offers.    No credit pull.

Recommendations

These are in order, from best to least-best

1. Capital One Spark Cash - 2% cash back on everything.  Huge signup bonus if you can do huge spend.  $500 cash back bonus after $5k in first 3 months.  Additional $1,500 bonus after additional $45k ($50k total) in first 6 months.  Total cash back will be $3k ($2k bonus plus 2% from normal cash back earnings on the $50k spend).  Note, the similar Capital One Spark Miles has similar signup bonus.  $59 annual fee, waived first year.  Capital One Spark Cash - Doctor of Credit    Capital One Spark Cash - Frequent Miler
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred - huge $800 (80,000 Chase UR points, worth 1 cent each if cashed out) cash back sign-up bonus.  Flexibility to use rewards as Chase UR points.  $95 annual fee. Chase Ink Business Preferred - CardRatings.com
3. Discover it cash back - 1% cash back plus 5% rotating quarterly cash back categories.  Cash back in first year is doubled, so 2+% depending whether one earns any cash back from 5% categories.  Only 1% cash back after first year, though.  No annual fee. Discover it cash back - Frequent Miler (Possible to get $50 signup bonus via referral - check this Doctor of Credit page here.)
4. Citi Double Cash.  2% cash back on everything, no annual fee.  No signup bonus.  Good long term card due to flat 2% cash back and no annual fee, but compared with a card that has a $500+ signup bonus, it will take a while to 'break even' with this card instead. Citi Double Cash - Doctor of Credit
5. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards - $500 signup bonus.  Only 1% cash back on most stuff, but 4% on dining and entertainment, 2% grocery.  $95 annual fee waived first year.  Decent card for the signup bonus, but not a great long term card unless spending quite a bit on dining & entertainment.  Savor Cash Rewards - Frequent Miler
6. Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% cash back.  No annual fee.  $200 signup bonus after $500 spend.  Best thing about this card is, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus, or Reserve, you can use the earnings from Freedom Unlimited to convert into 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spend.  Chase UR points are great, flexible travel points generally considered to be worth about 2 cents each. Chase Freedom Unlimited - Frequent Miler
7. Capital One Spark Cash Select - no annual fee.  1.5% cash back on everything.  $200 cash back bonus after $3k spend in first 3 months.  Capital One Spark Cash Select - Frequent Miler
8. U.S. Bank Cash+ card - interesting twist - cardholder can select the desired bonus categories.  No annual fee.  $150 signup bonus.  5% back on $2,000 worth of combined purchases in two categories that you select quarterly; 2% back in one "everyday" category you select quarterly, such as gas or groceries; 1% back on everything else.  U.S. Bank Cash+ card - Value Penguin
9. U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express card - $150 cash back after $500 spend in first 90 days.  1.5% unlimited cash back on everything.  No annual fee.  Good first-year card, especially for lower spenders.  E.g. spend $10k in first year.  Total cash back $300, i.e. 3%. U.S. Bank Cash 365 Amex card