The Top 25 Credit Cards

(If you see any errors, please let me know. I try to keep a full list, but it’s a lot of information and I do make mistakes)

 

Significant Changes Since Last Month:
-Wyndham 45,000-point link added.
-Barclays Arrival added back.
-IHG up to 100,000.
-Amtrak back up to 30,000 from 20,000.
-Wells Fargo Propel bonus is 30,000 points now.
-Hilton Business 100,000-point offer available.
-Citi ThankYou up from 50,000 to 60,000.
-Lufthansa up to 60,000.
-Bank Of America Travel Rewards up from 20,000 to 25,000.
-FlexPerks personal/Business offering $400 in travel credits. Slight increase.
-Amex Blue Business Plus offering 10,000 points at the moment. If you start an application and don’t finish it, you’ll probably get an email offer for 20,000.
-Ritz card removed.

 

Before Playing This Game:
-Find a new hobby until you can pay off all balances each month.
-Take a second to look at what you’re applying for and confirm a bonus is what you expect.
-Get a screenshot of the bonus description in case you have issues collecting it later.
-Take 2 minutes to read the small print before applying.
(Look for “once in a lifetime,” “no bonus for cardholders in last 24 months,” etc.)
-Keep everything very organized in a spreadsheet. You’ll thank me later.

 

Time for my monthly Top 25 Credit Cards. It’s called “Top 25” out of tradition, but you’ll get many more links than that below. Again, if you’re a rookie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. It’s a little outdated but many basic questions can still be answered there. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. Also, “churning” (getting the same card more than once) might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually. If you’re new, it might be wise to start with Chase cards because of the limitations they’ll place on you soon.

Miles and points are far from an equal currency. 50,000 Delta SkyMiles are worth less to me than that amount from Alaska Airlines. 25,000 Hyatt points mean way more than the same number from Hilton. And so on. These links work right now (August 1st at midnight). If you read this later, many of the offers will have changed. Things move fast so read offer details and terms before applying. Especially all that small print when you’re trying to get bonuses more than once on the same card. Ok, enough chatter…here we go! My “Top 25” current credit cards are below.

Read More

Alaska Changes

For years, getting Alaska cards has been a “sure thing” for me. When Bank of America started limiting personal cards, I just switched over to the Business side and kept cruising along there. It has been one of the few predictably easy things left for me in the credit card game.

Well, a surprising sight just showed up in my mailbox…

A decline letter for my “sure thing.”

Based on emails from others who’d been cruising along too, this looks like a change for everyone. Finally, after many years, it looks the Business side is limited too.

As I see it, there’s a pattern with the life cycle of awesome deals. Even with something like MoviePass…

1. A deal comes out and it’s so good that people can’t believe it’s true.
2. It’s genuinely amazing for a while.
3. It’s still technically good but is becoming challenging. The prime is clearly over.
4. It dies (or becomes not worth the time and effort).

I’m sure I’ll be able to get Alaska cards again at some point. But it looks like that will be a more “reasonable” number. The prime is clearly over.

ThankYou Contest

Reader Stephen passed on a flyer he got in the mail from Citibank. I don’t usually write about contests, but thought a million ThankYou points was probably worth a quick post. Not sure of the details but the link looks like it will work on Wednesday.

Dead Or Dying Ritz

I’ve had the Ritz Carlton card listed for years. Probably got more emails about it yesterday than every other day combined. A couple of you had success with one remaining link that may or may not still work. Not sure, so I’ll just stick it on the credit card page and stare at it suspiciously.

Before I begin my staring…get your Inks out for a $10 off $300 Visa gift card sale at Office Depot Sunday through Saturday.

Have a great weekend, nerds!

Thoughts

Yesterday, I received a bunch of similar-sounding questions from (what seemed like) newbie readers. They asked my opinion on a subject I’ve spent many hours discussing through the years. Something I’ve never been subtle about.

I guess it’s been a while since I dedicated a post to the topic, though. So, for the newbies, here it is for maybe the last time. This is an example of what I received yesterday…

“Hey MileNerd, what do you think about (untrustworthy blog) buying (shitty blog)?”

Well, it should be really obvious.

But, in 2018, “really obvious” is flimsy. We’re in the peak season of nonsensical logic. A golden era of bullshit. With so many based-on-nothing opinions flying around…it’s tough to have clarity on anything.

We’ve gone deaf and dumb from all the noise.

But if you’re able to quiet it down enough to hear facts as facts, here are some of the simple truths about miles and points blogs…

Many of those “blogs” aren’t what they pretend to be. It’s part of the act to seem like a down-to-earth blogger typing away at home. But, in reality, even the word “blog” is a misnomer. Websites like that should actually be called “online sales flyers for credit card companies.”

Did you know some of them are even owned by banks? It’s a fact that certainly isn’t advertised to newbies.

The daily goal is to maximize “conversions.” Whether the frontman is a shrewd salesman disguised as a dork…or a used car lot shark playing the part of a goofy mom…that’s what you are to those websites – a conversion.

What does that mean?

Again, the answer is simple when you turn off the noise. They want you to apply for cards through their links so they can make big commissions. That’s their interest in you. And it’s why those websites depend on newbies. Your ignorance is money in the bank for them. Readers eventually figure out what’s happening and move on. So the websites need to replenish with new crops of ignorant readers.

How much money are we talking?

For some websites, you (the conversions) add up to millions of dollars each year. This is very big business. And everything they do is for the same reason – to keep you engaged enough to click links. To gain your loyalty and convert you into money.

With the broken logic of 2018, some people get confused and think the issue is money itself.

It isn’t.

There’s nothing wrong with making a profit. But there is absolutely something wrong (to me and my readers) in doing it dishonestly. When the entire purpose is to pack credit card links into as many places as possible…how honest do you think that website will be? How trustworthy do you think the information is? And what happens when a bank has input on the content?

But, believe it or not, thousands of people will actually see a post saying “THE CREDIT CARD TO GET RIGHT NOW” and think of that as a news article.

They’ll literally watch a commercial and think of it as a show.

That’s strange, right?

Yes and no. In fairness, the goal of advertising is to manipulate thoughts. So the website-disguised-as-a-blog just accomplished what they wanted – getting people to see ads and think of them as articles.

When I started MileNerd, it was because there was no truthful alternative available. That really mattered to me. You don’t have to feel as strongly about it as I do. I don’t expect anyone to be as passionate about it as I am. But, newbies, please remember something if you ever send me a link to one of those websites…

I will not click that link.

Really consider how much I’ve put into this and how long I’ve done it. You know what I think.

If you care, it’s easy to make a positive impact in a smaller way…

Refuse to give your clicks to those types of websites.

Pretty simple…don’t go there

And for bloggers who claim to be honest…don’t link to those pages.

Otherwise, you’re part of the problem.

In conclusion, let me answer the original question…

“Hey MileNerd, what do you think about (untrustworthy blog) buying (shitty blog)?”

I don’t look at those websites as blogs. I see them for what they are.

Do you?