Have you ever applied for a credit card only to be told you don’t qualify? It can be frustrating, especially if you’re not sure why. That’s where CardMatch comes in.
CardMatch is a tool offered by CreditCards.com that helps you to match yourself with credit card offers from multiple issuers based on your credit profile. It’s quick, easy, and, best of all, free!
CardMatch is a tool that allows you to compare credit card offers from multiple issuers in one place. All you need to do is provide some basic information about yourself, including:
From there, CardMatch will generate a list of pre-approved and special offers tailored specifically for you in less than 60 seconds.
One of the best things about CardMarch is that it’s completely free to use. There’s no obligation to apply for any of the cards you’re presented with, so you can shop around without worrying about damaging your credit score.
Note that since these are targeted offers, not everyone will have the same results. CardMatch may also not have all cards currently available on the market.
Try CardMatch:
What if you could save time and find multiple credit card offers that you're prequalified for without impacting your credit score? Sometimes, you may even get targeted for special offers (not publicly available) based on your credit profile when you use the CardMatch Tool.
CardMatch is a tool that shows you pre-approved and special targeted offers (sometimes) from select credit issuers. The tool conducts a soft pull so that it won't affect your credit score. See your matched offers in less than 60 seconds.
Every so often, the CardMatch tool has great offers for select cards. For example, not everyone will be targeted, but sometimes you can find The Platinum Card® from American Express with 125,000-150,000 point welcome offers after you spend $6,000 within the first 6 months. Terms apply. A couple of AskSebby subscribers have reported they were able to apply for and get the offer. YMMV.
Users may not be matched with all offers or banks, and matches are based on your credit profile.
To take advantage of targeted offers available, simply go to the CardMatch Tool. Enter your information, agree to the terms of service, and the system will search for offers.
Be sure to view "All Matches" to see everything you're targeted for.
Want to see if you're pre-qualified for any great offers? Try it out yourself!
The Platinum Card® from American Express is a premium travel credit card that offers a wide range of exclusive benefits and rewards. Some of the benefits offered by the card include travel perks, such as airport lounge access and elite hotel status.
The Platinum Card has a public offer available to everyone, but there's also an elusive elevated Amex Platinum 150,000 point bonus.
American Express has a once-in-a-lifetime welcome bonus rule, so if you earned an intro offer for the Amex Platinum in the past, you likely do not qualify for the elevated offer.
Here’s how to find the 150,000 Amex Platinum offer for first-time Amex cardholders.
There are several ways to check whether you’re eligible for the Amex Platinum 150K offer by either:
Here’s how each method works to see if you qualify for the offer.
One of the easiest ways to determine whether you qualify for the Amex Platinum 150k offer is by simply visiting their website. Sometimes American Express will show elevated offers to new customers.
There may also be the American Express pre-qualification tool that shows an elevated offer. This will allow you to enter your information securely (no hard credit pull) and match you with available offers.
Through the pre-qualification tool, rather than applying for The Platinum Card from American Express through the ‘Apply Now’ page, you can use a special “Check for Offers” link, which will ask for your information and tell you whether you’re pre-qualified for the 150k Platinum offer.
If you're not targeted for elevated offers on American Express's website, one of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you qualify for an elevated offer is through a free tool called CardMatch.
The average national gas price now exceeds $5 a gallon, and experts predict prices will rise to above $6 during the summer.
A good gas credit card will provide you with cashback and/or reward points for fuel purchases to optimize your spending.
In this article, we will focus specifically on cards that offer consistent cash back or points on gas. While several other cards offer quarterly rotating gas rewards, we’re looking at consistent gas rewards cards to maximize your total gas savings.
While you may not have heard of this card, it has one of the best value for gas rewards at 5% cash back on gas purchases. It also has 1% cashback on all other purchases and a rotating 5% cashback on other categories throughout the year, including streaming services, Amazon purchases, travel, and health fitness.
Although you can apply for the Abound card without becoming a member, the risk is that credit unions tend to remove card benefits when there are too many applicants.
It's usually the way credit union cards work, so this card may not be suitable for everyone.
The Citi Custom Cash card is good choice for a no annual fee keeper card. In addition to 5% back on gas, it also offers 5% cashback on a handful of other categories, including restaurants, home improvement, grocery stores, and select travel. The benefit of the Citi Custom Cash Card is that even if your spending habits change and you spend less on gas, this card can still provide valuable rewards to you in other categories.
It is also flexible in how you choose to spend your rewards. The Citi Custom Cash card rewards are in the form of Thank You points™. This means that if you chose to redeem your points for travel, you could potentially receive more than 5% cash back that month.
The drawback is that there is a $500 per month earning limit on rewards. This means that if you spend more than $500 on eligible purchases during the month, only the first $500 will receive the 5% cashback benefit.
Cardless is a white-label card-issuing service that partners with brands. The Cardless family of credit cards is a series of cards that allow various brands, focusing on American basketball and European football (soccer) teams, to have their own branded, customized credit card.
We’ll look specifically at the New Orleans Pelicans credit card. It offers some great rewards on gas – 4x rewards points with no annual fee and no monthly cap. The 4x rewards work out to 4% cash back since Cardless calculates its rewards points at 1 CPP.
The drawback to Cardless is that you are only allowed to have one Cardless card at a time. So if you already have a Cardless card for your favorite team, you can’t get the Pelicans card to cash in on the gas points. If you are interested in a Cardless card for special deals on your favorite team’s tickets and merchandise, you would be losing out on those things to have a Pelicans card just for gas, so choose wisely.
With the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card, you earn unlimited 5 points per dollar spent at the gas pump, including EV charging stations. This is among the best rewards rates you will find on gas. Along with free fuel rewards, the card also pays unlimited 3 points per dollar on groceries and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
However, there are a few things to be aware of. For starters, you must join PenFed's credit union to apply. Getting a PenFed membership requires an application and a $5 deposit into a savings account.
The redemption options are also limited, as you can’t use your points to redeem for cash back. A PenFed spokesperson confirmed that points earned with a Platinum Rewards card are usually worth about 0.85 cents each. Considering this card has no annual fee, its redemption value isn’t that great when compared to other no-annual-fee rewards cards.
On the other hand, travel points are potentially worth 1.7 cents each on average, depending on dates and options. There may also be travel booking fees when redeeming for travel.
Another thing to note is that since the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card is a credit union card, you'll have to keep a close eye to ensure that the points or deals on the card don’t change or decrease.
Credit unions typically make a larger percentage of their income from credit cards and other loan interest than larger banks, so they are more likely to change the terms of their credit offers to ensure that it remains profitable to them.
These cards are designed for buying gas at the respective wholesale clubs. Not only can you take advantage of the discount gas at your club store, but you can also earn cash back with your credit card.
These are both similar cards in terms of rewards level. The Sam’s Club card gives you 5% cash back on gas purchases for up to $6,000 a year, which works out to about $500 per month in gas, and then 1% cashback above $6,000. Depending on your membership level, there may be additional reward caps on earning and redemptions.
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi gives you 4% cashback on your first $7,000 in gas purchases in a year and then 1% rewards after. One major drawback is that you can only redeem cash back once per year.
If you aren't already a member of Costco or Sam's Club, these card options might not be for you.
However, if you are already a member, this could be a valuable way to save on your gas budget. The ideal strategy is to get the card for whichever store is most convenient to you.
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card isn't as competitive as some of the cards on this list, but it still offers decent gas rewards.
With only 3% cashback on gas (or your other chosen rewards category) for most users, it doesn’t look as good as 4% or 5% like some of the other offers we’ve looked at. However, if you are already a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch customer, this might be a good option for you.
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch offer tiered rewards levels for their current customers, so if you have more than $35,500 saved or invested in a portfolio, you will be eligible for higher rewards percentages.
With a bit of research and planning, you may be able to earn up to 5% back (or even more) on gas purchases and other expenditures. To learn more about these top gas cards for 2022 in more detail, check out the video below.
On July 23, 2017, Citi removed their card benefits like trip protection and insurances.
A lot of cardholders are wondering what their options are — should they cancel or product change the Citi Prestige?
A significant factor in determining which route to take is the annual fee. The annual fee is $450, but it comes with a $250 travel credit, making the effective annual fee $200.
In some cases, you can apply in-branch to receive a lower annual fee of $350, making the effective annual fee $100 after the travel credit.
The main question is if the lower $350 annual fee will be honored the second year, or if the fee will increase to $450.
We’re hesitant to keep the card with an effective $200 annual fee because there are alternative luxury cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Platinum that provide the same, if not better, value.
Before considering downgrade/product change options, we need to consider if this card is worth keeping.
The best perk the Citi Prestige is known for is book 3 consecutive nights, get the 4th night free. In order to redeem this perk, you have to book through the Citi Prestige Concierge.
Effective July 23, 2017, Citi will rebate the average room rate across your stay of 4 or more nights, not including taxes.
My main concern is that if I cancel or product change the card, I won’t be able to receive an intro bonus for a Citi card (that earns ThankYou points) in the next 2 years.
Citi has a rule that you can qualify for an intro bonus every 2 years across the same product family. For example, if you were approved for the Citi ThankYou Preferred card in 2015, you would not receive an intro bonus for the Citi Prestige if you applied the same year. You would have to wait until 2017 to qualify for another Citi intro bonus.
Since I signed up for the Citi Prestige in September 2016, that means I won’t be eligible for another ThankYou bonus until September 2018. If I cancel the card now, it resets the clock meaning I won’t be eligible for another bonus until September 2019.
In terms of product changes, there are 3 cards I’m considering:
Pros:
Cons:
Pros:
Cons:
Pros:
Cons:
To request a product change, call the number on the back of your Citi Prestige credit card. Let the agent know which product you'd like to switch the card to.
One of the best redemptions for the Hilton Weekend Night Reward certificate from the American Express Aspire and Surpass cards is the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
A few important notes to consider before jumping to book the property:
Even if your room rate is covered, a stay at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is expensive. Now that the sticker shock warning is out of the way, let’s dive into how we booked the room.
The retail rate for an overwater villa is ~$3,000/night. We booked our four-night stay using three free weekend night certificates, and 120,000 Hilton Honors points for the fourth night.
For each Weekend Night Reward, you’ll need to create a separate reservation. The hotel can combine them afterward. We created four consecutive day bookings.
We didn’t end up booking a fifth night since the booking doesn’t qualify for the 5th night free promotion. To qualify for 5th night free, you must book your entire stay using points. Weekend Night Rewards do not qualify.
If you want to increase your chances of getting an overwater villa, I recommend visiting during off-season or shoulder season.
We booked the standard base beach room villa and received a complimentary upgrade due to having Diamond status. Upgrades are NOT guaranteed.
If you want to guarantee an overwater villa, I suggest booking one directly or inquiring to pay out of pocket for the upgrade.
It’s worth mentioning that the beach villas are also huge (2,500 square feet) with the same standard room layouts.
Before your stay at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, I highly recommend having Hilton Honors Gold or Diamond status to get complimentary access to the breakfast buffet. Without Gold or Diamond status, you’ll end up paying a hefty price tag for the a la carte menu. To put things in perspective, a basic plate of eggs costs $30 + tax and tip.
The easiest way to earn automatic Hilton Honors elite status is via credit cards.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by AskSebby.com. Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is no longer available through AskSebby.com.
Al Maha is one of the best Marriott Bonvoy redemptions if you plan to visit Dubai. The all-inclusive resort is located one hour away from Dubai, and it’s an amazing escape from the city.
The resort is also a conservation reserve where they have on-site field guides and wildlife.
Al Maha is a Category 8 hotel, and the price ranges from 63,000-100,000 points depending on the season.
Search for availability on Marriott’s site: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dxbam-al-maha-a-luxury-collection-desert-resort-and-spa-dubai/
Be sure to check the box that says “Use Points/Certificates.”
Example of peak season pricing:
Off-peak season pricing:
The room-rate includes:
Desert Activities to choose from:
How to use transfer partners is one of the most requested guides because there are so many steps to take. To get the maximum value from points, you'll have to put in the work and research which airline partners are best for you.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use transfer partners. Before we dive in, be sure to transfer all your Ultimate Rewards Points to the card that has access to transfer partners: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
1. Login to your Chase account and find the Ultimate Rewards Portal.
2. Click on a card that has access to transfer partners like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Ink Business Preferred, or the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
3. Transfer all your points to the respective card. i.e., transfer Chase Freedom points to a Sapphire card.
In the example below, we're transferring points from the Chase Freedom to the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Transfer all the points.
4. To use transfer partners, hover over the use points and click one of the airlines.
5. Choose the airline partner you want to use.
6. Enter your frequent flyer information.
7. That's it! The good thing about Chase is that transfers are instantaneous, unlike Amex where it may take a few days.
Important: Once you transfer Ultimate Rewards points to an airline, you cannot revert the points back to Ultimate Rewards. Only transfer the amount you need.
Since there are a lot of different options, you need to sit down and research which programs are the best use of points. There are a few sweet spots available for redemption, but supply is limited and hard to find.
For example, a viewer messaged me asking if I was lying about the IHG Bora Bora free certificate redemption because they tried once or twice and failed. I spent one week looking once or twice a day and booked my certificate nights.
Since there are a lot of options, let's run through a real example. Let's say I'm trying to go from SF to Seoul.
Download the Trip Planning Template here: http://bit.ly/2ysr6Gt
To use the trip planning template, you want to run down the whole list of transfer partners and see how many points it would cost for each one (info can be found on each carrier's website). Yes, this is going to take work on your end.
For United, the travel awards redemption is straight forward. Let's assume we're flying economy to Seoul, which costs 80,000 award miles per way. An economy roundtrip ticket costs 160,000 award miles.
The next step is to see if there is any award or saver availability on United's website. Be sure to check the box for "Search for award travel."
SEARCH FOR AWARD TRAVEL
In addition to the 35,000 miles, you'll still have to pay $5.60 for taxes and fees.
If you don't have flexibility, then you're going to have to take the Economy tickets for 80,000 points.
In our example, we're assuming you do have flexibility so the spreadsheet reflects the 70,000 points and $11.20 in fees.
Beyond transfer partners, be sure to compare the rates to the Chase Travel Portal. Since the prices in the Travel Portal are similar to Google Flights, it's easier to use Google to find the best flight route. It's hard to compare dates and different airline carriers with the Chase Travel Portal user interface.
Keep in mind that just because the route is cheap, it may not be the fastest nor the most efficient route. Choose the route that makes the most sense for you.
To filter the search, select your desired airlines.
Flights might not be available on your desired dates, so it helps to be flexible.
We altered our search to Dec. 10-Dec. 18.
Found a decent flight on Air Canada, but the layover seems excessive. Let's alter the dates.
If we move the date to Dec. 11, then the layover is more reasonable.
After you locate the desired airline and flight number, login to the Chase Travel Portal and find the flight. Note down how many points it takes in the spreadsheet to compare it to all the options.
We're not going to run through all the transfer partners or we'll be here all day. Researching can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours. Transfer partners are optimal for sweet spot redemptions or last minute travel.
Transfer partners are also good to use during peak holiday times to lock in prices. Another good use to transfer partners are for first or business class redemptions.
If you're someone who doesn't want to compare all the transfer options, then go the Google Flights route and book flights using the Chase Travel Portal.
It helps to have a redemption in mind, but if you need some inspiration, we recommend signing up for Scott's Cheap Flights to get deal alerts.
The Hotel Collection from American Express is an underrated benefit that gives you perks to feel like a VIP. This exclusive program grants you room upgrades and experience credits for dining, spa treatments, and resort activities when you book a stay of two consecutive nights or more at designated hotels; experience credit varies by property.
Terms apply to Amex offers and benefits.
American Express carefully selects each property in The Hotel Collection for its unique style and unwavering quality. Experience stays at remarkable hotels that possess their own distinctive personality.
Brands in the Hotel Collection include Alila, Andaz, Autograph Collection Hotels, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont, JW Marriott, MGM Resorts, Sofitel, Small Luxury Hotels, Thompson Hotels, W Hotels, and much more.
To access the Hotel Collection benefit, you must be a cardmember of one of the following cards:
Delta SkyMiles® Gold and Platinum Card Members are not eligible to access the Hotel Collection.
When you stay two consecutive nights or more, you’ll get:
Terms apply to utilize the Hotel Collection benefit:
Members with the Consumer Platinum Card receive an annual benefit of $200 in statement credits when making prepaid bookings for Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel, and using their Platinum Card for payment.
The Hotel Collection by American Express is a great option for extra perks for hotel stays you plan to book. If you have a Platinum Card, get up to $200 in Hotel Credits each year when you book through the Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection via American Express Travel. The Hotel Collection requires a two-night stay to qualify.
Effective September 30, 2023, the partnership between World of Hyatt and MGM Rewards will come to a close, resulting in changes to the benefits available to World of Hyatt and MGM Rewards members for stays occurring on or after that date.
This is HUGE news since people usually match their Hyatt status to MGM Rewards.
Act fast: you have until July 14, 2023, to status match Hyatt to MGM. It's closed off after that.
Status match at the bottom the page: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/other-partnerships.html
If you're a World of Hyatt member who matched your tier into MGM Rewards between February 1, 2023, and July 14, 2023, you'll keep your MGM Rewards tier status until January 31, 2024. However, starting from February 1, 2024, you'll need to meet the MGM Rewards program requirements to maintain your tier and enjoy the associated benefits.
MGM Resorts will honor all existing reservations at MGM Resorts destinations in Las Vegas made through Hyatt channels.
The savings can add up if you visit Las Vegas often.
By having MGM Pearl, you get free self-parking. MGM Gold will waive resort fees, which can add up quickly.
We have MGM Gold status, which has resulted in some nice upgrades to renovated rooms, better views, and occasionally suites.
Existing Reservations
New Reservations
Reservation Modifications or Cancellations
See more FAQ on the official site: https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/landing/mgm-rewards-update.html