My Best Reward Credit Cards Part I: Get Paid to Have a Credit Card!
Ok, so everyone knows that credit cards nowadays have various rewards programs that can be redeemed for gift certificates, airline tickets, and cash. However, not everyone knows that the credit card companies will pay you just to get their credit card.Through my career involvement with credit card companies over the years, I have been able to monitor the offers and take advantage of as many of the best reward credit cards that offer bonuses for signing up. To simplify this for you, dear reader, I have summarized what I found to be the best cards that you will get paid to have and I can confirm that I have received each of the promised payouts and have redeemed for gift certificates or flights.
#1 - Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express®
VALUE: 3 Free Hotel Stays or $100
The Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express is, in my opinion, one of the best value credit cards out there in terms of rewards programs. This one isn’t just good if you travel and stay at Starwood hotels such as Sheraton, W, Westin, Four Points, and more. The reward points are good for a variety of benefits including our favorite: gift cards.Remember, it is always more beneficial to utilize the reward points for things such as hotel stays, airline flights (not points!), and gift cards rather then redeeming for things (such as iPods, DVD players, etc). You always get more bang for your point.In this case, American Express give you 10,000 points that is worth at least $100 at retailers such as Target, Gap, Banana Republic and more. Or, if you prefer, you can redeem for up to 3 nights stay at Starwood hotel properties that can easily be worth more than the $100 from gift cards. I chose to use it for hotel stays since I enjoy my travels…even though they aren’t frequent enough.
#2 - Business Gold Rewards Card by American Express
VALUE: Free Round Trip Domestic Ticket or $250
Wow! Once again American Express is offering some whopper rewards just for signing up for their Business Gold Rewards Card. But wait a minute…what if you don’t have a business? The good news is, you can apply anyway and if you have excellent credit will get approved instantly anyway. The reason being the approval process typically does not verify that you own your own business (it’s very hard to do that) and who’s to say that you aren’t getting this card to start that small business you’ve been dreaming about? For a limited time American Express is offering 25,000 points which can be redeemed for a round trip domestic flight. However, you can also use these points for up to $250 worth of gift cards! Not only that (I feel like an infomercial), they will waive the first year’s annual fee of $125. So add that to the benefits. Now a lot of people have asked me how to manage that fee. I feel that this premium credit card and it’s benefits are worth the $125 annual. That is not to say that you can’t just benefit from the first year’s membership for free then if you decide, you can easily cancel the card before the end of the second year…who knows? They might even throw in a free third year when you try and cancel if you are in good standing and have used the card.Don’t miss this opportunity to really benefit from signing for a great card.
#3 - Citi® PremierPass(SM) Card - Elite Level
VALUE: 1 Domestic Round Trip Flight or $150
The Citi PremierPass Credit Card – Elite Level is another innovative card from Citi. This one can let you accrue Thank You points for various activities. You get points for purchases, you get extra points for buying airline flights, and the best part is that you get points for the miles you actually fly…that’s in addition to the airline mile programs! Add to all this, you get unlimited companion travel with the Elite Level for flights that hit a minimum amount. I have not yet taken advantage of this benefit but will do so soon and will let you know the process.Currently you get 15,000 points for signing up which is good enough for a cheap domestic flight that needs to be booked through Expedia.com or you can redeem for up to $150 worth of gift cards. In my case I opted to get Best Buy gift cards for that fancy new LCD television I have been saving for. The choice is yours.Once again, there is an annual fee for this card and it is $75 a year. They do not waive it for the first year so if you fly a lot, this card makes complete sense. On the other hand, if you don’t travel a lot, you can try the regular Citi PremierPass Card with no annual fee but you don’t accrue as many points.
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