300,000+ Points on Travel Cards Worth Considering Right Now (due to increased bonus offer).

There are a number of increased bonus point card offers right now worth considering. Many of them come with restrictions that may exclude you from getting them but if you can, and they fit your travel plans, they really are worth considering this weekend before they are gone! Let’s take a closer look!

The first “Ultimate Travel Card” is one everyone wants but again not everyone can have. Well you can most times have it but not with the spectacular 100,000 bonus that is the Chase   BANK Sapphire Reserve card (CSR). The value of the bonus offer is undeniable and the other perk, not least of which, is allowing all your other Ultimate Rewards points to funnel to this card to spend at 1.5 cents each is so sweet.

Then we have a card I suggest you get for the 50,000 bonus and spend and then stop using it. Barclays’   BANK    Arrival+ was all but destroyed as a card I used to use all the time. Now redemption is only at $100 or higher and the reward for spending the points dropped from 10% back to 5%. But that should not stop you from getting the card for $500 back (after spend) in points and a real chip-N-pin card for use outside the USA at automated kiosks and such. Before the fee for year two hits apply for the standard Arrival card, enjoy the $200 in bonus points that card offers, and cancel the Arrival+. Both cards have the chip-N-pin perk.

This one is another one I hold (btw the BOLD is gone but same card) that you may not be able to get even if you want it. But 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase   BANK  Ink+ card  (after spend again) is worth at least $600 in cash or even better, if you have the CSR card you can send those points over to that card and get $900 in spending power booking flights or hotels or such. Keep in mind I spent two weeks in Grand Cayman, including diving that I billed to the hotel, paid for with UR points.

This is one you don’t see talked about much in the travel space but I hold it and again why not take $500 CASH yes CASH for getting the card and meeting the spend. Here is why the Capital   BANK  One Spark CASH business card is a good fall back choice. It pays 2% cash back. Period. Now here is how you play this one. Say your wife or +1 loves the perk of your hard work with points but every time you mention please pay with this card here and this card here they roll their eyes at you. OK a simple fix, get them on this account as an authorized user. Then have them just ALWAYS use this card. You are at least getting 2% cash back (and you have no points / card fights – priceless).

We roll on with the cards I hold. Well hold is maybe not the best description. I hold, at any given time, a  Bank  of America Alaska card (normally two) but I don’t hold them long term. I am what Chase calls a “serial starter” when it comes to this card. I never hold it more than a year and then cancel, wait, and get another one. Year after year. I like Alaska points and 30,000 points per card after spend works for me (over and over and over).

This last card is specific for you Delta Elites. Again, you may not be able to get this card even if you want it. If you have EVER held that card, including upgrading to it (yes this excludes you as well) then you cannot get the bonus offer of 10,000 MQMs as well as 10,000 SkyMiles for the personal Delta AMEX Reserve card as well as the exact same offer that is 10,000 MQMs as well as 10,000 SkyMiles for the business Delta AMEX Reserve card. I am often asked if this is a good deal and if AMEX ever offers more. The simple answer is, for elites, 10,000 MQMs for just the $450 fee is a great deal (again ONLY if you need MQMs) and as to the second question I have never ever seen a better offer to date. The perks of the card is a reason I hold it and pay the fee year after year after year.

Clearly, I am walking the walk and talking the talk when it comes to these cards since I have them all. I am recommending cards I hold or use or get on a regular basis and with the current increased bonus deals they offer real point value for your travels. And this is just the bonus offers not talking about all the perks the individual cards give you. Maybe if you hold any of these cards you can comment below what you like the most about any of these cards! – René

PS – If you need help booking with all these points, why not ask my good friend ADAM to help you. He, and his team, are brilliant and worth it!

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.