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Various Calendar-Year Credits

Airline incidental fee credits

Many credit cards offer airline incidental fee credits, ranging from $100-$250. In general, these credit caps are based on the calendar year. If you still have not used your credit for this year, now is the time to do it. If you have any of the cards listed below, you can use the airline credit as noted in parentheses. If you are interested in applying, just click the card name to read the review:

Things to note:

  • For AMEX credits (Platinum, Gold), remember that you must first select an airline. If you have not used much of your current credit, you can usually chat with customer service online and successfully change it. FNBO is a bit special: no airline selection is required, but otherwise it works very similarly to AMEX.
  • City National Bank Crystal Visa Infinite credit card will start charging for authorized users next year, so it is recommended to cancel the authorized user card right after using the credit.

In short, if you are using normal/official methods for airline incidental reimbursements and still have not received the credit after some time, feel free to contact customer service. If you used unofficial methods, such as buying airline gift cards, and the credit has not posted after some time, do not contact customer service, because you were not supposed to receive it in the first place. You can keep an eye on blog and forum updates to find methods that still work.

If you were already planning to close these cards, consider waiting until you receive the 2020 credit before downgrading, since the credit will definitely be worth more than the prorated annual fee refund.

Saks credit

AMEX Platinum Card offers up to $100 in Saks purchases each calendar year: $50 from Jan-Jun and $50 from Jul-Dec. Do not forget to use it.

Right now, Saks Fifth Avenue is offering a $75 gift card with a $150 purchase (Black Friday only, stack with Ebates 16%).

online and in physical stores both work. Remember to stack it with Ebates, which is currently 16%!

  • Please read the other terms carefully.

Clear and LoungeBuddy credits

AMEX Green offers a $100 LoungeBuddy credit and a $100 Clear membership credit each calendar year. Note that this benefit comes automatically on new cards, and existing cardholders also receive it automatically. If you had this card before the refresh, do not forget to use it before year-end.

Using the $100 LoungeBuddy credit:

Using Clear

  • Tips for using Clear
  • Registration generally only requires a valid driver's license and usually does not ask about visa type or nationality, but readers should use their own judgment.
  • If you have Hertz President Circle, you can get a 4-month free trial of Clear. Alternatively, UA or Delta credit card holders (no need to pay with the co-branded card) can get an annual fee of 109. Readers can explore the details themselves. H/T: reader xhl1212
  • TopCashback has $20 cash back on Clear, which stacks nicely.

Uber credit

AMEX Platinum Card family gets Uber $200 Credit + Uber VIP status each year: add your Platinum card to your Uber account, and your Uber account will become VIP, with access to benefits such as better ride options. At the same time, your Uber account gets $15 in credit for each of the first 11 months of the year, and $35 in December. The credit expires at the end of each month.

The December credit is larger than usual, so plan ahead and do not waste it. Multiple Platinum cards can be added to the same Uber account, and the credits can stack together.

Q4 5%/5x credit card rewards

Q4 is shopping season, so this is another reminder to check your credit card bonus categories first and use the right card for the right purchases.

  • Discover it: Amazon.com, Target, and Walmart.com. As expected, these basically cover the major online and offline spending categories during shopping season. If I remember correctly, some merchants that support Pay with Amazon can also trigger the 5%. (activation link)
  • Chase Freedom: Department Store: a traditional Q4 favorite, great for holiday shopping. Of course, many department stores such as Sears and Macy's also sell lots of third-party gift cards, so if you cannot use up the category naturally, you can buy some gift cards. PayPal: Discover's Q3 5% just ended, and Chase brings back this category in Q4. It is an excellent category: most websites such as eBay, Staples, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart now support PayPal. It is very easy to max out. If you want to spend at Amazon, you can buy Amazon gift cards at a department store. Chase Pay: not many merchants support it directly, but if you have a Samsung phone, this category is a bit of a bug/incredible loophole. Samsung Pay can call Chase Pay, so you can use it at any physical store that accepts Samsung Pay (which is basically almost everywhere). (activation link)
  • US Bank Cash+: choose your own categories; in Q4 you can pick electric store or department store to fit holiday shopping needs. Of course, it depends on your spending habits. (activation link)
  • Citi Dividend: Best Buy and department stores. The theme is still holiday shopping, though I’d guess most people already maxed out the full $600 annual drugstore cap back in Q2 (activation link).
  • ABOC Platinum Rewards credit card: auto-related purchases, including parts, maintenance, and repair services. It doesn’t have much to do with shopping and is fairly unconventional. Strongly recommended that it get with the times next year. (Register at https://www.abocrewards.com/)

Things to note: a) For Discover it and Chase Freedom, only the first $1,500 each quarter earns 5% cash back or 5x points, so plan accordingly and don’t overspend in the category after that. Citi Dividend, on the other hand, uses an annual total cash back cap of $300, so if you already maxed it out earlier, don’t use it for Q4. c) Discover it, Chase Freedom, and Citi Dividend all require you to activate the quarterly 5%/5x through your online account. If you can’t find the button, you can also activate by phone, via online chat, or by sending a secure message. d) Cash+ lets you choose your own 5% cash back categories, so it’s best to pick categories the other cards don’t offer. If you’re not interested in any of these bonus categories, you may want to refer to this article: Credit Card Tips — Category Conversion, to earn 5% cash back in other categories.

Credit Card Changes

City National Bank Crystal (changes on 2020.1.1)

According to DOC, authorized users on this card will soon be charged a $95 annual fee each in 2020. While authorized users do get some lounge benefits, $95 is not especially worthwhile now that PP is everywhere. In addition, the 2020 airline reimbursement on this card is calculated across the primary card and authorized users together, so there is really no need to keep authorized users anymore. If you don’t need them, it’s best to close them before December 31. If you just got the card, then after using the authorized user to get the $250 reimbursement, cancel it as soon as possible.

There had been rumors before that this card would cut benefits, and now it has finally happened. According to CNB, this card will restrict airline reimbursements, weaken PPS, remove 3x points on supermarkets and gas, and eliminate the Visa Infinite airfare discount. You could say the cuts are severe and hit all the best benefits. After these changes, it will only be a fairly average premium credit card. However, the changes start in January 2020, so in theory, if you apply now and catch the last train, you should still be able to get one round of benefits. Specifically:

  • Airline reimbursements will be calculated across the entire account and limited to $350 total. Previously, the primary card got $250 and each authorized user had a separate $250, so with 5 authorized users, you could get $1,250 total in reimbursements between the primary and authorized cards.
  • The PPS card that used to come with this card will now charge an extra $32 each time you bring a guest. Guests were previously free.
  • 3x on gas and supermarket purchases is being removed.
  • The Visa Infinite Discount Air benefit is being removed. Previously, buying two tickets together gave you an immediate $100 discount.
  • Official document about these changes

If you don’t want to keep this card, close it sooner rather than later.

Delta credit card lineup changes (2020.1.31)

AMEX announced that starting January 30, 2020, it will make changes to the benefits on Delta co-branded credit cards, while also increasing the annual fees on some cards. If you apply before January 30, the old annual fees will still apply.

One thing to note: if you want the old annual fee plus the new benefits, you just need to apply before the changes take effect.

Airline and Hotel Elite Status

Airline and hotel elite status is generally based on the number of flights taken and nights stayed within the calendar year to determine your status level for that year. If you find that you’re not far from reaching a higher tier this year, it may be worth thinking about whether you can make a push for it. After all, some elite statuses do come with quite a few meaningful benefits.

For example, with 50 nights at Marriott, not only can you be upgraded to Platinum status and enjoy lounge access and breakfast benefits, but you can also choose one of the following benefits:

  • 5 Suite Night Awards
  • 5 Elite Night Credits (for reaching 75 this year or requalifying next year)
  • $100 charitable donation
  • Gift Silver status to someone else
  • 40% off bedding

This year, I’ve already reached 32 nights from the 15 nights given by the credit card, plus 5 nights from three travel packages, plus 2 Free Night certificates from credit cards. I’m not sure how to mattress-run the remaining 18 nights. Supposedly, booking a Marriott Meeting can earn 10 nights, so I’m planning to try that in a few days. Then I can add another 7-night travel package plus the 1 night 50,000 Free Night in my account, which should work out perfectly.