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Are Credit Card Companies Lowering Their Reward Bonuses?

It seems like there has been a lot of speculation on what credit card offers will be available in the coming months. As soon as a credit card company lowers their bonus, red flags instantly go up. Just this week Chase lowered their bonus on their Sapphire card from 50,000 down to 40,000 bonus points, that’s if you apply for the card directly from their website. Yet, you can still find the bonus offer of 50,000 points still alive. Luckily I just got my Chase Sapphire card in the mail today and already put $500 of transactions on it. With the Chase Sapphire card, I have to charge at least $3,000 within a 3 month period to earn the bonus of 50,000 points, which I will use towards free travel. When I register for a credit card I always try to coordinate with due dates of bill. By holding off on paying for some bills I can easily rack up the purchases as soon as I get the card in the mail. If you are in a hurry you can ask them to expedite shipping, which they offered me, otherwise its a 5-7 day wait. As soon as I got my card I paid 3 bills, adding $500 to my card. Hitting the $3,000 mark in 3 months should be a simple task, even for the average individual/family.

The Card That Will Give Me Another 50k Bonus Points!

InACents also wrote an article about a possible credit card bonus bubble burst (try saying that 5 times fast!), but what I like from his post is the graph of current and previous credit card offers. It is true that credit card companies have been handing out some large bonuses just by signing up for their card and meeting specific requirements. These bonuses have ranged from 25,000 to 100,000 bonus points or miles. Depending on the card those bonus points could be 1 to 4 free domestic airline tickets! Where would you travel if you could travel for free?

I like to be optimistic rather than always thinking or hearing others say that the sky is falling. From his graph I see that the overall bonus offers have stayed the same with a couple dropping. I have been building free miles and rewards points for a few years now and have seen some amazing bonuses come and go. I’ve missed bonuses that I have regretted and I have gotten bonuses that have made me ‘giddy’. My first bonus sign-up was back in 2007 for 50,000 AMEX membership rewards points. I keep that card because of its perks, for business expenses and also because I receive an extra 25,000 bonus points every year, not to mention the extra 30,000 bonus points I have received for problems I have experienced since being a member. I once filled out a simple form of businesses I use and wished would accept American Express, for that I got another 10,000 bonus points. In terms of free travel, that’s almost half a free ticket! I see everything in terms of free travel. How many free airline tickets will I get from an offer and how can I maximize my points to get more out of the credit card company. If you play your ‘cards’ right, you just might be a little surprised!

 

About Derek

I currently live in beautiful Alaska with my wife! Living in Alaska i have learned that it cost so much more just to travel anywhere! In order to fly anywhere it cost us an extra $250+ a ticket. We use miles and points to fly nearly everywhere for free, usually in First Class. You can also follow me on Twitter or Facebook or why not signup to receive new blog post via email or in RSS reader