I just got a tip from a reader about a 50,000 bonus Membership Reward Points sign up for the Amex Platinum. You have to spend $3000 within three months to get the 50,000 bonus points. You can use this link here.

Amex Platinum had a 50,000 bonus points sign up in 2011 and this is definitely one of their more generous sign ups. I personally have the card and depending on how you use it, you may find that it has great value. You can read why I think it is worth it for me here. I also just wrote a post on why you might want to downgrade from Amex Platinum to Gold. So here are two post from different angles if you are on the fence with this. Note that for this offer, it appears that the $450 annual fee is not waived.

On another front, I have been also tipped off from Daraius of Million Miles Journey (who got his tip from FreeFrequentFlyerMiles.com) that Southwest Airlines is now offering 50,000 bonus miles from their SouthWest.com page. You can get the 50,000 bonus miles just after your first purchase! This is for the “Premier” version. SouthWest has been offering their 50,000 bonus miles (worth 2 wanna get away flights) on a off last year (the usual bonus sign up is 25,000 miles), so here is another opportunity for those who have always wanted to sign up.

Furthermore, SouthWest is also having a “balance transfer promotion” with the card. You can earn one Rapid Rewards Miles for every dollar that you transfer over from another card (up to $15,000). That means that in addition to the 50,000 bonus miles, you can get up to 15,000 additional miles for a total of 65,000 miles!

This 50,000 sign up bonus is only for all their “premier” cards, both the consumer and business version. Here is a quick recap on the cards.

The Premier version has a $99 annual fee. You also get to earn 1,500 elite miles for every $10,000 that you spend (up to 15,000 elite miles a year). You also earn 6,000 additional points every anniversary. The business version is essentially identical! So if you already have the consumer version, you might just want to consider getting the business version for another 50,000 miles!

Furthermore, those who have had the SouthWest card have reported that the bonus miles count towards companion pass tickets.

A couple of years ago, I upgraded from my American Express Gold Card to the Platinum Card. And I’ve been using it ever since. But I know many folks who have had the Platinum Card and are wondering if it is worth the annual fee that they are paying. I’ve often been asked about this because friends know I run this website. So, this post is my opinion of when you should consider downgrading your Amex Plat to the Gold version. This issue has gained even more prominence since the introduction of the Premier Rewards Gold Card, which allows you to earn triple points when you book airline tickets with the card. Here are the most common things to consider.

1. You no longer need airport access lounge to Delta, American Airlines, US Airways or Priority Club Lounges – One of the great benefits of the Amex Plat is that you can get access to Delta, American Airlines, US Airways and Priority Club lounges (as long you show your Platinum Card). This is a valuable perk because it cost a few hundred dollars to get annual lounge memberships. Below is a brief recap of which elite members get complimentary lounge access among these lounges.

In Delta Skymiles’ case, only Diamond members get complimentary annual SkyClub memberships. The rest (ie Silver, Gold and Platinum) only get discounted rates if they choose to purchase them. Diamond members also get 6 one-day Sky Pass entry a year while platinum members get four.

For US Airways Dividend Miles members, there are no complimentary annual memberships to their lounges regardless of your status. Hence, US Airways fliers will find this very useful.

American Airlines AAdvantage also does not give any complimentary lounge access memberships with any elite status (though you can get them at a discount).

Another important fact to know is that Platinum holders also get Priority Pass Select membership (worth $399 a year), which gives you access to Priority Pass member lounges. But from 1st October 2011, Select memberships that are issued by a Financial institution (like this card) will no longer be able to access United Lounges (the new brand for the old Continental and United Red Carpet lounges).

For many frequent fliers, the lounge access perks alone more than pays for the annual fee of the Plat card. One reason why you may want to downgrade to gold is that you no longer really use these airline lounges. For example, perhaps United and Continental lounge benefits are all you use. In this case, there could be a case to be made that you should downgrade to a Premier Rewards Gold if you do not use their lounges. Another example would be that you have attained Diamond elite status for Delta Skymiles and will remain one for the foreseeable future. That being the case, you will get complimentary Delta Sky Club membership. And if Delta is the only airline you fly and you only use their lounges, then perhaps you do not need the Sky Club access perk anymore. Another reason could be that you decide that you will get a Delta Reserve Card instead. Since that card gives lounge access and even offers a concierge service, you might decide just pay for a Delta Reserve and downgrade the Plat to a Gold version.

2. You no longer stay at Fine Hotel and Resorts – One of the most under rated feature of the Platinum Card is the Fine Hotel and Resorts partnerships and benefits. I use this feature a couple of times and that itself pays for the annual fee. This is how the program works. Amex has partnered with hotels and if you use your Platinum Card to book with their partners, you will get complimentary room upgrades, free breakfast and even $100 credit (which I always use for the spa!). Use a Fine Hotels and Resorts a couple of years and the benefits will more than make up for your annual fee.

Another misconception of the FHR program is that the hotels listed there tend to be very expensive. That is not true at all. They do only choose nice hotels. But the prices are not outrageous and typically reflects that rates charged by these hotels in a particular area. So if you go to a place where hotels cost about $200 a night, FHR might have partnered with a really good one that charges $250 to $300 a night. But you get room upgrades, free breakfast and credits. You also save time by not having to look at priceline, then check out reviews from trip advisor.

If you are suddenly into getting the absolutely cheapest hotel wherever you go and do not intend to use FHR, then perhaps it may be time to say goodbye to your Plat (assuming you do not use any other perks).

3. You stop taking cruises – This is another often under rated feature. You do not hear frequent flier blogs talking about using the Amex cards for cruises. But since they give $300 shipboard credit or a 2 level stateroom upgrade. For those who take a couple of cruises a year (yes, there folks who do that), this is a valuable perk. But if you decide to stop taking cruises and you do not use any of the other Platinum features, then perhaps it is time to consider downgrading to the Gold card.

4. You are not going to use your $200 Annual Airline Credit – Every year, Plat card members can get up to a $200 statement credit when they purchase airline amenities like food on airlines, baggage fees etc. You do however have to choose which airline you wish to apply these credits to (you can only choose one). If you know you are not going to use this feature, that means you won’t really be flying. And that means you should consider getting a no annual fee card rather than just downgrading from Platinum to Gold.

5. You upgraded to Platinum without knowing why? – I know quite a few folks who upgraded from the Gold to Platinum because Amex sent them a letter or a customer rep persuaded them to do so (this is true). Then after a few years, they wonder why they did it in the first place and was wondering if they had made a mistake. More often than not, they are not even aware of the full perks of Platinum. Half of the folks I speak to in circumstances like that ended up downgrading to the Premier Rewards Gold and half of them kept their Platinum Card when they understood the full benefits.

Parting Words: Consider Combining Premier Rewards Gold Card with Platinum – While we are at the subject of discussing the reasons to downgrade from a Amex Plat to Gold, another alternative for those on the fence is getting both the Premier Rewards Gold and Platinum together. Why does this makes sense? Because the firstly, the annual fee for an additional Platinum is $175. The annual fee for the Premier Rewards Gold is $175 and there is no additional fee for up to five additional cards. Secondly, you can earn triple points on airline tickets and double points on gasoline and supermarket spending (which you cannot with the Plat).

If you have a spouse or partner, this is what you can do. You have the Plat for yourself. You also get a Premier Rewards Gold and give your spouse an additional gold card. The cost will be the same ($450 + $175 for Plat alone = $450 + $175 for Plat and Gold). The benefits from this arrangement is that you can use the Gold to earn triple points when you fly and also for everyday spending. You have the Plat for other benefits it offers. You can combine the two Membership Rewards account into one.

We get tons of emails asking us to highlight the differences between the Capital One Venture Card vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. So rather than answering each individual, here is the post that will highlight their differences, and suggest circumstances where one card might be preferable to the other. Or when it makes sense to actually get both cards.

Cards
Points Formula	2 pt/$1	2 pts/$1 For Travel & Dining 1 Pt/$1 For Regular Purchases
How Points Are Redeemed?	Book with anyone and then claim statement credit	Book with anyone and then claim statement credit Use Travel Portal & Earn 2X Points Transfer Points to Airline & Hotel Partners
Annual Fee	$59	$95
Foreign Transaction Fee	0%	0%

How Does One Earn Points – The first real difference between the two cards is how does one earn points. For the Venture, you will be able to earn double miles for every dollar that you spend on the card (regardless of expense type). This is exactly how the Discover Escape Card works as well. The Chase Sapphire Preferred, on the other hand, allows you to earn double points on travel (airfares and hotels) and dining expenses. For other regular purchases, you earn one points per dollar spent.

Both Capital One and Chase also have online shopping portals with various partners that allow you to earn more than one point for every dollar that you shop with their partners from the portal.

How Does One Redeem Points – Once again, there are some significant differences in this area. The Venture allows you to book your travel with anyone. That means you can use Expedia.com, Orbitz or even an offline travel agent. You can then use your “miles” for a statement credit. This flexibility allows you to get the best rates for yourself. Aside from travel, Capital One allows you to redeem your points for merchandise and gift cards as well. Most folks who get the Venture Rewards (I think) are more concerned about the travel rewards than regular rewards.

The Sapphire Preferred has various ways for you to redeem points. For travel, you could book them with their online portal (which allows you to earn double points). You could also book any travel yourself (just like the Venture and Discover Escape), and then use your points for a statement credit. But more importantly, you could transfer your points to airline and hotel partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards program. Their airline partners include Continental United (the largest airline in the US – for now), SouthWest (the largest discount carrier in the US), British Airways and Korean Skypass. Their hotel partners include Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club and also Amtrak. The ability to transfer to Amtrak is important because you can actually transfer Amtrak points to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio.

Aside from travel, you can use your points for gift cards and merchandise. From our research on “Reward Points and Apple Products” and my experience of using my Ultimate Reward points for a XBox for my son’s Christmas present, I would say that Ultimate Rewards is much better than Capital One’s merchandise catalog.

Annual Fee – The Venture Rewards has an annual fee of $59, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred has a 95 annual fee.

No Foreign Transaction Fee – One of the best features of both cards is that they both have no foreign transaction fees.

Feature Comparisons – The Venture Rewards has a lower annual fee than the Sapphire Preferred. But the Sapphire Preferred has more ways to redeem and use your points. For example, the ability to transfer points to airline and hotel partners is present only in Amex charge cards with Membership Rewards. In fact, you could argue that with United and SouthWest, Marriott and Hyatt as their partners, they are even more valuable now than Membership Rewards.

The Ultimate Rewards has also has better value when you redeem points for their merchandise than Capital One’s program. So in the event that you chose to use your points this way, Chase has the better value.

The only feature that the Venture beats the Sapphire Preferred is the fact that you can earn double “miles” on all purchases. This is valuable because it allows the “low spenders” (whatever your definition is) to accumulate more points than he or she would if they had used a more conventional rewards card.

Which consumer are these cards suited for? – Overall, I feel that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is better than the Venture Rewards. That does not mean that everyone has to get it. There are circumstances where one card will suit certain people better.

The Venture Card will suit folks who are not really heavy spenders and would like to fly domestically and they live in areas where flights are cheap relative to the miles required if you are a member of frequent flier programs. Many frequent flier programs have tier awards based on demand and seasonality. Domestic flights can range anywhere from 20,000 miles to 50,000 miles. If your typical ticket cost about $200 to $400 and you spend moderately on the card (say around $30,000 to $40,000), then getting a Venture Card will allow you to earn enough points to get about two domestic trips a year. If you take international flights and do not spend a lot, this card is not suit you. The reason is because most programs require about 60,000 to 80,000 miles for international flights. But if you did not use miles, many of them cost a thousand dollars or more (unless you are always traveling during off-peak season and getting great deals from the airlines). It simply makes more sense to use miles for international flights or use them for business class upgrades.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is really geared towards folks have have a few frequent flier or guest programs and who know how and when to use their miles or points to get better deals. The ability to transfer points to miles is also great for international travelers who can use their points for business class upgrades. In fact, using miles for international business class upgrades will probably get you the most bang for the buck. Also, because Continental United and SouthWest are exclusive partner of Ultimate Rewards (no longer on Membership Rewards or Diners Club Rewards), the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is almost a must have card for the frequent traveler.

This post looks at the key differences between the Blue Sky from American Express and the Capital One Venture One Rewards. These two cards are the no annual fee versions (note that both Blue Sky and VentureOne has an annual fee version which we will do a separate comparison). They are both very similar in that points you earn on the card can be redeemed for travel rewards. But there are some nuance in them that consumers should be aware of. But first, let’s look at the chart and table below where we highlight their key differences.

Cards
Points Formula	1 pt/$1	1.25 pts/$1
How Points Are Redeemed?	Book with anyone and then claim statement credit	Book with anyone and then claim statement credit
Value of Points?	$100 requires 7,500 points – 1.33%	$100 requires 10,000 points – 1%
Annual Fee	$0	$0
Foreign Transaction Fee	2.7%	0%

Generic Ability To Earn Points – As far as “generic” ability to earn points goes, the Capital One VentureOne comes out slightly ahead of the Blue Sky.That is because you can earn 1.25 “miles” for every dollar that you spend on the card. In contrast, the Amex Blue Sky lets you earn the standard one point for every dollar that you spend.

Value of Points – However, when it comes to the value of points, the Blue Sky beats the VentureOne. The VentureOne’s redemption value is just 1% (industry norm). That means if you purchase a ticket costing $250 at expedia.com, Capital One will use 25,000 of the “miles” you have earned and give you a statement credit with that.

The Blue Sky has a slightly better proposition. As mentioned in the chart above, you only need 7,500 points to use for $100 in travel value. For Capital One, you would have needed 10,000 “miles”. That means that rather than getting simply 1% return, the Blue SKy gives you a 1.33% return.

Combining Earnings Ability and Value of Points – When we combine how many points you can earn and the value of the points when you redeem them, then Blue Sky comes out ahead (1.33% vs 1.25%). Hence, purely from a value points of view, Blue Sky edges out Capital One (but only very slightly).

Complications: Perk Central shopping portal – We could end the analysis here if not for the fact that Capital One has an online shopping portal for many of their credit cards (including the VentureOne). They have numerous online shopping partners and if you shop at these sites after logging into your Capital One account and use your Capital One card, then you can earn more than 1% rebates (varies depending on agreement with various merchants).

For savvy online shoppers, this an be a way to really boost the points you earn if you have the VentureOne card. Therefore, we can say that Venture One provides card holders a way to earn more than their 1.25% on “regular purchases”.

Other Uses of Points – This is one area where the Blue Sky and VentureOne differs. For the Blue Sky, you could only use them to get back statement credits for your travel expenses (airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, cruises etc). However, the Venture One allows you to use your “miles” to redeem for their other rewards like merchandises and gift cards. Having seen their merchandise rewards (you get way less than 1% in rebate terms) and gift cards (less than 1% below certain value), I would not suggest you use them for other than travel purposes. So despite having better choices, I wouldn’t say Cap One is better.

Foreign Transaction Fee – Another advantage that Capital One has is that all of their credit cards do not charge any foreign transaction fees. For those who travel abroad, they are the better card to get.

Conclusions – Both these cards are very similar in the way they are designed. They both allow you to use book your trips with anyone you choose, whether it be an online portal like orbitz.com, expedia.com, travelocity.com, with the airlines and hotels directly or with an off line agent. You choose what is best for you. And because it works this way, you avoid the dreaded black out dates.

If you travel overseas, then the VenturOne has a slight edge. They have a slight edge also if you do a lot of online shopping. But if not, the Blue Sky gives you a very slightly more “bang for the buck (points)”. If you are looking for a no annual fee card for travel, you really could not go wrong with either of these cards.

The Wall Street Journal has just publish a post saying that Delta, US Airways and TPG are exploring options to buy AMR Corp – the parent of American Airlines. TPG is the private equity firm that had a stake in America West before they were bought out by US Airways. According the Wall Street Journal, Delta has hired Blackstone to explore the opportunity to buy Delta. Given that American Airlines is not the biggest player and did not go through any bankruptcy like the other airlines in the last few year to get rid of legacy cost, this development should not come as a surprise. What is more interesting if how would their combined hubs look like should a merger happen? What would happen to their frequent flier programs? In this post, I will try to piece a few information together and take a stab at this.

Hubs – First let us take a look at the hubs of Delta, US Airways and American Airlines.

For Delta, their hubs include Minneapolis St Paul, New York, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, Mexico City, and Salt Lake City.

American Airlines hub include New York, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Los Angeles.

US Airways hubs include Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix.

So as far as domestic hubs go, only New York would be overlapping hub if Delta bought AMR.

On International routes, Delta officially has “more hubs” (in Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Prague, Tokyo and Seoul). Though American Airlines has international flights, it does not consider itself to have any hubs.

How Will New Frequent Flier Program Work? – Whenever an airline merges, their frequent flier programs will eventually merge as well. And existing members will always be left wondering which program will the combined entity more resemble like. Let us now take a quick look at the Delta Skymiles, Dividend Miles and American Airlines AAdvantage miles program.

The first feature we will have to look at is the elite level qualification levels. At present, skymiles has four levels while AAdvantage has three levels. For Delta Skymiles, the levels are silver (20,000 MQMs required), gold (50,000) and Platinum (75,000) and Diamond (125,000). AAdvantage levels are Gold (25,000), Platinum (50,000) and Executive (100,000). Since the first two levels are identical in terms of miles required, one issue will be how will the upper tier evolve. US Airways, like Delta, has four tiers in their elite program: Silver (25,000), Gold (50,000), Platinum (75,000) and Chairman (100,000).

If AMR is bought by either Delta or US Airways, then there is a good chance that AAdvantage members will now be facing four elite tiers.

Million Miler Benefits – Another issue is their million miler club awards as there are some differences. In my opinion, AAdvantage ha a much better million miler benefits than Skymiles. Here is how the skymiles million miler club works. If you get a million miles, you will get an annual complimentary Silver Elite level. When you reach two million miles, you will get an annual complementary gold membership. When you reach four million miles, you will get an annual Platinum Medallion Status. Previously, the language that Delta site says you get lifetime status when you reach the million mile milestone. And folks still get to keep their status after a year. But with the new language, there is always a fear that it could be yanked away before you know it.

US Airways has the worst million miler benefit among these three airlines. Those who reach a million miles will get lifetime Silver award as long as their account is active within three years (ie you earn miles with them, credit cards or partner airlines).

In contrast, AAdvantages’ language on their page has always been that their million milers are given their million miler “lifetime” Gold Status and 35,000 bonus miles. When you reach two million miles, you get lifetime Platinum status and four one-way system wide upgrades. One each additional million miles you earn you will get four one-way system wide upgrades.

American Airlines million milers will not be happy if there would be any changes made to their million miler benefits. But I guess they would be happier with a Delta takeover than a US Airways takeover (especially those who are well on their way to earning two million miles or more).

Award Charts – When we compare the two award charts, it is clear that AA requires fewer points than Delta to similar destinations. After Delta merged with NorthWest (more like they tookover NorthWest), the new Skymiles used the then Delta Award Charts rather than NorthWest charts. It left many Worldperks members fuming because of Delta’s three tier award system. US Airways has the worst award chart among the three.

I suspect that American fliers would rather merge with Delta if they are going to lose their award system.

Delta’s Award Booking System – Delta’s award booking system has been broken forever and many workaround have been documented around the web. If there is a merger between Delta and AMR, then perhaps Delta might just used the AA system as it works and it is easy to book flights on partner airlines.

What happens To Their Credit Cards – As with all airline mergers, there are always opportunities in credit card sign up bonuses. AAdvantage credit cards are issued by Citi while Delta credit cards are issued by American Express. And both these issuers couldn’t be more different in terms of how lenient they are to frequent flier card churners. American Express keeps pretty good records about their customer sign ups and you generally cannot sign up for a card, get the sign up bonus, cancel the card and then apply months later for another round.

US Airways has their credit card issued by Barclays. Previously, it was Bank of America who issued them. As I’ve never had a Barclays card, I’m not too familiar with their credit card policies with regards to folks who churn their cards for miles.

Citi, on the other hand, has been much more lenient. They also offer more “targeted sign up bonuses”. There are many folks who have simply been churning Citi AAdvantage credit cards every year. To make things even more interesting, they have a Visa, and Amex, Gold and Platinum version as well as a business version.

If AMR Corp is sold to either Delta or US Airways, chances are that either American Express or US Airways gets to keep their credit card business. And that would spell the end of the Citi churning game.

Ending Thoughts – When American filed for bankruptcy in November, the common assumption was that they are likely to be able to shed and revamp their cost structure and emerge a more competitive company. There is always a risk (though small) that they might be liquidated. Another possibility is that they might be taken over. Regardless, if you have lots of AA miles, use it. Because if they were to be taken over (if we assume Delta or US Airways), their value will erode (miles always devalue and more so in AA’s case).