June 17, 2021|AMEX, Annual Fee, Bonvoy, Chase, Frontier, Retention Bonus

by Eric Lipkind

Last month I wrote about how I get value out of credit cards with annual fees.  In May, I added two more credit cards bringing the total number of cards with fees between my wife and me to 27 with total annual fees of $7,180.

In May, I received additional value of $2,877 out of my credit cards.  This does not include referral bonuses or regular points earned from spend, nor does it reflect bonus category spend (i.e. 3X points on dining, etc) which are part of the card benefits.  This brings my total year-to-date value to $20,252.  The breakdown is as follows:

Some items to note are:

Sign-up bonuses — adding a Platinum Business AMEX card with a 150,000 point sign-up bonus and adding a Frontier Airlines Mastercard earning a 50,500 point bonus.

Retention offer — $50 on a Citibank Gold AAdvantage card

Card benefits — 2 free lunches at a restaurant in Tampa Airport from Priority Pass worth $56, $100 of the Bonvoy Brilliant annual Marriott credit, $100 of the AMEX Platinum Saks credits, $60 of the AMEX Platinum Paypal Credits, and $98 of the AMEX Business Platinum Airline Fee credit   

Chase Offers — $10 back on a Hertz Rental and $6 back on a Dunkin purchase

Amex Offers — $100 back on $100 spend at Best Buy

The breakdown is as follows:

Remember, you must add each Chase and Amex offer from the websites or apps.  The key is being aware of the benefits of your cards and ensure to use them.  I have found that tracking them in a spreadsheet is the easiest way to keep track of them each month.

If you need assistance with getting more miles and points, or need help using you points in booking a trip, we are here.  Check out our services here and our pricing here.

What value have you received from your cards with annual fees?

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