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A year ago I received 50k points to upgrade to an Amex Biz Plat
At the time, I actually held another Amex Biz Plat ( which I was going to cancel), but was targeted for an upgrade on an Amex Biz Gold card that I concurrently held. I bit at the upgrade offer, and not only did I receive the 50k points, I cancelled the other Amex Biz Plat, and then used my new Biz Plat to refer 5 people to the then, 100k offer. My 50k turned into 175k points, and I was a happy camper. That upgraded Biz Plat was looking at an annual fee of $450 hitting mid December so I called into to inquire about retention offers. I was hoping to receive the 50k points, after $10k spend, many people had received during the summer, but alas, I didn’t. I was given two options:
- $100 statement credit
- 10,000 points
I went with the second option.
I value Amex points somewhere around 2 cents, so that’s like getting $200. Add in the $200 incidental airline credit, and my Gogo passes and I’m already ahead on another year of card membership. Not to mention Centurion lounge access, and a bevy of other perks.
A couple of other reasons.
I don’t hold another Amex that earns MR. Crazy, I know. I’ve been meaning to pick up an Everyday Preferred, and most likely will this year, but I either needed to downgrade the Amex Plat, or sign up for a card that would keep my points alive. I opted to keep my 5/24 number down, and enjoy another year of Amex Biz Plat perks.
I’ll also be flying through SFO more and more this coming year as my allegiance to Alaska/Virgin grows deeper. If I have more than an hour layover I’ll switch terminals at SFO and hang in the Centurion lounge during the layover. That benefit will get used more as I fly through there with more frequency. I’ll also fly through Seattle here and there, and accessing their lounge will yield residual benefits as well.
What would you have done?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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