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Amazon seeks to be the 2nd company ever to achieve a market cap in excess of $1 Trillion. One analyst thinks that the travel industry could help it not only break through $1T, but blow past it. Interestingly enough, many analysts will point to Amazon’s ability to disrupt industries as justification for an 200+ P/E multiple, not the core retail business. As a matter of fact, Amazon Web Services generated $6B in revenue this past quarter and provided 25% of Amazon’s quarterly profit – a business most consumers have no idea it’s even involved in. So why would Amazon be interested in travel?
There are 10 Trillion dollar industries in the world today.
- Apparel
- Pharmacy
- B2B E Commerce
- Consumer Internet of Things
- Grocery
- Professional Services
- Restaurants
- Stores
- Gas Stations
- Travel
Amazon participates in 8 of those 10.
The two it doesn’t? Gas Stations and Travel. Tom Forte of D.A. Davidson thinks that Amazon could emulate Costco in airline, hotel, and cruise packages. In fact, Amazon through its retail business, already provides nearly everything Travel related. So not only could they sell you a discount airline ticket and hotel package, but they could bundle it with suitcases, portable chargers, and other travel accessories. Forte says of Amazon, ” the company has a history of solving complex logistical problems. Financially, it seeks opportunities that can generate significant free cash flow.”
Personally, I’d love to see Amazon disrupt.
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.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.