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AYP List of Top Credit Cards February 2017

It’s February 28th of 2017. The official last day of February this year, considering 2017 is NOT a leap year. If you were born on February 29th, your birthday  may not exist to most of the world, but AYP hasn’t forgotten about you!

To all you leap year babes out there – Happy Birthday! We will celebrate your birthday and the end of the month in the only way that I know how… with credit cards of course!

And not just any credit cards… this is the AYP List of Top Credit Cards February 2017!

Our goal here with Top Cards is to list out the best offers of the month based on our research – so then you can apply for one or two of these sweet offers and be on your way to [enter destination of your choice] for CHEAP using credit card points and miles!

If you are new to the credit card game, it may be wise to warm up with the AYP Starter Guide before jumping straight in. Everyone else, it’s game time.

Note: Within this post I have included various referral links – some links are my own and some links are from friends of mine – and, as a result, either I or another will receive a referral bonus upon your application and approval. I receive no other commission so thank you in advance for your support of AYP by using these links!

Have a referral link yourself? Email me at accountingyourpoints@yahoo.com and I will mix your link into my posts to share the bonus points! Seriously! Send me your link and I will post it on the blog and offer it to others who ask!

The AYP Top Card List:

Ain’t she beautiful!?

(1) The Chase Sapphire Reserve –

This is THE CARD to get right now!

At first I was not sure how Chase was able to offer a card that offers so much more value than any other credit card available – but then I realized that Chase was promoting this product at a loss, to the tune of about $300 MILLION! Granted, Chase will likely recoup these costs over the product lifecycle… but $300 million!? Yikes!

It makes perfect sense why Chase recently slashed the 100,000 Ultimate Rewards bonus in half – but lucky for you this MONSTER sign-up is still available in-branch though March 11th!

Here is a rundown of the card benefits:

  • IN-BRANCH ONLY through March 11th– Sign-up bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate rewards after $4,000 spending after 3 months! (Seriously people… 100,000 points! That is HUGE! I honestly cannot believe that they are offering a point sign-up bonus this good…)
  • $300 Annual Travel Credit automatically applied to your account – includes airfare, hotel stays and more!
  • Lounge Access – Priority Pass Select (includes guest privileges)
  • $100 Global Entry (or TSA Pre-Check) Fee Credit
  • A $450 Annual Fee (Not Waived), $75 for Authorized Users
  • Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for a 50% bonus (compared to 25% with the Sapphire Preferred) through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal
  • 1:1 Point Transfer to Chase Transfer Partners
  • 3x Earning on Dining & Travel Expenditures
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • Visa Infinite

My advice? Get this card.

“But Derek, the annual fee is $450!?”

Correct – and it is worth it! I assure you.

A word of caution – the Chase 5/24 Rule has been confirmed and the language is present within the card application. For those over 5/24, it was possible to bypass via an in-branch pre-approved offer, though that is no longer the case, and anyone over 5/24 seems to be outta luck here…

The Chase Sapphire brothers!

(2) Chase Sapphire Preferred (Chase) –

Even though I am advising people to apply for the CSR and downgrade the CSP – I remain a part of the CSP fan faithful! There are 2 types of people that I would recommend the CSP to – 1) Those who are new to the credit cards and travel rewards game, and 2) Those that just cannot stomach the high (but totally justifiable) annual fee for my #1 Top Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

If you are one of those two – then focus your attention to a former AYP #1 Top Card…

The CSP is the best second best card on the market and will provide you a solid rewards earning base, which can then be supplemented with other card applications and bonuses. The current offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred remains at its highest in almost 5 years and will earn you 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, with an additional 5,000 bonus points awarded after adding an authorized user.

The current bonus has been available for some time now and I have not heard of any changes coming in the near future, but remember – offers can change at any point in time… If this card is not in your wallet then check out why you NEED the Chase Sapphire Preferred! The card comes with $0 fee the first year, then $95 annually.

Own a business? It might also be worth applying for the New Chase Ink Business Preferred card for 80k points, or potentially 100k points in-branch after March 12th! Note the $5,000 minimum spending in 3 months!

STOP RIGHT HERE! If you are reading this and do not have one of the AYP Top 2 then you are going about the points game all wrong! If you are without a Sapphire card, circle back up and reconsider applying!

For those that are Chase Sapphire equipped, let’s keep it moving!

Earn the Companion Pass via Chase Southwest credit cards!

(3) Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Plus Visa (Chase) –

I LUV Southwest – no frills, free bags, just right! The current sign-up bonus on the Premier Card treks on at an increased 50,000 Rapid Rewards Points – which equates to about $700-$800 in Southwest flights – upon spending $2,000 in the first 3 months.

This card is a great pickup if you are focused on BOGO Southwest flights with the Companion Pass!  Your quest for 110,000 Rapid Rewards points in a calendar year will seem much easier with that nice 50k boost! Though the annual fee is $99 (not waived the first year), the card provides great upfront value, as well as a 6,000 Rapid Reward Point annual card member bonus (earned following payment of the 2nd year annual fee). Although we typically see this bonus a couple times a year, I suggest taking advantage of it now, just in case history stops repeating itself.

Own a business? Go for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier Business card and for another 60k Rapid Rewards points to bring you even closer to the Companion Pass threshold!

That New New SPG offer!

(4) Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card (American Express) –

American Express has brought back the increased sign-up bonus on The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card by American Express! This card has just tied its highest sign-up bonus in history at 35,000 Starpoints – which are among the most valuable reward currency in the points and miles world! Make sure to note that the bonus structure is a bit different this time around, as the 35k points are structured in 25k and 10k points based on minimum spending thresholds…

While 35,000 points may seem on the low end when compared to the crowd favorite 100,000 point bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve (available in branch), the value lies in the flexibility of Starpoints. Starpoints can be redeemed directly at SPG Hotels, or they can be transferred to over 30 airline partners – SPG will even tack on an extra 5,000 miles when you make a transfer of 20,000 to an airline partner! Additionally, keep in mind that the SPG and Marriott just merged and reward points can be used at both brands!

Here are the details on the Personal offer:

  • 25,000 bonus Starpoints upon making $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
  • Plus 10,000 bonus Starpointsafter you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months.
  • $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95
  • 35,000 offer expires 4/5/2017 – so ACT NOW!

And for those in Biz, there is also a similarly structured Business Offer!

75k Membership Rewards + the Platinum Bene!

(5) American Express Platinum

The American Express Platinum Charge Card comes with an NEW INCREASED sign-up bonus of 75,000 Membership Rewards points after $5k spending in the first 3 months along with a long list of travel perks and benefits, but with a $450 annual fee, it is not for everyone! While $450 is a lot of money to spend to be a credit card holder, IT IS POSSIBLE to justify this fee if you can maximize the cards sign-up bonus and benefits:

And MORE…

(6) Still thirsty for more!?

Check out the Merrill+ Visa Signature Card for up to $1,000 in free flights! I just picked up this card last week after reading about it on Doctor of Credit and it seems like a no brainer! Personally, I am eyeing a jetBlue Mint Class transcon from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco, but how you spend your $1,000 in flights is up to you!

Very interested to see how this little guy works out…

Final Thought

It may be the very last day of February (sorry to all you leap year babes out there) but it is not to late to make moves on achieving your 2017 travel dreams!

You CAN travel the world and you can do it for FREE or cheap! The offers above will take you where you want to go, you just have to let them!

Keep in mind that all of the offers above are “public offers” and are available to all applicants. There are often higher, more exclusive, offers out there (check your email and mailbox). So, if you are targeted for these higher offers, apply for your targeted offer rather than through the links above!

Did I miss one of your favorite current card offerings? Comment below or email me at accountingyourpoints@yahoo.com

Happy Travels!

DW

2 Comments

  1. I was given Merrill + Visa by my Merrill broker when it was called Accolades and the annual fee was about $260, which I never had to pay. At that time the bonus was 10,000 world points. I only kept the card for the Lounge pass. Now I have CSR and I could do without it, but I don’t want to lose about 19,000 points which I have on the card. Can I ask them to give me 40,000 bonus points now or keep the card till I have 25,000 points and use them and then cancel the card. The second option may be to get BOFA travel card and transfer the points to it, which I am not sure can be done or not.

    1. Hey bwiflyer – When did you initially apply? If this application was recent (past 30-60 days), then you might have shot at getting BoA to match as a gesture of goodwill. If your original application was awhile back, they most likely will not extend any additional bonus points. I think I remember reading on DoC that these cards should be churnable (in theory), since they are BoA, who allows multiple versions of the same credit card, so if you are interested in the 50k points then it may be worth another application.

      http://www.doctorofcredit.com/merrill-churnable-probably/

      As far as transferring the points from BOFA travel card to Merrill, I am not certain if that is possible (and would initially assume it is not).

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