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Introduction to Category Bonuses
- Extra Points or Cash Back for
Spending in Certain Categories
What are Category Bonuses?
- 3X Points Airfare
- 2X Points Gas/ Groceries
AMEX Premier Rewards Gold
- 2X on Travel/Dining on Chase Sapphire Preferred
Sapphire Preferred
- Displaces spending on sign-up bonuses for other credit cards
Worth It or Not?
$50,000
*2010 US Census
- Spend everything you earn, you’ll get only 50,000 miles/points
- Pay-off is with the SIGN-UP BONUS,
NOT everyday spending!
Earning Miles & Points – Credit Cards
- Incremental Earning
- 3x on airfare. Actually 2 EXTRA points (or 1 EXTRA point if you have Sapphire)
- 2x on groceries. Actually 1 EXTRA point
- 2x on gas. Actually 1 EXTRA point
Worth It or Not?
- $750 a month on gas and groceries = 750 extra points per month or 9,000 points per year $ 175 Annual Fee - Worth it or not?
Worth It or Not?
- Annual Fees - $175 for Premier Rewards Gold - $95 for Chase Sapphire Preferred - $95 for Chase Ink Bold
Worth It or Not?
- Complex
- Time Consuming
Worth It or Not?
- Keep your partner happy!
Worth It or Not?
Worth it!
No fee for many of the best 5X and 6X bonuses!
• Chase Ink Classic, Ink Cash: 5X
• US Bank Cash+ 5X (choose 2)
• Chase Freedom, rotating 5X (limited to $6K / year)
• Citi Forward 5X
• American Express Hilton HHonors: 6X
Worth it!
Best alternative is sign-up bonus spend. Let’s look at some sign-up offers…
Ink Bold / Ink Plus
• Current offer: 50K points after $5K spend.
• If spend within 1X categories, total 55K points
• Earnings: 11X
• Prior 50K offer: 25K points free + 25K points after $10K spend
• If spend within 1X categories, total 35K additional points
• Earnings after free bonus: 3.5X
Sapphire Preferred
• 40K points after $3K spend
• If spend within 1X categories, total 43K points
• 14.33X
BA 100K offer
• 50K Free, 50K more after $20K spend
• BA card earns 1.25 points per dollar
• Total 75K additional points
• Earnings: 3.75X
More… • Citi AA: 50K after $2500 spend
• Total 5250 points
• Earnings: 21X
• Amex SPG: 10K free + 15K after $5K spend
• Total 20K additional points
• Earnings: 4X
• CitiBusiness ThankYou: 50K after $6K spend
• Total: 56K points
• Earnings: 9.33K
Worth it!
• Sign-up bonus spend ranges from 3.5X to 21X
• Better than category bonuses, but not by orders of magnitude
• Category bonuses available year around
• Ideal:
• Meet sign up bonus spend within each card’s bonus categories
• E.g. Meet Hilton HHonors min spend at grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations
• Otherwise, meet spend where no good 5X categories exist
Worth it!
Use tools to make card selection easier
6X groceries, gas, drug
stores
2X Travel, Dining
5X restaurants, bookstores,
movies
5X telecom, cable,
internet, office supply
Best Category Bonuses
5X Rotating
categories
5X Select two categories
Cash+
•2X Travel/Dining •$95 Annual Fee •No Forex Fee
•5X Rotating Categories •Gas/Drugstores/Amazon •ZERO Annual Fee
And/Or
Chase Ink Bold/Plus/Classic/Cash • 5X Office Supply Stores, Cable, Internet • 2X Hotels & Gas • $95 Annual Fee/ No Annual Fee
Category Bonuses – Simple Solution
• $200 monthly telecom = 5 X $200 = 1,000 Pts (Ink)
• $300 travel & dining = 2 X $300 = 600 Pts (Sapphire Preferred)
• $500 monthly Chase Freedom = 5X $500 = 2,500 Pts
Simple Solution - Payoff
= 4,100 Points Monthly or 49,200 Annually
• ~2 United domestic coach tickets or $821 Southwest
• $615 in travel through Ultimate Rewards portal
• 2 Category 6 Hyatt nights
What to do with 49,200 points?
Another Simple Solution
6X groceries, gas, drug stores, telecom
5X restaurants, bookstores,
movies
Simple Solution 2 Payout
Hilton Amex: 5400 monthly, 65K annually • $200 monthly telecom = 6 X $200 = 1,200
• $500 monthly groceries= 6 X $500 = 3000
• $150 monthly gas = 6 X $150 = 900
• $50 monthly drug stores = 6 X $50 = 300
Citi Forward ThankYou: 1250 monthly, 15K annually • $200 dining = 5 X $200 = 1000
• $50 books & movies = 5 X $50 = 250
What to do with 65K Hilton & 15K ThankYou points?
• Two nights category 5 Hilton
AND
• $200 airfare
Advanced Solution 6X
groceries, gas, drug
stores
2X Travel
5X restaurants, bookstores,
movies
5X telecom, cable,
internet, office supply
5X Rotating
categories
5X Select two categories
Advanced Solution Payout
• 60K Hilton HHonors
• 50K Ultimate Rewards
• 15K ThankYou
• $800 cash back
What to do with all that?
A trip for two:
• Two round trip award flights on United
Plus
• $200 revenue flight or car rental via ThankYou points
Plus
• Two nights Hilton
Plus
• Cash for dining, excursions, extra hotel nights, etc.
Tools to find and use Category Bonuses…
Frequent Miler page
Best Category Bonuses
Wallaby
Wallaby iPhone app
- I-Phone App
- Easy to Add Cards
- More locations
Tools: Glyph
- Tracks Your Rewards
Tools: Glyph Wallet
- Shows You How Much You Lost
Tools: Glyph – Dashboard
- Not Accurate all the Time
- Doesn’t Explain How “%” is Calculated
- Crashes
Tools: Glyph – Guru
TAKE IT FURTHER
Use Gas Station Gift Cards at Affiliated Grocery Store
- E.g Kroger/Kwik Trip
Gift Cards at Grocery Stores / Gas Stations
- Buy Gift Cards from Grocery Stores/ Gas Station With Category
Bonuses
Amazon Gift Cards Restaurant Gift Cards
Gift Cards at Grocery Stores / Gas Stations
Reload cards
Questions?
Program Card(s) Point Value (cents per point)
Value at ~2X
Value at ~5X
Ultimate Rewards
Ink, Freedom, Sapphire
1 (2) 2 (4) 5 (10)
US Bank Cash+ 1.875 3.125 6.875
ThankYou Forward 1 (1.33) N/A 5 (6.65)
Hilton HHonors
Amex .5 1.5 (at 3X) 3 (at 6X)
Membership Rewards
Premier Rewards Gold
1.5 3 4.5 (at 3X)
Backup slide: Point values
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