Saying Goodbye

Last week, I said goodbye to another credit card: Delta American Express Gold card.

I got the credit card as part my Delta New Member bonus. By getting the card, I earned close to 55,000 miles:

        45,000 sign-up bonus
         5,000 new member credit
         5,000 from credit card spend

The card did what it needed to do: earn miles.

Now, one year later, the annual fee of $95 was due. Could I justify paying $95 for the card?

  - Do I value Skymiles? No!

  - Will I use the free bag? No, I have flown Delta once in 24 months.

  - Do I want another AMEX card? Yes, but is $95 worth keeping it?

After thinking about it, the decision was easy. I called American Express and cancelled the card.

Goodbye Delta American Express . . . I am sorry that I used you.



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Secondary Benefit of American Express Card: Return Protection

Credit cards have three levels of benefits: initial, primary, and secondary. Most of the time, we only focus on the initial and primary benefits of credit cards.

Initial Benefits: Sign-up bonuses in the form of points, miles, free flights, and nights

Primary Benefits: Miles/Points per $1 spent, threshold bonus (spend $20,000 in a year and earn X)

As one can see, the initial and primary benefits tend to be the ones that get the fancy promotions, the mention by fellow bloggers, and big bold print when the credit card. What gets lost is that many credit cards off valuable secondary benefits.

Secondary Benefits: Rental Car Protection, Travel Insurance, Lost Luggage and Roadside Assistance

Yesterday, I learned that American Express has a great secondary benefit that I might use: Return Protection. As detailed here, American Express will reimburse one up to $300 for any item that a merchant will not accept back up to $1,000 annually. Here are the caveats of the program:

1) Must have made the original purchase with an American Express card

2) Purchase must have been made within the past 90 days

3) Card member must maintain permanent residence in the United States

4) The item trying to be return can't be: animals and living plants; one-of-a-kind items; limited 
     edition items; going-out-of-business sale items; consumable or perishable items with 
     llimited life spans; jewelry; watches; services and additional costs; rare and precious coins; 
     used, altered, rebuilt and refurbished items; custom-built items, cellular phones; pagers; 
     compact discs; digital video discs; mini discs; audiotapes; videotapes; computer 
     software; firmware (such as console games, Nintendo, etc.); maps; books of any kind; 
     health care items; formal wear; tickets of any kind; motorized vehicles and their parts; 
     land and buildings; firearms; ammunition; negotiable instruments (such as promissory notes, 
     stamps and travelers checks); cash and its equivalent; and items permanently affixed to home, 
     office, vehicles, etc.

5) Must return the item to American Express 

This secondary benefit could be very helpful for stores with only 30 and 60 day return policies. I forget to return items often. I tend to buy a lot and return 80% of it. However, sometimes I get burned by 30 and 60 day return policies, because I forgot that I purchased something. Return protection can save me money and may justify a credit card's annual fee.

One question about this benefit, where does all the returned merchandise go? Is there an American Express Return store somewhere?
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Most Recent Credit Card Applications

Important Note: We talk about credit card sign-up bonuses on our blog because they are an important part of the “game.” Any credit card links in this post will be public application links taken from the issuer's direct website. We do not earn income from you applying from the links. Similarly, please take an extra minute or two before applying for credit cards. If you do not pay your credit card balance off every month then you should stay away from this aspect of the game. Credit cards can lead to major long-term problems if not used correctly. I encourage you to read my post on Young People and the Chains of Credit Card Debt for more details.  

This week, I broken one of the golden rules of credit card churning: thou shall only apply for credit cards once every 90 days!

Yes, I applied for credit cards within 90 days of my last churn. Unlike last time, I decided not to churn after midnight. I learned my lesson and my success was the same 2 instant approvals and 1 pending.

The reason why I decided to apply for credit cards prior to my 90 days was simple: need. As I previously mentioned, I am planning on going to Alaska with Cash Back Boy, in July. We still have not booked our tickets and prices have gone up, and up and up. Then I had an idea: the Bank of America Alaska Credit card.

Strangely, the benefit that I want out of this credit card is not the points, but rather the companion ticket. Once approved, the card offers it owner a $99 ($117 with taxes) companion pass. This will reduce the cost of the airline tickets to Alaska dramatically for the two of us. Here is the public link to apply.

Of course, this is the application that I got a Pending Decision. Crossing my fingers as I need this the most.

The second card I applied for is the Chase Priority Club Visa.

I decided to get this because I will be cancelling a few Chase cards in the next month or so. Also, I received an email with an 80,000 offer, which is better the typically 60,000 offer. One can find the normal 60,000 offer here. If you Google, one can find a link to an offer for 80,000 points.

Result: Instant Approval

The final credit card I applied for was the American Express Delta Gold. I decided to do the 45,000 mile offer; instead, of the normal 30,000 mile offer. This will help me clear another section of the my Delta GrandSlam. I have previously written here about American Express Delta Gold section of the GrandSlam and how to get this 45,000 mile offer.

Warning: To get the 45,000 mile offer, one will need to go to a third party site. I had to refresh the
              application page two or three times before the third page appeared.

Result: Instant Approval.

Getting 2 instant approvals out of three is excellent. I just wish one of them was the Alaska Airways card. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I get approval for that card. Otherwise, Cash Back Boy is going to have to apply for his first points card.

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 Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com