Southwest's Big Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus (Ends August 7)

With the many credit card incentives currently in circulation, anything less than a 50,000-mile bonus just isn't going to get much traction with consumers.

Apparently with that in mind, Chase, which has established itself as the premier issuer of rewards credit cards, is taking steps to ensure that its Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier card remains top-of-mind.

Offers Details

New Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Premier cardholders will be awarded 50,000 bonus points after the first purchase.  In Southwest's new program, that translates into more than $800 toward Wanna Get Away award tickets -- probably two free round-trip flights.

Other card details:

• Card awards two points per $1 on purchases of Southwest tickets and Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partners; one point per $1 for other charges.
• Annual fee is $99.
• Annual percentage rate (APR) is variable -- the Prime Rate plus 10.99 percent -- currently 14.24 percent.
• Cardholders receive 6,000 bonus points on their anniversary, enough for $100 toward a Wanna Get Away award ticket.

There's no published end date to the 50,000-point offer, so it could be terminated at any time.

Deal or No Deal

Southwest isn't known for its aggressive credit card offers, so this is likely as good as it's going to get.  Which is to say, if a Rapid Rewards-linked credit card is on your shopping list, this would be a good time to pull the trigger.

Unless you're a serial card acquirer -- a "flipper," who signs up solely for the bonus, and then moves on -- the question posed by a credit card has less to do with the card itself than it does with the program it's linked to.  So in this case, the question is: Is Southwest's Rapid Rewards a program that meets your needs?

The new revenue-based version of the program has seemingly split the traveler universe into fierce partisans and equally fierce critics.  For those in the former camp, the Rapid Rewards credit card is a natural adjunct to their participation in the program.  For those in the latter camp, the question is moot.

Reader Reality Check

Comments on Rapid Rewards, or this credit card offer?

Other Posts of Interest

• Southwest Changes the Game With New Rapid Rewards Program
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Comes With 50,000-Point Bonus
• New Southwest Rapid Rewards Program Gets Mixed Reviews
• Just How Rewarding Is Your Airline Rewards Program?
• British Air Card Now Offers 50,000 Bonus Miles, No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Q&A: Help, I Can No Longer Afford That "Free" Ticket!
• Your Choice: Airline Miles or Hotel Points?

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Subscribe to American Emails to Receive Up to 3,000 Bonus Miles

Like all major U.S. carriers, American Airlines sends its customers a multitude of different emails focused on various aspects of its business: AAdvantage program updates, promotions, and account summaries; airfare sales; vacation package offers; and so on.

And like any marketing-savvy company, American wants as many prospects as possible to receive as many applicable marketing messages as possible.

This promotion is designed to accomplish just that.

Offer Details

American will award AAdvantage members 500 miles to sign up for marketing emails they don't currently receive, up to a maximum of 3,000 miles.

To participate, submit your email address and AAdvantage number to the Appraiser, which will advise which emails you're eligible to receive a bonus for.

In my case, the Appraiser checked my email address against American's various subscriber lists and responded that I was approved to receive 1,000 bonus miles, as follows:

• 500 miles - AAVacations Travel Picks ("weekly email featuring vacation offers and package deals")
• 500 miles - Set my preferences ("When you tell us your travel interests so you can get customized fare alerts, special offers and updates from the AAdvantage program")

An important caveat: "Be sure to keep these new updates for 3 months with a valid address on file." Presumably the miles won't post to your account if you unsubscribe within three months.

Deal or No Deal

These are easy-to-earn miles, in a program that delivers solid value.

'Nuf said.

Reader Reality Check

Have you been AApraised yet? How many miles did you earn?

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Hyatt Adds Elite Perks, Changes Award Prices

The latest changes to Hyatt's Gold Passport program, announced today, include a modest upgrade to its elite benefits and both increases and decreases to award prices at 43 hotels.

New Elite Benefits

Effective today, Gold Passport Diamond elites will receive the following additional benefits:

• Later check-out - Diamond members may check out as late as 4 p.m., versus 2 p.m. previously (subject to availability at resorts and casino hotels).
• Nightly room refresh - Diamond members' rooms "receive a nightly room refresh to ensure that their stay is as comfortable and luxurious as possible. This includes light housekeeping and bedroom turndown service."
• New welcome amenity - Diamond members can choose to receive a complimentary beverage at Hyatt Place and a $5.00 credit at the Guest Market at Summerfield Suites, or continue to receive 500 bonus points at either brand.

Gold Passport has two elite levels: Platinum, earned after five stays or 15 nights during a calendar year; and Diamond, earned after 25 stays or 50 nights.

Bottom line: While the new amenities and room-refresh have a negligible effect on the value of Diamond status, the 4 p.m. late check-out is a significant benefit.

Award Price Changes

Effective September 1, award nights at 18 Hyatt Gold Passport hotels will require fewer points and 25 will require more points.

For example, the Hyatt Place Atlanta will be re-categorized from a Category 1 hotel to a Category 2 hotel, resulting in an increase in award-night prices from 5,000 points to 8,000 points. And the Hyatt Place Greensboro will change from a Category 3 hotel to a Category 2 property, resulting in an award-night price decrease from 12,000 to 8,000 points.

The changes will be posted on Hyatt's website from August 4. In the meantime, see below:

Hyatt will not be adding a new higher-priced award category, as several hotels have done recently. Prices for award nights for standard rooms continue to range from 5,000 points for Category 1 hotels to 22,000 points for category 6 hotels.

Bottom line: Taken together, the award price increases and decreases more or less cancel each other out. So the program's overall value proposition remains unchanged.

Action item: Gold Passport members should consult the list to determine whether the changes will affect any planned award stays on or after September 1. If so, they should book before that date to lock in lower prices at hotels whose prices will rise, or delay booking to take advantage of award prices that will decline.

Reader Reality Check

How do these changes affect your perception of Hyatt's Gold Passport program?

Other Posts of Interest

• Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card Now Comes With a Bigger Bonus
• Book InterCon Stays by Smartphone to Earn a Priority Club Bonus
• Book Priority Club Hotels for Just 5,000 Points With PointBreaks
• Hilton Points Go Further With Point Stretcher Awards
• Ritz-Carlton Offers a 30,000-Point Bonus After Four Nights
• Earn Quintuple Aeroplan Miles for Hyatt Stays
• Drive Away With a $40 Gas Card for Aloft, Element, Four Points Stays
• Earn Double Welcomerewards Credits for Stays Booked at Hotels.com
• Hilton Offers Double Points or Miles for 3rd-Quarter Stays
• InterContinental Adds More Priority Club Bonus Options for Summer Stays
• Visa Signature Cardholders Get Hilton Elite Perks
• From Best Western: a Free Night or Bonus Miles for Summer Stays
• Marriott Offers a Free Night After Two Stays This Summer
• Choice Hotels Offers 8,000 Points After Two Stays
• From Priority Club: Double Points, Miles for Spring, Summer Stays
• InterContinental Offers $75 Rebate for Weekend Stays
• Your Choice: Airline Miles or Hotel Points?

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Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card Now Comes With a Bigger Bonus

Question: When is a good deal really a great deal?

Answer: When it's the best possible deal on a highly desirable product or service.

At a time when travel-rewards credit cards routinely come bundled with sign-up bonuses of 50,000 or more points, a 30,000-point bonus might seem like a non-starter. In the case of this particular card, however, it might be a great deal.

Offer Details

Through August 22, the ever-popular Starwood Preferred Guest credit card issued by American Express—SmarterTravel's Editor's Choice top pick for 2011—comes with a 30,000-point bonus: 10,000 points after the first purchase, another 20,000 points after charging at least $4,500 to the card in the first three months.

The $65 annual fee is waived the first year.

The Starwood card, which has been called the Swiss Army knife of travel-rewards credit cards, is more than just a hotel-points generator.

In addition to using Starwood points for free hotel nights, either alone or in combination with cash, they can be converted into miles in more than 30 airline programs, including those of Aeroplan, Alaska, American, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, United, and US Airways. Points generally transfer 1:1 for airline miles, although it's a disappointing 1:2 conversion rate for Continental and United miles.

Adding value to that flexibility, there's a 5,000-point bonus when transferring 20,000 points. So transferring 20,000 Starwood points to American, for example, nets 25,000 AAdvantage miles. With the bonus, then, one dollar charged to the Starwood card is worth 1.25 miles in many airline programs. That's more than the one-mile-per-dollar earning rate for charges on the airlines' own co-branded cards. And miles earned with those cards can't be readily converted into other programs.

Deal or No Deal

The normal sign-up bonus for this card is 25,000 points, 10,000 up front and 15,000 after spending $15,000 in six months. So the new bonus is both more lucrative and easier to earn. That's a winning combination for a card that many consider to be the best-in-class.

Reader Reality Check

Comments from current Starwood Preferred Guest credit cardholders?

Other Posts of Interest

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• New AAdvantage Credit Card Includes Lounge Access, Elite Miles
• Southwest's Big Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Comes With 50,000-Point Bonus
• American Express Adds Value to Pricey Charge Cards
• Foreign Transaction Fees Are an Endangered Species
• British Air Card Now Offers 50,000 Bonus Miles, No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Continental Boosts Value of Its Frequent Flyer Credit Cards
• Delta Credit Card Permits Flyers to Bypass Bag Fees

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Follow Hawaiian Air Tweets to Earn Bonus Miles

If you're an active member of an airline or hotel loyalty program, it behooves you to sign up to receive Tweets from that program. It's an easy way to stay current with any policy changes or promotions that affect the program.

So, for example, if you're a member of Hawaiian Airlines' HawaiianMiles program, you'd follow @HawaiianMiles, "the exclusive Twitter channel for members of our loyalty program—to get alerts for weekly giveaways, partner deals, and travel perks."

Following HawaiianMiles on Twitter isn't just easy, it's also rewarding.

Offer Details

HawaiianMiles members who connect their membership numbers with their Twitter handles here will receive 500 bonus miles—their "way of saying Mahalo."

There's no published end date to the offer, so it could be withdrawn at any time.

Deal or No Deal

Bonus miles for doing something you should be doing anyway—what's not to like?

Reader Reality Check

How important is Twitter to you in keeping abreast of developments in your loyalty programs?

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Book InterCon Stays by Smartphone to Earn a Priority Club Bonus

Earlier this month, I reviewed separate promotions from JetBlue and Delta—both featuring bonuses for using mobile devices to check in for flights—noting that the travel industry has a long history of deploying frequent flyer bonuses to encourage consumers to adopt new technology, and recommending that mileage-collectors take advantage of the extra miles while they can.

What works for the airlines often works for the hotels as well. Case in point: this bonus for booking stays at InterContinental, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites hotels using a smartphone.

Offer Details

Priority Club Rewards members can earn a 1,000-point bonus for every qualifying booking made and completed by August 31 using the Priority Club Rewards Windows Phone app on their smartphones.

The app does much more than make bookings. According to the Priority Club website, an app-enabled smartphone can also accomplish the following:

• Redeem points for Reward Night stays
• Get GPS-enabled hotel directions
• Click-to-call your hotel's front desk
• View full photo galleries for each hotel
• Search hotels by airport code
• Expedite bookings with info stored in your profile
• Use corporate IDs for special rates
• Access special offers

According to the offer's terms and conditions, those who qualify for the bonus will receive points even if their earning preferred is airline miles.

Deal or No Deal

While there are also Priority Club apps available for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry phones—all of which are more popular than Windows-based smartphones—the bonus doesn't apply to them. And neither the app nor the bonus is sufficient reason to switch phones. Or, for that matter, to switch from one hotel loyalty program to another.

But if you're a Priority Club loyalist who already has a Windows smartphone, the app looks like a worthwhile download for its sheer utility, and a real winner when the bonus is factored into the equation.

Reader Reality Check

Have you used a smartphone or other mobile device to book a hotel room or check in for a flight?

Other Posts of Interest

• Priority Club Launches Discounted Last Minute Reward Nights
• Hilton Points Go Further With Point Stretcher Awards
• Ritz-Carlton Offers a 30,000-Point Bonus After Four Nights
• Earn Quintuple Aeroplan Miles for Hyatt Stays
• Drive Away With a $40 Gas Card for Aloft, Element, Four Points Stays
• Earn Double Welcomerewards Credits for Stays Booked at Hotels.com
• Hilton Offers Double Points or Miles for 3rd-Quarter Stays
• InterContinental Adds More Priority Club Bonus Options for Summer Stays
• Visa Signature Cardholders Get Hilton Elite Perks
• From Best Western: a Free Night or Bonus Miles for Summer Stays
• Marriott Offers a Free Night After Two Stays This Summer
• Choice Hotels Offers 8,000 Points After Two Stays
• From Priority Club: Double Points, Miles for Spring, Summer Stays
• InterContinental Offers $75 Rebate for Weekend Stays
• Your Choice: Airline Miles or Hotel Points?

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Book Priority Club Hotels for Just 5,000 Points With PointBreaks

This week, InterContinental's Priority Club Rewards program published a new list of PointBreaks hotels available for award booking at just 5,000 points per night through September 30.

Offer Details

By my count, there are now 61 U.S. hotels on offer at PointBreaks rates, mostly Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Crowne Plaza properties.

In Europe, there are 17 participating properties. In Asia, 14. And so on.

Those numbers are subject to change, since each hotel establishes its own allotment of PointBreaks rooms, and once they've been spoken for, they're gone.

Deal or No Deal

With Priority Club award nights normally priced at 10,000 points and above, the PointBreaks rates represent a discount of at least 50 percent.

The only downside to PointBreaks is that there aren't more hotels on the list.

There are no participating hotels in popular destinations like New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Miami.

In Europe, the closest you can come to London is the Holiday Inn at Heathrow Airport.

Nevertheless, with such a significant discount on offer, it's always worth checking the PointBreaks list to see if any of the available hotels might be suitable for upcoming trips. And the low rates might even justify an unplanned trip, to an unfamiliar city.

Reader Reality Check

Have you ever taken advantage of PointBreaks awards?

Do any of the hotels on the current list catch your eye?

Other Posts of Interest

• Priority Club Launches Discounted Last Minute Reward Nights
• Hilton Points Go Further With Point Stretcher Awards
• Ritz-Carlton Offers a 30,000-Point Bonus After Four Nights
• Earn Quintuple Aeroplan Miles for Hyatt Stays
• Drive Away With a $40 Gas Card for Aloft, Element, Four Points Stays
• Earn Double Welcomerewards Credits for Stays Booked at Hotels.com
• Hilton Offers Double Points or Miles for 3rd-Quarter Stays
• InterContinental Adds More Priority Club Bonus Options for Summer Stays
• Visa Signature Cardholders Get Hilton Elite Perks
• From Best Western: a Free Night or Bonus Miles for Summer Stays
• Marriott Offers a Free Night After Two Stays This Summer
• Choice Hotels Offers 8,000 Points After Two Stays
• From Priority Club: Double Points, Miles for Spring, Summer Stays
• InterContinental Offers $75 Rebate for Weekend Stays
• Your Choice: Airline Miles or Hotel Points?

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United, Continental Align 2 Travel-Rewards Credit Cards

Earlier this week, Chase issued one new credit card (the United Mileage Plus Explorer Visa) and modified the sign-up incentives for another card (the Continental Airlines OnePass Plus MasterCard).

The two cards, it turns out, have virtually identical features.  The sign-up incentives are the same as well.  And the cards themselves even look alike -- from a distance, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart.

The similarities are not surprising, given that we are in the final stages of the integration of the United and Continental frequent flyer programs, at the end of which there will be a single program that retains the Mileage Plus name.

Both cards feature the following:

• Free first checked bag
• Priority boarding (after elites, before general boarding)
• Two airport lounge day passes annually
• Upgrades on award tickets for elites
• Primary rental car coverage
• Travel insurance
• Annual fee: $95, waived the first year

The United card also exempts cardholders' miles from expiring, and promises: "No limitations, restrictions, or blackout dates on Standard MileagePlus awards... a benefit that will be reserved for Cardmembers and Elite travelers beginning in early 2012."  The former suggests that the new program will carry over United's current 18-month expiration policy for non-cardholders, versus Continental's policy of allowing miles to persist indefinitely.  And the latter signals that non-cardholders will not have access to all unsold seats, even when redeeming at the higher Standard award levels.

The sign-up bonuses for both cards: 25,000 bonus miles after using the card for the first time, plus 10,000 bonus miles every year after charging $25,000.

Although the sign-up bonuses are less than compelling, the cards' benefits are more robust than those available from other card issuers at the same price point.  So while this might not be the best time to apply for them, these cards are sure to find their way into the wallets of many United and Continental loyalists.

Other Posts of Interest

• New AAdvantage Credit Card Includes Lounge Access, Elite Miles
• Southwest's Big Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Comes With 50,000-Point Bonus
• American Express Adds Value to Pricey Charge Cards
• Foreign Transaction Fees Are an Endangered Species
• British Air Card Now Offers 50,000 Bonus Miles, No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Continental Boosts Value of Its Frequent Flyer Credit Cards
• Delta Credit Card Permits Flyers to Bypass Bag Fees

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US Airways Awards Elite-Qualifying Miles for Lounge Memberships

Airport lounge memberships are pricey. With annual fees generally in the $450 range, a traveler who uses his lounge access monthly would be paying $37.50 a visit.

While the tranquility may be worth it to some, many would dismiss such an expenditure as an irresponsible extravagance.

Occasionally, discounts and frequent flyer bonuses make lounge memberships a better deal. Case in point: this new bonus-mile promotion from US Airways.

Offer Details

US Airways is offering 3,500 elite-qualifying miles to those who purchase new US Airways Club annual airport lounge memberships, or renew existing memberships, by August 31. Also eligible for the bonus: upgrades from 90-day plans to annual memberships.

Individual memberships are priced at $450 for non-elites, $375 for Silver, Gold, and Platinum elites, and $325 for Chairman's Preferred elites. The 90-day plans cost $120. (Note: Annual membership includes access to all US Airways Clubs, United Red Carpet Clubs, Continental Presidents Clubs, and Star Alliance lounges; 90-day plans only include US Airways' lounges.)

The $50 "enrollment fee" for new memberships is waived with this offer.

To earn the bonus, use promo code CLB35 when enrolling online, calling 1-800-828-8522, or signing up at a US Airways Club.

Deal or No Deal

A 3,500-mile bonus for purchasing a lounge membership is certainly an incentive, albeit a modest one. What gives this offer real heft is that these are elite-qualifying bonus miles. And waiving that nasty $50 fee for new memberships is a definite value-add as well.

This is a solid offer for anyone who considers a US Airways lounge membership a worthwhile expenditure, and who counts elite status with US Airways as a priority.

Reader Reality Check

Do you purchase lounge memberships?

If not, what would it take to convert you? Lower prices? More frequent flyer miles?

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Check In Online to Earn JetBlue Bonuses

Following in the footsteps of Delta, JetBlue is using bonus miles to encourage its customers to check in online, thereby bypassing the airline's personnel-intensive (and expensive to operate) airport check-in counters.

Offer Details

Through August 31, JetBlue TrueBlue members can earn 100 points when checking in at jetblue.com via computer or mobile device, and 50 points when checking in via a kiosk.

The bonus points are awarded only for paid JetBlue tickets, not for award tickets.

Deal or No Deal

As was the case with bonus miles for online booking—remember when they were the norm?—this bonus will disappear when travelers have adopted the new technology in sufficient numbers to render extra incentives superfluous.

In other words, get 'em while you can.

Reader Reality Check

Have you checked in for an airline flight online? Any issues, technical or otherwise?

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