Harlan Vaughn's Blog, page 27

Recap: Out and Out’s 9 Best Posts of March 2018

Wow – March 2018 was the best month ever here at Out and Out. Your likes, comments, clicks and views are definitely noticed. Thank you.

The blog got over 54,000 page views, from readers in every US state. That’s not as much as the “big travel blogs” but it means everything to me.

Thank you, Cali!

Recap: Out and Out’s 9 Best Posts of March 2018

Wow – March 2018 was the best month ever here at Out and Out. Your likes, comments, clicks and views are definitely noticed. Thank you.

The blog got over 54,000 page views, from readers in every US state. That’s not as much as the “big travel blogs” but it means everything to me.

Thank you, Cali!

Recap: Out and Out’s 9 Best Posts of March 2018

Wow – March 2018 was the best month ever here at Out and Out. Your likes, comments, clicks and views are definitely noticed. Thank you.

The blog got over 54,000 page views, from readers in every US state. That’s not as much as the “big travel blogs” but it means everything to me.

Thank you, Cali!

5 Ways to Practice Self-Care at Conferences

Once or twice a year, I make it to another city for a conference, like Frequent Traveler University (FTU) or FinCon. (I actually plan on attending FinCon 2018 in Orlando this September!)

I’ve seen lots of articles on how to get more out of conferences. The gist is: talk to everyone, go to social events, get involved, show up early, even go for a run to keep energy levels up.

That all sounds great. It also sounds freaking exhausting.

Industry conferences come with amazing opportunities. But you need self-care along the way

There’s a point during every conference where my energy dips, I’m thirsty and/or starving, and talking to more people sounds awful because my voice is shot.

Here’s how I plan to prepare for my next conference: get more out of it by bringing self-care with me.

Take care of yourself first

1. Always have water and/or coffee

Rule number one: stay hydrated. Yup, you’ll be hitting the bathrooms more often, but drinking water keeps your body running and moistens your vocal chords.

I use whatever’s on hand – a water bottle, to-go coffee cup, or reusable container (Hydro Flasks are perfect for this) – and keep refilling it all day.

This is truly your MVP for all-day hydration

Also, I’ve noticed many conferences have coffee in the morning. But after the first session, it’s gone.

Hotel Review: Hyatt Place Colorado Springs – Garden of the Gods

Also see: 

12 Ways to Save Money (And Have Fun!) on Your Next Road Trip

If you’ve never been to Colorado Springs, a little over an hour south of Denver, you’re missing craft breweries and the city’s centerpiece – the gorgeous Garden of the Gods.

Garden of the Gods took my breath away

I stopped here during my road trip to Denver. And chose the Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods as our stopover hotel. Here’s how it went!

Hyatt Garden of the Gods Review

Link: Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods
Link: Garden of the Gods

This hotel is usually ~$99 to ~$108 per night. And as a Category 2 hotel, it costs 8,000 Hyatt points each night.

I value 8,000 Hyatt points for for $160. So for my 1-night stay here, I paid the cash rate.

It’s right around the corner, 10 minutes, from Garden of the Gods park. I’d heard it’s worth stopping along the way to Denver. But I wasn’t prepared for how completely gorgeous it is.

Garden of the Gods is amazing. At the Hyatt Place near it is plenty comfy

For our night in Colorado Springs, the Hyatt Place was perfect.

Arrival and check-in

Link: Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods 

Firstly, if you want to be right downtown, you won’t be in the action at this hotel. If you want to be near I-25 and of course, Garden of the Gods, this place is stellar. Also, the price can’t be beat.

We pulled in and easily found a parking spot in the big lot outside the hotel. We’d just left from the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Santa Ana Pueblo as part of our road trip to Denver. So we were in full road trip mode by this point. And so excited to be in Colorado.

Hallways of the Hyatt Place Colorado Springs

It was everything I’ve come to expect from the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House brand: cheap, cheerful, great employees, free breakfast, that sort of colorful milennial-esque look hotels think is so trendy right now.

This hotel is smallish, with a breakfast nook and one set of elevators. There are 124 rooms – in my opinion, a perfect size for a chain hotel.

The desk agent quickly got us keys and showed us where the free breakfast would be. We headed up to room 427.

The room

Ah yes. If you’ve stayed at a Hyatt Place, you know what to expect: the sectional couch, the separate bathroom sink area, and of course a spacious living area. I personally love the Hyatt Place brand.

View upon walking in

Fridge/bar/coffee area

Sectional couch that doubles as an extra bed

I didn’t get a shot of the desk, but you can see it on the right there – across from the fridge area

No idea why my photos are so blurry. I chalk it up to road trip sludge on my phone camera.

Side note: I cannot WAIT to dump my iPhone for a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy S9.

There was plenty of room in the living area to sit, hang out, and enjoy a couple of drinks before heading out again.

Two big, comfy beds

Separate sink and closet

KenetMD toiletries

Closet with hangers, luggage rack, iron, extra bedding

The sink is in front of the beds. So if you want to brush your teeth or wash your face, you’ll do it in full view of your companions.

Shower and toilet have their own little room

View of the room from the window

Overall, a nice size for the 3 of us. We loved the spaciousness and room setup. Everything is out in the open, so it definitely promotes hanging out and socializing. It reminded me a lot of Starwood’s Aloft brand, actually.

And the view from the window was simply beautiful.

Loved seeing the Rockies from the room’s window

Honestly, for a 1-night stay, this hotel was perfect in terms of location and price. The room was clean, quiet, and the wifi was fast on all our devices. And you can’t beat the $99 a night room rate – doesn’t get much cheaper than that.

Breakfast

Now I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart: free breakfast.

That’s why when I saw Hyatt is testing paid breakfast at some Hyatt Place locations, it gave me pause. A huge reason we stayed here was the free breakfast.

Was the most amazing breakfast in the world? Of course not. But when you wake up and want to get the day going or hop back on the road, stopping right at the beginning adds extra time when you’re trying to be on the move.

Plus, coffee and a pastry at most coffee shops is what, $6 to $10?, depending what you get. And I like having a little fruit and being able to take a to-go coffee (in my Hydro Flask to prevent more waste).

For 3 people, or for a family, that adds up fast, especially if you have a multi-day trip. Without free breakfast, we might as well stay some other no-frills cheap joint. Eliminating the free breakfast is a disruption of the Hyatt Place and Hyatt House branding. Plus, Hyatt doesn’t need to give peeps another reason to avoid their hotels – their watered-down loyalty program was already a huge blow.

Whew, with that off my chest, here’s the simple breakfast they are thinking of taking away.

A few hot items – pancakes, potatoes, sausage, and eggs

Juices, milk, and water

The breakfast serving area

Seats and tables

Our breakfast selections

So yeah, we got eggs, fruit, toast, potatoes. It’s nothing decadent or anything, but a huge value add. If Hyatt Place took this away, I’d 100% actively avoid them for both paid and award stays. Too many other brands still have it wrapped in the room rate for similar prices.

I honestly don’t spend much time in the rooms when I stay at hotels – I’m out exploring. And use the room to sleep, shower, and charge my phone. So I look for ancillary benefits, like lounge access, breakfast, extra points, or free parking. Often, the room itself is secondary to those “extra” perks.

Bottom line

We loved our stay at the Hyatt Place Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. If you’re ever there, check out Trinity Brew, an awesome local craft brewery 2 minutes down the road.

And definitely visit the gorgeous Garden of the Gods.

This hotel was the quintessential “Hyatt Place” experience: cheap, spacious rooms, free breakfast, great service. I’d be really disappointed – and would 100% switch my stays – if Hyatt removed free breakfast from Hyatt Place hotels.

Regardless, if you can stay here for $100ish a night, get something to eat in the morning, and visit the nearby attractions, it’s an excellent hotel. Plus, it’s right next to I-25, so you can be in downtown Denver in about an hour. Excellent “road trip” hotel. And at 8,000 Hyatt points per night, it’s worth it to pay the cheap cash rates.

If you’ve stayed here, how’s your experience compare? And how important to you is free breakfast at places like this? 

OUT AND OUT - Investing. Positivity. Oh, and travel.

7 Easy Tricks to Use 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Cheap Travel

Right now, a few Chase cards have sign-up bonuses with 50,000 Chase Ultimate Ultimate Rewards points. These are by far my favorite kind of points. And the ones I focus on collecting above all others.

The Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, and Ink Business Cash all offer a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after meeting minimum spending requirements. That got me thinking how I’ve used Chase points in the past.

I’ve used Chase points to spend time in Austin via British Airways, Hyatt, and Southwest

Here’s more about each card, as they all have different fees and earning rates. And ideas for how to spend those bonus points!

3 Great Chase Offers

It’s not every day Chase has 50,000 point offers on this many Ultimate Rewards cards.

To start, all these cards are under the 5/24 rule – you can’t get them if you’ve opened 5+ cards in the last 24 months. I’m LOL/24, as I lamented recently.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

Earn 50,000 points with...Sapphire PreferredSapphire ReserveInk Business Cash




Minimum spending$4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening$4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening$3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening


Annual fee$95, waived the 1st year$450 (comes with $300 travel credit annually)$0


Earning- 2X on travel and dining



- 1X on other purchases- 3X on travel and dining



- 1X on other purchases- 5X on first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year



- 2X on first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year



- 1X on other purchases


Points worth on travel1.25 cents each (bonus is worth at least $625)1.5 cents each (bonus is worth at least $750)1 cent each (bonus with worth at least $500)


Notes- Cannot have both Sapphire cards at the same time



- Here's why it's the best card for beginners- Cannot have both Sapphire cards at the same time



- Comes with $300 travel credit, Priority Pass membership, $100 credit toward Global Entry



- Here's why I love this card- An excellent small business card



- Sleeper hit for road trippin'


LinkCompare it here.Compare it here.Compare it here.

And here’s how the points transfer.

Pair Chase cards to have more travel options

So with the Chase Ink Cash, for example, you’d need another premium card to access the transfer partners.

How to use 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points

I’ve had both Sapphire cards, and still have the Ink Plus (it was discontinued). So I personally use and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points all the time.

Here are some fun ways to get outsized value from this valuable points currency.

1. Short flights around the world with British Airways

I use British Airways Avios points a lot because Dallas is an American Airlines hub (a BA partner). You can book short flights under 1,151 miles that start or end in the US for 7,500 British Airways Avios points. That’s the price I paid to fly from Dallas to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Austin.

These short flights can cost $300+! So booking this way saves a ton of money.

They’re also great for short expensive flights between:

Chicago and Indianapolis
New York and Boston
New York and DC
Dallas and Memphis (often over $300 each way)
New York and Toronto
New York and Chicago

I use Chase points for a relaxing beach vacation in Cancun

Even cooler, if your flight is under 651 miles outside the US, you’ll only pay 4,500 British Airways Avios points each way, including:

Jo’burg to Cape Town on British Airways in South Africa
Sydney to Melbourne on Qantas in Australia
Around South America on LATAM
Around Europe on British Airways (London to Paris, for example) or Finnair
Certain Fifth Freedom routes that are extremely interesting with usually wide open space

So yeah, I jam on this redemption a lot. It’s an oldie but goodie.

2. Free nights at Hyatt hotels

Link: Hyatt hotel list

I’m spoiled for choice.  But Dallas has tons of Hyatt Category 1 and 2 hotels. Per night, you’ll need:

5,000 Hyatt points at Category 1 hotels
8,000 Hyatt points at Category 2 hotels
12,000 Hyatt points at Category 3 hotels
15,000 Hyatt points at Category 4 hotels
20,000 Hyatt points at Category 5 hotels
25,000 Hyatt points at Category 6 hotels
30,000 Hyatt points at Category 7 hotels

So 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points is enough for:

10 nights at a Category 1 hotel
6 nights at a Category 2 hotel
2 nights at a Category 5 or 6 hotel (like the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, which is only 20K points per night!)

Hyatt does NOT have blackout dates. If a standard room is for sale, you can book it with points.

Hyatt House and Hyatt Place hotels are gold for points awards

I easily found 6 consecutive nights in Dallas this May at the Hyatt House Lincoln Park, a Category 2 hotel.

You’d pay 48,000 Hyatt points to stay completely free. Or ~$990 in cash.

Visit Hawaii AND save money? Where do I sign up?

Of course, luxury Hyatt hotels like the Grand Hyatt Kauai can easily cost over $1,000 for a 2-night stay. Or you could use 50,000 Hyatt points for a stay in Hawaii (I’m tempted to redeem this myself).

Staying at Hyatt hotels is up there as far as good deals with Chase points go.

3. 2 Round-trip flights to Hawaii

Link: Wandering Aramean’s Avios Calculator

On the topic of Hawaii, you can use Chase points to fly there!

From the west coast, you’ll pay 12,500 British Airways Avios points each way from:

Anchorage
Los Angeles
Oakland
Phoenix
Portland
Sacramento
San Diego
San Jose
Seattle

Ain’t that cool?

That’s 50,000 British Airways Avios points for 2 round-trip coach flights. You can find all the flights on AA.com – and need to call British Airways to book for flights on Alaska.

Not on the west coast? Book it with Korean Air miles instead, for the same price.

Delta wants 60,000 miles for flights to Hawaii from Minneapolis

You’ll pay 25,000 Korean Air miles for a round-trip flight on Delta from anywhere in the US. I found flights from Minneapolis to Honolulu this October for 60,000 Delta miles.

Muuuch better

Or, you can book the exact same flights with 25,000 Korean Air miles. These flights would cost nearly $1,000 out-of-pocket. So this represents a stunningly good deal.

The only downside is you can only book awards for yourself and family – not for friends. And keep in mind, you can sometimes find dirt-cheap fares to Hawaii – in which case, just pay the cash fare and save your points.

Note: Before June 1st, 2018, you can use Flying Blue miles to book award flights for 15,000 miles each way from the US!

4. 2 domestic round-trip flights

Get 2 round-trip coach award flights within the US, or to Alaska or Canada, for 50,000 United miles.

Think big with this one:

Miami to Anchorage
Dallas to somewhere in Canada
To an expensive National Park
To a small airport with typically expensive flights

This represents an easy win if you can find award space domestically. I’ve found United often has the most open award seats.

Toronto, I’m coming for you

And keep in mind, short flights under 700 miles are only 10,000 United miles each way.

I’ve had my eye on Dallas to Toronto for as long as I can remember. The second the temperature gets above freezing, I want to head north. And I’ll likely use United miles.

Or keep in mind, you can book partner awards like Air Canada, Lufthansa, and so many other Star Alliance partners with United miles, too. (It’s the largest alliance with 27 airline members.) You can also use Singapore Airlines miles, too – so compare and pick the cheapest price!

The caveat is you should only pull this trick for expensive flights of $500+. Otherwise, you are better off paying cash. The goal is to SAVE money.

5. Flights on Southwest

Southwest points are worth ~1.5 cents each per point. So 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points is good for $750 toward Southwest flights (50,000 X 1.5).

Even better if you have the Companion Pass! And… Southwest is likely to start flights to Hawaii this year.

Yeah, I’m one of those “I love Southwest” people

This method is best if you have the Sapphire Preferred (because points are worth 1.25 cents each when you book travel through Chase, so you always get more value by transferring).

But with the Sapphire Reserve, points are worth 1.5 cents each. All things being equal, you should book through Chase to earn points when you fly and credit toward elite status (you need to call to book Southwest flights).

Before I transfer to Southwest (because I have the Sapphire Reserve), I check to see what’s cheaper: booking through Chase or transferring to Southwest. I want to pay as few points as possible (duh!). And if I can, earn some more points on top of that!

I’m in Dallas (where Southwest is based), so I make good use of this redemption opportunity. But if you have the Companion Pass, wow, this could really be worthwhile. Or if you’re in a Southwest city.

6. Pay with points for travel

You can book most flights, hotel stays, and car rentals directly through Chase at UltimateRewards.com.

Depending on which card you have, your points are worth different amounts. They’re worth (and 50,000 points are worth):

1 cent each with Ink Business Cash, Freedom, and Freedom Unlimited ($500)
1.25 cents each with Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred ($625)
1.5 cents each with Sapphire Reserve ($750)

Want to just go without worrying about award space? You can do that with Chase points

Here, your points are worth which card you have. So put your points into the most lucrative card account and just book it.

I like to book travel through transfer partners. But I get it’s a hassle to find space and be flexible with dates. If you don’t want to think about that, 50,000 Chase points is worth, at an absolute minimum, $500 toward travel. Which is a great sign-up bonus!

And at the high end (with the Sapphire Reserve), they’re worth $750 toward travel. With all the other perks you get, you can come out well ahead of any annual fees (which is waived the first year for the Sapphire Preferred and doesn’t exist for the Ink Business Cash).

7. Top-up your other loyalty accounts

Chase Ultimate Ultimate Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to:

Aer Lingus
British Airways
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
Hyatt
Iberia
IHG
Korean Air
Marriott
Ritz-Carlton
Singapore Airlines
Southwest
United
Virgin Atlantic

If you’re *thisclose* to an award with any of those programs (like within under a few thousand points), it’s 100% worth it to top-up your account with Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Especially if your points are set to expire.

Don’t let an award trip slip through your fingers because of a few missing points. Or let points expire!

I’ve done this in several situations. And it’s always been the make or break between taking a trip or not. If you’re in that situation, your points are worth even more – because they’re the hinge on which the award swings, at that point.

This is true for all transferable points. But I’ve transferred to Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, and British Airways before – all to get a few extra points to score a nice award. Priceless.

A few considerations

The Ink Cash Preferred is a small business card. So you need to be aiming to make a profit to apply for that one. In addition, it does NOT let you access award partners on its own. You need another “premium” Chase card to get award with travel partners (see chart above).

I also wrote about the break even point for Sapphire cards if you’re having trouble deciding. And if you’re truly stumped, just go for the Sapphire Preferred 

Finally, the Ink Business Preferred has a sign-up bonus of 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (yes, even MORE). Compare it here. You’ll earn 3 points per $1 in these categories:

Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable, and phone services
Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines

Here’s my full review of the offer. This one is worthwhile if you make lots of purchases in the bonus categories.

Bottom line

Sapphire Preferred – Compare it here
Sapphire Reserve – Compare it here
Ink Business Cash – Compare it here

I jam on these tricks all the time. They’re my favorite, and most lucrative ways, to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

And Chase is offering 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points on 3 cards right now.  You can use them for:

Short flights with British Airways Avios points
Free stays at Hyatt hotels
2 flights to Hawaii
2 domestic round-trip coach flights on United
Cheap travel on Southwest (especially if you have the Companion Pass)
Travel through Chase (at least $500, up to $750, depending on which card you get)
Topping-up your loyalty accounts

The beauty of transferable points programs like Ultimate Rewards is the flexibility and variety of uses.

So I’m curious to hear: what’s your favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points? And which of these cards is your fave?

OUT AND OUT - Investing. Positivity. Oh, and travel.

Join Us at the Next Dallas Frequent Flyer Meetup: 4/16 in Addison!

In a few weeks, we’ll have the next Out for Miles frequent flyer meetup!

It’ll be Monday, April 16th, from 6 to 8:30pm. If you’re in the Dallas area, please come!

Have a marg and connect with kindreds at the next Out for Miles meetup

Here are the deets.

Out for Miles frequent flyer meetup

Link: Join Out for Miles
Link: RSVP here

The last points & miles meetup earlier this month was a smashing success! About 12 peeps showed up – we had delicious craft beers, talked about points, manufactured spending, upcoming travels, and everything else travel-related.

The next one will be in a few weeks. If you’re in the Dallas area, I hope you can make it!

What: Out for Miles – Dallas Meetup
When: Monday, April 16th, from 6 to 8:30 pm
Where: Blue Mesa, 14866 Montfort Dr, Addison, TX – Google Map directions and location
Links: Join the group and RSVP on Meetup or RSVP on Facebook

Feel free to add your attendance via the links above. Or simply show up! This location is near the Tollway, 635, and PGBT – so hopefully it’s faster and more convenient for the peeps coming from the north. It’s also on a Monday this time – so kick your week off with a fun meetup!

Grab a $4 marg and a free quesadilla

There’s a Happy Hour until 7pm with:

$4 large margaritas
$4 well drinks
$5 wine
$1 off all draft beers

If you come early, you’ll get a free quesadilla until 6:30pm. Here’s the full menu.

This will provide more food and drink options than the last meetup. I’ll have a big table with lots of seats in a semi-private corner of the restaurant.

As always, I’ll be there to welcome everyone! Bring guests, grab a drink, and let’s catch up!

Bottom line

Link: Join Out for Miles

This Meetup group is ever-evolving. I’m trying new locations that are more central – and days! This one’s on a Monday, so take a break and do something fun to start your week.

Turn Your Credit Card Into a Debit Card (And Earn Rewards!) With This Website and App

Debitize has been on my radar for a long time. It’s a website (and iOS app) where you plug in your credit card and bank account information. As you make purchases on your credit card, money is moved automatically every time you swipe – as if you were using your debit card.

For peeps who have trouble with the idea of managing credit, or afraid to overspend, you can still see money leaving your account every time you use your card. And Debitize will pay your card off in full each month.

Debitize lets you earn credit card rewards with a debit card mentality

In essence, you can treat your credit card like a debit card. But the big plus is, you can still rack up valuable credit card rewards!

Here’s more about the service.

What’s Debitize?

Link: Sign up for Debitize and get $10

The #1 thing I hear from friends about why they insist on using debit cards (

Bottom of the Barrel: Have I Gotten All the Points & Miles Cards I Possibly Can?

I wanna type out loud for a sec to assess which card offers I can still earn. Before I begin, I know there aren’t many.

After all, I currently have about 30 cards and have rotated through many others since I started the points & miles game in 2012 (and heavily in 2013).

My first award trip was to Hawaii in 2013, with Delta miles and Hilton points

So what’s left for me? I know it’s not much.

Let’s take a deep dive.

Which cards are left that I can even get?

Arranged by bank, in order of most to least coveted cards. Typing as I think of each.

3 Excellent Amex Small Business Card Welcome Offers – Which Is Best for You?

Amex is bringing it with their small business cards. There are notable welcome offer increases on a few of them right now.

And they are definitely NOT created equal.

#spgamex is gonna go the way of the #dodo

Here’s what to consider about each one.

Big welcome offers on Amex small business cards

Right now, you can get:

10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points with the Blue Business Plus Amex
35,000 Starwood points with the Starwood small business Amex
100,000 Hilton points with the Hilton small business Amex

Each have wildly different:

Minimum spending requirements
Earning structures
Ancillary perks
Annual fees

Here’s a side-by-side look at all 3:

 Blue Business PlusStarwoodHilton




Welcome offer10,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. End date unknown35,000 Starwood points. Offer ends March 28th, 2018Up to 100,000 Hilton points: 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.



And 25,000 bonus points after spending another $1,000 in purchases in the first 6 months


Minimum spending$3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership$7,000 in purchases within the first 3 months$4,000 total (see above)


Annual fee$0$95, waived the 1st year$95


Earning- 2X on all purchases, on up to $50,000 per calendar year- 2X at Starwood and Marriott hotels



- 1X on other purchases- 12X at Hilton



- 6X at US gas stations, wireless phone service from US providers, US shipping purchases, US restaurants, flights, and select car rentals



- 3X on other purchases


Notes- Typically doesn't have a sign-up bonus at all. End date unknown



- Here's my review of this offer- This offer only comes around once or twice a year



- Here's my review



- Gets you access to Sheraton lounges

- Hilton Gold elite status



- Here's how you can use Hilton points



- End date unknown


LinkLearn more here.Learn more here.Learn more here.

So which is best? That depends on your history and travel goals.

But none of them count toward your Chase 5/24 status. So if you’re trying to pick up Chase cards down the road, they’re all worth a look.

One and done

To start, if you’ve ever had any of the cards before, you can’t earn the welcome offer again. This does NOT mean if you’ve had the personal version of the Starwood card, for example, that you can’t get the small business version. Amex counts personal and small business cards as different card products.

You can only earn an Amex welcome offer once per lifetime

It does mean if you earned the bonus on the Starwood small business Amex, you can’t earn that one again. But you could get the personal version and earn the welcome offer if you’ve never had it.

In my case, it’s easy. I have the Blue Business Plus and Starwood small business cards. So the only one I could possibly get is the Hilton card. If you’re in a similar position, the choice is easy.

1. Blue Business Plus Amex

Link: Blue Business Plus Amex – learn more here
Link: The Best 2X Card for Non-Bonus Spending Now Has a 10,000 Point Welcome Offer

This card usually doesn’t have a welcome offer at all. And actually, the card is strong without one. So I consider earning any amount of points as pure gravy.

It’s an amazing card for non-bonus spending. You can earn 2X Amex Membership Rewards points on up to $50,000 in spending per year with NO category restrictions. I use this card constantly for that reason and always have it in my wallet. “No bonus? Get out the Blue Business Plus.”

I put my car down payment on the Blue Business Plus Amex

Plus, it has no annual fee. So it’s free to have forever. And it keeps your other Amex Membership Rewards points alive and active if you cancel other cards, like the Amex Platinum.

There are 3 reasons to get any card: welcome offer, bonus categories, or ongoing perks. For this card, it’s: 10,000 points, 2X on everything, no annual fees.

2. Starwood small business Amex

Link: Starwood small business Amex – learn more here

Make no mistake. When Marriott gets ahold of the SPG program, they are going to rip it end to end.

The program will last through 2018. But in 2019, it doesn’t stand a chance.

That’s why I’m surprised to keep seeing welcome offers on this card. Clearly, Amex wants to pump them into as many hands as they can before the big switch. I can’t blame them for it. And 35,000 Starwood points is as high as it’s ever gotten.

A portrait of both the Starwood program and the current offer on the Starwood small business Amex, which goes poof on March 28th, 2018

So if you haven’t had this card before, now is an excellent time to get it. You have until March 28th, 2018, to apply and earn the bigger welcome offer.

35,000 Starwood points plus the minimum spending is 42,00 Starwood points. Considering you get 5,000 bonus miles when you transfer to airlines with a 1:1 transfer ratio, that’s easily 50,000 Alaska, American, Asiana (and many other airlines’) miles.

Or you could use them for:

Cash + Points bookings
SPG Moments
Nights & Flights

Of course, you can also use them to stay at Starwood (or Marriott!) hotels, too.