New Relief Measures for Premium Travel Credit Cards: American Express Edition
As the novel coronavirus continues to dismantle the economy, travel benefits offered by premium credit cards are becoming more impractical with every passing day. At the same time, people are trimming unnecessary expenses and streamlining their budgets to make the most out of every buck. As a result, it may be wise for some cardholders to rearrange their wallets in order to avoid their daunting annual fee renewals until the repercussions of COVID-19 blow over. This holds especially true if there is no retention offer being offered or downgrade path available. Fortunately, credit card issuers have stepped in to re-prioritize some of the travel benefits that may be difficult to use this year and implement temporary relief measures to lessen the burden of high annual fees.
Welcome to the new normal, where everyone is mandated to wear masks when grocery shopping.
American Express Platinum Card
AMEX Platinum cardmembers can receive up to $320 in statement credits when they use their card on select streaming and wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. Statement credit earnings are maxed at $20 per month and valid from May through December 2020. Though I generally pay my phone bills using my Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card for its exceptional cell phone insurance benefit, I switched to my Platinum while this credit is available to maximize my savings. Most people are subscribed to streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, so this is an easy benefit to enjoy.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Platinum Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSDAtF?XLINK=MYCP
The cell phone and streaming service reimbursements can really add up and help Platinum Card members. Photo credit: www.americanexpress.com
American Express Green Card
AMEX Green cardmembers can receive up to $80 in statement credits when they use their Green Card on select wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. The statement credit earning is maxed at $10 per month and valid from May through December 2020. Though the Green Card’s benefit is not as lucrative as its older sibling’s added perks, it makes sense and scales accordingly with its lower annual fee of $150.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Green Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSGhHQ?XLINK=MYCP
Make sure to confirm with American Express if your wireless provider is eligible for statement credits. Photo credit: www.americanexpress.com
American Express Hilton Co-branded Cards
AMEX has three Hilton co-branded personal credit cards: the Hilton Honors Card, Hilton Honors Surpass, and Hilton Honors Aspire. Any Hilton Honors bonus points earned through eligible purchases on those credit cards between May and December 2020 will be considered base points for Hilton Honors statuses and will count towards Elite Tier qualification and Lifetime Diamond status. Needless to say, this benefit may be meaningless if you were not chasing Elite status.
Hilton Surpass & Hilton Aspire
From May to July 2020, the Hilton Surpass and Aspire will earn 12X Hilton Honors points at U.S. supermarkets. Traditionally, the Surpass offered 6X Hilton Honors points at U.S. supermarkets, and the Aspire did not offer any. Whether you were using the Surpass as your workhorse card or only carried the Aspire for Hilton stays, this offer is great for both audiences.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Surpass Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARS5A0R?XLINK=MYCP
Getting 12X Hilton Honors points at U.S. grocery stores is welcome news for Hilton Aspire cardholders who don’t get better earnings with other cards.
Hilton Aspire ONLY
The American Express Hilton Aspire offers a $250 resort credit that can be used annually at select Hilton resorts. This credit inevitably became very difficult to use with travel on a worldwide halt. From June to August 2020, Aspire cardholders can apply the $250 resort credit towards U.S restaurants, including takeout and delivery. Even pre-pandemic, the resort credit has been somewhat cumbersome to use for many people, so I think this is a great move by AMEX to effectively lower the hefty annual fee for Hilton’s premium-tier card.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Hilton Aspire Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSLgWl?XLINK=MYCP
The resort credit can be used at Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, and for part of this upcoming summer, delivery and takeout! Photo credit: www.hilton.com
American Express Delta Co-branded Cards
AMEX currently offers four Delta co-branded personal credit cards: Delta SkyMiles Blue, Gold, Platinum, and Reserve. None of these cards previously offered multipliers for grocery expenses, but now they all qualify for 4X SkyMiles back at U.S. supermarkets from May to July 2020. Though the multiplier is not as strong as other cards, it could be valuable if you don’t earn any higher from other cards in your wallet.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Delta Platinum Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSbcu7?XLINK=MYCP
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
The AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant is the only Marriott co-branded card offered by American Express. Between May and July 2020, the Bonvoy Brilliant will earn 6X Bonvoy points at grocery stores, up to $7,500 in purchases. Because each Marriott Bonvoy point is valued at 0.8 cents per point, the card earns 4.8 cents per dollar on return, not as strong as the American Express Gold Card’s 8 cents per dollar. In addition, the annual $300 credit towards Marriott purchases will now qualify towards purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery. This credit was never really difficult to utilize since buying something as broad as Marriott gift cards would qualify as an eligible purchase. However, it’s still a great move by AMEX in accommodating cardholders who may not feel comfortable traveling anytime in the near future.
If you’d like to apply for the American Express Bonvoy Brilliant Card, please consider using my referral link. It will continue to help fund my blog and educate existing and potential cardholders to make the most informed decisions to maximize their rewards earnings. Thank you! http://refer.amex.us/EDWARSb1jy?XLINK=MYCP
Though 6X back is on the weaker side, the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant rounds out its list of temporary benefits with a $300 dining credit. Photo credit: www.americanexpress.com
Summary
Among the major credit card issuers, American Express (AMEX) has applied more temporary benefits than any others. Some cards such as Delta’s co-branded offerings received additional multipliers towards grocery spending, while others such as the Platinum Card, Hilton Aspire, and Bonvoy Brilliant received more exclusive benefits and perks to discount streaming services and cell phone bills, some even opening up use cases for hotel credits toward restaurant and grocery expenses. I appreciate AMEX stepping up to expand different categories of benefits to a wide variety of cards to accommodate people in need. Since many of these cards are arguably keeper cards, I will not be downgrading or canceling them any time soon. In the meantime, I suggest cardholders reorganize their credit card portfolio to take advantage of the benefits and savings that make the most sense for them during this unique and difficult time.
