The Milenomics Podcast Network

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 194: New Transfer Bonuses, Brokerage Bonuses, Credit Card Bonuses and More

Added 2023-05-21 15:30:27 +0000 UTC

0:21 A Couple Bits of Airline News

United Devalues Saver Transatlantic Partner Awards 30%
AA Price Discrepancies when booked through 3rd party travel agencies incl bank points (Cranky Flyer has some info on this)
Great read on the NDC/GDS issue: (Via altexsoft)
Wild twist: Jetblue does not see AA NDC fares! This means if you go to Jetblue’s site you see different fares than AA’s

16:52 [Targeted] Amex MR -> AsiaMiles 20% Transfer Bonus

Fees but can see seats before AA or other partners
Good for flights to Asia
Don’t expire

19:12 Citi TYP -> AirFrance 25% Transfer Bonus (OMAAT)

Ends June 17, 2023
Robert: I think I might do some of this instead of relentlessly cashing out

20:52 Merrill Edge Brokerage Bonuses (Direct Link)

$100 for $20,000
$200 for $50,000
$400 for $100,000
$1,000 for $250,000+ (this is a correction from the show)
Need to maintain balance for 90 days
These qualify [some] BofA credit cards for earning uplift, even IRAs
But the tastytrade offers look significantly more generous

22:02 tastytrade Brokerage Bonuses (Direct Link)

$100 for $5,000 - $24,999
$500 for $25,000 - $99,999
$2,000 for $100,000 - $249,999
$3,000 for $250,000+
New customers only
Have to hold for 12 months
Bonus isn’t added to buying power until 12 months

24:52 US Bank Q2 Business Checking Account $500/$750 bonus

We’ve discussed the Q1 version of this
Earn $500 when you deposit $5,000.
Earn $750 when you deposit $15,000.
Deposit in first 30 days. Hold for 60 days.
But this offer has been enhanced from that with a $750 for $15k deposit option.
Promo Q2BUS23, direct link to promo
This came to my house 2x in one day, likely based on my amount of Leverage
Applied and…. Approved!
Consider leaving EIN (ssn only) off the app for easier approval.

27:45 M&T Checking $350 + $100 (DoC)

State limited, mostly northeast
Direct Link
$350 for opening checking and keeping $10,000 for 2 months
Additional $100 for opening Money Market and keeping additional $10,000 for 2 months

28:32 Amex Hilton Cards Add Free Night Certificate to Welcome Bonus (FM)

Personal (No AF) 80k + Free Night Cert
Surpass 130k + Free Night Cert
Aspire
Business 150k + Free Night Cert

30:40 Amex Business Checking 30,000 Offer

Deposit $5,000
Keep it there 60 days
Complete 5 transactions
Repeat?

32:05 Bank of America Preferred Rewards Update

Noticed in the terms a new “Diamond Honors” tier at $10M+
Given that Diamond ($1M) has little discernible difference over Platinum Honors ($100,000) it’s unclear what Diamond Honors might provide. Let’s have a look…
Program Terms
Gold $20k - < $50k, 25% credit card uplift
Platinum $50k - $100k, 50% uplift
Platinum Honors $100k - $1M, 75% uplift
Diamond $1M+, also 75% uplift, perks
Diamond Honors $10M+, also 75% uplift, “It’s not just rewards, it’s appreciation”
Diamond/Diamond Honors Terms
Diamond/Diamond Honors Perks

39:05 St. Regis Chicago Opens (OMAAT)

40:08 Chase Sapphire Lounge Boston Opens (OMAAT)

Officially called the “Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club”
You’d think that anyone with a Chase Sapphire card would be able to access, but it’s far more complicated than that… (direct link, maybe working/maybe not)
Sapphire Reserve cardholders can access, but only with the Priority Pass card associated with their Reserve card
Sapphire Preferred cardholders are…strangely…treated no better than Amex/CapOne/etc Priority Pass cardholders. They get 1 free visit per year.
2 guests are allowed each visit (for Sapphire Reserve) but after that it’s $75 per guest
Strangely Chase Ritz-Carlton cardholders get better access terms than Sapphire Reserve: Unlimited guests! I guess that aligns with the quality of the Priority Pass experience with Sapphire Reserve for Ritz-Carlton?
But even exploring and asks these questions reminds me of what a complicated mess Priority Pass is on so many levels
Discuss: How on earth do they expect people to understand access term to this strangely named and implemented lounge? And how likely is it that the access area is going to be a vestibule of frustration for all involved?

46:00 New Segment: The Hardest Thing We Did This Week

46:22 Sam: By far the hardest thing I did this week was book universal studios Japan theme park tickets and line passes.

Universal Japan has an English site
And they appear to sell tickets
Except they don't take US credit cards
Plenty of write ups say apple pay is the key to getting around this issue
Please note: as of March 2023 visa are no longer accepted for apple pay
So we both ended up trying apple pay with MC….and it just flat out didn't work.
Determined to get the times I wanted for key rides I found write ups that claimed the Japanese site was the key to using a CC. But that site was a complete riddle, with 256 different options for one of a half dozen passes.
And the charges still didn't work.
Finally. Mercifully. Klook has these tickets for a 7-10% premium.The reason to try to avoid klook is the times for express passes are not known until after you book, and are said to be suboptimal. That was true for me.

54:38 Robert: As much as I’d like to go with “Buying then twice returning a Breville ‘SmartOven’” I’m going to go with “Getting Money Out of Accounts” as being the hardest thing I did this week. Maybe not the hardest but definitely the most annoying.