Instant approval of 5 new rewards cards, I will earn 460,000 points in rewards

Instant approval of 5 new rewards cards, I will earn 460,000 points in rewards

by Gary Lev On January 20, 2024

I applied for five new rewards credit cards — and were instantly approved — this weekend. I’ll share with you the offers I decided to take advantage of and my thoughts on each. Four of them were small business cards, and none of them were subject to or in addition to “5/24” (where Chase will only approve you if you have fewer than 5 new cards in the last 24 months). Only one card, the Alaska Visa with its high offer of 70,000 miles, was the consumer card.

1. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers an offer to earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases with your Card within the first three months of Card Membership. When I clicked on it, I was targeted to earn 150,000 points instead.

   The card has a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees) but I’m fine with it not only because of the initial bonus but also because of the $400-$600 statement credits I expect to tap into once I sign up and make qualifying charges.

   
   Transferring Membership Rewards from American Express to Etihad Airways

2. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has an offer to earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. I often transfer my Chase points to Hyatt but of course I have a number of options.

   Many readers reported approval for this card despite it being over 24/5.

   
   Chase Ultimate Rewards moved to Air Canada, where in the Vancouver Suite I enjoyed this tomahawk steak

3. City Business^® / feature^® Choose platinum^® MasterCard Credit Card^® American Airlines offers 65,000 AAdvantage® miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening. This card has a $0 annual fee the first year (then $99). (See prices and fees)

   
   My American Airlines first class flight to Sydney last summer wouldn’t be my last after all, I booked it again

4. The Alaska Airlines Credit Card offers an offer of 70,000 Mileage Plan miles after spending $3,000 within 90 days and also an Alaska Airlines companion certificate after the same spending ($99 base for utilities plus taxes and fees starting at $23).

   Its annual fee is $95, and Bank of America checking or savings account customers earn a 10% bonus on miles earned for every dollar spent.

   
   I redeemed my Miles Plan miles for Cathay Pacific First Class

5. The Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card offers 75,000 Mileage Plan miles and an accompanying fare certificate after $4,000 in purchases within 90 days of account opening. (You need to enter any six numbers as a referral code to qualify for the 75,000-mile offer instead of the more widely available 70,000 miles.)

   Like the Consumer Card, it has an annual fee of $95 and you get a 10% bonus on all miles earned on card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America business account. Plus, you’ll get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge membership purchased with the card.

   
   Overall, Qatar Airways (and Royal Jordanian) awards between the US and the Middle East become less expensive under newly announced chart

Apply for small business cards

This past week I emailed a friend who is a longtime print journalist. He’s been asking about applying for small business cards, because he does a lot of speaking and writing on the side. He is a 1099 incomer, is a sole proprietor, and does not have a separate business entity.

I offered that while I couldn’t guarantee approvals every time, this was an ideal use case for a small business card.

One of the first things you’ll want to do with a side hustle is set up a bank account and get a credit card, to keep money and expenses separate. Professionalizing your 1099 income helps financially when it comes to tax reporting and proving to the IRS that it’s a bona fide business (so you can deduct expenses, which you can’t deduct if it’s hobby income).

In other words, it’s perfectly normal to have a business credit card in a sole proprietorship with your Social Security number as your tax ID.

Optional for cards

I can never have too many Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards points. I wish it were easier to earn Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou rewards, too. Although the Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers a 35% discount on travel purchased through its online portal (up to 1 million points per year, when redeemed for travel with the Cardmember’s preferred airline or for business and first class travel), . You will continue to use points transferred to one of its airline partners.

I didn’t have City Business^® / feature^® Choose platinum^® MasterCard Credit Card^® In several years and getting one that works better with the new AAdvantage Business software, as much as I regret losing Business ExtrAA.

And I’m really excited about doubling the Alaska Airlines mileage plan because we know what direction award prices are going, and while the awards for some of our long-haul and first class long-haul partners are becoming somewhat more expensive, other awards are getting cheaper and the network is much better than I expected.

You can never have too many miles

Credit cards remain the source of the majority of my miles, and I need to earn as many miles as I can because I like to travel a lot, in premium cabins, with my family.

For rates and fees for the Business Platinum® Card from American Express, click here

More view from the suite