Category Archives: Airline Programs

What is the best airline rewards program today? Well, that really depends on who you are and what you want out of your rewards program. Choosing the one that matches your lifestyle can help you to feel satisfied with what you get. When you choose a program, you want to consider a few different things, including how easy it is to get a flight, flight options, any additional perks, and “the fine print.”

Here are our choices:

American Airlines

The largest, and arguably most popular, frequent flyer program belongs to American Airlines. They fly to over 1,000 destinations, making them a great choice no matter where you need to fly, domestic or abroad. With an easy to understand system, it is a great way to get introduced to the world of airline rewards programs.

Of course, you should still shop around and be sure you pay attention to the different times of the year when better deals may be offered. You will have to pay taxes and fees, but everything is clearly listed before you book. And the best way to earn American Airlines rewards is to use one of a few different credit cards.

Delta SkyMiles

With hubs in some of the biggest and best cities in the US, Delta has a great program. It  may feel like it takes a degree in hieroglyphics to really be able to read their rewards chart, but it is easy enough once you have had some practice. Note that Delta’s online search engine is tricky as well, but their customer service center is extremely helpful and they will walk you through the process.

You can earn bonus points with SkyMiles by signing up for their program and getting the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. You will have to spend $1,000 within 90 days of opening the account, but that is enough to get a domestic flight.

Southwest Airlines

Few companies compare to Southwest Airlines if you want a free or nearly free flight, and it is one of the easiest companies to redeem your points with. They base their system on the cost of the tickets, meaning cheaper tickets will cost fewer miles. They also have no blackout dates, which is great for people who want to save up to go home for holidays.

Note that the fares on Southwest do tend to vary from day to day, so you will want to check constantly and shop around. You will also have to pay taxes and fees, though they aren’t as much on domestic flights.

 

One common question that often comes up for credit card reward programs is if you have to pay taxes on the rewards you earn. Per the IRS, you may have to report your credit card rewards if they are the type that have been deemed ‘taxable income.’ For many cards, this won’t be the case because the IRS sees your cash-back programs and rewards as discounts, not income. However, if you got a large sign-on bonus for your card, you might have to report that as extra income.

If you use your credit card for your business, you will have to keep even better records. Any and all rebates have to be subtracted from how much is paid so that you lessen the amount that you deduct from your taxes. It means that your taxable income doesn’t increase, but your burden will because you didn’t pay the full price.

There are some types of credit card rewards that you don’t have to count as income as well, including cash-back programs, travel points, purchases made with points, and sign-on bonuses that you get after you’ve spent a certain amount of money. If you are not required to spend any money to get those rewards, however, you will have to use a 1099-MISC tax form. You will probably receive the form from the credit card company with your bonus. Sometimes the state won’t report this income to the IRS, however, and you will have to do it. Each state is different and tax laws frequently change. Note that you don’t have to actually receive any money in order to report to your taxes. Anything that is provided to you without having to make a purchase, whether it is points, gift cards, or something else, is considered taxable income. If you have questions about whether or not you have to pay, the credit card company might not be the best resource for you to go to. Instead, you should ask a tax professional.

If you are confused, and many people will be as states and companies crack down on this even more, you can always contact a professional. Don’t ignore your 1099-MISC form, even if you think your income doesn’t qualify. The IRS is always watching and they are getting better and better at tracking income from any and all of these sources. You don’t want to have to pay a tax penalty because you ignored a piece of mail you got or because you didn’t think your income counted.

One of the better reward credit cards to consider in 2017 is the American Express Green Card. They are currently offering 25,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first three months. On top of that, you get 2x the points on each dollar spent on the American Express Travel Website and 1x the points on every purchase after that. Once you get enough points, you can use them with more than 500 leading brands. There are many different options to choose from, including travel, gift cards, entertainment, frequent flyer miles, and merchandise. You can work right within the American Express system to get some of their best rewards. They have relationships with many travel companies, making it one of the top choices amongst people who travel for work or pleasure.

For people who travel a lot, there are other protections as well, including roadside assistance, insurance for car rentals, and baggage protection. There is an annual fee of $95, but that is waived for the first year.

In order to get the Green Card 25,000 Bonus Points promotion, you have to follow a set of instructions very carefully:

1. Go into incognito mode on your browser. Copy and paste the bonus link and hit enter. Link: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/green/25330
2. If you don’t see the bonus points, repeat step 1. You may have to do this over a dozen times to get the promotion, but it will be worth it.
3. If you still don’t get the bonus, try it in another browser (suggested browsers include Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Firefox.) You may have to repeat the steps again in that browser.
4. If that doesn’t work, you may have to use another computer.

This may seem complicated, but it isn’t that difficult to do and at the end of the day it is worth doing to get the bonus points.

This might just be one of the best promotions yet for the American Express Green Card. Spending $1,000 in the first three months shouldn’t be that difficult – it is actually harder to actually get the promotion on the website.

If you like to travel, there are no better offers because of the high amount of miles and perks you can get just for having the card. Remember that you do have to pay the card off and after the first year, there is an annual fee, however. You also don’t get as many rewards points back once the first 25,000 points, but they may make up for it.

American Express offers many different cards that suit every lifestyle. All of their cards come with fantastic perks and great customer service. If you’re looking to signup for an American Express rewards card, these are some of the best options to consider that might match your needs:

Best Card for Families

For families, the best card is easily the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express. It is the leading card at US supermarkets, giving 6% cash back for up to $6,000 in purchases per year. You also get 3% cashback at department stores and gas stations. There is a $95 annual fee, but if you spend more than $31 per week, it offsets the fee.

Best Card for Big Spenders

If you spend a lot of money on your card, the Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express is your best bet. You get 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent (up to $6,000) at US supermarkets with unlimited 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. If you make 20 or more purchases with your card during a billing period, you get 20% extra points on those purchases. There is no annual fee with this card.

If you spend more than $1,000 on the card in the first 3 months, you earn an extra 10,000 Membership Rewards points. You can then redeem these points for travel, gift cards, and shopping.

Best Card for Travelers

The best card for people who travel a lot is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. You earn up to 5 Starpoints per dollar at participating SPG hotels, 2 per dollar at Marriott Rewards properties, and 1 point on all other purchases. If you make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months, you get 25,000 bonus Starpoints. There is no foreign transaction fee either. There is an APR of $95 after the first year.

In order to get this card, you need to have excellent credit.

Best Card for a Small Business

The best card to help with your small business is the SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express. With no annual fee and a low APR, you can use this freely. In fact, for the first nine months, your APR is 0%. You get 5% cash back at US office supply stores and on telephone services from US providers, 3% cash back on a category you select, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. If you spend $5,000 in the first 6 months, you get a $200 statement credit. You’ll earn that $200 with each additional $10,000.

As a bonus, you get access to American Express OPEN, a community for business owners that has invaluable tools to help you grow.

American Express Membership Reward Points are a great way to travel using your own hard earned points. American Express Membership Rewards is well known for being one of the top credit card reward programs on the market. But what can one do with so many points and no seats? Many AMEX account holders end up selling American Express Points due to lack of reward seat availability. We have good news! Work with the top mileage broker in the industry that pays you cash, TheMilesBroker.com!

Many online buyers offer a mere fraction of a cent per point. For example, they convert 100,000 AMEX points into $500-$750 in gift cards. Some AMEX account holders trade their points for gift cards, then turn around and sell those cards for a fraction of the actual value. This process is very time consuming and can take a load out of your pocket.

We have the best solution out there. TheMilesBroker.com guarantees top value when selling your American Express Reward Points. Your AMEX points are simply transferred out of the account, and the seller is paid on the spot. It’s the easiest most rewarding way to sell your American Express Membership Reward Points.

Chase Ultimate Rewards program can be very attractive for the everyday purchaser or business person. When racking up points, the usual way to redeem Chase UR points is to turn them into cash through Chase portal. But why settle for only a fraction of their actual value.

Options to transfer to many airlines including United Mileage Plus, British Airways Avios and Singapore KrisFlyer to name a few. This gives Chase UR it’s value. Chase offers many cards that can be used with Ultimate rewards. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, Chase Ink Plus etc. With these options of credit cards, it’s hard to choose the right one.

Selling your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points with TheMilesBroker.com, ensures safety and top value guaranteed. We offer quick turnaround to Sell Chase UR points. Submit a request today and feel confident that TheMilesBroker.com does everything in it’s power when you are selling your Chase UR points.

American Express Membership Reward Points are a great way to travel using your own hard earned points. American Express Membership Rewards is well known for being one of the top credit card reward programs on the market. But what can one do with so many points and no seats? Many AMEX account holders end up selling American Express Points due to lack of reward seat availability. We have good news! Work with the top mileage broker in the industry, TheMilesBroker.com!

Many online buyers offer a mere fraction of a cent per point. For example, they convert 100,000 AMEX points into $500-$750 in gift cards. Some AMEX account holders trade their points for gift cards, then turn around and sell those cards for a fraction of the actual value. This process is very time consuming and can take a load out of your pocket.

We have the best solution out there. TheMilesBroker.com guarantees top value when selling your American Express Reward Points. Located on the right side of the screen, submit a request to sell your points and make your money work for you.

Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia enhanced their partnership by launching a new feature that enables KrisFlyer and Velocity Frequent Flyer members to convert points and miles between the two programs. This new (and pretty unique) conversion capability offers frequent flyers greater access to upgrades and award seats across the combined network of the two airlines.

Air France KLM 50% off Flying Blue Promo Awards for February-March!!

Flying Blue, the mileage program of SkyTeam partners Air France, KLM and Air Europa, offers Promo Awards each month that enable you to book award flights for as little as half the miles normally needed on some routes and in certain cabins. The list of awards you can book between December 1-31, 2014 for travel February 1-March 31, 2015 is now up on the Flying Blue Promo Awards page.

Delta one-way awards and improved search engine for 2015!

Delta does allow one-way awards, but only for the same price as a round-trip. Getting value from the SkyMiles program in general has been difficult for award travelers.

At least some of this will changes in 2015 when Delta makes one-way awards available for half the mileage of a round-trip. This will suddenly make it possible to use SkyMiles in combination with tickets from revenue bookings or other award programs. In addition, Delta has already introduced a new award search calendar. Whereas the previous award calendar produced results bordering on fictitious, and calculated mileage costs somewhat randomly, the new award charts are a largely accurate representation of what can be booked, at least among the partners that can be booked online.

The changes aren’t entirely positive, as Delta is eliminating stopovers on award flights. Awards with stopovers can still be booked through the end of the year, but only by reaching a telephone representative who is willing to help.