Update: The Ink Bold is now 50k again, and the Lufthansa card is at 35k again.
Bonuses come and go and therefore I base applying during the comes and not after the go’s. Well, not after the go’s when they are before the comes. Anyways…
As far as I’m concerned the first bonus far out-shadows the second bonus I’ll mention.
The Ink Bold/Plus 50,000
The Ink Bold (and Ink Plus) have increased their bonus to 50,000 points. Rumor is that the deal is a deal for May. Not sure, so I’ve no idea how long it will last. And ultimately, it’s not new but it is the highest I’ve ever seen the bonus. So now’s the time, I suppose.
But Chase points are still my favorite because United miles are still my favorite. I published the New United Stopover and Routing Secrets, recently. This program is still full of magic and so it’s hard to justify transferring to other programs (too often) when United suits my needs.
The Lufthansa 35,000
This one is a getting to feel a little more routine. It’s a little obvious, no one wants a Lufthansa card unless we’re talking 50k+.
Click here to view the 35,000 miles Lufthansa offer.
The fuel surcharges are astronomical, so I would only ever use Lufthansa miles on flights within the Americas, on TAM, Avianca, Taca or Air New Zealand. That being said, if you are in need of two domestic roundtrips, or a flight on any of those airlines, it’s a decent bonus.
The other bummer is that the card has a $79 annual fee, not waived. Soooo… it’s not a free two domestic roundtrips, but it’s under $100 and would include Alaska.
It’s a good deal, I wish some of the other cards would revitalize their love for bonuses. Ultimately it sells more. It certainly sells for the credit card salesmen. Think about it, it’s typical salesman gimmick stuff. “A limited time offer.” Push the indecisive off the fence, and it leaves you saying “I was going to get the other card, but that’s available anytime!”
After hearing about exclusive tours (timeshare pitches) for days in Puerto Vallarta, we went up to the timeshare-tour-arranging ladies and my friend threw some softballs at them.
Daniel: Now is their a tour?
Timeshare lady: We do tours every morning.
Daniel: Is it private?
Timeshare lady: Yes, just you.
Daniel: Is it exclusive?
Timeshare lady: Yes, it’s an exclusive tour!
Think about how ridiculous that is. Is it exclusive? It’s like; can just anyone get this, or just me? Resorts are funny about this.
But unlike resorts, good salesmen figure out a deadline. But honestly, I don’t think this second bonus isn’t something that we’ll see later this year.
So instead of thinking, “is 50k better than the regular bonus?”, try to compare the current bonus to any other bonus. What are your needs? And what card meets them the best?
That being said, I have both cards (and I got them both with these bonuses). If not, I wouldn’t have written about it.
Might be a ploy to get a bunch of people to use the Ink cards while they drop the 5X points for office supply stores, so the rumor goes.
Didn’t hear that. Would be a bummer. But… I won’t complain about the 60k. :-p
Their ploy is to get more people to sign up for the card. It has nothing to do with the new changes coming to the Ink 5% categories. The logic is simple, they did this before. I would say about 10 months ago they ran the same promo.
We find the same thing with SPG in June when they up the bonus to 30k
Did not recall that you pushed (sorry, “educated the public on”) Chase cards? Is that something new?
The slippery slope begins….
Can we maybe wait until there’s an actual slope?
Drew has so far proven that he’s better than 99.99% of existing travel bloggers. I go on track record instead of pessimistic prediction.
I agree, and so what if there’s a slope. Last I check, it costs $ to live, and no one likes to work for free.
Thanks much DiffPaul and Angela!
Thank you.
And very nice to see that your link to the Chase Ink includes the 60K promotion. (As such, at last, we can get a card with the premium promotion that helps modestly sponsor my favorite travel duo… 🙂 )
Hello,
My wife and I both had these cards and we close them in November. Let me know if we apply for them again, if we will be eligible for the bonus points.
Thank you
Syed
For Chase, that’s way too soon. For Barclays, the rumor is, you could have a while ago, and still can.
No love for the new Wells Fargo cards?
I don’t recommend cards I don’t have. And honestly, I have no plans on getting it any time soon.
Ummm, what’s to like, William? I see 5X on gas/groceries/drug store purchases for six months…. but anything beyond that? ?? I’m not seeing anything about miles/points bonuses? I suppose this card might, by itself, be a slight challenge to the Chase Freedom card….. for those who only want the cash back, for a wee six months. But not much of a blip on the radar screen for travel point collectors…. Maybe you’ve seen something better?
Will is referring to the new Wells Fargo Propel card that gives a 40k signup bonus.
Hi Drew,
Is there a way I can email you privately?
You have my email address.