New Credit Cards, New Opportunities: My Choices and Why
New Credit Cards: American Express Gold + Bilt Rewards: Earn Rewards on Rent
Tax season is always scary for me as a single, independent contractor with a 9 – 5. Nothing could have prepared me for my tax debt this year. I was shocked. I looked at the number a few times and closed my computer to regroup. I knew I needed to find a way to benefit from making this payment and started looking at getting a new credit card with a large sign-up bonus. I had to make sure it fit a few criteria first.
The Criteria:
Currently, I am low on points due to my flight + hotel bookings for my Bahamas and Mexico City trips. So after reviewing my current card list, I realized I needed a card that earns Membership Rewards since I have not tapped into those rewards. Membership rewards would allow me to transfer to Delta Airlines in addition to Hilton. I typically stay at Hilton’s when I travel for work.
Next, I needed a card that would transfer to American Airlines. American Airlines has been advertising flights for 5,000 miles and I wanted to use this to book a few trips.
I did not want to add an airline-specific card because I prefer flexible points that I can use for a variety of purposes.
American Express Gold
With so little Delta Skymiles (under 10,000), and having not utilized Membership Rewards, the Amex Gold was perfect. The Amex Gold will allow me to transfer miles to Delta and Hilton. Before directly applying, I scoured the internet for a sign-up bonus of at least 75,000 points and found an offer for 90,000 points. This card does have an annual fee of $250 but gives 4x points for supermarkets and restaurants. Lately, I have been learning to cook, so my weekly trips to Trader Joe’s and daily visits to my local supermarket should earn me points rapidly.
Paying taxes will earn the sign-up bonus and the Annual Fee would be offset by the dining and Uber credit. I have already been on Google Flights looking for my next trip, I was thinking of Tulum because I saw some roundtrip flights on Delta for 17,000 miles.
Bilt Rewards
To fit my American Airlines criteria, I signed up for the Bilt Rewards credit card. A plus for this card is that there is no annual fee. Thank goodness cause my yearly Annual Fee amount has gotten so high. Sadly, Bilt Rewards does not have a sign-up bonus but as a New York City renter, this card is perfect because I can pay my rent without being charged an additional fee.
If you consider Bilt Rewards, remember that you have to use the card at least 5x in addition to paying your rent. You can also participate in games and link your other cards to earn additional points. Furthermore, they have partnerships with various workout studios where you can take workout classes. One of my favorite features though is looking at the transfer in the app, since it allowed me a limited but free membership to point.me. Sadly, a few weeks after signing up, Bilt Rewards has decided to end its transfer partnership with American Airlines. I have not quite figured out my next move but if you have any tips drop them below.
Total points coming from Sign-up Bonus: 90,000
Preparing to Travel
Now that I have my new cards figured out, I have begun plotting on my next few trips. I saved some flights on my Google flights for Houston and Utah and have a spreadsheet that tracks how many miles I will need for all of my upcoming travel.
To continue to monitor my flights and hotels, I will continue using Google Flights, point.me and various airline sites. I plan to maximize my PTO time to take as many trips as possible. The goal is to utilize points and miles to pay for parts of the trip and save my cash for excursions and souvenirs.
Conclusion
My hoarding process is restarting thanks to my new credit cards. However, I did add an additional annual fee that I will need to consider. I am ecstatic about what travel plans will develop due to my new points.
