The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a rewards credit card that is now offering new cardholders 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. This is quite a good deal, as 50,000 points can be redeemed for $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards™ (you can buy a more expensive ticket and simply pay the difference). Earn 5,000 additional bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. No annual fee for the first year, $95 in future years.

[This card is the “big brother” of the regular Chase Sapphire® Card, where you can get 10,000 points after you spend $500 in the first 3 months (no minimum amount) – that’s $100 in travel rewards when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards! and there is no annual fee in the first year or subsequent years. As well as an additional 2,500 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening. I would personally rather go for the 40,000 points offer since the annual fee is waived for an entire year.]

Rewards Features
As a rewards card, the Sapphire offers 2 points per dollar spent on travel, 2 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants and 1 point for every dollar on all other purchases (100 points = $1, or the usual 1% back). However, this card separates itself with it’s flexible redemptions. Cash redemptions are easy – you can redeem in $1 increments as long as above $20, so you could cash out $27 or $253 without anything left over. There are no earning caps, or points expiration dates.

As noted above, airplane ticket redemptions can also be maximized because you can book any ticket and simply pay the difference. For example, 25,000 points can be used for any ticket up to $312.50, but if say you wanted a $325 ticket you could just pay the $12.50 difference. On other cards, you would have to go up another tier and spend an extra 10,000 points or similar.

More Details
In addition, Sapphire also promotes a “premium, dedicated service line that gives you access to a live person anytime, 24/7.” I tested this out and it really works! A real person picks up after a couple rings… it’s actually a bit disconcerting. You can also redeem cash rewards over the phone for free, although booking rewards tickets this way costs $20 (doing so online is free).

Fine print:

Earn 50,000 bonus miles – That’s $625 in travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards™
You will receive 50,000 bonus points with this bonus offer, which can be redeemed for a round trip ticket on most major airlines up to a $625 value. Ticket value exceeding $625 can be charged to your new card. A service fee of up to $20 per ticket may be charged for the use of our toll-free number to book or change airline itineraries. Redemptions made online do not have a service fee. Cardmember is responsible for any airline or government imposed fees. To qualify and receive your bonus, you must make qualifying transactions totaling $4,000 or more during the first 3 months from account opening. Qualifying transactions include purchases, balance transfers, and any checks that are used to access your account, and exclude cash advances. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus points to post to your account. To be eligible for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer.

I already have the Chase Sapphire regular card and got my $250 (previous offer). But given how easy it was to redeem the reward, I’m going to have Mrs. MMB apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card as well this time. (I try not to bother her too much unless it’s very juicy.)

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card application link

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The Chase Sapphire Card is a new rewards credit card that is offering 10,000 bonus points after your first purchase on the credit card, which can be redeemed for $100 cash. No annual fee.

As a rewards card, it offers 1 point for every dollar in purchases (100 points = $1, or the usual 1% back). The nice part is that redemptions are easy – you can even redeem in $1 increments as long as above $20, so you could cash out $27 or $113 without anything left over. There are no earning caps, or points expiration dates.

In addition, you can get double points on airfare booked through their Ultimate Rewards website. It also promotes a “premium, dedicated service line that gives you access to a live person anytime, 24/7.” I tested this out a couple of times and it really works! A real person picks up after a couple rings… it’s actually a bit disconcerting. Makes redeeming rewards much easier as well.

Fine print:

10,000 bonus points
You will qualify for and receive your bonus after your first purchase/first use of the card. First purchase/first use includes purchases, balance transfers, or any checks that are used to access your account, and excludes cash advances. After qualifying, please allow 6 to 8 weeks for bonus points to post to your account. This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time cardmembers with new accounts.

American Express is promoting a new charge card called the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express®, which is different from their other Gold/Gold Rewards/Platinum/Precious Metal cards.

Since this is the new card being pushed, it has the best sign-up incentives for new cardholders:

• Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $2,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership. MR points are very versatile, and can be converted to 25,000 frequent flier miles in a number of programs (or 10 Southwest credits), or you can simply get $250 in gift cards at several stores like Home Depot, Crate & Barrel, or Macy’s. I think you can also get cash equivalents at a reduced ratio.
• Offers 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gasoline at U.S. stand-alone gas stations and at U.S. stand-alone supermarkets, and 1X points on other purchases. The traditional versions only offer 1 point per $ spent, so the double points on gas and groceries are an extra perk, although the annual fee is much higher at $175.
• No annual fee for your first year. Another important feature, you can get the sign-up bonus and also try out this card for free for a year.
• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $30,000 within one calendar year. This means that if you spend $30,000 in a year ($2,500 per month) that you’ll get at least 15,000 for sign-up + 30,000 on spending + 25,000 bonus = 70,000 points total, plus any extra for gas/groceries/airfare. That’s enough for 60,000 frequent flier miles or 2.5 free flights on Southwest (40 credits). Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Need to check your credit score? Here’s a new coupon for 26% off real FICO scores and all other credit products at myFICO.com. Use the promotional code NOVEMBER26 to get 26% off and a FICO score for less than $12, the best discount currently available:

The code is good until November 30th (although try it anyways and see if it works after that date), so be quick about it. For the Equifax credit score only, you can get it for $10.95 using the code SW94608, which is over 30% off. You enter the promo code relatively late in the buying process, right before entering your credit card information. Look for this:

Experian no longer allows Fair Isaac to sell FICO scores to consumers at all (even though lenders still buy and use them). They sell their own “FAKE-O” version now. Lenders almost always use FICO scores in their decisions, so those are the only ones you should pay for if at all.

For the diligent, a cheaper alternative is to sign up for a free 30-day trial of ScoreWatch, which includes two free Equifax scores and reports. Just remember to cancel as soon as you decide you don’t need it anymore. You are allowed to cancel online, without having to even call in.

You can always request your credit reports (not scores) once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you’ve already done that, you can still try these other direct methods for the unemployed, those denied credit, and victims of identity theft.

Here’s a nice credit card offer for those interested in international travel. The Chase British Airways Visa Signature card is offering 50,000 BA Executive Club miles for new cardmembers with first purchase, and another 50,000 BA miles after spending $2,000 within 3 months, for 100,000 miles total. Regular features include earning 1.25 miles per dollar spent. The card does have an annual fee of $75 as well.

50,000 British Airways miles is enough for an economy class transatlantic flight from USA to their “Europe Zone 1”, which includes the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland. Note that “all reward flights are subject to taxes, fees, charges and surcharges, including airline surcharges.”, which can add up. I did a quick search and for a random San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR) flight in March 2010 that cost $807, the taxes and fees alone were $387.

You’ll also need to fly out of a major city that BA services. Still, two free flights from US to London even for a few hundred dollars each is a big discount for those looking to buy such a ticket anyways.

What if you like to fly in style? 100,000 miles is good for a single business class ticket from USA to Europe Zone 1… and the fees are more reasonable on a relative basis. A business class flight from SFO to Paris (CDG) in March 2010 would have cost around $4,700 in cash, but the fees/taxes are only about $400 as well:

Finally, if you can manage to spend $30,000 a year on the card, you can even earn a 2-for-1 companion voucher. Time to buy some coins? Thanks to reader Paul for the tip.