Tim Devaney, Credit Karma Points & Miles Expert – Intuit Credit Karma

For most travelers, Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the best rewards card on the planet

Tim Devaney, Credit Karma Points & Miles Expert — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:55:24 +0000

This offer is no longer available on our site: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

This top-notch travel rewards card is known for its unparalleled rewards and perks, which pack so much value that you can come out ahead after factoring in the steep $550 annual fee.

About the author: Tim Devaney is a personal finance writer and credit card expert at Credit Karma. He’s a longtime journalist who prides himself on being a good storyteller who can explain complex information in an easily digestible wa… Read more.

The Amex Green Card used to be a dud, but it just got a big makeover

Tim Devaney, Credit Karma Points & Miles Expert — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:52:50 +0000

This offer is no longer available on our site: American Express® Green Card

American Express is known for boasting some of the most-powerful travel cards on the market, but not all of them are beloved by travelers.

The American Express® Green Card has been one of those cards for some time. But the new version of the card launched in late October 2019 begs another look.

These cards come with welcome offers worth an estimated $900 — or more

Tim Devaney, Credit Karma Points & Miles Expert — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:47:37 +0000

These days, you hear about credit cards offering new 100,000-point sign-up bonuses all the time.

Guess what? They’re overrated.

We did the math and found 11 sign-up bonuses and welcome offers that could each be worth $900 or more — and it turns out these valuable promotions often come in under 100,000 points.

How did we figure this out? Instead of stopping at the points, we dug deeper to calculate a dollar value using our estimated value of what those points and miles are really worth. Take a look.

Making the most of a sign-up bonus or welcome offer

A six-figure sign-up bonus or welcome offer doesn’t necessarily make a card’s offer the most valuable. Our estimated point valuations can help you figure out how much your bonus could actually be worth in dollars and cents.

Ultimately, how much your points are worth depends on how you redeem those points. For example, you theoretically could get a higher point value if you use your hotel program points to redeem for hotel nights than for, say, cash back. But these offers can give you an idea of how much each bonus could be worth if you’re looking to maximize your rewards.