Ready or not, the end of the year is almost in sight. So it's crunchtime if you've got one of those premium credit cards in your wallet, like the American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Many of the hyped perks, including hotel, airline and restaurant credits, are use it or lose it. With annual fees as high as $895, it's time to make sure you're getting your money's worth.
Fair warning: it takes time. And math. And you have some catching up to do if you haven't checked in much all year. There's a reason my social-media feeds are filled with ads for apps like Kudos, which helps you track the benefits.
But you can do it yourself. And it's worth it. I recently snagged an $860 a night hotel room in Rome for $210 for a stay next month. And I'll get a decadent free breakfast, too.
Here's where to start, based on a review of my remaining Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum perks. I stay on top of most throughout the year, but let a couple of big ones go unused until now.
You can do the same with other premium travel cards. You just need to search the benefits and go through them one by one to make sure you're taking advantage. Start with the card's website, which tracks your progress. Reddit forums offer tips and even spreadsheet benefit trackers, and Facebook groups for each card can be helpful, if overwhelming.
My weak spot this year was cashing in on generous hotel benefits.
Chase Sapphire Reserve ($795 a year) and Amex Platinum ($895 a year) each offer a credit for luxury hotels. If you can't fathom forking over hundreds of dollars a night, or more, for a hotel, this is yet another reason the premium cards probably aren't right for you.
There is plenty of fine print on the hotel perks, including minimum nights, a certain dollar amount in each half of the year and booking through the bank travel portal. I am generally not a fan of third-party booking sites and often find prices to be higher.
I managed to find two deals that I couldn't beat elsewhere.
For a two-night work trip to Miami in October, I double dipped on two Chase hotel benefits and will get more perks when I check in to the Kimpton hotel.
The tab through Chase Travel was $1,116 including taxes and fees. Chase immediately gave me two $250 statement credits (you get these twice a year), bringing the total to $616 for two nights. That was cheaper than the $890 all-in rate on the hotel's website.
On top of those savings, I'll get a lineup of extras at check in, including daily breakfast for two, a $100 resort credit and early check in/late check out if available. No one in accounting is going to complain about that.
Just make sure the hotel you're booking in the Chase portal is part of its high-end Edit collection to collect the statement credits. (I know, more homework!) I thought I was getting the credit for a hotel in Europe this spring but I missed out because I booked too quickly and found out it wasn't eligible. So I missed out on the Chase hotel credits for the first half of the year.
Susan Friedland, a retired book editor who lives in New York, made a similar mistake when booking a hotel through the American Express travel portal earlier this year. She thought her Dublin hotel would qualify for one of her twice-a-year $300 hotel credits from the Amex Platinum. But it didn't due to the timing of her booking.
Friedland did knock $300 off her bill at a luxe hotel in Cork this summer thanks to her American Express hotel credit. Combine that with another $300 statement credit from a coming London hotel stay and she's smartly used up the $600 annual hotel credit. Then there's the extras at the participating hotels, including daily breakfast for two and a $100 credit. She says it all offsets the high card fee.
"I think I'm getting my money's worth," she says.
My big hotel win: an American Express Platinum booking in Rome for a one-night stay with my mom in late October. At $860 including taxes and fees, this isn't a hotel in my typical budget.
I instantly shaved $300 off the bill with the twice-a-year $300 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit. (It only requires a one-night stay unlike Chase's two-night requirement for luxury Edit hotels.) Then I knocked another $350 off the tab by cashing in 35,000 American Express points.
I typically transfer those to airline loyalty programs for flights because it's a far better value than a statement credit. But I was pleasantly surprised at the value for prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel.
Is this a little in the weeds? Yes. Just take this away: I nabbed a nearly $900 hotel for $210. And will get free breakfast, a resort credit, late checkout and room upgrade if available.
So take stock of your card benefits now. American Express and Chase have handy sections on their websites that show you the benefits and whether you've maxxed them out.
Beat your fellow fancy cardholders to the finish line for the best booking options. Procrastinators made Dec. 31 one of the busiest booking days for Chase's Edit hotels last year.
Comments