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Credit Card Anniversary Bonuses
The points and travel hobby rewards us in so many different ways – from once in a lifetime experiences, to an extra few airline miles for a coffee, and everything in between. One reliable, easily-overlooked perk I enjoy receiving is the credit card anniversary bonus. Understandably, such a reward isn’t necessarily a focus for all. Indeed, they only come on a subset of credit cards, and some aren’t even worth talking about. But others are. Today, I’m sharing my favorite credit card anniversary bonuses.
IHG Free Night Certificate
My relationship with IHG and Chase’s Premier card has been up and down. But we’re loving IHG right now. My wife and I each enjoyed holding legacy IHG Select card accounts for years, hardly ever spending on it. We were happy collecting a free night cert redeemable at up to a 40k point per night IHG property in return for a $49 annual fee. This remains an excellent option for many.
Instead, we decided to upgrade our cards to Premier for a more flexible 40k free night certificate which can be topped off with an unlimited amount of IHG points. The $50 annual fee hike was worth it to us for this and many of the card’s other features. Chase’s IHG Premier Business card also comes with the same type of certificate as an anniversary bonus.
Wyndham Rewards 15k Bonus Points
A largely-forgotten card in our hobby, my wife and I each still hold our Wyndham Rewards Visa card accounts. These predate Wyndham’s Earner line of cards, are no longer available for new applications, but live on for existing cardholders.
In return for a $69 annual fee which seems more like a bargain every year, the Wyndham Rewards Visa hands over 15k points annually. The card earns 2x everywhere, but we don’t bother spending on the card. Wyndham points aren’t a particularly huge currency for us, as we aren’t Vacasa (or AirBNB, VRBO, etc) people and we don’t consider many Wyndham properties aspirational. But I’m happy with the one cent per point value I get from these points on nights at Caesars properties I enjoy and related room charges. Plus, the Wyndham points come in handy for some of our random stays on road trips – primarily La Quinta.
Air France 5k Bonus Miles
I love the 5k extra Flying Blue miles I receive every year thanks to holding Bank of America’s Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard. Many hobbyists achieve great international redemptions, often in premium classes, with Flying Blue miles. But right now, we easily offset the $89 annual fee by redeeming these miles for domestic Delta flights at at outstanding rates. I’ve found Flying Blue award rates for such flights are sometimes half of what Delta charges.
Choice Privileges 30k Bonus Points
Let’s talk about a new kid on the block. I promptly applied for the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard soon after it launched just over a year ago. There are so many reasons why I love the Choice Privileges program, and it’s my second-favorite hotel points currency. I just received my first of what I hope will be many 30k point credit card anniversary bonuses. We redeem Choice points at a variety of their properties for solid value, from Comfort Inns to Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties. I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Others
Of course, plenty of other impressive credit card anniversary bonuses exist out there. Many enjoy an extra Hilton free night certificate, the best of its kind in my view, each year from the Hilton Amex Aspire. This perk alone can easily cover the recently-increased $550 annual fee. Despite category devaluation, I know many Chase World of Hyatt cardholders who still enjoy the free night certificate (redeemable in categories 1-4) they receive each year.
Credit Card Anniversary Bonuses – Conclusion
These are just a few of my favorite credit card anniversary bonuses. These four remain strong enough that we will continue holding each of these cards indefinitely. We may have Aspires in our future thanks to the generous certs that card provides, as well. But, of course, I’m confident other options exist for credit card anniversary bonuses I’ve either missed or deserve my attention again. What are your favorite credit card anniversary bonuses?
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
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I’m a little bit baffled why you didn’t hang on to the $49.00 IHG card and just apply for the premier card. My wife and I have both cards and have no problems redeeming for properties 40K or less. That’s 4 nights for less than $300.00. I have already done the $15K spend on the personal and Business Hilton cards for another 2 nights and 1 night anniversary 35K certificate on the Marriott card. I have no problem finding properties when I go on vacation finding Marriotts I can use the certificate for.
Like you, I get great value with Choice hotels and excellent value with point redemptions. Having been burned by the inconsistencies of Wyndham properties, I have no interest in their program. I’m a fan of the Alaska Airlines card and just completed a 75K offer on the personal credit card. They’re so valuable when using for travel with other airlines. While they provide no anniversary bonuses to speak of, the signup bonuses have risen over the last few years, come with a free companion ticket, well worth the $95.00 fee.
Bill,
Applying for another IHG card is an understandable move for many, just not for us. For several years, we haven’t been under 5/24 and don’t ever have plans to be. Regardless, it seems like you’ve got your situation optimized!