Points And Miles Required Reading, May 2024 Edition

All information about the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card has been collected independently by Miles to Memories.

Points and Miles Required Reading

It’s time for a new experiment.  But first, let’s acknowledge where we are.  Miles to Memories brings you a variety of points, miles, and travel content, helping you save money and have fun along the way.  We bring you the latest in loyalty programs and strategies for maximizing them, including more niche options.  While I enjoy doing all of the above, I have a particular affinity for that last one.  I periodically write dedicate articles to esoteric angles.  But often, the obscure doesn’t necessitate a separate piece.  Starting today, I’m diving into a few of those unrelated items in a periodic post.  How often will this be published?  Where am I headed?  Does it even matter?  Will it be entertaining?  While I can’t address the first three, I’ll answer the last with, “I plan on it.”  Indeed, if I have fun writing it, maybe a few of you will enjoy it, also.  Points and Miles Required Reading, Inaugural Edition, go!

The Amtrak Shopping Portal Is Dead, Apparently

I recently noticed that it had been a few weeks since I perused my Amtrak Guest Rewards online account.  Shaking my head at this serious oversight, I logged in to see anything new (I didn’t have high expectations).  I was crestfallen to discover that the Amtrak Guest Rewards Points for Shopping portal has disappeared from the “Ways To Earn” page, with no signs of it anywhere else on the Amtrak site, either.  I subsequently found r/Amtrak poured one out for the portal a week or so earlier.

The death of the AGR shopping portal made me good-old-days-it for an apt period of 20 seconds or so.  I recall earning 10x Amtrak points for iTunes purchases; Home Depot was another standout.  Amtrak points are still worth almost three cents per point with a bit of flexibility, and they were worth even more years ago.  And remember when they were an Ultimate Rewards partner?  Good times.

Simon Gift Cards Cost More, But So What?

As many of you have probably heard via your local Simon rep, they raised gift card fees from $3.95 to $5.49 in April.  Shipping fees for online orders went up another $5, too.  For those minimizing costs via online orders of ten $1k cards, that’s an additional $20.40 in fees.  Bigger picture, this means all-in card fees rose from 0.65% to 0.85%.  That’s a substantial hike, but it’s still much cheaper than most other options available to us.  And some of those come with more drama.  Individuals sticking to $500 variable cards are hit worst, as those cards received the same price increase as the $1k cards.

The Bread Rewards Amex Keeps Bringing the Fun

I’ve previously described how much we enjoy the Bread Rewards Amex, and things haven’t changed.  In addition to the card’s solid bonus category earning, my wife continues to be targeted via email for periodic spending bonuses.  She’s currently receiving an additional 2x on all grocery store spending, up to 4.5k bonus points.  While the cap doesn’t make it huge, we love that we can earn 5.75x on this grocery spending through 30 June.  Unfortunately, the official site still states the card is available by invitation only.  But keep your eyes peeled!

A Target Circle Rewards Gotcha

I’ve enjoyed a variety of Target Circle promos over the years.  They now vary from bonus Target gift cards to Target Circle Rewards, a running balance easily applicable to all purchases.  I recently learned the hard way that using Target Circle Rewards does not stack with other Target coupons.  I clipped a coupon in-app and chose to pay with rewards, but I didn’t receive the coupon discount.  My gut is this probably isn’t anything new and may be buried in Target’s gnarly terms and conditions, anyway.  At any rate, I’ll keep collecting Target Circle Rewards when it makes sense, but I’ll remember it’s not as stackable these days.

A Not-So-Obvious Use of Dining Credits (and Bonus Points!)

After a short break, my wife and I are back with another Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex.  One of the card’s benefits is a monthly $25 dining credit, which seems to widely trigger.  We’ve had no problems using the credit at any restaurant in the past.  We recently noticed it works at our local dine-in movie theater while earning in the Brilliant’s 3x dining bonus category, as well.  The Brilliant and other Amex cards excelling in the dining category will now be my go-to for these theater purchases.

Points and Miles Required Reading – Conclusion

Thanks for joining me for this first edition of Points and Miles Required Reading.  I don’t quite know what the future holds for this article series, but that’s also what makes it fun.  Something silly, lucrative, eye-opening, head-shaking, or all of the above consistently happens in our hobby.  Here’s to more of it all.  I’ll see you next time!

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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