topic Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers? in Credit Cards

Best CC offers / deals programs?

CL-Addiq — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:36:23 GMT

Earlier this year, I got the Chase Freedom Flex for the rotators and 3% at drug stores since I have one about a two minute walk away. The SUB was decent too.

I figured I'd install the app to track my SUB progress. I discovered Chase Offers with 10% off Starbucks which I used and also 10% off at Best Buy which helped me pull the trigger on a new laptop for P2. I also got Starbucks USBank cash-back deals and $18 off mother's day flowers via Wells Fargo Deals. (Confusingly, WF also has Earn More Mall.) I also got a GrubHub discount and tax prep discounts via Capital One Offers. Citi Merchant Offers include a long list of stuff like gas.

Barclays doesn't seem to have a program and I don't have any Bank of America cards so don't know if they have one.

What are everyone's favorite rewards or offers programs (either straight cash back or bonus points/miles)? Are there any otherwise forgettable cards that are worthwhile because of special offers?

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

cws-21 — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:01:05 GMT

I think I have probably earned the most cash back from Amex Deals offered on my Amex Blue Cash Preferred and, once upon a time, my Wells Fargo Propel.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

CL-Addiq — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:05:03 GMT

Did they discontinue Amex deals on Propel? I don't see any right now, but there were some when I took advantage of the mother's day deal.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

cws-21 — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 04:06:48 GMT

@CL-Addiq wrote:
Did they discontinue Amex deals on Propel? I don't see any right now, but there were some when I took advantage of the mother's day deal.

The Amex Offers are no longer available on my Propel account, but someone on here mentioned there possibly being a workaround via an Amex website.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

unsungivy — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 10:23:58 GMT

BofA has deals. They have a large overlap with the deals Chase offers, I find. The nice thing about BofA deals is that they appear to be profile-attached, rather than specific card-attached, once activated. Meaning it doesn't matter which BofA card I use, any of them will trigger that deal (possibly even my checking account/debit card).

I use the hell out of my straight AmEx deals, however. They get spread around to the most appropriate card, but I love using the $10-$15 back on Chewy purchases every time it comes up, for example. As well as one for my favorite place for wings. Also used several for Norwegian Cruise Lines this past year to get a few hundred back on payment to them for a cruise I just completed.

Try to remember to stack deals with Rakuten, Dosh, and other things and you can really benefit from the modern version of Extreme Couponing.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

DakotaM — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 12:24:16 GMT

The Wells Fargo Earn More Mall is otherwise forgettable along with their card offerings excepting their most recent card offering. But the Earn More Mall occasionally has good deals like 15% off groceries or gas. These have a per transaction limit, but an unlimited number of transactions is allowed.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

CL-Addiq — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 02:56:05 GMT

I can't find the directions for setting up AMEX deals with my Propel card. Does anyone happen to remember where that was posted?

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

FormerCollegeDJ — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 01:59:01 GMT

My thoughts:

*American Express - provides the highest quality deals and also greatest number of deals of any credit card issuer through Amex Offers (with the latter item, I currently have over 300 deals available on my card), though they also have a higher percentage of deals that aren't useful or require relatively high spend thresholds. But when they do have good offers, like the Shop Small credits, the $5 monthly dining credits they had for most of 2021, or in my case a 20% off deal up to $20 savings ($100 spend) with unlimited use until the max savings was hit at a nearby grocery store chain, you get major value from them.

*Chase - provides a solid number of deals through their Chase Offers page, especially on their direct issued, non co-branded cards. (I currently have 59 offers on my CFU, 46 offers on my CFF, and 12 offers on my Chase Amazon card.) The deals are generally small, often 10-15% off at certain merchants up to a certain maximum savings with a one time use, but the variety of deals is solid. Between my three cards, I use these relatively often, especially for dining offers.

*Wells Fargo - their My Wells Fargo Deals are very similar to the offers provided by Chase but are not as extensive; most of the deals I get on my WF Propel are the same ones as I get on one or more of my Chase cards (which isn't an issue with some of those offers because I can use them multiple times at the same merchant just using a different card each time). In the case of the WF Propel, it was even better when the Amex Offers were available, though the same thing I said above about Amex Offers on first party cards applied here as well (and not as many offers came through on the Propel as on American Express' first party issued cards.) Even with no more Amex Offers, I still use my WF card for offers probably on average 1-2 times per month.

Additionally, the Wells Fargo Rewards (previously known as the Shop More Mall) occasionally offers deals. The deals in general are not as useful as those offered via My Wells Fargo Deals, but occasionally they are useful. The best ones provide a points multiplier on a one time category spend purchase, like travel, gas, dining, or something similar. Sometimes the Wells Fargo Rewards offers can be combined with a My Wells Fargo Deals offer for greater value. (As an example, around Thanksgiving 2021 I was able to get 18% rewards on a gas purchase at BP using the WF Propel - 10% through a Wells Fargo Rewards points multipler on a single gas purchase, 5% through a BP-specific My Wells Fargo Deals offer, and 3% through the gas purchases cash back always offered by the WF Propel.)

*Bank of America - I have two co-branded BOA cards, only one of which provides BankAmerideals. Some of these deals are the same ones available on Chase and Wells Fargo cards, though some are also location-specific merchant offers that are only valid at one location near where you live. Those deals are often for different merchants than those offered on Chase, Wells Fargo, or American Express cards, and they also have much longer periods when they are valid (or more accurately, their expiration dates are continually extended). A greater percentage of the BOA deals are only for 5% off relative to Chase and Wells Fargo, but many of the BankAmerideals are also unlimited or functionally unlimited use. BankAmerideals credits often will take a little longer to post to your account than American Express, Chase, and Wells Fargo credits (which usually are credited to your account about a week after the purchase is made).

*Citi - I just got my first Citi non co-branded card a month ago, so I have limited experience with Citi Merchant Offers, but these deals have some similarities with hotel and airline dining rewards programs that are linked to cards. Some of the restaurant merchants available through Hilton Honors Dining (which is linked to most of my cards) are the same merchants available through Citi Merchant Offers. Like the BOA BankAmerideals, some of the Citi Merchant Offers are location-specific for merchants near where you live and are functionally unlimited use. The number of offers provided in Citi Merchant Offers is significant, not as high as Amex Offers but higher than the number of deals provided through Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America cards. It appears based on the one offer I've used so far it takes some time for the credit to be posted to your account (I made a purchase at a merchant participating in Citi Merchant Offers a little more than a week ago and still haven't gotten the credit posted to my account.) One major negative is I've only been able to view my offers through the Citi mobile app and not through the desktop website.

*Capital One - I never use their offers because they are only applicable for online purchases, which to me limits their value.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

FormerCollegeDJ — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 13:39:38 GMT

I have a couple questions about the Citi Merchant Offers program; I only got my Citi Custom Cash Mastercard about a month ago and didn't have "pure" (non co-branded) Citi credit card previously. I didn't want to post a new thread, so I'll post them here:

1) How long does it take for used Citi Merchant Offers to post to someone's account? I made a purchase eligible for a Citi Merchant Offer nine days ago and the credit I should receive for the purchase hasn't posted yet.

2) I can only access/view my Citi Merchant Offers through Citi mobile app; they aren't accessible/visible through the Citi desktop website. Is there a way to view them through the latter? I've tried contacting Citi for an answer, but theitr laughably bad customer service hasn't been able to give me a definitive answer and has given me the run around.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

Bockrocker — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 05:18:23 GMT

I used the $10 back on $50 at Nuts.com through citi offers. It took 7 days for the statement credit to appear after the charge finished posting. Stacked fine with 5% through TCB as well.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

UncleB — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 06:16:20 GMT

@CL-Addiq wrote:
I can't find the directions for setting up AMEX deals with my Propel card. Does anyone happen to remember where that was posted?

Here you go: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping.html

The deals usually aren't as good as the offers you'll see on the Amex Dashboard and the deals that used to be on the Propel dashboard, but if I remember correctly last year the small business deal *was* available via Amex Connect (the site for the link above).

In other words, the offers aren't as good as those on the dashboard, but sometimes there'll be a gem.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

Anonymalous — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 07:32:18 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@CL-Addiq wrote:
I can't find the directions for setting up AMEX deals with my Propel card. Does anyone happen to remember where that was posted?
Here you go: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping.html

The deals usually aren't as good as the offers you'll see on the Amex Dashboard and the deals that used to be on the Propel dashboard, but if I remember correctly last year the small business deal *was* available via Amex Connect (the site for the link above).

In other words, the offers aren't as good as those on the dashboard, but sometimes there'll be a gem.

That's exactly the same link used by the Navy Fed More Rewards Amex. Which I really should bookmark, because it always takes me forever to find it. (There's no link from within my account. I have to go the main More Rewards page on NFCU's public website, follow it to features, click on the third Amex link (the first two are PDF program descriptions), and then from the Amex page look at details then offers. It's a lot of hunting for non-obvious links, and I may be skipping a few steps.)

The More Rewards also has an entirely different set of offers available from within the account.

I've only used a couple. The whole system seems designed to encourage inorganic spend. So rather than browsing a long list looking for vendors I could potentially spend extra money at, I typically only look when I'm planning to buy something already, and think there's a chance there might be a deal. And I often forget or don't bother.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

CL-Addiq — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 04:05:03 GMT

I just got my new Affinity FCU Cash Rewards card and was very surprised in checking out their rewards portal that they partner with a program called Ampre Rewards which seems to have a boat load of local restaurants that participate (at least where I live) and most of them are 5 pts back which presumably means 5% which stacks with the base 2% restaurants. Some might also count as quick service which would get an additional 5% this quarter. You don't even need to activate to take advantage of them.

Re: Best CC offers / deals programs?

AwsiDooger — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 06:31:53 GMT

I do best with Chase Offers. Twice this year I've taken advantage of the 10% Best Buy just below the $25 maximum. It always helps when Chase provides that 10% Best Buy offer to overlap Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day. Merchants like Best Buy are forced to match the Amazon price. So when I have that offer I always keep an eye on anything I might need from Best Buy that could plummet significantly. Sure enough, it happened again a few weeks ago on Prime Day.

There is another twist to this. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the bonuses toward gift card redemption. I despise companies that force redemption for statement credit only. Zero chance I'd ever use that as is. Instead if I reach $25 on American Express I'll use the card to purchase a gift card that's on sale somewhere, from a company I value and use. Sites like Slickdeals often mention that stuff. Only then will I apply the cash back toward statement credit, as direct offset.

But on cards that do offer gift card redemption I'll keep an eye on which gift cards are on bonus. I'm never going to do the standard restaurant gift cards. They are so desperate it's on offer all the time. But gift cards from stores like Home Depot or Lowes are only at 10% bonus a couple of times per year. So I'll allow my Chase cash back to accumulate until those bonuses are touted. Sometimes you have to look for them, just like the Activate My Bonus every 3 months. Even if I don't have enough to redeem I'll check which cards are on bonus, from Chase and elsewhere. I'm sorry I forget all the specific companies that offer this. I know I did it recently from Barclays. In fact, they seem to have more gift cards at 10% or higher bonus than anyone I'm aware of.

In Las Vegas I learned to keep making good bets when they pop up, whether you subjectively like the position or not. If you consistently beat the price it's remarkable how things play out in your favor. For example, Slickdeals late last year mentioned Target gift cards available at discount. The maximum was $500 purchased at a price of $450. So I did it, and waited. Not much happened until the Target CEO mentioned a few months ago that they were shifting inventory drastically based on current consumer shopping habits compared to a year ago during stimulus. Big ticket electronics were vastly oversupplied since they were ordered during the old realities but not selling at all right now. That meant there had to be bargains forthcoming. Sure enough, a few weeks ago those deal sites reported that clearance sale televisions at Target were listed at one clearance price but actually ringing up at a far lower price, as Target was desperate to get rid of them. In particular, TCL Roku sets were selling for far less than half the number on the clearance sign. A 43" was available for $110. Others jumped in with reports that a 55" was listed as $349 clearance but actually rang up at $155. That's when I jumped in. I drove to Target and asked the clerk to scan the bar code. He tapped the $349 clearance sign and said, "It's probably going to be this." Nope, to his astonishment the price was $155. He said he had been there all weekend and nobody knew.

Now I knew how to use those Target gift cards that I had been saving.

Sorry for this type of lengthy detour. But I just wanted to point out it's hardly a matter of pulling out the 5% card instead of the 3% card. You are cheating yourself if that's all you know and apply.

Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

rgd51 — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:29:02 GMT

Are chase and Amex the only lenders that have offers like chase offers and Amex offers? Or are there other lenders who do the same thing?

Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

OmarGB9 — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:39:39 GMT

NFCU, BoA, WF, and Cap One (although theirs are typically online only) as well.

Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

rgd51 — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 06:45:53 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
NFCU, BoA, WF, and Cap One (although theirs are typically online only) as well.

What do you mean by online only? Do the others have good offers? On chase I find good ones all the time. I've never had an Amex card so I can't say anything about their offers.

Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

OmarGB9 — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 07:18:05 GMT

@rgd51 wrote:
@OmarGB9 wrote:
NFCU, BoA, WF, and Cap One (although theirs are typically online only) as well.
What do you mean by online only? Do the others have good offers? On chase I find good ones all the time. I've never had an Amex card so I can't say anything about their offers.

I mean you have to go through their link (click the link when logged in on their website/app). Cap One's offers don't apply to in store purchases even if the retailer they're offering elevated rewards at has physical locations.

Amex has good offers, though they're not always applicable to your particular spend (at least for me).

NFCU has offers once in a while. They're usually pretty good.

I can't speak to WF or BoA though.

Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

Bockrocker — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 07:22:15 GMT

U.S. Bank cards have offers somewhat similar to Chase/Amex. In the app go to Explore->Offers. Usually a flat amount back for purchase somewhere, a lot of streaming offers. They also have a separate program of targeted spend they either email to you or appear in app, you have to click enroll and they don't credit for about 3 months (current one is spend $50 on dining get $10 statement credit)

Citi recently revamped the merchant offers to be available to more cards (in app Explore Products & Offers, then click See All in bottom left). They currently have about 140 of them, though many are duplicates and a lot are more similar to discounts you get via a cash back portal or app like upside. There are some good ones though, $10 back on nuts.com or 5% at sam's club etc.

Re: Are chase and Amex the only ones with offers?

rgd51 — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 07:45:18 GMT

Which lender is usually considered to have the best offers?