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Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card Benefits:

Starpoints® bonus: earn up to 25,000 bonus points: 10,000 after your first purchase and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership That’s enough for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 Hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, or six free nights at a Category 2 Hotel Earn up to 5 Starpoints® for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG hotels and resorts – that’s 2 Starpoints for using the Card in addition to the Starpoints you earn as an SPG member. Earn 1 Starpoint for all other purchases. Free Hotel Nights: redeem Starpoints at over 1,100 hotels in nearly 100 countries worldwide – with no blackout dates Free Flights: redeem Starpoints on over 350 airlines with SPG Flights – with no blackout dates Get 5,000 bonus Starpoints after you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a frequent flyer program with more than 30 airlines No limits on the number of Starpoints you can earn $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65 Terms and Restrictions apply.

Rick’s Review: The SPG Amex is my old standby card. I’ve been carrying it in my wallet for 11 years now for the simplicity of the program, airline transfer options, and high value redemptions when using the “cash and points” option for hotel redemptions. Online customer service is top notch. Look to this card for transfers to 30 different airlines including American, Delta, and US Airways. High priced hotel stays become affordable with “cash and points” redemption option and SPG Gold status with $30,000 in annual spending. First year fee waived with a low $65 renewal. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the card: This is, and has been my “go to” card for years. Unless I’m using another card to meet a sign-up or promotion bonus this is the card that comes out of my wallet. (I also carry a business version of this card.)

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Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card Benefits:

Enjoy up to 7 Free Nights To Start! New! Smart Chip Technology and No Foreign Transaction Fees! Earn 5 points for every $1 spent at Marriott® locations Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies & restaurants Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on other purchases Receive 1 free night stay after account approval and each year upon account anniversary Cardmembers achieve Silver Elite status with 15 nights credit toward Elite status

Apply now!

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	Hilton HHonors Card from American Express and the Surpass Card Benefits:
	40,000 points after first spend (Surpass) or after $750 in 90 days 20,000 bonus points after $3k in spend in 90 days (Surpass) Hilton Silver Elite (HHonors) or Gold Elite (Surpass) Status No Annual fee for HHonors Card $75 Annual fee for Surpass Card

Rick’s Review: This covers both versions of the Hilton cards by American Express. Remember that Citi also offers a Hilton card so you have the opportunity to receive three cards offering Hilton Honors points. Start with the Citi card and the basic level card offer at 40,000 points with $750 of spend in the first three months. You have no annual fee and an easy minimum spend to hit. With the Citi card and the basic card from Amex, you’ll have 80K points in your now combined HH account. Six months later ask for the upgrade to the Surpass card with the sign up bonus or if refused the upgrade, cancel the Hilton standard card then apply for the Surpass card, pay the $75 annual fee, enjoy the first 40K sign-up, and work towards the last 20K for $3000 in minimun spend. You’ll then have 80K from the two base cards (one Citi and one Amex) and 60K more from the Surpass card. Further enjoy the higher bonus category earnings with the Surpass card and the Gold Status with Hilton. Believe me, when in Europe paying for a hotel breakfast is an expensive proposition. Many Hiltons in Europe provide breakfast to Gold members. It will only take one or two comps to recover your $75 fee from the Surpass card. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the cards: I like to use my Hilton Honors points on AXON or GLON awards at higher category hotels. They offer a special chart for four night stays that are category based. We’ve stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island with those premium reduced stays. The savings can be significant.”

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	Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Benefits:
	Earn 40,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points after spending $1,000 within 4 months of account opening* Earn 6 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent at a participating hotel within the Hilton HHonors portfolio* Earn 3 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations.* Earn 2 HHonors Bonus Points for each $1 spent on all other purchases.* No annual fee.*

Rick’s Review: The standard offer is for 40,000 points on first purchase after spending $1000 in the first four months. You may be able to get a working link for a 50k offer). You get bonus points for spending in Hilton Hotels (6pts), 3 points per dollar on grocery store, gas stations, and drugstore spending; 2 points in every other category. I value HH points at 4/10th of a cent each. There is no annual fee so it becomes a long term keeper to age your credit file. Use this card’s sign-up bonus in conjunction with the American Express version of Hilton HHonors and later the Surpass version for Hilton HHonors to rack up a decent number of points and Gold Elite status with the Surpass card. You can merge your Hilton Honors accounts after you have all the sign-ups posted. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the cards: I had this card years ago at 40K and used the points for my honeymoon at the Rainbow Tower of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu. With my upgraded Gold status from a previous fast track offer the fireworks display was literally right outside our balcony window overlooking Diamondhead.

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Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card Benefits:

Earn 2 weekend night certificates good at select hotels and resorts within the Hilton HHonors portfolio after $2,500 in eligible purchases within 4 months of account opening* Earn 10 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on hotel stays within the Hilton HHonors portfolio* Earn 5 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on airline and car rental purchases* Earn 3 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases* Enjoy the benefits of HHonors Gold status as long as you are a cardmember* No foreign transaction fees on purchases* Travel with ease and enjoy global acceptance with your Citi chip credit card Earn an anniversary bonus of 1 weekend night certificate at select hotels and resorts within the Hilton HHonors portfolio each cardmembership year with qualifying purchases*

Rick’s Review: This is a nice addition to Citi’s offering. A premium Hilton card which gives us free nights (similar to Chase’s Hyatt and Fairmont cards) but limits the stay to weekend nights only; still not bad. I’ll take the no foreign transaction fees and the instant gold status will pay off huge in Europe with free breakfast and Internet daily … and I can use this card when I pay to maximize my Hilton points. Not sure I’ll spend $10,000 annually on the card or $40,000 for Diamond status, but for big spenders committed to Hilton this offers a nice alternative to the Amex Surpass. Apply Now!

Here’s how I use the cards: Two free weekend nights and instant Gold status are winners for me. This card will give us some flexibility with the free nights anywhere. Free breakfast and Internet will save us at least $50 a day; way more Internationally.

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