Rewards credit cards are great for two things: Generous sign-up bonuses and awesome recurring benefits. It’s what makes paying the annual fees worthwhile. At any given moment I have around a dozen rewards credit cards of my own. Each one serves a purpose: They may offer generous category bonuses, elite benefits, or even free nights and extra miles. With so many perks in my wallet, which one do I like best? Here’s a roundup of my favorite credit card perks:
1 – Elite Status Via Credit Card Spending
Hands down, one of my favorite credit cards perks is the ability to earn elite status via spending. I can easily put $40,000 worth of spending on the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve card in order to earn top-tier Diamond elite status. This has been invaluable for me because 1.) it has saved me from mattress running and 2.) I’ve gotten some incredible perks out of my Hilton Diamond membership. For starters, I’ve never not received a room upgrade. I don’t have to pay extra for the breakfast rate or pick up snacks at a convenience store upon arrival. I’ve got free lounge access to cover those things thanks to my elite status. More importantly, I’ve gotten some awesome room upgrades, like the Penthouse Suite at the Conrad Bali. Needless to say, this is one of my favorite credit card perks.
2 – Airport Lounge Access
Is there anything better than being able to escape a busy airport terminal for the tranquility of a club lounge? When that club lounge is the Amex Centurion Lounge (which is exclusive to Amex Platinum cardholders), that’s even better. No paying for your food or dealing with substandard facilities. At an Amex Centurion Lounge, you really get the first class treatment.
3 – 10% Rebate on AAdvantage Awards
Both the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and Barclay AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard offer a 10% point rebate on award redemptions. You simply have to be a cardholder, book your AAdvantage award, and get up to 10,000 miles back per calendar year. Unfortunately, you cannot combine both benefits for a combined 20,000 mile rebate. But it’s still nice to treat yourself to a premium cabin award and then receive almost enough miles back for a one-way domestic economy class award.
4 – Annual Free Night
Currently, I get annual fee nights from a couple of credit cards: The Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa and the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve. The Club Carlson annual free night (which requires $10,000 in annual spend) is pretty useless since it applies only to hotels in the U.S. – and those are becoming few and far in between. On the plus side, Club Carlson does also issue me 40,000 points every year I renew the card and those Club Carlson points can be put to good use.
The annual free night from the Citi Hilton Reserve is good on weekends and can be redeemed worldwide. I do have to spend $10,000 in a year to earn it, but that’s super easy since I’m already spending at least $40,000 to retain elite status. Overall, these free night benefits from these cards come in handy and earning them is hardly a waste.
5 – Amex Offers
It might seem odd to put Amex Offers on my list of favorite credit card perks, but this card benefit saves me a ton of cash. Every year, I easily get enough value out of Amex Offers to off-set the annual fee on my credit cards. For a while, Amex kept posting cash back offers on cell phone bill spending, so you can imagine I cleaned up nicely with multiple credit cards belonging to myself and family members. Say what you will, but a card benefit that saves you cash beats almost any other kind of perk.
6 – $30 Annual In-flight Wifi Credit from the Discover It Miles Card
Why on earth am I including a $30 wifi credit from a non-premium credit card? Despite the comparative small value of this benefit, I like it for the mere fact that I’m not paying for it. The Discover It Miles Card has no annual fee, so I’m essentially given a $30 annual in-flight wifi credit just to keep the card. It may not be much, but it comes in handy and it’s free!
This was a list of my favorite credit card perks, from cards I currently have in my wallet. I’d love to know what your favorite credit card perks currently are. Please share in the comment section.
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Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
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- Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.†
- Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year.
- Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
- Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡
- Terms and limitations apply
- See Rates & Fees
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
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Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
3 months
0
$3,000
Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases
2.00
$1
All Purchases
1.00
$1
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Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
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