Mommy Points: 2 Credit Card Bonuses Too Good for My Family to Skip

I’m lucky enough to earn miles and points via a variety of methods — work travel, leisure travel, everyday spending on rewards credit cards, promotions and last, but far from least, the occasional credit card welcome bonus. I’m not aggressive with applying for lots of cards every year, but as the rewards credit card landscape evolves, we evolve with it and pick up a sweet bonus or two along the way.

After more than six months of not picking up any new offers, last night was officially credit card application day at our house. There are two limited-time offers available that I really wanted before they disappeared. I’m not the type to go for two cards at once (anymore), so I applied for one and my husband applied for one.

(Photo by mixetto/Getty Images)
(Photo by mixetto / Getty Images)

Earn 4x With the Amex Gold Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has been the king of eating out at our house for the last several years with its 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on dining, but we are ready to shake things up. After a serious refresh a few months ago, the American Express® Gold Card now awards 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar at US restaurants and US supermarkets, up to a $25,000 annual cap at US supermarkets (1x point thereafter). Those are very family-friendly bonus categories that I can’t wait to maximize and they are just the tip of the iceberg with this card.

With TPG‘s current valuation of 2 cents per Membership Rewards point, the Amex Gold yields an 8% return on eligible food and grocery purchases, beating out most other credit cards on the market.

What made me pull the trigger on the Amex Gold right now were two factors. First, (and most embarrassingly), I want the limited-edition rose gold color before that opportunity ends Jan. 9. I know, I know, I said that part was a little embarrassing.

The second and more important reason I wanted the card now is that a special part of the relaunch offer provides 20% back on dining during the first three months, in the form of a statement credit, up to $100. Just like the limited-edition rose gold color, this part of the bonus ends Jan. 9. Apply before then if you are a new cardholder and want to save up to $100 on dining in the first three months.

Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash
(Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash)

A similar monthly perk of $10 in statement credits when you use the Gold Card at participating dining partners, which include Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Shake Shack locations, does not end Jan. 9 and is an ongoing benefit.

If I needed a final reason to pull the trigger now, the Amex Gold Card has an up to $100 annual airline fee credit, much like the $200 annual credit offered by the Amex Platinum. This $100 credit runs on a calendar year, so if I hurry up and make use of that credit in 2018, I’ll still have a fresh $100 waiting for me in January 2019. While the credit is advertised to be good for incidental fees such as checked bags and in-flight meals, in practice it works on more than that — including even gift cards on some airlines.

The public sign-up bonus for the Amex Gold Card is 25,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 in the first three months, but I had a friend refer me so I could score 50,000 points with the same spending requirement. All of those perks way more than offset the $250 annual fee for my family.

10x and 75,000 Bonus Points with Capital One Venture

Once we were squared away on the Membership Rewards front, it was time to go for the much improved Capital One Venture Card. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has also undergone some improvements and is now too good to ignore.

This card allows you to earn 10x miles at Hotels.com/Venture, 2x on pretty much everything else and you can transfer those miles to 12 airline partners (starting in December 2018). At a 2:1.5 transfer ratio, the Venture Rewards card essentially earns 2% cash back or 1.5 airline miles per dollar, whichever gives you more value.

But the reason we wanted to pull the trigger right now is the 75,000 mile sign-up bonus that will not stick around forever. As of right now, the bonus on the card is 75,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. The miles are worth a minimum of 1 cent each if redeemed directly for the cost of travel. This means the bonus is worth for at least $750 and potentially more than $1,000 if you redeem with the airline partners and value the miles at 1.4 cents each as TPG does.

Josh (my husband) has been lacking a good everyday use credit card for a while, so that problem is now solved — along with 75,000 miles to boot. Who knows, maybe we will even turn to Hotels.com a bit more for our travels now that we can earn up to 20% back in rewards by stacking the Venture Card with Hotels.com loyalty program!

Bottom Line

Thankfully, we were instantly approved for both of those offers, which feels oh-so-good. Once the welcome bonuses are earned, we are looking at well over $2,000 in travel and perks with just these two offers, not to mention the ongoing earning capabilities.

Keeping the momentum rolling, later today we hope to have Grandma and Grandpa Points apply for offers of their own. Grandma is likely to also go for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card so they can have flexible points to use for travel as they wish. And because it really is a phenomenal card for families looking to keep costs down when transiting medium- to large sized-cities, Grandma plans to refer Grandpa to the World of Hyatt Credit Card of 60,000 points (picking up a cool 10k Hyatt points for herself in the process).

Photo courtesy of Hyatt Hotels
(Photo courtesy of Hyatt Hotels)

Have any recent credit card offers been just too good for your family to pass up?