Eight Easy Ways to Earn and Burn Credit Card Points for Travel
With airline loyalty offering diminished rewards, it might be time to rethink your points and miles game—especially if you're prone to swiping credit cards that are co-branded with your carrier of choice.
Take the American Express Platinum Card. The Delta Air Lines Inc. version of that card earns miles; the nonbranded one earns 'Membership Rewards points.' Even before miles depreciated, the unspoken rule was that they were far more valuable, given that you can move them around to various hotel or airline partners with different exchange rates.
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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Earn up to 110,000 bonus miles with a new Delta SkyMiles credit card
American Express and Delta are out with all-new welcome bonus offers across three personal credit cards within the Delta SkyMiles suite: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. There are also new offers on Delta business cards: Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn 110,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. With over 290 destinations across six continents and more than 200 million customers served in 2024, Delta is one of the most well-known airlines worldwide. And you could reduce much of the upfront cost of flying to one of Delta's global destinations if you're able to take advantage of these generous sign-up bonuses. It depends on how you redeem the miles, but we value Delta SkyMiles at an average of 1.18 cents each. That means 100,000 miles equals about $1,180. However, as with many airline credit cards, the exact value of your miles depends on how you use them. Since Delta uses dynamic pricing, you can see different values with each redemption. You can find plenty of value with 100,000 (give or take, depending on the welcome offer) Delta SkyMiles. This is especially true when accounting for the TakeOff 15 benefit, which provides an automatic 15% discount on eligible award flights for Delta SkyMiles cardholders. Let's take a look at some possible redemptions. You can fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL) for 38,200 miles. The cash price for the same flight is $1,341, giving you a redemption value of about 3.5 cents per mile ($1,341 / 38,200 = 0.035104). You'll still have plenty of miles left to figure out your return flight, which could mean including a stop in Australia after visiting Hobbiton (and while you're in the area). This flight from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Mexico City (MEX) will only set you back 26,300 miles. The redemption value for this flight is about 1.5 cents per mile, which is better than our average valuation. And with miles to spare, you can bring some friends or work on covering the return leg home. You don't have to get fancy with your redemptions; a short flight will do just fine if it saves you money, especially if it's a route you frequently take. Consider this example: A flight between Atlanta (ATL) and Miami (MIA) that costs 8,300 miles or $117. With 100,000 miles, you could take this flight 12 times, giving you plenty of opportunities for vacations or visiting friends and family. This particular flight has a redemption value of about 1.4 cents per mile. See which flavor — Gold, Platinum, or Reserve — of Delta SkyMiles card is the best fit for you. Consider which Delta SkyMiles business card is right for you if you run a small best Delta SkyMiles credit card for you depends on your goals and spending habits. If you only fly occasionally, maybe a few times per year, we recommend the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card. This card has the lowest annual fee but still provides one of the best benefits: a free checked bag. With only a few roundtrip flights, you can offset the annual fee in saved baggage charges. If you travel a lot, a card like the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex Card or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex Card may make more sense. These cards have higher annual fees, but they also provide more benefits. For example, the Delta Reserve Amex Card offers Delta Sky Club Access (at least 15 visits each Medallion year), which could come in handy the more you find yourself in airports. Business owners can apply for the personal or business versions of the Delta SkyMiles credit cards. The business credit cards are largely the same as their personal variants, but their welcome offers require increased spending, so keep that in mind when making your decision. All the Delta SkyMiles credit cards associated with these new welcome offers have annual fees. If you want to avoid an annual fee at all costs, consider no-annual-fee credit Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to the Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank's website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Amex leans into B2B payments
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. American Express is nudging corporate clients to use their cards more regularly for business payments, CEO Steve Squeri said in a presentation last week. The push comes as Amex prepares for economic uncertainty. The card giant is looking for ways to increase business-to-business spending by clients who hold corporate or small business cards used for work-related purchases, he said. The New York City-based card company already offers an array of corporate cards that business owners and managers can use for work expenses, but aims to make those cards usable for a wider range of business-related purchases, Squeri said, although he provided few details. The CEO made the comments on May 29 at the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference in New York City. "We can do a better job of making more B2B payments viable," he said. "That means on both the card member side and the merchant side." Looking at costs for customers could be one way to achieve that goal, Squeri said. "There is a point where the right pricing decisions drive some more volume there," he said, although he did not elaborate. The acquisition of expense management platform Center was part of the company's push to expand B2B payment volume, Squeri said. 'It [Center] will ultimately become part of the Blueprint platform,' about which he said, 'It's got access to your card account, it's got a cash flow analysis, it's got working capital. We'll integrate travel into that,' he said. 'And so, think about that as a platform going forward for small and midsize businesses.' American Express is also "building out a global, multi-rail B2B network to act as a digital, one-stop shop where any business can buy and sell easily, quickly, and in one place, no matter what kind of payment is required," an Amex spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson also stressed that the company's foothold in B2B payments goes beyond corporate and business credit cards, and includes partnerships with B2B payment companies such as Boost and Versapay. The card network has taken steps to upgrade its offerings for businesses recently. Last month, for example, American Express gave small business owners access to a virtual credit card that was previously available only to corporate clients. While Squeri did not explicitly link the company's pursuit of B2B payment volume with a possible recession, Amex is turning to business customers as consumer sentiment wavers in the face of economic uncertainty. The card network's cardholders change their spending habits when faced with economic uncertainty, Squeri said."When our cardholders get stressed, they spend a little bit less," Squeri said. Even after President Donald Trump walked back his most aggressive tariffs, economists pointed to a higher-than-average chance of a recession this year. JPMorgan Chase put the odds of the economy slipping into a recession this year at 40% in a report published on May 27, but even if that scenario were avoided, the bank's economists said the U.S. could still see tepid economic growth in the months to come. The bank's prediction was made before the president doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum Wednesday, which could worsen the economic picture by increasing prices in the U.S. Joblessness is something Amex is monitoring closely, more so than the volatile stock market, the company's CEO said. "The thing we really watch for is the unemployment rate," Squeri said. Recommended Reading Amex offers virtual card to small businesses
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in June
American Express has gradually grown into one of Berkshire's top positions. Capital One Financial recently became a more formidable credit card powerhouse. Fossil fuels may be on their way to being displaced by renewables, but that still leaves a long runway for companies like Occidental Petroleum. 10 stocks we like better than American Express › He may be set to step down as head of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) at the end of this year, but most of the conglomerate's stock holdings are still Warren Buffett's picks. So if you're looking for Buffett-approved ideas, Berkshire's portfolio is still the place to find them. Here are three in particular that you may want to dive into before the end of this month. After nearly two decades of slow and steady (and mostly unheralded) growth, but also due to the recent downsizing of its stake in Bank of America, American Express (NYSE: AXP) has become Berkshire Hathaway's second-biggest holding. With 151.6 million shares, Berkshire owns about 22% of the credit card lender, and that $44.5 billion position makes up 16% of the value of Berkshire's stock portfolio. What's so special about this seemingly ho-hum outfit that's inspired Buffett to not only stick with it for this long, but allow it to become such a major piece of Berkshire's portfolio? It's not nearly as surprising as it may seem at first glance. See, while American Express is frequently lumped together with Visa and Mastercard (for obvious reasons), it's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison. Its business could be better described as a marketing and rewards program that just happens to be centered around a card payments network. Its card holders are willing to pay as much as $700 per year for perks like credit toward streaming services, cash back on hotel stays, access to airport lounges, and other rewards. This is a surprisingly well-protected business model. Although it wouldn't be accurate to say that only affluent households hold Amex cards, the company certainly focuses on the higher-income crowd -- a demographic that isn't as adversely impacted by macroeconomic headwinds like the ones blowing now. For perspective, last quarter, the company's total billed business grew 6% year over year, boosting its currency-adjusted revenue by 8%. Restaurant spending was particularly strong, growing 8%, and underscoring the argument that bigger spenders aren't actually cutting back. American Express is also one of the few outfits that hasn't dialed back its full-year profit outlook. It's still expecting revenue growth of between 8% and 10% to produce earnings per share of between $15 and $15.50. That would be up roughly 14% from last year's earnings of $13.35 per share -- better profit growth than most companies are expected to produce this year. If American Express sits at one end of the consumerism continuum, Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) occupies a space at the other. Although most people can qualify for a Capital One card, they're well suited for people looking to build (or rebuild) their credit. Still, there's plenty of demand for credit cards from the sections of the marketplace that it caters to, in addition to the piece of the business that Discover served before Capital One's recently completed acquisition of it. Don't underestimate this pairing, either. Combined, those now-merged outfits could loosen the firm grip that industry titans Mastercard and Visa have had on the credit card payments network market for a long time now. See, it's a mostly unrecognized nuance from the consumer perspective, but every credit card payment quietly involves several parties. Card issuers serve as the lenders to credit card-holding consumers, but those issuers also need a means of rapidly approving and processing payments for retailers and other merchants. Visa and Mastercard are the largest of the middleman outfits that provide those networks -- and who collect small fees for every transaction. Capital One has long relied on them, as do all the other issuers of cards with the Mastercard and Visa logos. AmEx operates its own payment network (albeit a smaller one) for its branded cards, keeping everything in house. Discover, however, is a lender that also runs a payments network of its own. Although it's still small by comparison, together, Capital One and Discover have enough scale, leverage, and technical capabilities to serve many customers without the involvement of Visa or Mastercard. There's no way Buffett saw this merger coming back in early 2023 when Berkshire Hathaway first established what is now a 7.1 million share stake in Capital One worth about $1.3 billion. In fact, the conglomerate has actually trimmed its position in the financial services company a bit since early 2024. It's a Buffett holding nonetheless, however, and one that Goldman Sachs recently added to its so-called "conviction list" of tickers that it firmly believes are undervalued and worth owning. Finally, add Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) to your list of Warren Buffett stocks to buy hand over fist this month. Against the backdrop of renewable energy's proliferation and growing efforts by governments, businesses, and individuals worldwide to reduce their use of fossil fuels, an oil and natural gas extractor like Occidental might not seem to be an obvious holding for a highly traditional and old-school stock picker like Buffett. Yet despite the continued adoption of renewable energy sources, the world will still need more and more oil for a long time. Researchers at Goldman Sachs don't believe we'll reach "peak oil" -- the point at which the average daily consumption of crude oil stops growing and starts shrinking -- until 2034, in fact, and even beyond that point, we'll need lots of it for several more decades. OPEC doesn't believe crude consumption's growth will peak until 2045 at the earliest, while oil giant ExxonMobil is forecasting that oil demand will peak in 2030, but also anticipates that in 2050, we'll still need about the same amount of it that we do in 2030. And it expects that overall, in 25 years, oil and natural gas will still account for more than half of the global energy mix. In other words, there's still lots of good money to be made in the fossil fuel business by a low-cost operator like Occidental Petroleum. To the extent the oil and natural gas industry business is living on borrowed time, though, Occidental is evolving brilliantly. The company's carbon-capture technology (literally) sucks carbon dioxide out of the ambient air. The business just needs scale, which is being encouraged by incentives. That's one of the chief reasons Precedence Research believes the global carbon capture market will grow at an annualized rate of more than 21% through 2034. This stock hasn't been a strong performer since late 2022. Indeed, it has lost nearly half its value since then. That's only because oil prices have been in a slump since then, though, dragging the industry's earnings down with it. Buffett has been unfazed, however. Not only has he stuck with Occidental, he has added to Berkshire's stake, growing it into a 264.9 million share position worth, at current share prices, about $13 billion. That's nearly 6% of Berkshire's stock portfolio and 27% of Occidental Petroleum's entire float. Before you buy stock in American Express, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and American Express wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $656,825!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $865,550!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs Group, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Capital One Financial and Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in June was originally published by The Motley Fool
