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Ashley on the Move is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to
partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links
appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial
offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for
select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Can you believe it’s OCTOBER?! I have fully embraced the fall weather and am ready to drink all the pumpkin coffee, watch Hocus Pocus 2, and decorate my house with bats. They’re just so cute and you can’t convince me otherwise. It’s also the perfect time to open a travel credit card. Why?! Well, in my humble opinion it’s ALWAYS a good time to open a travel card but especially now. Because the holidays are upon us, my friend. Yes. You will soon be spending hundreds of extra dollars to shower your family and friends with Christmas gifts. And all that extra spending can earn you airfare and hotels virtually anywhere around the world. Post-Christmas vacation? Don’t mind if I do.
Wait, how are you using credit cards for travel?
Not sure what I’m talking about? Points and miles, of course! If you’re new here, first off, welcome, and second I am big on using points and miles. This means I use credit cards to strategically earn airline miles and points to redeem for flights and hotels. Less cash out of my wallet means more travel! Who can say no to that? With a little bit of effort, you can also be on your way to a free hotel stay and free flights. Get started by reading this article here, make sure a credit card is right for you, and have your finances in tip top shape before you start travel hacking. And then come back here to find out the best credit card offers this month!
Most cards have a requirement of a “minimum spend” within a certain time frame to earn their welcome bonus. You’ll most commonly see within 3 months so that’s why now is the perfect time to open a new card. By December when all the holiday spending frenzy is over, you’ll have your welcome bonus! The welcome bonus (also known as sign up bonus) is where the real points and miles magic happens. It can often take months and years to earn enough points for a free trip through just your daily spend but the welcome bonus changes all that. These are usually large chunks of points that can be redeemed right away for 5 star hotel stays, business class flights to Europe, or both if you play your cards right! (Pun intended)
Best credit card bonuses for October:
Citi Premier
Citi is currently offering an elevated sign up bonus of 80,000 Thank You points for the Citi Premier. I can’t believe this offer is still going! It’s normally 60,000 points. This can get you $800 in cash back/free travel and even more if you play your cards right. We just opened this card for player 2 (my husband) and are planning to use them for business class flights to Europe in the fall. I plan on going into that plan in detail with next week’s newsletter, so sign up here and get all that goodness!
Annual fee: $95
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One is also offering an elevated sign up bonus of 75,000 miles up from the normal 60,000 on the Capital One Venture. Obviously, this is lower than the Citi card so unless you are looking for a certain transfer partner that Citi doesn’t offer, I’d jump on the Citi first. However, I love the Venture in my card portfolio because of 2x miles on everything. It’s nice to build up a stash of points on things that aren’t in bonus categories for other cards. You also get great benefits like a Cultivist membership (think: free tickets to places like the Louvre!) and travel protection. With 3x on groceries, gas, and dining, you’re sure to rack up TONS of points with this card!
Annual fee: $95
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
This card is offering 75,000 miles which is their baseline, but I recommend this if you’re looking for a higher end card. I’ve been loving the Venture X for lounge access, the $300 annual travel credit, the Cultivist membership, travel protection, and Hertz President Circle Status. They also recently expanded their lounge access from just Priority Pass and Capital One lounges to include the Partner Lounge Network! Capital One’s customer service has been top notch as well. I can’t say enough good things about this card.
Annual fee: $395
Bilt Mastercard (*not an affiliate link)
This card is pretty new in the world of travel hacking but from everything I’ve heard… I’m impressed! This is the ONLY credit card that you can use to pay rent… so if you are currently renting an apartment there’s no reason you shouldn’t have this card! You get 1x points on rent, 2x on travel, and 3x on dining. Bilt has also been adding so many transfer partners. In addition, they’ve just added “rent day” which means on the very first day of the month your points are DOUBLED. Rent is still 1x but you can get 6x on dining, 4x on travel, and 2x on everything else. Rent day is fun now….?
I own my home, so I can’t take advantage of the rent category, but am considering adding this to my repertoire. (I’ve heard rumors that they want to start working with home mortgages soon though!)
Annual fee: $0
American Express Gold® Card
If you like to eat (who doesn’t?), you need this card in your wallet! AmEx is currently offering 60,000 Member Rewards® points for new users of the American Express Gold. Terms apply. I’ve even seen some targeted offers for 90,000 MRs after hitting the minimum spend, so check some referral links/affiliate links like on TravelFreely to see if you can find it! You get 4x on dining AND 4x at supermarkets, so it’s truly a no brainer to rack up serious Member Rewards.
Annual Fee: $250 | Rates & Fees
Final thoughts
Alright, that rounds it out for my top recommendations for credit card offers in the month of October. I don’t expect the Citi offer to last much longer, so I recommend starting there!
Travel hacking can open up a world of travel you may have never thought possible. If you’re not already on the bandwagon, read up on it and see if it might be a good fit for you! The points and miles community is so helpful and always willing to impart some travel hacking wisdom. It is even better when credit card companies offer some great sign up bonuses, and there are some good ones this September!
Let me know what card you are planning to get and what you’re planning to redeem it for! As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email me at hello [@] ashleyonthemove.com
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