Template: CardTemplate
No annual fee
$ initial spend
Signup Bonus ChartXXXx Type (≈1.5%)
No Foreign Transaction Fee
Introduction. Can be broken into multiple paragraphs targeted towards different travelers, such as one focusing on ongoing benefits and one focusing on a valuable signup bonus. For foreign airline cards make sure to mention the US airline where their points can be used.
Jump to
Jump to:
xxx Card Options
There are nn xxx cards.
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xxx. Always start with the regular version. |
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yyy. Typically end with the no-annual fee version. xxx Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart. |
If there aren't pictures of the different options, use a checklist rather than a Card list. Terms "personal" "business" "no-annual-fee" "the $450 annual fee XXX version". "nnn xxx cards are currently available".
Introduction to xxx Points
If users may need a bunch of information to understand the points system, we should include this optional section. There are templates for each of the major point currencies.
Template:UR Intro Plus extra information about how the cards work together.
Template:BOA Preferred Rewards Plus extra information for business cards.
One off guides are usually arranged as a bulleted list.
Hotels section are titled as "Xxx Points", start with Template:Hotel Points Intro with a Brand parameter. Include any additional points and end with a centered tile for the rewards program.
Collecting the Signup Bonus
If there is only a small amount of information to provide about the points program, such as our current points valuation it should be placed in a box here, rather than as a separate section.
Extra Sections for Important Features
- Airline Incidental Credits. Amex Platinum Card, Amex Gold, BOA Premium Rewards, Ritz Carlton, UBS Infinite, Hilton Aspire
- Travel Credit. Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, US Bank Altitude Reserve
- Companion Certificates. Alaska Airlines, Delta Platinum, British Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Miles & More
- Hotel Free Night Certificates. Hilton Surpass, Marriott Boundless, IHG Select, Hyatt Card, Radisson Premier (IHG doesn't have full section).
- Everyday Spending. Blue Business Plus, Amex Everyday Preferred, Citi Double Cash, Amtrak, BOA Travel Rewards, Spirit Airlines, Alliant Cashback
- Getting the Card. Alliant Cashback, Nusenda Platinum, UBS Infinite
- Other. Earning MQMs with Delta Reserve, Door Dash Credits with Chase Sapphire Reserve, Earning the Companion Pass with Southwest Performance Business, Earning Elite Qualifying Nights with Hyatt Card, 4th night free benefit with Citi Prestige, bing spend bonuses with American Airlines Platinum, spending your way to Status with Frontier, Earning Moscaic Status with JetBlue Plus, Mobile Wallet Payments with US Bank Altitude Reserve
Notable Benefits
Change title to Other Notable Benefits if there a major benefit is covered in a separate section.
Only the first letter capitalized but various programs and statuses will often be capitalized.
For benefits that require spending (with a $x,000 spending requirement).
Templates for common benefits
Template:Benefit Lounge |two, Unlimited, family, unlimited plus, unlimited all
Template:Benefit TSA |How_frequently_in_years
Template:Benefit Gogo |number_of_passes
Template:Benefit Roadside |chase, citi, amex, ubs
Hotel Level elite status. Entitles you to blah blah. Hilton Status Benefits.
Spending is based on a calendar year, so if you sign up late in the year, it can be hard to qualify during your signup year (and leverage the initial spending requirement).
Usually include one or more of the following options based on the card "type"
Template:Benefit Signature Visa Signature
Template:Benefit Infinite Visa Infinite
Template:Benefit Amex Biz Currently empty, will need to be added back to Amex Business cards
Template:Benefit World Mastercard World
Template:Benefit Elite Mastercard World Elite
Template:Benefit Chase Currently empty
Template:Benefit Citi Currently empty, will need to be added back to many / all Citibank cards.
Bonus Categories
For the main bonus category bullets, the parameters are category (xxx), amount of rewards (yyy), optional last category, optional middle category. Need to manually add links at end.
- Template:Bonus Medium.
- Template:Bonus Low.
- Template:Bonus Groceries Gas Just shortcut just uses the type of reward and is already a full list item. There are better options for your grocery and gas purchases. {The bonus category rewards from this card are} yyy more valuable than what you would earn from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards. Grocery spending link. Gas spending Link>
There are better options for your xxx purchases. {The bonus category rewards from this card are} yyy more valuable than what you would earn from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards.
The bonus rewards rate for xxx purchases is not very interesting. You should be earning as much or more from your general-purpose reward card and can do even better with a card that earns bonus rewards for these categories / this category.
There are a couple of templates specifically for airline and hotel cards.
- Template:Bonus Hotel (low/med/high/best, brand, rate, value, cardname)
- Template:Bonus Airline (low/med/high, brand, rate, value, cardname)
Template:Bonus Everyday {plural) At the end of most sections.
There are also an old Template:Bonus Category (level, category, reward rate, value of rewards in cents, card name or "this card", optional last category, optional middle category) template that isn't used much anymore. Need to manually add links at end.
Getting Rid of the Card
A few guides cover cards from multiple banks. Each bank would have its own section using 4th level headers.
- Start with information about whether you should cancel before or after the annual fee.
- Then cover product change options.
- Then cover what happens to points when you close the card.
- Then a potential reminder about any credits you can use
- Then other optimizations such as holding onto Chase slots, retaining benefits with no-annual fee, hoping for an upgrade offer, getting a discontinued card.
- Finally remind readers of the possibility of a retention offer.
You can wait to cancel the card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Amex will refund the fee. After 30 days, you can receive a pro-rated refund by downgrading to a lower-priced card. You can only downgrade to the $195 Amex Green Card. If you haven't had the Green Card before, downgrading will block your ability to earn its signup bonus in the future and you'll miss out on a potential referral bonus. So, ideally you would cancel before the deadline.
We usually recommend cancelling your card, rather than doing a product change. If you change to a card that you haven't had before, you won't be able to earn the signup bonus for that card in the future. In addition, signing up directly for the new card would earn a referral bonus for your Amex referral partner. And it usually isn't hard to get approved for a new Amex card when you need it.
You can product change between the personal Platinum ($550), Gold ($250), and Green ($195) cards, or between the business Platinum ($595), Business Gold ($295), Business Green ($95), and Plum ($250) cards.
You need to be careful or you could lose your Membership Rewards points when you cancel your card. To keep your points, you need to hold onto at least one card that earns Membership Rewards points. If you don't have one, you either need to hold onto the card, downgrade it to the Green or Gold, open up a new Membership Rewards card (like the no-annual-fee Amex Everyday Card), or transfer all your points to your favorite airline program. Before cancelling, make sure to check that the card you're cancelling is linked to the same Membership Rewards account as your other cards (as it should be).
Template:Cancel Keep Points name of points 1 (xxx), name of points 2 (yyy), name of account. Needs to be in list paragraph to allow extra sentence.
You can cancel without worrying about losing your xxx. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other yyy in your zzz account.
Template:Cancel Cashout. Needs to be in list paragraph to allow extra sentence.
Make sure to cash out your rewards balance before you cancel your card.
Try to use your card's credits before you cancel your card. All the credits are based on the calendar year, so you ordinarily would have had plenty of time to use them.