End of Year Card Checklist
Now that the year is wrapping up (Thanksgiving is just two weeks away!) I am starting to plan for the end of the year. There are a variety of deals associated with credit cards that wrap up at the end of the year and take some advance planning to take advantage of. See below for the cards that I’m currently thinking about maximizing rewards for before 2022. Have a card that’s not listed here? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do a roundup of the credits that you should be looking into!
Discover It 4th Quarter Categories
Make sure to activate this quarter’s 5x spending bonus - You will earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com from now - December 31, 2021, on up to $1,500 in purchases. I am moving in December, so I’m pretty confident that I can max out this bonus using Amazon and Target purchases. Although I don’t typically shop at these stores often, I will go out of my way to shift my planned purchases to these retailers so I can max out the benefit of 5% cashback.
While you’re at it, activate Q1’s spending bonus as well - Earn 5% Cashback Bonus at Grocery Stores and Fitness Club & Gym Memberships, January 1-March 31, 2022, on up to $1,500 in purchases. (Note that this excludes Walmart and Target purchases if that’s where you typically shop for groceries). I plan to set a reminder on my calendar to shift grocery spend to this card in Q1. Since I’m preparing for a new baby in February, I will probably stock up on essentials in January to make sure I max out this category.
Chase Freedom Flex 4th Quarter Categories
Note: Chase Freedom Flex is a new version of the Chase Freedom card. If you have the older Chase Freedom, like I do, the same categories apply.
Activate this quarter’s 5x spending bonus - Earn 5% cash back from Chase on up to $1,500 in combined purchases at Paypal and Walmart from 10/01/2021 – 12/31/2021. This needs to be activated by December 14, so make sure to do it soon! I don’t shop at Walmart, so I will try to max out this category by making a large purchase with Paypal. At many websites you can “check out with Paypal” to take advantage of this category.
Amex Platinum
The Amex Platinum card is one of the most complicated cards when it comes to statement credits. In order to get value out of this card, you really need to take advantage of enough of the credits to get $695 in value and cancel out the annual fee.
Annual Credits
Saks - $50 statement credit at Saks Fifth Avenue when making a purchase between July and December
Tips for use:
Make sure you have activated this benefit in the benefits portal for your card - they will not retroactively apply the credit if you forget to activate.
Do not purchase a backordered item - you need the charge to post in 2021, and they typically won’t charge until the item is shipped.
Shop through a cashback portal like Rakuten to earn more Amex MR points on your purchase! Typically Saks will go up to over 10% cashback during Black Friday or other promotional days.
How I used it:
I have two Amex Platinum cards in my household, so I needed to make two purchases of ~$50. I tend to use these credits to get something I want, but don’t particularly need. Typically, I go to the Home section and use the price filter to search for items under $50, unless there’s a particular big ticket item that I would have bought anyways. You may have luck finding desirable items at that price point in the Kids or Beauty sections as well. Here’s what I got with our two credits this year:
Airline Credit - $200 statement credit towards airline incidentals on a particular airline
Tips for use:
If you haven’t used any of the credit yet, make sure to choose an airline in the benefits portal. If you have used some of the credit, check to see which airline you chose and how much you have left to spend.
Here is a list of the expenses that count for the credit. Note that if you use one of the unauthorized ways to get the credit, it’s possible that it will be clawed back and there will be no way to retroactively use it.
How I Used It:
This credit is my least favorite one to use. I never get full value out of it. If I end up cancelling one or both of our Amex Platinum cards this year it will be largely because I cannot get full value out of this credit. Here’s our current standing:
My credit is with Delta, and I’ve used $124 of the credit so far this year, mostly on checked baggage with the airline as we have not been traveling light on this 4 month trip.
My husband’s credit is with United, and we’ve used $0 of this credit so far. Before the end of the year, he has just one more flight on Southwest, so I will message Amex to change his airline. Given that bags are free on Southwest, I’m not sure that we will even find something to use it on.
Hotel Credit - $200 statement credit on a prepaid booking with Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection
Tips for Use:
You need to prepay for the stay for it to count, so it’s fine to book a stay in 2021 if you don’t have plans for a hotel stay this year. It would also be possible for you to use this year and next year’s credit for the same stay if you book the two nights separately.
The Hotel Collection requires a stay of two nights or more, Fine Hotels and Resorts only requires one.
How I Used It:
I didn’t have any trips planned, so I knew I needed to make a special trip to use these credits. Since I’m currently in New York City for the month of November, I looked into staying in Manhattan for a night. I could not find a rate lower than $500 per night. Even with the $200 credit, I would not be willing to pay this rate for a hotel I didn’t need.
Instead I ended up booking two nights at the Conrad DC in January for my birthday. I booked this as two separate reservations - one with my husband’s Platinum card and one with mine to take advantage of both credits. Each night was $279, so I did pay $158 out of pocket to use this credit in a hotel in my own city. Given that we will get free breakfast and $200 to use at the property, I think it’s worth paying some out of pocket, but just a heads up that this does not quite fall into the category of “free travel” unless you find a property that costs $200 or less, which anecdotally has been difficult for me to find.
CLEAR credit - $179 CLEAR credit
How I Used It:
My husband and I both enrolled in CLEAR at the airport after this credit was added. We each paid individually with our Amex Platinum cards and the statement credit applied within a few months (this one took longer to apply for me than an Amex offer or some of the other statement credits).
Monthly Credits
These are the credits that you should be using monthly, but here’s a reminder in case those habits have fallen off during the course of the year.
Uber - $15 Uber Cash is added to your Uber account each month, $20 in December
Tips for Use:
When you add your Platinum card as a form of payment to your Uber account, the Uber Cash should automatically be added. Keep in mind that the Uber Cash disappears at the end of the month if you don’t use it, so you can’t bank it.
How I Used It:
Living in San Francisco without a car pre-pandemic, I easily used Uber once a month to use up this credit. As we’ve been traveling, I’ve been able to use it most months as well. However, now that I am moving to a more suburban area with a car and not going to bars due to being pregnant, I need to put more thought into using this credit. I plan to put a calendar reminder at the end of each month to use Uber Eats to use the credit if I haven’t used it for rides yet.
Digital entertainment credit - $20 in statement credits each month at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, and The New York Times
Tips for Use:
Enrollment in the benefits portal of the Amex website is required for this one, so make sure to enroll before making any charges.
How I Used It:
We were lucky to already use two of the service providers here - I use my credit to pay for an Audible subscription and my husband’s to pay for a New York Times subscription. Neither add up to $20 per month, but adding another service would put it over $20 so I’m just sticking with those two. If you don’t use any of these services, consider signing up for a New York Times subscription to support high quality journalism.
Equinox - Get up to $25 back each month on select Equinox memberships
Tips for Use:
Enrollment in the benefits portal of the Amex website is required for this one, so make sure to enroll before making any charges.
A summary of eligible charges is here.
How I Used It:
I haven’t used this one, and probably won’t. There’s nothing you can get free with this credit, you have to go out of pocket. The cheapest option would be the Equinox app, which costs $40 a month, so would be effectively $15. I don’t need a new exercise app in my life so I wouldn’t get value out of that. The only thing I might consider using is the day pass when I am traveling. It’s $50 for a day pass, and I feel like an effective $25 may be worth it if you don’t have other access to a gym.
Amex Gold
Annual Benefits
Free Uber Eats Pass - Enrollment is accessible when you add your Amex Gold card to your Uber account.
Airline Fee Credit - If you obtained the Gold card before February 4, 2021, there is a $100 airline fee credit to use before December. See the Amex Platinum section for more information, as the credit can be used for the same expenses.
Monthly Credits
Uber - $10 Uber Cash is added to your Uber account each month
Tips for Use:
When you add your Gold card as a form of payment to your Uber account, the Uber Cash should automatically be added. Keep in mind that the Uber Cash disappears at the end of the month if you don’t use it, so you can’t bank it.
See above for how I use it
Dining Credit - $10 statement credit per month when you make a purchase at any of the following restaurants/services: Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Shake Shack, Boxed, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
Tips for Use:
Enrollment required before purchase.
How I Use It:
I do not typically make a purchase at one of these restaurants each month. However, I plan to set a calendar reminder. I’d imagine that sometimes I will go to Shake Shack and other times I will just use Grubhub or Seamless for food delivery.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Doordash - Through the end of 2021, there is a $60 Doordash statement credit available
Tips for Use:
Just make a purchase at Doordash and it will apply as a statement credit. See how much you’ve used this year in the CSR benefits portal.
How I Use It:
Doordash has been my go-to food delivery service, so I believe that I’ve used the full credit. At the time of writing this, the CSR benefits portal was not showing how much of the credit has been used, but hopefully this error is fixed soon.
Peloton - Through the end of 2021, get $120 in statement credits towards a Peloton Digital or All-Access membership
How I Use It:
I don’t use Peloton, so I don’t anticipate to use this. The gym in my apartment building that I will be moving into in December does have the bikes, so maybe I will give it a try and cancel in January if this benefit doesn’t get extended.
$300 Travel credit
Tips for Use:
This credit applies as a statement credit automatically towards anything that codes as a travel purchase. It’s a pretty broad category and there are no hoops to jump through. You can check how much you’ve used in the CSR benefits portal, but I’d be surprised if anyone who holds this travel card hasn’t already spent the $300.
Note: This credit is tied to cardmember year, not calendar year. I’m keeping it in the list because everyone’s cardmember year is different, but don’t rush to spend it by December 31.
How I Use It:
Most likely a combination of Uber/Lyft, flight purchases, car rentals, public transportation, etc. I usually use this credit in the beginning of the year without much effort.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
I don’t have this card, but so many readers do, so I’m including it here as well.
Doordash - Free Dashpass membership
Tips for Use:
Add your CSP card as a method of payment on Doordash and follow the instructions to activate the Dashpass membership. You do need to make your Doordash purchases with the card to receive the Dashpass benefits.
Peloton - Through the end of 2021, get $60 in statement credits towards a Peloton Digital or All-Access membership
$50 Hotel credit
Tips for Use:
You need to book your hotel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. More info on how to use it here.
Airline & Hotel Status
If you are hoping to get status in an airline or hotel program, now is the time to make that plan! I just got Hyatt Globalist status, and considered trying to go out of my way for Marriott Platinum status, but ultimately decided it would not be worth it. Take a look at the requirements and see how close you are if you are interested in trying to achieve a new status level.
Are there any cards I missed here? Any credits you’re having trouble maximizing? Let me know in the comments!
