The United Quest Card is a new premium travel card that offers a lot of added perks on United Airlines for a higher annual fee. Here are the highlights:

• 90,000 bonus United miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 5,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account in the first 3 months your account is open.
• First AND second checked bags are free for both you and a companion (a savings of up to $360 per roundtrip) when you use your Card to purchase your ticket. Terms apply.
• Priority boarding.. The primary Cardmember and companions on the same reservation will be invited to board United-operated flights prior to general boarding.
• Up to a $125 United(R) purchase credit and up to 10,000 miles in award flight credits each year (terms apply).
• Earn up to 9,000 Premier qualifying points per calendar year (1 PQP for every $20 you spend on purchases).
• Up to $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS fee credit.
• Expanded award availability and free upgrades. Having this card makes it easier to find that saver award economy ticket. No blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United.
• $250 annual fee.

Here are the ongoing rewards on purchases:

• 3X miles on United(R) purchases
• 2X miles on all other travel.
• 2X miles on dining.
• 2X miles on select streaming services.
• 1X mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• 25% Back on United inflight purchases (Wi-Fi, Food and Drinks).

The United Quest card is considered a new product, which means you can get this new bonus even if you’ve had other United card flavors in the past 24 months:

This card product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

This card is very focused on making it a better experience for regular United customers. You have the first and second checked bag for free on United flights, both for your and a companion traveling on the same reservation. The bag fees are $40 first bag and $50 second bag per person, each way, so that adds up to a potential $360 total value roundtrip.

After each card anniversary, you automatically get $125 back on United purchases charged to your card, which already covers half the $250 annual fee. You save another 5,000 points (up to twice a year) when you book an award ticket with miles. You also get Priority Boarding, and while onboard, you get 25% back on your inflight purchases of WiFi, food, and drinks.

If you are trying to make Premier status on United, this card offers the ability to earn up to 9,000 Premier qualifying points a year (1 PQP for every $20 you spend on purchases).

Expanded award seat availability. You earn United miles for all your purchases, but then they also make it easier for you to redeem those miles on Saver level tickets with no blackout dates. No blackout dates for MileagePlus members booking award flights on United. Expanded award seat availability is another of the top perks from this card, and I’ve found a very significant difference when searching. If you’re constantly trying to find economy tickets for the entire family like me, this is a big deal. Saver Award ticket redemptions start at 12,500 miles one-way within the continental U.S. and Canada.

If you are a Premier® status member and traveling on an award ticket, with this card you can take advantage of Premier Upgrades on United-operated flights.

Another unique feature of this card is that it offers primary coverage on the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. On most other consumer cards, this coverage is offered as secondary coverage, meaning it only kicks in after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted.

Bottom line. The United Quest Card offers a long list of special perks for folks that fly United on a regular basis. For the right person, the benefits can be worth much more than the annual fee.

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

The information for the United Quest(SM) Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Update July 2024: Upside closed my account effective immediately and without prior warning because I used “unauthorized” promo codes. Just FYI, I would cash out now and whenever you have enough of a balance.

Original post:

(Update: Added new codes SOFI35, SHSBPO , and SHSVBALL. SOFI35 looks to for those initially signing up for a new account and offer $0.35 off/gal, and SHSBPO/SHSVBALL was able to be applied to my existing account and should increase the cash back from eligible restaurants by 5%. I saw up to 25% off in total.)

Upside is an app that earns cash back rewards on gas and restaurants. The cash back is on top of whatever cash back or rewards your credit card already earns. For the most part, you look up a local gas station or restaurant on the Upside app, “claim” the offer, and then shop at the gas station or restaurant with a linked credit card. Upside somehow tracks your credit card number through their systems and match up the transactions (takes a few days). The cash back can then be redeemed directly back into your bank account (no fees if $10 minimum cash out).

They used to require you to take pictures of your receipts, but I didn’t have to for my gas purchases. They might still ask in some cases, I believe.

Right now, there are several live promo codes that are stackable such that you can earn $1.50+/gallon on your first few purchases. I successfully earned a total of $1.75/gallon back on my first fill-up, which works out to over $20 cash back. Here are the promo codes which are potentially stackable starting with my referral code.

• Download the Upload app first and create an account.
• After installing, click on the person icon in the top right, then “Profile”, and then “Promo code” box. Try to enter each of the codes below. You may need to go back to the “Profile” screen to re-enter the next code. If it doesn’t give you an error, the code should be been applied. There is no other confirmation, other than seeing your cash back offer values go up.
• JONATHAN633925 for extra 15 cents/gallon on first purchase. Should be auto-filled if you used the link above.
• UBERPC20
• UBER35
• SHOPPERS35
• USHIP35
• YOUTUBE10
• GOPUFF35
• GOPUFF15
• AMEX35
• PERKSATWORK230
• CASHCABK25
• SOFI35
• SHSBPO

Sources: These were collected across Doctor of Credit and GetUpside Reddit. Many of them might not work, but honestly I just tried them all to see whatever would stick. Also, I think most of them only work for the first 3 fill-ups or so.

After entering them all one-by-one, you can go back and look on your local map to see what gas stations are available nearby. Remember to first link up the credit card you use for gas (person icon > “Wallet”), and then claim the offer before you fill up and pay using that specific credit card. It’s a rather vague process, but the cash back magically showed up after 2-3 days. Hopefully, I can rack up at least $50 in cash back on gas with these promo codes.

Beyond a lot of fast food chains, I’m also seeing 6% to 20% off at a lot of local restaurants that also participate in Neighborhood Nosh (formerly iDine), which is a similar program in that the cash back is on top of credit card rewards and through linked credit card numbered. The Upside cash back percentages I’ve seen are often higher, however, so this app might actually be a long-term keeper if it keeps working reliably.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just announced an upcoming fee change for some of its most popular Trusted Traveler Programs, including Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck), NEXUS, and SENTRI. Starting 10/1/24, the application fee for Global Entry will rise to $120 every 5 years, up from $100. NEXUS and SENTRI will also have the same $120 fee. TSA PreCheck on its own is still set to stay at $78, but again Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck.

This is potentially actionable news in a few different ways:

• It’s a good reminder to use up any of those $100 Global Entry/TSA credits on any credit cards you have now. There are over a dozen cards that offer this credit from all the major issuers like all of the major issuers. I’ve never actually paid for a Global Entry (GE) application fee for any of our five household members, thanks to such credits. The cards will probably eventually increase to match, but why not just get it reimbursed in full for sure. There is usually a 12-month window before expiration when you can renew.
• If you have kids, you may choose to wait until after 10/1 to apply or renew for Global Entry. As long as the parent or legal guardian is already a Global Entry member OR is applying at the same time, it will become free for the child under 18. A reminder that as long as just the parents have TSA PreCheck, the kids will still get TSA PreCheck line access as well when flying. However, Global Entry does not work that way and so everyone needs their own Global Entry membership to use that special line.
• Note that the biggest hassle right now is trying to find an interview time to actually complete for your Global Entry application, especially after the pandemic. This depends on the availability where you live. We still have one kid without Global Entry (even though we paid for the application) due to this hurdle. For a while, there were simply zero appointments available. Then we had to eventually schedule the appointment for six months out, and it’s still not until June 2024. Things appear a little better now.

American Express has partnered with the Point.me award travel tool to provide free flight searches for the airline loyalty programs that work with American Express Membership Rewards points. The special site is AmEx.Point.me, where you must log into your American Express account.

With point.me for Membership Rewards® points, eligible Card Members have access to a real time reward-flight search engine. POINT.ME makes it easy to see all of the options, and choose the flight that works best for you before transferring Membership Rewards® points to eligible airline loyalty programs through your Membership Rewards® account.

I am hopeful for this new service, as Membership Rewards has a lot of transfer partners but it can be hard to find the best flights across them all. (Bilt Rewards has also partnered with Point.me for free award searches.) The searches can take a while to finish, but hopefully it’s still better than searching manually. The full version of the Point.me website usually costs $12 a month or $129 a year for all airlines (first 3 searches free). There is also a more expensive Concierge service where a human expert will handle everything for $200/person.

Loyalty programs have been around for decades, especially in the airline industry. However, booking award travel can feel cumbersome, like you’re jumping through multiple hoops just to book a flight! This is where point.me comes in. We’re the first company to offer a tool that makes it easier to use miles and points for air travel. Not only does our tool show you flight options that are bookable using your points, we also guide you step-by-step to book the flight yourself!

Also see: Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.

The Alaska Airlines Visa credit card is issued by Bank of America and offers several unique cardholder perks, and currently has an increased limited-time offer. The business card version currently also has a limited-time offer.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card

• 60,000 Alaska miles + Companion Fare from $122 after $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days after account opening. Companion fare voucher is “Buy one ticket, get one for $122” ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $23).
• Free checked bag + Priority boarding. Any cardholder who purchases airfare with their card, and up to 6 additional guests traveling on the same reservation, may check their first bag free. This is worth $60 roundtrip per person.
• 3X miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, cable, streaming services and local transit including ride share purchases. 1X mile per $1 spent on all other purchases.
• 10% rewards bonus w/ BofA on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
• Ability to earn another Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare ($6k spend requirement). Get another Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• $95 annual fee.

I will be adding this offer to the Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card

• 50,000 Alaska miles + Companion Fare Voucher after $3,000 in purchase within 90 days. Companion fare voucher is “Buy one ticket, get one for $122” ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $23).
• Free checked bag + Priority boarding. Any cardholder who purchases airfare with their card, and up to 6 additional guests traveling on the same reservation, may check their first bag free. This is worth $60 roundtrip per person.
• Ability to earn another Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare ($6k spend requirement). Get another Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
• 10% rewards bonus w/ BofA on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® small business account.
• $70 annual fee for company, plus $25 per card.

I will be adding this offer to the Top 10 Best Small Business Credit Card Bonus Offers.

Looking to pay off any remaining credit card debt? 📈 Shopping around for the best balance transfer offer can save you thousands of dollars in interest. Below is a freshly updated list of the best 0% APR balance transfer offers. I try to include both the big banks and lesser-known credit unions with easy membership requirements.

Best No Balance Transfer Fee 0% APR Offers

Fairwinds CU Cash Back Card – 0% Introductory APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers and no balance transfer fees. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You must be an Fairwinds Credit Union member to obtain this card, but membership is open to everyone. You must also keep a nominal $5 in a share savings account. Also earns 1.5% cash back on purchases. No annual fee.

La Capital FCU Rewards Card – 0% Introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers and no balance transfer fee during the first 90 days after account opening. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You must be an La Capitol Federal Credit Union member to obtain this card, but membership is open to everyone who joins a partner organization for as little as $20 (Louisiana Association for Personal Financial Achievement). You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $5) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

Navy Federal CU Platinum Card – 0.99% Introductory APR for 12 months on balance transfers during the first 60 days after account opening and no balance transfer fees. (This is not 0%, but ~1% is still quite rare in the current interest rate environment.) After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. You must be an Navy Fedral Credit Union member to obtain this card, and membership is limited to those with a military affiliation, although it does include anyone whose immediate family member serves or has ever served in the military. You must also keep a nominal amount (usually around $5) in a share savings account. No annual fee.

Comparing a shorter no-fee balance transfer vs. a longer one with a modest fee. As of January 2024, the average credit card interest rate is roughly 24% APR (!). If you are paying 24% APR, that’s like paying 2% on your balance every month (!). Paying a 3% upfront fee for an 21 month period of 0% would be like paying your current interest rate for 1.5 months and then getting 0% interest for the remaining 19.5 months. That may be preferable to 12 months at 0% with no balance transfer fee, especially if you spread out your payments over the entire period and use that additional time to pay it all off by the end. Here is an example comparison.

• $5,000 balance, 24% APR, 12 month payoff = $472 per month for 12 months. ($5,673 total paid)
• $5,000 balance, 0% APR + No BT fee, 12 month payoff = $417 per month for 12 months. ($5,000 total paid)
• $5,000 balance, 24% APR, 21 months payoff = $293 per month for 21 months. ($6,172 total paid)
• $5,000 balance, 0% APR + 3% BT fee, 21 month payoff = $245 per month for 21 months. ($5,150 total paid)
• $5,000 balance, 0% APR + no BT fee, 21 month payoff = $238 per month for 21 months. ($5,000 total paid) ** not an available offer **

I can see how one might prefer the $245 per month for 21 months, even thought it results in a slightly higher total amount paid than the $417 per month for 12 months. Especially if this creates an attainable plan that the end of 21 months, you are debt-free and you saved over $1,000 in interest ($6,172 vs. $5,150). Even if there was no balance transfer fee for 21 months (which unfortunately isn’t an option), the difference would only be $7 per month.

If you are sure you can pay it all off within the shorter 0% period, then you should pick the no balance transfer fee option.

Best Low Fee, Longer-Term 0% APR Balance Transfer Offers

US Bank Visa Platinum Card  – 0% Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. There is a 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum). Side perk of up to $600 in cell phone protection. No annual fee.

Citi Simplicity® Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of first transfer. All transfers must be completed in first 4 months. This unique card has no late fees and no penalty interest rate. You also get 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. There is a 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum). No annual fee.

BankAmericard Credit Card – 0% Intro APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases and balance transfers made in the first 60 days of opening your account. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. There is a 3% balance transfer fee. No annual fee.

Wells Fargo Reflect Card – 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 21 months from date of account account opening. Balance transfers must be made within 120 days from account opening There is 5% balance transfer fee (min $5). No annual fee.

Wells Fargo Reflect Card – 0% Intro APR for 18 months for purchases and balance transfers. After the intro APR offer ends, a variable APR will apply. There is a 3% balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) for balance transfers made in the first 60 days of opening your account. No annual fee.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee rewards card which earns a flat 1.5% cash back on all non-bonus purchases (or a possibly more valuable 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent). This is a different card from the new Chase Freedom Flex, which has 5% cash back on rotating categories, on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter. Here are the highlights for new cardholders:

• $250 bonus (25,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.*
• 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. 3% intro balance transfer fee when you transfer a balance during the first 60 days your account is open, with a minimum of $5. After that, the fee for future balance transfers is 5% of the amount transferred, with a minimum of $5.

Here is the standard rewards structure, before the new cardholder offer:

• 5X points (5% cash back) on travel purchased through Chase Travel^SM.
• 3X points (3% cash back) on dining out, take-out, and eligible delivery services.
• 3X points (3% cash back) on drugstore purchases.
• Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
• No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open!
• Cash back does not expire as long as your card is open.
• No annual fee.

1.5% cash back on all purchases is better than the 1% cash back you see from a lot of cards, but there are now multiple 2% back back cards out there.

But wait, you actually get Ultimate Rewards Points! The lesser-known perk of this card is that you actually earn Ultimate Rewards points, which are in turn redeemable for cash back at a rate of 100 points = $1 in cash back, or 1 cent per point. But you don’t have to do that. Ultimate Rewards points are worth collecting because of their flexibility. (I hope Chase doesn’t forget this fact.) This is important because there are many ways in which Ultimate Rewards points can be worth much more than 1 cent per point.

If you have also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred Card, then you can pool all of your Ultimate Rewards points together (even with your spouse/partner as an authorized user) and thus utilize all of the same transfer partners with the following results:

• Earn 1.5 United Mileageplus miles per dollar spent on ALL purchases.
• Earn 1.5 Hyatt points per dollar spent on ALL purchases.
• Earn 1.5 British Airways Avios per dollar spent on ALL purchases.
• Earn 1.5 Southwest Rapid Rewards points per dollar spent on ALL purchases.

Notice that you are earning more miles and points on ALL purchases than even the specific co-branded cards from United or Hyatt themselves! Most of them just offer 1 point/mile per dollar spent on all purchases.

If you placed a perceived value of 1.5 cents on each United Airlines mile or Hyatt hotel point, then you’d receive 2.25 cents of perceived value per dollar spent with this card. Your actual numbers will depend on your own specific redemption choices, but you can see that you can definitely exceed 2% cash back value on an ongoing basis with the Sapphire Preferred/Freedom Unlimited combo.

With the Sapphire Reserve, you can also redeem for travel through the Chase Travel^SM portal at 1.5 cents per point value, which means 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points = $300 towards airfare, hotel, car rentals booked through Chase Travel. 5% cash back on groceries turns into 7.5% potential value back, and so on.

If you would like the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories each quarter, compare with the Chase Freedom Flex card. You can have both a Freedom and a Freedom Unlimited card, but you’ll have to apply for each card separately. I think this is actually a great combo if you plan to keep a Sapphire Preferred/Sapphire Reserve/Ink Preferred cards as well.

Restrictions. This card is subject to “5/24” restrictions, which means that your application will be automatically denied if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months (check your credit reports). Our household strategy is to have one person only apply for Chase 5/24 cards, and the other person applies for everything else. There is also this language on the consumer card:

This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months.

Bottom line. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card> is a unique card that works best in combination with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Preferred Business cards. The combination of earning 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on all purchases plus the unique redemption options from those other cards can create a value exceeding that of 2% cash back. You also get a bonus category of 3X points on dining out and drugstore purchases.

The information for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card has been collected independently by My Money Blog. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

(Update: New $50 limited-time offers for new RedCards, including new Reloadable version with no credit check. Offer expires 12/9/23.)

The Target RedCard offers 5% off all Target purchases both online and in-store (Target gift cards excluded, in-store Starbucks included) and free 2-day shipping on qualifying items at Target.com. You also get an additional 30 days for returns and exchanges. No annual fee.

There are now three versions of RedCard: Credit, Debit, and Reloadable. Debit and Reloadable have no credit check and I never carry a balance, so the credit card doesn’t interest me at all. There is a new limited offer for each that includes $50 savings on a $50+ Target purchase. The Debit and Reloadable version do not perform a hard credit check on the three major credit bureaus. There are a bunch of restrictions on big brands (see below), but I can easily spend $50 on food and other household goods. I plan on going for the new Reloadable version this time around.

Full fine print copied below. Usually I just make my pick-up order at Target and make sure the coupon works in the app before checking out. The Reloadable $50 bonus is much less finicky.

Save $50 on a future qualifying purchase over $50 when approved for credit or debit RedCard

RedCard Debit or Credit: Get a coupon for $50 off of one future qualifying purchase over $50 when you are approved for a debit or credit RedCard in-store or at Target.com between 10/29/23-12/9/23. The coupon will be mailed to the approved cardholders with their RedCard and will be valid through 1/8/24. Must upload coupon to Target App and be fully enrolled in Target Circle™ to redeem coupon. Excludes items sold by Target Plus™ Partners, alcohol, Apple products, Barbie camper and houses, Beats, Black History Month, Bose, Bratz Collector and Designer Dolls, Bullseye’s Playground, Cards Against Humanity, Casper, clinic & pharmacy, Cricut, dairy milk, Disney Princess Castle, Dockers, Do-a-Dot, Doona, DSLR cameras & lenses, Dynamic Coins, Dyson, Elf on the Shelf, Fisher Price Laugh n Learn, Fitbit, Funko Standard Pop, gift cards, GilletteLabs Heated Razor Starter Kit by Gillette – 3ct, Google, Hair Appliances, HALO Baby, Hasbro Games (Classic Monopoly, Connect Four, Jenga, Sorry, Trouble), Healthy Roots Dolls, HP Inc., ICU reading glasses, Infant Optics, JBL, Latino Heritage Month, LEGO, Levi’s Red Label, LG OLED and QNED TVs, Lights From Anywhere (Junior), limited-time designer partnerships, Lovevery, Marvin’s Magic Drawing Board and Pens, Mega Bloks, Meta Oculus and Portal, mobile contracts, Motrin baby, Nintendo hardware and Switch games, Polder, Philips Avent, Plan B, power shave, power dental, prepaid cards, Play-Doh Ice Cream Truck Playset, PlayStation – consoles, virtual reality and accessories, Pride, Revival, Samsung TVs, Shipt Membership, simplehuman, Sonos, Sony Electronics, Take Action, Target Optical, Tempur-Sealy, Trading Cards, Tylenol (and baby) pain relief, Ulta Beauty at Target Brands, Umbrellas, Unlocked phones, Vera Bradley handbags, Weber, What Do You Meme?, WonderFold.

Get a $50 credit when you open a RedCard Reloadable Account & spend $50 at Target.

RedCard Reloadable Account: Get a $50 credit when you open a RedCard Reloadable Account and spend $50 at Target. To receive a $50 statement credit for the RedCard Reloadable Account, you must successfully register online at redcardreloadable.com for a new account between 10/29/23-12/9/23, then activate the permanent card once received in the mail and spend $50 (net of reversals/returns) at Target (“$50 transaction”) within 45 days of registration. The statement credit will be posted to the account within 30 days of the $50 transaction. The $50 transaction must occur in one transaction at a Target location or at Target.co; if you get cash back at the register during the purchase, the transaction will not qualify for this promotion. Limit one (1) $50 credit per customer. Offer is subject to change or cancellation at any time.

We’ve become regular users of the Target app and their Drive-Up option. No markups, well-organized, dedicated parking area, and minimal waiting. The online stock available is mostly accurate, better than Walmart in our experience which has more frequent, often-imperfect substitutions. If only Costco had a similar service! (Sam’s Club does have a pickup option.)