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Card issuers have been adding more and more partners and credits each year. That means getting the maximum value for your annual fee is trickier than ever. Honestly, it's just hard to keep track of them all!
Well, we're here with a solution. In this post, we've compiled the statement credits that cardmembers have access to so you can make the most of these credits this year. If you hold any of these cards, it's time to get to it!
Page Contents
- Airline Fee Statement Credits
- Amex Hotel Credit
- Chase Hotel Credit
- General Travel Statement Credit
- Dell Statement Credit
- Saks Fifth Avenue Credit
- American Express® Green Card Credits
- Monthly Credits Available to Cardholders
- Other Benefits to Claim
- Airline- and Hotel-Specific Card Statement Credits
- Bottom Line
Airline Fee Statement Credits
The following card products qualify for an annual airline incidental fee credit:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express — $200 Airline Fee Credit per calendar year
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — $200 Airline Fee Credit per calendar year
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card — $250 Airline Fee Credit per calendar year
- Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card — $100 Airline Incidental Statement Credit per calendar year
- HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard® credit card — Up to $400 per year for all airfare, hotels, and car rentals booked through HSBC Travel.
- Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card— $350 airline incidentals credit on U.S. domestic airlines only
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card — $50 annual United TravelBank Cash
- PenFed Pathfinder® Rewards Visa Signature® — $100 annual domestic air ancillary travel statement credit
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The intention is for cardmembers to receive money back for their incidental purchases while traveling. If a purchase qualifies for the credit, the card issuer automatically credits the account up to the annual limit. Some examples of purchases that could trigger the credit include:
- Phone reservation fees
- Seat assignment fees
- Checked baggage fees
- Overweight/oversize baggage fees
- Airport lounge day passes and memberships
- Change or cancellation fees
- Inflight amenities and entertainment
- Pet fees
With American Express, card members need to select their intended airline before making a purchase. Moreover, if a purchase that you believe should qualify doesn't automatically credit, some card members have reported success in reaching out to Amex to request they manually credit the purchase.
The Bank of America Premium Rewards Card Airline Incidental Statement Credit works similarly to the Amex credit. However, cardholders don't need to select an airline before purchasing.
For the HSBC Premier Mastercard Annual Air Travel Credit, you receive an automatic $100 Travel Credit for every $2,000 in cumulative travel purchases booked through HSBC Travel, up to a maximum of $400 per calendar year.
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and the both offer $50 in United TravelBank credit each year after registering and linking your card to your United MileagePlus account. Each calendar year, you'll receive two biannual $25 United TravelBank credits. One $25 credit expires on July 15, while the other $25 United Travel Bank credit expires on January 15. The $25 credits do not roll over, they're a use-it or lose-it benefit.
Amex Hotel Credit
- The Platinum Card® from American Express — $200 prepaid select Amex Travel hotel bookings.
This statement credit can be triggered by booking prepaid bookings through either Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection. (Hotel Collection bookings require a minimum two-night stay to use your $200 credit). Note that this credit is only available for the personal card and not offered for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express card members.
The credit renews each calendar year, but you don’t need to complete your travel in the same year. It's possible to prepay a stay in 2024 using your 2023 credit by booking and prepaying before December 31, then using your 2024 hotel credit for another stay in 2024.
Chase Hotel Credit
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — $50 annual statement credit for Chase travel portal bookings.
The statement credit is automatically triggered by booking prepaid bookings made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. You'll get your first credit after your first anniversary of holding the card and then again on every cardholder's anniversary after that.
Related Post: How Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Hotel Credit Work?
General Travel Statement Credit
The following card products qualify for an annual travel credit:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® — $300 Annual Travel Credit per year (based on calendar year or cardholder year, depending on when you applied)
- U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card — $325 Annual Travel (or dining) credit
- Citi Prestige® Card — $250 Travel Credit per calendar year
- The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card — $300 Annual Travel Credit per calendar year
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card — $300 Annual Travel Credit per cardmember year
Of these five cards, only three are available to new cardholders: the Sapphire Reserve (review), the Capital One Venture X (review), and the Altitude Reserve (review).
Details of how to use these travel statement credits
The Sapphire Reserve gets an asterisk. For those who applied for the card before May 21, 2017, the card's $300 annual travel credit operates on a calendar-year basis. For everyone who's applied since then, this credit operates on a cardmember-year basis. If you applied in the early days of the Sapphire Reserve, be sure to use your travel credit before the end of the year. Thankfully, that shouldn't be too hard, as nearly all travel-related purchases qualify.
Related Post: How to use the Sapphire Reserve $300 Travel Credit
The Capital One Venture X offers a $300 annual travel credit. Cardholders apply the credit when booking through the Capital One travel portal; there's no enrollment required.
Related Post: Guide to using the Capital One Venture X $300 Travel Credit
The Prestige Card (review) offers one of the best travel credits in the business. However, this card is no longer open to new applicants. It's automatically applied based on the merchant code provided at the time of purchase. That means practically every travel purchase qualifies, making it easy to maximize this benefit for full value. However, your purchase will need to post by the close of your December statement to qualify.
Related Post: Maximizing the Prestige Card $250 Travel Credit
In comparison, the Ritz-Carlton Card‘s (review) $300 annual travel credit isn't as easy. Not only is it noticeably more restrictive than the credit of its competitors, but it's also not automatic. Cardholders need to call the number on their card or send a secure message to Chase to request the credit after making eligible purchases. With that said, most report that the process is quick and straightforward. Just keep in mind that the credits only apply to eligible purchases that post in a given year.
Related Post: How Does the Ritz-Carlton Card‘s $300 Annual Travel Credit Work?
Dell Statement Credit
The following card qualifies for an annual Dell credit:
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — up to $200 in Dell statement credits between January 1 and June 30 and another $200 credit between July 1 and December 31
The Business Platinum Card (review) receives up to $400 in statement credits per calendar year toward Dell purchases, which can go a long way towards accounting for the $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees). This is bifurcated as a $200 statement credit from January to June and $200 from July to December.
Read more: Amex Business Platinum Card Adds Benefits, Hikes Annual Fee
Saks Fifth Avenue Credit
The following card qualifies for an annual credit with Saks Fifth Avenue:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: up to $50 in Saks Fifth Avenue statement credits between January 1 and June 30 and another $50 credit between July 1 and December 31
In 2018, Amex introduced a new benefit for the Amex Platinum (review), offering up to $100 in statement credits towards Saks purchases. This is divided into $50 in the first half of the year and $50 in the second half of the year.
I always try to use this $50 credit to buy a gift in the ‘sale' section of Saks' website. Just note that this benefit requires you to enroll before making a purchase.
American Express® Green Card Credits
The American Express® Green Card (review) card offers two underrated statement credits:
- LoungeBuddy — $100 per calendar year
- CLEAR Plus — $189 per calendar year
Besides being my favorite app for planning airport lounge visits, LoungeBuddy also allows users to pre-purchase access to various lounges across the globe. These include lounges that don't typically fall under other lounge collections like Priority Pass or proprietary airline clubs. Consequently, this $100 statement credit can be great if you find yourself in an airport without other options.
You've probably heard of CLEAR by now. It's an alternative biometric program that allows customers to bypass certain lines at airports, arenas, and other venues. Credit card holders and status members of Delta SkyMiles or United MileagePlus receive a small discount and can sign up for this service for $149 per year, and you can add friends and family members for $70 each.
Amex Green Card cardmembers get a $189 annual CLEAR Plus membership credit (issued as a statement credit). As the discount for Delta and United cardholders and elites was reduced recently, using it to pay for two memberships ($149 + $70) as a United or Delta cardholder or elite member will cost you $30 out of pocket ($219 – $189 credit) every year you charge the membership to the Amex Green Card.
Monthly Credits Available to Cardholders
American Express and Chase have both added a slew of monthly credits as a way to keep cardholders using their credit cards. Here's a roundup of the credits you should consider using monthly.
Amex
- Uber credits: Each month, Amex Platinum cardmembers get a $15 monthly credit — plus an extra $20 credit in December for a total of $35. Similarly, the American Express® Gold Card offers a $10 per month Uber Cash credit, which only applies to US Eats orders and rides. To take advantage of the monthly Uber credits, just add your eligible Amex card as a payment method to your Uber account. You can find more details on the Amex-Uber partnership here.
- $10 monthly dining credits: The Amex Gold also offers a $120 dining credit, which — in typical American Express fashion — is split up into monthly $10 credits. The $10 monthly statement credit is earned when using your Amex Gold at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations.
- $25 monthly dining credit: The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review) offers $25 monthly statement credit for eligible dining purchases for a total of $300 per calendar year. Unlike the Amex Gold dining credit, this dining credit isn't limited to specific merchants.
- $10 monthly wireless credit: Business Platinum Card cardmembers can enroll to get up to a $10 monthly statement credit for wireless telephone service purchases made directly from a wireless provider in the U.S. using your Business Platinum Card.
- $20 monthly digital entertainment credit: Each month, Amex Platinum cardmembers get a $20 monthly statement credit for services such as Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
- $12.95 monthly Walmart+ credit: Each month, Amex Platinum cardmembers get statement credit to cover the monthly ($12.95 + taxes) Walmart+ membership.
Chase
- $5 monthly DoorDash credit: Sapphire Reserve cardholders receive $5 per month in addition to a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership.
- $10 monthly Gopuff credit: Through the end of 2023, you can get $10 of monthly statement credits for Gopuff purchases on most Chase consumer cards.
- Instacart+ membership and $15 credit: Select Chase cardholders can get a free Instacart+ membership and up to $15 monthly in statement credits for Instacart purchases.
Other Benefits to Claim
There are a variety of other miscellaneous card benefits that need to be used, claimed, or utilized in 2023:
- $100 JetBlue Vacations credit: JetBlue Plus Card cardholders get an annual $100 statement credit for purchasing a JetBlue Vacations package of $100 or more.
- 10% rebate on redeemed points: Citi Rewards+® Card cardholders get a 10% rebate on points redeemed each year on the first 100,000 ThankYou Points per calendar year.
Airline- and Hotel-Specific Card Statement Credits
While we have focused on mid-calendar year benefits, let's review a few cardholder-year-based benefits. Certain airline and hotel credit cards offer a statement credit for purchases made with the airline/hotel:
- Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card (review) — $75 Southwest annual travel credit per cardholder year
- Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card (review) — $250 Hilton Resort Statement Credit per cardmember year
If you don't have any travel plans with Southwest Airlines, you could purchase a $75 Southwest gift card to trigger the credit then use the gift card in the future. Each of these benefits reset on the cardmember's anniversary rather than on January 1. So, now's a good time to check your cardmember anniversary date and make a plan to use these credits.
Bottom Line
You don't always need to use 100% of a card's statement credits to justify holding it. But that's a solid goal to shoot for. When maximized, these credits can wipe out a significant portion of a card's annual fee. And who wouldn't love to get “paid” for using a credit card?
If you hold any of the cards mentioned above, it's time to get to work using all your statement credits for 2023. Now it's time to go shopping!
Have we missed any important credit card statement credits? Let us know in the comments!
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
PenFed Pathfinder also has a $100 airline credit each year.
Good catch. I added it to the post.
Does anyone know if the United Travel Bank spend still triggers the credit?
It does the last time we tried (earlier this year)
IHG United $50 credit. Any thoughts how to use it if you aren’t traveling? Thanks!
Ah, we totally missed adding that $50 credit to this post. We will add it soon. The only way that it seems you can use it is for paid United flights.
These statement credits are one of the best ways to get an excellent return on the your annual fee investment – esp. if the credit is calendar based and you can “double dip” the statement credit over one annual fee before you cancel the following year.
I think you misses the $30 monthly credit for AMEX personal platinum.
That’s a good one to add. I’ve added a section for it.
Sound and timely advice, this is a great way to save some money!
We had Chase Sapphire Reserve for the first 2 years it was out and each collected 100,000 pts. We are “points rich” but with COVID we have slowed our points collecting switching instead to a Wells Fargo Propel Amex card, a Chase Amazon Prime Visa and a Citibank Double Cash Mastercard all with no annual fees.
Una pena que ninguna tarjeta ni banco otorguen puntos o millas en Argentina,
Good idea to use the credits earlier rather than later in the year. I made the mistake of using my 200 Dell Credit (it was doubled last year on the business platinum). The merchant didn’t charge it until January 6th! So I only got the 100 credit for the first half of 2021.
They said I might be able to get a courtesy credit of 100 once three weeks have gone by. But I’m going to lose 100 dollars worth of credits! So learn from my bad luck.
Same issue here with the CSR DoorDash credit. I used it on 12/31/2020 and received a receipt, but the restaurant didn’t post it to the credit card until the following day (1/1/2021). Fortunately, I was able to submit the receipt to Chase, to document when my purchase was actually made and thereby preserve my full $60 DoorDash credit for 2021. This year, I won’t wait until the final day of the offer period to claim my credit.
Had a similar issue with the Saks credit. One of the items I purchased had its shipping delayed, and the charge didn’t go through until it shipped, after the new year. I learned my lesson then to not wait until the last second on these. It’s somewhat similar to actions taken to extend program expirations. Don’t wait too long or the qualifying activity won’t credit in time.
Thank you. This reminded me to check and take advantage of what I could and make some Christmas presents more affordable.
Thank you for the reminder! I have no travel plan but just bought some lounge passes with my remaining Amex airline fee credit.
Thanks for the reminder- have use some door dash credits and and a free Marriot night!
I think a great deal more of travel credits will be left unused this year.
Does the Aspire still have any alternate credits for the $250 resort credit?
Not at this time. Amex offered an alternative over the summer.
Bummer. Card just renewed and was hoping to use the resort credit. 🙁
Sound advice to be sure… Also, be sure to keep your points active by having a cup of coffee or similar spending just to keep your points from expiring. Very helpful
Sound advice to be sure… Also, be sure to keep your points active by having a cup of coffee or similar spending just to keep your points from expiring.
Good advice. AA mileage multiplier worked for me.
This is a very timely article. I haven’t used my Amex Credits (Gold and Platinum) for anything with American Airlines this year. I only have two flights left so I am going to buy up for miles associated with those flights. It’s certainly better than the credits entirely going to waste. I’m nostalgic for the days that the credit was triggered by a gift card purchase.
I just ran over to my local Marriott hotel yesterday to buy a $300 GC over the counter. This has triggered my $300 Marriott Bonvoy Statement Credit every year thus far.
Very helpful post and handy checklist to make sure you get maximum benefit out of each card. I hate when unused benefits go to waste!
Peloton credit on CSR ($120) and
ExpertFlyer membership credit ($99) on Hilton Aspire
There’s a credit for ExpertFlyer on the Aspire?!
This was an offer that was made as part of a new cardmember offer in 2020.
The CSR DoorDash credit has been great. I hope Chase makes this a permanent addition to the card.
I’m using it for orders I pick up and wish CSR would make this a general dining credit.