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Credit card issuers like American Express and Capital One are adding new ways to earn and redeem rewards during quarantine

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This article is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. It has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the issuers listed. Some of the offers you see on this page are from our partners, like Citi, but our coverage is always independent.

  • Since credit card travel benefits are currently unusable, issuers like American Express, Capital One, and Chase have rolled out new perks tailored to life in quarantine.
  • Amex, Bank of America, and Chase are extending the qualification period for earning a welcome bonus, giving you up to six months to meet the minimum spending requirement.
  • Capital One is letting select cardholders redeem miles to cover food delivery, streaming service, and mobile phone purchases.
  • If you have an American Express card, you may see Amex Offers for cash back on wine purchases, or for bonus points on food delivery.
  • See Business Insider’s list of the best rewards credit cards.

In the scheme of things, not being able to fully maximize your rewards credit cards during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t the biggest problem. But many of the best rewards cards charge high annual fees, and several of their top benefits like airport lounge access and bonus rewards are related to travel, so it can feel difficult to justify the fees when you can’t put those perks to use. 

Luckily, in addition to extending customers various relief programs like the ability to request payment deferrals, credit card issuers are making adjustments to their rewards programs — and, in the case of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, even offering a statement credit to reduce the annual fee. Several issuers have also extended the period you have to meet a minimum spending requirement to earn a sign-up bonus, making it easier to earn rewards even if your finances and spending patterns have changed. 

Here’s a breakdown of what types of new benefits you can expect with each major card issuer. We’ll continue to update this list as other issuers add new features and the ones already included here update and add to their rewards programs. Also see our list of airlines and hotels that are extending elite status.

We’re focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won’t be worth it if you’re paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it’s important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

American Express

Double the time to earn a welcome bonus

Amex was the first credit card issuer to extend the timeframe for earning a welcome bonus. If you open an American Express card, you generally have three months to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn the welcome bonus of points or cash back. Now, you can take up to six months to meet the minimum spend if you applied for your new card between December 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020.

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This is great news if you were struggling to meet a welcome bonus spending requirement in three months, or if you’ve been eyeing a card with a very high spend requirement that could be doable in six months. For example, the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is offering 75,000 points to new cardholders who spend $15,000. You normally would have just three months to meet that requirement, but now you can take six months, averaging out to $2,500 in spending per month.

Annual Fee

$595

Regular APR

N/A

Credit Score

Excellent

Editor’s Rating

Intro Bonus

50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an additional 25,000 points after you spend an additional 10,000 all in your first 3 months of account opening

Intro APR

N/A

Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

  • Details
  • Pros & Cons
    • Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
    • Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
    • Get 50% more Membership Rewards® points. That’s an extra half point per dollar, on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more. You can get up to 1 million additional points per year.
    • 35% Airline Bonus: Use Membership Rewards® Pay with Points for all or part of a flight with your selected qualifying airline, and you can get 35% of the points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year when you book on amextravel.com.
    • Enroll to get up to $200 in statement credits annually by getting up to $100 semi-annually for U.S. purchases with Dell. Terms apply.
    Pros
    • More travel benefits than you’ll find on any other business credit card
    • Generous airport lounge access options, from American Express Centurion Lounges to Priority Pass
    • Complimentary hotel elite status
    • Access to Amex concierge services
    Cons
    • Very high annual fee
    • Limited opportunities to earn bonus points
    • Annual statement credits won’t be useful for everyone

    Read Our Review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing right

    Read more: The best credit card welcome bonuses available now

    Social distancing-appropriate Amex Offers

    Not only does the Platinum Card® from American Express offer great purchase protection, but it also comes with Amex Offers that can save money or earn bonus rewards when you shop online.

    For instance, while I typically see deals for saving money with travel brands like Hilton and Marriott, lately the offers on my Amex Platinum card have been more geared toward life spent close to home. I’ve taken advantage of two Amex Offers for cash back on wine, including $30 back on a purchase of $100 or more at Wine.com. I’m also seeing an offer for one additional point per dollar on Grubhub and Seamless food delivery purchases. 

    Annual Fee

    $550

    Regular APR

    N/A

    Credit Score

    Excellent

    Editor’s Rating

    Intro Bonus

    60,000 points after your spend at least $5,000 in your first 3 months of account opening

    Intro APR

    N/A

    Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

  • Details
  • Pros & Cons
    • 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.
    • 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
    • Up to a $200 airline fee credit.
    • Access to more than 1,200 airport lounges.
    Pros
    • Long list of travel benefits, including airport lounge access and complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott
    • Annual statement credits with Saks and Uber
    Cons
    • Bonus categories leave something to be desired (no bonus rewards on general travel or dining)
    • One of the highest annual fees among premium travel cards

    Read Our Review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing right

    Bank of America

    B of A is also extending the timeframe for earning a welcome bonus on Bank of America credit cards — in this case by an additional 90 days. According to Doctor of Credit, this extension is available if you opened your new account between January 1 and March 31. If you’re considering opening a new Bank of America card, it could be worth calling the issuer to see if it’s willing to extend the qualification period even if it falls outside of that window (since we’re now in April).

    Capital One

    Use Venture miles to cover food delivery and streaming services

    Acknowledging that most cardholders aren’t traveling right now, Capital One introduced some new options for using miles. If you have the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, you can use miles to cover food delivery purchases made with your card. You can also use your miles to cancel out charges for streaming services including Hulu and Netflix. This redemption option is only available until June 30. 

    Use Spark miles to cover mobile phone payments

    If you have the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business or the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business, you also have a new option for using your miles. According to Frequent Miler, you can use miles from either of these business cards to erase select mobile phone payments from your statement. Additionally, you can use miles to cover eligible food delivery charges.

    Eligible wireless phone service providers include AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This category includes phone bills and other purchases made with these providers.

    Chase

    More time to earn a Chase card sign-up bonus

    Chase is another credit card issuer that’s extending the period for completing the minimum spending requirement to earn a sign-up bonus. If you opened a Chase card between January 1 and March 31, your timeframe for earning the intro bonus will automatically be extended by three months. 

    This could make it easier to earn the welcome bonus of 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. You need to spend $15,000 in the first three months, but that could be much more attainable over the course of six months. If you haven’t applied yet, you could always call or send Chase a message to see if it’s willing to extend the welcome bonus qualification period even though we’ve passed the March 31 cutoff.

    Annual Fee

    $95

    Regular APR

    15.99%–20.99% variable APR

    Credit Score

    Editor’s Rating

  • Details
  • Pros & Cons
    • The information related to the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has been collected by Business Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.
    • Earn 3x points on up to $150,000 spent each year on travel, shipping, select online advertising, and internet, cable, and phone purchases, plus 1x points on everything else
    • Cash in rewards for gift cards statement credits, merchandise, 1:1 transfers to airline and hotel partners; get 25% more travel for free when you use points to book through the Chase portal
    Pros
    • High sign-up bonus
    • Offers 3x bonus points on several spending categories, including travel and advertising purchases
    • Includes comprehensive travel coverage
    Cons
    • Welcome bonus has a very high minimum spending requirement

    Read Our Review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing right

    Bonus rewards on food delivery with DoorDash and Tock

    Chase has also extended its partnerships with food-delivery services DoorDash and Tock, giving you the opportunity to earn bonus rewards on your purchases. Through May 31, you can earn 5 Chase points per dollar on combined purchases with DoorDash and Tock with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Chase Freedom®, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. That makes any of these cards a great option for ordering food.

    See Business Insider’s list of the best credit cards for ordering food delivery »

    Annual Fee

    $95

    Regular APR

    15.99%-22.99% Variable

    Credit Score

    Good to Excellent

    Editor’s Rating

    Intro Bonus

    60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months

    Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

  • Details
  • Pros & Cons
    • Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
    • 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
    • Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
    • Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash’s subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
    • Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022. That’s 3X points in addition to the 2X points you already earn on travel.
    Pros
    • High sign-up bonus starts you off with lots of points
    • Strong travel coverage
    Cons
    • Doesn’t offer a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit or any other statement credit benefits

    Read Our Review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing right

    Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/new-credit-card-rewards-options-quarantine-2020-4

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