Credit Card Companies Expand Perks

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By Rivan V. Stinson From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Credit card issuers are expanding their perks to give loyal customers breaks on dining and entertainment.

Food-delivery memberships and discounts are among the trendy benefits now, says Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate.com. For example, Chase and DoorDash extended their partnership to offer eligible cardholders a complimentary DashPass. The membership unlocks free deliveries and lower service fees. But not all cardholders are treated equally.

Chase Freedom and Slate cardholders can access a complimentary three-month DashPass membership—and once the three months are up, cardholders get a 50 percent discount on the pass for the next nine months. If you spring for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual fee for Reserve), you’ll get free access to DashPass for a year.

Chase Freedom, Slate and Sapphire cardholders can also sign up for a complimentary membership, ranging from three months to a year, to grocery deliverer Instacart. (Chase cardholders must activate the Instacart offer by July 31, 2024, and the DoorDash offer by Dec. 31, 2024.) Bank of America cardholders can sign up for a free year of Grubhub if they enroll by April 20, 2023.

If you’re looking to catch a break on your streaming or subscriptions bills, the American Express Platinum card ($695 annual fee) offers up to $240 a year in digital-subscription credits. A $20 monthly credit is applied if you use your card to pay for Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (or enroll in the Disney Bundle, which packages them together), the New York Times, SiriusXM radio, Audible, or Peacock.

Your card network or issuer may offer eligible cardholders early access to concert or sporting event tickets. Citibank cardmembers, for example, can buy presale tickets to concerts, food and wine festivals, and more. The current concert lineup includes Shania Twain, Rod Stewart, the Dave Matthews Band and Carlos Santana live at his Las Vegas residency. Golfers who hold World and World Elite cards from Mastercard can sign up for experiences ranging from golfing with a professional to playing private courses.

Museum lovers aren’t left out. Recently, Capital One partnered with the Cultivist, a global arts club offering access to hundreds of arts events, to provide a free, six-month Enthusiast membership. Originally $40 a month, the Enthusiast membership grants access to hundreds of museums across the globe, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Guggenheim in New York City and the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay in Paris. For more information on how it works and how to sign up, go to www.thecultivist.com/capitalone. The offer expires June 22, 2024.

For Bank of America members, the Museums on Us program is still going strong, with access to more than 200 museums across the U.S. covering art, science and history.

(Rivan V. Stinson is a staff writer at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.)

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