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In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, many people have spent the last two months at home, potentially wondering what to do with their points and miles. We believe that most of us should be earning and saving points and miles for when we can travel again (because that day will come), but we know everyone’s situation is different.

You may want to cash in some rewards for essential household expenses while budgets are tighter than usual. That’s the great thing about flexible points — you have options. Many rewards programs offer non-travel redemptions that are both practical and a decent value for your points.

Here are some ways to make the most of your points while we’re not traveling.

Keep an …

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

While some TPG readers are considering booking trips down the line — in some cases, even this summer — many continue to stay close to home, with outings limited to restaurant pick-ups and unavoidable grocery store runs. All the while, credit card annual fees become due, leaving customers to question whether or not it makes sense to continue paying them, especially for premium perks they can’t use.

Earlier this month, American Express added a slew of limited-time benefits aimed at making the issuer’s lineup more appealing for would-be travelers currently stuck at home. These included very generous statement credit options available with certain cards, including The Hilton Honors American Express A…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

In the midst of the uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus, Chase appears to want to keep its customers loyal by lowering the annual fee on one of its most popular cards.

In April, Chase announced that Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders with an annual fee renewing through July 1 would receive a $100 statement credit towards their annual fee.

Today, Chase updated that policy, announcing that any Sapphire Reserve renewal between July 1 through the end of 2020 will process at $450. Those with renewal dates between April 1 and July 1 will still see a $100 statement credit, which hasn’t changed. Note that this doesn’t apply to new sign-ups – only renewals.

This news comes amid Chase launching a…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

Many credit cards are now offering limited-time perks designed to encourage cardholders to use (and renew) their travel rewards credit cards — even if they’re staying at home due to coronavirus concerns.

Issuers have announced the following limited-time perks:

Limited-time perks for select Amex Membership Rewards, Delta, Marriott and Hilton cards
Up to 5x on groceries for select Chase cardholders
Extra time to meet spending requirements and travel credit expansion for select Citi cardholders
6x bonus points on groceries for select Marriott cardholders
up to $200 travel credit for select Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders

In many cases, these limited-time perks are enough to just…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

Changes in grocery spending are the biggest shifts in consumer behavior that we’ve seen during the coronavirus pandemic. Along with an uptick in online grocery deliveries, there has been an increase in grocery spending relative to other purchases. Credit card issuers have responded to these changing spending patterns, with temporary grocery bonuses and statement credits.

For those of us with an arsenal of cards to choose from – especially with so many new grocery bonuses recently announced – it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which card to use for grocery spending right now. It’s time to break down these bonuses.

Cards that provide the most value now

With credit card companies scramb…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

With most of us working from home because of the coronavirus, this may be a good time to do an inventory of your technology and gadgets and consider which might you might need or want to upgrade.

If you hold The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, it now comes with a limited-time up to $200 in additional statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell: $100 in additional statement credits from May 1 through June 30, 2020, and up to $100 in additional statement credits between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2020 — making this perk now worth $400 a year.

The credit can be used toward your total purchase at Dell, but if you are looking to truly get something for $0 out of pocket, there are hundreds …

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

Everyone considering downgrading or canceling their Chase travel credit cards may want to hold off for the time being. Chase just announced that it’s adding groceries as a temporary bonus category across the majority of its consumer travel credit cards.

Now through June 30, 2020, eligible Chase travel credit cardholders will receive either 5x or 3x per $1 spent on grocery purchases — up to $1,500 per month. The new temporary category includes grocery stores and grocery delivery services.

The best part? Superstores like Target and Walmart are generally ineligible for grocery store category bonuses, but Chase is considering both as eligible purchases so long as they have grocery sections. So your st…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® is a solid option for American Airlines travelers looking for their first checked bag free on domestic flights. Sure, it may seem counterintuitive to apply for an airline credit card during a time when many of us aren’t flying due to coronavirus concerns. But although you can’t take advantage of many of the card’s benefits while you aren’t flying, you can spend toward Million Miler status and build up your AAdvantage mileage balance for when you’re ready to travel again.

If you’re considering applying for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select, you may be uncertain whether you have a high enough credit score to be approved. Let’s lo…

Heads up! We share savvy shopping and personal finance tips to put extra cash in your wallet. Android Central may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network. Please note that the offers mentioned below are subject to change at any time and some may no longer be available.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has received plenty of attention since its debut back in 2016 – that’s in no small part due to the 3x points it earns on travel and dining purchases worldwide. Although it earns 2x on these same purchases, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card remains a top pick, especially for those new to the award travel game. The great thing about this is that Chase has a very generous definition of what counts as travel.

How Chase Defines Travel

We’ve established that earning 2x and 3x points on travel and dining, respectively, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve is pretty impressive. But how do you know if a given purchase qualifies? While the dining half of the equation is…