{"id":2932,"date":"2025-09-23T02:51:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T02:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-bankrate\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T02:51:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T02:51:56","slug":"dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-bankrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-bankrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t ignore targeted credit card offers | Bankrate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Personalization is a hot topic in the marketing world. This is playing out in the credit card space in multiple ways. Here\u2019s what you need to know, and how you can use this trend to your advantage.<\/p>\n<p>                         <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Don't ignore targeted credit card offers\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5NKVU5uFZ94?si=mEGoEnLsUXsMfgc9\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5NKVU5uFZ94?si=mEGoEnLsUXsMfgc9\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>                         <\/iframe>                                              <\/p>\n<p><i>Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at <\/i><i>ted.rossman@bankrate.com<\/i><i> and I\u2019d be happy to help.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"signup\" data-position=\"1\" data-beam-element-viewed data-id=\"br-h2-1-onpage-placement\" data-type=\"h2\" data-location=\"Editorial\" data-name=\"h2_all\" data-text=\"Some sign-up bonuses are variable\" data-outcome>Some sign-up bonuses are variable<\/h2>\n<p>American Express recently rolled out \u201cas high as\u201d language on some of their public offers. Most cards have a standard welcome offer for all cardholders (X points or miles after spending Y dollars), so this is an interesting (and relatively new) structure.<\/p>\n<p>For example, <span data-capi-name=\"22146013\">The Platinum Card\u00ae from American Express<\/span> now has different welcome bonuses for different applicants. The card offers as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in the first six months with the card. The high end of the range, in particular, represents one of the best credit card sign-up bonuses on the market.<\/p>\n<p>Existing customers can see their offer by logging into the Amex website or app. Every potential applicant will see their specific offer before a full application \u2014 and hard credit pull \u2014 occur so you can make an informed decision about whether to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>My Platinum offer is \u201cjust\u201d 80,000 points, unfortunately. I suspect this is based on things they know about us, like existing account and credit histories, income, etc. I admit I\u2019m a little miffed that my offer is less than half of the maximum.<\/p>\n<p>Other cards sometimes extend targeted welcome offers, perhaps communicated via snail mail, e-mail or other means. These are sometimes framed as cross-selling opportunities to existing cardholders, while others show up unsolicited from issuers you don\u2019t already have a relationship with. Some of them are pretty sweet, so paying attention to this sort of correspondence can be lucrative.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"spending-habits\" data-position=\"2\" data-beam-element-viewed data-id=\"br-h2-2-onpage-placement\" data-type=\"h2\" data-location=\"Editorial\" data-name=\"h2_all\" data-text=\"Your spending habits vary and your rewards can, too\" data-outcome>Your spending habits vary and your rewards can, too<\/h2>\n<p>In recent years, we have seen various cards seek to personalize spending rewards. One of the knocks on traditional rotating category cards like the <span data-capi-name=\"7573\">Chase Freedom Flex\u00ae<\/span>* and the <span data-capi-name=\"6746\">Discover it\u00ae Cash Back<\/span> card is that the categories are pre-selected by the card issuer. It\u2019s great if they line up with your spending habits, but there\u2019s nothing you can do about it if they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>A newer class of rotating category cards puts the cardholder in control. Sometimes cardholders need to pre-select an elevated rewards category such as gas, online shopping or travel (on a card like the <span data-capi-name=\"22069416\">Bank of America\u00ae Customized Cash Rewards credit card<\/span>). The even more novel approach, espoused by the <span data-capi-name=\"7816\">Citi Custom Cash\u00ae Card<\/span>* and the Venmo Credit Card, automatically adjusts the top-earning category or categories each month based upon the cardholder\u2019s individual spending habits. This is more user-friendly, since you don\u2019t need to remember to log in and change the category every month. It\u2019s a great way to multiply your cash back credit card rewards.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"card-offers\" data-position=\"3\" data-beam-element-viewed data-id=\"br-h2-3-onpage-placement\" data-type=\"h2\" data-location=\"Editorial\" data-name=\"h2_all\" data-text=\"Card-linked offers get personal, too\" data-outcome>Card-linked offers get personal, too<\/h2>\n<p>Card-linked offers are digital coupons that go by brand names including Amex Offers, Chase Offers and My Wells Fargo Deals. The issuers describe these as curated lists of discounts that vary from cardholder to cardholder. You have to remember to log into the issuer\u2019s website or app every so often (ideally, at least every few weeks) to see what\u2019s new and opt into the deals you might want to use. Then, once you pay with the associated card, you automatically get a discount applied as a statement credit.<\/p>\n<p>I recently saved $30 off a car rental thanks to a Chase Offer and smaller amounts on a couple of restaurant purchases. I\u2019m intrigued by several other possibilities currently available on my Amex, Chase and Wells Fargo cards, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$100 off a Chase Travel reservation of $600 or more<\/li>\n<li>9 percent back at Valvoline (up to $250 in rewards)<\/li>\n<li>$5 back on up to three Apple Pay purchases of $50+<\/li>\n<li>$20 off a $100+ purchase at NFLShop.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Across my three credit cards, I have access to hundreds of these promotions at any given time. I constantly need to remind myself to check in on them. It\u2019s an especially good time to think about this, since the holidays are coming up. I see several brands represented that aren\u2019t places where I shop regularly, but something on my holiday gift list could be a great fit.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"stacking\" data-position=\"4\" data-beam-element-viewed data-id=\"br-h2-4-onpage-placement\" data-type=\"h2\" data-location=\"Editorial\" data-name=\"h2_all\" data-text=\"Stacking discounts\" data-outcome>Stacking discounts<\/h2>\n<p>My favorite way to utilize these targeted offers is to stack them with other discounts. For example, you can combine a store promotion with an Amex Offer, your normal credit card rewards and a cash back app such as Rakuten. That represents up to four ways to save on the same purchase.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how combining several savings opportunities could look on my $240 purchase via Levis.com.<\/p>\n<div>\n<table readabilitydatatable=\"1\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><strong data-start=\"111\" data-end=\"129\">Savings Method<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong data-start=\"151\" data-end=\"166\">Description<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong data-start=\"257\" data-end=\"275\">Savings Amount<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong data-start=\"279\" data-end=\"295\">New Subtotal<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong data-start=\"488\" data-end=\"512\">Store promotion\/coupon<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>25% off<\/td>\n<td>-$60.00<\/td>\n<td>$180.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong data-start=\"676\" data-end=\"711\">Card-Linked Offer<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Amex Offer for a flat $40 off $180 purchase<\/td>\n<td>-$40.00<\/td>\n<td>$140.00<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Rewards credit card<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>1% cash back from <span data-capi-name=\"220310583\">Blue Cash Preferred\u00ae Card from American Express<\/span> card<\/td>\n<td>-$1.80<\/td>\n<td>$138.20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong data-start=\"1052\" data-end=\"1075\">Shopping portal \/ Cash back app<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>2% via Rakuta<\/td>\n<td>-$3.60<\/td>\n<td>$134.60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Adding all the discounts together ($60 + $40 + $1.80 + $3.60) equals $105.40 in savings. In other words, I\u2019d only pay $134.60 for $240 worth of merchandise (I omitted sales tax for simplicity\u2019s sake, and because those rates vary from place to place).<\/p>\n<p>All together, I saved about 44 percent off my $240 purchase. That\u2019s a pretty sweet deal! Deals \u2014 with an \u201cs\u201d on the end \u2014 really. This kind of thing can certainly add up at scale. Consider the savings if you practice these strategies on all the purchases you make over the holiday season \u2014 or better yet, for the entire year.<\/p>\n<h2 data-position=\"5\" data-beam-element-viewed data-id=\"br-h2-5-onpage-placement\" data-type=\"h2\" data-location=\"Editorial\" data-name=\"h2_all\" data-text=\"The bottom line\" data-outcome>The bottom line<\/h2>\n<p>Targeted credit card discounts can be a nice way to get some extra bang for your buck \u2014 as long as you remember to opt in and pay with the right card. Multiply your savings by combining these deals with other smart shopping strategies.<\/p>\n<p><i>*The information about the Chase Freedom Flex\u00ae and Citi Custom Cash\u00ae Card<\/i> <i>has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.<\/i><\/p>\n<div data-cta-initial data-helpful-cta data-beam-element-viewed id=\"did-you-find-this-helpful\" data-type=\"cta\" data-location=\"article-bottom\" data-position=\"banner\" data-text=\"Did you find this page helpful?\">\n<div>\n<p>             Did you find this page helpful?             <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Help us improve our content<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Personalization is a hot topic in the marketing world. This is playing out in the credit card space in multiple ways. Here\u2019s what you need to know, and how you can use this trend to your advantage. Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at ted.rossman@bankrate.com and I\u2019d be happy to help. Some sign-up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190.jpg",1280,720,false],"morenews-featured":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"morenews-large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-590x410.jpg",590,410,true],"crawlomatic_preview_image":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2932-Dont-ignore-targeted-credit-card-offers-876838190-260x146.jpg",260,146,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"henry","author_link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/author\/henry\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/category\/latest-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Latest News<\/a>","tag_info":"Latest News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}