In September, American Express announced its new $895 annual fee for the American Express Platinum Card® (see rates and fees) — a 29% jump from its previous $695 annual fee. Even loyal cardmembers questioned whether the premium, now the highest annual fee among major consumer credit cards, was justified. However, an expanded suite of benefits*…

Romania will soon become the 70th country I’ve visited, and I want to make it memorable. To do so, I combined two valuable credit card perks to book a stay at the city’s highest-rated hotel. I used the up to $300 biannual hotel statement credit* from my American Express Platinum Card® to book and prepay…

The state of Alaska is vast: It encompasses 365 million acres and is more than twice the size of Texas. With just 17,000 miles of public roads, much of Alaska is remote and reachable only by ship or plane. A cruise is one of the best and easiest ways to visit the Great Land. However,…

Nov. 05, 2025 • 3 min read Bilt Card 2.0 is coming in 2026 and will let you earn points on any mortgage The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all…

As international travel has surged over the past few summers, you’ve probably seen the headlines: Locals in Barcelona are fed up with the barrage of tourists. Throngs of tourists are visiting Rome’s Trevi Fountain. Tourism taxes are now required on peak days in Venice, Italy. If that’s reason enough for you to trade the crowds,…

Is a Princess cruisetour to Alaska right for you? If you’ve landed on this page, you’re probably trying to figure that out, and you’re likely a bit overwhelmed. There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing an Alaska vacation. And even if you’re sure a Princess cruisetour is right for you, the process…

United Airlines just introduced a debit card that earns MileagePlus miles. The card certainly won’t be for everyone — particularly those looking to maximize their benefits and perks with the airline’s cobranded credit cards — but there are likely still some travelers who will find value in the new United MileagePlus® Debit Rewards card. The…

“Look, directly overhead! A bald eagle!” After I heard the excitement from the row behind me, I gazed up through the glass dome ceiling of the train car and watched the majestic bird race above us as we chugged through Alaska’s rugged interior. I was on a Princess cruisetour, a two-in-one vacation that allows seamless…

We often talk about the same cards here at TPG. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), American Express Platinum Card® and American Express® Gold Card get a lot of attention around here, among many other top-tier cards from the major issuers. There’s a good reason for that since these cards offer great…

Over the past year, Southwest Airlines customers have heard plenty about the company’s transformation, from the end of “bags fly free” to the upcoming dawn of assigned seating. Now, you can practically glimpse the future … if you’re on the right plane. Earlier this month, I had the chance to fly on Southwest’s first aircraft…