Last-minute Valentine’s Day plans? 3 credit card perks that can help


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Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

If procrastination is your style and you’re scrambling to put together Valentine’s Day plans without obliterating your budget, take a deep breath. That credit card you were planning to use to earn a bunch of points on your White Castle Valentine’s Day reservation may be able to help you in other ways.

A slew of common credit cards offer concierge services, and many top-tier luxury cards come with credits that offset dining and shopping purchases. Before you throw in the towel and plan for a homemade candlelit dinner, check your wallet for these overlooked perks.

Valentine’s Day credit card perks

If you need help booking dinner or making plans…

In addition to concierge services provided by your card’s payment network (i.e., Visa or Mastercard), your card issuer or bank may also provide this benefit. Both Citi and American Express have proprietary concierge services for eligible cardholders.

You can access American Express Concierge with premium cards like the American Express Platinum Card®, and Citi Concierge is available with cards such as the Citi Strata Premier® Card.

On the American Express site

On the American Express site

See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our Amex Platinum Card review. The American Express Platinum Card® Welcome Offer: To view your personalized offer, you must first submit an application. If approved, you will: (1) receive your Welcome Offer details, (2) have the option to accept the Card with that offer, (3) be required to spend $8,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership, and (4) earn Membership Rewards® points. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. If you’re approved and accept your offer, a credit check may be conducted, which could impact your credit score. Terms apply.

The American Express Platinum Card® is a premium card loaded with annual statement credits, entertainment benefits, extensive airport lounge access, elite status perks and more. (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)

  • Access to 1,550+ airport lounges, including Priority Pass™ Select lounges (enrollment required) and Amex Centurion lounges
  • Statement credit offers worth up to twice what the annual fee costs
  • Elite status perks for hotels and rental cars (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)
  • High annual fee
  • Many statement credit offers are complicated and are earned in increments or limited to specific purchases

Highlights

Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select’s editorial staff.

Balance transfer fee

Foreign transaction fee

If you want statement credits on dinner or gifts…

Many of the best credit cards on the market come with generous annual statement credits that apply to purchases you may need to make for Valentine’s Day.

If you’re planning to take your loved one out to dinner, a handful of American Express cards have credits that apply to eligible Resy restaurant purchases. Resy is a popular restaurant reservation platform, and the credits offered by the following Amex cards can help cover your meal or other eligible purchases at over 10,000 U.S. Resy restaurants:

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) can also help cover your meal thanks to an annual $300 dining credit that applies to restaurants in the Sapphire Exclusive Tables program (up to $150 in credit semi-annually).

For last-minute gifts, the Amex Platinum offers a wealth of shopping benefits, including credits for eligible purchases at lululemon and Saks Fifth Avenue. If your partner is a fitness buff, you can get up to $75 in statement credits each quarter for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon stores or lululemon.com (excludes outlet stores; enrollment required).

For ritzier purchases, the card offers up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com on your Platinum Card (up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 in statement credits from July through December). No minimum purchase required (enrollment required).

The Sapphire Reserve also offers shopping credits in the form of a $250 credit for The Shops at Chase, but you’ll need to spend $75,000 on the card to unlock this (and other) benefits.

If you want discounts on Valentine’s Day purchases…

Why trust CNBC Select?

For rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.





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