0:55 Ranking Bank Points for Domestic Airfare
- We’re talking about deeply discounted airfare, not FREE airfare.
- Every one of these programs has a cash out path–that’s great
1:45 Overview: Highs and Lows of each Program
1:59 Chase UR
- Talked about the most online, but not as valuable as Amex to us
- Much more straightforward than Amex
- 1 Cent per Ultimate Reward point earned (easy cash out on all card)
- 5x earning on Office Supply has been around for a long time.
- Earning at high rates, transferring to a CSR/CSP
3:00 Earning Chase UR
- Easy to use Domestic Partners in United and Southwest
- Travel Portal booking is not ideal but does have uplift
- Earning with high multipliers and sign up bonuses works well
- 5/24 limits the number of cards you can get
- Can co-mingle points
6:30 Southwest (W/ Chase UR)
- Points have become less useful as Ticketless Travel Funds (TTF) have become permanent
- Less transfers from UR->Southwest because TTF are so plentiful
- If transferring , the best way to earn is still NOT on the Southwest credit cards.
7:43 Booking with the Chase Travel Portal:
- Price inflation is real (American, others) Be sure to check google flights
- Can see inflated prices on flights, issues when canceling
- 1.25 cents per point / 1.5 cents per point (20% – 33% discount on travel)
- Sometimes just taking cash back at 1 cent per point is the way to pay for travel
- These points are not ‘free’
10:53 Amex MR Overview
- Amex is so generous that they have changed subscribers’ lives
- THE most generous bank with respect to SUB, earning bonuses and referrals
- The default cash back amount for a MR is 0.6 Cents ($.006) per MR with a few exceptions
- Difficult to get rid of these points.
12:41 Booking Travel with Amex MR
- With such easy earning there isn’t a fast enough release valve sometimes
- Their travel portal is horrible, but is mandatory for the 35% rebate
- Insider fares are lower fares than anywhere else.
- Extremely high annual fee cards needed to release points at high value
- To get good redemption rates with points you have to graduate to high annual fee cards
- Either churn the card or pay the high annual fee (carrying costs) to get good value
- Delta transfers are a great option – 1.1 cents in value per point, transfer 1:1
- Holding a Delta card gives a 15% discount as well, works out to around 1.25 cents per point.
16:26 Earning Membership Rewards
- “They’ve gone crazy with the Sign up Bonuses”
- Easier to earn at a moderate level than Chase (or any other bank)
- Many high annual Fee cards, which come with many coupons/credits
- Nonstarter for someone just starting out.
18:55 Difficulties transacting with AMEX
- Need High annual Fee Business Platinum for 35% rebate (approx 1.5 cents per point)
- Need High Annaul Fee Morgan stanley (1cpp) or Schwab (1.1 cpp) to cash out MR.
- Cannot co-mingle points across spouses, which means you need 2 of each of these cards!
- 35% rebate only on airline of choice or business/first fares.
- Extremely tricky to jump through hoops with Amex.
26:30 Bank of America Premium Rewards
- Both of us have had positive experiences with these points
- Earning on the Premium Rewards Elite card ($550 annual fee)
- Cannot co-mingle with other point earning cards
- No Airline transfer partners.
- Can pool with anyone easily
27:31 Booking Airfare With Premium Rewards
- Good Value, affordable flights work well with these points
- “Earning is not nearly as easy as Chase/Amex”
- Card is churnable
- Incidentals can help remove the sting of $550 annual Fee
- 1 cent per point easy cash out
- 20% rebate on airfare, which works out to 1.25 cents per point
29:03 Unique opportunity: 20% discount
- There is a Travel portal and you can use it for the uplift
- BUT you also can find any flight, any airline and call in getting credited for the flight
- And the BofA phone reps are GREAT.
- If there’s a higher price in their portal, or the airline doesn’t show they will let you book it directly and credit you back and rebate you 20%.
- Industry Leading. All other banks should follow this lead
- Great because you can work with the airline directly
33:35 Citi ThankYou Points
- They’ve done a lot to limit the uplift on their points
- Premier use to get 1.25 CPP on travel
- Prestige is dead.
- Why would anyone use the Citi travel portal?
- Cash out path is so simple, 1 cent per point cash out on cards is easy.
34:31 Citi Travel portal
- No Uplift, or maybe negative uplift
- Now booking.com as the engine
- Pricing does not align from citi travel portal to booking.com
- Inflation causes erosion of value
- No upside on Airfare.
35:36 Citi Portfolio issues
- Strata Premier is their highest annual fee TYP card
- Complex pooling of points
- Double Cash is a great ‘all around’ card
- Thank You points as a brand
38:07 Mention: Citi Transfer Partners
- Leading Hotels of the World
- Wyndham (not as good as earning direct)
- EVA, Turkish, other random programs
- Lacks a big name domestic transfer partner, AA Transfer return is needed
40:12 Wells Fargo
- Think Fast: What are these points called? A: Wells Fargo Rewards
- Autograph Journey Card
- Visa Signature Card unlocks 1.5 cents per point on Autograph points.
- Straightforward earning in some bonus categories
- Travel portal can be inflated
- Domestic Airfare for 35% off with points earned at a high multiple.
41:30 Honorable Mention:
Capital One
- Quirky, nice SUB in some case
- Have done a great job of marketing their points as easier to use.
- That seems like an antiquated idea that people do really believe is true
- But now in order to compete Capital One has added transfer partners
- This all puts them on par with most other issuers
44:21 Rank by ease of earning and using
- You’ll just have to listen to find out!
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