At this point in the year I have a choice between remaining a Platinum Medallion with Delta in 2014 or going for Diamond Medallion status. Like each of the past several years, I am going to choose to stay Platinum and let any miles I receive over the 75,000 mile platinum Threshold roll-over for earning status next year. This means that instead of accepting the 15,000 MQM bonus I earned for spending $60k on the Delta Reserve card this year, I gave it to my wife to help her earn status. It also means that with several upcoming trips to end the year I will bring me over 100k MQMs earned for 2013.

With flights booked for the remainder of 2013, I will have a minimum of 25,000 rollover miles to start the year in 2014. It also means that it will be virtually impossible for me to match the Delta Medallion Qualifying Dollars requirement to make Platinum again without the aid of a credit card.

Rollover Miles = an Uphill Battle for Reaching Medallion Qualifying Dollars

I like the idea of carrying over tens of thousands of miles each year, because I have no idea how much I will be traveling that year. I could get fired from my job, move to a non-Delta hub, welcome a new addition to the family or any number of other factors that make life unpredictable. At the same time, I really enjoy having status and would like to keep it as long as possible. With rollover miles and earning 30k MQMs a year with the Delta Reserve card, I don’t have to do a lot of flying to re-qualify for Platinum status each year.

With the introduction of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD’s) into the equation, Delta is making rollover miles much less valuable than they used to be (except for those spending $25k a year with their branded credit cards), because money spent on rollover miles does not factor into your Medallion Qualifying Dollars for the year they are applied to your account.

Let’s take my account for example:

Medallion Qualifying Dollars to Date

I am currently at 66k MQMs for the year, 21k of those were rollover miles. I also earned 15k MQMs for reaching $30,000 in spend on my Delta Reserve business card. That means I have earned 30k butt-in-seat MQMs this year.

According to the MQDs chart from Delta, I have spent just north of $4,300 on Delta flights to earn those 30k MQMs. This means that I usually pay over 14 cents per mile flown on Delta.

Extend this over the course of a year and I would have no problem meeting the MQDs requirement if I flew 75,000 miles in a given year. But with 25,000 MQMs rolled over for the year? That makes things more difficult.

If I rolled over 25k miles and then flew the 50,000 miles needed to make the Platinum MQM threshold, would have only spent $7,000 with Delta on the year. This would make me deficient by $500 in MQDs.

And that is a best case scenario, assuming that I am taking business trips where I actually spend 14 cents per mile. If I were flying with my own money to reach status, I would likely be $2,500 short on MQDs for the year.

Business Travelers With Delta Credit Cards Win in an MQD world

Clearly the MQD announcement benefits business travelers and Delta Business Credit Card holders the most, because they should have little problems reaching MQDs if they are already reaching the MQM threshold. Casual travelers, rollover milers and mileage runners are going to find it very difficult to reach the MQD threshold without changing their spending habits.

I am fortunate to be both a business traveler and a Delta Credit Card holder, so I should be fine moving forward. In fact, I might benefit nicely from less elites holding rank with Delta.

For my own selfish reasons, I kind of like the idea of MQDs working to my benefit, but I’m doubtful I represent the majority.

Will Delta Introduce Rollover MQDs?

It would be great if Delta decided to introduce rollover MQDs in the future. It would only be fair for those who rely on MQMs to have the same benefit for the money they spent on those miles!

The post Delta Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) and Rollover Miles Don’t Mix appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel Blog.

This morning I was setting up a new online account with a credit card provider and I had the biggest sense of deja vu. It occurred to me that I have done this many times before as I used my 10-key to pound in my bank routing number in about 0.002 seconds.

Many of you are in the same boat – you are proudly obsessed with earning points and miles! While obsession can become a bad thing if it goes unchecked, I find that it is justified when the results of obsession land you on a tropical island or a bustling metropolis half way around the world.

Using the routing number as a starting point, I thought it would be fun to post a list of personal reasons why I know that I am addicted to this game. Note: while many of these points are taken from my own experiences, the goal of this post is to be humorous / entertaining and not to be taken literally. 

Here are 14 signs that you’re obsessed with earning points and miles.

1) You memorized the routing number for your bank account after growing too tired to look it up

Is it sad when you remember the routing number of your bank and don’t know the phone numbers of family members?

2) Chase has made you create at least two logins to access the cards you have with them (personal, business, family, etc.)

I currently have 3 Chase online accounts and have a hard time keeping them straight. Why can’t I just have one, Chase?

3) When you clean out your desk you find a prepaid credit card with over $100 left on it

There was a time where the clutter on my desk at home buried a $500 Visa gift card for a solid 3-4 months. While it was not good to lose the money for this time period, it felt like Christmas when I finally found it!

4) You find yourself making travel arrangements for trips and then trying to come up with a legitimate business reason to use your 2x American Express card

Sure I’m going to Florida to visit family, but the Minnesota Twins have their spring training games there and they might become a client at some point. This is clearly a business expense, right?

5) A payment is due on your new credit card so you scramble to go online and pay the bill, only to realize that you already set up automatic payments months ago!

I’m guilty of this pretty much every month when mint.com sends me a “payment is due” reminder.

6) There exists, somewhere in a private location, a reminder of what login username you used to sign up with each account

Not telling you where mine is hidden of course.

7) If a friend tries to pay for dinner with cash, you scold them for being so primitive and missing miles. Then you take their cash for your wallet and plop down a Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for both of your meals

Done and done.

8) You visit Europe and shuffle the cards in your wallet to only include those with 0 foreign transaction fees or co-branded credit cards that you are staying in

Each time I go abroad I completely overhaul the cards kept in my wallet. Then I come back home and try to use a card I normally carry only to find it was taken out of the rotation on the last trip.

9) On that same visit to Europe, while bleary eyed and travel wary, you think way too hard about which credit card you should use to cover your incidentals at the hotel

Not saying that this has happened to me at least 10 times in the past few years. Not saying that at all.

10) While still on the same visit to Europe, you realize midway through your stay that you used the wrong card and can’t sleep until you visit the front desk to switch to the best earning card for your situation

In my defense, I only have to do this half of the time (when I choose the wrong card in #9 above).

11) All of your christmas gifts are gift cards

At one point in late 2012 while buying multiple $500 gift cards at the Office Depot, I remarked to the employee at the cash register “these will make great gifts for my employees!” I have no employees, but how else was I to explain buying so many gift cards at one time? The holiday season makes for some great “no questions asked” manufactured spending.

12) You have booked a hotel room that you didn’t need in order to earn elite qualifying nights with a particular chain

Did this in Houston last year when a room was unexpectedly comped at another hotel. Instead of canceling the reservation I drove across town, checked in and left without entering the room. One more qualifying stay baby!

13) Too much time is spent trying to convince businesses that they would benefit from a rewards credit card

After years of trying, I convinced a former employer that using points and miles to fund employee travel was a good idea. They proceeded to spend millions a year on credit cards and shave $100k+ a year off the travel budget. Rewards cards are a greatidea for businesses.

14) Credit card anniversaries (when the annual fee kicks in) have a permanent place on your calendar, replacing the birthdays of friends and family

While I don’t currently do this, it seems to make a lot of sense moving forward!

Bonus: You Write a post with 14 obsessions and neglect to even mention earning frequent flyer miles by actually flying

The post 14 Signs You’re Obsessed With Earning Points and Miles appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel Blog.

I’ve said it before, and I said it again, my points and miles strategies differ somewhat from many other bloggers.  I don’t travel for work, nor do I have much disposable income to throw around.  Because of this, I primarily earn miles to redeem for free travel and don’t focus much on earning elite status.  Sort of.  I do make it a point to obtain elite statuses if I can do so easily and the status brings enough value to the table.  So while I do play the points and miles game and rely heavily on credit cards to do so, I do things a little differently.  My strategy may not make sense to most, it’s what works for me.  And to that end I’ve decided to reveal what’s in my wallet.

The Cards

If you play the points & miles game, the fact that Chase credit cards dominate my wallet.  The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is the go-to credit card for rookies and veterans alike after all.  With its 2x points on dining & travel (including parking), it’s a great way for travelers and foodies to earn points.  And of course, the CSP earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  As we all know, Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 to a variety of different loyalty programs.

As you can see, all airline alliances are represented in Ultimate Rewards, as are most of the hotel programs.  This will be especially true when Starwood completes its merger with Marriott.  That is, unless Chase somehow loses it’s Marriott Rewards contract.

There’s no doubt that the Chase Sapphire Preferred is an excellent card.  If I could have only one credit card, the CSP would be it.  But, why stop there if you can earn even more Ultimate Rewards points for free?

That’s where the Chase Freedom comes in.  The Freedom has long been the natural companion card to the CSP.  Alone, it’s a 1% cash back card with a quarterly 5% category.  But couple it with the CSP and you actually earn transferable Ultimate Rewards points.  For Q3 2016, for example, the Freedom will earn 5x points at restaurants and warehouse stores on up to $1,500 in spend. This means if you maximize your spend each quarter, you could earn 30,000 points per year with Freedom.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is the newest card from Chase, and another excellent companion to the CSP.  Unlike the Freedom, the Freedom Unlimited doesn’t have rotating quarterly bonus categories.  Instead, the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5x points per dollar for ALL spend.

Though great, Chase Ultimate Rewards isn’t the only transferable points program.  American Express has its own transferable points program, Membership Rewards.  It isn’t the same as Ultimate Rewards, but is just a rewarding.

Like Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards has representation from each of the airline alliances.  On the hotel side, Membership Rewards has much fewer options, especially if it loses SPG once the Marriott complete it’s merger.  In my opinion, Membership Rewards in addition to Ultimate Rewards is still a good idea.  It provides further diversity in your points holdings and redemption options.  It can also serve to as a way to more quickly accumulate points/miles for certain programs, such as British Airways Executive Club.

And the card to have with Membership Rewards is the American Express EveryDay Preferred.  It’s another card that I’d choose if I could have only one.  The card earns 3x points on grocery store purchases, 2x at gas stations, and 1x points on everything else.  Make 30 or more transactions during a billing cycle and you’ll earn a 50% bonus.  This means that you could potentially earn 4.5x points on groceries, 3x points on gas, and 1.5x points on everything else.  Amex does have other cards that earn Membership Rewards points, but the EveryDay Preferred is definitely the most lucrative.

Most of the other cards in my wallet are simply there to use with their respective programs.  The sole exception is the Marriott Rewards Premier card.  As I’ve said before, Marriott Rewards is my primary loyalty program.  And since the Marriott Rewards Premier card earns an Elite Qualifying Night for ever $3,000 in spend, I often use it.  Though, I primarily use the Marriott Rewards Premier for reimbursable work expenses.  This still makes it one of the most used cards in my wallet, however.

The other cards in my wallet include the Hyatt Gold Passport Visa Signature, the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard, the Alaska Air Visa Signature, AAdvantage World MasterCard, AAdvantage Amex, and PenFed Cash Rewards.  Ok, I don’t actually use the PenFed card at all, but they gave it to me after having my car loan with them for a few months.

My Spending Strategy

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred:  restaurants, car rentals, parking, taxis/Uber/Lyft, commuter rail, hotels other than Marriott & Hyatt, and airlines other than American, Hawaiian and Alaska.
2. Chase Freedom: quarterly category bonus; Q3 is restaurants + warehouse stores
3. Amex EveryDay Preferred: groceries and gas stations
4. Marriott Rewards:  reimbursable employer expenses, Marriott spend, restaurants
5. Hyatt Gold Passport:  Hyatt spend
6. Hawaiian Air:  Hawaiian Air spend + HawaiianMiles partner merchant bonuses
7. Alaska Air:  Alaska Air spend
8. AAdvantage World MC & Amex:  American Air spend
9. Chase Freedom Unlimited:  ALL other spend
10. PenFed Cash Rewards:  Basically never use this

Of course, if I haven’t flown with or stayed with a program in a while, I’ll throw a spend or two on the relevant card.  If certain reimbursable expenses are particularly lucrative on a certain card, I’ll place it on that card too.  So, recently I placed reimbursable spend on my Freedom card instead of the Marriott Rewards, for example.

I do have another card that not in my wallet anymore, and that card is the Disney Rewards Visa Signature.  Hardcore Disney fans flock to this card because it earns Disney Rewards.  But Disney Rewards are simply a cash back program that forces you to spend with Disney.  At most you can earn 2% cash back at Disney properties and stores, as well as at last stations, restaurants, and airlines.  That’s not a bad value, especially at $49/year, but I don’t like having my cash back tied-up in a proprietary currency.  The real reason to have this card is the 6-month, 0% interest financing for Disney vacation packages.  My Disney travel is minimal, though, so this is a card that’s actually under consideration for cancellation.

You’re probably wondering why I don’t have the Citi ThankYou Prestige or Premier cards.  Truth is, while they are great cards, I simply don’t spend nearly enough to justify them.  Having yet another transferable points program to generate spend for would further dilute my ability to spend for points with Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards.  Or, I simply wouldn’t put enough spend on the cards to justify the annual fee(s), as earning for UR & MR are my current priorities.  Those two programs are the ones that benefit me most, and as such, are my priority.  Additionally, while I love the benefits offered by the Prestige, I don’t travel nearly enough for the annual fee to make sense for me.

The reasons why I don’t get the Citi ThankYou Prestige are also the same reasons I don’t get the American Express Platinum Card.  Yes I’d love to have HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, and Centurion Lounge access just for being a cardholder.  But, again, I don’t travel enough to make use of all of the benefits, and therefore cannot justify the annual fee.

While this is a snapshot of my wallet at the moment, my wallet and strategies can always change.  If either my strategies or wallet composition changes, I’ll update you all with another post.

The post What’s in My Wallet July 2016 appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

There’s been a lot of chatter recently regarding the rumored new Chase Sapphire Reserve.  And with good reason!  Chase Ultimate Rewards are the best points program around.  It offers outstanding flexibility and value, especially if you’re willing to do your homework.  So, the prospect of a new, high-earning Ultimate Rewards card is tantalizing.  The Chase Sapphire Preferred is already an excellent card, so we can only imagine what the new Chase Sapphire Reserve will be like.  Ok, so you don’t really have to imagine.  There’s a ton of rumors circulating regarding this card.  But, rumors are rumors and they should always be taken with a grain of salt.  That being said, this is what we “know” about the Reserve so far:

• 100,000 Ultimate Rewards signup bonus
• $450 annual fee
• $300 annual airline credit
• Priority Pass Select
• 3x points on dining
• 3x points on travel
• Visa Infinite

Already new Chase Sapphire Reserve promises to be more lucrative than the American Express Platinum Card.  That is, provided the rumors are true.  What isn’t yet clear, however, is how the Sapphire Reserve will compare to the Citi Prestige.  Yes, Ultimate Rewards are better than ThankYou Rewards, for now.  But card’s other features are quite different:

• 40,000 ThankYou Rewards signup bonus
• $450 annual fee
• $250 annual airline credit
• Priority Pass Select with 2 free guests
• 3x points on air & hotel travel
• 2x points on dining & entertainment
• $100 Global Entry fee reimbursement once every 5 years
• Complimentary 4th night free (when using Citi for booking)

Of course we don’t know what the Sapphire Reserve’s other benefits will be.  I’m guessing it’ll offer primary rental collision coverage as does the Sapphire Preferred does today.  The specific benefits being offered by Chase’s version of Priority Pass Select aren’t known yet.  Other ancillary benefits of the Sapphire Reserve, such as special memberships and benefits like upgrades, extended stays, etc. also remain a mystery.

Another thing I’ve been wondering is what will happen to the signup bonuses of both the Sapphire Reserve and Preferred.  100,000 points is a REALLY generous offer, and one which can’t last.  The Sapphire Preferred, on the other hand, has a current signup offer of 50,000 points for $4,000 in spend in 90 days.  The Citi Prestige offers 40,000 points for the same spend, while the Amex Platinum also offers 40,000 points for $3,000 in spend.  So, it would seem to me that the Sapphire Preferred signup bonus will either decrease or go away completely.  The Citi Premier, as a point of reference, doesn’t have any signup bonus.

As far as network branding goes, Visa Infinite is a first for a U.S. card.  When you visit Visa’s website, the U.S. isn’t even an option on the Infinite page.  From what I gather, the Visa Infinite is really similar to Visa Signature.  Yeah, it sounds higher end, but guess what?  There are cards a close as Canada which have Visa Infinite branding and charge an annual fee of just around $70/year.  Chase probably wanted to differentiate the Sapphire Preferred, though, and sought a different brand.  While the World Elite MasterCard brand would probably be a good match, Chase has an exclusive agreement with Visa whereby the lease Visa’s network.  This agreement means Chase can use Visa’s network at a fixed cost, reducing their expense.  Hence the Visa Infinite brand.

I don’t know about you, but the suspense is kind of killing me.  Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to find out all the details on the new Chase Sapphire Reserve.  The card is purportedly dropping on August 21, just 18 days away!

The post New Chase Sapphire Reserve Coming Soon? appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

The buzz lately has been the rumored new Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  I thought it would be the first Visa Infinite card by Chase, but to my surprise it wasn’t.  Instead, Chase released the new Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite card as it’s first Infinite product.

The new Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite card replaces the Ritz-Carlton Visa Signature card.  The two cards look fairly similar, but the benefits are different.  The Visa Signature version featured a signup bonus of two free night certificates at category 1-4 Ritz-Carlton properties after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months.  The Visa Infinite version comes with three free night certificates at category 1-4 properties for $5,000 spend in the first 3 months.  You’ll also receive 10,000 Ritz-Carlton Rewards points for adding an authorized user.

The new Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite card, beyond the enhanced signup bonuses, does come with additional benefits:

• Priority Pass Select membership
• $300 annual airline credit for use with seat upgrades, baggage fees and lounge memberships or club passes
• Save $100 when buying two to 5 qualifying roundtrip, coach airline tickets on the same itinerary when you book through visadiscountair.com/ritzcarltoncard
• $100 statement credit for your Global Entry application fee

Beyond the enhanced signup bonus and the above new features, the new Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite is largely the same as the old card.  The card continues to feature the following benefits:

• 5 points/$ on spend at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott brand properties
• 2 points/$ on spend on airline tickets purchased directly with the airline, and at car rental agencies and restaurants
• 1 point/$ on all other spend
• 10% annual bonus for all points earned through spend on the card
• Ritz-Carlton Rewards/Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status the first year, and every year thereafter that you spend at least $10,000 on the card
• Ritz-Carlton Rewards/Marriott Rewards Platinum Elite status when you spend at least $75,000 on your card every year
• $100 hotel credit when you book a paid, non-discounted stays of two nights ore more at Ritz-Carlton properties with your card
• 3 complimentary upgrades to Club Level on paid, non-discounted stays of up to 7 nights annually
• J.P. Morgan Concierge service

Both the old Visa Signature and the new Visa Infinite carry an annual fee of $450.  The features of the Visa Infinite version more than offsets the annual fee if you maximize them every year.  It’s a compelling card to have, especially for those that are fans of the Marriott Rewards or Ritz-Carlton Rewards programs.  Personally, I prefer to use the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature card because you earn Elite Qualifying Nights for every $3,000 in spend.  That, to me is preferable to the simple status award, but that’s my preference.

More interesting, in my opinion, is what non-Ritz-Carlton benefits the card comes with.  As Chases’s first Visa Infinite product, it’s safe to say it will have similar benefits as the rumored Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  I’m guessing we’ll see the Sapphire Reserve come with a $300 annual airline credit (not new), the $100 airfare discount (specific to Visa Infinite), and Priority Pass Select.  I do think we’ll also see primary rental collision coverage on the Sapphire Reserve, and hopefully some sort of complimentary elite status.  But we shall see; less than two weeks till the card is supposedly launched!

The post New Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the most anticipated card product of the year.  It’s an outstanding product with killer benefits like 3x points on dining + travel, Priority Pass Select, Primary Auto Rental Collision Coverage, and more!  However, Chase has this irritating little rule called the 5/24 rule.  Basically, if you’ve opened 5 cards in the past 24 months, your request for credit will be denied.  The rule does not apply to co-branded credit cards like the Marriott Premier.  I totally understand why the rule is there, but there must be exceptions.  There aren’t, and in the case of the Sapphire Preferred, the Chase 5-24 rule is unfair.

I know a lot of you are in the same situation and are probably thinking the rules are the rules.  Here me out.  My personal situation saw a few applications in the past couple of years, one of them being my very first Sapphire Preferred card just a year ago.  Had I know then that the Sapphire Reserve was going to come out, I wouldn’t have applied for that card.  Why would I want to Sapphire Preferred when this better, but more expensive product is available?  Wouldn’t Chase want me to have it too?  The card carries a much higher annual fee and gives me more incentive to use it.  But no.  Chase is choosing to be stubborn and kind of dumb about this.  I mean their rules already make it so you can’t really churn their cards.  And if I want the Sapphire Reserve to replace my Sapphire Preferred that I use regularly, why wouldn’t they let that go?  I explained all this to the Chase reconsideration folks and a retention specialist.  But they said there’s nothing we can do.

Now, you’re probably wondering about what the other 4 cards are.  Well, according to Chase, those are my Alaska Air Visa, the Amex EveryDay Preferred, the Hyatt Visa, and a PenFed Visa.  That last one really ticks me off because I didn’t apply for the card.  The card was simply given to me because I have an auto loan with PenFed.  The loan was opened in 2013, while the credit cards says Jan 2015.  I explained this to the Chase reps too, but it didn’t matter.  Even though I didn’t apply for a card, the fact that it’s been opened under my name means I’m still ineligible.  The fact that I’ve been a loyal (as loyal as I can be since there are no branches in my state and am thus not eligible for an account) cardholder and have never churned cards didn’t seem to matter either.  Stellar credit with zero derogatory marks and a long history of always paying with Chase?   Who cares.

And this is why I think the Chase 5-24 rule is unfair in regards to the Sapphire Reserve card.  While many of us knew the card was coming, we only knew about a month away from it’s launch.  Chase is being extremely customer unfriendly, in my opinion, and often to its best and most loyal customers in this case.  I even asked the retention specialist if there’s anyway I could get this product and he flat out said no.  Not even an upgrade for my Sapphire Preferred?  I’ve always loved Chase and the service they’ve furnished, so this post isn’t coming from someone that harbors animosity towards them.  But I also feel that Chase needs to learn something called common sense.  Or perhaps they’ve become too popular for their own good?  I stated that I thought the situation is unfair given the overall circumstance and they didn’t care.

What I think Chase should have done, and should still do, is provide a one-time exception for the launch of this product, especially if one of the 5-24 accounts is a Sapphire Reserve.  We’ll see what a call to the normal customer service line and request to upgrade (without signup bonus) does for the account.

The post The Chase 5-24 Rule is Unfair appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

The Hyatt Visa Signature Sign-Up Bonus is changing at the end of the month.  And guess what?  It’s not a positive change.

The Hyatt Visa Signature, aka the Hyatt Card, is issued by Chase in the U.S.  It has long had a very lucrative signup bonus of 2 free night certificates valid at any Hyatt property worldwide.  But come June 29, 2017, that signup bonus is going away.

The New Hyatt Card Signup Bonus

The new Hyatt Card signup bonus will be, surprise surprise, bonus points.  So rather than getting two restriction-less stay certificates, you’ll get 40,000 World of Hyatt points.  This is a significant downgrade in value, especially if you maximize the use of those certificates.  Those 40,000 points will get you:

• 1 night in a category 7 (30,000) or category 6 (25,000) property
• 2 nights in a category 5 (20,000) or category 4 (15,000) property
• 3 nights in a category 3 property
• 5 nights in a category 2 property
• 8 nights in a category 1 property

Are the Certificates Actually Better?

Admittedly, there’s some decent value here with the new points bonus.  There are, in fact, some pretty great properties in category 5, such as:

• Park Hyatt Washington D.C.
• Hyatt Centric Waikiki
• Hyatt Regency Maui
• Andaz Napa Valley
• Andaz West Hollywood
• Vdara (MGM Las Vegas)

The Park Hyatt Washington D.C. in particular is on the higher end in terms of quality and price, with standard room rates often hovering around $500/night.  No, it’s not the same as redeeming the certificates for $1,000/night Park Hyatt New York or at the Park Hyatt Maldives, but it still isn’t a terrible value.

I personally ended up using my certificates at the Andaz Maui.  It’s a nice property that Mrs. Island Miler and I thoroughly enjoyed.  And the value wasn’t bad either, especially since base rates are around $400/night plus $40 parking and $40 resort fee. That’s easily over $500/night when tax is included.  However, that property is infamous for playing games with room inventories and award nights are rarely available.  It was a struggle to get our nights, which didn’t clear until the last minute.  That’s even after I reached out to Hyatt corporate and spoke with them about the issue.

Hyatt Visa Signature Sign-Up Bonus is Changing Final Thoughts

The Hyatt Visa Signature sing-up bonus change is a negative change, yes.  But it isn’t a deal killer.  You can still extract good value from the bonus, though not quite as good as before.  And let’s be real… Hyatt’s more popular properties are known to play games with award stay availability, so the ease in using those certificates at aspirational properties isn’t good.  The good news, however, is if you still want to get the certificates, you still have time.  Just be sure you submit your application prior to the June 29th cutoff.

Hat tip to Lucky

The post Hyatt Visa Signature Sign-Up Bonus is Changing appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

It’s been a while since I did a credit card post, though not much has changed since then.  But, here’s my credit card strategy for 2018.

If you didn’t already know, credit card rewards are the primary way in which I travel.  This is especially true for my bigger, aspirational trips like our Big Apple Adventure, our honeymoon, and our Andaz Maui stay.  But, as I’ve always said, my points and miles strategy, as well as my credit card strategy differs from most other bloggers.

My Cards

Currently, I have a broad mix of cards from different issuers as follows:

• Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
• American Express EveryDay Preferred
• Citi AAdvantage Platinum Mastercard + Amex
• Disney Rewards (Chase)
• Freedom (Chase)
• Freedom Unlimited (Chase)
• Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard
• Marriott Rewards Premier (Chase)
• PenFed Cash Rewards Visa
• Sapphire Reserve (Chase)
• Starwood Preferred Guest (Amex)
• World of Hyatt Visa Signature (Chase)

My Spend Strategy

I have a lot of cards, yes, but rarely do I use them all.  In fact, there are only four that I regularly use: the Sapphire Reserve, Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and the Amex EveryDay Preferred.  The reason for this is because my primary goal is to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points and American Express Membership Rewards points.

As you may recall, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valuable because of the numerous programs you can transfer points to.  This includes Korean SkyPass, which will get you cheap award travel to Hawaii.  And, Amex Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton HHonors, Delta, etc.

However, these cards all earn at different rates, and it’s those earning rates that determine how I use each card:

• Sapphire Reserve: 3x points for dining and travel (including parking)
• Freedom: 5x points on quarterly categories, 1x on everything else
• Freedom Unlimited:  1.5x points on all spend
• Amex EveryDay Preferred:  3x points on groceries, 2x points on gas, 1x points on everything else; 50% bonus when you reach 30 transactions per billing cycle

And that breakdown is basically how I use the cards, though I don’t achieve the 30 transaction bonus on the Amex.  I should also note that, in an effort to maintain status with Marriott, I dump all reimbursable business expenses on that card, as well as Marriott spend.  I could earn a lot more Ultimate Rewards points if I didn’t do that, but I do want to maintain my status and work towards lifetime status.

My Other Cards

The remaining cards in my possession see little to no use.  However, I keep most of them for a reason.  For example, the World of Hyatt remains useful for me thanks to its annual free night certificate.  The certificate, after all, more than makes up for the annual fee.  My airline credit cards are there for the benefits those cards provide.  Specifically, the Hawaiian card provides your first checked bag free (cardholder only), though I’m thinking of canceling that card.  I want to cancel the AAdvantage card, but the priority boarding and free checked bag benefits have been useful in my recent travels for work.  The Alaska Airlines card is, by far, the most valuable thanks to its checked bag benefit and the annual companion certificate.

The SPG card is there for any Starwood spend I incur, and also to see what happens to it once the Marriott merger is completed.  All other cards, though, don’t get used at all and are kept only because they don’t carry an annual fee.

Changes and Potential Changes

The only change in spending strategy I’ve made is to put any Hyatt spend (which isn’t likely) on my Sapphire Reserve instead of the Hyatt card.  This is because the Sapphire and Hyatt cards both earn 3x points for Hyatt stays, but Ultimate Rewards points are more valuable and transfer 1:1 to World of Hyatt if I need those points.

Other than the above change, I’ve been thinking of product changing my AAdvantage cards and canceling the Hawaiian card.  Beyond that, though, the only other change I can foresee is when the new Marriott cards come out.  That being said, if credit card spend stops earning elite qualifying nights for Marriott with the new cards, I’ll likely shift all business spend to Freedom and Sapphire cards too.

My Credit Card Strategy for 2018, Final Thoughts

Throughout 2017 the above strategy worked fairly well for me.  I don’t have enough spend to earn an enormous amount of points, but I’ve been making steady progress.  So I’ll likely continue this strategy and continue amassing points for our next big vacation.  But, like I said, things could change when the new Marriott cards come out.  For now, though, I’m just focusing on maximizing the Chase Freedom Q1 bonus category.

The post My Credit Card Strategy for 2018 appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the darling card of the points and miles community.  But the card, and especially its annual fee can be scary to beginners.  So let’s go over why the fee isn’t so bad and why the card is so great.

As I mentioned in my 2018 credit card strategy, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the card I’d choose if I could only have one.  And that’s because of the card’s outstanding benefits.  However, it’s large, $450 annual fee can be intimidating to the uninitiated.  So let’s go over what benefits the card comes with, what the out-of-pocket expense of owning the card is, and how to maximize Hawaii travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Card benefits

When looking at credit cards, we often focus on the points, and for good reason; the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3 points per dollar on all dining and travel spend.  Travel, in this case, even includes everyday spend like parking.  But the points are only the tip of the benefits iceberg.

Other benefits include:

• $300 annual travel credit
• 1:1 points transfer to airline and lodging programs
• $100 application fee credit for Global Entry of TSA Pre-Check
• Priority Pass Select membership with unlimited guesting privileges
• Access to Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
• National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive Level membership + 25% discount on rentals
• 30% discount on rentals with Avis Car Rental
• 30% discount on rentals of two days or more with Silvercar
• Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver – kicks in before your own insurance
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
• Baggage Delay Insurance
• Trip Delay Reimbursement
• Roadside Assistance
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement
• Travel and Emergency Assistance
• Travel Accident Insurance
• Emergency Evacuation & Transportation
• Emergency Medical & Dental Benefit
• No Foreign Transaction Fee
• 50% more value when Ultimate Rewards points are redeemed directly for travel

That’s a lot of benefits!  And while you may not use many of these often (or ever), just using a few of them regularly can bring you great value.  Typically, when I travel, I take advantage of Priority Pass and the Silvercar benefits.

My Most Used Benefits

The Priority Pass benefit on its own is of great value, as it grants you access to participating airport lounges worldwide.  And, a standard membership that includes no-fee lounge access costs $249 (10 free) to $399 (unlimited free) per year.  And, yes, Priority Pass does have lounges in Hawaii, the best of which is the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge, though it has poor hours of operation.  But, personally, I do use Priority Pass at other airports like SEA-TAC.

As for Silvercar, a 30% discount is a 30% discount.  Just take a look at an upcoming reservation I have in Vegas.  The rental is supposed to cost $381.22, however, with the discount, it comes out to $285.89.  For an Audi A4 that includes in-car WiFi, navigation, Sirius XM, fair price gas + $5 refueling fee, etc.  And these aren’t stripped down A4’s; these are nicely optioned models.

Annual Fee

There’s no question that the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a lot of great benefits, so now let’s talk about that annual fee.  $450 is a hefty annual fee, and you do have to pay it every year.  But that $300 annual travel credit takes a lot of the sting out of the fee.  You see, the travel credit is automatically applied to your statement as you incur travel expenses.  And, as previously stated, this includes parking, among others.  It’s an easy statement credit to maximize, even if you don’t travel and brings the actual out-of-pocket annual fee down to $150 per year.  That’s just $51 more than the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which includes all the above benefits.

Of course, there’s the Global Entry Fee statement credit too.  You get this statement credit once every five years and is worth up to $100.  Mrs. Island Miler and I both have Global Entry which will need to be renewed soon, so when that happens, my effective annual fee comes down to just $50 that year.

As mentioned above, this year I have one Silvercar rental booked, and with that one rental, the Sapphire Reserve will save me $95.  Later this year I have an even longer trip on which I plan on using Silvercar again too, so the card will save me over $200 in rental fees this year alone.

And if you’re asking why I’d spend so much money on a car rental, Silvercars isn’t that expensive.  In fact, when I went to Seattle this past December, Silvercar was significantly cheaper than renting a subcompact car from Avis, Enterprise, etc.

Ultimate Rewards + Hawaii

Now, I know what some of you are thinking, especially my readers in Hawaii.  You have a Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard that costs $89 a year, and you don’t want another annual fee card.  Well, consider this: award flights on Hawaiian Airlines cost LESS with Chase Ultimate Rewards.  Here’s how.

One of the Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners is Korean Airlines, meaning you can transfer points 1:1 to Korean SkyPass.  And, if you didn’t already know, Hawaiian Airlines is a codeshare partner of Korean Airlines, meaning you can earn and redeem HawaiianMiles or SkyPass miles on both airlines.  But not all miles are created equal.  Korean SkyPass has much better redemption rates between Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland than Hawaiian does.

As you can see a roundtrip award flight on Hawaiian via Korean will cost you 30,000 miles, versus Hawaiian’s 35 to 40,000 miles in economy.  And it’s just 60,000 miles for first class, which is much lower than Hawaiian’s 80,000 to 260,000 miles.  But if you’re willing to fly Delta instead, your mileage redemption rates can be even lower.

Using Korean miles you could fly Delta between Hawaii and anywhere in North America for just 25,000 miles roundtrip in economy and 45,000 miles roundtrip in first class.

And guess what?  The Sapphire Reserve’s current signup bonus offer is 50,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.  So off the bat, you’ll already have enough points for an economy class award ticket on Hawaiian between Hawaii and the Mainland.

Chase Sapphire Reserve, Final Thoughts

As can be seen, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a fantastic card with a lot of benefits.  And, what’s more, the annual fee isn’t all that bad in reality.  At minimum, the net expense to cardholders is $150 per year, so long as you take advantage of the annual travel statement credit.  However, if you travel once or twice a year, you could extract even more value that offsets the annual fee with discounts.  So this card is a no-brainer, especially for those that travel, even if it’s just once a year for vacation.  And, of course, the card provides much better award redemption benefits than the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard for travel on Hawaiian Airlines.

And if you do choose to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve, might I recommend getting one or both of the Chase Freedom cards as well.  Both have no annual fee and earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  However, the Freedom card earns 5 points per dollar on rotating quarterly categories, while the Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5 points per dollar on all spend.  With Freedom, your bonus earnings are capped at 7,500 points per quarter ($1,500 in spend per quarter), while Freedom Unlimted has no restrictions.  That being said, just remember that Chase has a 5/24 rule, meaning you can only open five cards during 24 months from any issuer.  Any more than that and you’ll receive an automatic denial.

The post My Favorite Card: The Chase Sapphire Reserve appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

If you didn’t already know, Barclays has a new card: the Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard.  And, unfortunately, this card is shaping up to be the biggest new card letdown of 2018.

The blogosphere has been abuzz regarding the release of a new credit card from Barclays.  And the reason for all the noise was the high hopes for the card.  Afterall, we knew the card would earn Barclays miles at an accelerated rate.  Plus, Barclays has desireable co-branded relationships with desirable airlines.  So it was hoped that a new premium card from Barclays would add transfer partners, such as Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue.  But now that the card application has officially launched, all those hopes and dreams have been dashed to pieces.

Barclays Arrival Premier Rewards

This new card is Barclays’ premium card offering.  Weighing in at $150 per year, the annual fee is the highest from the issuer.  However, the annual fee sort of splits the difference between other cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve, or even the Citi Premier and Prestige.  But, this is where the comparison to other premium cards ends.  We now know the Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard earns two miles per dollar spent.  You can also earn up to 25,000 bonus miles for spending up to $25,000 per year.  That gives you an effective earning rate of three miles per dollar for hitting $15,000 or $25,000 in spend annually.  And while that sounds like a decent earning rate, let’s take a look at the redemption side of the card.

At its most basic redemption level, cardholders may redeem miles for cash at a rate of one percent.  That means if you have 50,000 points, you can redeem it for $500 cash, statement credits, or gift cards.  But, the Barclays Arrival Premier card has mileage transfer partners too.  Currently, cardholders may transfer miles to the following airlines:

• Aeromexico
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• China Eastern
• Etihad
• Eva Air
• Japan Airlines
• Jet Airways
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas

That’s a small list of participating airlines, but what’s worse is the wonky transfer rates.  Most of the above airlines have a 1.4:1 transfer rate, though Japan Airlines’ transfer rate is even worse at 1.7:1.  And, unfortunately, miles cannot be transferred between the Arrival Premier and the Arrival/Arrival Plus cards.

Barclays Arrival Premier Benefits

Aside from earning miles, the card does come with a few other benefits:

• $100 Global Entry statement credit every 5 years
• No foreign transaction fee
• Mastercard Airport Experience by Lounge Key (similar to PriorityPass, but you have to pay $27 per visit)

That’s not a lot of benefits, nor are any of these benefits at all competitive.  I wouldn’t use the Lounge Key benefit and I have another card that has the Global Entry statement credit so…

Barclays Arrival Premier Value

Value can be a highly subjective thing, but there’s no arguing that the value simply isn’t there with this card.  As a cashback card, you earn 2% cashback on all your purchases.  Plain and simple.  If you can commit to spending $15,000 or $25,000 per year, and no more or less than those two thresholds, it turns into a 3% cashback card.  At the maximum, this means you’d earn 75,000 points in a year, which equates to $750 cash.  However, if you want to transfer your miles to an airline, the value changes substantially.

If you maximize your earnings and obtain 75,000 miles in a calendar year, you’ll receive 53,571 miles for all transfer partners except JAL.  With JAL, you’ll receive 44,117 Mileage Bank miles.  Those numbers further break down to 2.14 miles per dollar spent in airline miles or 1.76 miles per dollar spent for JAL miles.

But say you only manage to spend $10,000 in a year.  That’ll yield you just 20,000 miles, which can be redeemed for $200 in cash.  Or you could turn those miles into 14,287 airline miles, or 11,764 JAL miles.  This further breaks down to 1.42 miles per dollar spent in airline miles or 1.17 miles per dollar for JAL miles!  Yikes!

Barclays Arrival Premier, Final Thoughts

Clearly, the Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard is not a card that provides cardholders with good value.  Your $150 annual fee gets you virtually zero benefits and hilariously bad rewards.  I mean, sure, 2% cashback sounds great, but you could easily get that with no annual fee with a Citi Double Cash.

If you’re trying to get miles, though, the better and cheaper option is to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred and its Freedom companions.  This way, for a $99 annual fee, you’ll be able to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to:

• Air Lingus AerClub
• British Airways Executive Club
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Korean Air SkyPass
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Iberia Plus

And the Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points on all travel and dining spend.  Pair that with the Freedom Unlimited’s 1.5x points on everything and the Freedom’s 5x points quarterly bonus, and you’ve got yourself the points earning trifecta.  So with Chase, you’ll earn a MINIMUM of 1.5 miles per dollar all the way up to 5 miles per dollar.  And, don’t forget, with transfer partner Korean Air SkyPass, you can get a roundtrip ticket between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland for just 25,000 miles.

But why not just step up to the Sapphire Reserve instead?  Afterall, its net annual fee is just $150 on an average year and just $50 during years you renew Global Entry.  And that’s not counting all the other discounts and benefits you get with the card.  Plus 3x points on all travel and dining purchases.

Given all of this, I wonder who Barclays is trying to target with this card?

HT: Doctor of Credit

The post Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

Heads up!  Chase is devaluing the Sapphire Reserve.

This morning I got an email from Chase regarding “important updates” to my Chase Sapphire Reserve account.  In particular, these changes will affect the card’s much-beloved rewards and benefits.  And, as these notifications always do, it started with some positive changes, though things got dark towards the end.

Positive Changes

The enhancements coming to Ultimate Rewards are happening all on the redemption side.  Chase hasn’t given a timeframe for these changes but says coming soon, we’ll have:

• Premier event access to tickets and seating (access before they go on sale to the general public)
• Special gift card offers (150 cards with discounts at select retailers)
• New air and hotel packages when booking with your Chase Sapphire Reserve or Ultimate Rewards points
• New last-minute and seasonal deals on hotels
• More flight options with the option to split tickets
• A wider selection of travel partners with 1:1 points transfer

Is this Really a Change?

Also included in the e-mail is information on mobile Priority Pass Select access.  And, honestly, hasn’t this been available for a while now?  The last two times I used a Priority Pass lounge (December and May) I used the mobile card in Apple Wallet, as I’ve lost the physical card.  So, yeah.

Negative Changes

Going into effect on August 26, 2018, are a not insignificant number of negative changes to cardholder benefits and Ultimate Rewards earnings.

Earning Rewards Points on Travel

We’ll continue to earn 3 points per $1 spent on travel.   However, travel purchases that qualify for the $300 annual travel credit will no longer earn points.  This represents a lost earning potential of 900 Ultimate Reward points per year, which while unpleasant, isn’t a huge loss.

Price Protection

Price Protection is going bye-bye.  End of discussion.

Priority Pass Select Access

This one is probably the most significant change, as access is now being limited to the primary cardholder(s) and authorized users, plus two additional guests per Priority Pass Select membership card.  Meaning, each Sapphire Reserve Cardholder (primary or authorized user) will be able to bring in two guests each.  Each additional guest will incur a $27 fee.

I can see two sides to this.  On rare occasions, such as when traveling with our parents and sibling(s), this benefit has been really helpful for Mrs. Island Miler and me.  However, there’s no doubt that crowding has been an issue at Priority Pass lounges, and I’ve seen other cardholders bring in as many as ten other guests.  That’s a bad thing, and this change will help to mitigate this issue.

Chase is Devaluing the Sapphire Reserve, Final Thoughts

In the grand scheme of things, these changes aren’t all that bad.  Do I like them?  Yes and no.  I hate the fact that we’ll no longer earn points on travel purchases for which we receive our annual credit for, as a lost earn opportunity is still a lost opportunity.  But I understand the business decision behind it; why reward us for something we’re getting anyway?  But at the same time, that fee is like a partial refund of the annual fee, so that makes the card slightly less valuable to me now.

The loss of Price Protection sucks, but isn’t a benefit I use anyway.  Rarely do I encounter a situation that would qualify for coverage, so meh.  And as I’ve said before, the change to Priority Pass access is a bit of a double-edged sword.  Sometimes it’s nice to have the flexibility of unlimited access, but at the same time, some cardholders overtly abuse the benefit.  So limiting access may help with the crowding issue at Priority Pass lounges.

Ultimately, the changes aren’t going to be enough to change my stance on the card.  However, the changes do make me concerned regarding changes that may come in the future.  But, for now, the Sapphire Reserve will remain one of my primary cards.  I will be carefully watching, though, for additional changes to benefits with ANY of my Chase card.

The post Chase is Devaluing the Sapphire Reserve appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

We’re midway through 2018, and much has changed.  So let’s take a look at my 2018 credit card strategy 2.0.

Marriott Rewards

Now, the most significant change I’ve been watching for this year is the Marriott Rewards and SPG program integration.  And since the new Marriott and SPG cards are such a letdown, I’ve chosen to keep my old Marriott Rewards Premier card.  At least for now.  After all, the card earns 5x points per dollar spent, as well as one elite qualifying night per $3,000 spent.  That’s one point per dollar less than the newer Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card, but the elite qualifying nights mean more to me.  So as long as that remains a benefit on my current card, I’m keeping it.

American Express Platinum

As you may have already guessed from the title photo of this post, I’ve recently picked up the American Express Platinum card.   And it’s a card I didn’t think I would ever pick up.  Why?  Because unlike with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I can’t exactly offset the $550 annual fee with the card benefits.

Yes, the card does come with $200 in annual airline fee reimbursements, a Global Entry fee reimbursement, and up to $200 in annual Uber credits.  But I don’t take a lot of Uber trips, so the Uber credit will be difficult for me to maximize.  And, of course, you only get the Global Entry fee credit every five years for obvious reasons.  So, in an average year, I’d only be able to extract $200 in value.  But this year is a Global Entry renewal for me, so I’ll be able to extra $300 of value in my first year.

However, there’s more to the Amex Platinum than earning direct value.  Perhaps the cards most significant benefit is its well-regarded concierge service.  And that’s why I picked up the card, as I could really use their help making some reservations for later this year.  So far, though, the service has been a letdown.  While they initially said they could assist me in obtaining Bruno Mars concert tickets, when the time came, they said they no longer could.  But, thankfully, Mrs. Island Miler was able to snag a few.  Enough on the Amex Platinum card for now, though, as I’ll have a comprehensive review sometime in the future.

Strategy

Now onto the strategy, the whole purpose of this post.  Fortunately, my strategy hasn’t changed much.  Reimbursable expenses will continue to go onto my Marriott card to earn more Elite Qualifying nights.  However, I did put a rather large reimbursable hotel purchase on my Sapphire Reserve to scoop up a huge UR points bonus.  And, speaking of the Sapphire Reserve, all dining spend and travel spend not earning bonuses on other cards will continue to go onto this card.  The Freedom card will continue to get spend only from the quarterly bonus categories, while my Amex Everday Preferred will continue to get all grocery and gas spend.  And, of course, everything else will go onto my Freedom Unlimited.  Finally, Alaska, Hawaiian, and American spend will continue to go on their respective cards.

The caveat to all this, though, is that I need to meet the minimum spend for the opening bonus on the Amex Platinum.  So, at least for now, all spend will be going onto my Amex Platinum card.  But once that minimum spend is reached, only airlines spend (aside from the three previously mentioned), Fine Hotels & Resorts, and Platinum Concierge spend will go on the card.

My 2018 Credit Card Strategy 2.0, Final Thoughts

Despite the addition of a new card, not much is changing with my 2018 credit card strategy.  The caveat being if the benefits of my Marriott Rewards Premier card changes.  If the Elite Qualifying Night benefit goes away, then the only spend going on that card will be Marriott and Starwood spend.  And, aside from considering canceling my SPG Amex, I’m still also considering canceling my Citi AAdvantage Mastercard.  I’m even considering canceling my Hawaiian Airlines card, as the Amex Platinum can easily take its place.  Not only could I use the airline credit more than Hawaiian’s checked bag credit, but I’d earn more HawaiianMiles with it.  After all, Amex Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to HawaiianMiles.  And the Amex Platinum earns 5x Membership Rewards points on airline spend.

And, in case you’re wondering, yes that is real wood my Platinum card came in.

The post My 2018 Credit Card Strategy 2.0 appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

Last week Chase quietly rolled out a new World of Hyatt Visa card.  And with this new card comes a whole lot of changes.  But, thankfully, those changes are mostly positive ones.

World of Hyatt

Nearly two years ago, Hyatt did away with its beloved Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program and replaced it with the World of Hyatt.  And, as I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of the World of Hyatt.  It isn’t as rewarding as the old program while earning elite status got even harder too.  It’s like Hyatt executives thought it would be a good idea to shoot themselves in the foot at a time when they could have been scooping up unhappy SPG members.  But it is what it is, and today things remain mostly the same.

Hyatt Gold Passport Visa

Despite the change to World of Hyatt, the co-brand credit card remained the same, mostly.  The only change that occurred during this time was the signup bonus.  This bonus changed from two free nights at any Hyatt worldwide to a points bonus.  And, of course, that new points bonus wasn’t as lucrative as the certificates.  But, the card did still come with free Discoverist status; a free category 1-4 anniversary certificate; 3x points on Hyatt spend and 2x points on restaurant, airline, and car rental spend; for just a $75 annual fee.

Updated Features

The new World of Hyatt Visa card, while somewhat similar to the previous card, is an entirely different animal.  And, yes, the signup bonus is still a points bonus, which is now at 60,000 points.  That’s enough points for two free nights at a Category 7 property, which makes the offer even better than the previous 2-night certificate.  The catch?  You now have to spend $6,000 to get the bonus, though you have six months to do it.  You’ll get 30,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first three months, and another 30,000 points for spending another $3,000 in the next three months.

The final tweaked feature is the bonus points accrual rates.  Instead of earning just three points per dollar on Hyatt spend, cardholders will now earn four.  And the double points bonus categories expanded too.  On the new card, you’ll earn 2x points on restaurant, airline, local transit and commuting (taxis, tolls, mass transit, and rideshare), and fitness club and gym membership spend.

New Features

The new World of Hyatt Visa card continues to come with complimentary Discoverist status, which is still a joke of a status level.  But at least the card still gives it to you automatically and even includes five elite qualifying nights (EQN) per year.  But if you really want to bulk up your EQNs with Hyatt, you now have another option.  The new card gives you an additional two EQNs for every $5,000 in spend you put on the card.  So to reach the Explorist level purely through credit card spend, you’ll need to put $65,000 in spend on your Hyatt card annually.  However, the card gives you Exlporist status for spending $50,000 or more per year too, so that last point is moot.  To reach Globalist purely on spend, though, will require $140,000 in purchases.

On the other hand, the old Marriott Rewards Premier Visa gave you 15 EQNs annually and one EQN per $3,000, which means you needed to spend $105,000 to reach Gold Elite.  To reach Platinum purely on credit card spend would require $180,000 in pruchases.  OUCH.  Of course, none of their new cards offer this option, which is why I’m keeping my old one.  So it’s ironic interesting that Hyatt is gaining this benefit while Marriott ditches it.

Negative Change

The one negative thing about the card?  Its annual fee is now $95.  And while an annual fee increase sucks, I think the new benefits outway the increase.

The New World of Hyatt Visa, Final Thoughts

Ok, so $20 more for the new card isn’t such a bad deal.  Especially since the new card earns more points, earns you EQNs, and gives you the opportunity to earn a second anniversary night.  But it’s not a card that’s for me.  Despite liking many Hyatt properties, I’ve since backed away from the brand after the change over to World of Hyatt and after having numerous issues trying to book award nights with them.  After all, what’s the point in participating in their program if they’re going to be so difficult to redeem with?  And I hate the issue I ran into recently with trying to book a paid stay at the Andaz Napa.

And as a result of my aversion to Hyatt, I most likely will not be upgrading to this card.  My Hyatt card, after all, is not one I put much spend on anyway.  So having the added benefits of the new card wouldn’t do anything for me, making the additional $20/year unjustifiable.  But who knows?  If the program improves, then maybe I’ll consider it.

On a final note, who the heck designed the new World of Hyatt Visa?  It is such an UGLY card!  It’s just a brushed metal print with the logo slapped on.  It looks like such an afterthought, its embarrassing.  And while I know the way a card look isn’t as important as the benefits and value it provides, but come on.  It better be metal at least.

The post The New World of Hyatt Visa – What an Upgrade! appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

For some time now, I’ve been making purchases via Shop through Chase® using Chase co-brand credit cards.  However, recently, I’ve discovered that non-Chase cards work with Shop through Chase as well!  So let’s revisit this lucrative points-earning strategy.

Online Shopping Rewards Portals

Most online shopping portals are affiliated with airline frequent flier programs, such as those offered by Alaska and American.  Marriott used to have an excellent program too, from which I earned a ton of points.  But, today, my favorite of these online portals is Shop through Chase, which is meant to be used in conjunction with your Ultimate Rewards earning cards like the Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and Sapphire Reserve.

However, for some time now, I’ve been using my Marriott Rewards card to shop through Chase’s portal.  Why?  Because I put most reimbursable expenses on that card.  But why not earn extra Ultimate Rewards points if you can?

Using a Non-Chase Card with Shop through Chase

Recently, though, I got the American Express Platinum Card.  And because of that, I’ve been tossing ALL my spend on that card in order to meet my minimum spend.  So, until recently, that meant putting my reimbursable expenses on that card too.  And, just a few weeks ago, I needed to make two such purchases with Crutchfield and Apple, both of which are Shop through Chase merchants.  So I decided to give it a shot.  After all, what have I got to lose?  Actually, I could have used Alaska Air’s portal to earn 1x miles with Apple and 2x miles with Crutchfield.  But being that I could earn 2x points with Apple and 3x points with Crutchfield, I decided to give it a shot.

And there isn’t any difference between shopping through the portal with Chase cards and not.  So, as usual, I logged into my Chase account, went into Ultimate Rewards, and into the shopping portal from there.  Then, I shopped normally, as you usually do.  And then, maybe a week after my purchase posted to my Amex Platinum Card, I received notification that I earned points via Shop through Chase.  It worked!

Stacking Offers

Now that we know this works, it opens up some exciting ways to stack offers.  For example, the Amex Platinum Card now offers a $50 statement credit for Saks Fifth Avenue twice per year (Jan.-June and July-Dec.).  And, currently, you receive 8 points per dollar at Saks Fifth Avenue with Shop through Chase.  So, if you stack these offers and spend only $50, you essentially earn 400 Ultimate Rewards points for free.  Yeah, that’s not a lot, but hey, it’s still free points.

Similarly, I have an offer to earn 2x Membership Rewards Points for every dollar spent at NeimanMarcus.com on my Amex EveryDay Preferred.  And, they also happen to be a Shop through Chase merchant with an earn rate of 6x Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar.

Non-Chase Cards Work with Shop through Chase, Final Thoughts

I’m so glad this experiment worked.  The purchases I tested this with were on the larger side, so I would have been bummed if it didn’t work.  I could have easily earned valuable Alaska MileagePlan Miles instead, after all.  But, thankfully, it all worked out and now I know I have some great stacking opportunities I can take advantage of.  You can never have too many Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points, right?

The post Non-Chase Cards Work with Shop through Chase appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

Inclimate weather has been an increasingly common issue, which in turn causes many travel-related issues.  But there are ways to protect yourself when traveling, or at least mitigate the impacts of weather.  And best of all, most of you probably already have these coverages!

Trip Delay Insurance

Often, weather can cause extended delays.  And if you’re flights experience significant delays, you could find yourself needing a hotel, meals, and even toiletries or clothes.  But, if your flight is delayed due to weather, airlines aren’t likely to reimburse you for the delay.  As a result, it’s a good idea to have a backup, so you don’t end up spending extra money.  This is where Trip Delay Insurance comes in.

The good news is that many popular travel cards provide Trip Delay Insurance as a benefit.  Chase, for example, offers this coverage on many of its travel cards, as does Citi and Barclays.  And, in the case of the Chase Sapphire Reserve, coverage kicks in after six hours and the common carrier ticket was purchased with the card or with rewards earned by the card.  Coverage includes meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and more for the cardholder, spouse, and children under 22.  It is secondary to any other coverages or reimbursements, though it doesn’t cover prepaid expenses or hazards already known before departure.

Bear in mind that these coverages are useful for delays when you’re on your way to your destination.  But, they are also helpful in case you become stranded at your destination.  After all, should you get stuck and need to extend your stay at your hotel, you will need to pay for the additional nights.  And even if your delay is due to the airline and they reimburse you, the additional coverage to buy necessities may be helpful.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance

The other important coverage to have is Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance.  And like the Trip Delay Insurance, it’s another coverage that is often supplied by major travel credit cards.  But, unlike the Trip Delay Insurance, this coverage reimburses you if you need to cancel your trip before departure or cut a trip short.  Coverage reasons for Chase include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Accidental injury, loss of life or illness of you, a travel companion, or immediate family
• Severe weather that prevents the start or continuation of the trip
• Terrorists or hijacking
• Jury duty or court subpoena that cannot be postponed or waived
• Financial insolvency of the travel agent, tour operator, travel operator

Of course, like the Trip Delay Insurance, purchases must be made with an eligible card or reward points.

Other Coverages

Other common coverages your card may come with include baggage delay, lost luggage, travel accident, emergency evacuation and transportation, travel and emergency assistance, car rental collision, and emergency medical and dental coverages.  They’re all protections you hope to never have to use but are good to have just in case. But remember, all of these coverages require that you make your travel purchases with that card.

Cards That Don’t Provide These Coverages

Notably, American Express cards DO NOT provide Trip Delay or Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurances.  This includes the American Express Platinum card, which is shocking given the annual fee.  Likewise, other popular card providers like Capital One do not provide these coverages either.

As a result, when booking your flight, you’ll have to make important considerations.  What’s more important?  Earning 5x Membership Rewards points via Amex and not having the coverage?  Or are you ok with earning 3x points and having the coverage with the Chase Sapphire Reserve?  It’s an even more important consideration now that Korean SkyPass isn’t a Chase Ultimate Rewards partner anymore.

Protect Yourself When Traveling, Final Thoughts

Personally, I don’t travel a whole lot.  And when I do travel, it often takes a lot of planning and saving, regardless if it’s saving points or cash.  So it gives me peace of mind knowing I have these protections in place.  After all, it can be difficult to have to shell out extra money in case things go awry.  And it’s especially comforting to know I won’t lose everything because of things not under my control.  So, for me, it’s worth taking the points penalty to ensure I have coverage.

The protections of the Chase Sapphire Reserve are yet another reason why I love the card so much.  It’s a very flexible card with so many benefits, which makes it the perfect travel card.  I only wish the Amex Platinum came with at least some of the same protections.  But, on the other hand, the Amex Platinum does have better service.  Of course, purchasing extra coverage is always an option too.  Companies like Allianz offers many, many options to choose from.  But, again, why pay if you already have coverage?

The post Protect Yourself When Traveling appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

What’s the difference between credit cards and charge cards?  A lot, actually, even though many use the terms interchangeably.  But not to worry, the differences, while large, are few and are easy to understand.

Charge cards have been around longer than credit cards.  However, credit cards have since become the preferred option for most consumers.  This is thanks to the flexibility offered by credit cards, which allows cardholders to pay over time.  And that’s the most significant difference between the two.  But let’s take a deep dive.

To make this comparison even more straightforward, I’m going to compare two American Express products.  Why American Express?  Because they’re really the last issuer of charge cards, at least here in the U.S.

Credit Cards

In my collection, I have two American Express credit cards, though I only use one.  That card is the American Express EveryDay Preferred, which has outstanding Membership Rewards earning abilities.  But like credit cards from any other issuer, the way in which you use the card is very much the same.

Purchases

During your billing period, usually a month, cardholders may charge purchases to their credit card up to their credit limit.  Some cards will allow you to exceed your credit limit without penalty, though you’ll need to pay off your minimum payment and the difference between your charges and credit limit by your due date.

Due Date and Minimum Payment

Once your billing period closes, your card issuer will provide a statement.  There you’ll find your due date, which is typically 28 days after your closing date.  And, in addition to presenting you with your total balance, you’ll be presented your minimum payment due.  This figure is typically a percentage of your overall balance, which varies by issuer and product.  There is often a minimum dollar amount too, though, if your balance is too low for a specific percentage.

Making Payments

With credit cards, you’ll need to make at least your minimum payment by the due date.  I’d recommend paying off your balance in full every month, but if you aren’t able to, you don’t have to.  You can choose to “revolve” your balance, which is to carry it over into your next billing period.  If you do so, though, you’ll accrue interest.  Failing to pay on-time will result in a late payment fee, which is usually a percentage of the outstanding balance or a fixed fee, whichever is lower.  For the EveryDay Preferred, the late fee is up to $38 in the case of this card.  But, beyond the late penalty, card issuers may also charge you a penalty interest rate, usually something around 30% APR or more.

Interest

The biggest difference between charge cards and credit cards is the ability to revolve your balance.  But, revolving your balance, also means accruing interest.  And with interest rates hovering around 16% to 18% for well-qualified cardholders on the most desirable cards, that can add up to a lot of additional expenses.

For example, if your annual percentage rate (APR) is 16%, your daily APR will be 0.044%.  This means for a balance of $100, you’ll accrue interest of $0.044 per day.  Sort of.  You see, the interest can compound monthly or daily.  And if your interest compounds daily, then instead of accruing $12.30 in interest on a balance of $1,000, you’ll accrue interest amounting to $12.40.  That’s not a huge difference, but it adds up, especially on higher balances.

Annual Fees

A vast majority of credit cards have no annual fees.  But if you want premium perks and rewards, then you’ll usually end up paying an annual fee.  These can range from $50 up to $450 or even more.  Personally, I have cards with annual fees ranging from $75 to $450, though all provide more value than the amount of their annual fees.

Charge Cards

American Express offers three consumer charge card products, the Green, Gold Premier Rewards, and Platinum cards.  And while these are all very different cards in terms of benefits and rewards, they all operate the same way.

Purchases

Much like with credit cards, charge card cardholders may make purchases on their card throughout their billing period.  However, unlike credit cards, charge cards often don’t have a preset spending limit.  Instead, Amex has a tool to check your spending power.  Your spending power, by the way, is calculated based on your income and other financial assets.  So be sure to update Amex anytime either of these variables changes.

Due Date

Also similar to credit cards, charge cards have a billing cycle, which is typically around a month as well.  Even your payment due date is similar to credit cards, usually being around 28 after your billing period closes.  However, unlike credit cards, there is no minimum payment due.  Instead, your ENTIRE balance is due by the due date.  Cardholders cannot carry balances into the next billing period, though Amex sometimes makes exceptions.

You’ll also notice that the Amex Platinum’s statement summary is a lot shorter than the EveryDay Preferred.  This is thanks to the card not charging interest, which, again, is a result of it allowing cardholders to carry a balance.

Interest Rates

Because charge cards do not let you carry balances, they do not charge interest.  If you fail to make your payment on-time, though, you’ll still be charged a late payment fee.  And, again, like credit cards, this late payment fee is a percentage of your outstanding balance or $38, whichever is lower.

Annual Fees

This is another big differentiator between charge cards and credit cards.  That’s because, at least in the case of American Express, all charge cards carry an annual fee.  The Green is $95, the Gold is $250, and the Platinum is $550.  However, both the Gold and Platinum provide other benefits, such as reimbursements, that significantly reduce the effective annual fee.  For example, the Gold provides cardholders $100 in statement credits for airline fees and $120 for restaurant purchases, reducing the effective annual fee to $130.

The Difference Between Credit Cards and Charge Cards, Final Thoughts

Realistically, no one is going to get a charge card unless you want an Amex Gold or Platinum (or even the Centurion, but you can’t apply for that card).  They just aren’t that common anymore, especially because credit cards offer the same convenience and more thanks to the payment flexibility they offer.  Plus, there are exceptional nowadays, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which has one of the best reward programs around, as well as excellent cardholder benefits.  However, if you’re looking for something that offers unique benefits, such as an unrivaled concierge service, then a charge card like the Amex Platinum is for you.  Hell, even the Amex Gold is worth having in your wallet for restaurant and grocery store spend.

The post The Difference Between Credit Cards and Charge Cards appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

2018, for me, has been an exceptional travel year.  What made it exceptional?  I traveled more than initially planned, I traveled more this year than I ever have in a single year, and I exceeded my elite qualification goals.  So, before the holidays get too hectic, let’s do a my travel year in review – 2018 edition post.

Out-of-State Travel

If you’ve been following me throughout 2018, you’ll know that I went on three out-of-state trips this year.  The first was my planned work trip to Las Vegas.  What wasn’t planned about that trip, though, was that it ended up being a friends trip too.  And, overall, I had a great time in Vegas both with Mrs. Island Miler and friends and on my own.  It’s too bad, though, that the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas ended up being such a big letdown for me, though.

My second out-of-state trip ended up being a super last-minute work trip to Utah.  I’m in the process of reviewing the trip right now, but suffice to say, I enjoyed Northern Utah more than I thought I would.  But, it isn’t someplace I’d want to spend a whole lot of time here.  There isn’t a tone of stuff to do and see, after all. But Southern Utah?  I love that part of the state with all of its National Parks, such as Zion.

And, of course, my final out-of-state trip for the year was my NorCal adventure.  To say that was a vacation was the vacation of a lifetime is an understatement. While I’ll get into it more in the future, the Mrs. and I consumed seven Michelin Stars (eight according to the 2019 guide).

Staycations

In 2018, I ended up doing two staycations.  The first one was at The Laylow Waikiki for our anniversary.  I wanted to keep things relatively simple, after all, since I knew I’d be spending quite a bit on our NorCal vacation.  But, that staycation didn’t quite turn out the way I had hoped it would.  Service was a bit off, and I can’t even attribute that to the fact that we stayed during Marriott’s integration weekend.

Our second staycation happened earlier this month at the Waikiki Beach Marriott.  This quick little getaway wasn’t a normal one, though.  Mrs. Island Miler decided to do the Honolulu Marathon, so I booked us a room.  Staying in Waikiki for the marathon, after all, is a lot easier than dealing with all the road closures. And it was nice to check out the first Marriott we ever stayed at once again.  But more on that in a future post.

Tech Reviews

This year also saw some new tech additions for me.  The biggest purchase of all was my new MacBook Pro, which replaced a nearly decade-old model.  And it’s been a great machine.  It’s the perfect laptop for the traveling photographer/videographer in my opinion.

Then, of course, I scored a fantastic deal on a refurbished DJI Mavic Pro.  And I had a lot of fun learning to fly and take aerial photos with it.  But, things didn’t go so well with it, and the drone ended up going down in Bonneville, Utah.  Thankfully, though, I insured the thing for its full value and ended up replacing it with the newer DJI Mavic 2 Pro.  I’ll have a review for this new drone soon, but for now, let’s just say it’s a significant upgrade over my old one.

Status

My primary goal for 2018 was to maintain my Marriott Platinum Elite (new program) status as I inch my way towards Lifetime Platinum Elite.  However, thanks to my last-minute work trip and higher than average reimbursable expenses, I overshot that target.  Instead, I qualified as a Platinum Premier Elite for 2019!  First time I’ve been this status since 2013 or 2014… I forget.

Aside from my Marriott status, I maintained and obtained status in other programs too.  In World of Hyatt, I’m keeping my Explorist status, while I’m keeping MLife Gold status with MGM.  And, thanks to picking up the American Express Platinum Card, I’m not a Hilton Honors Gold too.  Finally, thanks to my Marriott Platinum Premier Status, I’m now a United MileagePlus Premier Silver despite having never set foot on a United or Continental aircraft in my entire life.

Credit Cards

As mentioned above, I did pick up the Amex Platinum Card this year.  The primary reason for doing this was to obtain a reservation at The French Laundry.  Whether I keep this card long-term is still up in the air, so we’ll see.

But the Amex Platinum wasn’t the only new card I picked up this year.  No, I got two other American Express cards as well.  The first of these, as you can see, is the Rose Gold Card, while the other is the Hilton Honors Card.  Both of these are cards are ones I know I’ll keep long-term, while the Amex Gold has quickly become one of my most frequently used cards.

My Travel Year in Review – 2018 Edition, Final Thoughts

2018 has been an eventful year as far as my boring life is concerned.  ?  It’s been full of great new experiences, adventures, and a new hobby.  2019, though, looks like it’ll be a slower travel year for me.  And, there won’t be too much in the way of new experiences.  But, I’m looking forward to the travel I do have planned and sharing them with all of you.

Oh, and as always, if there’s something you want me to write about, please let me know!  I’m always open to suggestions.

The post My Travel Year in Review – 2018 Edition appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

I went through most of 2018 without making significant changes to my credit card strategy.  But towards the end of the year, I picked up a couple of new cards.  So, here’s my 2019 credit card strategy.  

What’s in My Wallet

This first new card I got last year was the American Express Platinum Card. The sole purpose for this application was to use the Platinum Concierge to obtain a reservation at The French Laundry.  And that’s the only new card I thought I’d get in 2018.

But then the revised American Express Gold Card came out.  At first, I was on the fence about getting the card, but eventually, I went for it.  And then, thanks to a pre-approval and an increased signup bonus offer, I picked up the free Hilton Honors Amex Card.  Finally, because I got the Gold Card, I downgraded my EveryDay Preferred to the no annual fee version.  

So, today, the cards that live in my card are the Amex Gold, the Amex Platinum, the Hilton Honors Amex, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Freedom, the Chase Freedom Unlimited, the Marriott Premier Visa, and the Alaska MileagePlan Visa.

How I’m Using My Cards

Despite the new cards, my use strategy hasn’t changed all that much.  For example, the Platinum Card gets used only when I use the Platinum Concierge.  My Gold Card, however, probably sees the most use nowadays, as I use it for all dining and grocery spend.  However, my Chase Freedom still sees use for its quarterly bonus categories.  

The Chase Sapphire Reserve doesn’t see a whole lot of use anymore, but I do use it for most of my travel and parking spend.  My Marriott card also gets used for all Marriott and reimbursable business expenses.  I am, after all, trying to reach at least one more year of Platinum status with Marriott.  And, I get most of my Elite Qualifying Nights from the Marriott Visa.  

As for my Freedom Unlimited, I haven’t been using that card much either.  I need to build a little more Hilton points, so non-bonused spend has been going onto the Hilton Amex instead.  Gas will go onto that card too once gas stations and Chase Pay are no longer a Freedom bonus category.  

Other Possible Changes

If the number of reimbursable expenses I can make declines, I may end up putting all non-bonused spend onto my Marriott card.  Heck, I might have to put even more on there.  That’s because, as I’ve said before, I need to obtain Marriott Platinum status at least once more in 2020.  

As far as my Amex Platinum Card goes, I’ll most likely keep it for one more year and cancel it in 2020.  I don’t have a whole lot of use for it, and while I love the service, I can’t justify the annual fee, even with the statement credits.  

2019 might also see the cancellation of a few more cards.  The one at the top of my cancellation consideration list is the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard.  After all, the Amex Gold Card has a stronger HawaiianMiles earning potential anyway.  I may also product change my Citi AAdvantage cards because, screw American.  Besides, I can keep what AAdvantage miles I have left active by shopping through their portal.  I might also get rid of my Amex SPG card, but we’ll see.  

My 2019 Credit Card Strategy, Final Thoughts

As I say every year, I’m nothing like most other bloggers.  I don’t churn, nor do I necessarily focus on pure points maximization.  I do what works for me, and right now, this is the plan that works best for me.  And, part of that strategy going forward means minimizing annual fees too, which is going to be the hardest part of my strategy going forward.  

And, in case you’re wondering, no I’m not going to apply for the new Citi Prestige or any of the Capital One cards.  I honestly don’t want to deal with any more card currencies at the moment.  But, if this changes, I’ll be sure to let you guys know.  

The post My 2019 Credit Card Strategy appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

Last year, I did a few Hawaii credit card award travel guides thanks to all the changes in cards.  But a lot has changed since then, so it’s time for another update!  Check out my Hawaii credit cards award travel guide 2019 edition.

When the new Amex Gold Card came out last year, I thought that’s the final big release we’d see of the year.  But, I was wrong. You see, the Citi Prestige made its return, and Capital One began allowing Venture Miles transfers to airlines.  Plus, Southwest Airlines recently began its hotly anticipated Hawaii service.  So, I dug up my charts and updated them.  

Now, I’m trying to keep things simple, so I’m not including the Citi Rewards+ card.  The reason for that is it’s too damn hard to figure out the earning power of that card because of the way it earns points.  And, as far as Capital One goes, I’m only covering the Venture card.  

Assumptions

As you’ll recall from my very first Hawaii credit card travel awards post, I’m making some really broad, generalized assumptions in making my calculations.  I’ve updated those assumptions slightly, as follows:

• Groceries: $6,000/year
• Gas: $3,840/year (2 cars)
• Dining: $6,000/year
• Travel: $6,000/year
• Entertainment: $1,200/year
• Other: $10,800/year

Other assumptions I’m making in my calculations are how you are earning points.  By this I mean, for the Amex EveryDay Preferred, I’m assuming that the 50% bonus is being maximized.  The same holds true for the Chase Freedom bonus categories.  

Earning Potential

Without further adieu, here are my earnings calculations based on the above assumptions. 

Unsurprisingly, Amex remains the reigning king regarding points earning potential.  My Amex Trio (I don’t actually have this) of the Amex Gold, Platinum, and EveryDay Preferred comes it first at 110,520 points.  The Amex Gold + Platinum duo follows the trio at 99,840 points, with the EveryDay Preferred + Gold comes in at 98,520 points.  

Interestingly, though, the Citi Prestige + Premier Duo comes in fourth at 96,720 points.  That blows the Chase Sapphire Reserve + Freedom Duo right out of the water, though at a much higher cost.  After all, the Citi Prestige carries a $495 annual fee, while the Premier has a $95 annual fee, versus the $450 annual fee of the Sapphire Reserve.  

Transfer Ratios

Earning points are great, but they don’t mean anything if you can’t do anything with them.  So, like last time, I compiled a table showing transfer ratios for most airlines with Hawaii award travel options.  

Combine those transfer ratios with the potential points earning rates above, and we get the following annual mileage earning potential. 

It comes as no surprise that American Express cards give you the highest miles earning potential, followed by Citi.  But, as you’ll recall, Amex is the only card issuer that allows you to transfer points to HawaiianMiles.  And even better yet, Amex cards will earn you more miles than the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard by nearly double.  

What Those Miles Get You

So what’s the best way to burn those miles to get to Hawaii?  Depends where you are traveling to or from.  Below is my Hawaii award travel comparison chart. 

As you can see, the best value for travel between Hawaii and North America is still now from Southwest, though award prices are based on ticket prices, making them highly volatile.  But if you can snag the lowest award cost option, you could, theoretically, earn 13 one-way segments per year from credit card spend alone!  And the best way to earn those Rapid Rewards points, by the way, is via the Chase Sapphire Reserve + Freedom Duo combo.  That also happens to be one of the lowest cost methods from an annual fee perspective too.  

But, if you’re looking for a more traditional award chart, British Airways Executive Club with travel on American Airlines is still the program to beat.  And the best way to earn those miles is by earning American Express Membership Rewards points and transferring them to British Airways.

Following British Airways regarding award travel value is Singapore KrisFlyer.  And, unlike British Airways, KrisFlyer is a transfer partner with all four card issuers.  However, Amex is, again, the top way to earn KrisFlyer miles, followed by Citi, Chase, and Capital One.  

Hawaii Credit Card Award Travel Guide 2019, Final Thoughts

As is always the case, the moral of my post is that the airline cards are not the best way to earn award travel.  This especially true of the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard.  And it’s not like the card’s benefits make it worth keeping either.  I mean, come on, first checked bag free for the primary cardholder only?  $100 companion discount code per year?  Yeah, that may cover the annual fee of the card, but there are better airline cards out there.  

Case-in-point, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature.  The card’s $75 annual fee gets you an annual $99 + tax companion pass and free checked bags for up to six people traveling with you.  That’s an incredible deal, considering it got me an $800 roundtrip ticket between HNL and JFK for Mrs. Island Miler for $121.  

The post Hawaii Credit Card Award Travel Guide 2019 appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.

I talk about transferring credit card points a lot.  But you should also consider booking through credit card portals too.  Here’s why.

Now, I only have Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards cards. So, I won’t be covering other portals like Citi ThankYou, etc.

Comparison 

The best values are often gotten by transferring your credit card points to airline loyalty programs and redeeming directly.  But, sometimes, you can find decent deals via credit card portals.  For example, to get an award flight between Honolulu and Vegas on Hawaiian, you’ll pay 45,000 HawaiianMiles (35,000 if you have their co-brand credit card).  

Of course, to fly non-stop on Hawaiian, you could also redeem 40 to 60,000 miles with JetBlue or Virgin Atlantic.  But, another option is to redeem directly through Chase Ultimate Rewards.  Doing so, you’ll get a roundtrip flight for as little as 38,480 points.  On Hawaiian.  

That’s not always going to be the case, though.  If we look at other routes, booking direct or through other partners is going to cost less. 

It’s no better with American Express, either.  

Benefits of Booking Through Credit Card Portals

If you do book your ticket via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal, Amex’s Membership Rewards portal, etc., to the airline, it’s as if you paid cash.  Even if you redeem your credit card points for the flight, you’ll still earn miles with the airlines’ program and elite qualifying miles.  So even if you decide to redeem via the credit card portal at a higher points cost, you still get some benefit from it.

Consider Booking Through Credit Card Portals, Final Thoughts

Booking award flights directly through credit card portals isn’t my first choice option.  But, it is a viable option under the right conditions.  In Hawaiian’s case, if you’re not a Hawaiian Airlines World Elite Mastercard cardholder, booking via Chase offers one of the best values around.  Especially when you have to fly a specific airline, like flying Honolulu to Las Vegas directly.  

The post Consider Booking Through Credit Card Portals appeared first on Jeffsetter Travel.