A bunch of game-changing news came up last week, right after we recorded our Coffee Break episode (which we’d recorded a day earlier than usual). We’ll cover those changes in today’s Coffee Break episode.
CB: 5 game-changing points & miles updates
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(00:45) – Rumor: 200K Chase Sapphire Reserve® in-branch offer for some customers
(02:38) – Rakuten portal now lets you earn Bilt points
(03:33) – You can learn more about the friend referral bonus here.
(05:24) – New Hyatt card coming
(09:25) – Hilton to add elite tier above Diamond (Diamond Reserve) and Milestone Rewards
(15:41) – Visa and Mastercard reportedly nearing a settlement, allowing merchants to stop accepting rewards cards
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Nick concerning rakuten bonus: “If you have a 2nd household member who also wants to take advantage of this you should definitely refer them because you’ll get 5k points and they’ll get 5k points” FALSE!!! I referred my elderly father and who now lives with me and rakuten refused to pay the bonus because we have the same name. Imagine that, a father and son with the same name. I even provided a screenshot of our ID’s to prove we’re not the same person and they still refused. Shame on this scam company!!!
Drove over to my Chase branch. Regarding that 200K Saphire Reserve card offer you mention, they tell me one is ineligible if you already hold the other Saphire card. I have the Reserve. They say I can’t refer someone either, as they won’t be eligible for any bonus if they’ve got the other Saphire card. Can you confirm this fact? I was all set to have my husband push the button on applying for the Reserve, and then they mentioned this.Thanks.
I’m not as sanguine about the deal concerning “high interchange fee” cards. I would imagine that some payment processor or point-of-sale vendor is going to come out with a product that will add a variable surcharge to purchases based on the cost to the vendor of accepting the card. Then we’ll see messages like “A credit card surcharge of 1 to 5 percent may apply”.
Ah, yes, for our ‘convenience,’ right?
Which would render rewards cards all but useless for most purchases with such vendors.
What’s interesting is that the difference in interchange fees between the most basic and most premium cards isn’t that huge – under a 1% spread when you look at Visa’s published interchange fee guide. So if anyone gets the bright idea to charge more than 1% for a “premium” card it’s very clearly the vendor making a money grab. While I think cash only discounts are annoying I get that because then the business could be saving 2% – 5% on the transaction – differentiating between cards the savings are very small.
I’m not sure this is the final shoe to drop either because merchants resent paying fees to subsidize travel cards. For the same reason we all love points and miles, merchants feel like the travel industry is funding points and miles on their backs, and they want the playing field to shift.
The one thing that has always struck me as a bit unfair is the requirement that merchants take all cards if they take any cards, regardless of the fees. If I was a small business owner I wouldn’t be happy about that at all. However, I agree with others that most merchants will not want to deal with excluding only certain cards. (At least I certainly hope that is what happens.) I do have sympathy for small businesses I frequent and will pay with cash if they request it.
I suspect whatever happens points and miles will continue, perhaps in a slightly different form. And no matter what happens to points and mile there will continue to be travel deals for those who know how to find them and loopholes to be exploited for those willing to take the time and effort. When the playing field shifts is exactly the time to be ready to pounce on newly emerging opportunities.
Regarding devaluation of existing tier statuses, Billy Preston sang, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. Ya gotta have something if ya wanna be with me.”
I prefer ‘money for nothing’ (Dire Straits)… and chicks for free.