In this podcast episode, we’ll talk about how Bilt is going cardless (but with more cards). We’ll see how Etihad is making unfavorable decisions, vying for our Bonvoyed of the year “award”, and we’ll talk about which credit card is the best for all kinds of travel expenses (since the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card might night make sense for non-flight, non-hotel travel expenses anymore.)
Our next all travel card
Watch here:
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Giant Mailbag
(01:16) – “In a recent episode, Greg and Nick talked about checking flights you already have booked to see if the [award] price has gone down…”
Find our free checked bags via credit card resource here.
Card News
(07:01) – Citi Strata Elite to be launched in the third quarter of 2025
Read more about the Citi Strata Elite card here.
(08:14) – Bilt switching from Wells Fargo to Cardless next year; adding two premium cards
Read more about Bilt’s new direction here.
Bonvoyed
(11:06) – Alliant cashback card changes to flat 1.6% everywhere on 9/1
Read more about the Alliant changes here.
(12:15) – Etihad makes award changes & cancellations even more confusing and punitive
Read more about Etihad adding award fare buckets and increasing change fees here.
Awards, Points, and More
(17:06) – Greg easily booked a Preferred Hotel with points transferred from Citi
Main Event: Our next “all travel” card
(21:11) – Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card 3x grandfathered until Oct 26. Airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages…
(23:26) – So what should our broad travel card be now? Here’s what we’re looking for…
(24:13) – What about Chase’s other cards?
(27:45) – Travel cards that didn’t make the cut due to narrow definition of travel
(29:35) – Travel cards that almost made the cut
(31:49) – Broad “Travel” definition cards
(42:36) – What’s our pick?
Question of the Week
(48:32) – What’s the best strategy to go about closing cards with the intention of opening new ones? This listener offers the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card as an example.
Read our complete guide to credit card application rules here.
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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