In this episode, we talk about how Rove matches your Mesa, we talk about whether or not you should buy IHG Diamond status, and we announce this year’s picks for Bonvoyed of the Year.
The 2025 Bonvoyed Awards
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Giant Mailbag
(01:09) – Changing names on reservations/workarounds for using the Fine Hotels and Resorts the Hotel Collection benefit
Mattress Running the Numbers
(03:59) – IHG Lock in 2026 Diamond status by buying points (targeted)
Bonvoyed
(12:52) – Chase re-edits The Edit by Chase Travel℠: 1.65x boosts
Awards, Points, and More
(16:12) – Rove: Match Your Mesa (up to 5,000 free miles)
Main Event: The 2025 Bonvoyed Awards
(18:36) – What are the Bonvoyed Awards?
(20:03) – 2024 winner
(21:11) – 2025 Honorable mentions
(21:55) – 2025 Contestants
(40:05) – Nick’s Pick: Southwest
(44:36) – Greg’s Pick: Sapphire Reserve® Refresh
Question of the Week
(50:02) – Any last-minute ideas for using Hilton resort credits?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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CSR is clearly the Bonvoyed of the Year winner. Hands down. As you said, they took the ultimate KISS (keep it simple stupid) card that made people have a positive association with Chase (the market leading bank by far) and completely destroyed it. They can say they “added value” all they want in their marketing materials, but we all know that they changed the underlying fundamentals of the card itself. It’s not about the annual fee, it’s about the structure of the card itself.
If one can no longer recommend the card to others, can we really still recommend it to ourselves?
I’ll be calling up in January for retention offers or to downgrade to CSP. The only way that Chase will get the message is if folks abandon the CSR in droves. And they should – too many other good options out there. While I might miss some of the CSR lounges, somehow I think I’ll survive with the Amex Platinum and others.
What a shame. Heads should and will be rolling at Chase over this complete disaster.
It’s sort of hilarious that Chase is connected to both of the Bonvoy Award winners, in that they have the cobranded Southwest credit card as well