Last week was an incredible one considering how much bad news points & miles enthusiasts had to bear. Here is a sampling of what happened and my take on each…
Airlines
Delta Confirms Revenue Requirements for Elite Status Next Year
It’s going to be harder for traditional mileage runners to keep elite status with Delta due to new spend requirements. Fortunately, for those of us who prefer to do their mileage running, from home, things don’t change much (spend $25K on a Delta credit card and you’re exempt from the changes). Read more here.
Hotels
Bad Changes to Starwood’s Cash & Points Redemption
Starwood’s Cash & Points program has long been a favorite because, when available, it often meant that you could get incredible value from your SPG points. Usually you would get 4 cents or more value from each point. With the new changes, the value you get from Cash & Points redemptions decreases substantially. There is a chance, though, that these changes will increase the availability of Cash & Points. This would be a good thing for people who otherwise don’t have enough points for a points-only redemption.
Book your stays before March 5 to get in on the old rates.
Priority Club realigns awards to 9 categories
The changes took place on Jan 18th and most are bad. In many cases the cost to book a Priority Club night on points has gone up. LoyaltyLobby provides a nearly complete list of new rates here.
The Epic Meltdown of Some Wyndham Rewards Redemptions
Wyndham hotels quietly increased many point redemption rates, and some of the increases were huge. I’ve been sitting on Wyndham points for a while now with the thought that I would probably find a good use for them at a hotel. Now, however, I’m thinking of transferring points to airline miles instead.
Credit Cards
Hilton Amex to drop drug stores & telecom bonus categories
Gary has the full scoop here: “There Are Changes Coming to the Hilton American Express Cards — But They Aren’t What We Thought.” The biggest change is that Amex is replacing the Drug Store & Telecom bonus categories with a new Restaurants bonus category. They are also dropping the bonus points on the no annual fee card from 6X to 5X while increasing points earned at Hilton properties from 6X to 7X. As before, both the no fee card and the Surpass card earn 3 points per dollar for all non bonus category spend.
For people that like Hilton properties and like to carry only one credit card, I can see how these changes might be a good thing, especially if you eat out a lot. For those of us, though, who carry multiple cards it is a shame to lose the Drug Store category since very few other cards offer drug store bonuses. Further, at restaurants, instead of 5X or 6X Hilton points, I’d rather earn 5X ThankYou points with my Freedom card, or 2.14X Ultimate Rewards points with my Sapphire Preferred card, or 5% cash back with Cash+.
Cash+ comes down to earth
Some of the absurdly good cash back earning opportunities from US Bank’s Cash+ card will be going away. Starting this summer we will lose the ability to get an extra $25 back for every $100 award redemption. Also, 5% cash back rewards will be capped to $2K per quarter. It’s still a very good cash back card, but no longer out of this world good.
Gift Cards & Reload Cards
There was no specific news to report here, but there have been troubling rumblings. For example, a number of people have reported that their local Walgreens and CVS stores that used to allow Vanilla Reload cards to be bought with credit cards no longer allow it. Similarly, some people have reported that while they used to be able to reload their Target Amex card with Visa gift cards, their recent attempts were unsuccessful. At this point, I have no reason to think that these reported changes are or will be nation-wide, but that’s always a possibility.
The Game Goes On
All of the above changes are disappointing, but the game will go on. Every day, new deals come and go. Some fear that all of the best opportunities are behind us, but I don’t think that’s true. For example, Club Carlson keeps making things better both for earning points and redeeming them (see “Club Carlson rocks our world… Again“). And, there are constantly new opportunities with prepaid cards and debit cards. I have no doubt that we will keep finding and innovating fantastic new ways to earn & spend points and miles.
As Mommy Points recently stated, “In the Miles and Points Game, You Gotta Keep Moving.” I can’t agree more.
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It’s sad to see that even our invisible points are at risk of being devalued. Obviously airlines are going to always be making cuts as they can.
Ha, went on a scouting trip. 44 ODs in my area, so take that Store #138
[…] Bad News Round-Up: Delta, Starwood, and More Submitted by Marcus • about 1 min ago Website: boardingarea.com […]
Wyoming Walgreens NO go on cc anymore on purchases of vrl cards. Bummer. On the screen it only gave me the option of CASH for the $500.
South Florida was a gold mine when I was there two weeks ago. I was 5/6 at CVS’s. Baton Rouge was the same. Killed off $3k with the same cashier. I really wish Seattle had a CVS. Going to try Milwaukee and Boston this week.
@DutchBag
Sure, no big deal. I think you are very correct about denying service without explanation but it often leads to more questions in mind of people.
And she definitely wasn’t Xenophobic, being from a foreign country originally herself. Has a Scandinivian accent. OD on US75 and Plano Pkwy.
909 N CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY #100
PLANO PKWY & N CENTRAL EXPWY
Store # 138
PLANO, TX 75075
Problem with folks from other countries who are in a position like this is, they are too scared and always have something to prove. So they are constantly trying to impress their peers, colleagues, friends and management at work or otherwise. They will sometimes go to unnecessary lengths to prove assimilation.
The only big deal about this store is, it is the closest to home. No worries though, I just drove another 5 miles and collected a few gifts from the next OD in the lineup. 😀
@CHRIS: Assuming racism is rather harsh, xenophobic would be much more apropos.
A business has the right to deny anyone service. However, Manager shouldn’t have mentioned anything related to a protected class and just denied service without explanation.
Kudos to DFW for not calling, respect the rule(s)!
Very uneven. A few local Walgreens including a brand new one with shiny new registers allow purchases but other in a nicer area of town are a no go. Whos buying GC w cash and whats the difference in buying a Shell GC or a VR ? Why is one cash only? I am confused by the rules sometimes.
Walgreens that I’ve bought 6-8 VR cards from in last 2 months now have the same computer note others have mentioned. I tried to swipe anyways, and it would allow me to pay the fee with my credit card, but not the $500.
I will try the two CVSes nearby that I’ve bought from recently and see if they’ve updated.
Also said if I had any problems to call corporate LOL
Part of me wanted to do just that. But making a big deal out of it will kill the deal faster, so I just walked away. First rule is do not call and they know it.
@Chris, both…
License mentioned “Visa Expiration Date” on it. Old style cards.. newer ones here don’t say that.
Was denied, for the first time ever, purchasing VR for $1k @CVS in ATL. Cash/ debit only now.
Of course, only 1/5 CVS currently carries VR in my neighborhood. Will try again, different shift/ manager.
DFW, how can the manager check if you are citizen or not? is he/she looking at you (if you are not Caucasian), he/she assumed you are not US citizen?
It sounds like racist to me…
All good deals always come to an end. So enjoy it while it still lasts and do some moderation so all of us can take part on it.
Just loaded $1000 to Target Amex today with bank gift cards, no questions asked by the cashier.