Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: What are “points farms”, WSJ and NYT think the newest cards are too confusing, and good news for F1 fans.
Luxury Hotel Points Farms: A Category Of Hotels Worth Being Honest About
Ben at One Mile at a Time is introducing a term that may, unfortunately, come in handy for describing certain luxury points hotels, which are only worth booking on points (and may have very few people actually paying with cash). “Points farms” refer to the “luxury” hotels that lean on loyalty participation to fill their hotels rather than winning guests by the merit of the product they provide. With Four Seasons on one side of the spectrum, attracting its guests with an impeccable luxury experience and no loyalty program to speak of, these “points farms” are on the other end of that spectrum, offering at times the bare minimum, knowing a significant amount of guests will show up purely for the convenience of staying with the brand they’re loyal to. As I understand it, these “points farms” are essentially the hotels that may be benefiting more from the loyalty program participation than the guests are. Can you think of any obvious examples of “points farms”? Ben offers some specific examples in his post.
Life Is Too Short for Frequent-Flyer Miles
The complexity of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card has the WSJ throwing up its hands and saying “uncle.” The author’s frustration is not unlike the sentiment we’ve shared as well. In multiple podcast episodes, Greg and Nick have discussed what a shame it is that the card is no longer an easy-to-recommend option. Eliot Penn of WSJ demonstrates this pain point, saying:
My credit-card company recently notified me that my annual fee would be raised to $795, but I shouldn’t fret because I’d get thousands of dollars back in benefits. A quick study revealed that managing the benefits would be a part-time job. I shut my account and moved to a card with a reward system that doesn’t require a spreadsheet to track.
Many of those in this community are still willing to use spreadsheets to keep squeezing value out of even complicated opportunities, but I’m betting some of you relate to Penn’s sentiments.
What to Know About Bilt’s New Rewards Program for Mortgage and Rent Payments
Staying closely on theme, the New York Times feels the same way about Bilt 2.0, apparently, stating very bluntly that it’s “the most complicated rewards system we’ve seen.” It’s hard not to relate, given the fact that there are still big questions around major pieces of this rewards system. Bilt Cash, for example. The NYT article casually references the seven pages of fine print that come with this new Bilt Cash concept. As Greg put it in our recent FMOTA episode, the Bilt Cash concept almost seems more like a status threshold than it does like a “cash” currency. The whole concept seems, at best, half-baked.
Hyatt will be the hospitality partner of the new Audi Revolut Formula 1 team. And why do we care about that? That means some F1 experiences will be bookable using World of Hyatt points. As someone who knows almost nothing about sports of any kind (except for the few things I’ve learned being married to an NBA fan), I had to do some digging to see what sorts of experiences we’re talking about.
From behind-the-scenes paddock tours and driver meet-and-greets to private hospitality lounges and luxury weekend itineraries, members will have the opportunity to experience the world of Formula 1 like never before. In addition, members will be able to earn and redeem points for bespoke travel experiences surrounding key Grand Prix events, blending high performance with high style.
Personally, I’m too ignorant in this area for that information to help me at all, but hopefully some of you can help paint a picture for me in the comments. Are these activities enticing?
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Super excited to hear we might be able to book F1 Experiences with Chase points!
Yes, the F1 Hyatt participation is very exciting! Thank you!
So the WSJ author moved to another rewards based card instead of a cash back card? Kind of undercuts the whole article, actually.
If the point of the WSJ article is to choose where to sweat the small stuff – that certainly makes sense. Perhaps the C1VX is in that author’s future. That said, as much as I hate the Chase changes and agree that they ruined a keep it simple stupid card, one can certainly find $795 of value, including market leading travel insurance coverage.
Chase also offers something tangible – access to physical branded Chase lounges. Use those even a couple of times a year, and you’re getting value from the card beyond just points and insurance coverage.
Meanwhile, whatever folks think of the NYT, if Bilt is now chasing higher spending folks with mortgages, those are folks that tend to read the NYT. Not ideal to have the Gray Lady be that dismissive of you at launch.