Here are few stories from the last week that caught my attention. Chief amongst them was the possibility of more Amex card changes on the horizon. Let’s have a look.
Amex Card Changes or “Product Refreshes”
“Yet another Amex card is about to undergo changes.” How many time have we heard this sentence in the last 3-4 years? As per Doctor of Credit, we might just see a lot more changes happen. As per Amex’s most recent earnings report, there’s a hint that Amex plans to refresh many of their products globally. This may eventually mean making changes to anywhere between 35 to 50 card products worldwide. Any guesses what this is like to be? I won’t bet against more annual fee increases for sure!
Marriott Devaluation
View from the Wing points out a sneaky unannounced change that Marriott has made once again.
Hotels don’t decide how many points to charge. Marriott does. They have set reimbursement rates at their properties, and those are more expensive when hotels approach sell-out. So Marriott will adjust the points price of a given night based on the likelihood that they expect to pay more.
But that’s not what’s going on here. It does seem that points pricing has gone up in a systematic way at many properties.
Just a week ago, J.W. Marriott Masai Mara – where guests barely escaped with their lives last spring – was priced from around 124,000 points per night. Not anymore…
Hyatt Bonus Journeys Offer
One Mile at a Time flags the new offer by Hyatt. This is pretty useful if you have stays coming up this quarter. You need to register for this offer. The final date for registration is March 10 and you need to stay between January 27 and March 28, 2025. You can earn 2x points for qualifying stays at over 1,600 participating hotels. You’ll earn 3x points for qualifying stays at Hyatt House and Hyatt Place properties.
With this offer, you can earn a maximum of 30,000 World of Hyatt points. A maximum of 20,000 bonus points in the 2x category and a maximum of 10,000 bonus points in the 3x category. You ned to book directly with Hyatt to qualify for the offer.
New Chase Card Benefit
This is a fantastic new benefit on the Marriott Bonvoy Bold card by Chase. You can now redeem Marriott Bonvoy points at a 0.8 cents per point rate. In effect, you can redeem 12,500 Marriott Bonvoy points for a $100 statement credit. However, the Pay yourself Back feature is only valid on purchases made directly with airlines or with hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card is also offering an amazing limited time welcome bonus offer. For a card that carries no annual fee whatsoever, you can earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and 1 free night certificate (capped at 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points).
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