Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is doing well 😊 

It was actually my birthday recently, and while I didn’t really do anything specific to celebrate it, I did receive some gifts, which was lovely! The highlight among them was a 4k uhd blu-ray player!! It plays beautifully and the movies look so crisp and sharp on my TV. Wonderful 🤌

I mentioned that I came back from a vacation over the holiday to Vienna - it always is a bit of a mental hurdle to have to go back into work right after a vacation, and this was no different. I’m not the only one who feels that, right?? I kinda still wish I was in Vienna!

In any case, it’s been half a month into the new year, and we already have a pretty big shakeup in the card world. Let’s get right to that in the stories!

In today’s edition:

• 🇸🇬 Singapore Deals: January Edition 🇸🇬

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 🏠️ Bilt 2.0 🏠️

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

🇸🇬 Singapore Deals: January Edition 🇸🇬

Singapore released this month’s Krisflyer Spontaneous Escapes! As per usual, Singapore releases discounted award flights in the form of Spontaneous Escapes on the 15th of every month. All deals released are 30% off 💰️ 

The details to keep note of are that:

• You must complete your booking by January 31st 📆

• Travel booked through this can take place between February 1st and February 28th, 2026 📆

• Awards are non-refundable and non-changeable (so be careful)

This month’s discounted routes from the US are:

• Business from JFK to FRA (and vice versa) for 19.25k in economy each way, or 39.9k in premium economy

• Economy from LAX, SFO and SEA to SIN (and vice versa) for 30.8k points each way

  • Or 55,300 points each way in Premium Economy

• Economy between Tokyo (NRT) and Los Angeles (LAX) for 29.75k in economy each way

  • Or 56,350 points each way in Premium Economy

• Premium economy from JFK or EWR to SIN for 59.15k miles each way

The JFK-FRA and LAX-NRT fifth freedom routes are eligible this time around again! It’s a fun way to try Singapore Airlines without having to go to Singapore if it’s not a part of your travel plans! Remember that Amex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi points all transfer to Singapore at a 1:1 ratio! ✈️ 

If you are interested in going to Singapore or flying Singapore Airlines to Germany or Japan in February, do take advantage of these discounts, available till January 31st! And if not interested now but interested in the future, then keep an eye for these discounts on the 15th of every month!

Happy travels 😊 

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

A chart of transfer partners by bank, along with other information, can be found here!

¹ New bonuses not present the week before are presented in bold.

🏠️ Bilt 2.0 🏠️

15 days into the year and we’ve got 3 brand new notable cards in the market to discuss!!

If people aren’t familiar with Bilt: They allow you to earn points on rent and mortgage spend! Their points are transferable to airline and hotel partners too, including Hyatt and Alaska!

They previously had the Bilt card through Wells Fargo, but rumors were that this relationship was not going very well… so they cut that. And now, this!

I don’t anticipate this section to be short, as I’ll go through all the card details, but all 3 of these cards will now have:

• 4% back as Bilt Cash on all purchases (excluding rent and mortgage)

  • This is in addition to the Bilt points being earned

  • Bilt Cash can be used to cover the 3% fee on rent/mortgage payments.

    • Bilt Cash can also be used dollar-for-dollar to pay for things like Lyft, hotels, dining, fitness, home delivery, etc.

  • $100 of Bilt Cash carries over to the next year - any other amount will be lost at the end of the year

  • 1x on rent or mortgage through Bilt, when either paying the 3% fee or using Bilt Cash to offset the fee (no points on rent or mortgage for fee-free payments)

• No foreign transaction fees

• Cell Phone protection, purchase protection, secondary car rental insurance

• A limited time offer of 5x points per dollar for the first 5 days from signup (up to $10k spend)

Now, for the Bilt Blue Card:

• $0 annual fee

• $100 Bilt Cash signup bonus (no spend required, you’ll get $100 Bilt Cash once approved)

• 1x points everywhere

• 3x points at partner restaurants (when choosing dining as a category)

• 3x at partner fitness studios

• 3x on Lyft rides (need to link accounts first)

• 2x at Walgreens

• All spend also earns 4% Bilt Cash, as mentioned earlier!

As for the Bilt Obsidian Card:

• $95 annual fee

• $200 Bilt Cash signup bonus (no spend required, you’ll get $100 Bilt Cash once approved)

• 1x points everywhere

• 5x points at partner restaurants (when choosing dining as a category)

• 3x on choice of dining or grocery (grocery limited to $25k per year)

• 3x at partner fitness studios

• 3x on Lyft rides (need to link accounts first)

• 2x at Walgreens

• 2x on Travel

• A $100 Bilt Travel Hotel Credit ($50 from Jan-Jun, $50 Jul-Dec)

  • This requires a minimum 2 night stay

• Mastercard World Elite everyday benefits (trip cancellation and delay, extended warranty, etc.)

• All spend also earns 4% Bilt Cash here too, as mentioned earlier!

As for the Bilt Palladium Card:

• $495 annual fee

• $300 Bilt Cash (on approval) and 50k Bilt Points & Bilt Gold Status signup bonus (after $4k spend in 3 months)

• 2x points everywhere

• 4x points at partner restaurants (when choosing dining as a category)

• 4x at partner fitness studios

• 4x on Lyft rides (need to link accounts first)

• 3x at Walgreens

• A $400 Bilt Travel Hotel Credit ($200 from Jan-Jun, $200 Jul-Dec)

  • This requires a minimum 2 night stay

• $200 Bilt Cash every year

• Mastercard World Legend benefits (trip cancellation and delay, extended warranty, etc.)

• All spend also earns 4% Bilt Cash here too, as mentioned earlier!

Well, that was a lot!

Some quick thoughts from me:

• Before this, you could just make rent payments without fees and just get 1x points per dollar for it - now you need to somehow cover the 3% fee for this, which is a bit sad 😥 

• Bilt Cash being used dollar-for-dollar seems too good to be true - they surely will limit or reduce this somehow later. Having $200 in Bilt Cash just being equivalent to $200 in Lyft spend is crazy (which is why I think they will limit this somehow later)

• The Palladium seems like a good card to churn and cancel/downgrade in year 2!

• For renters and those with eligible mortgages, these cards should generally be a good idea! I’d recommend it and spending just enough on the card every month to get enough Bilt cash to cover the 3% fee on the monthly payment.

  • For non-renters and those without eligible mortgages, these cards are either a churn opportunity or a pass.

There’s a lot going on here, but overall very fascinating changes from Bilt! Let me know if you have thoughts that are different from mine above! But this for the points & miles world is certainly not a bad start to the year, I’d say 👍️

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 🤝 Allegiant and Sun Country are merging…

  • I know they aren’t transfer partners anywhere, but this should still have some ramifications for travel domestically in the US.

• 🏨 Hyatt’s corporate challenge is back for this year!

💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

Again, the usual solid cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred^® / Reserve®

• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®/Flex^®

• Amex Gold & Plat

• Capital One Venture X

Do search for public links for the above cards to compare signup bonuses to make sure you get the highest one (incognito mode, Resy, etc.).

For cards with elevated signup bonuses (targeted bonuses are not included), I’ve got:

📤️ Spread the Word! 📤️

Thanks for subscribing! This newsletter is committed to helping you maximize your points and rewards, at no direct cost to you! (appreciate you using any of my referral links, though!)

If you do find this newsletter informative, helpful, or entertaining, I’d greatly appreciate you spreading the word about it! If not, please do give me feedback on how I can improve your Sense per Point experience.

Also, if my newsletter helps you to book travel using points, let me know! It’ll make me so happy 😄 

Hope that all makes sense! That’s all for this week’s edition of Sense per Point.

Wishing everyone a wonderful rest of your day and week 😊 

- Sean Kim

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