Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is doing well 😊 

The northeast got a decent amount of snow last week, and we’re due for a big snowstorm this weekend… Lots of flights are probably expected to be delayed or cancelled, along with many other things.

Weather-related flight complications are largely out of people’s control, of course - unexpected things like this is why I value flexibility quite a bit when booking flights! In extraordinary circumstances airlines often open up free changes for people caught in these circumstances, but even for other things and sudden events, its nice to be able to cancel and change flights for free or for a small fee.

Just one story for today, as it’s been a bit of a lull week other than Bilt clarifying details around their Bilt 2.0 launch that don’t really make their changes significantly better (or less confusing)!

In today’s edition:

• 📉 Qantas Devalues Emirates 📉 

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

📉 Qantas Devalues Emirates 📉 

Some bad news on the devaluation side of things, although given how Emirates was devaluing its own program and miles, it’s not surprising to see its partners do the same.

Qantas has now increased its award pricing for Emirates flights - the current pricing looks like:

And starting March 31st, the pricing will be:

Most brackets went up around 10-30% here - unfortunately, there are more restrictions being added here:

• All passengers redeeming Qantas miles for Emirates First Class need to be at least 9 years old.

• From February 18th onwards, Emirates first class redemptions via Qantas are available only to those who have Silver status or higher…

When Emirates announced their own restrictions at first for redeeming first class, I was surprised at the fact that you could still redeem Qantas miles for Emirates First Class. Well, I guess I was right to be surprised, because they closed that up too now 😥 

I’m slightly worried this sets a bad precedent, as more airlines could close up first class redemptions to status holders only. But to my knowledge, as Air France and Emirates are the only two notable airlines to restrict first class points bookings to elite members, hopefully that list doesn’t increase 🤞 

And in any case, Emirates First Class should theoretically be bookable via Air Canada Aeroplan too, I believe? There are also other good First Class products out there (Singapore, Etihad, ANA, etc.)!

Hope this doesn’t affect anyone too significantly, and if it does, do book your Emirates First Class tickets before the changes go into effect on February 18th for status restrictions, and March 31st for increased rates!

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

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

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 🤝 American and Aer Lingus have fully launched their partnership!

• 🏨 Hyatt has an offer of 5k bonus points every time you stay at a Hyatt House or Hyatt Studios property for 5+ nights. Up to 10 times this year!

• ❌ Citi is removing AeroMexico as a transfer partner on 1/25.

💳️ 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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