Welcome Back 👋 

Hope everyone is doing well!

I first just wanted to say that I’ve been having a blast writing these newsletters - I only wish I started this sooner, but I have all of you to thank for reading! I am continuing to find ways to improve the newsletter (and to get more readers!), but in the meantime, thank you so so much for being here 🙏 

So remember when I booked a trip to Korea for a wedding? Well, it turns out there is a second wedding in Korea next year that I am attending, and I’ve booked travel for that too! 👰

I really am not this active when it comes to redeeming my points for flights, but with travel coming up here and there, it is giving me great opportunities to share my redemptions and my thought processes on how I approach award travel 🛫 

Korea, here we come again!

In today’s edition:

• 🇰🇷 Korea-Bound, pt.2! 🇰🇷

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 🧼 The Amex (Re/De)fresh 🗑️

• 📰 Other Stories and Deals 💰️

🇰🇷 Korea-Bound, pt.2! 🇰🇷 

Two family weddings next year!! Here comes travel planning for the second trip back to Korea 🧳 

This trip is different in that the entire family is going (parents and me). I wanted to book them something nice, and because I am impatient and also concerned about award availability, I wanted to book something as soon as possible. This led to me booking for them:

JFK-DOH-ICN for 100,000 British Airways Avios + $209.50 in taxes & fees per person, in Qatar Airways Qsuites business class! 🇶🇦 

JFK-DOH-ICN is a LONG itinerary, I know… but I had found availability for Qsuites, so how could I not? British Airways Avios are also one of the most accessible miles, with Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo all being transfer partners with British Airways, making this easier to book. If that wasn’t enough, this business class product is “in a league of its own” and is called ‘the best in the world’, so I figured this had to be one of the most comfortable ways to get there 🛏️ 

Now, you may remember last week I talked a bit about CPP, or cents per point, to measure the value of points for a certain redemption. For this redemption, however, I actually didn’t really consider that.

Why not?

Well, see, CPP really only kicks in for me if I would have booked the same trip with cash. This itinerary costs roughly $6-7k in cash, and I certainly would not have paid that! A high CPP (in this case, would’ve been around 6-7 cents per point) doesn’t really matter as much for aspirational travel like this.

What does matter is that points unlocked something for you that cash may not have, and that you are enjoying it! With that, I hope my parents will enjoy Qatar Airways Qsuites, and that you enjoy all the traveling you do on points ✈️ 

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

🧼 The Amex (Re/De)fresh 🗑️

If you have an Amex card with an annual fee, chances are you have at least one monthly or quarterly credit, or you have a credit for a service owned by Amex. Or sometimes, both 😐️ 

Love it or hate it, there’s more of that coming…

In Amex’s 2023 Q4 earnings call, plans to refresh 40 cards were mentioned, across its global portfolio (so not just US cards). Amex seems to be moving right along with those plans, with 4 US cards undergoing this refresh: Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, Delta Reserve, and the Hilton Honors Business card.

As expected, in their 2024 Q1 call, this plan was confirmed, with more cards in the pipeline 🧹 

But what exactly does “refresh” mean here?

First, it suggests that a design change could be on the way. The Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card in India, for example, had a design change to:

In terms of card benefits, though, it likely means that more monthly/quarterly credits are coming. The Delta Reserve, for example, raised its annual fee by $100 earlier this year, while adding monthly $20 Resy and $10 rideshare credits 🚕 

Speaking of annual fees, yes, they usually go up with these refreshes… All four US card refreshes this year have included an annual fee increase 😢 

The question remains: which other cards will be hit with these refreshes? Rumor has it that with Amex refreshing a card every 3-4 years, the Gold & Platinum are due for a change. A higher annual fee on the Platinum, especially, is definitely on the table:

So are these refreshes, or “defreshes”? Well it depends - for some, the new credits work well and offset any annual fee increase. For others, though, these credits don’t work and they often end up cancelling or downgrading the card.

All this to say YMMV, and here’s to hoping for minimal disruptions, and maximal benefits 🤞

📰 Other Stories 📰

• 🔐 Is CLEAR, the ultimate airport security line-cutter, getting kicked out of California?

• 🇶🇦 Qatar Airways is launching a US credit card with Cardless - join the waitlist for 10k points on top of the welcome bonus!

💰️ Tips & Deals💰️

• 🏨 15% off IHG Free Night Awards, until this Saturday!

• 💳️ Amex Plat holders: Have trouble using your Fine Hotels & Resorts credit? Check out MaxFHR!

• 🧳 The Daily Getaways promotion is still going on, if you want some travel packages or points 🧳 

  

  This week’s Daily Getaways Deals!

📤️ Spread the Word! 📤️

Thank you so much for subscribing! This newsletter is committed to providing you all with helpful info and tips to 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 day and week ❤️ 

- Sean Kim

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