Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is doing well 😊 

It is the last day of April, and I’m not sure I’ve been more excited for summer before - I want warm weather and sun, urgently!!

As we get closer to the summer months, it generally means people have more travel plans coming up soon - I have my own travel plans in the summer, including a handful of weddings, bachelor parties, and World Cup plans ⚽️

I will admit, I’ve only booked travel for a few of these trips, so I need to get on that and get flights and hotels asap. I’ve been procrastinating slightly, which in the points & miles world, I do not recommend…

Well, there’s some bad news in today’s newsletter, but that’s just a part of the experience. Here are the stories!

In today’s edition:

• 📉 Hyatt Hurt Me Again 📉 

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 📉 Aeroplan Devals 📉

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

📉 Hyatt Hurt Me Again 📉 

Kudos, by the way, to anyone who can identify which Hyatt that is above! It was part of a past round of devaluations, but I believe is unchanged this time around.

But yes, it is time for the category changes from Hyatt that comes every year. These have gotten more and more egregious over the past few years, and I that is no different this year, unfortunately…

For anyone not aware, most Hyatt properties are listed as categories 1 through 8 - the higher the category, the more points it costs per night. All-inclusive properties are listed from category A to F 📊

So some quick details about the category changes:

• 😥 136 properties were impacted

  • 112 categories going up in category

  • 24 properties going down in category

• 🤯 We will have a category 6 (!!) Hyatt House, in Tokyo

A lot of category 7 properties have gone up to category 8 this time around, and I’m not sure they really belong in the same category as some of the properties already there. For example, the Park Hyatt Paris (already category 8) isn’t on the same level to me as the Hyatt Regency Aruba (rising to category 8 with these changes). But that’s just where we are…

Moreover, the category 1-4 free night certificates that come with the Hyatt Credit Card, as well as from the brand explorer and staying 30 nights, are becoming harder and harder to use, as more properties go to category 5 from 4. A worrying trend that definitely devalues the value of that free night certificate. The Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid was a hotel I’ve stayed at multiple times, but now its a category 5 and my free night certificates can’t be used there anymore 😭

I’ve also already discussed the other sweeping changes coming, and we’ve gotten clarity that these changes are coming on May 20th. So book before then to lock in the current categories and rates. You can book anything that is going down in category as well - they will refund you the difference after the changes.

But generally, this is saddening. Hyatt loses more and more of its value with these, and even though the value is still greater than some of its competitors, its a slippery slope 🛝

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

A chart of transfer partners by bank, along with other information, can be found here! New transfer bonuses not present the week before are in bold. Two notes: 1) that any transfers to Avios essentially include British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Qatar, and 2) that if you have the Chase Aeroplan credit card, any Aeroplan transfer bonuses are 10% extra!

📉 Aeroplan Devals 📉

As if the Hyatt news didn’t disappoint me enough, Air Canada Aeroplan then swoops in to announce its own devaluations. Sometimes, it pours when it rains ⛈️

For reference, this is the current award chart, and this is the new award chart with the changes.

I can’t say its 100% bad because there are some economy bands that are dropping by 5000 points here and there, but it is overwhelmingly bad, especially for premium cabins (this should not be a shock to anyone that follows this stuff…):

• 📉 North America – Pacific between 7,501 and 11,000 miles on most partners in business class increases from 87,500 to 102,500 - a 17.1% increase.

• 📉 North America – Atlantic first class on most partners sees the longest band increases from 140,000 – 165,000 - a 17.9% increase.

• Bunch more devaluations, particularly in the NA-Pacific and NA-Atlantic categories…

These changes will go into effect on June 1st, so do book before then if you are holding on to Aeroplan miles. Generally rough, a rough end of April for devaluations 😢

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 🖼️ This weekend is the first weekend of May, meaning you can access a handful of museums for free with a Bank of America card!

• 🤝 Wells Fargo has added Cathay Pacific as a transfer partner, at a 1:1 ratio!

💳️ 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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