Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is having a great week 😊

So you know the “Best Card Signup Bonuses” section that I’ve included for a bit now? I’m working on an updated version of that in Google Doc form - that will have a list of the top cards, cards with elevated bonuses, as well as a general glossary of cards and their details (fees, benefits, etc.). Hoping to get that rolled out soon, and hoping it helps you all out!

I’ll get right into the stories for today - here we go!

In today’s edition:

• 🤝 Alaska and Hawaiian Become One! 🤝

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 🚨 Earn 5x Points for Q4 2024 🚨 

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

🤝 Alaska and Hawaiian Become One! 🤝

It’s finally happening!

I talked about the Alaska and Hawaiian merger previously, and now it pretty much is sure to happen. Of course, this has big implications for the industry at large, but this acquisition did require some promises and concessions from the airlines, such as:

• All miles currently held with either airline mileage program will not expire

• Programs will allow 1:1 transfers between each other (transfer miles from Alaska to Hawaiian, or vice versa at 1:1)

• The airlines cannot devalue miles!

The DOT got them to commit to some big stuff here, and I’m here for it! Getting the airlines to agree not to devalue the programs is amazing. But the real coup here is the ability to transfer between the airlines at 1:1!

If you remember when I first talked about this merger, I went through why I think Alaska is one of the best transfer partners out there. Once Hawaiian miles can be transferred into Alaska miles at 1:1, Hawaiian miles become incredibly valuable. What’s more, Amex cardholders have Hawaiian as a transfer partner! So congrats, you’ve basically got Alaska as a transfer partner indirectly!! 🥳 

Do note that the ability to transfer miles between Alaska and Hawaiian isn’t live yet, but is expected later this month 👍️ 

This is a really big deal, everyone - there are some real deals to be had using Alaska miles! This unlocks a new way to use Amex points to book US domestic flights, and even brings new value to getting the Hawaiian card from Barclays!

This may have changed the way I think about my 2025 travel plans, and I am incredibly excited! Hope you are too, as Amex basically just indirectly added one of the best transfer partners it could have gotten!! 💪 

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

¹ New transfer bonuses that were not present the week before are in bold.

🚨 Earn 5x Points for Q4 2024 🚨 

With Q4 right around the corner, I thought I’d dedicate a section to quarterly rotating categories. Just incase you are not familiar: cards with rotating categories give extra rewards for certain categories of card spend, like gas, flights, groceries, and more.

For Q4 2024, the categories are:

¹Let me know if I’ve missed any cards with rotating categories, and I’ll be sure to add them for the early July edition that will review these again!

These rotating categories can be hit-or-miss, but for people who do spend money on these categories, this will really help you earn more rewards! 5x/5% on PayPal especially will be nice for Q4, with holiday shopping coming up. Most online sites accept PayPal, so a lot of online shopping should be an easy 5x points 👍️ 

I will say, the McDonald’s category for the Freedom Flex is a bit interesting - remember that the card already offers a bonus 2x on restaurant spend. That means that McDonald’s spend for Q4 2024 will earn 7x points per dollar! 🍔 

The Discover card having Amazon, and the Citi Dividend having restaurants is great, even if the Dividend is no longer available to new applicants. Do note that the Citi Custom Cash has somewhat taken the place of the Citi Dividend in the active portfolio - this card has no rotating categories to track, and you just earn 5x for your top spend category, up to $500 in spend per month (2,500 points).

For me, the PayPal is the biggest coup of this coming quarter’s rotating categories. Yes, 7x on McDonald’s is nice too, but that just can’t beat getting 5x on my online shopping for Christmas gifts! 🎁 

As always, happy earning 💸 

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️ 

• 🍎 Chase is apparently working to takeover the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs??!!

• 🛒 Amazon Prime Big Deal Days will offer some deals on October 8th and 9th!

• 🇸🇬 Singapore released its Spontaneous Escapes, a bit later than usual - not much overlap with the Global Sale they are running, though…

• ✈️ JetBlue will open lounges in JFK and BOS?!

💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

Again, the usual solid cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred^®/Reserve^®

• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®/Flex^®

• Amex Gold & Plat

• Capital One Venture X

• Capital One SavorOne

• Citi Strata Preferred^℠

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! 📤️

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.

It was a long one, but hopefully packed with some good deals and good info!

Wishing everyone a wonderful rest of your day and week, and a great Labor Day Weekend ❤️ 

- Sean Kim

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