Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is doing well 😊 

I used to be quite adamant that credit card points had to be used in ways that would get the maximum Cents per Point, and that anything else was bad value and leaving money on the table. That’s why I pretty much only use points to travel (except for Capital One MLB Tickets). I still have this mindset a little bit!

I’ve seen people redeem their points for gift cards, statement credit, Amazon, and many other things. I used to think this was absolutely wrong behavior, but I’ve softened my stance on this over time. Some people just don’t find value in travel like I do, and so their points are better spent on other things. If that’s you, that is completely fine 👍️

I will say though that the cash back angle is also perfectly valid if you aren’t pursuing travel rewards. But I’m writing all this out to say, live your life and earn and spend your rewards however you want! I’m trying to only be a guide, but it’s up to you whether to take my path or forge your own.

Let’s dive into the stories!

In today’s edition:

• 💳️ Rewards Debit Comeback? 💳️

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 👪️ Notes on Family Language 👪️

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

💳️ Rewards Debit Comeback? 💳️

Rewards Debit cards haven’t been all that big for a while, but it seems like they may be slowly making a comeback!

I wrote a while back that Southwest was working on a rewards debit card. It has now released, so let’s go through the details of that:

• $6.99 monthly fee, which is waived if you maintain a minimum monthly balance of $2,500

  • No ATM surcharges on the Cirrus network

• A signup bonus of 2,500 bonus Rapid Rewards points after spending $100 and having two recurring deposits within the first 90 days

• 1 point per dollar spent on Southwest, dining, and subscriptions

  • 1 point per $2 spent on everything else

• Annual spend bonuses as follows:

  • Spend $5,000-$9,999.99 & earn 2,500 bonus points

  • Spend $10,000-$14,999.99 & earn 5,000 bonus points

  • Spend $15,000+ & earn 7,500 bonus points

• 20% off promotion code once a year

• $35 statement credit each calendar year for Southwest purchases (this excludes Upgraded Boarding and inflight purchases)

• 7,500 bonus Companion Pass qualifying points each calendar year

• All points earned are Companion Pass eligible

Is this amazing? No. But it is something we haven’t seen in a while, and the card honestly isn’t terrible. In fact, to the right Southwest frequent flyer, it may even be great. If you park $2500 in the account, the monthly fees are waived, so the benefits will only be a value add. Could be worth a look for people that are chasing Companion Pass or fly Southwest a lot. ✈️ 

On top of this news, there’s a rumor that United is working on its own rewards debit card!

What’s causing this sudden return of rewards debit cards? Honestly, I have no idea. What we can do in the meantime is assess whether they represent good value to us, and it just might to some people.

So if these debit cards make sense to you, do take a look!

🏦➡️✈️ 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.

² 25% transfer bonus for Blue members, 50% for Silver, 75% for Gold, and 100% for Platinum members.

👪️ Notes on Family Language 👪️

I talk often about credit cards and their signup bonuses, but I don’t often talk about any rules that could exclude someone from being eligible for those signup bonuses. So this is a section to begin talking about that!

There are multiple reasons one isn’t eligible for a signup bonus for a certain card, even despite getting approved. If you already have that card currently, you’re not eligible for another bonus. If you’ve gotten the bonus from that card already in the past 24-48 months (depending on the card), you’re not eligible for another bonus. 📆

But another reason one wouldn’t be eligible is Family Language. Some cards are grouped into families, and some rules prevent cardholders from earning multiple bonuses on cards in the same family.

For example: If you have the Amex Platinum, you can’t get the bonuses from the Amex Gold or Amex Green. Amex’s family language has grouped the Green, Gold, and Plat into one family, making it so that you can’t get the other bonuses if you have the Plat. You can however, earn bonuses on the way up - you can get the bonus for the Green, and then for the Gold, and then for the Plat. You can earn bonuses going upward, but not downward. 🔼 

Other banks and credit card families have similar rules - but the main reason this story is being written now is that Capital One has added its own family language to its cards. Namely, this policy is in effect regarding the VentureOne, Venture, and Venture X. The policy looks similar to the one for the Amex cards, but for bonuses earned within the last 48 months. Again, you can earn bonuses going upwards without any time restrictions, but not downwards.

There are a bunch of other credit card families with bizarre signup bonus rules - the eligibility for approval and the signup bonus for the Marriott credit cards is likely one of the biggest messes I’ve seen in the points & miles space. Chase has family language for its Sapphire cards (not sure how strong the enforcement is though), among others.

Just putting that out there to make sure people are careful when getting new cards for the signup bonus! Happy earning otherwise 👍️

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• ✈️ Breeze is offering 35% off base fares with promo code CHARMED!

• 😢 There’s a rumor that some business cards may only be open to applications with an EIN, meaning you can’t apply for business cards with just your SSN anymore…

• 👍️ United may be lowering some partner award rates on business class - dynamic pricing sucks because even when rates go down you never know if its a one-off or not…

• 🛋️ Southwest had a 12k square foot lease approved by the state of Hawaii at Honolulu airport - looks like a lounge is coming!

💳️ 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

PS: If you want to make sure Sense per Point doesn’t get caught in your spam, you can move this email to your primary inbox, or Reply “Hello!” directly to this email by clicking the link and hitting send 📩