Welcome Back!

Hope everyone is doing well 😊 

Now that we are in mid-November, lots of brands and retailers (both brick and mortar as well as e-commerce) are gearing up for their Black Friday offers, as well as deals throughout Q4 in general. Lots of exciting deals to come in the future, but do always remember to maximize your points/miles when online shopping!

The Chase Freedom Flex® currently gives 5% back on PayPal for Q4 2024, so do pay with a Freedom Flex via PayPal when online shopping if you can. Also, use extensions like Rakuten (Get $30 for spending $30 through my referral!) to earn even more! On top of that, always check your bank’s offers (Chase/BofA Offers, Amex Offers, etc.). So many ways to maximize your points when doing your end of year shopping!! 🎁 

I’m itching to talk about my recent trip, so let’s dive in!

In today’s edition:

• 🕛️ Last Chance for the Super Sapphire Bonus 🕛️

• 🏦 Transfer Bonuses ✈️

• 🧳 El Salvador was Amazing! 🧳

• 📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️

• 💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

🕛️ Last Chance for the Super Sapphire Bonus 🕛️

With a reasonable $95 annual fee, a $50 hotel credit, as well as access to Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners, there’s no doubt that the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® is a great card 💪

The most common signup bonus we’ve seen on this card is 60k points after spending $4k in the first three months after account opening. That’s fine, but right now, there is a higher signup bonus available that will go away TODAY! Well, it was live as of this morning, so hopefully its still there by the time this goes out!!

The elevated signup bonus is 60k points + $300 travel Credit through Chase Travel. So basically a $300 travel credit on top of the usual bonus! And if you go to a branch, the signup bonus is 70k points + $300 travel Credit through Chase Travel. Another 10k points for just getting yourself to a physical Chase bank! But again, this is if and only if the bonus is still live or not when I send this out 🤞 

Of course, you do need to be approved, so the Chase application rules all still apply, like 5/24, etc. Check out my still work-in-progress glossary if you aren’t familiar with Chase’s credit card application rules 📖 

Do remember: One big rule on the Sapphire cards is that you can get the signup bonus on a card again after 48 months, as long as you no longer currently have the card. So if your 48 months are up, do consider downgrading the Sapphire card to a no annual fee card, and then heading into a branch to get this elevated offer 👍️ 

By the way, reports state that on the 17th, the bonus for the card will go down to 70k points flat, without any travel credit. So if the signup bonus with the travel credit is gone by the time you read this today, do wait a few days and wait for the 70k bonus! Or just go into a branch and ask for the elevated bonus anyways - worst thing you can hear is no!

So if you were considering the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® , now is a great time to head to a Chase branch and get the elevated offer!

🏦➡️✈️ Transfer Bonuses

¹ Programs that utilize Avios are Aer Lingus, Iberia, British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Finnair - all of these programs can transfer to and from each other at 1:1 at no charge. So transfer bonuses to one Avios-using partner always indirectly include them all.

🧳 El Salvador was Amazing! 🧳

What a trip, and using points for it makes it even better! 😁 

So to recap: I used points for the flights to and from El Salvador, as well as the hotels I stayed at. I’ll go through the numbers in more detail just below:

• ✈️ Flights: I transferred 13k Amex MR points to Avianca Lifemiles, and with Avianca’s discount at the time, the flight cost 12,480 miles + $108.54 roundtrip.

• 🏨 Hotels: I stayed at two properties, the Intercontinental San Salvador and the Hyatt Centric San Salvador. I had some IHG and Hyatt points on hand already, so no need to transfer from Chase.

  • The Intercontinental Sal Salvador cost me 22,950 points for 1 night, after a 15% discount that was being run at the time.

  • The Hyatt Centric cost me 10,000 points for 2 nights (5k per night).

It was definitely a short trip, but I squeezed in a lot of what I had planned to do. El Salvador is also known for its beaches and waves, but I’m not that big of a water person, I’m afraid. But walking around in the historical center of San Salvador, as well as going on hikes outside of the city were great, including to a volcano! 🌋 

Do check out my photos from my trip here, and see photos of my hotel rooms in San Salvador here!

If you haven’t read my review of the Hyatt Centric, I got a very nice suite upgrade at the property for my last night. Incredible, and makes the 5k points spent for the night go that much further!!

A great trip, considering the cost to get there and back after points was just over $100, and my hotels were also paid for with points! Always remember that you can also go on amazing trips, and your points and miles can always make your travel better! 💸 

📰 Other Stories & Deals 💰️ 

• 🛋️ There’s been some action in the lounges space, with Chase opening a new lounge in Phoenix, scheduling an opening in San Diego, opening a temporary pop-up at the Aria in Vegas, and Citi trademarking Strata Lounges!!

• ✈️ Southwest has 40% off flights to and from Hawaii with code HAWAII40! Book by today!

• 🥗 GrubHub has been sold by its parent company - TBD on what this means for the Amex monthly credit 🤞 

• ☕️ Today is Starbucks Reusable Red Cup Giveaway Day! Get a holiday drink and a free red cup while supplies last!

• There’s a new credit card coming out, aimed at homeowners - earning points on mortgages and home improvement, and getting a complimentary Sam’s Club membership, without an annual fee? Sounds like almost too good of a deal 👍️ 

💳️ Best Card Signup Bonuses 💳️ 

Again, the usual solid cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred^®/Reserve^®

• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®/Flex^®

• Amex Gold & Plat

• Capital One Venture X

• 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.

Wishing everyone a wonderful rest of your day and week 😊 

- Sean Kim

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