Premium travel Credit Cards

[mountainboy]

*$50 AA GC on BoA PRE reimbursed as incidental airline fees

 

[bnoble]

Looks like there maybe a negative change

Despite the fact that I benefit from rewards cards, they are not primarily intended to benefit the consumer. Reining them in a little bit is IMO a good idea.

 

[Eric B]

Despite the fact that I benefit from rewards cards, they are not primarily intended to benefit the consumer. Reining them in a little bit is IMO a good idea.

… but they are intended to benefit the credit card issuers and sponsors (e.g., Hilton) and have the side effect of benefiting the economy by stimulating spending. Reining in rewards cards would thereby hurt the issuers, sponsors, and the economy, which would make it a bad thing. IMHO we shouldn’t be doing anything to hurt the economy!

 

[bnoble]

I don’t believe they stimulate spending so much as capture a fraction of the existing flow.

 

[mountainboy]

Despite the fact that I benefit from rewards cards, they are not primarily intended to benefit the consumer. Reining them in a little bit is IMO a good idea.

Canada has significantly capped interchange/swipe costs of CCs & hence the reward cards have significantly gone down there.....

I understand that many people use CCs irresponsibly/foolishly (just like they use the BNPL programs now foolishly or crypto & the like over time) but hate to see those of us who DO use our CC responsibly lose all the excellent benefits due to some/many people using their CCs irresponsibly...

Hope we will not go to the Canadian model (which would take away most of the awesome CC related benefits many of us have had the privilege of enjoying)..

Just like fire or TSs, if one uses CCs responsibly, they are amazing!


'Canada has significantly capped credit card costs for businesses through a new agreement with Visa and Mastercard that lowers interchange fees for small businesses, and by allowing merchants to add a surcharge of up to 2.4% to cover their costs. While these changes don't cap all credit card costs, they do provide relief for merchants and allow them to pass some of the costs onto consumers at a regulated rate, notes Canada.ca and CBC.
Fee reductions for small businesses

• Lower interchange fees: Canada has finalized agreements with Visa and Mastercard to lower interchange fees for small businesses, which are the fees that merchants pay to credit card companies for each transaction.
• Significant savings: The government announced that these reductions are expected to result in approximately $1 billion in savings for small businesses over five years.
• Specific cap for some businesses: The new agreements also include a cap of 0.95% for eligible businesses, according to CBC.

Surcharging rules

• Cap on surcharges: Merchants can now charge consumers a surcharge of up to 2.4% per transaction to cover their credit card processing costs, as detailed on Canada.ca and by CBC.
• Surcharge cannot exceed the merchant's cost: The surcharge cannot be higher than the actual cost the merchant pays to accept the card, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
• Transparency requirements: Merchants must clearly display the surcharge at the point of sale and on their receipts, as outlined on Canada.ca.
• Consumer choice: Consumers who prefer to avoid the surcharge can choose to pay with a different method, such as cash or debit.

Important note on Quebec

• Exceptions in Quebec: These new surcharging rules do not apply in Quebec, where credit card surcharges are forbidden under the province's Consumer Protection Act, according to Radio-Canada.

 

[mountainboy]

There is a whole new TUG thread on this new CC settlement...
Let's see if this significantly impacts our premium rewards cards or more merchants start charging extra fees for using CCs...

The Credit-Card Rule That Powers Rewards Cards Just Got Broken

https://www.wsj.com/finance/visa-mastercard-reach-settlement-with-merchants-to-lower-fees-c5fde9b7?st=NvYR1n I still think much of this is merchants shooting themselves in the foot. You start making people worry about their card being declined, you see less people buying. You also have the...

tugbbs.com

 

[ljmiii]

Interestingly enough, I was checking my CSR account to look for something else and noticed that it said I had used my $150 Chase Dining Credit. I tracked it down and found that it was triggered by spend at a restaurant in the Visa Dining Collection but NOT in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables collection.

No idea if this will continue...but some of our favorite NYC restaurants are in the Visa Dining Collection and not the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables collection.

 

[Eric B]

Ate at Pig & Khao UWS in NYC for DW’s CSR table. We got the family meal, which was way too much food - about 3 dinners worth of leftovers. Total bill was ~$200 including tip - it would be simple for two to dine well here for <$150 including tip. Food was good - southeast asian fusion. Worth coming back to.

 

[Eric B]

For comparison, we ate at El Taller del Xiquet in DC last week for my CSR table. Food was great there, too. No leftovers and bill came to ~$350. Still worth a visit, but will always be out of pocket if two dine.

 

[mountainboy]

@Eric B , Thx for sharing the DPs!

 

[mountainboy]

*Looks like USBAR is being nerfed...
Not a surprise with all the neg changes US Bank has made to Smartly & others...

[Confirmed] U.S. Bank To Make Negative Changes To U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve (Travel Transfers, 1¢ Per Point Instead of 1.5¢ & More)

Update 8/1/25: This is now confirmed at this link and in an email sent out today: 1) redemptions against travel is down to 1 cent-per-point; 2) $325 travel credit only works on Travel Center bookings…

www.doctorofcredit.com

 

[mountainboy]

Also, BA is devaluing it's miles/Avios currency 10% :-( ...
Turkish also removes sweet spot & takes the smiles away in it's miles/smiles program :-(
Earn & BURN!
(Don't save as it shall be devalued & taken away..)

British Airways Announces Rewards Devaluation (~10%)

British Airways has announced that on December 15 reward flight prices will be changing and not for the better.

www.doctorofcredit.com

British Airways - Information Page

British Airways Confirms A December 15 Avios Devaluation — Expect Both Higher Points And Bigger Surcharge - View from the Wing

British Airways will raise the cost of award travel on December 15, increasing both the Avios required and the surcharges you’ll pay — but the airline won’t publish the new prices in advance. The limited examples they’ve shared point to roughly 10% higher points and surcharges rising anywhere...

viewfromthewing.com

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Devalues, Eliminates Sweet Spot

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles has devalued its award rates for U.S. mainland domestic and Hawaii flights, making awards much more expensive.

upgradedpoints.com

Turkish Airlines Devalues Miles Again — Killing The United Sweet Spots That Made The Program Worth Using - View from the Wing

Turkish Airlines just wiped out the last meaningful value in its Miles & Smiles program. After raising United domestic awards last year, Turkish has hit them again: mainland–Hawaii business class jumps to 40,000 miles each way when two years ago it was 12,500.

viewfromthewing.com

 

[CalGalTraveler]

For the Stub Hub CSR credit, if the event is in Fall 2026 but you buy the tickets this month, will it count toward the 2H 2025 credit?

 

[1Kflyerguy]

For the Stub Hub CSR credit, if the event is in Fall 2026 but you buy the tickets this month, will it count toward the 2H 2025 credit?

I am pretty sure it does count at time of purchase, not the event date.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Looking at StubHub events. Do you think it will work on Gift Cards?

Lastly does Stubhub allow you to split payment across 2 credit cards? Not sure how to cleanly book 2 seats together if each seat costs $150.

 

[buzglyd]

Quick DPs. Vistana (VV Bella MFs) coded as travel and got 4x on CSR. Lagoon tower MF coded as Hilton Hotels and got 4x. Haven’t seen of the 2026 travel credit has applied yet. Probably after statement closing date.

Anyone know how Carlsbad Seapointe MF codes? My guess is HOA so I’ll probably use a different card.

 

[ljmiii]

Quick DPs. Vistana (VV Bella MFs) coded as travel and got 4x on CSR. Lagoon tower MF coded as Hilton Hotels and got 4x. Haven’t seen of the 2026 travel credit has applied yet. Probably after statement closing date.

Anyone know how Carlsbad Seapointe MF codes? My guess is HOA so I’ll probably use a different card.

I can tell you that the MFs for the Westin St John Bay Vista showed as travel and hotel triggering the 4x hotel bonus even though the charge bills as "BAY VISTA CONDO FEE".

Chase is obviously doing something other than a simple search for "Westin" or "Marriott" or "Hilton".

 

[CalGalTraveler]

DP: We used the Chase Sapphire Reserve Tables at a Michelin 1 star in SF last week for a holiday lunch. The total cost of lunch (including tip) with our DD was $28 after the credit. We split the bill across 2 CSRs = $300 credit. It was credited on both cards as soon as the items posted. I may keep this card if they add more restaurants.

Now onto testing EDIT hotels. I see some prepaid options that are refundable. We already have travel plans for first half of the year so I wonder how far out we can book?

Here is a handy map of the EDIT hotels:

A map and list that show all of The Edit by Chase Travelâ„ properties in the world

How to search for properties in The Edit by Chase Travelâ„ , either with a scrollable map or a filterable list with images.

frequentmiler.com

 

[CalGalTraveler]

YMMV you can split payment across 2 Sapphires for the StubHub credit to get 2 seats together using Paypal split option.

I would love to see some data points - we haven't tried this but struggled to get just one correct credit card applied; and it applied to the same card on the second transaction . Not user friendly. StubHub Cust Service was worthless.

Have 2 Sapphire Reserve Cards? Here's How To Combine StubHub Credits

One of the added benefits on the consumer Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (and JPMorgan Reserve) is a $150 StubHub credit every January-June and another $150 credit every July-December. Having 2 eligible cards, when I was looking for tickets, I was looking for listings that had 2 seats, but would...

www.dansdeals.com

 

[1Kflyerguy]

YMMV you can split payment across 2 Sapphires for the StubHub credit to get 2 seats together using Paypal split option.

I would love to see some data points - we haven't tried this but struggled to get just one correct credit card applied; and it applied to the same card on the second transaction . Not user friendly. StubHub Cust Service was worthless.

https://www.dansdeals.com/shopping-...res-how-to-combine-stubhub-credits/[/URI only

http://I only have one CSR, so not ... the Chase / Amex payment processing network.

 

[Sandy VDH]

For the Stub Hub CSR credit, if the event is in Fall 2026 but you buy the tickets this month, will it count toward the 2H 2025 credit?

Refund is based on time of purchase NOT time of event. I just bought tickets for May and got the refund back. But today is too late to it, as it generally take 2 days to post. It would be too late to try it today.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Datapoint: I booked two EDITs yesterday for MGM Vegas (2 CSRs). Charges pending today 12/31. We'll see if the credits for 2025 gets applied to this. If my 2026 credits are applied and they won't change to 2025 given it was booked on 12/31, I will not be happy. I was able to find shoulder and summer (hot) season mid-week. One was more expensive. $36 net all in/night for summer midweek and second Sapphire was $136/night. We also get free breakfast and $100 site benefit so hopefully it will cover most of the additional cost. However I have to keep reminding myself that if I didn't have an annual fee I would be spending the money elsewhere.

We plan to extend the stay with a timeshare to make 5 nights total. EDIT reservations were refundable so if date doesn't work, then we have not lost anything.

Still trying to decide whether to keep the second CSR. CSR Tables was a good value (but they need more restaurants/locations), EDIT (meh - very limited.); StubHub we messed up and ended up buying another set of tickets so that was a loss. I could envision tiring of this card and the options very quickly to get sufficient value to cover MF. Seems like a lot of work to just break-even or worse.

Here is my tally against our MF so far per card:

$795 AF

Credits:
CSR Tables - $150 Good value
Travel Credit - $300 Good Value
DoorDASH - $10/mo + $5 food credit = $180 (A PITA to use)
StubHub Net negative $15 cost ($150 credit minus extra cost over credit ($15) minus extra tickets bought/confusion on website card handling - $175 (half of $350 error)
EDIT $250 but $275 extra room costs over credit = (plus $100 resort credit (IDK the true value yet); Breakfast). IMHO...I would rather stay at Elara with multiple bedrooms instead of hote. I would not take these trips to Vegas and would save more money. There also may be parking charges TBD.
Priority Pass - my pass in the app is currently broken about $30 value but I can use spouses player 1 card = 0 incremental value.
Lyft - I could not get $10 chase to apply - PITA
------------
630 - $275 = $355 benefit.

Net Cost = $465 AF plus spending extra money e.g. on Vegas travel that I would not have spent.

If I avoid EDIT in the future and stick to Stubhub only worth $150, then cost is closer to $200 but sure is a lot of time and energy for a $200 net cost card.

I *may* give the second card another year for learning curve and to see if they offer more cost effective and convenient dining, hotel and stubhub options but so far not a good prognosis to keep it. I've spend way too much time on call centers and online trying to get these credits to work in the apps.

 

[buzglyd]

We dined at Herb and Sea in Encinitas a few nights ago. It was excellent. Our $150 credit posted in 48 hours.

 

[Sandy VDH]

I booked The Edit on the 24th, it posted on the 25th and the credit posted on the 26th, Perhaps the holiday delayed it a day.

Stubhub I booked on the 25th, it posted and the credit posted on the same day.

It did take 2 days for the credits to show up. I think booking today may mean you are using your Jan-Jun credit and not your 2025 credit.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks @Sandy VDH. You may be right. If it happens I will contact Chase to see if they can fix this since there is a timestamp of the reservation on the 31st (and I booked it on the 30th).

I wouldn't have done this had I known. Ugh.