00:00:00:02 - 00:00:06:14
Chris
We used to think that flexible points were the pinnacle of travel rewards. But those days may be shifting.
00:00:06:16 - 00:00:14:01
Katie
United just made big changes that make having a co-branded card really important, and it's a trend we've been seeing a lot lately.
00:00:14:03 - 00:00:20:17
Chris
Today we're breaking down what United changed, why it matters, and whether co-branded credit cards are suddenly more important than ever.
00:00:20:19 - 00:00:32:06
Katie
If you've always thought airline cards were a bit of a waste of time, this episode might change your mind.
00:00:32:08 - 00:00:35:17
Chris
Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast.
00:00:35:19 - 00:00:54:19
Katie
And I'm Katie and today we have some Chase and Wyndham news, some Hyatt changes that have been much anticipated. And we are going to talk about whether or not airline cards actually make sense. Now, before we get to that, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you're watching or listening and be sure to share us with a travel loving friend.
00:00:54:21 - 00:00:58:04
Katie
So let's kick it off with some Chase news. What's going on, Chris?
00:00:58:06 - 00:01:22:15
Chris
Yes, chase added a new transfer partner. And in the previous episode, we were talking about 2026 trends. And one of those was we're going to see more transfer partners. And right on cue, Chase added Wyndham as their fourth hotel partner. This is a 1 to 1 ratio chase points. Just to remind you, we value them around $0.02 each and Wyndham points around 0.9 cents each.
00:01:22:15 - 00:01:41:07
Chris
So you're going to have to do that math whether, you know, trading $0.02, 4.9 cents makes sense. I'm sure that there are cases out there that it does. Because the Wyndham program is pretty simple. So you it's easy to find some value in it. All the properties are going to fall into one of three categories, and they are a fixed rate.
00:01:41:07 - 00:02:09:00
Chris
So it's either going to be 7500 points, 15,000 points or 30,000 points. You can the portfolio has some, you know, some basic options, but they also have some pretty decent ones. Upscale brands like their, registry collection, trademark collection, Wyndham Grand and Will Wyndham Ultra, which is all inclusive, brand. So, yeah, that's great news. Speaking of Wyndham city is also running a 25% bonus over there.
00:02:09:00 - 00:02:11:14
Chris
So Wyndham is having a little bit of a moment right now.
00:02:11:16 - 00:02:34:22
Katie
Yeah, absolutely. It's a program I've not used before. But I do think there's probably some, some nice sweet spots in those higher end properties. Yeah. So new transfer partners are always good news. So we have some Hyatt news. And kind of funny enough, there was a spoof going around. Was that last week, Chris? Where there was, you know, some leaked news and everyone kind of freaked out.
00:02:34:22 - 00:02:43:12
Katie
And then it turned out the leaked news was like a college kid doing a, project for school, which was hilarious. Loved it.
00:02:43:17 - 00:02:45:20
Chris
Love that. Thanks a lot now.
00:02:45:22 - 00:03:06:10
Katie
But it kind of makes you wonder. Like, does that college kid know something? Because, like, we did get some Hyatt changes right after that. So let's go over the actual confirmed Hyatt changes. This is not speculation. This is straight from Hyatt, not some college kid on Reddit. All of these changes start in May, so we have a little bit of time to get used to them.
00:03:06:12 - 00:03:39:19
Katie
The good news? Hyatt is maintaining a published award chart, with fixed point thresholds. Okay. The bad news is that the award prices are increasing. So they're sticking with their normal eight categories, which is what they have now. And we're not including all Inclusives and all that other stuff, just the main, the main org chart. But instead of the peak standard and off peak pricing that we've seen in the past, they're going to have five categories within each, tier.
00:03:39:21 - 00:03:48:18
Katie
So the lowest low, moderate, upper and top. Just I don't know if that makes me laugh.
00:03:48:19 - 00:03:57:06
Chris
Yeah I mean stretching that, you know, that would be called the bands in each category. So yeah, it's not quite dynamic, but kind of yeah.
00:03:57:06 - 00:04:21:22
Katie
Kind is. So the lowest category one you'll see ever is 3000 points, which is actually a little bit lower than what we have now. But the highest category eight will go up to a maximum of 75,000 points, which is massive. The most expensive redemption in that category, Ed, at 75,000 points, is 67% higher than the maximum right now.
00:04:21:23 - 00:04:22:05
Katie
Yeah.
00:04:22:05 - 00:04:22:23
Chris
That's tough.
00:04:23:01 - 00:04:49:23
Katie
So like, they can package it however they want, but it really feels like it's dynamic pricing disguised as an award chart. And even they said in their press release that, this new chart will, help to manage peak demand more precisely by reducing the need for broad increases or major category shifts in the future, which just feels like it's dynamic pricing packaged up with a pretty bow.
00:04:50:00 - 00:04:51:03
Katie
So I don't know how I feel about.
00:04:51:03 - 00:04:54:03
Chris
That, but I know, and I get it. I mean, we don't get it.
00:04:54:05 - 00:04:55:01
Katie
Yeah, we get it.
00:04:55:01 - 00:05:17:12
Chris
Especially us. When we try to take advantage of those really expensive hotels with these fixed prices. We know we're getting a good deal because maybe the hotel isn't. So I, I, I'm not super surprised. It's obviously sad. I don't want to see this happen, but I mean, Hyatt was, was the lone holdout, I guess Wyndham, too, with fixed pricing choices.
00:05:17:14 - 00:05:33:07
Katie
Yeah. But it it wasn't all bad news. We did have a few good nuggets of information come out of this, so let's look at those. Free night certificates are going to continue working just as they do now. So this category 1 to 4 and 1 to 7. And then they have that one that's like 1 to 8.
00:05:33:12 - 00:05:54:05
Katie
Any any hotel even at that top pricing. So in a way those free night certificates are actually gaining some value because you can use them even at that very tip top, award level for either category, 1 to 4, 1 to 7 or whatever you have. So that's good news. Yeah. They can't be topped off.
00:05:54:07 - 00:05:55:16
Katie
I was really hoping they had that.
00:05:55:17 - 00:06:01:09
Chris
Yeah, I was, I when I saw that Reddit thread I was like, yes, finally. Yeah. Oh well.
00:06:01:11 - 00:06:33:17
Katie
I thought the same thing. But at least I, you know, I like that those free night certificates still have some really good value. They are also adding the ability to share points online. Hallelujah. Yeah. Finally. That was. That's excellent. And then lastly elite members and Hyatt card holders will get early access to award availability. We don't know exactly what this is going to look like, but that could be a really nice perk for either elite members or credit card holders.
00:06:33:19 - 00:06:42:17
Katie
And then we actually mentioned this last week. They usually come out with their award category changes in March. They did say that those will be announced in April. This year.
00:06:42:19 - 00:06:46:13
Chris
Okay. Yeah. Fingers crossed for your other and Savannah.
00:06:46:15 - 00:06:57:02
Katie
I know I keep waiting I mean and under the category for although now it's who knows what how much it's going to cost. I have to look at the chart, but it could be a lot. Yeah. So they can just leave it at category four and.
00:06:57:02 - 00:06:59:08
Chris
Still just charge as much as they want, and.
00:06:59:11 - 00:07:21:03
Katie
20,000 points extra. But let us know what you think. I would love to hear you know your thoughts. Do you like this change? Are you are you done with Hyatt? Let us know. Podcast in upgraded points.com. We always love to hear from you. So let's jump into our main segment Chris, what is going on. We've got some united news and then sort of a broader trend that we want to take a peek at.
00:07:21:05 - 00:07:50:19
Chris
Yeah. So that was kind of a nice segue, because you mentioned at the end there that Hyatt was going to be adding award availability for card holders or expanded award availability. And United recently made some announcements along those same lines. So the announcement was pretty important. We'll go over briefly the changes. But yeah, this is a, this was a topic we did briefly discuss, and then we actually got a nice follow up email.
00:07:50:21 - 00:07:52:12
Chris
Okay. You want to read that one?
00:07:52:14 - 00:08:08:01
Katie
Yeah. Yeah. I loved the timing of all this. It just was perfect with our episode last week and the united changes and that little bit about Hyatt cards. So I love everyone helping us make our job easier. So, yeah, we got an email from Katie. This was not me. This was another Katie.
00:08:08:01 - 00:08:10:01
Chris
I pronounce you use a fake name.
00:08:10:03 - 00:08:28:12
Katie
Come on. I know that would be a really bad way to send it in a fake email. Anyways, Katie emailed us and said, as a non elite Mileageplus member, is it worth it to sign up for a credit card to unlock the miles after their new change? Personally, we do book basic economy tickets to the loss of those miles would be the most significant.
00:08:28:14 - 00:08:44:13
Katie
We would otherwise be putting those United purchases on a Sapphire Reserve. Thanks for helping us understand the points world so we can optimize. Cheers, Katie. So, Chris, let's maybe start just with a quick reminder of what those united changes were. So everyone's on the same page with Katie's question.
00:08:44:16 - 00:09:08:13
Chris
Yes. Good idea. So starting April 2nd, you need mileageplus credit and debit card holders, will have the ability to, quote, earn up to twice as many miles as non cardholders, regardless of elite status. But that means mileage earnings will be reduced for customers without a United card by up to two times to x per dollar.
00:09:08:15 - 00:09:35:17
Chris
Right now through April 2nd. A general member with no status or card earns five miles per dollar. That will go down to three miles per dollar on April 2nd. You'll only earn miles on basic economy tickets if you have elite status or a credit card. And just to note that United Miles plus debit card, debit rewards card and United Gateway card unlock card member earn rates after spending 10,000 on the card within a calendar year.
00:09:35:18 - 00:09:57:06
Chris
I'll just read these and we'll put them on screen as well. If you have a friend now, if you have general, your general number with United Mileageplus, you earn three miles per dollar. Card members get six and then, miles. Plus, playing with the United card will earn 8 to 10. And then that will go up based on your status level.
00:09:57:06 - 00:10:12:20
Chris
So right then it goes from, 3 to 5 for the Mileageplus members. Card plus goes from 6 to 8 and then goes all the way up to 8 to 12. And that jumps all the way up to 14 to 16 miles per dollar. If your premier one K member. We'll drop all this in the, in the show notes as well.
00:10:12:22 - 00:10:29:13
Chris
So this is kind of bad news for for those of us that don't have a united card or people that like to book basic economy. But those who do have a united cardholder, a card like Katie does. You will get access. Purple.
00:10:29:13 - 00:10:35:13
Katie
I have to have it. I, I like flying united maybe once a year, but I have.
00:10:35:13 - 00:10:45:11
Chris
This. All right. So that's a great tip for any, issuers listening. If you could just customize the color card. You may be able to get a couple more signups.
00:10:45:13 - 00:10:47:18
Katie
I need that Delta reserve, too. I don't have a that's.
00:10:47:18 - 00:11:09:18
Chris
A good one. I need that one. All right, so Katie and other cool cardholders will get access to special inventory, on United's lowest price award seats. That's a pretty big deal. You will be able to share your your rate with your kids. You just need to link your child's mild plush mileageplus account to share your Cardmember earn rate, in discounted flight pricing.
00:11:09:18 - 00:11:28:02
Chris
I love that. And then United cardholders also get at least 10% off every United Flight Award ticket that they book. Premier members who have an eligible card will get at least 15%. And so this is very similar to some trends that we've seen, especially with Delta SkyMiles cards as well.
00:11:28:04 - 00:11:48:08
Katie
Yeah, that's a great perk that can save you a lot of money. We have a Delta card in my family too. Even though we rarely fly Delta, but just we fly just enough when I book enough mileage, tickets that that discount makes the card worth it, even without taking into account some of the other discounts. And perks.
00:11:48:08 - 00:12:10:07
Katie
Not all. All discounts, but, so. So let's go back to Katie's question. So as someone who does not have United status, is it worth it to get a credit card? No, especially for those of us who are booking basic economy tickets. Does it make having a credit card sort of important, even if you're only flying maybe a couple times a year?
00:12:10:09 - 00:12:38:00
Katie
And I would say, yeah, I think for a lot of us, if you, you know, if you're buying basic economy, let's say you're flying united a couple times a year, buying basic economy. And you do find value in United miles. And if you're buying cash tickets, you probably are. You're collecting miles. And they do have value. I do think it could be a good idea, especially considering a lot of these cards come with benefits that make the card easy to keep year after year.
00:12:38:02 - 00:12:57:16
Katie
When you're trying to book award flights, you're going to have access to extra inventory and a discount, which is huge. And, the one thing I do want to say to Katie is, so, yeah, I would say get a United card that makes sense for you. I would still recommend paying for your in United tickets with that Sapphire Reserve card.
00:12:57:18 - 00:13:16:23
Katie
The reason being, with the Sapphire Reserve, you're going to earn four transferable points per dollar, which you can transfer to United if you want to. With the United cards, you could earn as few as I think two. 2 to 4 is on most of the cards in that range. You will also have better travel protections with the Sapphire Reserve card.
00:13:17:00 - 00:13:28:15
Katie
So the takeaway here is you don't have to use the United card to buy your tickets. You just have to be a card holder to unlock that ability to earn miles on basic economy tickets.
00:13:28:17 - 00:13:42:03
Chris
That's a good point. And I will just give a counterpoint, though, because I was remembering this as you were talking. So, some cards. So if you're flying base economy and you want those checked bags, don't you need to pay with that card?
00:13:42:05 - 00:13:44:12
Katie
Yeah. Yeah, that's a situation.
00:13:44:15 - 00:13:50:12
Chris
Yeah, that could make sense. So we keep that in mind. If you're checking a bag that may may factor into your decision.
00:13:50:14 - 00:14:12:09
Katie
Yeah, that's a really good point. I know it depends on some of the cards, but I do think United is one that you have to book. So that's really that's a good, good point there, Chris. And I think that is a good place for us to stop for a quick break. When we come back, we're going to look at some more of these co-branded card trends within the airline card world.
00:14:12:11 - 00:14:23:02
Chris
Yeah. Hey, real quick, before we jump back in, if you're listening to this podcast, you're exactly the kind of person we built our free newsletter for.
00:14:23:04 - 00:14:33:18
Katie
We break down the best credit card offers, transfer bonuses, award alerts, and travel news that actually matters. No fluff, no spam. Just the stuff we'd text a friend if something big dropped.
00:14:33:20 - 00:14:38:12
Chris
A lot of these deals we talk about in the show don't last long. The newsletter is where we flag those fast.
00:14:38:16 - 00:14:48:23
Katie
It's totally free and you can sign up at upgraded points.com/join-newsletter.
00:14:49:01 - 00:15:16:20
Chris
You. Okay. Welcome back. United isn't the only airline or travel company offering important perks and bonuses to card holders. This is a trend that we are seeing across the board, and it's a trend that makes us ask the question are co-branded credit cards more important than ever to have? Let's take a look at some other popular cards that you may already have in your wallet, or you're considering getting, that are offering similar benefits.
00:15:16:22 - 00:15:36:00
Chris
Delta has the take off 15 discount, and this means pretty much Delta and American Express cards get access to a key benefit that is 15% off savings on all award flights. So that is very similar to what we saw with United. And it is a great perk, great reason to have one of these Delta, American Express cards in your wallet.
00:15:36:02 - 00:15:47:17
Katie
Yeah. That's why I keep mine in my wallet. And I'm when I'm booking, like, positioning flights from Columbus to New York a lot. And they're small. They're not expensive. But that that discount, it's.
00:15:47:17 - 00:15:48:06
Chris
Still worth it.
00:15:48:06 - 00:15:51:07
Katie
For you. It's a great perk, even if you fly a couple times a year.
00:15:51:09 - 00:16:09:14
Chris
American does not offer a strong discount, just like Delta United does. But with the right credit card in your wallet can get group 4 or 5 boarding. And that's regardless of the fare type. So even with basic economy. So that's a really nice perk to have, especially in my family. We like the border like because we got kids and luggage and all that stuff.
00:16:09:16 - 00:16:11:04
Chris
So it's a nice perk to have.
00:16:11:06 - 00:16:27:23
Katie
Oh, you know, I do too. I love my early boarding. Southwest also has a lot of really strong perks for credit card holders, and I'm actually in the position right now. I have a southwest flight coming up in a couple months. I have no status and no credit cards right now, and it's like, I don't want to sit in the back in the middle.
00:16:28:00 - 00:16:30:17
Katie
So maybe I'm going to get a credit card to make sure I can.
00:16:30:23 - 00:16:32:04
Chris
Buy the one.
00:16:32:06 - 00:16:53:17
Katie
Yeah, no, I can't, I can't, I would I would stress out a little bit too much. So all southwest credit cards come with a 10,000 point companion pass boost. So if you are even considering getting a companion pass, a credit card is really, really important for that. It allows you to choose a seat within 48 hours or a booking, depending on which card you have.
00:16:53:19 - 00:17:17:06
Katie
Even if you book that basic fare so you can book that cheapest, cheapest fare, and if you have a card, you will be able to, at least 48 hours ahead of time, pick a seat for free, which is a huge plus. And then you do get group five boarding. And again, that trumps if you booked a basic or a choice fare, which usually boards and I think it's group seven or 8 or 8 and nine, I forget what the new boarding groups are.
00:17:17:06 - 00:17:39:09
Katie
So those are really solid perks to keeping a southwest card around, even if you're only flying a couple times a year. Alaska is another one. Preferred boarding is something you get with the Alaska Airlines card. They also come with companion tickets. And I really like this because it makes those cards easy to keep around. You're getting the value out of them and you still get those little perks.
00:17:39:09 - 00:18:00:17
Katie
You know, even again, if you only fly Alaska a couple times a year. There's companion tickets on both the ascent and the business cards, and I believe those are ones, I want to say, if you spend $6,000 on the card, then you get the $99 companion ticket. Don't quote me on that. The summit has the 25,000 point companion discount, which that's the card I have.
00:18:00:17 - 00:18:29:05
Katie
And that is fantastic. Yeah. Another perk for credit card holders is the waived partner award booking things. We talk a lot about the Alaska program. They have some amazing prices for, companion award tickets. We just talked. Was it last week? Maybe. That amazing deal I found on American Airlines to Bimini. And if you are booking that, you would have to pay a $12 and 50 cent per ticket each way fee to book with miles.
00:18:29:07 - 00:18:49:04
Katie
But if you have, the Alaska Summit card, you don't have to pay that. That's a great perk of having that card. And then the summer card also has a $50 voucher for same day cancellation or delays of two hours or more that you can use for food at the airport. This is, automatic. I believe it just kind of gets, hooked to your credit card.
00:18:49:04 - 00:19:12:08
Katie
So when that happens, it triggers. As long as you've bought the flight with your credit card. I have not taken advantage of that yet, but that's just another great reason to have that card. And it makes those cards really important. So I think, you know, all of these cards that we've talked about have certain very specific benefits that make flying on that airline just a little more comfortable, a little more.
00:19:12:10 - 00:19:37:18
Katie
I don't know what the word is. But they also have like free check bags like Chris mentioned earlier. Some have lounge access, some have hotel discounts. Those those delta cards have a Delta stays credit which I've actually been able to use. And so it really makes these cards easier to keep around and easier to justify than some other cards that I've found in in the space.
00:19:37:20 - 00:19:56:06
Katie
And again, this is all even if you only travel a few times a year, if you travel a lot, then you can easily support many of these cards and it still makes sense. I will mention this again. Sometimes it does make sense to not use these for spend. Or not even for airline spend. Sometimes it does though.
00:19:56:06 - 00:20:11:04
Katie
So you have to evaluate each card on its own. Like that Alaska card. Some of those benefits you have to book with the card, like Chris mentioned earlier, with the United cards, you have to book to get the free bags, but you don't have to book with the card to get the, extra earning on basic economy.
00:20:11:04 - 00:20:21:00
Katie
So just evaluate each card individually. But a lot of these really do make sense now, more so than they ever have, you know, in the last handful of years.
00:20:21:02 - 00:20:21:21
Chris
Yeah.
00:20:21:23 - 00:20:42:05
Katie
If you have any, you know, opinions on that, let us know any other card that we missed. You can always email the podcast at Upgraded points.com. And we actually have a question from our email that I wanted to ask to Chris here. This is from Jeff. And this one actually came in probably, six weeks ago, two months ago or something like that.
00:20:42:05 - 00:20:53:03
Katie
And it's just been kind of it's been in the backlog. Sorry, Jeff. But Jeff wanted to know, will the US Bank Altitude Reserve ever Enhanced Transfer Partners?
00:20:53:05 - 00:21:14:09
Chris
Well, yeah, we were waiting to answer this. We we're waiting to give you an answer, Jeff. Yeah. But this card, the US bank has to reserve card, which is not open to to new applicants. And they had a big devaluation in December. They were supposed to be adding hotel and airline transfer partners. The website and app had a big banner on its head coming soon.
00:21:14:15 - 00:21:33:10
Chris
Points transfer feature were finalizing this key feature. Soon you'll be able to transfer points to many great airline and hotel loyalty programs. Those banners are gone and that is all we know. Jeff. So far we don't have any news. We're not. And maybe by the time this podcast airs. But it I don't know. I it's not look it's not looking good.
00:21:33:11 - 00:21:34:06
Chris
I'm not going to lie.
00:21:34:09 - 00:21:48:05
Katie
I wouldn't hold your breath. Don't bank on it. I you know, I don't it's probably not worth keeping. You know, if you have this card in your debating whether you hold it open to take advantage of these transfer partners. I probably wouldn't, because I feel like if they.
00:21:48:07 - 00:21:51:09
Chris
This is not the one with the free lounge access, is it?
00:21:51:11 - 00:21:55:05
Katie
No no no no no. This, that. Yeah. That's the free card right.
00:21:55:06 - 00:21:56:14
Chris
Yeah. The zero annual fee.
00:21:56:14 - 00:22:18:10
Katie
Yeah. It's a downgrade to that card if you can. Yeah. I kind of think at this point something went majorly wrong or they were, you know, kind of counting their chickens before they hatch and put all this out there without actually having something in place. I think at this point, if they do introduce transfer partners, the chances of those being very exciting are probably slim to none.
00:22:18:12 - 00:22:32:08
Katie
So yeah, I wouldn't bank on it, but but we don't know. We will absolutely report on it as soon as we hear anything. So make sure you're signed up for our newsletter. And, Chris, remind me what the URL is for people to sign up for that.
00:22:32:10 - 00:22:36:16
Chris
That is upgraded points.com/join-newsletter.
00:22:36:18 - 00:22:49:04
Katie
Awesome. Thanks for the question Jeff. And that's going to do it for us this week. If you have questions or comments for us like we said podcast at Upgraded points.com. And be sure you share us with a travel loving friend and we will see you next week.