@Aim_High wrote:
@imaximous wrote:
@lhcole77 wrote:Thanks for posting, @Anonymous
Does anyone know what 50,000 points equates to in travel redemption?
I searched the trusted interwebs, but to no avail.
This where I think the card falls a bit short. I myself didn't research this well before getting it. For some stupid reason, I thought I could convert points to cash 🤦🏻♂️. This my own fault.
Except for hotels, redemptions are under 1:1 ratio. Gift cards about 0.85x unless they have some promos/sales. Air travel about 0.85x - 0.90x and hotels between 1.15x - 1.25x on average. It's not a bad card if you can earn points consistently at 4x, but I'm sure people can do better with other cards in the travel category.That's what I was thinking when I saw it available again, I seemed to remember that valuation from when it was previously available. I couldn't find it in the cardholder agreement, though.
Some points of note:
- That 50K SUB is therefore worth $425 in travel, not $500 like some other 50K SUBs.
- At 0.85 ccp, the earnings rate with Honors Advantage is 3.4% or 2.55% without Honors Advantage. With Honors Advantage having no AF and then earning 3.4% on travel, plus the SUB and the credits below, it's easy to come out ahead depending on your spend, other cards, and lifestyle.
- The base level of 1.5 points per dollar is worth only 1.275%.
- It appears you can't redeem for either cash or account credit. Points can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, and gift cards. It sounds like this essentially sets indirect redemption thresholds since you can't cash out for small amounts of money or statement credit.
- Points expire in five years after they are earned. (In comparison, Power Cash Rewards points don't expire.) This could trip some people up if they aren't watching and using the card regularly.
- TSA Global Entry on many cards is limited to one $100 credit every four years. With the language on the Pathfinder, it appears that you could claim $100 once every four years for every unique card number including Authorized Users. For a couple or family without other Global Entry credits, this could be a big gain.
- Airline Fee credits are limited to selected domestic airlines (Alaskan, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and Virgin America.) Airline Fee credits can be claimed by any cardholder but the annual limit is $100 reimbursed per account.
So last year 2020, I got a credit for my GE. Say, I want to add my friend/family member for this year and every member that doesn't have a GE every year going forward, they would reimburse me?
@TheBoondocks wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
- TSA Global Entry on many cards is limited to one $100 credit every four years. With the language on the Pathfinder, it appears that you could claim $100 once every four years for every unique card number including Authorized Users. For a couple or family without other Global Entry credits, this could be a big gain.
So last year 2020, I got a credit for my GE. Say, I want to add my friend/family member for this year and every member that doesn't have a GE every year going forward, they would reimburse me?
Hmmm ... not sure how that would turn out. For one, you would have to add each one as an authorized user. Do you really want miscellaneous friends and family members added to your credit card account? Also, many lenders are watchful of who you are adding. Most lenders would question a "friend" sharing an account. The AU benefit is supposed to be for immediate family members like a spouse or child. We've had members on My Fico get accounts from some financial institutions shut down over questionable authorized user activity. Any abuse of the intended benefits would probably not be tolerated. Even if they are all legitimate family members, PenFed may put a limit on how many they would allow a person to add.
