Travel bans and high AF travel cards

[iced]

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@red259 wrote:

I got an email from Hilton that my free weekend nights certs from Amex credit cards are having their expiration date extended. This made me start to think about all my high AF credit cards. With all the travel bans I am unable to use many of the benefits I paid a large AF for. Any word on what credit card companies may do in light of this? I have renewals coming up and its really questionable to me if I am going to keep many of these travel cards if travel is going to be screwed up for another year. Seems like AFs on credit cards specifically designed for travel should be waived for a year. How will the travel bans and current situation in general impact your credit card decisions? 

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With very few exceptions, most travel cards' best benefits can still be used even during a reduced travel period so I dont expect them to throw many bones our way other than conciliatory "we care" sort of PR plays.

As for me personally, I'm still planning on traveling just about monthly. I'm in the UK right now, and plan to go to California next month and have trips already planned for both May and June. I don't anticipate much to change with my card lineup or how I use them.

[wasCB14]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

Just got an AMEX Green (what timing, eh?) and got CLEAR, put enough expenses on it before everything went sideways that I will want to keep it. If we're still in a travel shutdown in February-March 2021 we'll have bigger problems.

Capital One Venture will have an AF in July, the plan was ALWAYS to either ask for an AF waiver/retention bonus or PC to VentureOne. I would prefer the former because a 1.25% card is going to get sock drawered behind 1.5%-2% cards.

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Is there some feature of V1 that beats QS as a PC option? I'm not aware of one.

[UpperNwGuy]

Before the coronavirus became a pandemic, I had already decided to downgrade my CSR to the Freedom Unlimited in August when the new, higher annual fee comes due.  The current travel bans simply mean that I won’t be getting much value from the CSR in its final 9 months in my wallet.  I may also downgrade my United Explorer card at the same time as I only use it for the perks on international flights.  I don’t see myself doing much travel from this point forward.

[budugu]

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@iced wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

I got an email from Hilton that my free weekend nights certs from Amex credit cards are having their expiration date extended. This made me start to think about all my high AF credit cards. With all the travel bans I am unable to use many of the benefits I paid a large AF for. Any word on what credit card companies may do in light of this? I have renewals coming up and its really questionable to me if I am going to keep many of these travel cards if travel is going to be screwed up for another year. Seems like AFs on credit cards specifically designed for travel should be waived for a year. How will the travel bans and current situation in general impact your credit card decisions? 

---

With very few exceptions, most travel cards' best benefits can still be used even during a reduced travel period so I dont expect them to throw many bones our way other than conciliatory "we care" sort of PR plays.

As for me personally, I'm still planning on traveling just about monthly. I'm in the UK right now, and plan to go to California next month and have trips already planned for both May and June. I don't anticipate much to change with my card lineup or how I use them.

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Free advice (i know!) -- that does not sound like a great idea benefits be damned! 

[notmyrealname23]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

Just got an AMEX Green (what timing, eh?) and got CLEAR, put enough expenses on it before everything went sideways that I will want to keep it. If we're still in a travel shutdown in February-March 2021 we'll have bigger problems.

Capital One Venture will have an AF in July, the plan was ALWAYS to either ask for an AF waiver/retention bonus or PC to VentureOne. I would prefer the former because a 1.25% card is going to get sock drawered behind 1.5%-2% cards.

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Is there some feature of V1 that beats QS as a PC option? I'm not aware of one.

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I already have a QS with a decent line. The advantage for a V1 would be ability to transfer a small number of miles to keep a Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles account open that has a significant number of miles in the account (thanks to a churn and burn), as well as an Avianca LifeMiles account (not churned and burned yet). Both accounts will expire miles without any action if the account stays dormant.

They're both AMEX partners (so as long as I have a MR card I have another way to keep them happy, and Avianca sells miles for cheap) but having a no AF option to feed an account doesn't hurt.

I can make good use of those miles programs once coronavirus isn't killing left and right.

[red259]

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@iced wrote:

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@red259 wrote:

I got an email from Hilton that my free weekend nights certs from Amex credit cards are having their expiration date extended. This made me start to think about all my high AF credit cards. With all the travel bans I am unable to use many of the benefits I paid a large AF for. Any word on what credit card companies may do in light of this? I have renewals coming up and its really questionable to me if I am going to keep many of these travel cards if travel is going to be screwed up for another year. Seems like AFs on credit cards specifically designed for travel should be waived for a year. How will the travel bans and current situation in general impact your credit card decisions? 

---

With very few exceptions, most travel cards' best benefits can still be used even during a reduced travel period so I dont expect them to throw many bones our way other than conciliatory "we care" sort of PR plays.

As for me personally, I'm still planning on traveling just about monthly. I'm in the UK right now, and plan to go to California next month and have trips already planned for both May and June. I don't anticipate much to change with my card lineup or how I use them.

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Yea I don't think you are going to California next month. 

[bourgogne]

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Yea I don't think you are going to California next month. 

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lol yeah I think the national guard will be rolling and that is about it

[Remedios]

We've had at least three patients with atypical pneumonias today, highly indicative of coronavirus.

As I was leaving work, there were news crews in front of the hospital. I'd imagine it's because at least one ER physician got infected. That's how all good horror stories start. 

California is probably not happening unless there is some sort of divine or alien intervention. 

Denial is powerful self preservation mechanism,  kinda like when a small child covers their eyes and thinks you cannot see them because they cannot see you. 

I felt more comfort when I believed it to be blown out of proportion. 

I'm not going to part with any cards yet, given that a couple would be near impossible to get again in any reasonable period of time. I plan on living, and eventually, life will go on. 

[bz386]

I pulled the plug and cancelled my CSR. I have transferred a good chunk of the credit line to my Freedom to preserve it. If in the future I want the CSR again, I can convert the Freedom. 

I'm switching the spend to a combination of Wells Fargo Propel, Amex Platinum and Amex Everyday. Not that there will be much such spend with all restaurants in Bay Arra closing and all travel suspended indefinitely. 

When September rolls around and the Platinum AF comes up, it might get the axe too. 

[wasCB14]

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@bz386 wrote:

I pulled the plug and cancelled my CSR. I have transferred a good chunk of the credit line to my Freedom to preserve it. If in the future I want the CSR again, I can convert the Freedom. 

I'm switching the spend to a combination of Wells Fargo Propel, Amex Platinum and Amex Everyday. Not that there will be much such spend with all restaurants in Bay Arra closing and all travel suspended indefinitely. 

When September rolls around and the Platinum AF comes up, it might get the axe too. 

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Did Chase give you any PC options? I was able to PC CSR to a second Freedom so I can upgrade it (or, more likely, my CFU) back to CSR later. If you want CSR again, you lose your 5x categories.

With 5/24 concerns, I think it's good to keep such accounts open and available, as well as credit.