Good morning,
and happy Monday! This week is your deadline to file federal taxes. If you are a procrastinator like me and also use online tax software, make sure to check out Amex and Chase offers and stack it with a shopping portal like Capital One, Rakuten, or Rove. Chase has 30% statement credit (up to $20) for TurboTax or 25% TaxAct (up to $60). Cash back portals can add another 15% as well.
If you are a mega procrastinator, you could even try to open a premium card that is generally overnighted to you to meet a sub. (Amex Plats, CSR, etc.)
Oh, and if you have a Capital One card, check out today’s offer which is 35x (or 35% back) on TripAdvisor. Capital One Shopping also has 35% back today as well. Terms indicate eligible purchases are Hotel Instant Booking and Experiences/Things to Do. C1’s portal notoriously does not track as well as others, and recourse for getting missing cash back is through statement credit but only if you used a C1 card for the missing purchase.
Source: Capital One Offers
This week's highlights
Hyatt’s upcoming devaluation
Hyatt has a pending devaluation that is set to occur sometime in May with an official date to be announced later by Hyatt. Oh, remember the fake devaluation post as well?
Is May 7 the date? A Redditor received an email from Park Hyatt Beaver Creek saying the changes take effect that day. However, a World of Hyatt spokesperson told Thrifty Traveler this isn’t correct and the date will be provided shortly.
Regardless, book sooner rather than later if you can. Aspirational property costs might be 67% higher in less than a month while all-inclusives are facing a similar fate.
Source: Hyatt, Find Flights for Me
American Express devaluation continues
It feels like a death by a thousand cuts this year with American Express. We are losing the Saks credit given the financial situation of Saks Global, Amex has tightened up how we can use some credits (airline credits, maybe Resy?), some transfer partners are no longer 1:1 rates (Cathay Pacific), and Amex is even losing a transfer partner (Etihad on June 30).
Now, Amex is revoking the ability to use your Platinum card to access select Lufthansa lounges when flying Lufthansa Group airlines. This will take place starting October 1. More details on OMAAT.
Oh, and American Express hasn’t had a transfer bonus (from their end) at all this year.
Bonvoy moments + World Cup
It pains me to write this, as the more people who know about it, the harder it will be for me. But starting today, Marriott will be offering the ability to get two tickets to the World Cup Final for the cost of… just 1 Marriott point! This is part of Marriott’s 1-Point Drop series to promote various partnerships that Marriott has. Marriott (and other loyalty programs) offer ways to redeem points for experiences, generally thorugh a bidding/auction process. These 1-Point drops are first-come, first-serve and tests to see if you are a world-record holder in clicking really fast. It also helps save 2 million points, which is what this cardmember exclusive auction went for this weekend.
The wording also indicates there will be multiple 1-Point Drops for World Cup Finals tickets. Marriott also indicated there will be access to all 104 games (likely through bidding/auction). Good luck!
FYI: Qatar also lets you bid using Avios for experiences. There are many World Cup games where bidding ends on April 21 that aren’t bid super high at the moment.
Source: Marriott Bonvoy
Deal of the week
Fly Iberia business class, starting at 40.5k or 59k points each way, depending on peak vs. off-peak dates. Tax/fees start at $127 each way. Fly between Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York (JFK/EWR), Orlando, DC (IAD), Toronto, and Madrid.
Flights between DFW MIA, and MCO are priced at 50.5k or 74k points depending on peak vs. off-peak.