March 12, 2017 Update - Cathay Pacific Visa Review, Citi ThankYou to JetBlue points transfer 50% bonus, Changes coming to Amex Platinum Card

We have been making updates throughout the site and this post highlights some of them plus some recent news.

• We have reviewed Cathay Pacific Visa Signature, a new product by Synchrony Bank with an annual fee of $95.  The signup bonus is 25,000 miles after spending $2,500 within 3 months of new account opening and is worth about $230 in our booking considering the first year annual fee.  It did not make to our Promotion page because we only list deals that are more than $300 in value.
• Singapore Airlines is devaluating its KrisFlyer miles as of March 23, 2017.  The redemption value will increase for premium cabin travel and they also remove the online redemption discount; however, they will also remove the fuel surcharges associated Singapore Airlines redemption.  This is to encourage more economy class redemption versus business class or first class.  Our valuation of KrisFlyer miles will be adjusted slightly from 1.5 cents a piece to 1.4 cents.  Citi ThankYou points, which allow transfer to multiple programs including KrisFlyer, will also be worth around 1.4 cents in our book, as KrisFlyer offers the best value among ThankYou's transfer partner, in our book.  As always, your milage may value.
• Between March 2 and April 30, 2017, you will receive 50% bonus when you transfer Citi ThankYou points to TrueBlue points, the frequent flyer currency of JetBlue.  Normally ThankYou points transfer to TrueBlue points at a 5:4 ratio, so with this promotion they transfer at a 1:1.2 ratio.  TrueBlue points are loosely revenue based and the redemption value ranges from 1 to 1.8 cents a piece; our value is 1.4 cents.  When you take advantage of this limited time promotion, your ThankYou points can be worth 1.68 cents, slightly higher than our normal value of ThankYou points at 1.4 cents.  We recommend using this promotion only when you have a plan ready and have an idea of how many TB points you will need for your travel.
• Amex promised more changes to its iconic Platinum Card when it enhanced this product back in last October.  Now the changes are finally coming effective March 30, 2017.  Personal Platinum Card will have the annual fees increased by $100 to $550, and receive 5x on prepaid hotels booked via AmexTravel.com, $200 in Uber credits annually (limited to $15 per month plus an additional $20 in December), free additional Gold Card, enhanced Priority Pass Select guest policy (two free guests per visit versus none before), and finally a new metal card design to rival Chase's Sapphire Reserve and Ritz-Carlton Visa .  Business Platinum Card will keep the same $450 annual fee and receive 5x points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked via AmexTravel.com and enhanced Priority Pass Select guest policy.  Looks like Amex will continue to differentiate the personal and business version of this card.  We will update our review after the changes kick in.

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