Protecting your points stash

Hotel and airline points get devalued. Transferable currencies (Chase UR, Amex MR, Capital One Miles, Citi TYP, Bilt) are insulated — they can move to whichever partner still offers good value.

• ✓Aim to hold at least two of {UR, MR, Capital One} — they share almost no partners, so devaluation in one rarely hits the other.
• ✓Don't transfer until you have an award to book. Once points leave the bank, you're locked into that program.

• ✓Closing a Chase Sapphire while holding URs in it → all URs become Chase TravelSM cash at 1¢ ea. Always product-change to a no-AF Freedom first.
• ✓Closing an Amex card moves MRs to your remaining MR cards. If it's your last MR-earning card, you have ~30 days before they vanish.
• ✓Long credit history helps your score; closures hurt it.

They happen 1–2 times a year per program. Hyatt cat 8 went from 30k→45k. Delta keeps inventing new fares. Your defense:

• ✓Book aspirational redemptions as soon as schedules open (~330 days out for most airlines).
• ✓Use points faster than you earn them once you have a 6-month runway built up.
• ✓Subscribe to Frequent Miler / Doctor of Credit RSS for devaluation news.

• ✓Only after you've found the available award seat or hotel night.
• ✓Watch for transfer bonuses: Amex → Virgin Atlantic 30%, Capital One → Turkish 25%. Wait for them when possible.
• ✓Some transfers take days (Singapore, Aeroplan can take 24–72h). Don't transfer last-second.

• ✓Turn on every issuer's text/push alerts. Fraud is faster to recover when caught the same day.
• ✓Amex 'financial review' (FR): if asked for tax returns, comply quickly. Refusing = account closure + points freeze.
• ✓Don't refer yourself or family members from the same household — Amex and Chase both flag this.
• ✓Don't sell points or buy from a points-broker. It's against ToS and gets accounts shut down.

Card benefits people forget about:

• ✓Trip delay (CSP/CSR) — $500 of meals/hotel after a 6h delay.
• ✓Primary rental car coverage (CSP, Ink Preferred) — skip the rental counter insurance entirely.
• ✓Cell phone protection (Ink Preferred, Ink Cash) — $1,000/claim if you pay your phone bill on the card.
• ✓Purchase protection and extended warranty on most Visa Sig / Mastercard World Elite cards.