The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card: A Potential Source of Flexible Points for Some Travelers

When Ms. Optimizer and I take trips, I like to report on how the travel rewards game fit into our plans and how we benefited from it. After all, if I am going to dispense advice about turning credit card spending into free travel, I need to lead by example and show actual results. At the end of last year, we took a trip to New York City to visit family, see some museums, and take in the tree at Rockefeller Center and other holiday decorations in Manhattan. Our hotel was close to Grand Central Terminal, where we could catch a commuter train to Connecticut to visit family and friends. The hotel was also located a short walk from the Museum of Modern Art and close to the bus lines that ran to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Naturally, points and miles played a key role in this trip, both for reducing costs and for increasing comfort. We were able to utilize World of Hyatt points and Delta miles to lower our costs as follows: For our flights to and from JFK, we used 30,400 Delta miles for two round trips. With a value of $436 for the tickets, this worked out to a redemption of 1.4 cents per mile which is solid for a Delta redemption. For our hotel, we used 145,000 World of Hyatt points for a five-night stay at the Grayson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. With a total cash rate of $3608 for those nights, we got a return of 2.5 cents per point, another solid redemption. Overall, the miles and points we utilized for this one trip saved us over $4,000. Additionally, the use of travel rewards credit cards yielded additional benefits that enhanced our trip. Because we have one Amex Delta Gold card, we got a 15 percent discount when redeeming miles for the round-trip tickets to JFK. This card also allowed us to check bags for free. Through the Amex Platinum Card, we were able to use the Delta lounge at our departure airport as well as for our return trip from JFK. Our Chase Hyatt card includes “Discoverist” status which allowed us to check in early upon arrival. We used Uber so we were able to take advantage of a monthly Uber credit that comes with the Amex Platinum card. For this trip to the Big Apple, like other trips we have taken in recent years, the well-planned use of miles and points played a significant role in our travel by not only saving us thousands of dollars, but also by enhancing our experiences with more comfort and convenience. Whether you are interested in checking out some of the greatest museums in the world, hunting down the perfect bagel or pastrami sandwich, shopping til you drop, or any other type of travel adventure , we are prepared to design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you that will quickly generate free and reduced cost travel while keeping your annual card fees under control. We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.

An interesting opportunity for those who fly American Airlines is that they can apply for credit cards from two banks that earn American miles and offer significant welcome bonuses. First, there are several cards offered by Citibank that range from a no annual fee card to a deluxe card that includes access to American Airlines’ Admirals Clubs. These are the most familiar and account for the largest share of American Airlines’ co-branded card business. However, there are also cards offered by Barclays Bank with some having similar features to the Citibank products. In a September post , I warned that after a decade of this co-existence between Citi and Barclays, Citi and American Airlines were having talks about forging an exclusive co-branding relationship. Based on a recent announcement, it is indeed the case that, starting in 2026, Citi will be the only issuer of co-branded American Airlines credit cards. The two-card arrangement has been great for people who want American miles, and I sometimes recommended the two cards for Travel Rewards Optimizer clients who need a “crash program” for getting some quick miles. The Barclays card is unique in that a new cardholder only needs to make one purchase (in any amount) and pay the $99 annual fee to get a 60,000-mile sign-up bonus (SUB). Most credit card sign-up bonuses usually require spending several thousand dollars at a minimum. While this unique loophole in the points and miles game will be missed, it is still available (at least for now). Anyone who is potentially interested in the Barclays card should apply for it soon. Going forward, I do not know if these Barclay American Airlines cards will be closed or converted to Citi products. Although the American Airlines credit card “double play” is going away, the exclusive relationship between Citi and American Airlines might offer a new opportunity for those wishing to accumulate American miles and fly this airline. A joint press release from the organizations stated that “the agreement creates an innovative alignment between the Citi ThankYou and AAdvantage card programs.” The Citi ThankYou card program has cards that generate proprietary ThankYou points that can be used as cash, turned into gift cards, or transferred to airline partners. A key weakness of this program is that, while is has many airline partners, it does not currently partner with a major domestic airline (American Express partners with Delta; Chase with United and Southwest). This “innovative alignment” mentioned in the joint press release suggests that Citi’s ThankYou program might add American Airlines as a transfer partner. Simply adding a major airline as a transfer partner alone goes a long way in making the ThankYou program cards more attractive. But, even better, some of the ThankYou cards, such as the Citi Strata Premier, allow you to accumulate ThankYou points at an accelerated rate. More details will emerge and we will keep you posted. This development with Citi and American Airlines is another example of how the points and miles landscape changes constantly. Opportunities appear and disappear every week. Let us create a comprehensive Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you so that you can get the most impact from your credit card usage. We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.

Citibank and American Airlines discuss an exclusive co-branding arrangement

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