And the first official churn of 2019 is...

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....a Marriott Bonvoy Visa from Chase – definitely not something I would have predicted a few months ago, that's for sure. Before I go into why, here's our current points situation:

pink box is a best case scenario on how many airline points those SPG/Marriott points could buy


Here's why:
  • I have a large, no bonus category, reimbursable expense coming up that will easily put me over spending threshold for the bonus ($5,000 for 100,000 miles).
  • The vendor I have to pay doesn't take Amex any longer
  • Both my husband and I currently have 100k+ Marriott points bonuses thanks in part to churning the SPG Amex prior to the Marriott + SPG merger. It's always easier to book rewards when you have one big pile of points versus having them scattered across several programs.
  • I debated getting an Alaska Airlines card or a Korean SkyMiles one, but we don't have any big travel plans beyond what we've already booked for this year, so I'd really prefer to have any new bonus points in a flexible, transferable currency than in a specific airline's program.

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