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🤙🏿 Welcome back to the Better Than Points Newsletter - the premier place for all things Credit Card Points News and Travel

My name’s Luis and I’m the one writing this (hit me up here!)

Well I didn’t see this coming.

And the news is actually good!

Actually, its really good!!

And it’s gonna change the credit card and points space.

So lets get to it.

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Travel News

Hawaiian Miles Integrated Into Alaska Mileage Plan (LINK)

We finally have an actual date, October 1, 2025 is when Hawaiian Miles and Alaska’s Mileage Plan officially become one.

Alaska’s said all along that Mileage Plan would be the program that survives, and now it’s on the calendar.

We still don’t have all the information as to what the new Alaska program is going to look like, but its said it’ll be released in August 2025.

I’ll keep an eye on any news that drops and pass it along as soon as I hear it.

In the meantime, it’s worth poking around the current Hawaiian sweet spots (I’ve loved those nonstop Austin to Hawaii flights while they lasted).

While the Barclays co branded Hawaiian cards are sticking around, it’s not clear whats going to happen to that agreement.

How those cards fold into Mileage Plan after October 1 is anyone’s guess, but you know I’ll be digging for answers.

Fingers crossed we can squeeze a few good trips out of the old program before the switch flips.

Citi transfer over to American Airlines (LINK)

Turns out those Citi AA rumors were real.

Citi not only locked down the co branded AAdvantage cards, they also added AA as a transfer partner on the brand new Strata Elite and it doesn’t stop there.

The Strata Premier, Prestige and Elite will all let you move ThankYou points straight into AAdvantage miles.

That’s a big shift.

Until now, the only reliable way to stock up on AA miles was with the Citi or Barclays co branded cards and those earned nothing but AA miles.

Now you’ve got three solid Citi cards earning flexible ThankYou points you can send to American or to a long list of other partners.

It instantly makes Citi far more relevant in the points game.

Bottom line, AA miles have been tough to earn and their award space is still some of the best around.

Citi just became the only bank where you can both rack up flexible currency and funnel it into AAdvantage.

Might be time to give those ThankYou cards a second look.

New Citi Strata $595 Annual Fee Card (LINK)

Citi just dropped the Strata Elite card the same day it announced AA transfers, marking Citi’s first real swing back into the premium space with an annual fee of $595.

The lounge game isn’t great, just Priority Lounger access (not for restaurants) and four Admirals Club passes per year, each pass covers one adult (kids tag along free).

So if it’s you and your spouse, that’s two passes.

What’s good?

• 1.5x on every dollar for base spend better than Chase or Amex.

• 3x on dining (the old Prestige still beats it with 5x).

• A quirky 6x on dining between 6 p.m.–6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday at select restaurants…kinda niche, but kinda fun if you’re out late.

Crediting perks:

• $300 hotel credit (through CitiTravel).

• $200 Blacklane credit (think Uber, but upscale).

• $200 “other merchants” credit it’s helpful, but nothing earth shattering.

Sign up bonus is 100,000 points but only if you grab an in branch link or have a banker email you the special application.

Some people have just called into a Citi bank and have had the link emailed to them.

It’s a solid 1.5x base earn and, of course, the headline feature, points transfer to American Airlines (plus all the usual Citi partners).

That alone is tempting, but now that some other Citi ThankYou cards can transfer to AA, too, the Elite isn’t automatically a must have.

I’m not rushing to apply, but those 100k points that could turn into 100k AA miles is tempting.

🤓 Hack

• Here’s your reminder not to throw your old bag tags or printed boarding passes away at the airport. The information on them can be used to open fraud claims on your behalf. See this post about it.

• If you’re ever in the Dallas or Miami airport and have AAdvantage Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum status. Definitely take advantage of this dining experience in the lounge.

🛋️ Luis’ Lounge

Each week, I’ll share something cool I’ve discovered or tackle a question from the community. It’s my little corner to explore ideas, offer fresh perspectives, and hopefully spark your own curiosity.

With Chase basically turning its premium cards into coupon books and Citi suddenly dropping real (if not top shelf) value, the credit card market is shaking up.

Everyone’s still waiting on that rumored Amex Platinum refresh. My hope?

Citi’s move puts more pressure on Amex to help cardholders instead of just padding Amex bottom line.

If big annual fees are here to stay, at least give us perks that matter, especially now that consumers actually have options.

We still haven’t heard from Alaska about its planned premium card, and with the Hawaiian points merger looming I’m curious to see what they cook up.

I didn’t want this to turn into a Citi newsletter, but let’s zoom in on a couple of strategies if you fly American a lot and want status + miles you can actually spend on sweet spot partners.

Building a Citi ecosystem

• Strata Elite is the new headline grabber: decent credits, 1.5× base earn, and crucially AA transfers.

• Pair it with Double Cash (2× on everything) and Custom Cash (5× on your top monthly category up to $500). That’s an easy one two punch for cranking out ThankYou points.

From there, options open up: transfer to AA and book partners like Qantas, Alaska, or Japan Airlines.

You could even hunt down those Etihad Apartments, 115 k AA miles from YYC to Abu Dhabi for a seat that can run $15k+ cash. Crazy value.

Clock’s ticking

Once AA miles become easier to earn, which they just did, partner sweet spots tend to disappear.

More people will start booking those high end awards, partners push back, and next thing you know the award prices shoot up.

So if you’ve got your eye on something big, book sooner rather than later.

I’d bet a year from now those same flights will cost a lot more AA miles.

Citi just went from “meh” to a legit AA earning engine.

If that fits your travel pattern, the time to pounce is now before the floodgates open and the devaluations start.

P.S. Found a lot of good award availability to Europe for October that I aded to the Flight of the Week section.

Check out these crazy award deals!

🔬 Secret Travel Research

This section includes some of the best award flights of the week bookable with points and miles.

• Great options from the East Coast to Europe in October

🖥️ TravelBot

Chat with TravelBot - my AI clone. It’s trained on every newsletter I’ve published along with my 10+ years of points and credit card knowledge 🧠.

It’s also trained on my voice, so you can call it and have a full blown conversations. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

👀 My Favorite Finds

This section includes some of the best links videos and articles of the week around the points and travel community

• 8 US foods banned in other countries (LINK)

• These newsletters are changing the game (LINK)

• Check out Swiss new first class cabins on A350 (LINK)

• Hertz AI damage scanner is causing a lot of backlash (LINK)

• You actually don’t have to show your ID at the Airport Security (LINK)