Originally Posted by
pinniped
TYP is also going through its own mini-devaluation, with AA flight redemptions getting more expensive in the next few weeks (?).
I have a couple TYP cards and looked at them as relatively decent no-FX-fee cards that came with some other benefits (one of mine has lounge access, for example). Since I fly AA pretty regularly, I just think of them as cashback cards. As soon as I hit a couple hundred bucks' worth of points, I spend them on a flight.
My guess is that Chase's Sapphire card is better for most people...if you want a home-grown-points type of card that redeems for travel and transfers into other types of points.
In 6 months, I'll be entirely out of TYP. I'm likely to cancel one card and turn the other one into a Costco Visa. The end of the AAdmiral's Club partnership kills most of the value I was getting from my one lounge-access card.
I believe Citi is devaluing AA as a whole. Like you said, the Prestige card is losing Admirals club access next month and lowering the value of points to 1.25 cents each. You have to admit the current Prestige-AA rewards value was/is almost too good to last.
The card itself is doing well, though. Citi recently added Jet Blue at 1000 TY to 800 TB when compared to 1000: 500 on the ThankYou Preferred. The ThankYou cards are the only other non-AMEX outside of Barclays that transfers to True Blue that I know of. There was also another partner that was added recently (forgot the name though).
I have the ThankYou Premier for a few reasons:
1) Transfers to Jet Blue (doesn't exist with Chase).
2) Automated Price Rewind Feature
3) Balance reflects immediately after payment
4) Trip cancellation protection (doesn't exist on AMEX).
I've said it before, some people may find Chase's partners as a better group, but I would only get value out of Hyatt. If I lived closer to an airport that had Southwest airlines as a partner, that would be useful too.
When it comes to Hilton Honors, I believe the rewards program itself is flexible enough across multiple issuers where they'll stay with Citi as a transfer partner.