It’s been a busy week in the world of credit card benefits.
On Sunday, Citi removed nearly all of their credit card protections and benefits, swapping them for a new potentially lucrative card trifecta albeit one without useful benefits like extended warranty.
On Tuesday, AMEX announced that major benefit changes will be coming on 1/1/20, including the removal of return protection from most cards, the removal of extended warranty coverage from several cards, the removal of roadside assistance and travel accident insurance from all cards, and decreasing the length of the extended warranty and purchase protection from all cards. They will swap in trip cancellation insurance and trip delay insurance on their premium cards.
I mentioned earlier this week in a post on the remaining cards with price protection, that Barclays was killing price drop protection from their cards on 11/1.
But that’s not all that will be going away on 11/1. They will also be removing extended warranty, purchase protection, trip delay, and return protection, among other useful benefits.
They will swap in identity protection and cell phone damage protection, though cell phone coverage typically has low value caps and requires that you pay your cell phone bill on the card, so you’ll lose out on earning 5 points per dollar on a card like Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.
Unlike Citi, they are keeping car rental insurance. However their insurance is only secondary coverage and has historically excluded Israel and select other countries from coverage. That’s weak compared to the free primary worldwide coverage offered on many Chase cards, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Sapphire Reserve.
Discover started the cost cutting by eliminating nearly all card benefits last year.
The cost cutting trend continues and credit card companies are banking on consumers not caring enough to change their spending patterns or cancel their cards.
Hopefully AMEX hanging onto most card benefits will pressure Chase to not follow the lead of other banks getting rid of credit card benefits.
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21 Comments On "Step Right Up: Barclays Is Next To Kill Credit Card Benefits, While Adding Some Token New Benefits As Well"
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Many have said the citi double cash earns thank you points or transferrable as TY points but I logged in to my citi account and the double cash card still is only cash back card and there is nothing about TY points. It hasn’t started yet?
You can transfer cash back into TY points.
It seems like it’s only worth to combine no fee cards with ultra premium cards. Everything else just doesn’t make sense now that they offer zero protection that consumers have to come to associate with credit cards.
If you value transferable points then its worth it
dan if I booked a flight with my Citi card before this past Sunday , and the flight is afterwards would I be eligible for trip interruption/cancellation?
Yes.
so if I rent a car in Israel on the Barclay arrival before 11/1 I am not covered? can I use ny Barclay arrival points to pay for rental cars in Israel?
AFAIK, Barclays does not cover CDW insurance in Israel. Call to verify.
You can use their points for any travel.
What’s the best between Amex EP with Premium coverage (24.99) and Chase United Explore for US rental ?
I’d go with United personally.
Ok thanks, and why ?
They are more easier to deal than Amex (in case ..)
Or because something else ?
United Explorer primary coverage is free and (for now) an included benefit of the card.
I actually just used (August) arrival in Israel, they did cover, and gave me a letter. Hopefully still works for you
From the T&C of my Jetblue card
“E. Where You are covered:
Coverage is available worldwide. Coverage is not available in
countries where:
• This EOC is prohibited by that countries law; or
• The terms of the EOC are in conflict with the laws of that country.”
So apparently, Israel is covered.
@dan Two weeks ago they sent me a letter of car rental coverage stating it covers Israel.
it does seem that although the miles per dollar of spend are staying steady and going up
its the benefits that are getting axed.They really are quite valuable.Did you ever check pricing on a extended warranty? I guess the basic question is does the benefit bring a customer to the ecosystem of that card issuer or is it a one off purchase for when he needs the benefit and then goes back to his regular mileage earning card
Will stop using cc if that’s the case.
Amex and chase better keep there benefits.
All the recent news doesn’t really surprise me. Why should credit card companies be providing all these benefits to begin with? They were never doing it as a favor, it was there to improve their bottom line. I assume that they offered it to draw people into doing their spending on credit cards, the same reason they offer points. But in today’s day and age, where pretty much all spending in done digitally, and cash is a rarity, they don’t need to offer much for people to use a credit card. It seems that originally it was worth it from a business standpoint to offer the benefits, and now it just doesn’t pay.
For all the consumers, especially savvy ones that used the benefits to the fullest (and then some) it is annoying, but, like all the other ways credit card companies are “cracking down”, they’re not being mean, they’re just trying to make as much money as possible, and they feel this is the best way to do it. (And that applies to all the rewards programs changing and devaluing; while you may disagree with decisions they make, they think it’s what’s best for business.)
Part of business is to keep your customers happy.
If i signed up for one of their cards and got the sign up bonus, can i call and them and complain i wanted the other benefits and get refunded on the yearly fee? thanks!
What’s your point there not trying to be mean it’s just business doh , the part people get pissed about is sudden devaluations in cc and programs with little or no notice