This is a pitch, not to sell credit card, but to ditch one. Here are top three reasons to ditch ’em:
1. 3x on Charity is Going Away Soon
On May 2017 (doc) US Bank announced that beginning Jan, 1, 2018, 3x on charity will be nerfed to 2x. This is a huge blow to the program because Gift of College codes as charity.
2. Flat 1.5 cpp IS a Nerf
Fast forward to July 2017 (doc), US Bank announced that beginning Jan, 1, 2018 FP will have flat valuation of 1.5 cpp. The casuals believed this was a buff to the program but the hardcore users of FP program knew this was a serious nerf.
Beginning new year 2018, 2x earning on charity will be worth at most 3% towards travel. Let that sink in for a bit – by shifting two numbers (3x became 2x and 2 cpp became 1.5 cpp) the program magically cut out max reward earning on charity by half!
3. Prepare for a Possible Olympic Promo
The boosted signup bonus (around 30-35k FP) on visa (not amex) FP cards have become like an Olympic tradition (doc) from US Bank. It is very much possible that this promo will return again in 2018 and when that happens, you likely want to churn these cards.
How to Ditch?
The important thing is that you burn most of FP by the end of 2017. If you can make use of Southwest travel funds within a year then I suggest reading through FlexPoints: guaranteed 2 cpp with Southwest. This trick also works with other airlines like Alaska. Note that should SW travel fund expire, there is a fee to reinstate it for some limited time and as far as I know the new travel fund can be used by anyone.
Additionally, when your AF due (could be in 2018), you may use this trick FlexPerks: Turning 5K FlexPoints into a $85 Check to cash out limited amount of leftover FP at 1.4-1.7 CPP.
Now, before you ditch the program, remember that flight redemption are made at 20k, 30k, etc. You can meet that threshold by MSing on bonus earning categories like charity and grocery.
Why Not to Ditch?
If you’ve a hoard of FP, don’t have any travel plans in the next year or so (i.e. no use of expiring travel fund), but will have it in the year that follows then you should probably keep it for now. Down the road you may even consider transferring FP to AR.
5 comments
Ditched this card last week. Too bad they wouldn’t let me PC to a Cash+ … oh well, I guess they rly want me to churn it during next years olympics then.
Only trick I missed out on was converting the 5k to a check for the AF (and thus left $30 on the table). Sucks I didn’t find your blog earlier lol & had already cleared out my FP stash in anticipation of closing.
[…] Once upon a time US Bank used to be the king of cashback on charities. One could select “charity” as a 5% category on Cash+ card but as of Feb 2017 (reddit, doc) said category has been replaced by “ground transportation”. Flexperk (FP) still earns 3x on charity but the starting Jan, 1, 2018 the earning rate will be lowered to 2x and the program all together will have a flat 1.5 cpp. All of this nerf lead me to writing the post I Ditched US Bank’s FlexPerk and You Should Too! […]
Does the Flexperks VISA (non-business) still offer the bonus 3500 flexperks after spending $24,000+ within the cardmember year? I see the benefit still listed for the business version, but I don’t see it for the personal version. If I recall correctly though, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen people say that they still got the points even though it’s not explicitly listed as a benefit anymore… do you know if this is still the case?
Tom, I do not know.
I am very disappointed with these changes and will be moving away from the FP card. I used to love the ability to get $400 tickets for 20,000 points. We would just plan our vacations accordingly every year and only go places we could fly for around $400. Now, it is 30,000 points for $450. I would rather go with the Chase cards.