The Synchrony Bank Cathay Pacific card is due to launch in the next shortly (February 13th), but reddit user nidijogi found some interesting new details.
- Bonus will be 25,000 points after $2,500 in spend
- Application URL will be: http://www.cathaypacific.com/uscreditcard
We still don’t know what the bonus categories will be (likely food, cathay pacific purchases and a few others). You can find the Cathay Pacific award chart here. 25,000 miles isn’t a lot, but you need to keep in mind the fact that SPG, American Express Membership Rewards & Citi ThankYou points all transfer to Cathay.
The other thing to keep in mind is the strict expiration rules for Cathay. Points expire three years after they are earned, they cannot be extended unless you pay an extension fee (this costs $40 per 2,000 miles). I’m hoping that this card will include the ability to either not have miles expire or a way for them to be extended without paying anything.
No way to extend the expiration like buying magazines? Dining for dim sum? Etc?
Nope
That’s the case with A LOT of the frequent flyer programs in Asia (and beyond).
Even with LATAM in South America (for which US Bank was a card in the USA), the only way to extend the 3-year expiration is with a paid LATAM metal flight, which means you have to fly to or within South America (either to there paid, or fly to there on an award and take a shorter intra-South-America flight paid) every 3 years.
Even with KLM in Western Europe, the only way to extend the 20-month expiration is with a paid KLM or partner (including SkyTeam) flight. At least in that case for someone based in the USA it can be a paid Delta or paid Alaska flight, but it still has to be a paid flight, not a magazine or dining or buying songs on iTunes or anything like that.
Those “easy to extend” (without even flying) expiration programs are mostly limited to North America and the UK. They’re very hard to find anywhere else.
GREAT F ing points!
i mean cmon… Synchrony Bank? thats a No Go for me. hate that bank.
Wondering if this would have an AF……
I previously read that it would offer 2xpoints on foreign transactions.
Interesting, but only if it has no FTF and I bet it does.