NEW YORK — Credit card companies are tightening restrictions on some of the perks attached to premium rewards cards, limiting airport lounge guests, closing loopholes and adding spending requirements even as annual fees approach $1,000 on some cards, a new report has found.
American Express and Capital One are among issuers imposing new restrictions on airport lounge access, while other rewards are becoming more complicated to redeem, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The changes are intensifying a long-running cat-and-mouse game between card issuers and rewards enthusiasts who seek to maximize the value of premium cards.
“It’s just a forever changing landscape,” Ravi Wadan, a Seattle content creator who posts about credit cards, told the Journal. “They’re adding some benefits here and there but in general it’s getting more and more restrictive.”
Lounge Access Gets More Restrictive
Airport lounge access is one area where issuers have tightened rules.
American Express in July began requiring guests of Platinum cardholders to be traveling on the same flight as the cardholder, the Journal reported. The company previously began charging $50 for adult guests entering its Centurion Lounges.
Capital One also stopped providing free lounge access to guests of Venture X cardholders earlier this year. Cardholders who don’t spend at least $75,000 annually now must pay $45 to bring an adult guest, according to the Journal.
Issuers say tighter guest policies are intended to preserve the quality of lounge benefits as premium cards have become more popular and lounges more crowded.
For some customers, the changes are altering the value proposition of cards carrying increasingly expensive annual fees.
Marietta Williams, a New Jersey education consultant, told the Journal she decided her American Express Platinum card was no longer worthwhile after being notified that her annual fee was increasing to $895 from $695.
“I feel like the benefits are kind of going away,” Williams said.
Issuers Close Rewards Loopholes
Card companies also are becoming more aggressive about closing workarounds that allowed customers to use benefits in ways issuers did not intend.
American Express Platinum cardholders receive a quarterly $75 Lululemon credit that isn’t supposed to be used to buy gift cards. Wadan told the Journal he previously had been able to circumvent that restriction by purchasing gift cards online but recently found the workaround had stopped working.
Some Platinum cardholders also had found a way to use a $200 airline credit — intended for incidental expenses such as checked baggage, Wi-Fi and meals — to help pay for airfare.
The Journal reported American Express earlier this year closed a loophole that allowed customers to deposit the credit into a United Airlines program and then use the money to purchase flights.
“By closing this loophole, it’s likely that a lot of people are not going to remember to use the credit before the end of the quarter,” Jake Norcross, a Chicago marketing agency employee who posts about credit card points, told the Journal.
American Express Executive Vice President Lisa Kalhans said in a statement that the company has invested in making card benefits easier for customers to discover, enroll in and track.
Some Perks Come with More Conditions
Other changes have resulted from relationships between card issuers and the companies providing rewards.
American Express eliminated its $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit in July after the retailer went bankrupt, according to the Journal.
Chase Sapphire Reserve’s DoorDash benefit also became more restrictive after DoorDash changed its requirements. The twice-monthly $10 credit now requires a minimum $20 purchase on pickup orders.
Chase also drew attention in August when language appeared on its website indicating Sapphire Reserve cardholders could not use two $250 luxury hotel credits for consecutive stays at the same property within 24 hours of checkout.
Customers Complain in Social Media
After customers complained on social media, Chase said the language was an error and clarified that customers could use both credits at any time, including for back-to-back stays, according to the Journal.
Chase said in a statement that the Sapphire card’s popularity reflects the investments the company has made in its rewards program.
Jared Friedman, a New York consultant who posts online about maximizing credit card points, told the Journal that rewards remain valuable but require more effort from cardholders.
“The points game in itself has gotten more difficult in the course of the last three years,” Friedman said. “At the end of the day there’s still value to be had, it just requires a lot more time and attention.”
