Credit card and loyalty program changes 2025: Find out what’s ending and changing

1 month ago 17

It's that time of year again: Time to use any credits that will expire at the end of the year, plan any last mileage runs or mattress runs for elite status and start thinking about your points-and-miles strategy for next year. It's also a good time to see what loyalty program and credit card changes are happening next year.

Here, we've rounded up the major changes in store for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 that you need to know about.

Reduced access to Delta Sky Club lounges

Access to Delta Sky Club lounges will change early next year for travelers who hold the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

Currently, Reserve cardmembers receive complimentary access to Delta Sky Club lounges, plus four one-time guest passes each year to use for travel companions.

Starting Feb. 1, 2025, Reserve cardmembers will receive only 15 Sky Club visits per year. Once you have used your 15 visits, you can purchase additional Sky Club visits (including Grab and Go) for $50 per person, per visit using your card. You can earn an unlimited number of Sky Club visits in a year by making a total of $75,000 or more in eligible purchases on the card in a calendar year, but this may not be feasible for many cardholders.

Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders can currently access Delta Sky Clubs when flying on same-day Delta-operated or Delta-marketed flights. Beginning Feb. 1, 2025, Platinum cardholders will receive 10 visits per year; if you want to earn an unlimited number of Sky Club visits, you must make a total of $75,000 or more in eligible purchases on your card within the calendar year. Additionally, after all 10 visits have been used, you can visit the Sky Club (including Grab and Go) for $50 per person, per visit.

This is only the latest in a series of changes Delta has made over the years to limit Sky Club access, but it may not be a bad thing.

"I love visiting Delta Sky Clubs, but it's incredibly frustrating when I encounter a wait to get in," Nick Ewen, TPG's senior editorial director, said of the changes. "I welcome the new changes, especially since I have both The Platinum Card from American Express and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card. Between the two, I'll have plenty of visits to use when I'm traveling for work each year. When we're traveling as a family, my wife can use her own visits (she's an authorized user), and then I can use my $200 airline incidental credit on the Amex Platinum and four guest passes on the Delta Reserve for my daughter."

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Fewer bonus miles for Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elite members

Like many loyalty programs, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan rewards elite status members with bonus miles on top of the miles earned by basic members. But starting Jan. 1, 2025, MVP and MVP Gold members will earn half as many bonus miles, while MVP Gold 75K members will earn 20% less. Top-tier MVP Gold 100K members won't see any reduction in earnings ... for now.

Here's a summary of the upcoming changes:

TierElite bonus miles for 2024Elite bonus miles for 2025

MVP	50%	25%
MVP Gold	100%	50%
MVP Gold 75K	125%	100%
MVP Gold 100K	150%	150%

According to Clint Henderson, a managing editor at TPG, this latest change is disappointing.

"As a former Alaska elite member, I'm a bit sad to see a further devaluation of points earning from Alaska," he said. "There's been a steady chipping away at the value of the program for the past several years, and this just adds to that. It's still a super valuable loyalty program, but it's getting harder and harder to really maximize Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan."

British Airways to standardize its Tier Point collection calendar

British Airways Executive Club is preparing to standardize its Tier Point collection calendar, the yearlong window in which members can earn Tier Points toward elite status for the next year.

Currently, this calendar varies from member to member. It starts on the eighth day of the calendar month in which you joined Executive Club or took your first British Airways flight. Starting April 1, 2025, every member's Tier Point collection year will start April 1 and end March 31 of the following year.

Depending on when your collection year starts, this may shorten your window to earn elite status in 2025. But in the long run, it should help make the process less confusing.

"Aligning all Executive Club members' Tier Point collection dates makes sense as it will be far easier to know when your status expires," said Ben Smithson, a senior writer at TPG and a frequent British Airways flyer. "While there may be a rush of members trying to earn Tier Points in March each year to try and shore up their status for another year or another rush in April and May for those savvy members trying to earn status for up to two years, it's a small price to pay to solve what was often a complex system of every member's status following different dates."

Continued DoorDash benefits for Chase cardmembers

Chase inked a partnership with DoorDash in 2020, providing eligible cardmembers with complimentary or discounted DashPass memberships. Although this partnership was slated to wrap up at the end of 2024, Chase and DoorDash have extended it through 2027, promising three more years of savings on food delivery.

If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you'll continue to get access to complimentary DashPass membership through Dec. 31, 2027.

"One of the many perks that makes it worth keeping the Chase Sapphire Reserve in my wallet is the complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership," said Daisy Hernandez, a credit cards editor at TPG. "This, coupled with the $5 monthly DoorDash credit I also get as a Sapphire Reserve cardholder, means I save some money when ordering delivery (which is often pricey). Plus, dining is one of the categories that earns a healthy 3 points per dollar spent with this card."

If you're a Chase Freedom or Slate cardholder, your DoorDash benefits will look a little different going forward. Instead of three months of free membership followed by nine months of discounted membership, starting Feb. 1, 2025, new enrollees will receive six free months of DashPass.

Olivia Mittak, a TPG credit cards writer who holds the Chase Freedom Flex® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, is open to this benefit tweak.

"I honestly don't think this is a terrible change," she said. "By timing your Freedom applications right, you can essentially secure 12 months of complimentary DashPass. It's a solid benefit for a no-annual-fee card."

Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards may get new perks

Since Southwest Airlines announced that it will begin assigning seats and will add extra-legroom premium seats to its cabins in 2025, it seems safe to say the carrier's cobranded cards will change accordingly. For instance, if you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, you'll receive four boarding upgrades per year. Other cards, like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, provide similar reimbursement for EarlyBird Check-In. With the switch to assigned seats, these perks will probably go away.

The most logical step would be to replace them with similar credits for your seat selection fees, but we would rather see Southwest introduce a more general airline fee credit that you could use toward whatever is most valuable to you — seat selection fees, upgrades to extra-legroom seats or even checked baggage fees (if Southwest ends up implementing them, which we really hope it doesn't).

If not, we can only hope Southwest will replace these perks with something else — otherwise, the cards may not be worth keeping.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merge into 1 loyalty program

Now that Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have announced plans to merge, loyalty program members of each respective airline can expect to be able to transfer their miles at a 1:1 ratio between the two programs. Members who hold elite status within either program will also be able to match their status with the other program, receiving additional benefits.

While Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will continue to remain separate brands, the carriers will eventually operate under one loyalty program. Further details regarding the joint loyalty program will roll out in mid-2025, per Alaska Airlines' website.

American Express Gold Card changes

In July, the American Express® Gold Card underwent significant changes, increasing its annual fee from $250 to $325 (see rates and fees), but the card also added two additional statement credits.

However, starting Jan. 1, 2025, one of the biggest flexes on the card — earning 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. — will be capped at up to $50,000 in eligible purchases each calendar year. You will then earn 1 point per dollar.

Luckily, it's safe to say that most cardholders will not be negatively affected by Amex's restaurant spending maximum.

"I was disappointed to see a cap on the dining earnings added to the card," said Emily Thompson, a credit cards editor at TPG. "Still, I believe most consumers, like me, spend below $4,000 per month on dining and therefore won't have to worry about hitting that spending cap."

Capital One lounge access changes

Capital One announced lounge access changes to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Spark Miles for Business. Cardholders typically receive two complimentary visits to the Capital One Lounges annually. However, starting Jan. 1, 2025, this perk is being removed from these cards.

If you are a Venture or Spark Miles cardholder, you and your guests can access the Capital One lounges by paying an entry rate of $45 per person.

Capital One currently has lounges in the following locations:

Denver International Airport (DEN)
Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Additionally, the issuer has announced plans to open a lounge at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.

Bottom line

There are several credit card and loyalty program changes happening in 2025 — some good and some not so good. Make sure you're aware of the changes happening so you can decide if it's worth keeping a certain credit card or if you want to shift your spending strategy to maximize your rewards earnings.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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