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I wrote an article a few days ago where I challenged the reputation and guidance of the WHO regarding masks. They now recommend medical masks for those who are vulnerable and elderly. It defies logic that this is just now being recommended, and underscores not only lethargy in policy, but their institutional credibility. Several people commented on this post conflating my criticism with a political statement – which is simply absurd. This was never my intention, but rather to urge readers to think logically, and more importantly think for themselves, which includes challenging narratives that simply don’t make sense. Masks are required or recommended around the world now, and US airlines are now mandating masks be worn by customers, even threatening to ban you if you don’t comply.
We just learned this…. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and head of Trump’s Covid Task Force, just admitted the initial guidance against facemasks was in fact a lie. In fact, it was motivated by what many suspected…a lack in supply, specifically for front line workers.
Here’s a statement from Fauci regarding the opinion of health experts in March and why they said masks wouldn’t really help the general public. It wasn’t so much they wouldn’t, but rather they were in short supply. Health experts…
“were concerned that it was at a time when personal protective equipment, including the N95 masks and the surgical masks, were in very short supply.” He went on to say, “We wanted to make sure that the people, namely the health care workers, who were brave enough to put themselves in a harm way, to take care of people who you know were infected with the coronavirus and the danger of them getting infected,”
I don’t blame advisors for taking this stance one bit, but a better approach would have been to tell the public there was short supply, that there had been miscalculations, and to respectfully refrain from purchasing masks to aid health workers who need them more. People still stockpiled everything, and most people didn’t believe this narrative one bit. Just look at China, Korea, Japan, Singapore where the outbreaks started and spread quickly, and all you saw were masses of people in masks. Creating a false narrative to save face undermines the credibility of institutions that the public trust, and underscores the cover up is always worse than the crime saying.
Much of what is accomplished in points and miles requires thinking for oneself, finding ways to use the information given, and applying it in a way that may actually counter the system. That is the point of articles like this, whether it be in life, or your travel goals. Observe, research, and draw conclusions based off information rather than political narrative.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.