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Breeze Airways, Barclays Launch Breeze Easy Co-Branded Card
After initially teasing a co-branded credit card last year, Breeze Airways and Barclays have now revealed the new product.
About the card:
This week, the Breeze Easy Visa Signature card made its debut. With this new co-branded card, flyers can enjoy bonus BreezePoints on select purchases as well as other perks.
Starting with the Breeze-specific rewards earning categories, the card offers bonus points on select bundles and extras — including “up to 10x BreezePoints” on Nicer Bundles, Nicest Bundles, and Trip Add-Ons. This “up to 10x points” breaks down to be 5x from the card and the regular 5x that Breeze offers on these purchases. Similarly, cardholders can earn “up to 4x BreezePoins” on Nice Bundles, which is 2x from the card on top of the standard 2x points. No Flex fares earn a total of 2x points (so just 1x from the card and the 1x standard).
As for other categories, the card earns 2x on eligible grocery store purchases as well as 2x at restaurants. The latter category also includes in-flight food and beverage purchases. All other purchases made with the card earn 1 point per dollar spent.
In terms of perks, the Breeze Easy card entitles customers to complimentary in-flight WiFi. Additionally, cardholders and their travel companions enjoy priority boarding.
The Breeze Easy Visa Signature card does carry an $89 annual fee. However, this is partially offset by a 7,500 BreezePoints Anniversary Bonus issued each subsequent card membership year to those who spent at least $10,000 per year on their card.
To celebrate the launch of the card, Breeze and Barclays are also offering a welcome bonus. Currently, new Breeze Easy cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus BreezePoints after spending $2,000 on the card within their first 90 days. This bonus is valued at $500.
My thoughts:
Off the bat, having not flown Breeze before, I’m automatically less than interested in this product. But, on top of that, I have some critiques. First, it’s a bit weird that Barclays is advertising that the card earns “up to 10x” when it’s really only 5x from the card itself. Granted, I’ve seen this type of language with hotel cards, but I feel like the distinction is clearer rather than the “5x when a flight is purchased plus 5x once the flight is completed” line that Breeze and Barclays employ.
Second, I feel as though the perks themselves are pretty lacking for an $89 annual fee card. While free WiFi and priority boarding are nice, one might expect a free checked bag or the like as well. I suppose Allegiant’s Allways Rewards card also doesn’t have a free bag perk, but at least the annual fee is $59.
Finally, I think it’s a bit ironic that the card’s best rewards are offered for the highest bundles — that duplicates some of the card’s perks! With the Nicer or Nicest Bundles, passengers already enjoy Priority boarding and free WiFi. So, while the bonus points may be nice, choosing these options renders your cardholder benefits moot.
As you can tell, I’m not too keen on this new Easy Breeze Visa — but, if you’re a Breeze flyer, then perhaps you’ll find value in this offering.
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