The terms do exclude travel credit from earning any points (normally) for a couple year(s?) now. But you are correct, I think this year’s “special category” kept the extra points and only subtracted the 1X.
However, your first $300 in travel charges, regardless of whether they are reimbursed, do not earn any points. I fell into that bucket - I had met the $300 threshold thru gas and groceries and still earned points for those purchases, but when I put a hotel on there from the summer, I got a whopping zero points for it. Talk about disappointing.
I had been “saving” points intending to do the Singapore suites with layover… but they had raised those rates a little last year and now we’re probably over a year out… so I’d rather just get the cash out.
I’ve actually been cashing out points at 1.5c statement credits… If I burn through them all, then I might dump the card if my US passport / Trump’'s Out-of-Control-Pandemic Quarantined Area Passport still isn’t valid at the start of next year (and it’s unlikely they will be). Especially with next year’s fee going to $550, the foreign car rental insurance useless, and the Priority Pass also useless.
It’s possible it would pro-rate from the full $550 (they gave a $100 statement credit around the last renewal a few months ago… or maybe I mixed up the card…). And I’m past their 48 month requirement so I could get a Sapphire Preferred for almost-as-good rental car insurance and for the 80k points bonus. And then upgrade it again 12 months later if the CSR is worth it at that time. I’ve still got about UR points right now.