Before we dive in let’s start with a quick American Express shutdowns update: There were no reports of new shutdowns yesterday. Are we out of the woods yet? I think that’s highly unlikely, but you never know I guess. Anyway, let’s dive in to today’s news.

  1. Southwest registration is open for a limited scope promotional Companion Pass:

    – Book a round-trip or two one-ways by tomorrow night
    – Fly by the end of March
    – Earn a companion pass valid between August 7 and October 8

    This works on award and paid tickets, and if you’ve already got something booked you can cancel and rebook too.
  2. The American Express personal Hilton cards have new no-lifetime language (NLL) links:

    – Aspire: 150,000 points after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Surpass: 130,000 points after after $3,000 spend in six months
    – Honors: 80,000 points after $2,000 spend in six months

    These are popup resistant links.
  3. The Synchrony Virgin Atlantic Mastercard has an increased sign-up bonus of 60,000 miles after $3,000 spend in 90 days.

    On the one hand the mileage bonus is low compared to other sign-up bonuses, but on the other hand it’s Synchrony so that’s a nice win with the right playbook.
  4. The Capital One Venture card has a sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles and a $250 Capital One Travel credit available by referrals (and publicly available too, but use a referral from a friend instead).
  5. Singapore KrisFlyer has 30% off of award tickets in both economy and business class on various routes booked by February 28, including:

    – LAX-SIN
    – JFK-FRA
    – SFO-SIN
    – SEA-SIN

    Travel is valid in March with some route specific black-out dates. (Thanks to FFB)
  6. Alaska has an award sale with teeth through tomorrow night:

    – Transcons at 15,000 points
    – West coast to Hawaii at 7,500 points
    – West coast to Mexico at 4,000 points

    The left-coasters have a better pick but there are gems for the other coast too.
  7. Saks is behind on their bills to suppliers according to the Wall Street Journal, which probably only matters if you’re a supplier or a gift card reseller. (Thanks to nobody65535)
  8. MasterCardGiftCard.com has a promotion for a free $10 gift card with the purchase of a $100 gift card using promo code bonus25. (Thanks to Past_Reality_1909)

Have a nice Wednesday!

A churner dives in.

American Express shut down the accounts for a large number of churners yesterday. If you were affected, I’m sorry, that sucks and I hope you’re back with AmEx soon. What happened exactly? Let’s start with vitals:

  • Shutdowns happened between 1 PM and 5 PM Eastern
  • Shutdowns didn’t occur simultaneously, they were spread throughout the day
  • The Apple Pay early warning system didn’t work this time
  • Shutdown emails used the reason “accounts […] not being used for the intended purpose”
  • Applying for a new card after shutdown was instantly denied with the reason “previously engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming”

Now, let’s talk causes. I don’t work at American Express so I can’t offer definitive evidence, but we have plenty of data points that all point in the same direction. Those say:

  • PayPal games didn’t cause this
  • Employee cards didn’t cause this
  • Referrals didn’t cause this
  • Back-button didn’t cause this
  • Lots of sign-up bonuses didn’t cause this
  • Fitness club history didn’t cause this
  • The floosies were a common denominator and probably came back to bite

Notes and lessons from American Express shutdowns in general:

  • You can’t add new transfer partners once a shutdown happens*, so add partners now
    *… unless you have an AmEx business checking account
  • You can only transfer 999,999 Membership Rewards per day per transfer partner
  • AmEx doesn’t close other players at the same address for guilt by association
  • You’ve got until the end of the day to cash out your points when you’re shutdown
  • If you cash-out with gift cards, only the physical ones work post shutdown
  • AmEx won’t refund annual fees for shutdown cards on their own
  • You can accelerate pending Membership Rewards points if you make a payment, call, and get lucky
  • Don’t trust the reasons for shutdown from commenters that weren’t part of the shutdown

And finally, my advice:

  • Shutdowns probably aren’t over yet
  • If you rank high on the floosie scale and aren’t yet shutdown, consider a sneak-attack-strike-back
  • If you end up shutdown and a rep tells you they can’t help you transfer your points, HUCA
  • If you have lots of posted charges and pending points, try and get them accelerated
  • Don’t forget about the arbitration clause for pending points that haven’t posted

Good luck out there!

A small post-shutdown brew to lighten the evening.

  1. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday. It’s almost like it’s predictable that the Visas will go on sale the week after Mastercards do. For best results:

    – Buy in even multiples of $200
    – Don’t forget about your American Express Business Gold monthly credit
    – Look for ‘Anywhere cards’ which may be cheaper as long as you can liquidate them

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  2. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card, the President of all Mastercards, sent out mid-month February offers. We’ve seen:

    – $75 statement credit after in $750 in online spend
    – $100 statement credit after $1,000 in online spend
    – 15,000 ThankYou Points after $1,000 in online spend
    – 250,000 Shop Your Way points after $750 in online spend

    It stacks with the other ongoing offers too, obviously. Now we just need Lowe’s or Home Depot to sell Visas or Mastercards online to make the stack even easier. (Thanks to Cashback Cowgirl, Matt, Santosh, and Brandon)
  3. Citi ThankYou Points has a 20% transfer bonus to Qatar Privilege Club Avios until March 15. Of course you can transfer these Avios to British Airways, FinnAir, Ibera, Aer Lingus, and Vueling after they’re in your Privilege Club account.
  4. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 50% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy through the end of March. The main utility here is that Marriott can transfer to JAL Mileage Bank, and you get bonus miles at 60,000 Bonvoy points intervals. The math means:

    – 40,000 Ultimate Rewards → 60,000 Bonvoy Points
    – 60,000 Bonvoy Points → 25,000 JAL Mileage Bank miles

    In other words, you’re getting a 1:0.625 ratio from Ultimate Rewards to Milage Bank which isn’t great, but isn’t awful for the utility of JAL’s own upgrades and expanded award availability.
  5. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express has a targeted heightened offer of 150,000 Bonvoy points and $250 statement credit after $6,000 spend in six months. See previous discussion on JAL MileageBank for an alternate use for the card.

    There is commentary on various forums on the internet that this is a modified link, but I believe the commentary is incorrect and there’s no abnormal risk in this link, rather it’s using a different campaign code than the previous version of the offer.

Happy President’s Day!

The Presidential Citi Shop Your Way Rewards salary beats the average US Government Job *circa 1940.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts during the holiday break in 2024 and now on Saturdays in early 2025. Special thanks to today’s author Jonathan, a second time guest poster, for taking the time to write an anecdote about characters encountered in manufactured spend. You can find his first article from last year here. Have a nice weekend!

Introduction

You know that inner debate we all have when driving home late: “Should I make another stop or just screw it and head home?” “It’s just 10 mins out of the way.” “But it’s late and I am tired.” “Yeah, but one stop is definitely worth it, and Sharalyn is there tonight.” Well, that night, I decided to make that stop. (Note: I’ve changed her name to Sharalyn to protect her anonymity—though I’m sure she wouldn’t care one bit. That’s just the kind of person she is.)

This was at my go-to Speedway for manufactured spend, the kind of place where you know the clerks’ schedules better than your own. I pulled up, expecting the usual, but noticed the door was locked during business hours. Strange. Then I spotted Sharalyn behind the counter, busy with something.

A Quick Backstory on Sharalyn: Sharalyn was one of my all-time favorite Speedway clerks. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t care at all what you do. She told me once she was 43, but honestly, she looked closer to 66—life has been hard on her, and her dental situation (4 teeth left) didn’t help. But still, she was a gem.

Anyway, I wasn’t about to let a locked door stop me. I went back to my truck and called the store. Sharalyn picked up:

Me: “Hey, Sharalyn, it’s Jonathan. Can I come in and do some gift cards?”
Shariee: “Ah, I’m having a bit of trouble right now… I $*!? my pants.”
Me:“Oh… well, that’s okay. It’ll just take a second.”
Shariee: “Alright, I’ll unlock the door.”

Now, at this point, I figured I’d walk in, see Sharalyn awkwardly holding her composure, and move on. I was surprised about what happened next.

No Pants, No Problem

As I walked up, true to her word, Sharalyn unlocked the door—wearing NO PANTS.
She had on a sweatshirt that was juuuuust long enough to make this a PG-13 situation. She went right back to the register while I grabbed my cards. Let’s just say the “Speedway” name was fitting.
I paused for a moment, feeling a mix of surprise and sympathy. “Sharalyn, do you want me to grab you a pair of pants or something?” I offered, genuinely concerned for her.

Meanwhile, another guy walked in behind me, froze mid-step, and said, “Wow… you know you’re not wearing any pants, right?”

Sharalyn, unfazed as ever, ignored him completely. I purchased my cards, gave her a nod of respect, and left.

The End of an Era

Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw Sharalyn. The store was closing, and apparently, she didn’t transfer to another location. I looked for her at many other speedways in the city. Wherever she is, I hope she’s still rocking that I-don’t-give-a-#%&$ attitude.

– Jonathan

Speedway: Where the receipts never stop printing, and neither does your safety paranoia.

The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard card was an overlooked value machine for years, and it was the first MEAB Unsung Hero card too. I think churners know the card’s value machine status now though, so proselytizing at this point is passé.

But, questions often come up around the card, so let’s answer ’em like a boss:

  • [Q] When do I start getting offers?
    [A] Usually 3-5 months after getting the card
  • [Q] What’s the offer cadence?
    [A] Citi sends offers on the 1st and the 15th of each month via email, and sometimes earlier via snail-mail
  • [Q] What’s the sign-up bonus?
    [A] I dunno, but it’s crap, and it’s always been crap – that’s not why we get the card
  • [Q] How long until the sign-up bonus posts after hitting spend?
    [A] Forever, it probably won’t post (unless you’re really lucky or you bug Citi)
  • [Q] When do semi-monthly spend offers post?
    [A] For points usually within a week. For statement credits, either (a) a few weeks after the statement close, or (b) the middle of the next month depending on the offer
  • [Q] Can I have multiple Shop Your Way Rewards cards?
    [A] Historically yes, but now now (since about mid-2023)
  • [Q] What counts as an online purchase?
    [A] ymmv, but: some floosie things, your online utility payments, and probably whatever counts on the AT&T Access More card which would also be an Unsung Hero if you could still get it
  • [Q] Can I product change to this card?
    [A] No
  • [Q] Can I switch to the ThankYou Points version of this card?
    [A] Not since 2021
  • [Q] What’s the best redemption of Shop Your Way Rewards points?
    [A] Almost always Visa gift cards
  • [Q] What’s an unknown feature of the card?
    [A] It has special payment-fu, and lacks the Big Bank Energy™ that Citi’s known for
  • [Q] How do I get a credit line increase?
    [A] They award them automatically on most card anniversaries
  • [Q] I don’t see any offers in the ‘Offers’ tab on the account dashboard
    [A] That’s not a question, but sounds about right for this card. Don’t worry, no one else sees their offers either
  • [Q] What’s this card’s annual expectation value?
    [A] Almost as much as a maxed American Express Resy Platinum sign-up bonus

Good luck, and Happy #CitiGonnaCiti day.

[Bonus Q] In the year 2025, I get this message while trying to log into the card’s dashboard, what’s up?
[A] #CitiGonnaCiti

  1. The Citi AA Platinum personal card has an increased sign-up bonus of 75,000 AAdvantage miles after $3,500 spend in four months.

    AA miles are the most valuable currency for several use cases typically exercised by US based fliers. The program hasn’t devalued in a while though so caveat emptor and it’s the only thing in the AA ecosystem that’s keeping the lights on, but AA is good at cutting off its profit centers when they make too much money for shareholders for some reason. (Thanks to casinovibes)
  2. The American Express Business Platinum card has a hacked upgrade link from a Business Gold or Green that awards 120,000 Membership Rewards after $10,000 spend in three months. Remember:

    – You can stack employee card bonuses with upgrade bonuses
    – You can stack retention offers with upgrade bonuses
    – You can stack with new card sign-up bonuses
    – Retention offers may be better before upgrade
    – An upgrade is a no-harm/no-foul maneuver with American Express
    – You can do this in the first year of card membership because it’s a business card

    Now, the question that comes up often after these: How risky are hacked links? There have been historic shutdowns for hacked links, but there haven’t been any of those in nearly a decade. American Express doesn’t seem to care now, but that may change in the future. Do your own risk assessment, ideally involving variational calculus if you’re a bored super-nerd.
  3. The American Express Business Platinum card also has a new targeted no-lifetime language (NLL) link for 175,000 Membership Rewards after $20,000 spend in three months.

Happy Thursday friends!

An exclusive look at the AA executive management playbook helps explain their decision making.

The CFPB is effectively non-existent 🪦, which means that when a bank holds your money and shouldn’t, doesn’t award a bonus when they should, changes credit card terms in an illegal manner, or sends all of your personal details to an adult website owner, you don’t have an easy, central resource for fixing it. You still have tools at your disposal to help though (ordered by of likely ease of use):

  • Your state banking regulator and charter administration
  • The BBB
  • Your state banking commission
  • The FDIC for banks or the NCUA for credit unions
  • State small claims court
  • The OCC (ya down with OCC? yeah you know me!)
  • FTC
  • Arbitration (most banks have these clauses in their paperwork, and they’re almost always obligated to pay for the arbitration too)

Don’t shy away from the arbitration option when the numbers get into five digits, if the bank obviously behaved incorrectly your odds are probably great.

Happy Wednesday!

OCC’s current official coffee mug.

  1. Do this now: Register for double points at Choice hotels through April 7, but the offer is only good on up to four stays because how dare Choice encourage you to stay more than 4 times?
  2. Mastercardgiftcard.com has fee-free gift Mastercard cards with promo code MCGIFT.

    You can buy up to $10,000 of these per account per rolling 24 hours. Don’t use an American Express because it won’t earn points, and make sure you have an air-tight liquidation plan because these InComm issued cards have gotten difficult.
  3. The CFPB has effectively been shut down. Expect more on this later, but for now assume that no government agency will take action on your CFPB feedback from this time forward, and explore other options when you demand satisfaction.
  4. You’ve got until February 28 to finish earning AA Loyalty Points for the current elite year, and right now PointsYeah is offering 25 miles per dollar through the AA eShopping portal in case another 2,500 miles will make the difference for you. It didn’t for the CFPB though so there’s that.

How to recognize a churner in the post-CFPB world.