The Thought

A weird pastime that is quite possibly unique to only me, is to open affiliate blogger sites and search for “worth it”. A few examples:

  • [program]: Is this $[amount] subscription worth it?
  • Is the [program] credit card worth it?
  • Transfer bonus to [program]: Worth it?

I don’t want to yuck your yum or to downplay the hard work that affiliates put into selling you products, but there’s so much content out there that having some quick filters can save you time and maybe your sanity. Skipping to the punchline, the answer to effectively all of these article headlines is:

Probably not, especially if you’ve never used the program before.

Of course, maybe you want to dive in and see how expert sales people pitch mediocre products, you do you boo.

Practice

Ok, let’s try together friends: American Express Membership Rewards added Fanatics as a transfer partner at effectively one cent per point. Worth it? Answer out loud, and comment here if you like.

Have a nice Tuesday!

Bonus fun: Scroll /r/IsItWorthIt with the answer in hand.

  1. The Chase Amazon Prime Visa has a $200 Amazon gift card sign-up bonus with no spend requirements.

    I wouldn’t say a hard pull is worth $200 in and of itself, and I especially wouldn’t say having a new account on your personal credit report is worth only $200, but the card is useful during the holidays for buyers group games.
  2. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Mastercards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / Blackhawk Network gift cards.
  3. Runa has an official status page for last week’s hack, and as of this writing Runa re-enabled sales for downstream merchants; not all downstream merchants turned gift card sales back on yet though.

    I’d still hold off on balance checking any existing Runa issued cards for at least another day, unless you value a potential time-suck of trying to get them unlocked above zero.
  4. Lufthansa Miles are currently available via Bundle & Go subscriptions for 1.32 cents per mile. At the top tier you’ll also get three Priority Pass lounge passes, which is …. something.
  5. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U Stores have 12x points on $150+ in Delta gift cards through Wednesday, digital coupon clip required.
  6. American Express Offers has a targeted offer for $75 off of $350 with Avis through December 31.

Happy Monday friends!

Jonny chose to balance check.

  1. The Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa card has an increased sign-up bonus of 200,000 points and 2x $50 off of $250 airfare credits after $3,000 spend in three months. The card’s $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year. This should be available for referrals no later than Monday.

    200,000 Bonvoy points isn’t as many as it sounds like, but for a $95 annual fee that’s offset-ish by airfare credit’s it’s a really nice bonus.
  2. The Chase World of Hyatt Visa has an increased sign-up bonus of four Category 1-4 free night certificates after $5,000 spend in three months. The card’s $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

    Personally I’d rather have bonus points that don’t expire, but four certificates at Category 4 properties in particular are worth more than the typical points bonus on this card.
  3. The Barlcays Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Visa has an increased sign of bonus of 45,000 points after $1,000 spend in 90 days + 45,000 additional points after $500+ at Wyndham hotels within 180 days. The card’s $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.

    Wyndham points aren’t what they used to be, but there is some value in the new Homes & Havens partnership for longer stays. Like the defunct Vacasa redemption option, Homes & Havens prices based on bedroom count.
  4. Wyndham has a free single-level status upgrade through December 31 for non-Diamond members, or 3,000 free points for Diamond members, registration required.
  5. PSA: Runa, the provider that fulfills gift cards for Rove, TopCashBack, Coinbase, and other popular gift card sites has a security related service outage that’s not yet resolved as of this writing. Apparently a hack attempt was detected on internal systems, and they’ve communicated:

    – They hope to be back online before end of day today
    – Encrypted gift card information was accessed
    – Your unredeemed cards may be reissued

    For now, third party platforms recommend not balance checking any gift cards issued by Runa today because it may cause them to be locked. Good times, right?

Have a nice weekend friends!

Fighting for dominance over the Lubbock lodging market.

  1. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points promotion on third-party gift cards excluding Amazon and flexible fuel cards on Saturday and Sunday.

    The fuel points market is turbulent but still exists, the situation is fluid.
  2. Kroger stores have a digital coupon for a fee-free $150+ Visa or Mastercard gift card through November 10.

    These are Pathward / Blackhawk Network gift cards.
  3. Meijer mperks has a promotion for 10,000 points with $100+ in Visa or Mastercard gift cards, and another 10,000 points for $100+ in One4All gift cards through Tuesday. Neither requires activation, both are limited to one per mperks account.
  4. Turkish Miles & Smiles has an incoming transfer bonus for Citi ThankYou points through November 30, making the ratio 10:14, with a maximum of 50,000 bonus miles for 125,000 points transferred.
  5. American Express Offers has new offers targeted for:

    – $200 off of $1,000+ at Luxury, St. Regis, and Ritz Carlton Properties through November 30
    – $160 off of $800+ at JW Marriott properties through November 30
    – $200 off of $900+ in airfare booked directly with airlines through February 28, 2027

    Bonus points if you can use them all in a single trip I guess.

Happy Thursday!

Don’t overthink the bonus points.

  1. The Bank of America Alaska Atmos Business Visa card has an increased sign-up bonus of 85,000 miles after $5,000 spend in 90 days.

    Yes, you can still clown with BofA, just clown once per day.
  2. The NFCU Flagship Premier Visa card has an increased 90,000 point sign-up bonus after $5,000 spend in 90 days. The card has a $95 annual fee and a $100 airline credit.

    The card’s main claim to fame is 4x on travel. (Thanks to DoC)
  3. JetBlue increased its checked bag fees to between $50 and $70 for the first checked bag.

    Apropos of nothing: How is competition in the current US aviation marketplace? Ask me again in two weeks when we see whether or not all the other airlines matched the increase, like was the case earlier this year.
  4. VanillaGift.com has $250+ fee-free gift cards through November 26 with promo code VGTHANKS26.

    These are Vanilla / InComm gift cards.
  5. Having problems with giftcards.com Visa redemptions? It’s not just you. Reports of errors are everywhere both in public and private forums and customer service hold times are hours long, so bad that even Aeroplan is blushing.

Happy Wednesday!

Proposed airline industry holiday party merch.

  1. The Synchrony Mastercard has an increased sign-up bonus of $100 after $1,000 spend in 60 days. The card earns a flat 2%, and carries no annual fee. Also, I know it’s redundant but it’s Synchrony.
  2. American Express has a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through November 30.
  3. Capital One added Copa ConnectMiles as a 2000:1500 transfer partner. There’s a 30% transfer bonus through December 1, pushing the ratio to 2000:1950 because why keep it simple when you can be annoying? Sweet spots:

    – United domestic Polaris, 25,000 miles each way, plus decent non-saver award pricing
    – Emirates business: 80,000 miles each way with minimal surcharge

    Copa ConnectMiles expire after 24 months but expiration is easily reset with activity.
  4. Giftcards.com has a $10 bonus giftcards.com gift card with the purchase of a $100 Visa e-gift card using promo code GIVEMORE. This code is now on all the major airline portals, so hit those bonuses.

Happy Tuesday friends!

Preview of Capital One’s next transfer partner.

  1. The major airline portals have November spend bonuses:

    – AA: 4,000 miles on $1,600+ spend through November 20
    – Alaska: 1,500 miles on $650+ spend through November 20
    – Delta: 2,000 miles on $1,200+ spend through November 21
    – Southwest: 5,000 miles on $800+ spend through November 23
    – United: 5,000 miles on $1,000+ spend through November 20

    Sometimes these stores earn more than 1x at giftcards.com, but the overlap of > 1x with bonus offers like this is rarer than kids that like getting Necco Wafers on Halloween.
  2. Chase has new transfer bonuses for November:

    – 80% bonus to IHG points through December 3, a 10:18 ratio
    – 30% bonus to Wyndham Rewards through December 3, a 10:13 ratio
    – 30% bonus to Avios programs through December 1, a 10:13 ratio

    Why hotels on December 3 and Avios on December 1? I don’t know, but it has to do with people that give Mounds candy bars out for Halloween.
  3. Capital One has a 20% transfer bonus to Air France / KLM FlyingBlue through November 30, a 10:12 ratio. Yes, this is also Mounds people’s fault.
  4. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have a digital coupon for 10x points on Zift cards through November 11, excluding cards that convert to Amazon. Why exclude those? Because Zift knows that Amazon sells Mounds and Necco Wafers.
  5. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 in Visa gift cards through Saturday. Always buy in even multiples of $300. (EDIT: Visa, not Mastercard)

    These are Pathward / Blackhawk Network gift cards.
  6. TheGiftCardShop.com has fee-free custom gift cards through November 11 with promo code CUSTOM26.

    These are Sutton / InComm gift cards.
  7. American Express Offers has an offer for $200 off of $1,000+ with Lufthansa Group booked direct through AmEx Travel.

Happy Monday friends!

Pop quiz: These or Necco Wafers? Answer: Neither.

  1. The Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority and Premier Visa cards have increased sign-up bonuses, and both should be available for referrals either today or Monday:

    – Priority: 90,000 points after $3,000 spend in three months, $229 annual fee is not waived the first year
    – Premier: 85,000 points after $2,000 spend in three months, $149 annual fee is not waived the first year

    Getting two of these cards and hitting spend before the end of the year is likely your last opportunity for a Companion Pass before the program no longer counts sign-up bonuses toward qualification in 2027.
  2. Meijer stores have 10,000 mPerks points with the purchase of $100+ in Visa or Mastercard gift cards through November 10.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. AA has a buy-one-get-one-20%-off discount on paid First tickets to and from ORD, booked by November 4 and flown by February 28, 2027. There are blackouts around the holidays.
  4. United “First Base” fares have now launched domestically. What are we looking at?

    – Seat assignments aren’t free
    – Only one checked bag
    – $199 change fees
    – Non-Base fare upcharges are reportedly exceedingly high

    Scott Kirby also claims they’re more fun.
  5. Stop & Shop, Giant, Martins, and Giant Food stores have 6x points on third-party gift cards through Thursday.

Have a nice spooky weekend!

The calm before the costume storm.