1. The Bank of America Premier Rewards program is changing in May. The program is famous for its ability to combine $100,000 in assets for a 75% rewards boost with the Unlimited Rewards credit card 1.5x earning to make a 2.625% everywhere card. Or at least, that’s why it will have been famous through May. At that point, bonus tiers become:

    – 10% bonus: Up to $29,999.99 in assets
    – 25% bonus: Up to $99,999.99 in assets
    – 50% bonus: Up to $999,999.99 in assets
    – 75% bonus: $1 Million in assets or greater (used to be $100,000+)

    I guess $100,000 isn’t what it used to be. You can still earn status with Merrill linked brokerage assets, so consider ACATS of a portfolio into Merrill if you’re really good at 2.625% spend and it’s accessible. If not, it may be time to spread your existing Bank of America assets elsewhere for better use. It’s also probably time to learn about how the fast track program works.
  2. The Chime FinTech platform has a $300 sign-up bonus after $200+ in direct deposits in the first month for new account holders.

    These are churnable if you try.
  3. Spirit announced a new rewards debit card issued by Mezu/Alviere bank (lol). The card’s vitals:

    – $6.99 monthly fee (it’s Spirit after all)
    – 0.5x earning
    – 4,000 bonus points monthly based on some minimum balance to be determined
    – Group 2 boarding
    – 200 points on sign-up, 200 points monthly for 12 months or until Spirit fails, whichever comes first (the latter, duh)

    This one isn’t issued by Sunrise like the recent United, Southwest, and Wyndham debits, which means it’s probably got vastly different behavior. On the other hand, I’ll bet you $100 in Pepper coins that Spirit won’t be around before your 12 months of 200 point bonuses run out.
  4. The Blue Board is a fun tool built for tracking United flights and hub statuses. It’s also a great tool for figuring out the right trip to book your way into a travel credit refund. (Thanks to David)

Happy Tuesday!

Positive news: Retired BankAmeriGuy was on-hand for the press conference.

Introduction

The continuous need to feed the content monster occasionally means every related blog out there writes about the same thing. This week’s President’s Day version hit with the news that United TravelBank hasn’t been reimbursed for American Express airline incidental credits since about 10 days ago.

Analysis

Mr. T and I share a lot of common beliefs about churning, and this event was no exception. I interviewed him for more insight (special thanks for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat):

[MEAB]: Is it actually broken?
[Mr. T]: It might be, fool! Or it might not be. Nobody knows yet.

[MEAB]: Has this happened before?
[Mr. T]: Yes, I seen this movie before! :Late 2020, in early 2024, and in late 2024. This ain’t our first rodeo.

[MEAB]: How many times has it been declared dead?
[Mr. T]: In the last day? Or you talking lifetime? Either way, a whole lot.

[MEAB]: If it is dead, is that the end?
[Mr. T]: There are other options even for Newark and San Francisco chumps. I pity the fool who doesn’t think so!

[MEAB]: Should I use other options ASAP?
[Mr. T]: Unless you gotta close that card down in a couple of weeks, how about just sit tight and see how it shakes out?

[MEAB]: Should I write my own 2,000 word post declaring it dead?
[Mr. T]: Only if you stretch first, that’s a lot of reaching!

Have a nice Tuesday, and “never dig a grave before the deal’s even cold”.

Next up: Turning American Express Airline Incidental credits into cereal.

  1. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through the end of February.
  2. Kracken brokerage has a bonus on incoming stock portfolio transfers through March 31 and held on the platform through April 1, 2027. The bonus depends on whether you’re a paid Kracken+ member, which costs $4.99 monthly:

    – Non-member: 1%
    – Member: 2%

    You’ll pay about $70 over 14 months to be a member, so portfolios over $7,000 in value will do better with paid membership. You’ll also earn $150 by going through Rakuten. You can ACATS transfer in and out with this promotion, no need to liquidate assets and incur a taxable event. Apropos of nothing, SPIC insurance limits are $500,000 on securities. (Thanks to DoC)
  3. The Rakuten American Express card has an increased sign-up bonus of $200 after $2,000 spend in 90 days. This is a third party American Express issued by First Electronic Bank.

    This card is an absolute banger for the right use cases when you link it to a Rakuten account that earns Bilt or Membership Rewards if you’re good at grocery store spend. It is, shall we say, bordering on Unsung Hero territory.
  4. Office Depot/OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. For best results, buy even multiples of $300.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.

Have a nice Monday friends!

Also apropos of nothing: A book showing Bilt’s messaging changes since the launch of 2.0

Introduction

Let’s chat about the Dunning-Kruger Effect. But, before we get in too deep though, I’ll remind anyone who doesn’t remember immediately what exactly that effect is (a reminder for basically all of the other readers but you):

Dunning-Kruger Effect: When your confidence in a subject books an Emirates First flight to the moon, but your competence in that subject gets you a one way ticket to Lubbock, TX on Southwest.

– Remedial Psychology by non-Psychologist MEAB, Volume II

Practice

Manufactured spenders and churners are an astute, quick-thinking bunch, at least on average. They’re also happy to give advice and help others out of a tricky situation. Put those traits together though, and your average personality in the hobby has a tendency to speak with more bravado than is strictly warranted. That is, a lot of us are walking Dunning-Kruger Effect bots. Need a concrete example? You’re reading an article from a guy who’s formal psychological training consists of an expired library card. A few more examples:

  • “<Bank> shutdowns are permanent”
  • “That trick hasn’t worked since 2017”
  • “I’ve done <churning thing> seven times this month, it’s completely safe!”

There are of course longer examples too, but you’ll have to find those on another blog that has at least four pop-up ads and two referral links for the Chase Sapphire Preferred™©®Ωµ® card.

Fin

Let’s end with a conversation I overheard:

Everyone else: “Ok poindexter, so what?”
MEAB: “Listen to everyone in the hobby, we’re a smart bunch. But, apply appropriate skepticism.”
Everyone else: “Boring! Where are the free flights and stuff?”
MEAB: “…”

Have a nice weekend friends!

The guy who already did the thing seven times this month’s home plumbing

  1. New travel related credit card offers are out:

    – American Express: Delta Air Lines $200 off of $1,000+ by April 30
    – Chase: Marriott TownPlace Suites 15% back up to $57 by March 12

    Chase is usually easier to deal with than American Express when it comes to most things, but also this.
  2. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Mastercard has a better offer of 75,000 TrueBlue points after $1,000 spend in 90 days that surfaced after Monday’s news. This one comes from an in-flight mailer and requires a promotional code. Most any six digit number will work including 000000.
  3. Bilt is rejecting some mortgage payments from a major mortgage servicer, and I’m guessing that servicer isn’t the only one not working well. It might make sense to wait a month or two for everything to settle before you put your mortgage or

    (Sorry guys, I’ve been doing my best to not write about the nearly daily Bilt snafu for a couple of weeks because we all just know that it’s a clusterhug at this point, but this one affects people where they live.)

Have a nice Thursday!

A preview of Bilt’s latest offerings, Homes by Bilt, shows they put the same care into cutting corners in everything they do.

  1. Do this now: Register for Marriott Bonvoy’s Q1 promotion for 2,500 bonus points and an additional elite night for each Marriott brand with a completed stay by April 26.

    For those keeping track at home, 2,500 Bonvoy points are worth approximately the same as a six pack of sharpies and a Laurence sanga. The elite night credit’s value is very much in the eye of the beholder.
  2. Radisson Rewards has a Q1 promotion for 500 bonus points after your first stay, 3,000 bonus points after your second stay, and 3,500 bonus points after your third stay through April 9, registration required. This is the non-Americas version of Radisson.
  3. The Chase Southwest personal Visa credit cards have improved offers for:

    – Plus: 20,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Premier: 30,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Priority: 40,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Pretend: 50,000 points plus I made it up

    These are available via referral, please use P2’s or a friend’s instead of a random link on the internet.
  4. JetBlue and United’s Blue Sky alliance announced that each can book revenue tickets for the other airline on their own ticket stock.

    Traditionally new partners mean that there are booking code and pricing arbitrage plays, but who knows this time.

Happy Wednesday friends!

TIL: This is a Laurence sanga.
(Thanks to Larry)

  1. There’s a unique sign-up bonus for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card (the $95 annual fee version for those keeping track at home):

    – 50,000 Bonvoy points after $3,000 spend in three months
    – $400 Marriott egift card instantly on approval

    You’ll also get 2x$50 statement credits after spending $500 in airline purchases (1x in the first half and 1x in the second half of the year).
  2. Staples.com has fee-free Visa egift cards, limit five per account, four per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. American Express Delta Stays gamers are going through a bit of a rough patch, or at least that’s what my robot overlord translators told me in the most broken English they could muster. The action here? Be trickier if you’re going to play tricks.
  4. The Lufthansa Miles & More program has a new status match for ITA Airways, British Airways, and Iberia elites, with status lasting through the end of February 2027. USA based addresses are included in this one too.

    The match is free for ITA elites, or €99 for the others. The match doesn’t include HON Circle, but you can match to Senator which gives Star Alliance Gold for United Club access even when flying domestically. There’s a joke in here about cheese cubes, but I’m going to leave that as an exercise to the reader.

Have a nice Tuesday friends!

My translation robot in action.

Before we dive in, it’s time to Monday morning quarterback with your own personalized recap:

I’m really ____________ (adjective) that the ____________ (sportsball team) made their last minute ____________ (action) which prevented me from doing ____________ (action) today. At least now I’ll be able to churn my ____________ (play) while I ________________ (action). Now if on only ________________ (issuer) hadn’t ________________ (action, past-tense), everything would be perfect!

I’m sure yours is the best one of these, nice work.

  1. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard sent targeted offers for home improvement spend:

    – 8% back up to $100 back monthly for February, March, and April
    – 12% back up to $175 back monthly for February, March, and April

    It’s still not possible to get this card if you don’t already have it as far as I know. (Thanks to David and Mark)
  2. Meijer MPerks has 50,000 points withe the purchase of a third party $500 gift card through Tuesday February 17, limit one per MPerks account.
  3. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Mastercard has a heightened sign-up bonus of 70,000 TrueBlue miles after $1,000 spend in 90 days.
  4. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Visa gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. The Rove portal has 4x points on Visas and Mastercards through Wednesday via giftcards.com, just make sure to use the Visa or Mastercard specific link rather than the generic giftcards.com version.

    Rove remains notable for its unique transfer partners. If you’re not a member, use a friend’s referral and make their day. If you don’t have a churning friend, reach out to me and I’ll share a random churner’s link.
  6. Some Barclay AA cards aren’t being converted to Citi cards but will instead be converted to other Barclay cards. The criteria for who’s not being converted isn’t clear; there are people who were shutdown with Citi that are still being converted, and people with active Citi cards that aren’t.

    I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that #citigonnaciti, and now by extension #barclaygonnaciti

Happy Monday!

White sharpie not included.