Thursday Quad

It’s a roller coaster today friends.

1. Cardless has launched its co-branded Avianca Lifemiles cards. Both are third party American Express cards which are typically interesting in their own rite, and both give you Star Alliance Silver which isn’t even good for a free checked bag. Both Elite also gives you a complimentary Lifemiles+ Lite subscription which gets you a 10% rebate on award bookings. The cards:
   
   Lifemiles:
   – 40,000 miles after $3,000 spend in 90 days
   – 2x on groceries and restaurants
   – $99 annual fee
   
   Lifemiles Elite:
   – 60,000 miles after $4,500 spend in 90 days
   – 40,000 more miles after another $20,500 spend in the first year
   – 2x on groceries on restaurants (with a negligible bonus at times)
   – $249 annual fee
   
   Unless you have special American Express shenanigans, both of these cards should probably be a pass. Just get an American Express, Capital One, or Citi card with better benefits and earning potential that can transfer to Lifemiles instead.
   
2. Chase has targeted mailers and in-branch business bank offers for 120,000 Ultimate Rewards on the Chase Ink Unlimited card. Typically these targeted mailers and in-branch offers bypass 5/24 and work up to 8/24.
   
   Side note for those of you who don’t concern yourselves with social constructs like account longevity: You can also often buy mailers on ebay.
   
3. Southwest has a companion pass promotion that’s a little too specific:
   
   – Register for the promotion
   – Book two one-ways or one trip by tomorrow night, but they can’t be 100% points bookings
   – Travel to and from Hawaii in June or July
   – Earn a companion pass valid from October 5 to November 15
   
   Existing bookings don’t count, and the companion pass travel period is rather lame too. In other Southwest news, yes you can find Southwest on Google Flights now, and yes every blogger out there will right no fewer than one articles about it, even though if you’re a regular Google Flights user you’d discover it yourself really quickly. Hooray for capitalism right?
   
4. Giftcards.com is currently 2.5x on the AA shopping portal, and 2x on other major airline portals.
   
   These are Pathward gift cards.

A MEAB reader prepares for today’s post; picture snapped before disappointment set in.