Month: August 2025

  1. Alaska MileagePlan Atmos has a promotion for a fast track to elite status for paid flights to and from San Diego, CA, for travel between October 1 and March 31, 2026:

    – 5 segments: Atmos Silver (also oneworld Ruby)
    – 10 segments: Atmos Gold (also oneworld Sapphire)

    There are really cheap Alaska flights from San Diego, but oneworld Sapphire from Alaska probably isn’t worth the run that it would be if it were a foreign carrier. (Thanks to Parts_Unknown-)
  2. Alaska also has a 2x points promotion for flights between San Diego and many other cities, registration required for travel through March 20, 2026.
  3. The Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa personal card’s sign-up bonus is now 125,000 Ultimate Rewards after $6,000 spend in three months, which is [up/down] (choose one) from its prior 100,000 point + $500 travel credit bonus.

    Use a referral link from P2 or a churning friend rather than applying head on.
  4. American Express offers has new offers for:

    – $200 credit with $1,000+ at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, LXR, NoMad, and Signia Hilton properties through December 31
    – $150 credit with $750+ at WorldHotels through December 31
    – $100 credit with $300+ at Minor Hotels through November 30
    – $60 credit with $300+ at Loews Hotels through November 1
    – $100 credit with $500+ at Wyndham through October 31

    Hilton’s omission of Curio properties is curio(us).
  5. Virgin Australia has 2x Velocity Points earning for travel through June 30, 2026. Registration required, only available in the mobile app. (Thanks to FFB)

Have a nice weekend!

Alaska marketing’s apparent fever dream.

  1. The Barclays AA Red Mastercard has a sign-up bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after a single purchase and after paying the annual fee. There’s also Tuesday’s offer of 50,000 AAdvantage miles after a single purchase and a waived annual fee, though I’d pay $99 for 20,000 AA miles any day personally.

    This card will likely be dead for new applications on September 30.
  2. The Alaska MileagePlan Atmos Visa credit card line-up has been released, and note that you may get an email invitation with 5,000 miles higher than the public bonus so check there first:

    – Ascent: 80,000 miles after $4,000 spend in 120 days, $95 annual fee, $3/status point
    – Ascent: 85,000 miles after after $4,000 spend in 120 days, same as above but you need a flight attendant code (or to be good at google)
    – Summit: 100,000 miles after $6,000 spend in 90 days, $395 annual fee, $2/status point
    – Atmos Business: 80,000 miles after $5,000 spend in 90 days, $95 annual fee, $3/status point

    The Ascent cards are basically the same as the old Alaska cards including the companion certificate. The Summit includes a 25,000 point companion award and a 100,000 point companion award after $60,000 spend annually, which is compelling for big spenders. There are also relatively lame lounge passes and premium drink coupons with Summit.

    In 2026 the status points earned from spend is uncapped on all cards, and may be uncapped on Summit now.
  3. The Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard has an increased bonus of 80,000 miles after $2,500 spend in 90 days. You’ll earn Hawaiian miles until October 1 at which point you’ll earn Alaska MileagePlan Atmos miles, and of course you can transfer miles between the two programs before then. You can use promo code 002387, or pretty much any other number starting with 00.
  4. The Barlcays Hawaiian Business Mastercard has an increased tiered sign-up bonus too:

    – 50,000 miles after $4,000 spend and paying the $99 annual fee in 90 days
    – 20,000 miles after $50,000 spend in the first year
    – 20,000 miles after $100,000 spend in the first year

    The card earns 2x on gas, dining, and office supplies. Each 20,000 bonus mile boost is a 0.4x addition to existing earn (oof). (Thanks to 9kuss)
  5. Kroger stores have 4x fuel points on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel cards, and on fixed value Visas and Mastercards running Friday through Sunday.

    Sometimes weekend 4x promotions are more liberal about what gift cards are eligible, always be probing.
  6. Raleys, Nob Hill, and Bel Air stores have 20x points on One4All Ultimate gift cards through Tuesday. Home Depot rates are still 93%+, so I hope you need lots of cheap groceries. (Thanks to GCA)

Happy Thursday!

Grocery stores see the credit card stair truck.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yep! We finally got another alliteration wisdom post.

Some credit card issuers really don’t like charge amounts that look like an integer multiple of a gift card purchase, like $1,000, $1,013.90, or $2,027.80, especially if they see lots of them. If your account has too many of those, they’ll either claw-back rewards, shut you down, file a SAR, or in the worst cases, call the local police department.

The typical work-around to avoid exact charges is to also buy a banana, tabasco, or a serrano pepper with each purchase. Those are great options until you forget them in your trunk, then come back days later to a candidate for /r/MoldlyInteresting hiding in your car.

There’s another way to avoid the exact multiples though: Bring some coins and dollar bills with you and stick those in the self checkout register before you swipe your cards.

Good luck, and happy spending!

Yes yes, some banana mold patterns are pretty cool, I get it.

  1. Two Incomm sites have “bring the stupid” (BTS) promotions for fee-free gift cards through August 24:

    – MasterCardGiftCard.com: Fee-free gift cards $50+ with code BTS25
    – VanillaGift.com: VGBTS25 through August 24

    These are Incomm / Vanilla gift cards.
  2. The Barclays AA Red World Elite Mastercard has a 50,000 AAdvantage miles bonus after a single purchase in the first 90 days, and the annual fee is waived for the first year.

    This is likely your last opportunity to get the card before Barclays purportedly can’t issue new AA cards in after September.
  3. Accor ALL has 1,500 bonus points with two night or longer stays in Spain or Portugal through September 30, registration required.

    Normally I suggest that you register for any hotel promotion available because travel plans are fluid and churners often end up in hotels or places they didn’t expect to be in just a few days earlier. This one has narrow enough utility and a short enough timeframe that it probably bucks the advice.

Happy Tuesday!

An avocado with roughly the same utility as the Accor promotion.

  1. Meijer stores have a coupon for $10 off of $150+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, and this seems to be the type of MPerks coupon that can be reclipped immediately after redemption.

    I’m not here to tell you what to do, but it doesn’t take a ton of action to make this a profitable trip to Meijerland if you’re not already in it. Meijer sells both Pathward and Sunrise gift cards.
  2. Staples online has fee-free $200 Visa gift cards online through Saturday, limit five in theory or four in practice, and in an unlikely twist these do actually code as office supply purchases.

    These are Pathward gift cards. (Thanks to Dave 37 for the MC → Visa correction)
  3. DoC shares a helpful note: Use any $200 American Express Platinum Fine Hotels and Resorts credits remaining before September 18, because the credit changes to $300 and resets after that date.

    You don’t need to stay by September 18 for the credit, you just need to book by September 18.
  4. Staples in-store has fee-free $200 Visa gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  5. The Barclays GM Business card has an increased sign-up bonus of 100,000 points after $5,000 spend in three months, and is a 3x everywhere earner. The points are, for the most part, only useful for new car purchases or paying for GM parts or service.

    There was a time where several churners churned their way to a new GM car, but that was in the before-Barclays times and the before-GM points crackdown times. In current times, you can find cards that earn 3%+ cash back everywhere with games, and you don’t have to spend that cash back on a GM car.
  6. Chase has a transfer partner updates:

    – 100% transfer bonus to IHG through September 4 (meh)
    – Ending relationship with Emirates Skywards on October 16 (meh)

    Ultimate Rewards are valuable for plenty of things, but both of these options aren’t on the high end of the spectrum.

Happy Monday friends!

The punk-churner Ultimate Rewards value chart illustrated.

  1. Do this now: Register for a targeted United MilePlay promotion. I got “Book and take a trip* in a premium seat three times to earn 50,000 bonus miles.”

    What’s that asterisk, you say? Apparently a trip only counts if it costs $600+ before taxes and fees.
  2. The American Express Platinum and Business Platinum cards continue their march toward the soft embrace of mediocrity, but now at a higher cost to make up for it? On September 18, the cards will:

    – Offer a January – June $300 FHR or THC stay credit
    – Offer a July – December $300 FHR or THC stay credit
    – Increase the annual fee to $895
    – Restrict the 35% points rebate to only the selected airline (Business / First flights on other airlines won’t rebate)

    If your card renewal date is post September 18, I think you’ll be subject to the higher annual fee although that’s not yet confirmed. If you think these changes suck, you and I think alike. If you’re a serial FHR user or abuser who never flies paid premium cabins outside of a single US airline, there’s value here outside of a sign up bonus I suppose. (Thanks to DDG)
  3. We have details for Alaska’s new premiums credit card based on a leaked terms and conditions PDF. The likely sign-up bonus is 105,000 miles and a global 25,000 point companion award after $6,000+ spend in 90 days. The card’s important vitals:

    – Annual fee: $395
    – 3x on Alaska and Hawaiian flights
    – 3x on dining and foreign purchases, 1x elsewhere
    – 10% points bonus with an “eligible” Bank of America account
    – 0.5x status points (1 per $2 spent, regardless of multiplier)
    – 10,000 status points annually
    – Two lounge and WiFi passes every quarter
    – Free same-day changes
    – Global 100,000 companion award after $60,000 spend each card member year

    The actionable part of this rumorlet? Start lowering credit lines and closing cards as necessary to make approvals easy if you want this card, especially because you can probably spend your way toward top status. If you’re a hoser gamer with a business, maybe that’s even better.

Have a nice weekend!

Now just make this a business.

  1. Do this now: Register for Marriott Homes and Villas promotion for double points on three night stays or longer though December 31.
  2. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points coupon on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel retailer cards, and on fixed value Visas and Mastercards starting tomorrow and running through Sunday evening Kroger time.
  3. There are new, targeted no-lifetime language (NLL) Hilton card links:

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

    Of course BBT can trump NLL, but only if you’re KOOL. Yes, I’m making up acronym(s) now. (Thanks to DDG)
  4. The Capital One Venture card has a new offer via referral of 75,000 points plus a $300 travel credit with some referral links. Use a friend’s referral if they have one, or reach out to me and I’ll share one from a random community member.
  5. The Capital One Spark Cash card has a $1,000 sign-up bonus after $10,000 spend in three months and the annual fee is waived for the first year. Unlike most business cards and indeed other Capital One business cards, this will report to your personal credit report. (Thanks to jetcruise0707)

Happy Thursday!

A helpful acronym for evaluating deals, especially as related to the American Express Plum card.

  1. Do this now: Register for IHG’s promotion for 10,000 bonus points for two night (plus) stays through September 30, maximum of 30,000 bonus points.

    If you really want to hack this and don’t value your life, Motel 6 continues to be an IHG brand.
  2. The Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard has a targeted sign-up bonus of 70,000 points after $1,000+ in three months, and carries no annual fee.

    Note: This offer was emailed to certain members, but I was able to extract the link and strip away the member specific identifying parts of the URL. I don’t think the link is risky, but always know a link’s provenance.
  3. Citi ThankYou has a 25% transfer bonus for Leading Hotels of the World’s Leaders Club through August 23. If you haven’t looked into Leading Hotels of the World, this is probably a good opportunity.
  4. Chase Offers has a widely targeted offer for 10% back on up to $400+ at Southwest.com through September 12.
  5. American Express Offers has a targeted offer for $200 back after $1,000+ at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, or LXR properties through December 31.

Happy Wednesday!

Motel 6s (pictured) don’t catch on fire too often, statistically speaking.