Month: September 2025

Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) on financial products say plenty of things, and sometimes banks have even implemented enforcement of portions of their T&Cs through software and merchant controls to make sure you’re compliant. But sometimes T&Cs say things that aren’t necessarily enforced, like, I dunno, American Express’s recent update to its T&Cs for Business Platinum quarterly $50 Hilton credits:

Effective January 31, 2026, Hilton gift card purchases will no longer be considered an eligible purchase, and you will not receive the statement credit for any Hilton gift card purchases.

This change was targeting gift cards purchased at hiltongiftcards.com and it’s likely that purchases there will indeed not earn a quarterly credit. But I’m also certain that there are plenty of ways around it too, like buying a gift card in person at the gift shop, a Hilton restaurant, the front desk, or depositing to your room and later asking for a refund in the form of a gift card. Just because the T&Cs say you won’t receive a credit, doesn’t mean you won’t receive a credit. Always be probing!

Happy Wednesday!

More T&C that probably aren’t enforced.

Everything went wacky (whacky?) for Wednesday, but in a good way. Let’s dive in!

  1. Capital One added three new transfer partners:

    – Japan Airlines Mileagebank: 4:3 ratio normally, 30% bonus through October 22
    – Qatar Airlines Privilege Club Avios: 1:1 ratio
    – I Prefer Hotel Rewards: 1:2 ratio

    JAL’s Mileagebank is a quirky program and there’s plenty of value for those with completely flexible schedules, Qatar is a nothingburger, and I Prefer points are a good value for high end properties assuming you can find bookable ones.
  2. Southwest is launching a debit card issued by Sunrise bank, and FM sleuthing found the following:

    – 2,500 point sign-up bonus after $100 spend in 90 days
    – 1x on dining, Southwest, and “subscriptions”
    – 0.5x elsewhere

    Sunrise’s other debits don’t typically earn points on PIN transactions, so likely this won’t either. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value here though, always be probing. (Thanks to David and FM)
  3. AirFrance / KLM’s FlyingBlue has a promotion for 10,000 bonus miles on paid economy flights originating in the US and connecting through Amsterdam or Paris, but only for US residents.

    If this doesn’t tell you about the state of international economy travel bookings for airlines, I don’t know what will; I can’t remember the last time a promotion like this targeted US passengers on economy bookings.
  4. Bank of America Spirit Visa credit card holders now get two free checked bags on flights booked directly with Spirit, but whether Spirit goes Chapter 7 liquidation or your flight happens first is a coin-toss.
  5. Breeze has a promotion for 35% off of base round-trip fares using promo code NATURE for bookings by Friday and travel between October 7 and February 3, 2026.

    I don’t think this airline is going out of business anytime soon, especially given their new Pasco, WA to Provo UT route (PSC-PVU). I mean, how could you lose with that one?
  6. The Park Hyatt Tokyo, an aspirational and (formerly?) tired cult-famous hotel, has seemingly completed its remodel and is now bookable for stays in December and later after an 18 month remodel. (Thanks to changmander)

Happy Wednesday!

Pictured: Diving into wacky (whacky?)

  1. The US Bank Triple Cash Rewards and Leverage business cards have heightened sign-up bonuses:

    – Triple Cash Rewards: $750 after $6,000 spend in 180 days, $0 annual fee (Thanks to Jason for the 180 day correction)
    – Leverage: $750 after $7,500 spend in 120 days, $95 annual fee

    Mini FAQ: Churnable? Yes. Both? Yes. Multiple? Yes. ASL? Ok boomer.
  2. There are now multiple confirmed private and public data points that the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts credit refresh on September 18 is a new $300 second half of the year credit whether or not the earlier $200 annual credit was redeemed. So, either way you’ve got a fresh $300 in Fine Hotels and Resorts coupons credits.
  3. Citi ThankYou Points has two transfer bonuses:

    – Avianca Lifemiles: 25% through October 18
    – Virgin Atlantic: 30% through October 18
    – Turkish Miles&Smiles: 50% through October 18

    Make sure with both Lifemiles and Miles&Smiles that space is actually available before booking, both have issues with phantom award space or missing partner award space.
  4. American Express has a somewhat widely targeted bonus for 70,000 Membership Rewards or $700 credit. Requirements:

    – Deposit $15,000 in 30 days
    – Keep an average balance ≥ $15,000 for the next 60 days
    – Make five transactions (five $1 ACHs will do fine)

    Links: 70,000 Membership Rewards, alternate 70,000 Membership Rewards, $700 credit. (Thanks to DDG for the most recent link)

Happy Tuesday!

The secret code to booking Miles&Smiles phantom space: B, R.5, Z

  1. Celtic Bank’s Mesa Visa card has a heightened sign-up bonus for 50,000 bonus points after $12,000 spend with promo code SEPT50, no referral shenanigans required.

    Churners like the card for earning points on mortgage payments and sometimes “mortgage” payments, and for transfer partners like SAS EuroBonus and Air Canada Aeroplan.
  2. The Chase Aeroplan Visa has a heightened, tiered sign-up bonus:

    – 75,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months
    – 25,000 points after $20,000 spend in 12 months

    I did the math so you don’t have to, 75,000+25,000 = 100,000. You’re welcome.
  3. The Rove Miles shopping and travel booking portal has two transfer bonuses:

    – 20% to AirFrance / KLM FlyingBlue through December 31
    – 20% To Finnair Avios through October 22

    Rove often has good mileage earning through their shopping portal, but points also take 30-90 days to post so earning to use a transfer bonus like these can be challenging, that is unless you started earning 30-90 days ago.
  4. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have 10x points on Zift cards through Saturday.

    Some of these can be converted to Amazon or Home Depot gift cards.
  5. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday.

    These are Pathward / Black Hawk Network gift cards.

Happy Monday!

Flexing math skills even further.

  1. Do this now: Enroll in the new American Express Platinum and Business Platinum credits and hotel status boosts, and use quarterly benefits like Lululemon and Resy credits before September 30.
  2. The Chase Southwest Performance Business Visa card has an increased sign-up bonus of 120,000 Rapid Rewards after $10,000 spend in three months with a scheduled end date of October 22, and will probably be available via referrals by Monday. As long as you apply next month and wait until January to finish your minimum spend, this will be a Companion Pass valid for the lesser of:

    – 24 months
    – When Elliott management decides to kill the Companion Pass

    What’s the downside? Well, not only will you be flying Southwest, you’ll be flying the new Southwest.
  3. Meijer MPerks has a promotion for 50,000 points with the purchase of most third party gift cards including Best Buy through September 30. There’s a limit of 50,000 points per MPerks account, but you don’t let that nuance stop you, do you?

    Best Buy gift card resale rates are currently hovering at around 94%.
  4. Kroger has a 4x fuel points promotion on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel services cards, through September 30. There’s a similar promotion for fixed value Visas and Mastercards, but I’d stick to the online version of those for 5% back through Saturday.

    Something something Best Buy something something.
  5. American Express changed a couple of additional items with yesterday’s refresh:

    – There’s a mostly worthless Oura ring coupon: $200 off
    – The digital entertainment credit is now $25 monthly
    – The Business Platinum has an offer of up to 300,000 Membership Rewards with the right gyrations (vpn/incognito/mobile/clown), including via referral – this link might work too but you won’t get a referral bonus
    – The Morgan Stanley Platinum and Charles Schwab Platinum cards have increased bonuses of 125,000 Membership Rewards after $8,000 spend

    You can get the old generation of the Oura for $200, but I’ve got great odds that it’ll end up in the trash or a junk drawer in a couple of months. (Thanks to Holly)
  6. Chase tweaked its Sapphire Reserve cards’ hotel benefits, but neither starts until 2026:

    – One time $250 credit on two night stays at some hotels booked through the Chase portal
    – Each $250 “The Edit” credit, which isn’t the same as the previous credit, can be used any time through the year

Have a nice weekend!

The new Southwest.

A credit union account that you opened years ago can often be your best friend when new techniques are discovered. For example, one of my favorite credit union accounts has been useful as:

  • a money order dump
  • a bill payment target
  • a CD funded with credit card target
  • a debit load target
  • a basis for a credit card with the same credit union
  • other games

There are often dry spells between plays though, and if you’re not careful, an account primarily useful for gaming might be closed for inactivity during your dry spell, with any remaining funds being sent to your state’s unclaimed property division. To avoid that, I do the following:

Set up a recurring $1 (or whatever the minimum) monthly ACH to the account from a central checking account, or from another credit union target account.

If you’re worried about the monthly drain on your central account, there’s no reason you can’t set the transaction up in reverse a few days later.

Good luck, and happy Thursday!

Sadly, not all games keep credit union accounts active.

Let’s take today to tl;dr the American Express Platinum changes that go live tonight so you can ignore the hundreds of articles about them headed your way this week.

Personal

Vitals:

  • Annual fee: $895 (increase of $200)
  • Earn:
    • 5x on airfare
    • 5x on AmEx Travel hotels
    • 1x otherwise

Value coupons:

  • Air Incidental coupon: $200 credit annually
  • FHR coupon: $600 credit, $300 January – June and $300 July – December
  • Resy coupon: $400 credit, $100 per quarter
  • Lululemon coupon: $300 credit, $75 per quarter
  • Uber One coupon: $120 credit, $10 per month
  • Uber coupon: $200 credit, $15 per month January – November, $20 in December
  • Walmart+ Membership coupon: $155.40 credit, $12.95 per month
  • Saks coupon: $100 credit, $50 January – June and $50 July – December
  • Digital entertainment coupon: $300 credit, $25 per month on select services

Mostly worthless coupons:

  • Clear.me coupon: $209 credit annually
  • Soulcycle coupon: $300 off an in-home bike
  • Equinox coupon: $300 off of gym membership
  • Oura coupon: $200 off of a ring purchase
  • Priority pass membership

Yes you can get more than $895 out of these, but let’s be honest: You’re working for AmEx, they’re not working for you.

Business

Vitals:

  • Annual fee: $895 (increase of $200)
  • Earn:
    • 5x on FHR and Hotel Collection hotels booked through AmEx 5ravel
    • 5x on flights booked through AmEx Travel
    • 2x on construction, hardware, electronic goods, software, shipping, and cloud on up to $2 Million spend
    • 2x on $5,000+ transactions (limited to $2 Million with the above categories)
    • 1x otherwise

Value coupons:

  • Air Incidental coupon: $200 credit annually
  • FHR coupon: $600 credit, $300 January – June and $300 July – December
  • Hotel status coupon: Leaders Club Sterling, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
  • Hilton coupon: $200 credit, $50 per quarter
  • Dell coupon: $150 (+$1,000) credit annually, $1,000 after $5,000+ Dell spend
  • Wireless coupon: $120 credit, $10 monthly
  • AmEx Travel coupon (requires $250,000 spend): $1,200 annually

Mostly worthless coupons:

  • Adobe coupon: $250 credit after $600+
  • Clear.me coupon: $209 credit annually
  • Indeed coupon: $270 credit, $90 quarterly
  • American Express One AP coupon (requires $250,000 spend): $2,400 credit annually
  • Priority pass membership

If all of your transactions are 2x, then there’s a realistic path to holding this card and wiping the annual fee. You’re still working for AmEx, but at least it’s not under duress.

Happy Wednesday!

Leaked: Another monthly personal Platinum credit that was ultimately scrapped.

  1. Do this now: Register for 5x rotating categories for Q4, 2025:

    – Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex: Old Navy, Chase Travel, Department Stores, (and PayPal in December)
    – Discover IT: Amazon.com and drug stores
    – Citi Dividend: Citi Travel and restaurants
    – US Bank Cash+: I choose utilities and electronics because reasons

    If Citi’s site is erroring for you, I mean (1) #citigonnaciti, and (2) try again in a few hours.
  2. Qatar Avios has a tiered incoming transfer bonus for Citi ThankYou points for up to a 40% bonus on 50,000+ points through October 15. Other programs are included too, but they’re either obscure or poor value.

    Avios transfer freely between partners, so this is effectively a 40% bonus on the other major Avios airline currencies too.
  3. The Primis Visa rewards debit card is transitioning to a 1% flat cash back rewards structure on October 17. And before you ask, yes that’s not how Primus is normally spelled.

Happy Tuesday!

Primis probably took over this credit onion’s parking lot.