Month: December 2025

MEABNOTE: I’ll be going on a blogging vacation at the end of the year and there won’t be any daily posts between December 15 and December 31, at least none from me. We may have guest posts during that period, but that depends on you sending me some. On January 1(ish), we’ll celebrate with the 2025 version of Travel Hacking as Told by GIFs.

Introduction

American Express, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, FakeBank LLC, FakeFinTech LLC, Rob’s Credit Union, and lots of others issue cards that have annual credits tied to a calendar year. When you pair that with the note that most issuers also let you refund an annual fee up to 30 days after it posts, you arrive at December being the best churning month of the year because:

  1. The first statement is usually 30 days after approval
  2. Your annual fee usually posts on the 12th statement (at 360 days, roughly)
  3. You can usually request an annual-fee refund within 30 days

This obviously doesn’t work for issuers that don’t issue annual-fee refunds though, like banks that rhyme with schmapital bun. It’s also a ymmv proposition with Bank of America, but it works there in the majority of cases.

The Actual Triple Dip

Because a card approved in December spans the calendar years 2025, 2026, and 2027 with a single paid annual fee, you can earn annual credits in all three years, hence the term “triple”. Because it’s silly that banks let us do that, we add the term “dip” (I couldn’t be bothered to fact check this part).

An Example

How about our good friend the American Express Business Platinum? Annually, you’ve got credits to cover things like:

  • $200 airline incidental
  • $150 Dell credit + $1,000 Dell credit
  • $600 annual Fine Hotels and Results credit
  • $360 Indeed credit
  • $250 Adobe credit

So if you apply for a card in December, your 12th statement won’t generate until between mid-December 2026 and mid-January 2027. Once that happens, you’ve still got another 30 days for games and an annual fee refund. With a single annual fee, you’d be able to get:

  • $600 in airline incidental credits (2025, 2026, and 2027)
  • $450 + $3,000 in Dell credits (2025, 2026, and 2027)
  • $1,200 in Fine Hotels and Resorts credits ($300 for 2025, 2*$300 for 2026, and $300 for 2027)
  • $1,080 in Indeed credits (2025, 2026, and 2027)
  • At least three migraines while dealing with the Adobe credits (various)

Good luck out there, and have a nice Tuesday friends!

Next time: Failed triple dips.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you sent me an email, message, or something else over the last week and a half, I probably haven’t gotten to it yet. It’s not you, it’s me; well, it’s me and a disconnected international trip.

  1. Rakuten In-Store card linked offers has offers for:

    – 6% or 6x at Walgreens
    – 1% or 1x at Food Lion
    – 1% or 1x at Giant
    – 1% or 1x at Martin’s

    Remember, it’s not just credit cards that link to Rakuten. You’ve got to re-add the offer an hour after its first use, though any purchases within that hour are still active. These offers generally aren’t supposed to work for gift cards, but “supposed to” and “the real world” don’t always align. (Thanks to Douglas)
  2. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, formerly the Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, continues its predecessor’s reign in the Unsung Heroes realm, and it continues to taunt churners who don’t have the card since you can’t currently apply for it. Offers for those with the card were sent for:

    – $50 statement credit after $450 spend, twice monthly for three months

    For #mathchallenged: $50*2*3 =$300. Also, e^{i*\pi}=-1 (just thought you’d want to know). (Thanks to Adam)
  3. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  4. Staples.com has fee-free $200 virtual Visa electronic gift cards, limit five.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. Giftcards.com has increased portal payouts like it’s going out of style, and some of those increased payouts will last through the week. The most interesting:

    – ShopBack: 5%
    – AA: 2.5x

    Use a referral for the first portal if you don’t already have account there and make a friend’s day.
  6. Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex cards earn 5x at PayPal for the month of December only, and [checks notes] it’s now December. The $1,500 5x spend quarterly limit still applies.

Good luck on your buyer’s group and reselling activity today, and happy Monday!

Sometimes math is easy.