An often overlooked technique for dealing with sludge in churning is sending a Certified Letter via USPS. Since the friction of sending one involves typing something, printing something, stuffing something, licking something, driving to something, paying for something, and then waiting days for something, it doesn’t happen very often.
But when a company gets a Certified Letter, you’ve effectively guaranteed that a human with some decision making power will read it and decide what do do about it because Certified Letters are often precursors to lawsuits, and it turns out companies don’t like lawsuits (probably because they don’t fit as nicely as tailored suits.)
Certified Letters have helped me after customer service failed repeatedly, in just the last year, they’ve helped me fix:
Credit card disputes
Credit report disputes
Locked gift cards
Missing bank bonuses
Remember, the value of fixing something is often worth the value of a good churn.
Happy Thursday!
More stuffing, because apparently people want shirts like this?
Before we dive in let’s start with a quick American Express shutdowns update: There were no reports of new shutdowns yesterday. Are we out of the woods yet? I think that’s highly unlikely, but you never know I guess. Anyway, let’s dive in to today’s news.
– Book a round-trip or two one-ways by tomorrow night – Fly by the end of March – Earn a companion pass valid between August 7 and October 8
This works on award and paid tickets, and if you’ve already got something booked you can cancel and rebook too.
The American Express personal Hilton cards have new no-lifetime language (NLL) links:
– Aspire: 150,000 points after $6,000 spend in six months – Surpass: 130,000 points after after $3,000 spend in six months – Honors: 80,000 points after $2,000 spend in six months
On the one hand the mileage bonus is low compared to other sign-up bonuses, but on the other hand it’s Synchrony so that’s a nice win with the right playbook.
The Capital One Venture card has a sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles and a $250 Capital One Travel credit available by referrals (and publicly available too, but use a referral from a friend instead).
American Express shut down the accounts for a large number of churners yesterday. If you were affected, I’m sorry, that sucks and I hope you’re back with AmEx soon. What happened exactly? Let’s start with vitals:
Shutdowns happened between 1 PM and 5 PM Eastern
Shutdowns didn’t occur simultaneously, they were spread throughout the day
Shutdown emails used the reason “accounts […] not being used for the intended purpose”
Applying for a new card after shutdown was instantly denied with the reason “previously engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming”
Now, let’s talk causes. I don’t work at American Express so I can’t offer definitive evidence, but we have plenty of data points that all point in the same direction. Those say:
PayPal games didn’t cause this
Employee cards didn’t cause this
Referrals didn’t cause this
Back-button didn’t cause this
Lots of sign-up bonuses didn’t cause this
Fitness club history didn’t cause this
The floosies were a common denominator and probably came back to bite
Notes and lessons from American Express shutdowns in general:
You can’t add new transfer partners once a shutdown happens*, so add partners now *… unless you have an AmEx business checking account
You can only transfer 999,999 Membership Rewards per day per transfer partner
AmEx doesn’t close other players at the same address for guilt by association
You’ve got until the end of the day to cash out your points when you’re shutdown
If you cash-out with gift cards, only the physical ones work post shutdown
AmEx won’t refund annual fees for shutdown cards on their own
You can accelerate pending Membership Rewards points if you make a payment, call, and get lucky
– Buy in even multiples of $200 – Don’t forget about your American Express Business Gold monthly credit – Look for ‘Anywhere cards’ which may be cheaper as long as you can liquidate them
– $75 statement credit after in $750 in online spend – $100 statement credit after $1,000 in online spend – 15,000 ThankYou Points after $1,000 in online spend – 250,000 Shop Your Way points after $750 in online spend
It stacks with the other ongoing offers too, obviously. Now we just need Lowe’s or Home Depot to sell Visas or Mastercards online to make the stack even easier. (Thanks to Cashback Cowgirl, Matt, Santosh, and Brandon)
– 40,000 Ultimate Rewards → 60,000 Bonvoy Points – 60,000 Bonvoy Points → 25,000 JAL Mileage Bank miles
In other words, you’re getting a 1:0.625 ratio from Ultimate Rewards to Milage Bank which isn’t great, but isn’t awful for the utility of JAL’s own upgrades and expanded award availability.
There is commentary on various forums on the internet that this is a modified link, but I believe the commentary is incorrect and there’s no abnormal risk in this link, rather it’s using a different campaign code than the previous version of the offer.
Happy President’s Day!
The Presidential Citi Shop Your Way Rewards salary beats the average US Government Job *circa 1940.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts during the holiday break in 2024 and now on Saturdays in early 2025. Special thanks to today’s author Jonathan, a second time guest poster, for taking the time to write an anecdote about characters encountered in manufactured spend. You can find his first article from last year here. Have a nice weekend!
Introduction
You know that inner debate we all have when driving home late: “Should I make another stop or just screw it and head home?” “It’s just 10 mins out of the way.” “But it’s late and I am tired.” “Yeah, but one stop is definitely worth it, and Sharalyn is there tonight.” Well, that night, I decided to make that stop. (Note: I’ve changed her name to Sharalyn to protect her anonymity—though I’m sure she wouldn’t care one bit. That’s just the kind of person she is.)
This was at my go-to Speedway for manufactured spend, the kind of place where you know the clerks’ schedules better than your own. I pulled up, expecting the usual, but noticed the door was locked during business hours. Strange. Then I spotted Sharalyn behind the counter, busy with something.
A Quick Backstory on Sharalyn: Sharalyn was one of my all-time favorite Speedway clerks. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t care at all what you do. She told me once she was 43, but honestly, she looked closer to 66—life has been hard on her, and her dental situation (4 teeth left) didn’t help. But still, she was a gem.
Anyway, I wasn’t about to let a locked door stop me. I went back to my truck and called the store. Sharalyn picked up:
Me: “Hey, Sharalyn, it’s Jonathan. Can I come in and do some gift cards?” Shariee:“Ah, I’m having a bit of trouble right now… I $*!? my pants.” Me:“Oh… well, that’s okay. It’ll just take a second.” Shariee:“Alright, I’ll unlock the door.”
Now, at this point, I figured I’d walk in, see Sharalyn awkwardly holding her composure, and move on. I was surprised about what happened next.
No Pants, No Problem
As I walked up, true to her word, Sharalyn unlocked the door—wearing NO PANTS. She had on a sweatshirt that was juuuuust long enough to make this a PG-13 situation. She went right back to the register while I grabbed my cards. Let’s just say the “Speedway” name was fitting. I paused for a moment, feeling a mix of surprise and sympathy. “Sharalyn, do you want me to grab you a pair of pants or something?” I offered, genuinely concerned for her.
Meanwhile, another guy walked in behind me, froze mid-step, and said, “Wow… you know you’re not wearing any pants, right?”
Sharalyn, unfazed as ever, ignored him completely. I purchased my cards, gave her a nod of respect, and left.
The End of an Era
Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw Sharalyn. The store was closing, and apparently, she didn’t transfer to another location. I looked for her at many other speedways in the city. Wherever she is, I hope she’s still rocking that I-don’t-give-a-#%&$ attitude.
– Jonathan
Speedway: Where the receipts never stop printing, and neither does your safety paranoia.
The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard card was an overlooked value machine for years, and it was the first MEAB Unsung Hero card too. I think churners know the card’s value machine status now though, so proselytizing at this point is passé.
But, questions often come up around the card, so let’s answer ’em like a boss:
[Q] When do I start getting offers? [A] Usually 3-5 months after getting the card
[Q] What’s the offer cadence? [A] Citi sends offers on the 1st and the 15th of each month via email, and sometimes earlier via snail-mail
[Q] What’s the sign-up bonus? [A] I dunno, but it’s crap, and it’s always been crap – that’s not why we get the card
[Q] How long until the sign-up bonus posts after hitting spend? [A] Forever, it probably won’t post (unless you’re really lucky or you bug Citi)
[Q] When do semi-monthly spend offers post? [A] For points usually within a week. For statement credits, either (a) a few weeks after the statement close, or (b) the middle of the next month depending on the offer
[Q] Can I have multiple Shop Your Way Rewards cards? [A] Historically yes, but now now (since about mid-2023)
[Q] What counts as an online purchase? [A] ymmv, but: some floosie things, your online utility payments, and probably whatever counts on the AT&T Access More card which would also be an Unsung Hero if you could still get it
[Q] Can I product change to this card? [A] No
[Q] Can I switch to the ThankYou Points version of this card? [A] Not since 2021
[Q] What’s the best redemption of Shop Your Way Rewards points? [A] Almost always Visa gift cards
[Q] What’s an unknown feature of the card? [A] It has special payment-fu, and lacks the Big Bank Energy™ that Citi’s known for
[Q] How do I get a credit line increase? [A] They award them automatically on most card anniversaries
[Q] I don’t see any offers in the ‘Offers’ tab on the account dashboard [A] That’s not a question, but sounds about right for this card. Don’t worry, no one else sees their offers either
[Q] What’s this card’s annual expectation value? [A] Almost as much as a maxed American Express Resy Platinum sign-up bonus
Good luck, and Happy #CitiGonnaCiti day.
[Bonus Q] In the year 2025, I get this message while trying to log into the card’s dashboard, what’s up? [A] #CitiGonnaCiti
AA miles are the most valuable currency for several use cases typically exercised by US based fliers. The program hasn’t devalued in a while though so caveat emptor and it’s the only thing in the AA ecosystem that’s keeping the lights on, but AA is good at cutting off its profit centers when they make too much money for shareholders for some reason. (Thanks to casinovibes)
– You can stack employee card bonuses with upgrade bonuses – You can stack retention offers with upgrade bonuses – You can stack with new card sign-up bonuses – Retention offers may be better before upgrade – An upgrade is a no-harm/no-foul maneuver with American Express – You can do this in the first year of card membership because it’s a business card
Now, the question that comes up often after these: How risky are hacked links? There have been historic shutdowns for hacked links, but there haven’t been any of those in nearly a decade. American Express doesn’t seem to care now, but that may change in the future. Do your own risk assessment, ideally involving variational calculus if you’re a bored super-nerd.
The CFPB is effectively non-existent 🪦, which means that when a bank holds your money and shouldn’t, doesn’t award a bonus when they should, changes credit card terms in an illegal manner, or sends all of your personal details to an adult website owner, you don’t have an easy, central resource for fixing it. You still have tools at your disposal to help though (ordered by of likely ease of use):
Your state banking regulator and charter administration
Arbitration (most banks have these clauses in their paperwork, and they’re almost always obligated to pay for the arbitration too)
Don’t shy away from the arbitration option when the numbers get into five digits, if the bank obviously behaved incorrectly your odds are probably great.
