Well, yesterday a big churning door closed which rendered some back buttons useless, and I’m not sure another door opened despite Mr. Bell’s admonitions to the contrary. You’re not out of luck though, the hallway has multiple doors, so maybe just take a few other probing steps and see what other doors lurk in the hallway.
General cryptic MEAB disclaimer: If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t stress, it likely doesn’t affect you.
– 140,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months – 60,000 points after $9,000 spend in six months
This should also be available via referrals in a couple of days. (Thanks to ArchEveNix)
Wyndham is updating its hotel award tiers on April 15. Apparently 8% of hotels are moving to a lower tier and 4% to a higher tier. That means you’ve got until April 14 to book any Wyndham aspirational stays in anticipation of the price increasing.
I’d like to see the same numbers out of Hyatt in May. I’d also like a new, free Gulfstream Jet which seems equally likely.
Every one of these has a way to manufactured spend your way to your $1,500 quarterly. I’d suggest knocking these out on day one so you don’t have to think about them, but you do you.
– Have or had a Chase Marriott card in the last 30 days – Opened an American Express Boundless, Bold, or Bountiful card in the last 90 days – Got a sign-up bonus for a new Boundless, Bold, or Bountiful in the last 24 months
Can gamers still game? Undoubtedly. Or should I say, Bundoutably?
This bonus is available for referrals too, and remember that good things happen to 5/24 dreamers when new Chase business card bonuses come out.
The American Express issued Marriott cards have increased sign-up bonuses available direct and via referrals:
– Brilliant: 200,000 Bonvoy points after $6,000 spend in six months – Bevy: 175,000 Bonvoy Points after $5,000 spend in six months – Business: Five free night awards after $9,000 spend in six months
Of course use a referral instead of a random link on ye-olde internet.
Giant, Giant Food Stores, Martin’s, and Stop & Shop stores have 2x rewards on Mastercard Gift Cards through Thursday, limit $1,500 per account at Giant and $2,000 per account otherwise.
These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
Have a nice weekend friends!
The all new, always sophisticated, future-news-o-tron 2,000.
Ford launched a new Comenity issued Visa. It looks great until you see that Ford Rewards points are worth only 0.5 cents each toward the purchase of a new car, after which it looks just ok. The vitals:
– No annual-fee – 15,000 point ($75) sign-up bonus – 6x (3%) back on grocery, gas, restaurants, EV charging, insurance, tolls, and parking – 2x (1%) for other purchases
It’s not unheard of for a churner to use an auto-manufacturer card to churn a car, but this one would be a lot of time at your favorite Kroger, Speedway, or similar to end up with a Ford. The fact that it’s a Comenity card could change the calculus.
These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
MGM Rewards has a free 90 day status match and challenge to keep status through January 2028. Match status by the end of June, and retain status after 90 days with either 50,000 Tier Credits for Gold or 150,000 Tier Credits for Platinum.
For those mathing at home, 50,000 Tier Points is a breeze to earn with only *checks notes, furrows brow* $12,500 in spend. *sigh*
Happy Thursday!
Good news: It’s not against the rules to buy a kids Ford and say you churned a car, I checked.
Holding any loyalty currency in your account for anything beyond what you’ll use in the next 18 months or so is generally a recipe for disaster because:
You don’t earn interest on points (well, inflation might mean negative interest)
There’s significant opportunity cost for the money you could have cashed out
There’s still a great case to be made for holding some points though, specifically for when “life doesn’t care about your booking window” happens, also known as that time you need to travel immediately regardless of how many seats Delta has available in their “Main Basic Extra Minus Enhanced Lite” fare class.
The Emergency Fund
When life hits, you may need to be on a plane or in a hotel room in the next couple of hours, for example:
You need to travel immediately to care for someone
A war started nearby
Your house flooded
You ran out of flour from a specific mill in France and don’t have time to ship more
At that point, “getting out” is more important than whether or not you have a lie flat bed or whether you’ll get a free sandwich in main cabin extra. It also means that you won’t have time to earn new points to cover your stay, so what you’ve got banked is exactly what you have to work with. In other words, holding a baseline level of points in a few programs can serve as the points equivalent of your cash emergency fund.
In Practice, MEAB Style
I keep a baseline of around 100,000 points in most US airline programs and hotel programs for emergencies. Why 100,000? Well, humans like round numbers, and because that’s generally enough to ensure I can get anywhere in coach and have a night or two in a hotel while I figure out next steps or earn more points as needed. It’s also a level that I’m comfortable losing without any real heartache if my account is shutdown because reasons.
Fin
Hoarding is bad, except when it’s good, naturally. Just keep those hoard levels in check and call them an emergency fund so you can sleep better at night.
Happy Wednesday!
Next time: Building your strategic reserve. (Also eww, Diet Coke)
These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
The Emirates partner award chart changed, including some increases and some decreases. Generally it’s a positive change after dozens of bad ones from the program, or as it’s called in the industry, five canceled flights followed by one diverted flight that got you 25% of the way there.
More Saks stores are dying. If one of those is near you, perhaps visit now to cash out American Express Platinum credits before you can’t.
Have a nice Tuesday friends!
I don’t think Mesa and Rove are anything alike, but, uh, they are both four letter names.
