Author: matt

  1. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, the let’s go with Messi of credit cards, sent new mid-month targeted offers for:

    – $50 statement credit with $750+ online spend
    – $75 statement credit with $1,000+ online spend

    The no-annual fee card remains unavailable for new applicants, and the likelihood of that changing is about the same of the US winning the World Cup this year. Go head and prove me wrong, Citi.
  2. Hyatt and Air Canada Aeroplan have a new partnership, you can link your accounts here. The tl;dr:

    – Aeroplan miles can be redeemed for Hyatt Category 1-4 certificates “starting at” 25,000 miles
    – 50,000 Hyatt points can be redeemed for a 30,000 point Aeroplan reward certificate

    – Aeroplan elites get a 20 night Globalist Hyatt status challenge
    – Aeroplan elites can convert Aeroplan to Hyatt at a 2:1 ratio
    – Hyatt elites will have an Aeroplan status challenge opportunity later this year

    – Hyatt elites get an annual CAD $20 Aeroplan flight credit, which is worth approximately one gallon of milk at current exchange rates
    – Hyatt points transfer to Aeroplan at a less bad, but still bad, 2:1 ratio

    On the positive front, that CAD $20 flight credit can be used to cover taxes on an award ticket, and on the uh-oh front, there’s now a backdoor from American Express to Hyatt.
  3. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 100% transfer bonus to IHG through July 30, bringing the transfer ratio from 1:1 to 1:2, which, like above, is less bad but still bad. On July 31, the bonus drops to 70% through the end of August.
  4. Singapore Airlines has discount business class awards for travel booked this month and flown next month between Los Angeles and Tokyo for 79,800 miles.

    There are lots of economy class discounts too, but uh, yeah.
  5. Meijer mPerks has 10,000 points with $100+ in One4All gift cards, limit 10,000 points per customer through Tuesday. I think this deal signals the end of the “mPerks is great” era, and brings us to the “mPerks is ok” era. Long live Nob Hill I guess?

Happy Thursday friends!

Don’t worry, science has already charted Meijer past and present.

  1. Capital One’s non-Venture business cards have increased sign-up bonuses:

    – Spark Cash: $1,000 statement credit + $250 travel credit with $10,000 spend in three months, annual fee is waived the first year
    – Spark Cash Plus: $2,000 statement credit + $500 travel credit with $30,000 spend in three months

    For big spenders, the Spark Cash Plus is a monster with an additional 0.4x ($2,000) on every $500,000 spend and an annual fee refund after $150,000 spend.
  2. The Rove shopping portal and travel booking engine added Qantas Frequent Flyer as a 1,500:1,000 transfer partner through August 14, and then as a 1,000:1,000 transfer partner.

    Qantas is most interesting for Emirates First awards, but there are plenty of other use cases.
  3. Japan Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy teamed up to combine the world’s most consistent service with the world’s least consistent service. The highlights, after you link your JMB and Bonvoy accounts:

    – Marriott elites earn JAL FLY ON points
    – JAL elites earn elite status and stay based bonus points annually, but 🤏

    I suppose FNBO hackers might now earn lifetime Bonvoy Gold too, which is probably worth at least $60 USD (or $6,000 TPG). Also if you like lighting money on fire and throwing its burning embers directly into a sewer, you can transfer JAL miles to Bonvoy at a 4,000:3,000 ratio.
  4. Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping has a bonus of 2,500 miles after $500 spend through August 10.
  5. Yesterday morning we chatted about Just4U’s 12x in-store DoorDash promotion, and yesterday afternoon multiple reports rolled in about 12x actually being 10x in true Just4U fashion. If you’re affected, customer service is manually crediting missing points – always check your receipt. (Thanks to Dawn for the nudge on a PSA)

Happy Wednesday!

Instructions unclear, dollar lit on fire.

Let’s start with a few deals:

  1. Brex has a new $500 gift card bonus when signing up for one or both of a new Brex card or Brex business checking account in July. To be eligible, you’ll need to spend either $2,500 on your Brex rewards debit card or deposit $50,000 within the first 30 days. A few notes:

    – Brex doesn’t like sole proprietorships
    – Brex likes tech companies, especially venture funded companies
    – Brex has interesting transfer partners and spend multiples, but transfer ratios aren’t 1:1

    Brex can be down to clown as long as you tend to behave like a regular customer.
  2. The United Airlines shopping portal has promotion for 2,500 bonus miles with $600+ spend through August 9.

    Giftcards.com remains an easy option, and as of this writing it’s 2x-3x on the portal too. (Thanks to SideShowBob233)
  3. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have 12x points earning on DoorDash gift cards through Saturday. Annoyingly, the maximum denomination is $200 per gift card.

    There might be a reason that a churning and manufactured spend blog is writing about DoorDash, and it’s not just about lowering the cost of expensive food.
  4. Citi has a targeted offer for $75 off of $400+ when booking hotels through its portal. This offer stacks with annual Citi hotel offers.

And follow with some mildly interesting notes:

  1. Wyndham temporarily increased its transfer limit to Caesars Rewards to 60,000 annually through September 11.
  2. American Express is requiring re-enrollment for Hertz President’s Circle status for many Business Platinum cardholders. You’ve got until the end of 2026, but I’d knock it out right now and forget about it.
  3. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, formerly the Shop Your Way Rewards card, will no longer have access to transfers to JetBlue on September 20. To make up for it though, expect new targeted spend offers tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday!

At least you earned 12x points for your $65 DoorDash that looks nothing the like AI image, right?

  1. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday. For best results:

    – Buy in integer multiples of $600
    – Look for the lower fee “Everywhere” cards if you can liquidate them

    Remember that zero is an integer too if you’re exhausted by $200s. These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  2. The original American Express Blue Cash, unavailable to new applications since 2018 (!), is being transitioned to a Blue Cash Everyday card on March 4, 2027.

    It’s not too hard to spend $56,500 at grocery stores, gas stations, and drug stores in two months and American Express doesn’t care about cycling for seasoned accounts, so send it.
  3. The Synchrony Plus World Mastercard has a targeted offer for 10% back on spend for 60 days. If you don’t have a mailer, you’ve got a few options:

    – According to the Javascript on the site, a promo code is two letters followed by nine numbers
    – Remember that zero is also a percent and opt for the alternate, zero bonus multiplier
    – Try and browbeat a Synchrony representative into a code

    For no reason at all, here’s a friendly reminder that Synchrony cards shouldn’t be cycled, at all, ever.
  4. A long useful travel hack is about to become less useful, so smoke ’em if you got ’em while you still can. Also, learn from this trick because travel hacking across different loyalty programs, or even different aspects within the same loyalty program, often rhymes.

Happy Monday!

More lessons in rhyming.

  1. Do this now: Register for Hyatt’s Summer promotion for 3,000 bonus points for three night or longer stays at Hyatt Place and Hyatt Select properties through the end of the month, which (probably) stacks with the other Summer promotion for 2,000 bonus points for two night or longer stays after the second stay through September 7.
  2. The Chase Hyatt personal Visa card has a highest ever bonus of:

    – 45,000 points after $5,000 spend in three months
    – +1x points on up to $30,000 spend in six months

    So, $30,000 spend is at least 105,000 total points, also known as enough for 1 ½ nights at Park Hyatt Kyoto or long enough to decompose (30 nights) at the Hyatt Place Lubbock. This will probably be available for referrals on Monday.
  3. There’s reportedly a targeted Capital One Business card referral bonus for 100,000 miles (!) for the referrer and the regular sign-up bonus for the referred. The link is valid for referrals to the Venture X Business and the Cash Plus Business card, and you can check your referral offers here.

    I got a rock, but it was at least a shiny rock this time.
  4. Stop & Shop, Giant Food, and Martins have 10x points on Home Depot and Lululemon gift cards through Thursday. Per-account limits are either $1,500 $2,000.

    It’s been a while, but the corporate overlords are punking the sister brand Giant with only 6x points.

Have a nice weekend, friends!

The green means money, right?

The two worst US programs in loyalty showed us why they’re the worst, again:

  1. Delta introduced Basic Business, which means you’re going to pay more for tickets if you want:

    – Seat assignments
    – More checked bags
    – Change fee on revenue tickets
    – No same day changes, no standby
    – No lounge access, at least included in the ticket

    Remember friends, choosing to fly Delta is a choice, and choosing to spend on a Delta American Express Card is a bigger choice. And if you’re choosing to Delta’s product on 767-300, I mean wow.
  2. Marriott Bonvoy devalued points redemptions between 5% and 15%, bringing my scientifically calibrated made-up point valuation down to 0.39 cents each. Now who wants to go earn 3*0.39x on general card spend?

    Don’t worry though, the resort fees and the parking you’ll pay on your free-night awards didn’t devalue, they’re still full price.

Both have good alternatives in loyalty, and you can still pay for hotels with cash too. Be deliberate friends! Now, let’s illustrate a loyalty program that’s trying:

Happy Thursday friends!

Delta’s 767-300 business class, international config.

  1. Do this now: Register for Accor ALL’s Summer promotion for 1,000-7,500 bonus points per 2+ night stay outside of the Americas.
  2. SoFi launched “Smart Card Mastercard”. It’s not a credit card, but rather a charge card with spending limits set based on your assets in SoFi checking and savings. The vitals:

    – $0 annual fee
    – 5% back at grocery (uncapped in theory)
    – 1% everywhere else (in theory)

    Walmart, Target, Costco, and Sams Club are all explicitly excluded from the grocery bonus.
  3. Raley’s, Bel Air, and Nob Hill stores have a 15% discount on One4All cards through July 15. If there’s a deal that breaks you out of couch manufactured spend, make it this one (Especially if you have the Smart Card from SoFi I guess? I know math is hard, but 15%+5% = 20% for small values of 5.)

    Some of these cards convert to high-value resale brands like Home Depot and Lowes. (Thanks to GCA)
  4. Chase Offers has new targeted Hyatt card-linked offers through August 31 for:

    – $100 statement credit with $1,000+ at Hyatt’s all inclusive resorts
    – 15% back on up to $450 spend at Hyatt Under Canvas

    I’d be impressed if you find a gift card at Hyatt Under Canvas, but that’s not the only way.
  5. Bank of America has a new tiered business bank account sign-up bonus through July 31. Interesting tiers:

    – $700 bonus with $15,000 in deposits
    – $1,500 bonus with $100,000 in deposits
    – $2,500 bonus with $200,000+ in deposits

    The second two are good for fast-tracking Business Premier Rewards.
  6. American Express Business Checking has a targeted sign-up bonus for 70,000 Membership Rewards or $700 with $15,000 in deposits and five transactions within 60 days.

    Apropos of nothing, scheduling $1 ACHs is a breeze with these accounts. (Thanks to DDG)
  7. Breeze has a promotion for 25% off of base fares for travel booked by tomorrow for the full schedule, other than blackouts around all the holidays that you probably want to travel for, with promo code MIDYEAR.

    It’s time for another round of Breeze Route Bingo™, but this week is a special: If your bingo card has any routes with Brownsville, TX (BRO), send it!

Happy Wednesday friends!

Fun fact about Brownsville: Parking regulations are rarely enforced.

It’s been a hot second since we’ve talked about The Velocity of Money here, so as a tl;dr: Taking a small cut when moving money between different ledgers can be rewarding, and doing it a bunch of times makes it a bunch more rewarding.

We can deconstruct that into features we should probably look for in FinTechs, some of which aren’t normally gathered by average due-diligence as far as I can tell:

  • Quick posting
  • Fast transfers
  • Frequent rewards posting and cash-out
  • Real-time payments / FedNow support
  • Cycling tolerance
  • Account scaling

Of course the regular things that we’re looking for like low fees and high limits matter too, but I think most of us have a good handle on those.

Good luck out there, and remember that it’s often better to have a small slice of a huge pie than a big slice of a small pie.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s best to have no slice of a gross pie (sorry for multiple reasons to the singular hot dog pie lover out there).