Category: Airlines

  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.

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. Chase Offers has a widely targeted offer for $100 off of $600+ on Chase Travel bookings through September 30.
  2. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. These work best when you buy in multiples of $600, and apparently based on recent observations, they also work best when you hide them behind other gift cards or inside the gift card rack🙄.

    These are also Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. Meijer stores have 50,000 MPerks points with a $500 gift card purchase through July 14. Unfortunately you’re limited to one per account, but fortunately, it turns out through some fluke of unnatural universal laws that it’s possible to have multiple accounts.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  4. Staples.com has fee-free $200 virtual Visa gift cards, limit four per transaction. (Yes, yes, I know it says five but here we are.)

    These are also Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards, RIP those US Bank ones though, amirite?
  5. Lufthansa First partner award space seems to be back, at least on a limited basis.
  6. Alaska Airlines may have reverted to its old behavior of allowing the combination of wallet funds and companion fares on the same ticket, re-allowing gamers to game. Reports suggest that this may have been a one-day reversion or maybe a staggered rollout though, I haven’t seen any reports of anyone doing this successfully.

Happy Monday!

Pouring something out for US Bank gift cards.

  1. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have 12x points on $50+ in BestBuy gift cards through Tuesday. Register limits are $500 every 15 minutes.
  2. American Express’s on-again/off-again Summer transfer bonuses are on again, presumably this time for realzies:

    – 30% to Virgin Atlantic through July 31, making the ratio 1,000:1,300
    – 20% to Hilton Honors through July 14, making the ratio 1,000:2,400

    There are use cases for both, but especially the former. If you’re going to be speculative, might I suggest that the Hilton one, uhh, ain’t it chief.
  3. Capital One has a 30% transfer bonus to EVA through July 31, making the transfer ratio 1,000:975. Premium Citi ThankYou cards still transfer at 1,000:1,000 though.
  4. The Chase Sapphire Reserve personal card’s Pay Yourself Back categories changed to gas and transit, and the rate dropped from 1.25 cents per point to 1.20 cents per point for categories other than the annual fee and select charities. The Business version hasn’t changed, but still only offers boosted redemptions on charities.

    The Sapphire Preferred’s Pay Yourself Back categories changed and dropped too, with transit at 1.05 cents per point, and pet supply at 1.10 cents per point.
  5. The Rove travel and shopping portal added Frontier as a transfer partner, which whatever except that it’s a unique partner for a non-hotel program. They’ve got a 25% transfer bonus to Frontier through July 31 making the ratio 1,000:1,250.
  6. American Express Offers has various offers for $200-$250 off of $1,000-$1,250 at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, and LXR properties in North America.
  7. AirFrance / KLM’s FlyingBlue program released its July 2026 promo rewards for travel through the end of the year. North America to Europe cities:

    – Economy: ATL, DEN, MIA, PDX, RDU, YUL, YVR, YOW for 18,500 miles
    – Premium Economy: LAX, ORD for 30,000 miles
    – Business: JFK for 45,000 miles

    There’s surprisingly good availability in business this summer, so go get some European frites.
  8. Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador elites or United Gold, Platinum, or 1K elites can register for a complex promotion for reciprocal bonus points on either paid United itineraries or paid Marriott hotel stays.

    Neither promotion is great, but they’re both better than Texas frites.

Happy Thursday friends!

With Rove and Frontier, you can check my math on Lubbock frites.

  1. Meijer has 10,000 bonus points on $100+ in Mastercard gift cards, limit 10,000 points per account.

    Meijer sells both Pathward / BlackHawk Network and Sunrise gift cards.
  2. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points promotion on third party gift cards other than Amazon and flexible fuel cards running through July 7. Yes, this is different than the last two-week 4x fuel points promotion that ended the day before this one started.

    The last promotion saw Kroger fighting back against gamers, but gamers just found a variation on the game because good/evil (choose one) always wins, except those times that they lose I guess.
  3. American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonuses to Hilton and Virgin Atlantic ended prematurely. Speculation suggests that they were accidentally released ahead of their intended July 1 date. (Thanks to FM)
  4. Expedia’s OneKey program is devaluing, with earning now based on status tier instead of a fixed 2% cash back on non-flights, no earning on flights, and the removal of its price guarantee.

    The Expedia OneKey credit cards remain an interesting niche play though. If you haven’t heard of this card in a long time, or possibly ever, it’s probably because they don’t pay much in the way of affiliate sales commission; do with that what you will.
  5. Asiana Airlines will complete its acquisition by Korean Air later this year. As of December 17, they’ll no longer honor Star Alliance award bookings, even those already ticketed.

    If you have one of those bookings, I’d start looking (a) at legal recourse, and (b) backup award flights on other carriers.

Have a nice Thursday friends!

The Expedia OneKey cards sit in the corner wondering why no one loves them.

  1. US Bank has double cash back on both its portal and its card linked offers through Friday. Unfortunately, this portal is convoluted enough to need a cheat sheet.
  2. The Synchrony Virgin Red Mastercard is sending targeted bonuses for 1,500 bonus points after two $10+ purchases using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Amazon Pay. I believe this generic link will work for every Virgin cardholder, but the terms and conditions don’t show on the target page for anyone so ymmv. (Thanks to David)
  3. Stater Bros has $10 off of groceries purchased with a $50+ One4All gift card through July 7. These work on back-to-back transactions too so bring your favorite cashier a thank you $10 Dunkin Paze gift card or something for tying up their line for an hour. (Thanks to GCA)
  4. American Express Membership Rewards has two transfer bonuses:

    – 20% to Hilton Honors through July 14, making the ratio 1,000:2,400
    – 30% to Virgin Atlantic through July 31, making the ratio 1,000:1,300

    Frankly American Express should be bringing you a $10 Dunkin Paze gift card for your trouble in dealing with their Hilton transfer bonus.
  5. Thanks to a comedy of errors at Chase, Ink Plus cards will earn 5x on shipping through Saturday. Too bad Fat Bobby is out of business?
  6. Delta SkyMiles has an award sale through tomorrow night for economy travel in September, October, and November. Selected pricing:

    – Europe: 40,000 – 60,000 SkyMiles round trip
    – Central America and Mexico: 16,000 – 21,000 SkyMiles round trip

    AA and Delta’s economy award sales this week for fall travel should tell you something about how the airlines are doing at filling the back of the bus this fall.

Happy Wednesday!

Meanwhile in the rest of the blog-o-sphere…

  1. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  2. American Express Offers has a new offer for 20,000 Membership Rewards or a $200 statement credit after $1,000 spend on Air France/KLM flights from the US through August 30.
  3. The Bank of America Travel Rewards card is on Rakuten with a $275 or 27,500 point portal bonus in addition to the regular 25,000 Bank of America point sign-up bonus after $1,000 spend in 90 days.
  4. Stop & Shop, Giant, Giant Food, and Martins 6x points on third party gift cards through Thursday. Per-account limits are either $500, $1,500 $2,000, or $500 on Zift and $2,000 on everything else depending on the chain because why A/B test when you can A/B/C/D/Q/Y test?

Happy Monday friends!

A/B testing biking surfaces.