Category: Airlines

  1. Chase Ultimate Rewards can’t be deposited to an external account starting March 27, instead you’ve got to redeem as a statement credit or to a Chase account.

    There are generally only a couple of good reasons to have a Chase deposit account, but those are overshadowed with a really bad reason to have one after you’re established.
  2. Chase Offers has new offers for:

    – $100 back on $600+ in Chase Travel spend
    – 10% back on up to $320 spend at Best Western properties

    Look, not all Best Western properties are bad, but also there’s a reason that we poke fun at them.
  3. Wells Fargo launched two new versions of the Autograph Journey card for Premier clients, but in-app only. They’re exactly like the regular Autograph Journey cards, except for:

    – There’s a 100,000 point sign-up bonus instead of a 60,000 point sign-up bonus
    – There are different colors available
    – They’re more, uhhh, fun

    There’s still a $2,500 Wells Fargo Premier banking bonus through April 14 and brokerage accounts work for it too, so if the fun of the Autograph Journey gold edition moves the needle, I bet it moves even more with a cool $2,500 added on.
  4. Alaska Atmos has a coach award sale for flights booked by February 27 and flown through May 12. Because Alaska is trying to be like the other major US carriers, they added blackout dates around spring break too:

    – Helsinki Finland: 17,500 miles each way
    – Copenhagen Denmark and Vienna Austria: 20,000 miles each way
    – Hokkaido Japan: 20,000 miles each way
    – Munich Germany and Prague Check Republic: 30,000 miles each way

    If you’re cool with flying coach: (a) uh, wow; and (b) check cash fares before booking, they’re often pretty cheap right now.

Happy Thursday friends!

Wells Fargo marketing shows off fun outfit ideas for your new fun credit card.

  1. Do this now: Register for Marriott Bonvoy’s Q1 promotion for 2,500 bonus points and an additional elite night for each Marriott brand with a completed stay by April 26.

    For those keeping track at home, 2,500 Bonvoy points are worth approximately the same as a six pack of sharpies and a Laurence sanga. The elite night credit’s value is very much in the eye of the beholder.
  2. Radisson Rewards has a Q1 promotion for 500 bonus points after your first stay, 3,000 bonus points after your second stay, and 3,500 bonus points after your third stay through April 9, registration required. This is the non-Americas version of Radisson.
  3. The Chase Southwest personal Visa credit cards have improved offers for:

    – Plus: 20,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Premier: 30,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Priority: 40,000 points plus a Companion Pass through February 2027
    – Pretend: 50,000 points plus I made it up

    These are available via referral, please use P2’s or a friend’s instead of a random link on the internet.
  4. JetBlue and United’s Blue Sky alliance announced that each can book revenue tickets for the other airline on their own ticket stock.

    Traditionally new partners mean that there are booking code and pricing arbitrage plays, but who knows this time.

Happy Wednesday friends!

TIL: This is a Laurence sanga.
(Thanks to Larry)

  1. There’s a unique sign-up bonus for the Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card (the $95 annual fee version for those keeping track at home):

    – 50,000 Bonvoy points after $3,000 spend in three months
    – $400 Marriott egift card instantly on approval

    You’ll also get 2x$50 statement credits after spending $500 in airline purchases (1x in the first half and 1x in the second half of the year).
  2. Staples.com has fee-free Visa egift cards, limit five per account, four per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. American Express Delta Stays gamers are going through a bit of a rough patch, or at least that’s what my robot overlord translators told me in the most broken English they could muster. The action here? Be trickier if you’re going to play tricks.
  4. The Lufthansa Miles & More program has a new status match for ITA Airways, British Airways, and Iberia elites, with status lasting through the end of February 2027. USA based addresses are included in this one too.

    The match is free for ITA elites, or €99 for the others. The match doesn’t include HON Circle, but you can match to Senator which gives Star Alliance Gold for United Club access even when flying domestically. There’s a joke in here about cheese cubes, but I’m going to leave that as an exercise to the reader.

Have a nice Tuesday friends!

My translation robot in action.

  1. Best Western has a promotion for 2,600 bonus points for stays through May 10 booked by Sunday, registration required.

    Best Western havsa separate promotion for a $50 gift card with 3+ night stays through May 10, registration is also required. The promotions will stack.
  2. Bilt’s rent day promotion on Sunday has a tiered transfer bonus of 25%-100% to Accor ALL depending on your Bilt status. Platinum Kerr Kash Bilt Cash holders can redeem $75 for an extra 25% bonus too. A few reminders about Accor:

    – Accor ALL points are worth a fixed 2 eurocents, or approximately 2.4 cents
    – You can transfer Accor ALL to Qantas at a 1:1.25 ratio
    – For more on the program, see the MEAB FAQette.

    Honestly, if you’ve decided to get out of the Bilt ecosystem this is probably the best case cash-out you could hope for, at least assuming you travel outside of the US.
  3. I wouldn’t normally write about content monster fodder like this, but I’m too happy to see it gone to help myself. So:

    Southwest boarding groups are gone, they only have assigned seating now. Ding dong, the witch is dead.

Happy Wednesday

You’ve gotta figure it out on your own today.

  1. Capital One Shopping has a widely targeted offer for $250 off of $250+, log in to your dashboard to see it. Note that some properties only earn $200 off of $250; I couldn’t discern a pattern on which was which.

    Because no-one asked: P2 saw an offer for $50 off of $100+ at Birkenstock right below the hotel deal and was more excited by that.
  2. Bank of America has an increased offer of 100,000 Atmos miles and a Global 25,000 point companion award on its premium Atmos Summit card after $6,000 spend in 90 days.
  3. The American Express Business Gold has a targeted no-lifetime language (NLL) link for 125,000 Membership Rewards after $15,000 spend in three months. If you’ve got a mailer you can probably do even better. (Thanks to Matthewtheswift)
  4. Office Depot/OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday. Remember:

    – Even multiples get bigger discounts because math
    – There are “everywhere” cards with lower fees but different liquidation methods

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U rewards stores have 10x points earning on Instacart gift cards through Saturday. Also on Saturday, you’ll probably earn 12x because 10x+4x = 12x.

    The airline games stopped working for almost everyone else too by the way, not just you.
  6. Raley’s, Nob Hill, and Bel Air stars have 15x points on Choice gift cards, some of which convert to Home Depot, through January 27.
  7. Qantas announced:

    – No Emirates First redemptions without status starting February 18
    – Emirates Business and First prices are increasing by 10%-30%

    If there’s a good way to earn Qantas Status without flying on the airline or one of its partners, I don’t know it.
  8. AAdvantage award redemptions on Aer Lingus metal is now working. Redemption rates using AA miles beat most of their other partners.

Happy Monday!

There’s also a gift card sale for $800 off of a $200 gift card, but it’s less exciting than you might think.
(Thanks to noahg)

  1. Do this now: Register for Hilton’s new promotion for 2,000 bonus points for every stay through April 30.
  2. The Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited card has $500 sign-up bonus after $5,000 spend in 90 days. The card in its default state is 1.5% cash back everywhere, but in its boosted state, it’s 2.625% cash back everywhere. (See the next item)
  3. Bank of America has a tiered sign-up bonus for new business checking accounts when you apply through a small business banker:

    – $1,000 bonus with $20,000 in new funds
    – $1,500 bonus with $50,000 in new funds

    If you bring $100,000 in new funds, you’ll earn Platinum Honors status which boosts earning on cash-back Bank of America cards tied to the same business. Note that new accounts can fast-track the status to avoid parking funds for a year, and note that you can churn these bank accounts and thus the fast-tracked status. There are rumors that the program is changing in May though, so #bonvoyed either way I guess.
  4. Capital One has a 15% transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles through February 11.
  5. Spirit 90% off of base fares for travel on sale with promo code 90PCT for flights that depart on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays Between January 21 March 4 booked by tonight. A mini FAQ:

    – Will Spirit still be around by March 4? Maybe, it’s iffy
    – Will you get your money back if they’re not? Maybe, it’s iffy
    – Will you find MEAB flying Spirit? That one’s not iffy

    In case you’re wondering how many Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays this sale covers: I counted, there are 17. But don’t worry, Spirit threw three blackout dates in there too, so, on-brand.

Happy Wednesday!

From the future: The remnants of Spirit airlines in December, 2026.

  1. Do this now: Register for Q1 5x rotating categories:

    – Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex: Dining, up to $1,500
    – Discover IT: Grocery, wholesale clubs, select streaming up to $1,500
    – Citi Dividend: Amazon, select streaming up to $1,500
    – US Bank Cash+: I choose utilities and electronics because reasons

    Chase had a few other categories that weren’t mentioning to, but clearly I do want to mention that I didn’t mention them.
  2. Do this now (if you have a Chase United card): Check for targeted spend offers. Most are an extra 2x, 2.5x, or 3x up for between $2,000 and $10,000 in spend.
  3. On Saturday, the British Airways shopping portal listed Kate Spade at 250 miles per dollar, and several other portals were in the 100+ miles per dollar range too. This triggered, in order:

    – A Kate Spade churner shopping spree (buying miles at 0.4 cents each is a steal; and oh yeah, you get a bag too)
    – A quick examination of Kate Spade return policies
    – Some happy P1 and P2 Kate Spade fans
    – Sadness, when the portals actually tracked at 2x-4x

    If you’re stuck holding both the literal and metaphorical bag, I’d suggest first opening a case with the portal, but know that it probably won’t go anywhere. Next, I’d reach out to Kate Spade directly, which also probably won’t go anywhere. Finally, either consider whether the miles are worth your time to pursue even further, or just return your purchase. If you want to chat with others about the issue, I’ve created a Telegram group for discussion, it’s open to all churners but meant to be specific to this issue, not a long lived general room.
  4. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, which has been nominated as a MEAB Unsung Hero but is still stuck in committee, sent year long spend bonuses for the third year in a row. We saw:

    – $160 back on $2,000 spend at gas, grocery, or dining (monthly)
    – $150 back on $1,500 spend at gas, grocery or dining (monthly)
    – $120 back on $1,200 spend at gas, grocery or dining (monthly)
    – 5% back on up to $1,600 spend at lots of places with lots of merchant codes (monthly)

    A few notes: $160 * 12 months = $1,920, and you also earn ThankYou points. Also, unfortunately no you can’t apply for this card. (Thanks to Matt M, Michael, and K)
  5. The Citi AA Platinum Select Mastercard has a heightened bonus of 80,000 AAdvantage miles after $1,000 spend in three months. This offer is from inflight AA applications and requires a flight attendant code. Any six digit code starting with ’00’ should work.
  6. AirFrance / KLM’s promo awards for January includes:

    – Business: Orlando, Montreal, St. Martin
    – Premium Economy: Chicago, Seattle, and Mexico City
    – Economy: New York, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas

    There are business class opportunities in my spot checks on some of the economy and premium economy cities too, but they’re sparse.

Happy Monday!

Pictured: The MEAB Unsung Hero committee in deep deliberation.

  1. The generic Blue Business Plus and Blue Business Cash links currently have no-lifetime language (NLL) targeted offers:

    – Blue Business Plus: 75,000 Membership Rewards after $6,000 spend in four months
    – Blue Business Cash. $750 after $6,000 spend in four months

    Both cards have no annual fee, and as far as I know, these offers are not available via referrals.
  2. Hey-Vee stores have $10 off of $150+ in Visa gift cards through Sunday.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. The Incomm sites have fee free gift cards for the holidays. The first two sites promotions run through December 17, and the last runs through December 31:

    – VanillaGift.com: Fee free $100+ Visas with promo VGHOLIDAY25
    – TheGiftCardShop.com: Fee free $300+ Visas and Mastercards with promo HOLIDAY25
    – MasterCardGiftCard.com: Fee free Mastercards with promo NOFEES25

    Sometimes these codes stick around longer than they should, and sometimes they come back from the dead too. These are Incomm
  4. The Kudos shopping portal now offers payouts via PayPal directly with a $10 minimum. Prior to yesterday, Amazon cash-out at 1 cent per point was the best option available. Obviously (electronic) cash is mo betta though.

    If you’re not a member of Kudos, ask a fellow churner for a referral and make their day. If you don’t know any fellow churners with Kudos, reach out to me and I’ll send one at random.
  5. Breeze Airways has 40% off of base fares for travel booked today with promo code TWIST.

    You know what that means, right? It’s time for more Breeze Route Bingo™. Today’s route is Gulfport, MS (GFP) to Las Vegas, NV (LAS). If you have a bingo, reach out to me for today’s grand prize, up to $10,000 daily in fee-free gift cards through December 17!

Happy Wednesday!

Second place in Breeze Route Bingo™ gets half a sandwich.