Category: Credit Cards

  1. Do this now (If you have an AmEx Hilton): Register for 10,000 bonus points with a stay of at least three nights through January 3, 2027 booked by November 9. (Thanks to Ok-Anywhere6998)
  2. Bank of America has a new account business checking bonus of between $400 and $2,500 depending on how much you deposit in the first 30 days and maintain through day 90.

    The effectively 0% APR on the money makes this deal barely interesting, except that you fast track to Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors during account creation to make the Business cash rewards cards pay an extra 75% in rewards.
  3. American Express Offers has two new airline card-linked offers:

    – $50 off of $200 with Frontier through December 31
    – $60 off of $400 with JetBlue through December 14

    There’s a very specific breed that can go nuts with the Frontier GoWild Pass, currently priced at $249. I’m not that very specific breed but game recognizes game.
  4. Office Depot/OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. Buy in even multiples of $300 for the best discount.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. The United MileagePlus Shopping portal has 500 bonus miles with $150+ in spend through October 5.

Happy Tuesday!

Did you know? Frontier GoWild pass holders get snacks pre-installed at their seats.

  1. Do this now: Register for Wyndham’s 4x points promotion for stays through January 19, limit 15,000 points. If you hold a basic Wyndham credit or debit card, there’s another 5,000 points after two nights stayed, and 10,000 for Premier cardholders.
  2. The Synchrony Venmo Visa card made changes for new cardholders, and I expect that existing cardholders are now on the business end of a ticking time-bomb too:

    – No more 3% earn in your top category (grocery was the regular)
    – 4% on dining and entertainment when you split the bill with venmo

    Synchrony doesn’t like cycling and the credit lines are just ok.
  3. Bilt’s promotion for Thursday will be:

    – 25%-125% to Amtrak based on status and Bilt Cash
    – 75%-200% to Hilton based on status and Bilt Cash
    – A 90 day Hilton status challenge when transferring to Hilton, based on status

    Both are typically a 1:1 transfer ratio and are limited to 100,000 base points, and only Amtrak makes sense generally speaking. You’ve still got time to earn for Thursday.
  4. ShopRite and Fairway stores each have $20 off of your next transaction when you buy $150+ in Visa or Mastercard gift cards.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards. (Thanks to GCA)

Happy Monday!

Hilton points if they were a chicken patty.

  1. Brex has a new $1,000 sign-up bonus after $4,000 spend in 30 days with new accounts opened in September. A few Brex-isms:

    – 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

    Blending is best.
  2. Citi changed its bonus language on its Strata family of cards, limiting the bonus to once per lifetime per card. What does this look like in practice? We don’t know yet, but since it’s Citi, the T&Cs are probably implemented to 80% coverage.
  3. Safeway, Vons, Albertsons, and other Just4U stores have 10x points on $50+ in Instacart gift cards through Saturday, coupon clip required.

    Since we’ve now apparently entered the pumpkin-spice era formerly known as autumn, there’s a possibility that 10x+4x=12x on Saturday.
  4. Publix stores have a coupon for $10 off of $100+ Visa gift cards through October 7.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. Niche news of the day: Product changes from Chase Freedom to Chase Freedom Flex cards are back, probably now because the Freedom Flex was retooled by removing cell phone insurance, removing foreign-transaction fees, and adding Points Boost along with other minor changes.

Have a nice Tuesday, friends!

Safeway stores also brought back another favorite this week.

  1. Do this now: Register for IHG’s Q4 promotion for 3x points starting with your second stay through the end of December.
  2. Citi ThankYou added Japan Airlines Mileage Bank as a 1,000:1,000 transfer partner yesterday, and they’ve got a 30% transfer bonus pushing this to 1,000:1,300 through October 24. Caveat emptor: Unused miles expire for normies after three years and can’t be reset unless you transition to a non-normie.

    RIP the usefulness of this program. Which program, you ask? Citi or JAL? Yes.
  3. Citi ThankYou has a 25% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles through October 24.
  4. The reddit churning purge (don’t ask) surfaced some new personal card no-lifetime language (NLL) AmEx links:

    – Platinum: 175,000 points after $12,000 spend in six months
    – Delta Gold: 80,000 SkyMiles + $250 after $3,000 spend in six months
    – Delta Platinum: 90,000 SkyMiles + $300 after $4,000 spend in six months
    – Bonvoy Bevy: 125,000 points + $150 after $5,000 spend in six months (this one is actually not NLL, but is pop-up free)

    Personal is great and all, but the business versions typically have better sign-up bonuses and won’t show up on your credit report unless you’re, uhh, lame.
  5. Staples in-store has fee-free $200 Visas through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.

Happy Monday!

A reddit /r/churning purge van spotted in the wild (thanks to elezar)

  1. Do this now: Register for 5x card Q4 categories:

    – Chase Freedom (Flex): Grocery, dining, and the Red Cross
    – Discover IT*: Restaurants, entertainment, utilities
    – Citi Dividend: Restaurants and Citi Travel Bookings
    – US Bank Cash+: I choose utilities and electronics

    Grocery excludes Walmart and Target, and entertainment is possibly more interesting than you think.
    *capitalone.com manages most Discover cards now, and they made 5% registration super easy to find in the same way that passing a kidney stone is super easy. To find it, login to your dashboard, click “Rewards & benefits”, then click “View rewards” and scroll down.
  2. The Incomm sites are running new promotions:

    – MasterCardGiftCard: $10 Mastercard free with $200+
    – VanillaGift: $10 Visa free with $200+
    – AmExGiftCard: Fee-free with promo code FALL26

    These are each valid through Sunday. Don’t buy with an AmEx, you won’t earn points or credit toward minimum spend. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 70% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy through October 15. This brings the transfer ratio to 1,000:1,700. There’s some non-zero value here on the high end of the award chart.
  4. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard recently converted to a World Mastercard, in case you were wondering why you got a replacement card with the same number, expiration, and CVV in the mail recently. They also sent new targeted mid-month offers for:

    – $50 back on $750+ in online purchases through October 14
    – $75 back on $1,000+ in online purchases through October 14

    There’s some speculation that the conversion to a World Mastercard means it’s going to again be available for applications, but it’s Citi so I wouldn’t count on anything. (Thanks to David, Rocky, and Birt)

Happy Wednesday!

More entertainment: Pre-dried paint, no more watching paint dry here.

  1. Q3 estimated taxes are due today. Your options for potentially turning this into a win for the federal side are:

    – ACI: credit fees 1.85%-2.95%, debit fees $2.10
    – Pay1040: credit fees 1.75%-2.89%, debit fees $2.15
    – Plastiq: card fees 2.99% + $1.49
    – Melio: card fees: 2.9%

    State taxes are a mixed bag, they may be outstanding for you, or your state might be Vermont in which case, sorry about that 3% fee.
  2. Buyer beware: American Express Membership Rewards to ANA Mileage Club aren’t working for some users. (Thanks to DoC)
  3. Qatar reportedly no longer requires qualifying activity to add accounts to Family & Friends, now the restriction is only that those accounts are at least 30 days old, making this program again useful for more than just “P1’s Qsuites and Chill Adventure”.
  4. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have a digital coupon for 10x points earning on $50+ in Lowes gift cards through Saturday. Double check that your particular chain has the offer, not all of them do this round because why be consistent?
  5. Southwest has a paid and award fare sale for travel booked by Thursday and flown between October 5 and March 3, 2027, with blackouts around expected days. There is some meat on the bone here, enough so that it’s probably worth your time to reprice any existing travel.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Unofficial Just4U motto.

  1. The Bank of America Alaska Atmos Business Visa has an increased sign-up bonus of 85,000 miles after $5,500 spend in 90 days.

    You can get multiple, just don’t try on the same day or the Bank of America gods may smite you.
  2. The Chase IHG Premier Visa has a new sign-up bonus of five 40,000 point free-night certificates after $4,000 spend in three months, and a bonus 10,000 points after adding an authorized user to your account within three months. This link is from an IHG hotel wifi pop-up.
  3. BMO Bank has a personal checking sign-up bonus of up to $600. “Up to” you ask? Well it’s $100 per month for six months, as long as you receive at least $1,000 in direct deposits, or “direct deposits”, that month.
  4. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  5. Wyndham points are on sale for 0.68 cents each through October 21, which is still a good deal for certain use cases. Stated annual limits are a lie too. (Thanks to DDG)

Happy Monday!

Bank of America’s multiple card application dashboard.

  1. The Chase Aeroplan Mastercard relaunched with a new structure and 75,000+40,000 mile sign-up bonus, and they’ve removed 3x grocery:

    – $195 annual fee is not waived the first year
    – 2x dining, grocery, and gas, 1x elsewhere
    – 75,000 Aeroplan miles after $4,000 spend in three months
    – 40,000 Aeroplan miles after $20,000 spend in one year
    – $50 semi-annual Air Canada statement credits
    – 15% discount on some Air Canada metal redemptions
    – Low level 25k Aeroplan status for holding the card

    This card doesn’t do referrals.
  2. The NFCU Flagship Rewards Visa launched yesterday with 50,000 points after $4,000 spend in 90 days. The vitals:

    – $95 annual fee is not waived the first year
    – 4x travel, 3x dining, 1x elsewhere
    – Points are worth 1 cent each, no uplift
    – $100 airline credit
    – Yet another global entry or pre-check credit

    NFCU doesn’t love cycling, so hope for a big credit line.
  3. The American Express Hilton cards have increased sign-up bonuses:

    – Aspire: 200,000 Honors points after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Surpass: 130,000 Honors points and a free night certificate after $3,000 spend in six months
    – Honors: 70,000 Honors points and a free night certificate after $2,000 spend in six months
    – Business: 150,000 Honors points and a free night certificate after $8,000 spend in six months

    These are all available via referrals, please use another player’s referral or a churner’s referral rather than applying through a blog or head-on.
  4. The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express has an increased sign-up bonus of 100,000 Bonvoy points and a 50,000 point free-night certificate after $8,000 spend in six months. The card’s $125 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

    This is available via referrals. The sign-up bonus is definitely worth the $125 annual fee with no credit reporting, but that doesn’t mean it’s a super strong bonus thanks to the terrible value of Bonvoy points.
  5. Stop & Shop, Giant, and Martins stores have 8x points earning on Zift gift cards through Thursday, limit $1,500-$2,000 per week. Meanwhile Giant Food has 2x earning on Mastercard gift cards with seemingly no cap? Finally Giant Food gets some love I guess.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  6. If you like picking up pennies: Register for Marriott Bonvoy’s Q4 promotion for 1,500 bonus points at non-resorts and 4,500 bonus points at resorts on stays of at least two nights through November 22.

    What’s the value of 1,500 Bonvoy points, you ask? I mean probably not over $5. Thanks Marriott.

Have a nice weekend!

A churner proves that hiking around a Marriott property is probably more valuable than their promo.