Category: Credit Cards

Bilt is back in the Churn-o-Tron 5000 news cycle, this time because they sent a bunch of “oops, my bad, I guess we do actually need customers” emails to existing card holders that had been soft or hard denied for conversion to the new Cardless versions of the card.

That’s positive when taken at face value, but it also illustrates a critical point in churning:

Simplicity beats complexity, unless the complexity is really, really valuable
– MEAB tome of apocryphal wisdom

I’m going to wager that you can’t find a churner who can argue that the new version of Bilt has any heir of simplicity with a straight face. Assuming that’s true, you’d better find a metric ton of value in the new Bilt ecosystem before you decide to join.

If a metric ton of value isn’t obvious though, maybe consider that your time will be better spent by using a Citi Double Cash card, Venture X card, American Express Blue Business Plus card, or Chase Ink Unlimited card and looking for other plays instead of taking hours learning the ins-and-outs of the most complex credit card program ever invented for the possibility of good returns before Cardless axes you. With all of those non-Bilt cards:

  • You’ll earn 2x on all spend (1.5x for the Ink Unlimited)
  • The annual fees are simple
  • The programs all have valuable transfer partners
  • You don’t have to spend hours learning how to use the card
  • Richard Kerr won’t be watching your plays in real time

So naturally the follow-on question is: Well, is there a metric ton of value in the Bilt program?

I think generally the answer is absolutely not for a whale, maybe for a dolphin, and possibly for a shrimp. But, you do you friends, and obviously what you know is different than what I know. Let me leave you with a new word, courtesy of Chris from All the Hacks: Bilted, which (I’m definitely paraphrasing and editorializing his words) means “So much complexity that you want to give up and laugh, but maybe there’s a good deal behind it all.”

Have a nice Tuesday friends!

With the right you complexity you can drive in a river like churning legend Danny too. But should you?

  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 Choice’s promotion for triple points on stays through March 31.
  2. Capital One acquired Brex. The action items:

    – Get a Brex account if you qualify and you’re banned by Capital One
    – Finish off those Brex plays, they’re likely short for the world

    Brex likes venture funded technology companies apropos of nothing.
  3. The Chase IHG Premier card has an increased bonus of 175,000 points after $5,000 spend in three months, and an extra 10,000 points and $100 statement credit after $20,000 spend in the first year.

    This card will likely be available via referrals on Monday, so probably wait until then to make a friend’s day or get an even bigger bonus in two-player mode. If you don’t have a churning friend yet, George at TBB makes a good one.
  4. The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Business card has a sign-up bonus of three 50,000 point night certificates after $6,000 spend in six months. The sign-up bonus isn’t great, but American Express cobranded business cards have a special place in a churners wallet because reasons.

    This one is available via referrals, so use one.
  5. Kroger has a 4x fuel points sale on third party gift cards excluding gas cards and Amazon for today only. Sometimes Friday only coupons stack in unexpected ways, always be probing.

Have a nice weekend friends!

Hot tip: Today is a great day to spot a Marcus / Kroger churner in the wild.
(Thanks to Fish for the photo)

  1. Do this now: Register for Hyatt’s new promotion for 5,000 bonus points per 5+ night stays at Hyatt House and Hyatt Studios through 2026, up 50,000 total bonus points.

    If you’re like me you’re not planning on staying at those properties, but if your house floods and you need to be somewhere for a couple of weeks while it’s getting fixed, well, Hyatt House might be where you end up.
  2. The Bank of America AirFrance/KLM FlyingBlue Mastercard has an increased sign-up bonus of 70,000 miles and 100XP after $3,000 spend in 90 days. The card will soon be a Visa.

    The 100XP earns FlyingBlue Silver and SkyTeam Silver status, but doesn’t fully stack if you’ve got more than one card.
  3. H-E-B stores have a promotion for a $20 H-E-B gift card with the purchase of a $100+ Visa, Mastercard, or American Express gift card through Tuesday. You’re limited to one of each per loyalty account.

    Last I checked in 1989, technology hadn’t progressed far enough for us to easily have multiple email addresses with multiple loyalty accounts. Presumably nothing’s changed. (Thanks to GCA)
  4. Kroger stores have a coupon for fee-free $150+ Visa and Mastercard variable load gift cards through Tuesday, and this one is also limited to one per loyalty account.
  5. The Capital One Venture Rewards Visa has a sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles and $250 in Capital One Travel credit after $4,000 spend in three months.
  6. The Bilt 2.0 2.0v2 2.0v3 debacle gets funnier (worse) every single day, though it does fit the company’s slogan:

    “Simplify everything by adding complexity and owning the basement dwelling Redditors!”

    Yesterday, they announced that Bilt Cash would have alternative cash-outs that include options like $10 monthly GrubHub or Lyft credit and $5 monthly off of parking at “Bilt Neighborhood Parking” lots. There are also Blacklane and Blade credits, but it’s unclear yet how much Bilt Cash things will cost, I think it’s not safe to assume that it’ll be 1:1. Don’t worry though, at least you can count on it being neither easy, nor obvious, nor straight-forward.

Happy Thursday!

Real world simulation of the disappointment in a Bilt press release.

  1. The Chase Hyatt Visa card has a tiered sign-up bonus:

    – Three category 1-4 free-night certificates after $5,000 spend in three months
    – Two more category 1-4 free-night certificates after $15,000 in six months

    Personally I’d rather have the points, but I’m not you. Also, I’d wait until Monday when it’s likely also available via referrals, but I’m still not you.
  2. The Chase Avios family of cards have increased bonuses of 90,000 points after $5,000 spend in three months.

    Monday will probably bring a referral bonus on these cards too. Before you get too excited though, consider that the typical high bonus on these is 100,000 Avios and they’ve been as high as 125,000 Avios.
  3. The Citi ThankYou Mastercard sent mid-month spending offers for spend through February 14. We’ve seen:

    – $75 back on $1,000 in online spend
    – $50 back on $750 in online spend
    – 11,500 ThankYou Points for $1,000 in online spend

    No, this card still isn’t available if you don’t already have it. (Thanks to Adam and Charlie)
  4. Stop & Shop, Giant, and Martins  have 8x points on Zift Zillions cards through Thursday. Some of these cards are convertible to high value brands like Amazon and Home Depot.

    I’m sure you know the punchline by now, but Giant Food stores, part of the same corporate umbrella, only earns 2x during the same period.
  5. Wyndham has a tiered promotion for US and Canada paid stays booked by February 16 for nights through May 31. Discounts are 10% for one night stays, 15% for two night stays, or 20% for longer.

Pictured: The corporate umbrellas choose favorites.

Background

I couldn’t find an affiliate blog that wasn’t talking about Richard Kerr’s / Bilt’s Blit’s new Cardless issued credit card lineup yesterday. Of course being the subject that affiliates talk about for a day doesn’t necessarily mean the Bilt lineup is bad, but it does mean you should be even more skeptical than normal and look at the content as though it were written by a marketing agency, because it was. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s MEAB style distill the news without 2,000 word articles:

  • Bilt commemorated the launch with a stupid banana trophy to make fun of manufactured spenders
  • There are three flavors cards, each with a different annual fee, multiplier, and set of coupon credits:
    • $0 annual fee, 1x everywhere
    • $95 annual fee, 3x on dining or grocery (max $25,000), 2x travel, 1x everywhere
    • $495 annual fee, 2x everywhere
  • Bilt invented a new currency that’s earned at 4x, Itchy and Scratchy Money Bilt Cash
  • Bilt Cash’s only use is to allow you to earn points for paying your rent or mortgage with a Bilt card
  • For the only churner on the planet without a Priority Pass, $495 will get you one
  • There are more hotel credits that aren’t really worth much
  • There are small sign-up bonuses

There are other largely meaningless card features too, but I promise they almost certainly don’t matter to an average churner.

Talking Points that Affiliates Can’t Say

Affiliate relationships tightly control the content of news articles, so let’s mention a few things that they can’t:

  • Cardless doesn’t like manufactured spenders
  • A shutdown from Cardless is a lifetime Cardless ban
  • There’s a good chance that a Cardless shutdown means forfeited points for the most recent statement cycle
  • Bilt’s best transfer partner is Hyatt – you can spend $495 for 2x Hyatt everywhere with Bilt and it might last a while without cycling, but you can earn 1.5x Hyatt everywhere with a Chase Ink Unlimited which is much more tolerant and has a much bigger sign-up bonus
  • Many of the card’s advertised benefits come by virtue of being a Mastercard and you’ve probably got those same benefits on other cards
  • If you use an affiliate blogger’s link, they’re earning several hundreds of dollars in Bilt kickback; their sign-up bonus is probably bigger than yours (by all means, support affiliate bloggers if you like them, just make it a conscious choice and not a default one)

Finally, let’s talk about converting existing Wells Fargo Bilt cards:

  • You’re going to have yet another new personal card on your credit report
  • You may not be approved even if you have the Wells Fargo card
  • You’ve got to decide to convert by January 30 to avoid another hard pull
  • You won’t get a sign-up bonus as part of the conversion

For those keeping track at home, this is the third new credit card on personal credit reports for early Bilt adopters.

The MEAB Wrap

The affiliate hype machine is great at getting the word out and great at getting you excited, but it’s also good at glossing over the negatives. When a media blitz hits, be extra careful. There’s value in Bilt 2.0, but there’s plenty of downside too and a looming threat of a shutdown.

What’s my takeaway? Well, personally I just want the banana trophy or a replica as a peace offering from Richard Kerr.

Happy Thursday!

Look, sometimes misspellings are intentional, just ask Dell about its Caps Lcok key.

  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.

We talked way back in 2021 about loosey goosey language in Citi’s Terms and Conditions that let you double dip sign-up bonuses on some cards. A lot of things have changed since 2021 (duh), and Citi games have changed slightly too. Let’s pick a particular card, like the stupidly named Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard, and dive into its Terms and Conditions:

  • “bonus miles are not available if you have received a new account bonus from a [Citi AA Globe card] in the past 48 months”
  • “bonus miles are not available … if you converted another Citi credit card account on which you earned a bonus in the last 48 months into a [Citi AA Globe card]”

So, you can’t get a bonus if you had one in the past four years from the same card, effectively. With that in mind, let’s go over a couple of Citi’s application rules:

  • Must wait eight days between applications
  • No more than two cards every 65 days.
  • Bonus eligibility is attached at the time of application

With a card like the Globe, you’ve got four months to hit the spend bonus, which gives you time for apply for four cards within the first card’s bonus window. Specifically, you could apply on day 0, day 8, day 65, and day 74, and you’d still meet Citi’s application rules and have another 56 days before the bonus period on the first card is up. Once you’ve been approved for all the cards, which frankly is unlikely in-and-of-itself, you can hit the bonus spend on all four, and get the bonus four times. Wowza.

Now let’s talk about reality. Should you do this? Almost certainly not, because:

  • AA bans users with too many bonuses in a year, and this will probably trigger it
  • You’d have four new Citi accounts on your credit report in a couple of months
  • Citi fraud analysts won’t like what they see if they look
  • Other banks won’t like what they see if they look
  • A single Globe card is generally a bad option, four of them is four times as many bad options

Ok, so the concept is cool in theory and bad in practice, why talk about it? Citi isn’t the only bank out there, and you may find that your local LardLand Credit Union in Lubbock, TX has credit card bonuses that work the same way, but don’t necessarily report to the credit bureaus. Now you’re in business.

Happy Tuesday!

More bad ideas in scale.