Category: Credit Cards

  1. Kroger has a 4x fuel points promotion on third party gift cards other than Amazon and fixed value Visas and Mastercards running through July 9, which given the frequency of these promotions over summer can only be the result of bad spreadsheet analysis.

    Fuel points resale rates have dropped by about 1/3rd in June, thanks largely in part to having the promotions run with more days than Tuscon had daily high temperatures below 100 degrees. Bulk gift card resale prices are still low thanks to Pepper’s conveyer belt that directly connects venture funds to chuners’ wallets. (Thanks to GCG)
  2. You’ve got until Sunday to cash out any quarterly, monthly, or semi-annual credits. A few notable reminders:

    – American Express: $200 Dell, $50 Saks Fifth Avenue, $50 Hilton, $20 office supply, $10 wireless credits
    – Chase: Freedom and Freedom Flex 5x
    – Discover: DiscoverIT 5x

    With online orders the shipping date is typically the charge posting date, which is used for determining when the statement credit should apply. So order quickly I guess.
  3. The Chase Ink Preferred card has a 120,000 Ultimate Rewards sign-up bonus after $8,000 spend in six months, but the offer is available only in-branch through July 3. I’d initially expected this would also be available online and via referrals, but given that July 3 is less than a week away I no longer think that’s the case.

    The best play for churners with two players is still 100,000 Ultimate Rewards for the referred and 40,000 Ultimate Rewards for the referrer, but the referrer will get a 1099 for the value of the referral bonus.

Kroger’s promotional analytics spreadsheet shows its college student demographics.

  1. AirFrance and KLM’s FlyingBlue program has a paid status match for Silver status at $99 or for Gold status at $299 available to US and Mexico residents. Both will get you free checked bags on SkyTeam flights including Delta and the ability to choose Comfort+ seats close to departure. Gold will also get you into SkyTeam lounges, but only when flying on international itineraries.

    Two notes: (1) You may already get Silver or Gold status through Bilt for free, and (2) the main SkyTeam lounge that most of us use is the Delta SkyClub, which is easily accessible with American Express Platinum or Delta Reserve cards even on domestic itineraries.
  2. Meijer stores have 50,000 bonus points with the purchase of $500 in most third party gift cards, limit one per mPerks account.

    Like its big brother Kroger, Meijer excluded Amazon from its points promotion. Also like its big brother Kroger, you can have more than one loyalty account assuming you can invent a way to have multiple email addresses.
  3. More cards have been targeted for offers like Friday’s American Express Business Gold spend bonuses of 15,000 Membership Rewards per employee after $4,000 spend on no-fee expense cards, up to 99 times. We’ve now seen the offer on:

    – Business Gold cards
    – Blue Business Plus cards

    It’s probably out there on Blue Business Cash and Green cards too, always be probing.

Happy Monday!

Kroger and Meijer hang at a family reunion.

  1. American Express increased its phone-in offers for adding employee cards to its Business Gold accounts, though it’s rather targeted. Current versions of the offer:

    – Spend $4,000, get 5,000 Membership Rewards for new $0 fee Expense employee cards
    – Spend $4,000, get 7,000 Membership Rewards for new $0 fee Expense cards
    – Spend $4,000, get 15,000 Membership Rewards for new $0 fee Expense cards
    – Spend $4,000, get 15,000 Membership Rewards for new $95 fee Gold cards

    Each of these work for up to 99 employee cards per main account, and so far we’ve only seen the 15,000 Membership Rewards with $0 fee cards on the Business Gold. Note that accounts can only have 99 employee cards through the life of the account, unless the employee cards are cancelled, the main account expires, and a new card is issued.
  2. Staples has fee-free $200 Mastercard Visa gift cards starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit eight per transaction. You can pair this with the above deal if you’ve got a friendly store.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  3. Either Sunday or Monday is the final day for Bilt Rewards transfers to AA’s AAdvantage miles, depending what expiration means to Bilt’s technical team. I’d suggest transferring anything you’d like now and let programers argue about “<” vs “≤” elsewhere. (Thanks to e1tm)
  4. A link surfaced for an American Express Business Gold no-lifetime language (NLL) with 150,000 Membership Rewards after $10,000 spend in three months, and a bonus 5,000 Membership Rewards after adding an employee card and having them spend $1,000 too.

    After 60-90 days, you’ll likely see yourself targeted for phone-in offers like those above too. (Thanks to DDG)

Have a nice weekend!

Exclusive photo of Bilt Rewards design tiger-team meeting.

  1. Do this now: Register for Q3 credit card bonus categories, for spend between July 1 and September 30:

    – Discover IT: 5% back at Walmart and grocery stores, up to $1,500 spend
    – Citi Dividend: 5x on gas, up to $6,000 spend annually
    – US Bank Cash+: Select 5% and 2% categories, up to $2,000 spend on 5%
    – Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex: 5x on gas, EV charging, live entertainment, and movie theaters, up to $1,500

    Q3 is full of soft-balls for hitting spend, both for online floosie spenders and for in-person spenders. Take the Speedway to Walmart Neighborhood Market for the quickest route on the latter.
  2. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 20% transfer bonus to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program through July 31. This is a good bonus if you’re booking Star Alliance awards, but like a seasoned manufactured spender views deals worth less than $100, it feels a bit 🤏 compared to the recent Bilt 150% transfer bonus.
  3. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card, alternatively named the “5% of a lawyer’s annual salary in bonuses” card, sent mid-month spending bonuses on Saturday. We’ve seen:

    – 200,000 points after $750 in online spend
    – $50 statement credit after $750 in online spend
    – $70 statement credit after $1,000 in online spend

    For the first time since last June, I didn’t receive a mid-month spend bonus, so I’m officially declaring a nationwide state of June-gloom. (Thanks to MS Ninja, birt, and Adam)
  4. Most American Express Delta cards have increased sign-up bonuses that are at a relatively local maxima, but the bonus is still not amazing compared to historical versions so they haven’t shown up here. However, one card bucks the trend:

    The American Express Delta Gold has a $500 statement credit and 40,000 SkyMiles after $3,000 spend in three months, and the annual fee is waived for the first year offer that shows up during on the checkout page of a (dummy) flight booking. In this case, it’s probably an all-time best bonus, but unfortunately it’s not available via referrals and I doubt it’ll show up there too. (Thanks to AbjectRaise)
  5. The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator card has a 70,000 AA mile bonus after making a single purchase and paying the $99 annual fee payment in the first 90 days.

    There’s also a targeted 60,000 miles + 10,000 miles for the referred and an additional 10,000 miles for the referrer offer floating around for those operating in Mario+Luigi (two player) mode. (Thanks to DDG)

MEAB pouts.

  1. Two incomm sites have fee-free gift cards on orders over $50 through Sunday:

    – Mastercardgiftcard.com with promo code DADSDAY2024
    – Vanillagift.com with promo code VGDADS24

    Both sites have limits of $10,000 per rolling 24 hours, and both don’t award points on American Express cards.
  2. Bank of America sent targeted mailers via USPS and email for +3x rewards for some of its Business cards, including Customized Cash Rewards cards and Business Unlimited varieties. After registering you’ll earn a bonus 3x on all spend in addition to normal earning in July, August, and September. Because Bank of America is Bank of America, the offer has no limit, and Preferred Rewards earning still applies to regular spending.

    I don’t want to sound hyperbolic (at least sometimes I guess), but this deal has the potential to be the 2024 deal of the year. I’ll personally be transferring as much credit line from other cards to my targeted card as possible.
  3. TheGiftCardShop.com has 10% off of multiple brand cards, including those that work at Lowe’s, with promo code DAD2024 through June 16. It’s limit one per account, but let’s just say some people have a few more than one account. This site also won’t currently award points on American Express cards.
  4. American Express’s generic personal Platinum upgrade link for Green and Gold cards is showing a heightened bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards after $2,000 spend in six months. Why would you do this instead of getting a new sign-up bonus? Because you can stack it with retention offers and additional card spend bonuses.

    Because of the CARD act, you’ll need to have the card opened for a year before you’re eligible for the upgrade, though it’s widely targeted to cards that are older than that. (Thanks to Justin O)
  5. American Express referrals have increased bonuses for the referrer of up 45,000 Membership Rewards on some accounts.

    Always use another player or a friend’s referral link when you’re applying for a new American Express, unless of course some other non-referral 15x shenanigan is afoot.
  6. Staples has fee free Mastercard gift cards starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit eight per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  7. Clear Plus has a sign-up bonus for a $100 rebate Choice card through the end of June using promo code TRAVELREWARD100. This is a great way to cash out American Express Platinum and Business Platinum $189 Clear credits, and beats the semi-regular Uber $75 voucher sign-up bonus too.

    You do have multiple email addresses and an unlimited supply of birthdays, right?

Bank of America’s executive corporate retreat tee-shirt, 2024.

  1. Giftcards.com has 10% off of $100 Visa eGift cards using promo code SUPERDAD or SUPERDAD10, limit three per order. Too bad science hasn’t yet figured out a way to decode what these codes could mean and why they surfaced this week.

    These are Pathward gift cards, and have a limit of $2,000 in purchases in a rolling 24 hour period for both the virtual and physical varieties.
  2. The Alaska Airlines MileagePlan shopping portal has 500 bonus miles on $200 or more in cumulative spend through June 14. Giftcards.com will work as long as it normally tracks for you, but likely won’t work in conjunction with the 10% off Visa offer.
  3. If you’re into fintechs for floosies, the new no-annual fee Wells Fargo Attune World Mastercard’s 4% back in several categories including gyms might be enticing, definitely more so than its $100 sign-up bonus.
  4. A periodic refrain in churning is that grocery stores are bad at coding promos and this week brought another example. Always be probing.

Science hasn’t figured out why this surfaced this week either.

  1. Kroger in store has a 4x fuel points on third party gift cards and fixed value Visa and Mastercards promotion starting today and running until Tuesday, June 18. Fuel points demand remains high, and will likely push higher and higher until the end of September.

    Pepper Rewards is still expected to grind its promotional rates to a halt before the end of this promotion, which means gift card resale rates will likely go up before June 18 because economics 101.
  2. Two Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards have increased sign-up bonuses:

    – Plus: 85,000 Rapid Rewards after $3,000 spend
    – Priority: 85,000 Rapid Rewards after $3,000 spend

    I purposefully didn’t link to either because the same offer is available via referral, so use a P2 or a friend’s referral and make someone’s day with 20,000 extra Rapid Rewards points.
  3. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 or more in Mastercard gift cards running through Saturday. Buying even multiples of $300 in a single transaction often gives you a better bang for your buck.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. American Express offers has a new offer for a $150 statement credit with $750 or more at Omni Hotels by September 30. (Thanks to DDG)

Happy Wednesday!

The moment before Pepper rewards grinds to a halt, allegedly.

  1. American Express Offers has a targeted card linked offer for a $800 statement credit after spending $35,000 up to three times. This obviously pairs well with hitting spend on 99 employee card phone-in offers. (Thanks to SideShowBob233)
  2. Chase Offers and BankAmeriDeals have a new offer for 10% back on Alaska Airlines airfare of $50 or more booked by June 12, max $45 cash back. 

    The most above board way to game this is to book a non-basic economy airfare, wait 24 hours, and refund it to your Alaska wallet, but gamers gonna game.
  3. Discover has 15% off of gift card redemptions with cash-back balance through the end of June. In general Discover IT’s 5% cash back is worth more than 5% with games as laid out here, and the gameing is even better with Uber.
  4. AirFrance and KLM’s FlyingBlue June Promo awards just dropped exactly like movie theater stock this week. US to Europe promo award flight cities have economy awards starting at 15,000 points to and from:

    – Boston
    – Washington DC
    – Houston
    – New York (JFK)
    – Phoenix
    – Seattle

    I’m also seeing sporadic availability for business class redemptions to Europe at 50,000 miles from Phoenix and Seattle, the two cities on the list that I checked.
  5. Avianca LifeMiles has a 15% incoming transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards points through June 30. The terms give them 24 hours to post the bonus miles, but they’ve been coming more quickly in practice.

    LifeMiles still has great sweet spots for Business Class flights from the US to Europe for certain city pairs, and for general weirdness on most routings. One of my personal favorites is to throw an economy flight that I’m not planning on taking onto the end of a business class ticket to reduce the cost of the redemption.
  6. The Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card currently has a targeted relatively mediocre bonus of 70,000 MileagePlus miles after $3,000 spend in three months, but the first year’s annual fee is waived in the current iteration of the offer. You may need to go through a United booking flow or try different browsers to see the offer. The all-time high for this card was 100,000 miles.

    Why bring it up? If you think you might want it, either wait until this is available via referral which will likely be in the next week, or wait until the next time 100,000 mile rolls around unless you have a specific need for this card (like for XN availability). Don’t jump yet just because lots of bloggers are talking about it.
  7. Emirates reduced the cost of many of its economy award redemptions. The catch? You’re still flying economy.

By popular request, BankAmeriGuy makes another appearance to celebrate today’s Alaska BankAmeriDeal.