Category: Gift Cards

  1. Chase has new targeted offers for both its Freedom cards and United cards, you can check your eligibility at chase.com/mybonus, ideally in a new incognito window for each card. Offers include 3x-5x earning at gas, EV charging, and groceries on up to $1,500 spend through November 30, a fixed bonus on 20 purchases monthly for three months, and 10,000-15,000 bonus points on $3,000-$4,000 spend.
  2. The American Express Delta cards have heightened sign-up bonuses, coming back a short three days after the targeted NLL versions expired. The Gold and Reserve offers beat the last round’s bonuses, while the Platinum cards are each slightly lower. Spend requirements were tweaked slightly too:

    – Personal Gold: 80,000 SkyMiles after $3,000 spend in six months, annual-fee waived
    – Personal Platinum: 90,000 SkyMiles after $4,000 spend in six months
    – Personal Reserve: 125,000 SkyMiles after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Business Gold: 90,000 SkyMiles after $6,000 spend in six months, annual-fee waived
    – Business Platinum: 100,000 SkyMiles after $8,000 spend in six months
    – Business Reserve: 125,000 SkyMiles after $15,000 spend in six months

    All of these are available via referral, and you should use another player’s referral or a churning buddy’s referral when applying. There are also modest upgrade offers for existing cards available.
  3. Iberia Avios has an award sale for economy travel between the US and Europe booked by Thursday for travel between October 1 and December 5. Basic economy fares start at 6,400 miles with decent availability, and regular economy fares start at 10,000 miles.

    Normally you can transfer miles freely between British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia, but that’s currently broken with no official ETA on a fix.
  4. Capital One has two business banking new account bonuses for existing business card holders without an existing Capital One Bank account with promo code Q3BONUS1000. The offers:

    – $500 with $5,000 in deposits held for 60 days (effectively a 60% APR when annualized)
    – $1,000 with $30,000 in deposits held for 60 days (effectively a 20% APR when annualized)

    Both require 10 transactions, but $1 ACHs back and forth will do. These bonuses are churnable every 180 days. (Thanks to DDG)
  5. The Chase IHG Business card has a heightened sign-up bonus of 200,000 IHG points split into two tiers:

    – 140,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months
    – 60,000 points after $9,000 spend in six months

    This card’s annual free-night certificate is for nights up to 40,000 points. The offer is available via referral, so use another player’s or another churner’s referral instead of the public link.
  6. Southwest will have free-WiFi onboard starting on October 24. This sounds great, other than that they’ll still have their legacy inflight internet system which was already really slow when < 10% of the plane was using it. So, I guess each passenger will get to relive the 2,400 baud internet speeds of the early 1990s?
  7. Staples in-store has fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards, limit nine per transaction through Saturday.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.

Happy Monday friends!

Emulating the Southwest WiFi experience at home.

  1. Do this now: Register for Hyatt’s targeted promotion for up to 20,000 bonus points on stays at Hyatt Regency properties through November 23. For the sole purpose of annoying you, they’re making you register through the mobile app though (Account → Offers for You).
  2. The Chase British Airways Visa personal card has increased sign-up bonus of 100,000 Avios after $7,500 spend in six months. The $95 annual fee is not waived in the first year.

    Normally I’d just get an Ink, but there’s value in this card with (1) an award companion pass valid for all cabins on British Airways metal after $30,000 spend, (2) a 10% discount on paid British Airways fares, and (3) a $100-$200 statement credit for award fees per booking, but maxed out at $600 per year.
  3. The Synchrony Virgin Red Mastercard has an increased sign-up bonus of 75,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months. The bonus is only valid through tomorrow night, and is an all-time high. The card earns 2x at grocery, dining, and other less interesting categories.

    If you think this card is a snooze-fest, you may want to take another look, at least if you live near an airport served by Virgin Atlantic or by a Virgin Hotel.
  4. Stater Bros grocery stores have an instant $10 off of groceries promotion with a $50 One4All Ultimate gift card, which can be converted to Home Depot, until October 7 (!). This one requires a physical coupon available both in store and via mailer. (Thanks to GCA)
  5. A quick, unfortunate timely tip for people axed by Synchrony yesterday: Apply for the same card quickly, you’ll probably be approved.
  6. Rove Miles has two hotel stay promotions for your first booking through the platform:

    – 2,500 bonus miles on a $250+ hotel booking with promo code STAYCATION
    – 5,000 bonus miles on a $500+ hotel booking with promo code BACKTOSCHOOL

    Rove already earns 10x-20x miles for hotel stays, so for the right use case there’s value here, but if you’re never paying cash for hotels, this probably doesn’t move the needle. If you’re going to sign-up for Rove, use a referral link and both the referrer and referred will get 1,000 bonus miles and there’s an extra 10% boost on earning for the referrer.

Happy Thursday!

The average churner’s picture of the Virgin Red Mastercard.

  1. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card sent out beginning of month offers via snail mail and email over the last week. Each offer is valid once a month for September, October, and November, and some have bonuses for getting all three months’ bonuses:

    – $25 monthly credit on $750 monthly, and a bonus $50 for hitting all three
    – $40 monthly credit with five $75+ transactions monthly
    – $50 monthly credit on $1,500 monthly, and a bonus $50 for hitting all three

    Yes, these stack with both of last month’s offers. No, this card isn’t available for new applications any more, sorry. (Thanks to birt, Jared, and K)
  2. American Express has new online for adding new employee cards, limit five per primary card:

    – Delta Business Gold: 5,000 SkyMiles with $1,000 spend in six months
    – Delta Business Platinum: 10,000 SkyMiles with $2,500 spend in six months
    – Delta Business Reserve: 20,000 SkyMiles with $4,000 spend in six months
    – Business Gold: 15,000 Membership Rewards with $4,000 spend in six months
    – Business Platinum: 15,000 Membership Rewards with $4,000 spend in six months

    Before you ask: No, you don’t have to choose the employee cards with annual fees with these offers.
  3. Alaska MileagePlan Atmos is changing its relationship with both Singapore Airlines and LATAM on October 1:

    – Reduced earning on tickets booked in September (LATAM) or September – December (Singapore) for travel through December 31 through any channel
    – No new Singapore award bookings starting on October 1, ditto with LATAM
    – No points earning unless tickets are booked directly via Alaska starting in 2026 for Singapore
    – No points earning regardless of booking channel on LATAM starting October 1

    This was bound to happen when Alaska joined oneworld, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.
  4. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 back on $300 or more in Visa gift cards through Saturday. What sorcerers could have predicted this after they had the same deal on Mastercards last week? All of them, I think. Anyway:

    – Even multipliers of $300 give bigger discounts
    – Go for the lower-fee “Everywhere” cards if you can liquidate them

    These are Pathward / BlackHawkNetwork gift cards.

Gift card sale prediction sorcerers in action.

  1. Kroger stores have 4x fuel points on third party gift cards and on fixed value Visa and Mastercard gift cards tomorrow through Monday, coupon clip required.

    Amazon and gas fuel cards are excluded from 4x earning, but still earn 2x. Gift card resale rates are at a relative maxima, and fuel points prices aren’t bad now either.
  2. RobinHood, which really needs a separate stand alone post that basically says: “literally don’t do anything funding related with them even if it seems fun. Yes I know it seems ok, but it’s really not and they’ll liquidate your positions forcefully”, has two transfer bonuses for Gold members that are uncapped in theory:

    – Regular brokerage: 2% bonus for incoming funds through September 15
    – IRA: 2% (or 3% with margin) bonus for incoming funds through September 15

    Both require that you hold your stocks or funds at RobinHood for 5 years. I did the math guys: If you bring $100 Billion in funds, this is a $2 Billion money maker. (Thanks to DoC)
  3. On Monday, Bilt will have an “up to 100%” transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic miles (you can see what “up to” means for you in the mobile app in the For You section), so you’ve got the weekend to earn Bilt Rewards if care about Virgin Atlantic.

    Should you care? If you think of Virgin Miles as being effectively a buy a coach ticket (award fees) and upgrade to business class with miles proposition (mileage rate) and live in a gateway city, it’s often a great option. For those of you that live in Lubbock or balk at paying more than ~$50 in award fees, it’s probably best to move along to the next thing. Also, coach redemptions are ok I guess.

Have a nice Thursday!

Average travel hacker sentiment for Virgin Red, but as a person.

  1. Southwest has a promotional companion pass valid for travel between January 6, 2026 and March 6, 2026. To earn it:

    – Register at this link, or at the bottom of your ‘My Account’ page
    – Book a two one-ways or one round-trip by Thursday, non basic economy
    – Fly by November 15

    Existing bookings don’t count. Both paid and award tickets are eligible.
  2. Hy-Vee stores have $10 off of $150 in Visa and Mastercard gift cards through Monday. Hy-Vee $10 off coupons typically work in multiples, always be probing.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  3. More Citi cards can transfer to AA Advantage miles:

    – The Strata, Preferred, Double Cash, and Custom Cash transfer at 1:0.7
    – The Strata Premier, Strata Elite, and Prestige cards transfer at 1:1

    (Thanks to DoC)
  4. Citi ThankYou Points has a 25% transfer bonus to Wyndham Rewards through September 20. In semi-related news, Wyndham Vacasa booking windows have dropped to six months.
  5. American Express offers has a targeted offer for $180 back on $1,200+ at Eva Air for flights originating in the US. It may be possible to turn this into discount Southwest Airlines travel through their interline agreement announced yesterday if you want to make life hard and ticket changes even more frustrating.
  6. Capital One Shopping has targeted referral bonuses that offer $40 to both the referrer and referred.

    Capital One Shopping has gotten better about recognizing self-referrals, but good hygiene continues to pay dividends.
  7. Singapore Airlines changed award redemption rates. Most rates are going up 5%-10%, though Asia and South Pacific redemptions drop 5% in price. Flights to Africa and the Middle East are getting 10-20% increases, and there’s new, variable pricing for non-saver awards.

    PSA to travel bloggers: It’s possible to summarize this sort of thing in less than 1,250 words, I promise.

Happy Tuesday!

Another helpful PSA.

  1. Meijer MPerks has a digital coupon for $10 off $150+ in Visa gift cards through Saturday, and it appears to be the type of coupon that you can re-clip after use. With the right liquidation path this could easily be worth a trip to Meijerland, but don’t mistake that for Michigan.

    Meijer sells both Sunrise and Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  2. Synchrony quietly launched the Walmart OnePay CashRewards Mastercard. The vitals:

    – $0 annual fee
    – $35 sign-up bonus after $75+ spend in 30 days
    – 5% for Walmart+ members or 3% back at Walmart otherwise
    – 1.5% cash back elsewhere

    This card is compelling for scaling buyer’s group activities, at least to the extent that Walmart lets you get away with it and the credit line allows, and also to the extent that Synchrony lets you cycle (they don’t).
  3. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. For best results:

    – Buy in even multiples of $300
    – Try for multiple transactions back-to-back
    – Look for the lower fee “Everywhere” cards, which despite the name, don’t work everywhere
    – Cry about Dosh being gone

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network cards.
  4. Alaska MileagePlan Atmos has free points for residents that live within 75 miles of several cities:

    – San Diego [SDFC registration] [Wave FC registration]
    – Los Angeles
    – Portland
    – Seattle

    You earn 100 miles per goal scored by your local soccer team for the season, and San Diegans have chances with two teams, probably because one of those teams sucks? Idk, I just work here.
  5. Some Capital One cards have a heightened card-linked offer for 60,000 miles with a $299 purchase at the Motley Fool, effectively buying points at 0.5 cents each.

    Just: (1) set a reminder in your phone to cancel the automatic renewal of the subscription after the bonus pays out, and (2) be ready for the frustration of figuring out how to take address off of their email spam list. It sounds easy, but it’s really not. (Thanks to DDG)

Happy Monday!

Motley Fool email preferences page.

  1. The Barclays AA Red Mastercard has a sign-up bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after a single purchase and after paying the annual fee. There’s also Tuesday’s offer of 50,000 AAdvantage miles after a single purchase and a waived annual fee, though I’d pay $99 for 20,000 AA miles any day personally.

    This card will likely be dead for new applications on September 30.
  2. The Alaska MileagePlan Atmos Visa credit card line-up has been released, and note that you may get an email invitation with 5,000 miles higher than the public bonus so check there first:

    – Ascent: 80,000 miles after $4,000 spend in 120 days, $95 annual fee, $3/status point
    – Ascent: 85,000 miles after after $4,000 spend in 120 days, same as above but you need a flight attendant code (or to be good at google)
    – Summit: 100,000 miles after $6,000 spend in 90 days, $395 annual fee, $2/status point
    – Atmos Business: 80,000 miles after $5,000 spend in 90 days, $95 annual fee, $3/status point

    The Ascent cards are basically the same as the old Alaska cards including the companion certificate. The Summit includes a 25,000 point companion award and a 100,000 point companion award after $60,000 spend annually, which is compelling for big spenders. There are also relatively lame lounge passes and premium drink coupons with Summit.

    In 2026 the status points earned from spend is uncapped on all cards, and may be uncapped on Summit now.
  3. The Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard has an increased bonus of 80,000 miles after $2,500 spend in 90 days. You’ll earn Hawaiian miles until October 1 at which point you’ll earn Alaska MileagePlan Atmos miles, and of course you can transfer miles between the two programs before then. You can use promo code 002387, or pretty much any other number starting with 00.
  4. The Barlcays Hawaiian Business Mastercard has an increased tiered sign-up bonus too:

    – 50,000 miles after $4,000 spend and paying the $99 annual fee in 90 days
    – 20,000 miles after $50,000 spend in the first year
    – 20,000 miles after $100,000 spend in the first year

    The card earns 2x on gas, dining, and office supplies. Each 20,000 bonus mile boost is a 0.4x addition to existing earn (oof). (Thanks to 9kuss)
  5. Kroger stores have 4x fuel points on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel cards, and on fixed value Visas and Mastercards running Friday through Sunday.

    Sometimes weekend 4x promotions are more liberal about what gift cards are eligible, always be probing.
  6. Raleys, Nob Hill, and Bel Air stores have 20x points on One4All Ultimate gift cards through Tuesday. Home Depot rates are still 93%+, so I hope you need lots of cheap groceries. (Thanks to GCA)

Happy Thursday!

Grocery stores see the credit card stair truck.

  1. Meijer stores have a coupon for $10 off of $150+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, and this seems to be the type of MPerks coupon that can be reclipped immediately after redemption.

    I’m not here to tell you what to do, but it doesn’t take a ton of action to make this a profitable trip to Meijerland if you’re not already in it. Meijer sells both Pathward and Sunrise gift cards.
  2. Staples online has fee-free $200 Visa gift cards online through Saturday, limit five in theory or four in practice, and in an unlikely twist these do actually code as office supply purchases.

    These are Pathward gift cards. (Thanks to Dave 37 for the MC → Visa correction)
  3. DoC shares a helpful note: Use any $200 American Express Platinum Fine Hotels and Resorts credits remaining before September 18, because the credit changes to $300 and resets after that date.

    You don’t need to stay by September 18 for the credit, you just need to book by September 18.
  4. Staples in-store has fee-free $200 Visa gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  5. The Barclays GM Business card has an increased sign-up bonus of 100,000 points after $5,000 spend in three months, and is a 3x everywhere earner. The points are, for the most part, only useful for new car purchases or paying for GM parts or service.

    There was a time where several churners churned their way to a new GM car, but that was in the before-Barclays times and the before-GM points crackdown times. In current times, you can find cards that earn 3%+ cash back everywhere with games, and you don’t have to spend that cash back on a GM car.
  6. Chase has a transfer partner updates:

    – 100% transfer bonus to IHG through September 4 (meh)
    – Ending relationship with Emirates Skywards on October 16 (meh)

    Ultimate Rewards are valuable for plenty of things, but both of these options aren’t on the high end of the spectrum.

Happy Monday friends!

The punk-churner Ultimate Rewards value chart illustrated.