Category: Gift Cards

  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.

  1. Do this now: Register for Marriott Homes and Villas promotion for double points on three night stays or longer though December 31.
  2. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points coupon on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel retailer cards, and on fixed value Visas and Mastercards starting tomorrow and running through Sunday evening Kroger time.
  3. There are new, targeted no-lifetime language (NLL) Hilton card links:

    – Aspire: 150,000 points after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Surpass: 130,000 points after $3,000 spend in six months
    – Honors: 80,000 points after $2,000 spend in six months

    Of course BBT can trump NLL, but only if you’re KOOL. Yes, I’m making up acronym(s) now. (Thanks to DDG)
  4. The Capital One Venture card has a new offer via referral of 75,000 points plus a $300 travel credit with some referral links. Use a friend’s referral if they have one, or reach out to me and I’ll share one from a random community member.
  5. The Capital One Spark Cash card has a $1,000 sign-up bonus after $10,000 spend in three months and the annual fee is waived for the first year. Unlike most business cards and indeed other Capital One business cards, this will report to your personal credit report. (Thanks to jetcruise0707)

Happy Thursday!

A helpful acronym for evaluating deals, especially as related to the American Express Plum card.

  1. Staples has fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  2. Meijer MPerks has a promotion for 10,000 MPerks points with $100+ in One4All gift cards, other than Giving Good and Ultimate flavors, which is good because those cards taste gross.

    Home Depot is still available on other One4All cards though. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Mastercard has an increased offer for 60,000+20,000 TrueBlue points and a waived annual fee after $1,000 spend in 90 days and $6,000 spend in the first year, respectively, beating last week’s offer by a full $99.

    Use promo code 31337, 07734, or 58008 (if you’ve got a fifth grade mindset) during the application.
  4. Capital One Shopping brought back eBay as a redemption option, and in the last month has steeped up its targeted, heightened offers in many manufactured spender friendly stores. For a refresher on getting discounts, see Capital One Shopping: Manufactured Discounts.

Happy Monday!

The approximate flavor of Giving Good gift cards: banana dipped in old chili.

  1. American Express has newly targeted offers for the Delta SkyMiles cards, and they’re pulling up different offers based on the browser used, device type, IP address, and probably the last type of beverage you had. The best offers seem to be:

    – Personal: Gold 80,000 SkyMiles, Platinum 90,000 SkyMiles, Reserve 100,000 SkyMiles
    – Business: Gold 90,000 SkyMiles, Platinum 110,000 SkyMiles, Reserve 125,000 SkyMiles

    Both the personal and business gold cards have a waived first year annual fee. (Thanks to FM)
  2. Hilton for Business has a relatively lame tie-in with Delta Skymiles for Business: Enroll in SkyMiles Business with promo SM4BHLTN by August 31, link your Hilton for Business account, then book and fly a revenue flight in 90 days to receive a $50 Delta eCredit.
  3. Raley’s, Nob Hill, and Bel Air stores have an unadvertised promotion for 15x points on Choice cards through Tuesday. If these stores sold electronics this could be a deal of the year, but instead it’s effectively just a discount hot dog machine.

    Obviously some Choice cards are better than others, but if you’re lucky you’ll find some that convert to BestBuy and Home Depot, both of which are currently reselling at 93%+. (Thanks to Bill)
  4. The MooMoo brokerage, one of only four US brokerages founded and operated by cows, has several stackable promotions:

    – Tiered NVDA stock worth up to $1,000 for brining up to $50,000 in new money and holding for 60 days
    – 8.1% APR on up to $20,000 in a cash account for 90 days, then 4.1%
    – An ACATS match of 3% on up to $20,000 in transferred stock held for at least 60 days
    – $40 back at several portals for a new account

    Believe it or not, this is on the simple end of MooMoo gaming. (Thanks to DoC)

Have a nice weekend!

Hot dogs from a discount hot dog machine.