Category: Hotels

  1. Do this now: Register for Hyatt’s Q4 promotion for 3,000 bonus points per night at Hyatt Vacation Club properties, limit 30,000 total bonus points.
  2. American Express opened its Salt Lake City Centurion lounge yesterday. I don’t normally report on lounge openings or updates because there are plenty of spots on the internet with that sort of boring news completely covered, usually including a full 623 pictures per article with studio lit photos featuring cheese cubes at the buffet and a neutral painting on the wall at an empty lounge all vying for a diminishing number of clicks from casual google searches.

    This opening though has none of those articles, indicating that American Express didn’t pay for first class tickets, hotel rooms, and fine dining for a bunch of affiliate bloggers to get a sneak peak complete with pre-written copy for their posts. In other words, American Express seems to be dialing back its marketing budget significantly. When banks pare back on their marketing budget, it’s usually because they expect bad earnings, increased credit write-offs, a recession, or some combination of all of these things. Which is it? The excitement is palpable.
  3. Sunrise Bank’s Southwest debit card is now available for new applications. The vitals:

    – 0.5x earning
    – 2,500 Rapid Rewards after $100 spend in 90 days
    – $6.99 monthly fee is waived with $2,500 on deposit at Sunrise
    – Annual bonus of up to 7,500 Rapid Rewards based on spend

    There’s almost certainly some juice here for the right use cases. An important, outstanding question is whether you can hold both this card and the likely upcoming United Debit card also issued by Sunrise simultaneously.
  4. Breeze Airways has a promotion for 35% off of base fares using promo code CHARMED for travel purchased by Friday and flown between December 2 and March 3, 2026.

    We haven’t played Breeze route bingo for a while, but let’s fix that. Today’s bingo route is Bentonville, AR – Gulfport, LA. If you have a bingo, write in for an exclusive* 35% off of base fare promo code.

Happy Wednesday!

Future campaign slogan for bringing back the old Breeze Route Bingo™ prizes.

  1. Do this now: Register for targeted Hyatt Q4 bonuses on your Hyatt My Offers page. Bonuses are variable, but generally are some form of: 2x-3x points earning on up to 30,000 bonus points.
  2. The FNBO JAL MileageBank Mastercard has a heightened sign-up bonus of 10,000 bonus miles and a waived annual fee for the first year with promo code AFSPG1025, no minimum spend required. That may not seem like a big bonus, but that’s only because it’s not a big bonus.

    The card is a bit of a cult classic because $450,000 spend at 1x will earn you lifetime oneworld Sapphire status. Obviously lifetime status could be huge with the right use case, just don’t think about opportunity cost (like how $450,000 on a lowly 2% card is $9,000).
  3. Southwest has a fare sale for 40% off base fares and award redemption costs with promo code 40SALE for travel booked by tomorrow and flown between December 3 and March 4, 2026.

    Mini-FAQ: Blackouts? Yes. Punitive boarding for aisle seat jockeys? Yes. Slow WiFi? Here to stay. First class? “Every seat is first class on Southwest”.
  4. American Express has new travel offers for:

    – Marriott Homes & Villas: $250 off of $1,000+ by November 19
    – Delta Air Lines: $80 off of $400+ through December 31
    – ANA: 30,000 Membership Rewards with $2,500+ through December 31
    – Omni: $100 off of $500+ through January 15, 2026
    – AKA Hotels: $150 off of $750+ through March 15, 2026

    Some are more gameable than others, but there’s always an angle.

Happy Wednesday!

Instead of lifetime status for unlimited cheese cubes, you could spend $9,000 on this, uhh, beauty.

  1. Do this now: Register for your Q4 Marriott targeted Q4 promotions, including:

    – Five bonus elite nights, usable 2x for stays through January 31, 2026
    – Extra elite night for all stays through December 31
    – 15,000 bonus points every five stays, up to 3x through January 31, 2026
    – 2,000 bonus per stay at AC, Courtyard, or Four Points properties through February 16, 2026
    – 2,025 bonus points per stay, up to 3x through January 10, 2026
    – 2,000 bonus points per stay, up to 3x at Outdoors properties through January 10, 2026

    Some of those numbers look big, but remember they’re still Bonvoy points.
  2. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Visa gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. Staples.com has fee-free virtual $200 Visa gift cards, limit four per account. Sometimes obscure portals work on these too, sometimes.

    These are also Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  4. American Express has a few new offers, all of which are valid through December 31:

    – Virgin Atlantic: $250 off of $1,800+
    – Hilton Cards (variation 1): Earn 6,000 bonus points for a $3,000+ purchase (up to 3x)
    – Hilton Cards (variation 2): Earn 20,000 bonus points for a $10,000+ purchase (up to 3x)
    – Qatar: $200 off of $850+ through AmEx Travel

    I’m told “gamers gonna (allegedly) game”. (Thanks to Stowe)

Happy Tuesday!

“Allegedly”

Apparently it’s promo dump weekend:

  1. Celtic Bank’s Mesa Visa card has a storied past with sign-up bonuses, and they’re continuing that legacy with another harebrained scheme:

    – 5,000 bonus points for one Mesa referral
    – 5,000 additional bonus points for another referral
    – 50,000 bonus points after two referrals and spending $10,000 in 90 days

    The card recently became a churning classic because: (1) you earn points for your, err *cough* mortgage, even if you don’t use the card to pay it, and (2) they have interesting transfer partners like SAS EuroBonus and Air Canada Aeroplan.
  2. The Chase Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited Visa cards have heightened sign-up bonuses of 90,000 Ultimate Rewards after $6,000 spend in three months. Both cards are no-annual fee cards.

    These are available via referrals and you’ve still got a few weeks left before October 7, when Chase’s referral rules mean there’s no referral bonus if the card applicant already holds a Chase business card.
  3. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a 20% transfer bonus to AirFrance / KLM FlyingBlue through September 30.
  4. Citi ThankYou Points has a 25% transfer bonus to Wyndham Rewards through September 20.
  5. Stop & Shop, Giant Foods, and Martins stores have 2x points earning on Mastercard gift cards through Thursday.

    These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
  6. Kroger stores have 4x fuel points earning on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel cards, and on fixed value Visa and Mastercard gift cards.

    Since for some reason we don’t talk about Kroger 4x without talking about Pepper: They’re still quasi-dead, which is to say they’ve been a few days away from relaunch for months.
  7. Kroger online has 5% off of Visa and Mastercard e-gift cards with promo code BDAY2025 through September 21. Mastercards had been absent from Kroger since they switched issuers from US Bank, but they’re now back.

    These are generally interesting because they earn Kroger fuel points, not because it codes as grocery (it doesn’t). These are Pathward / Incomm gift cards.
  8. Marriott Bonvoy, the loyalty program that takes inspiration from Delta SkyMiles, has removed Asiana Club as a transfer partner.
  9. Several banks have emailed targeted spend bonuses:

    – Discover: $10 off $100+ spend with a virtual card number
    – Bank of America: $75 or 7,500 points with $2,500 spend
    – Chase Freedom: Extra earn with spend thresholds

    (Thanks to Dave and T)

Have a nice weekend friends!

Marriott had to drop support for Asiana transfers to implement this correctly.

  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. Do this now: Register for Hyatt’s promotion for 777 bonus points per night at casino hotels through September 30. (Un)fortunately, the dirty castle is no longer part of Hyatt’s portfolio and the Rio is a poor stand-in.
  2. Do this now: Make backup bookings for any existing Advantage car rental reservations because they may be in the midst of collapse.
  3. Staples has fee-free $200 Mastercards in store through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. US Bank has a $450 checking bonus for new Smartly checking accounts with $8,000+ spread over two direct deposits, or over two “direct deposits”, the first of which has to happen in 30 days. This is mainly interesting for establishing a Smartly account for higher payouts on the related but different US Bank Smartly credit card.

    If you’re not in US Bank’s footprint, opening a brokerage account first will get your foot in the door for other products.
  5. Bilt Blit is losing their relationship with Wells Fargo in favor of Cardless with three tiers of cards in (probably) June 2026. After the transition, it’ll probably switch from the Mastercard network to the American Express network. Is that a net positive or negative? Depends on your game I suppose, but at least Cardless dropped its one card per lifetime rule.
  6. American Express Offers has a targeted offer for $40 off of $200+ at Caesars through October 31.

Happy Monday friends!

From US Bank’s FAQ: Even they understand that direct deposits are often “direct deposits”

  1. Do this now: Register for 8,000 bonus points after two stays at Choice Hotels through September 2. Yes, they sell this as a $50 gift card, but that’s because (1) they’re bad at marketing, and (2) 8,000 points can be cashed out for a gift card.
  2. Meijer stores have $10 off of $150+ in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, coupon clip required.

    Meijer sells both Pathward and Sunrise gift cards.
  3. Mandatory reporting requirements for financial services are changing:

    – 1099-K reporting limits increased to $20,000 for 2025 and beyond
    – 1099-MISC reporting limits increased to $2,000 for 2026 and beyond

    Manufactured spenders sending money to themselves should be particularly excited about the former. Bank bonus chasers may be happy about the latter, but you’re still required to report bank bonus income even in the absence of a 1099-MISC. As always, I’m not a tax professional and I’m definitely not your tax professional. Don’t take my advice about anything, ever. (Thanks to DoC)
  4. The Chase Sapphire Reserve Business card is now available via referrals from other Ink cards. After October 17, in theory referrals will only work to people without existing Chase Business cards. Prior to October 17 though we gucci.
  5. The Chase United card family has an offer for 1,500 MileagePlus miles after five digital wallet purchases, registration required. A couple of notes:

    – You can buy five bananas at self check out, right?
    – Costco cashiers will generally happily oblige to “can I charge $1 to this card”

    There are other games too, be creative (but not too creative, it’s only 1,500 miles).
  6. American Express offers has an offer for $60 off of $300+ at Alaska Airlines. To game it, you could:

    – Book non-basic economy, cancel to your wallet after 24 hours
    – Book non-basic economy, cancel to an emailed wallet code after 24 hours, which is separately useful

    Yes, you can get deeper if you want.
  7. Citi Offers has an offer for a $50 statement credit with $200+ at JetBlue through August 31. Citi usually lets you redeem these on multiple cards too.

Happy Monday!

Digging deeper, ocean style.

  1. Do this now (for Marriott Bonvoy Ambassadors and Titaniums): Register for United and Marriott’s reciprocal earning:

    – 1,500 Bonvoy points and 1,000 United MileagePlus miles for a stay after August 31
    – 500 United MileagePlus miles per stay at Marriott properties
    – 750 Bonvoy points per United flight

    Afterward for masochists, consider how many United flights you’d have to take to earn a free night at a Marriott Courtyard.
  2. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, the Paris train system of credit cards, has new beginning of the month spend offers:

    – $125 statement credit with $750+ spend or $200 statement credit with $1,500+ spend monthly in gas, grocery, or restaurants through December
    – $100 statement credit with $500+ spend or $150 statement credit with $1,000+ spend in monthly in gas, grocery, or restaurants through December

    Those who didn’t have that type of offer seem to already have a prior monthly version. (Thanks to Peter, bktran, TeddyH, and K).
  3. The Chase Sapphire Reserve personal card has updated its Pay Yourself Back categories for Q3. Grocery, gas, home improvement, and annual fees will be reimbursed at 1.25 cents per point, and select charities at 1.5 cents per point.

    The Sapphire Reserve business card only has charities as an option, and only at 1.25 cents per point. At least you still can buy a $50 Lululemon gift card for free twice a year I guess, which works out approximately 0.63 pants per year.
  4. American Express offers has a new offer for 20,000 Membership Rewards or a $200 statement credit after $1,000+ spend with AirFrance / KLM.

    Yes, it’s not hard to hit this offer with a family traveling to Europe. But also, it’s possible to hit it in less obvious ways.
  5. The American Express Delta Business cards have no-lifetime language (NLL) links that match their recent normal link heightened sign-up bonus:

    – Business Gold: 90,000 SkyMiles after $6,000 spend in six months, waived annual fee
    – Business Platinum: 100,000 SkyMiles after $8,000 spend in six months
    – Business Reserve : 110,000 SkyMiles after $12,000 spend in six months

    The personal cards still have regular lifetime language in their offer terms.
  6. American Express Membership Rewards will reduce the transfer ratio to Emirates Skywards on September 18 from 5:5 to 5:4. Or if you prefer, from 225:255 to 225:180, because math is fun (or at least it’s “fun”, idk).
  7. AirFrance / KLM FlyingBlue has released its July promo rewards for travel through December 31. US cities in this month’s promotion are: Portland OR, Austin TX, Atlanta GA, and Dallas TX.

    Economy flights are 18,750 miles and business class are 60,000 miles each way.

Happy Wednesday!

Math is just as “fun” for computers as it is for us.