Category: Quick Hits

  1. Office Depot/OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 or more in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. To maximize:

    – Link your cards to Dosh
    – Cash-out your American Express Business Gold credits for October
    – See what happens when you try and scale a transaction
    – Try for multiple transactions back-to-back

    These are Pathward gift cards so have a liquidation plan in place.
  2. Giant PA stores, (maybe) Stop & Shop, and (maybe) Martins stores have 10x rewards points on Lowes gift cards and 5x on GreenDot debit cards starting Friday. There’s definitely a Lowes gift card resale liquidation channel that supports high volume. For GreenDots, the landscape is tougher.
  3. The American Express Hilton Surpass and Aspire cards were retooled last week, on the whole they’re slightly worse but still a good value. To make up for it I guess, American Express increased the sign-up bonuses for both cards to the highest we’ve seen:

    – Hilton Aspire: 180,000 Hilton Honors points after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Hilton Surpass: 170,000 Hilton Honors points after $3,000 spend in three monts

    The bonus is also available via referrals with most referrers getting 20,000 Hilton points, so go that route if you’re in two-player mode or if you’ve got a friend who can generate a link for you.

Happy Monday!

Taco Bell statistically has the fastest, uh, food to go with your Monday Quickies.. The bad news is this is the food.

  1. T-Mobile is switching accounts on older, less expensive plans to more expensive plans, which affects cell phone churners disproprtionatly. It is possible to opt-out but you’ve got to call customer service and tell them that you want to do so.

    T-Mobile’s official statement on the matter is: We are not raising the price of any of our plans; we are moving you to a newer plan with more benefits at a different cost. I wish this was MEAB parody but it’s not, it’s real. Welcome to dystopian late-stage capitalism double-speak town.
  2. Breeze has a promotion for 40% off paid airfare promo code MIXITUP for round-trip travel booked by today with travel dates extending through September of next year. And since we have news about Breeze, it’s time once again to play Breeze route bingo. Today’s dart-board route [drum roll]:

    ISP (Islap, Long Island) to CHS (Charlston, SC)

    If you had ISP-CHS on your bingo card, be sure to approach the desk for your grand prize (40% off of round-trip Breeze flights booked today.)
  3. JetBlue is revamping their status program starting January 4. There is one significant change from my perspective, and that is that Mint Upgrade certificates can be used at any time, not just within 48 hours of travel. This makes the status match for Delta Elites even more valuable. (Thanks to VFTW)
  4. If you hold a Barclays Wyndham card, check your email for a targeted offer for 1,000 bonus Wyndham points after three digital wallet payments by November 30. (Thanks to scdawn)
  5. Do this now (if you have high level Marriott status): Register for 500 bonus United Miles for stays at Marriott properties and 750 bonus Bonvoy points when flying United.

Tonight’s dinner in your dystopian late-stage capitalism double-speak town.

  1. Bank of America has an annual promotion called “More Rewards Day” on a single day when all of your Bank of America cards earn an additional 2% cash back or 2x points on spend. It’s back again for 2023, and it’s scheduled for November 9.

    Last year it was very lucrative for some and frustrating for others because it was effectively capped only by your credit lines, but sometimes Bank of America’s fraud algorithms ran rampant like a rabid bunny with a Napoleon complex. As a result, Bank of America has limited rewards to $2,500 in purchases per personal card or corporate account this year.

    Now’s a good time to apply for Bank of America cards so that you’ve got them in-hand to hit minimum spend for November 9.
  2. Plastiq has a storied past with churners. Once upon a time it was one of the easiest platforms for no-cost or low-cost debit liquidation, but that slowly eroded into crapulence and then bankruptcy. Some highlights:

    – A great way to have scheduled tiny transactions in June 2021
    – Plastiq: The Zigening in March 2022
    – When IT and Promotions Fail Together in August 2022
    – Plastiq: A Slow Requiem in November 2022
    – Plastiq declares bankruptcy in May 2023

    They were acquired by Priority Technology Holdings in bankruptcy, and a few weeks ago a judge approved the new company’s bankruptcy exit plan.

    Plastiq’s background helps frame the news that they shared: Plastiq will be accepting American Express cards for payments starting in a few weeks. Knowing Plastiq, it’s not going to be implemented properly. Always be probing.
  3. American Express Offers has an offer for $200 back on $2,000 in spend through November 21, up to two times. So far it’s been seen on both the personal and the business Amazon cards, but likely exists on other cards too. (Thanks to Ragerz78)
  4. Chase Offers and BankAmeriDeals have an offer for 10% back on IHG purchases of $100 or more, up to $31 cash back through November 15. Yes, you can capture these without staying at a Holiday Inn Express. (Thanks to DoC)

Happy Wednesday!

Bank of America’s fraud algorithms personified.

  1. The American Express Business Gold card has been revamped:

    – Annual fee increased from $295 to $375
    – $20 credit per month at GrubHub, FedEx, or office supply stores
    – $12.95 Walmart+ monthly credit
    – Two new 4x categories effective immediately: transit and wireless credits
    – Two 4x categories removed effective on February 1, 2024: airfare and shipping
    – Specific computer hardware and software 4x is now: general hardware, software, and cloud computing
    – Also, and probably the most-least important thing: rose gold colored cards are available

    This is good news for those of you playing with a four letter fintech. (Thanks to Jacob)
  2. It’s been almost four days since Delta did a devaluation, so guess what they decided to do for funzies? Good guess, another devaluation.

    Economy awards from South America to and from Asia have increased from 60,000 to 100,000 SkyMiles, and Southeast Asia to and from East Asia have increased from 17,500 to 22,500 SkyMiles. No doubt there was a devaluation in other cabins for the same regions too, stay tuned like the masochist that Delta wants you to be. (Thanks to TeddyH)
  3. Alaska Airlines has a paid and award sale for travel between October 17 and February 15, 2024 booked by tomorrow evening. There are some great options like:

    – West Coast to Hawaii: 7,500 miles
    – West Coast to Mexico: 7,500 miles
    – Transcontinental flights: 10,000 miles
    – Short-haul domestic flights: 4,500 miles

    I’m even seeing good availability around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, which is exactly the opposite of what Delta would do.
  4. American Express Offers has an offer for 20,000 Membership Rewards with $1,000 or more in spend with AirFrance/KLM. There’s always a play, right? (Thanks to Rich and TeddyH)
  5. AirFrance and KLM’s FlyingBlue has a new set of promo rewards for October. Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco flights are all included in the promotion, in addition to several other easily accessible cities in North America like Mexico City, Cancun, and Montreal.

The head of Delta SkyMiles revenue management celebrates the Wednesday five-pack in the most Delta way possible.

  1. American Express has a few nice card-linked offers:

    – Thompson Hotels: $60 statement credit after $300 in spend by December 15
    – Park Hyatt Hotels: $150 statement credit after $750 in spend by December 15
    – Kimpton and Intercontinental Hotels: $75 statement credit after $300 in spend by December 31
    – Small and Luxury Hotels: $100 statement credit after $300 in spend by December 31

    The holidays tend to make these slightly easier to game than normal. (Thanks to berkstud14)
  2. Capital One Shopping has targeted increased cash-back bonuses at GiftCards.com. We’ve seen 4%, 6% and 9%, and I suspect there are other offers too. The website and mobile apps usually don’t have the same offer, so check both.

    Also, note that terms and conditions now specify that “orders over $2,000” are not eligible for cash back, and it’s currently unclear as to whether that number is inclusive of fees. (Thanks to Brian M and Joshua)

Happy Tuesday friends!

Want another Tuesday double? This, erm “life-hack” has your back.

  1. Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons stores have a promotion for $10 off of a future purchase good for seven days with a $50 purchase in several third party gift card brands through October 10. Lowe’s is the best one for resale rates, currently averaging somewhere around 89%.

    It’s possible that this is a regional only deal so double check your ads, though I suspect it’ll work everywhere. (Thanks to GCG)
  2. Shoprite stores have $10 in grocery credits $150 or more in Mastercards through Saturday, limit one per account. The credit is valid starting Saturday and running for a week, and recent reports suggest Shoprite stores putting $7.95 fee cards on the rack, because of course they are. (Thanks to DoC)
  3. Do this now: Sign-up for the waitlist for the future TAP Portugal American Express card. Getting on the waitlist means you’ll get a bigger bonus if you decide to apply for it when it launches, but doesn’t obligate you to anything.
  4. Do this now: Check chase.com/mybonus for targeted offer of 5x-10x on spend on grocery, utilities, fitness, internet, and/or phone services on your personal co-branded cards.
  5. In a move that should surprise no-one, Delta devalued partner awards to and from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central, and South America. Award prices for business class have risen by approximately 40%, and economy prices have risen more modestly by approximately 15%. When asked to comment on this change, Delta again used a single word response: “Budgeting”, but this time they played the wah-wah trombones while speaking.

    As of this devaluation, the rule of thumb for non-expert travel hackers is that Delta SkyMiles are mostly only good for US economy awards. There is slight value to be had outside of that paradigm, but it diminishes regularly.

Delta’s PR team discussing the most recent award ticket redemptions.

I had a different post planned for today, but a late night news item worth your time made me switch it up. As a result, we’re missing lots of the normal MEAB color, so sorry not sorry I guess. Let’s go:

  1. I’ve got it on good authority that Southwest’s Tuesday promotion for its Week of Wow is almost certainly a sale of ~50% off of bases fares on both paid and award travel, and it’s the kind of sale where you can use the website to change to your existing flight to capture the discount. Update: It’s out. Use promo code WOW50.

    This will likely have restrictions around the holidays and to certain destinations, but it’s worth double checking anyway. (Thanks to the WN Maestro, Brian M)
  2. Office Depot and OfficeMax stores have $15 back on $300 or more in Mastercard gift cards through Saturday in stores. You may find even better results by stacking more in a single transaction. Always be probing. (Thanks to FM)
  3. American Express has a gamable offer for $200 off of $1,000 or more at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, and LXR hotels in Mexico, the US, Anguilla, and French Polynesia. (Thanks to DoC)
  4. Breeze airways has a bonus $50 in points and 25% off of of base fares over $150 for travel through January 31, 2024 booked by Thursday using promo code SOEXTRA.

    I don’t see any specific blackout dates called out in the terms, so you may get lucky with this one on Holiday or Christmas travel. Remember though that Breeze flys almost exclusively strange routes, like today’s dartboard line from Hartford, CT to Bradenton, FL.

Happy Tuesday!

Life reaching out to MEAB right before bed. Yes, it was creepy thanks for asking.

  1. Alaska is working with major card linked offer programs for flight discounts:

    – Chase Offers, 5-15% back with a max of $450 in spend through September 30
    – BofA BankAmeriDeals, 10% with a max of $450 in spend through September 30
    – American Express Offers, $60 back on $300 or more in spend through December 17
    – Citi Offers: [sound of crickets]

    These are all easily convertible to Alaska Wallet funded by buying a non-basic economy ticket and canceling more than 24 hours after booking. They’re all also gameable in less obvious ways too. (Thanks to scdawn)
  2. Citi ThankYou Points has an outsized 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through October 14. The best use of these points tends to be for business class to and from Europe, and for first class to and from Japan.
  3. Do this now: Register for Best Western’s Q4 promotion for 5,000 bonus points after each two nights stayed until November 20, with a maximum of 20,000 bonus points.

    Best Western ran another version of this promotion with the same stay window at the end of August, but that one had to be booked by Labor Day. There’s no such booking restriction this time.
  4. I don’t normally do “ZOMG this is your last chance, the deal is dying now and you have to act quick or lose out forever!” posts, but today is probably the last day of Kroger 4x fuel points for at least a month, so you have to act quick or lose out forever (or until late October, whichever comes first).

The Citi Offers team has the answer to important life questions like this.