Category: Quick Hits

  1. The Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard has a heightened sign up bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after a single purchase in 90 days. The $99 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

    This card is useful beyond the sign-up bonus because it can eventually be product changed into the AAdvantage Silver card, but only after a year thanks to the CARD act.
  2. Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and other Just4U stores have 10x points on Zillions and Zillions Zift cards through Saturday. On Saturday when the “surprise” weekend gift card 4x event is released, you’ll get 12x. (Spoiler alert to Safeway management: Surprises that happen reliably every week with the same offer and same duration cease to be surprises at some point.)
  3. Meijer MPerks has a bonus of 10,000 points with the purchase of a $150+ Visa or Mastercard gift card through November 9, limit one per account.

    Meijer sells both Pathward and Sunrise gift cards.
  4. Giftcards.com has Gift of College gift cards available with no purchase fee. You might earn 2% back in giftcards.com rewards after registering for their program through the end of October, though Gift of College is technically excluded from that program. You will earn portal cash back if you’re sly. Always be probing, Gift of College has been ripe for weirdness in the past but eventually the money does need to end up in a 529 account.
  5. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 or more in Visa gift cards through Saturday, limit 10. For best results:

    – Link your credit cards to Dosh
    – Buy in even multiples of $300
    – Look for lower fee variants if you know how to liquidate them

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  6. Chase Ultimate Rewards has a heightened redemption for Apple products at a rate of 1.5 cents per point for the Sapphire Reserve or 1.25 cents per point for the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred cards (or less on other, stupider cards). The promotion runs through the end of November.

    These rates beat regular Pay-Yourself-Back rates, especially if you’re in the reselling game.
  7. There are two small business merchant processing sign-up bonuses:

    – Bank of America $1,000 after $100,000 processed in 90 days
    – US Bank $1,000 offer after accepting charges monthly for three months

    Since we’re MEABers around here, let’s caution a few items: (1) running more than a few gift cards will almost certainly get your account shut down and banned from the processor which could have repercussions on future real businesses; (2) running your own credit cards will almost certainly get your credit cards shut down, sometimes even same-day with banks like AmEx; and (3) you’ll get a 1099 for payments processed. So always be probing, but know when a fence is electrified too, and this one is.

    My advice is to keep these accounts completely above board if you’re going for the bonus. If you don’t have a real business for merchant processing, consider selling a few things on Facebook Marketplace. Combine with the previous item for extra #flair.

Happy Monday!

Stupider cards, prolly.

  1. The Kroger family has a 4x fuel points promotion on third party gift cards excluding Amazon, and fixed value Visa and Mastercards purchased in-store through October 1.

    Demand in the fuel points resale market has cooled slightly but there’s still capacity available for sellers. Pepper’s recent changes have stabilized the gift card resale market for BestBuy in particular.
  2. Fun fact: I was banned by Chase in approximately 2001 for non-churning reasons, and then in 2004 Chase bought BankOne, a bank where I had existing credit and deposit accounts. The acquisition got me back with Chase. In related news, the Goldman Sachs Apple credit card portfolio is reportedly close to being acquired by the very same Chase bank.

    Astute readers will note that 2024 is very different than 2004, and in 20 years it turns out there’s been verifiable change in the world even though it still kinda looks like it used to. So will it work that way again? I’d say the chance is small, but you miss all the shots you don’t take, right? (Sportsball taught me that.)
  3. The Alaska Airlines acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines was completed yesterday, and according to the press release you’ll be able to transfer your miles between both programs without fee sometime in September. In yesterday’s recusals post, I said “I wouldn’t transfer Membership Rewards to Hawaiian miles for the conversion yet because there’s no bonus and you won’t win any prizes for transferring early.” But with the finalized acquisition, I’ve changed my tune because:

    – September only has a few weeks left and the waiting time for transfers is minimal
    – We don’t know if the Membership Rewards and Hawaiian contract has an exit clause that could be triggered by the acquisition, which might remove the option all-together a-la Bilt

    Quoting yesterday again because it’s still applicable, “[a]fter this debacle I wouldn’t believe anything you see on this site again personally.”
  4. American Express Offers has an offer for $300 back on $1,200 or more in purchases at Marriott Homes & Villas through December 17.

    In related news, gamers gonna game. (Thanks to DDG)

Redemption, 2004 style.

  1. Do this now: Register for Avis’s promotion for a free rental day after two rentals of two days or longer through February 28, 2025 up to five times. The free rental date window is October 9 – May 18, 2025.
  2. The DoT approved the merger between Hawaiian and Alaska airlines, provided that routes don’t change and that miles transfer between the programs at a 1:1 ratio until the programs merge. That means, assuming the merger completes:

    – Membership Rewards will be able to be converted to Alaska MilagePlan via HawaiianMiles
    – The Hawaiian co-branded Barclays cards are more valuable than they used to be

    I wouldn’t transfer Membership Rewards to Hawaiian miles for the conversion yet because there’s no bonus and you won’t win any prizes for transferring early.
  3. Apparently the Pepper gift card platform’s merchant categorization is now back to normal, and yesterday’s post was all a giant lie. We’re all free to earn 4x Membership Rewards through our gift card games.

    After this debacle I wouldn’t believe anything you see on this site again personally.
  4. Citi’s Flex Pay option, which creates a no-interest loan based on your card’s credit line, is now supported for travel booked through the Citi Travel portal. Why should you care? If you’ve got paid travel and you earn money for paying off your Citi cards, there’s a play here – just avoid cycling.
  5. The Bank of America AirFrance/KLM FlyingBlue Mastercard has a heightened sign-up bonus after $3,00 spend in 90 days. You’ve got two options:

    – $150 statement credit + 60,000 Miles + 100 XP (via dummy airfare booking)
    – 70,000 Miles + 100 XP

    Both versions give you annual XP bonuses, and the annual XP bonuses stack with one another too.

The official “Membership Rewards → HawaiianMiles” travel hacker shirt.

  1. Do this now: Register for bonus JetBlue TrueBlue miles with IHG hotel says through November 30. You’ll earn 1,000 miles for one or two night stays, or 3,000 miles for three night and longer stays. The maximum bonus earned for this promotion is 15,000 TrueBlue miles.
  2. Do this now (if you have a Chase Southwest Business card): Register for 6,000 bonus points after $6,000 in spend through November 30.

    For the math challenged, that works out to be an extra 1x on $6,000 spend. In fact, it works out that way even if you’re not math challenged. (Thanks to Brian M)
  3. The Barclays Lufthansa Miles & More personal card has an increased sign-up bonus of 80,000 miles after $3,000 spend in 90 days. The $89 annual fee is not waived the first year. This is the highest bonus seen on this card since last year, when it was 100,000 miles for a short period.

    The main use case for this card is for good access Swiss First Class award space for Miles & More members which costs 182,000 miles between the US and Europe, after a status match. You can also pair the bonus with 150,000 additional miles for $1,960 through September 30 . Or skip it, Swiss F is great but at a cost of $1,960+$89, so are plenty of other things.
  4. The Korean Skypass Visa has an increased sign-up bonus of 70,000 Skypass miles after $5,000 spend in 90 days. The $450 annual fee is not waived the first year. I believe this is an all-time high bonus.

    The main use case here is good access to Korean Business (Prestige) and First award space, which cost 80,000 miles and 120,000 miles between Asia and the US, respectively.
  5. Staples has fee free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday. Because Staples likes messing with churners, this time the limit is nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.

Staples messes with non-churners too, as Portsmouth discovered after contracting sign design.

  1. Clear has an offer for a $75 Uber voucher with a new membership, using the same promo code as in August, BETTERTRAVEL75 through September 6.

    This remains one of the best ways to cash out AmEx Clear credits, especially because you don’t need to show up in airport to validate anything.
  2. Rakuten In-Store has:

    – 4% or 4x back on Lowes purchases
    – 1% or 1x back on Food Lion purchases

    Both offers are good for 75 days after adding, and have to be re-added to your account one hour after purchase, and both stores sell open loop gift cards too.
  3. Publix stores have $10 off of $150 or more in Visa or Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit one per transaction, and you must clip the digital coupon.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. American Express Membership Rewards has a 30% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors points through September 30, making the transfer ratio 1:2.6. Note that you’ve got to login to see the transfer bonus.

    If we value Honors points at 0.5 cents each, then, since America Loves Math™, value = 2.6 * 0.5 = 1.3 cents per Membership Reward. It’s pretty big I guess.
  5. American Express Membership Rewards also has a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways, Ibera, and Aer Lingus Avios through September 30.
  6. Thirteen Star Alliance airlines have a status match for SAS Eurobonus elite members, which may or may not work with matched status from last week.

    Star Gold is a sweet spot for elite status, since it gives access to United Clubs even when flying domestically, provided the status isn’t from United. (Thanks to Connor)

How is E.T. like today’s post, asked no-one?

  1. Do this now: Try and register for Hyatt’s targeted promotion for 5,000 bonus points for each 5 nights stayed in the next 90 days, up to 45,000 total bonus points.
  2. Do this now: Register for Marriott’s fall promotions:

    – 2,000 bonus points per 2+ night paid stay (+2,000 if it’s an MGM property)
    – 2,000 bonus points per 2+ night paid stay for Marriott credit card holders

    These stack, but honestly 4,000 bonus Marriott points is probably worth $20 at best so don’t go nuts.
  3. Office Depot / OfficeMax stores have $15 off of $300 or more in Visa gift cards through Saturday. For best results:

    – Buy in even multiples of $300
    – Link your cards to Dosh
    – Remember that the variable loads work too

    Just don’t be like me last week and try and load $500 on a $200 card. The register will take it, but I promise nothing good happens.
  4. The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, the most sung of Unsung Heroes, has released new beginning of month offers, each is slightly complex because #extra. Each is good monthly for September, October, and November, and each will stack with other offers as applicable. We’ve seen:

    – $60 statement credit for a purchase $450+, good twice per month
    – $60 statement credit after six $75+ purchases
    – $50 statement credit for a purchase $375+, good twice per month

    I’ll be knocking this out with two $1,000 purchases at a grocery store to combine with outher outstanding credits. (Thanks to Brooke and birt)
  5. Rakuten has 15% back or 15x Membership Rewards on purchases at Dell, likely ending today. Use a friends referral if you don’t already have a Rakuten account, or use George at TBB’s otherwise.
  6. Avelo has $50 off of round-trip fares booked by Tuesday, for travel between September 17 and February 11, 2025 using promo code LABORDAY.

Pictured: The source of my instructions to load $500 onto a $15-200 variable load card.
(Thanks to IAD_Flyer for the picture)

  1. American Express widened its targeting for adding employee cards to business charge cards, with a 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus after $4,000 spend in 90 days for up to five employees online. These links appear in your AmEx Offers tab, and reader Jim notes that they’re not necessarily on top but may be buried much lower.

    Any cards that already earned five bonuses of 15,000 Membership Rewards using online links from Spring will not get the online bonus again; calling in for offers still works for those and gives a higher capacity of 99 total bonuses per card though.
  2. Canada’s ultra-low cost carrier Flair Airlines has a promotion for $1 base fare (+ tax) tickets between many major Canadian cities and Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Nashville, New York JFK, and several Mexico airports.

    Surprisingly, I’m seeing limited availability around US winter holidays. I was able to price out a complete bare-bones ticket at ~$15 each way including taxes. That said, “you get what you pay for” very much applies here, and Flair makes Southwest look like luxury.
  3. Capital One has a 20% transfer bonus to AirFrance/KLM FlyingBlue through September 29. Availability out of Canada is often better than out of the US, which I guess pairs nicely with the prior item. (Thanks to virginiarph)
  4. If it was a Cruel Summer and now you’re Down Bad waiting to be Bejeweled to reset your Karma with a Blank Space and Shake it Off, Hilton is giving you a chance to bid Honors points to meet Travis Kelce. You probably won’t meet his girlfriend, but statistically speaking it’s likely your best opportunity on Earth to do so. (This news item was just for Shay at TCB)
  5. The Barclays Hawaiian card has an increased bonus of 70,000 HawaiianMiles after a single purchase using a link from an in-flight mailer. The $99 annual fee is not waived in the first year. For a promotional code, you can try a random number or email me for the promo code that reader Dean shared. (Thanks to Dean)
  6. Gary at VFTW notes that SkyTeam member SAS’s elite status match program doesn’t actually seem to be validating anything and is just awarding status when the form is filled out. So that’s a thing I guess.

Have a nice holiday weekend!

The SAS elite status match validation desk.

  1. Kroger has 4x fuel points promotion running tomorrow through Sunday on fixed value Visa and Mastercards and third party gift cards other than Amazon.
  2. Bilt’s rent day falls on a Sunday in September. This is also the last rent day for double points on up to $10,000 spend; in October the maximum double point spend will be $1,000. There are two main transfer bonuses on Sunday:

    – 50% bonus to Avianca LifeMiles
    – 25-100% bonus to Virgin Atlantic FlyingClub, based on Bilt status

    What’s the maximum transfer for bonus miles, especially Virgin Atlantic with its tiered bonus? They haven’t announced it so double check the terms and conditions on Sunday. (Cynical MEAB thinks that they haven’t announced the maximums because they’re really low, but go ahead and prove me wrong Kerr, please.) UPDATE: Gary at VFTW let me know that these bonuses are unlimited.
  3. Do this now: Register for Southwest’s promotion for increased elite status earning through November 30. (The promotion mainly gives 2x-3x tier qualifying points on flights, and 2,000 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 in co-branded credit card spend). (Thanks to Brian M)
  4. Do this now (if you live in Washington, or move into a closet there during the NFL season): Register for Delta’s 12Status program and you’ll get:

    – One SkyMile for each passing yard earned by the Seahawks
    – Priority boarding on Delta flights at SEA airport during the NFL season

    According to a random ESPN page, last year there were 4,167 passing miles.
  5. Vietnam Airlines has a paid, year long status match for non-SkyTeam elites. The price is $99 for low tier, $159 for mid tier, or $299 for high tier status. Vietnam Airlines has five status lines, these are the middle three. The lowest matched status SkyTeam elite, which gets lounge access on international SkyTeam flights including Delta. (Thanks to FM)

Happy Thursday!

A notorious churner’s Seattle NFL season rented “condo”, which houses a family of 4.