These are Pathward / BlackHawk Network gift cards.
There are multiple reports that Cardless now allows holding three cards. You can’t get the Celtics card anymore, so just make sure you dial back that enthusiasm by 8x, or is it 6x?
– 140,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months – 60,000 points after $9,000 spend in six months
This should also be available via referrals in a couple of days. (Thanks to ArchEveNix)
Wyndham is updating its hotel award tiers on April 15. Apparently 8% of hotels are moving to a lower tier and 4% to a higher tier. That means you’ve got until April 14 to book any Wyndham aspirational stays in anticipation of the price increasing.
I’d like to see the same numbers out of Hyatt in May. I’d also like a new, free Gulfstream Jet which seems equally likely.
Every one of these has a way to manufactured spend your way to your $1,500 quarterly. I’d suggest knocking these out on day one so you don’t have to think about them, but you do you.
– Have or had a Chase Marriott card in the last 30 days – Opened an American Express Boundless, Bold, or Bountiful card in the last 90 days – Got a sign-up bonus for a new Boundless, Bold, or Bountiful in the last 24 months
Can gamers still game? Undoubtedly. Or should I say, Bundoutably?
– $100 back on $600+ in Chase Travel spend – 10% back on up to $320 spend at Best Western properties
Look, not all Best Western properties are bad, but also there’s a reason that we poke fun at them.
Wells Fargo launched two new versions of the Autograph Journey card for Premier clients, but in-app only. They’re exactly like the regular Autograph Journey cards, except for:
– There’s a 100,000 point sign-up bonus instead of a 60,000 point sign-up bonus – There are different colors available – They’re more, uhhh, fun
There’s still a $2,500 Wells Fargo Premier banking bonus through April 14 and brokerage accounts work for it too, so if the fun of the Autograph Journey gold edition moves the needle, I bet it moves even more with a cool $2,500 added on.
Alaska Atmos has a coach award sale for flights booked by February 27 and flown through May 12. Because Alaska is trying to be like the other major US carriers, they added blackout dates around spring break too:
– Helsinki Finland: 17,500 miles each way – Copenhagen Denmark and Vienna Austria: 20,000 miles each way – Hokkaido Japan: 20,000 miles each way – Munich Germany and Prague Check Republic: 30,000 miles each way
If you’re cool with flying coach: (a) uh, wow; and (b) check cash fares before booking, they’re often pretty cheap right now.
Happy Thursday friends!
Wells Fargo marketing shows off fun outfit ideas for your new fun credit card.
– Accor ALL points are worth a fixed 2 eurocents, or approximately 2.4 cents – You can transfer Accor ALL to Qantas at a 1:1.25 ratio – For more on the program, see the MEAB FAQette.
Honestly, if you’ve decided to get out of the Bilt ecosystem this is probably the best case cash-out you could hope for, at least assuming you travel outside of the US.
I wouldn’t normally write about content monster fodder like this, but I’m too happy to see it gone to help myself. So:
Chase had a few other categories that weren’t mentioning to, but clearly I do want to mention that I didn’t mention them.
Do this now (if you have a Chase United card): Check for targeted spend offers. Most are an extra 2x, 2.5x, or 3x up for between $2,000 and $10,000 in spend.
– A Kate Spade churner shopping spree (buying miles at 0.4 cents each is a steal; and oh yeah, you get a bag too) – A quick examination of Kate Spade return policies – Some happy P1 and P2 Kate Spade fans – Sadness, when the portals actually tracked at 2x-4x
If you’re stuck holding both the literal and metaphorical bag, I’d suggest first opening a case with the portal, but know that it probably won’t go anywhere. Next, I’d reach out to Kate Spade directly, which also probably won’t go anywhere. Finally, either consider whether the miles are worth your time to pursue even further, or just return your purchase. If you want to chat with others about the issue, I’ve created a Telegram group for discussion, it’s open to all churners but meant to be specific to this issue, not a long lived general room.
The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, which has been nominated as a MEAB Unsung Hero but is still stuck in committee, sent year long spend bonuses for the third year in a row. We saw:
– $160 back on $2,000 spend at gas, grocery, or dining (monthly) – $150 back on $1,500 spend at gas, grocery or dining (monthly) – $120 back on $1,200 spend at gas, grocery or dining (monthly) – 5% back on up to $1,600 spend at lots of places with lots of merchant codes (monthly)
A few notes: $160 * 12 months = $1,920, and you also earn ThankYou points. Also, unfortunately no you can’t apply for this card. (Thanks to Matt M, Michael, and K)
– Business: Orlando, Montreal, St. Martin – Premium Economy: Chicago, Seattle, and Mexico City – Economy: New York, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas
There are business class opportunities in my spot checks on some of the economy and premium economy cities too, but they’re sparse.
Happy Monday!
Pictured: The MEAB Unsung Hero committee in deep deliberation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you sent me an email, message, or something else over the last week and a half, I probably haven’t gotten to it yet. It’s not you, it’s me; well, it’s me and a disconnected international trip.
– 6% or 6x at Walgreens – 1% or 1x at Food Lion – 1% or 1x at Giant – 1% or 1x at Martin’s
Remember, it’s not just credit cards that link to Rakuten. You’ve got to re-add the offer an hour after its first use, though any purchases within that hour are still active. These offers generally aren’t supposed to work for gift cards, but “supposed to” and “the real world” don’t always align. (Thanks to Douglas)
The Citi ThankYou Mastercard, formerly the Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, continues its predecessor’s reign in the Unsung Heroes realm, and it continues to taunt churners who don’t have the card since you can’t currently apply for it. Offers for those with the card were sent for:
– $50 statement credit after $450 spend, twice monthly for three months
For #mathchallenged: $50*2*3 =$300. Also, e^{i*\pi}=-1 (just thought you’d want to know). (Thanks to Adam)
– 75,000 miles after $4,000 spend in three months – 25,000 miles after $20,000 spend in 12 months – 1.5x on 1x spend through January 15, 2026 up to 20,000 miles
I think banks shouldn’t make you pull out a calculator for a sign-up bonus personally either, but welcome to #2025 again.
The Rove shopping portal, notable for its transferability to Lufthansa Miles & More, has a promotion through Black Friday for 4x-5x at giftcards.com.
If you’re not a member of Rove, use a friend’s referral link. If you don’t have a friend with Rove, reach out to me and I’ll send you a random churner’s link.
Giftcards.com has a $10 gift card with the purchase of $100+ in Visa gift cards with promo code VISABOGO. This code is appearing on most shopping portals, so it should stack with portal earning.
– You’ve still got a few days to earn if this is interesting to you – To decide if it’s interesting, would you trade 1.50-2.00 Avios for a Hyatt point?
Even with a big Hyatt balance, I’d generally still answer the second question with a definite “yuuup”.
Royal Air Maroc has a paid status match opportunity for non-US frequent flyer elites (that is, they’re not matching US airline status). Matches to Gold ($349) get oneworld Sapphire and to Platinum ($749) get oneworld Emerald status though the end of 2026.
Both will get you access to AA and Alaska lounges even when flying domestically with either airline. (Thanks to David)
There are two niche hotel promotions, register for either or both if there’s any chance of you staying with either program in the next quarter:
I’ve been told Best Western has some really nice properties, but I’ve personally yet to see one. I can confirm however that Preferred Hotels does have some really nice properties.
Happy Wednesday, safe travels!
The kind of quirk you should expect from the US Bank shopping portal.
