Search Results for: barclays

Giftcards.com

Giftcards.com has had a storied past with shopping portals, with rules that spanned the entire distance between “rewards on nothing” and “rewards on everything”, and plenty of stops in-between. Most recently, they’ve only awarded spend on a rolling $20,000 in purchases in a rolling 365 day period. Terms didn’t make it clear about whether that was per loyalty account, per shopping portal, per giftcards.com account, or something else. While science made progress in answering the question, the point is now moot because that weird language is gone. All the major airline shopping portals have reverted to the following terms:

Orders over $2,000.00 are not eligible. To qualify for rewards, you must complete your purchase within the same session you start the purchase without exiting your browser. Opening a new tab or returning later will result in rewards not tracking.

Changing it again is a bold strategy Cotton, we’ll have to see if it pays off for them.

Barclays+[Frontier,JetBlue,Arrival+]

Today, Barclays has both card linked and shopping portal offers for card holders under a program named “Barclays Simple Earn”. Maybe giftcards.com will show up here too? I’ve been able to find press releases about Frontier, JetBlue, and Arrival+ cards, but I’d be surprised if they don’t show up on AA and Hawaiian co-brand cards even though both will soon be leaving the Barclays portfolio.

Barlcays has had “Barclays Card Rewards Boost” for a long time, and from the outside it appears to be run by the exact same technology and backend provider as the US Bank shopping portal. My educated guess is that they’ll use the exact same thing for co-brand cards, so tricks that work at US Bank’s portal will probably work here too. (Thanks to David)

Southwest T-0

Today is the last day for the old Southwest way of doing things. Basically, you’ve got until midnight in who-knows-which timezone to do the following:

  • Book travel that includes free bags on all fares
  • Consolidate Ticketless Travel Funds (TTF) now, because they’ll have expirations if issued after today
  • Book Wanna Get Away or Wanna Get Away+ fares before they pumpkin
  • Convert LUV vouchers to flight credits which are transferrable and have no expiration
  • Add any companions to existing reservations to ensure they’ve got old-school benefits too

Thanks to Southwest guru Brian M for the comprehensive list!

Happy Tuesday!

Giftcards.com’s analysis team uses cutting edge technology to calculate its optimum rewards strategy.

  1. Do this now: Register for Choice Hotels’ Summer promotion for 5,000 points – 8,000 points after two stays through September 2, with the variance being based on the hotel you stay in.
  2. Barclays launched its version of the GM Mastercard with a 30,000 point after $1,000 spend in 90 days sign-up bonus and 3x everywhere earning.

    The Marcus version of this card had a better bonus and earns 4x everywhere. The Marcus cards will convert to Barclays cards soon, but the earning structure for conversions is unclear.
  3. American Express offers has an offer for $100 back on $500+ at participating Wyndham properties through October 31. Gamers gonna (spooky) game.
  4. Virgin Atlantic has 20% off of award tickets on its own metal for travel between the US and the UK through September 30 booked by May 27.
  5. Alaska has a paid fare sale for flights to and from Mexico, Central America, Hawaii, and Florida for travel between August 12 and November 19 using promo code GETAWAY25 and booked by tomorrow night.

    Although the terms and conditions don’t mention a cabin restriction, I was only able to make the promo work on economy tickets.

Happy Wednesday!

GM points cover up to $750 on used GM vehicles, which means this beauty might be within reach.

  1. Do this now: Make any Hyatt award bookings today that fit your schedule before the award chart is retooled tomorrow and lots of hotels go up in redemption cost. Most award bookings have great cancelation policies, so even speculative bookings probably make sense.
  2. Turkish Airlines and Hilton have a promotion (registration required) for 1,000 bonus Turkish miles for stays through June 30, provided you set Turkish as your preferred travel partner in your Hilton profile. For new Hilton accounts, you earn 1,000 Turkish miles for each stay, but for existing Hilton accounts can you only earn the bonus once.
  3. The Chase IHG Premier Business card has an increased tiered sign-up bonus:

    – 140,000 points after $4,000 spend in three months
    – 60,000 points after $9,000 spend in six months

    The $99 annual fee is not waived for the first year.
  4. The Barclays Aviator Red Card has an increased sign-up bonus of 70,000 AAdvantage miles after making a single purchase and paying the $95 annual fee.

    The best ongoing use case for this card used to be converting it to an AAdvantage Silver after a year, but because Citi will be the exclusive card issuer in 2026, that ship has probably sailed for new applicants. Instead, the best use beyond the sign-up bonus is probably to get a higher (or initial) credit line at Citi after the takeover.
  5. The Chase Sapphire Preferred (100,000 Ultimate Rewards), United Explorer (80,000 MileagePlus miles), and United Business (150,000 MileagePlus miles) cards’ increased sign-up bonuses are live today.
  6. Staples has fee-free $200 Mastercards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  7. Since it’s launch in 2021, I’ve thought the Chase United Quest Card was stupid, but it just keeps getting stupider and I’m convinced the product development team for the card lives in an alternate plane of existence. The annual fee has increased to $350, and there are new stupid credits to, uh, justify (?) the stupid increase:

    – $5 monthly Instacart credit, plus $10 one time Instacart credit
    – $150 in credits at stupid Renowned Hotels and Resorts
    – $8 in monthly rideshare credits, except in December when it’s $12
    – $150 in stupid JSX purchases
    – Small TravelBank credits for your first two rentals with Avis or Budget, but only using the United AWD which has generally inflated prices

    This is probably a good change for exactly three cardholders on the planet, and bravo to you if you’re one of them.

An amusement park in the United Quest Card team’s alternate plane of existence.

  1. There are two Hawaiian credit cards issued by different banks that each have a sign-up bonus of 70,000 HawaiianMiles after a single purchase, and each has a $99 annual fee:

    – Bank of Hawaii
    – Barclays

    Since these are two separate banks it’s easy to hold both, and since both transfer to Alaska MileagePlan, they’re both actually good bonuses. (Thanks to bb)
  2. There’s a new no-lifetime language (NLL) link for the American Express Business Gold card for 200,000 Membership Rewards after $15,000 spend, and it’s largely popup resistant. This modified link isn’t risk free, but is probably low risk.
  3. The American Express Delta Gold personal card has a sign-up bonus of 50,000 SkyMiles after $3,000 spend in six months and a $500 statement credit after making a purchase of any size with Delta within six months available on the checkout page when making a flight booking, even if you don’t complete the payment.

    The annual fee is also waived in the first year, and you get a $100 somewhat easily gameable Delta Stays credit too.
  4. The Chime Prepaid card has a $600 opening bonus, $500 provided by InboxDollars (or $525 for new accounts) and $100 provided by Chime, for opening a new account and receiving two direct deposits of $200 or more each within 30 days.

Happy Monday!

How do you tell the two Hawaiian cards apart? One has glasses, duh.

If you missed yesterday’s post because I can’t tell the difference between AM and PM, please find it here. If you missed it for some other reason, well, I don’t know what to tell you.

Anyhoodles:

  1. I heard from about a dozen people yesterday that the Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card was being converted to a generic Citi ThankYou Points card; let’s just say don’t believe everything you read on the internet. There are multiple variants of this card, and I believe only the old Sears Silver version one is affected. Nothing to see here, move along.

    Since no one asked, I bet this happened because Sears is a dead brand and Citi was up for contract renewal on the co-brand trademark, then decided that even $2 to maintain the co-brand wasn’t worth it. (Thanks to Eugene)
  2. The IHG Business program, which is free to register for, is offering double points on stays booked by June 30 for stays through November 30. Registration also includes elite night credits for spend in multiples of $3,000 which might be applicable to exactly two of you. (Thanks to FM)
  3. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Mastercard card has an increased offer for 70,000 bonus miles after $1,000 spend in 90 days.
  4. Staples stores have fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  5. Stop & Shop, Giant, and Martins stores have 8x points on Zillions Zift gift cards through Thursday, limit $2,000 per account. Giant Foods does too, except at 4x because reasons. The current Pepper climate means that ebay gift cards are usually the best conversion for bulk resellers from the Zillions of Zift options. (How is was that even a valid sentence? Churning is weird.)

Have a nice weekend friends!

A churner descends into madness while trying to redeem Zillions Zifts.

How about that sports ball yesterday, amirite? That was [awesome / awful] (choose one). Anyway:

  1. There’s a new link for getting a $75 Uber voucher with a new Clear sign-up bonus using promo code VDAY25, a promo code that’s clearly named for Veterans Day on the 25th. These promotions are effectively a way to turn a nearly worthless American Express $199 credit into a $75 credit that’s actually worth about $50.

    Even though the language says that enrolling at airport is required after registering online, that’s never been enforced prior and probably won’t be this time either, just ask your aunt, dog, or lampshade.
  2. There are two shopping portal bonuses for airline portals:

    – United MileagePlus Shopping: 500 bonus miles for $150+ spend through today
    – Alaska Mileage Plan Shopping: 500 bonus miles for $150+ spend through Friday

    Obviously you should hit these in a particular order, perhaps even with giftcards.com.
  3. The American Express Marriott Bonvoy business card has a heightened sign-up bonus of 125,000 points after $8,000 spend in six months. I prefer points only offers on this card to its low-cap free-night certificate bonus offers, but 125,000 Marriott points won’t even get a single night at some hotels so there’s that.
  4. British Airways has a 20% transfer bonus for incoming miles from Chase Ultimate Rewards through March 31. The bonus isn’t instant, expect it to take 24+ hours.

    Because Avios transfer freely between British Airways and other Avios airlines, this is really a transfer bonus for FinnAir, Qatar, Ibera, and Aer Lingus too.
  5. The Barclays Hawaiian credit card has a sign-up bonus of 70,000 bonus miles after making a single purchase and paying the $99 annual fee. You need to enter a random flight attendant code, like 001111 (which is binary for 15 because that’s how many people will find that joke funny).

    Because Hawaiian miles transfer freely to Alaska, this is really a great sign-up bonus for a Alaska miles. This product will turn into a pumpkin soon so it’s getting close to now or never.
  6. The American Express Delta Business cards have new heightened sign-up bonuses (the personal ones have been heightened since January 17):

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

    Each of these cards have Delta Stays credits, and since they’re business cards you’re not stuck with the same product for the first year due to the CARD act.
  7. American Express Offers has a targeted card-linked offer for a $60 statement credit on $300+ in spend at Hilton properties. Gamers gonna game in multiple ways.

Happy Monday!

Celebrating yesterday’s win.

EDITOR’S NOTE:Some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts during the holiday break in 2024 and now on Saturdays in early 2025. Special thanks to today’s author, Sam from both HelpMeBuildCredit.com and from the amazing CardRight credit card tracking app. Have a nice weekend!

I enjoyed many of the other guest posts, but based on the length, it seems like there’s a competition of who can write the lengthiest post. (It also looks like there’s a competition for the longest name – if your name is long enough, why add 233 at the end?:)!

I love that Matt’s posts are short and sweet (short enough that I can read them in the same amount of time it takes me to finish my morning coffee.) I decided to write this guest post short and sweet as well- Matt style. 

OK, let’s dive into the post, because I’m already a quarterway through my coffee.

Over the last few years, I’ve been maximizing an extra 5% or so back on my credit card spend by utilizing 0% APR offers on credit cards.

This topic is something that I feel is not being written enough about. Especially with today’s high interest rates, it’s definitely something that someone in the churning game should explore.

I swipe my daily personal and business expenses on 0% APR credit cards that offer interest-free periods of up to 21 months.

Then, instead of using the cash in my bank account to pay the balances, I put the cash into a high-yield savings account. I only pay up the card balance once the 0% APR period on the card is up.

So ultimately, the bank is giving me rewards for swiping, potentially a welcome bonus as well, plus an interest-free loan, and at the same time, they’re letting me earn the interest by me putting my money into a savings account.

I currently have close to $200k in high-yield savings accounts, earning me over 5% interest!

I find Raisin to be a good resource for finding the best high-yield savings accounts and HelpMeBuildCredit’s Ultimate Credit Card Finder is a good resource for finding the best 0% APR credit cards (they list all cards, both affiliated and not).

Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind

  • I try to focus mostly on business cards rather than on personal cards. A balance on a personal credit card will affect your credit, while a balance on a business card will not.
  • Don’t confuse offers for 0% APR on balance transfers with 0% APR on purchases. You should be looking for cards with 0% APR on purchases.
  • Be extremely careful not to make a single late payment, as even one can cause you to lose the 0% APR promo.
  • Be super organized and responsible, otherwise you will lose more than you will gain.
  • The Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited are really great for this, as they offer both a great welcome bonus and 0% APR for 12 months (and they are business cards). 
  • As a bonus tip, (since I still have one sip left in my coffee), once the 0% APR period on a card expires, you can transfer the card balance to a new card with 0% APR on balance transfers and gain an additional 12 months or so of 0% APR on that same balance.

Most cards have a 3% fee to transfer balances, which is still worth paying with today’s rates. But I found one card (on the website mentioned above) that surprisingly has no balance transfer fee, plus is a business card, and has 12 months 0% apr. It’s the Edward Jones Business Plus Mastercard. I plan on getting it now to roll the dice and knock over my coffee, but ultimately, to get another 12 months of interest and laugh all the way to the bank.

– Sam

A barista makes Sam’s morning coffee.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m on an annual blogging vacation for the last two weeks of the year. To make sure you still have content, some of the smartest members of the community have stepped up with guest posts in my absence. Special thanks to shredder05 for a compelling origin story. I’ll see you on January 1!  If you’re interested in writing a guest post, please reach out!

I stumbled into the world of credit card churning almost a decade ago while still in grad school. My partner and I were strapped for cash, but I wanted to travel. With minimal expenses, I had to quickly learn how to manufacture spend.

My first big play was getting two SPG cards at the same time, each with a $7,500 spend requirement. Back then, Visa gift cards easily loaded to Venmo, and my genius plan was to run all $15,000 through them in $500 increments. I was quickly banned. I wasted those points as a grad school graduation present to myself at Atlantis in the Bahamas. But those SPG points and a shutdown from Venmo marked the start of realizing the potential of credit card churning.

I finished the SPG spend requirements by grinding out one $500 money order at a time, when I probably should have been studying. I realized it was a viable way to generate cash. After graduating, I decided to focus on churning full-time. Over the years, I’ve managed to turn it into a respectable income. Throughout those 10 years, I have lost many “plays,” but I have continued to find new ones.

I moved on from money orders and figured out ways to mostly manufacture spend (MS) from home, even with shutdowns from multiple banks. RIP Chase, Barclays, SoFi, PNC, and Capital One. And I’ve survived the death of many plays, including buying money orders with credit cards, honeymoon funds, Plastiq, PPK, credit card debit codings, and countless others. Every time a play dies or I get shutdown, I think it’s the end. But after those few days of grief, I think I love the pressure and search of finding a new play the most. Those are the best days in this hobby. There is always something else.

Sometimes I get insecure about doing this full-time. It’s easy for people to question and judge, and it’s not a job my parents can brag to their friends about. I’m grateful for my partner who provides my health insurance and has always been my biggest supporter of doing this. And I’m grateful for the friends who have helped me along the way; there have been many. Through hitting milestone statuses and plays dying, I’ve learned that the key to success in credit card churning is resilience, creativity, and fostering relationships. There’s always a new opportunity around the corner, and the thrill of finding the next great play keeps me motivated. Most importantly, there is always someone who is willing to help you. I don’t recommend sharing plays with large groups of people, but message that person you occasionally talk to and brainstorm together. This might not be a conventional career path, but it’s one that brings me joy and has led me to have meaningful, lasting relationships. And ultimately, that’s what matters most.

– Shredder05

Screenshot of Shredder05’s phone, circa 2017.