1. Do this now: Register for a targeted United MilePlay promotion. I got “Book and take a trip* in a premium seat three times to earn 50,000 bonus miles.”

    What’s that asterisk, you say? Apparently a trip only counts if it costs $600+ before taxes and fees.
  2. The American Express Platinum and Business Platinum cards continue their march toward the soft embrace of mediocrity, but now at a higher cost to make up for it? On September 18, the cards will:

    – Offer a January – June $300 FHR or THC stay credit
    – Offer a July – December $300 FHR or THC stay credit
    – Increase the annual fee to $895
    – Restrict the 35% points rebate to only the selected airline (Business only)

    If your card renewal date is post September 18, I think you’ll be subject to the higher annual fee although that’s not yet confirmed. If you think these changes suck, you and I think alike. If you’re a serial FHR user or abuser who never flies paid premium cabins outside of a single US airline, there’s value here outside of a sign up bonus I suppose. (Thanks to DDG)
  3. We have details for Alaska’s new premiums credit card based on a leaked terms and conditions PDF. The likely sign-up bonus is 105,000 miles and a global 25,000 point companion award after $6,000+ spend in 90 days. The card’s important vitals:

    – Annual fee: $395
    – 3x on Alaska and Hawaiian flights
    – 3x on dining and foreign purchases, 1x elsewhere
    – 10% points bonus with an “eligible” Bank of America account
    – 0.5x status points (1 per $2 spent, regardless of multiplier)
    – 10,000 status points annually
    – Two lounge and WiFi passes every quarter
    – Free same-day changes
    – Global 100,000 companion award after $60,000 spend each card member year

    The actionable part of this rumorlet? Start lowering credit lines and closing cards as necessary to make approvals easy if you want this card, especially because you can probably spend your way toward top status. If you’re a hoser gamer with a business, maybe that’s even better.

Have a nice weekend!

Now just make this a business.

  1. Do this now: Register for Marriott Homes and Villas promotion for double points on three night stays or longer though December 31.
  2. Kroger stores have a 4x fuel points coupon on third party gift cards excluding Amazon and fuel retailer cards, and on fixed value Visas and Mastercards starting tomorrow and running through Sunday evening Kroger time.
  3. There are new, targeted no-lifetime language (NLL) Hilton card links:

    – Aspire: 150,000 points after $6,000 spend in six months
    – Surpass: 130,000 points after $3,000 spend in six months
    – Honors: 80,000 points after $2,000 spend in six months

    Of course BBT can trump NLL, but only if you’re KOOL. Yes, I’m making up acronym(s) now. (Thanks to DDG)
  4. The Capital One Venture card has a new offer via referral of 75,000 points plus a $300 travel credit with some referral links. Use a friend’s referral if they have one, or reach out to me and I’ll share one from a random community member.
  5. The Capital One Spark Cash card has a $1,000 sign-up bonus after $10,000 spend in three months and the annual fee is waived for the first year. Unlike most business cards and indeed other Capital One business cards, this will report to your personal credit report. (Thanks to jetcruise0707)

Happy Thursday!

A helpful acronym for evaluating deals, especially as related to the American Express Plum card.

  1. Do this now: Register for IHG’s promotion for 10,000 bonus points for two night (plus) stays through September 30, maximum of 30,000 bonus points.

    If you really want to hack this and don’t value your life, Motel 6 continues to be an IHG brand.
  2. The Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard has a targeted sign-up bonus of 70,000 points after $1,000+ in three months, and carries no annual fee.

    Note: This offer was emailed to certain members, but I was able to extract the link and strip away the member specific identifying parts of the URL. I don’t think the link is risky, but always know a link’s provenance.
  3. Citi ThankYou has a 25% transfer bonus for Leading Hotels of the World’s Leaders Club through August 23. If you haven’t looked into Leading Hotels of the World, this is probably a good opportunity.
  4. Chase Offers has a widely targeted offer for 10% back on up to $400+ at Southwest.com through September 12.
  5. American Express Offers has a targeted offer for $200 back after $1,000+ at Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, or LXR properties through December 31.

Happy Wednesday!

Motel 6s (pictured) don’t catch on fire too often, statistically speaking.

Generally, the quickest way to move cleared funds between deposit accounts in the US is via wire transfers. Churners often like wires because:

  • Limits are huge
  • Funds are guaranteed (they can’t bounce)
  • Fees are often minimal

Wires have a dark side though: For the exact same reasons that they’re useful for a churner, they’re risky for a sending bank. Because of that risk banks often have fraud analysts look at your wire and your account activity before releasing funds, and if you play lots of manufactured spend related games, I’m guessing a fraud analyst won’t like what they see.

I get a report at least monthly from someone who had a bank or credit union shutdown after sending a wire, so keep your activity, bank history, and profile in mind before sending one from an account you care about.

Happy Tuesday!

An analyst looks into an infamous churner’s deposit account.

  1. Staples has fee-free $200 Mastercard gift cards through Saturday, limit nine per transaction.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  2. Meijer MPerks has a promotion for 10,000 MPerks points with $100+ in One4All gift cards, other than Giving Good and Ultimate flavors, which is good because those cards taste gross.

    Home Depot is still available on other One4All cards though. (Thanks to GCA)
  3. The Barclays JetBlue Plus Mastercard has an increased offer for 60,000+20,000 TrueBlue points and a waived annual fee after $1,000 spend in 90 days and $6,000 spend in the first year, respectively, beating last week’s offer by a full $99.

    Use promo code 31337, 07734, or 58008 (if you’ve got a fifth grade mindset) during the application.
  4. Capital One Shopping brought back eBay as a redemption option, and in the last month has steeped up its targeted, heightened offers in many manufactured spender friendly stores. For a refresher on getting discounts, see Capital One Shopping: Manufactured Discounts.

Happy Monday!

The approximate flavor of Giving Good gift cards: banana dipped in old chili.

  1. American Express has newly targeted offers for the Delta SkyMiles cards, and they’re pulling up different offers based on the browser used, device type, IP address, and probably the last type of beverage you had. The best offers seem to be:

    – Personal: Gold 80,000 SkyMiles, Platinum 90,000 SkyMiles, Reserve 100,000 SkyMiles
    – Business: Gold 90,000 SkyMiles, Platinum 110,000 SkyMiles, Reserve 125,000 SkyMiles

    Both the personal and business gold cards have a waived first year annual fee. (Thanks to FM)
  2. Hilton for Business has a relatively lame tie-in with Delta Skymiles for Business: Enroll in SkyMiles Business with promo SM4BHLTN by August 31, link your Hilton for Business account, then book and fly a revenue flight in 90 days to receive a $50 Delta eCredit.
  3. Raley’s, Nob Hill, and Bel Air stores have an unadvertised promotion for 15x points on Choice cards through Tuesday. If these stores sold electronics this could be a deal of the year, but instead it’s effectively just a discount hot dog machine.

    Obviously some Choice cards are better than others, but if you’re lucky you’ll find some that convert to BestBuy and Home Depot, both of which are currently reselling at 93%+. (Thanks to Bill)
  4. The MooMoo brokerage, one of only four US brokerages founded and operated by cows, has several stackable promotions:

    – Tiered NVDA stock worth up to $1,000 for brining up to $50,000 in new money and holding for 60 days
    – 8.1% APR on up to $20,000 in a cash account for 90 days, then 4.1%
    – An ACATS match of 3% on up to $20,000 in transferred stock held for at least 60 days
    – $40 back at several portals for a new account

    Believe it or not, this is on the simple end of MooMoo gaming. (Thanks to DoC)

Have a nice weekend!

Hot dogs from a discount hot dog machine.

  1. AA’s status match, err I guess “Instant Status Pass”™®©, is back. Matchers from other programs will have status for four months, and a fast track to qualification for the current elite year.

    The current program awards top-tier Executive Platinum status for Delta Diamonds and United 1Ks too. (Thanks to yoshi)
  2. AA and Hyatt’s reciprocal elite status match and fast track programs are back too:

    – Hyatt status for AA elites (register by October 31)
    – AA status for Hyatt elites, targeted (register by September 4)

    You can link your Hyatt and AA programs here if you haven’t already done so. (Thanks to MikeDCA)
  3. Stater Bros stores have $10 off of groceries in the same transaction as $50+ in Visa or Mastercard gift cards through August 12.

    These are Pathward gift cards.
  4. Alaska has a new MileagePlan membership promotion for a $25 or $50 discount code depending on your residence running through December 31:

    – $50 for Alaska, California, or Hawaii residents
    – $25 for everyone else

    Let me preface this by saying I don’t think $50 off of an Alaska is worth gaming and I wouldn’t risk my Alaska loyalty account over $50 either, but let’s pour one out for all the extra Alaska accounts created for us from Bank of America’s top notch IT integration.
  5. Air Canada’s Aeroplan is:

    – Introducing three new mileage acronyms: status qualifying credits (SQCs), status qualifying segments (SQSs), and status qualifying dollars (SQDs)
    – Awarding redeemable miles based on ticket cost
    – Giving 25k status for new Aeroplan cardmembers
    – Awarding 35k status with $75,000 spend on the Aeroplan Mastercard annually

    I had a really hard time not writing ‘stupid’ instead of ‘status’ for each of those new acronyms, but I held back. I do hope going forward your internal monologue will read the first ‘S’ in those acronyms as ‘stupid’ though.
  6. Like the Barclays JetBlue Business Mastercard mentioned yesterday, two Barclays Jetblue personal Mastercards also have increased sign-up bonuses:

    – JetBlue Premier: 80,000 TrueBlue miles and 5 tiles after $5,000 spend in 90 days
    – JetBlue Plus: 60,000+20,000 TrueBlue miles after $1,000 spend in the first 90 days and $7,000 spend in the first year

    Both also require that you pay the annual fee because reasons.

Always be probing.

SQS indeed.

  1. AirCanada has a targeted offer for Chase Sapphire Reserve card holders for a 5,000 point Aeroplan Rewards Certificate, which reduces the cost of a flight award by 5,000 points. You’ve got until August 18 to register, and the certificate is good for a year.

    This works on both business and personal Sapphire Reserves, but not everyone is targeted. (Thanks to IronDukey)
  2. The Barclays JetBlue Business Mastercard has an increased sign-up bonus of 80,000 TrueBlue points after $2,000 spend and paying the $99 annual fee within 90 days.

    Side note: How many people paid everything but the $99 fee and let the bill default, causing this rule?
  3. Citi Shop Day offers 20x rewards when shopping through the Citi Shop browser extension to several online retailers, including buyer’s club favorites like BestBuy and Kohls. Watch for exclusions though, they’re real and they’re not spectacular.
  4. US Bank is sending bonuses for spend in August and September, registration required. Check for email from [email protected]:

    – $50 statement credit after 10 transactions
    – $100 statement credit after 20 transactions
    – $150 statement credit after 30 transactions

    To qualify, each transaction must be $75+, making this a bonus 6.67% cash back in addition to regular rewards for maximizers. (Thanks to Jonathan)
  5. Alaska is adding flights ton London, England and Reykjavik, Iceland from Seattle in Spring 2026 on 787-900 and a 737-MAX8 aircraft respectively, and these will likely be easy awards for the first couple of weeks that they’re bookable.

    I wouldn’t want to fly the Iceland route for eight hours on a domestically configured narrow body aircraft, but you do you, dear traveler.
  6. Safeway, Albertsons, Vons, and other Just4U stores have a coupon 10x points on Zift Zillions through Saturday, as reported a couple of days ago. Starting today, there’s an additional $10 grocery certificate with $50+ purchased on various gift cards, including Zift Zillions cards, limit one per transaction.

    Obviously if you thought 10x was good on its own, 10x + $10 in a slightly annoying to use grocery certificate is slightly better. (Thanks to SideShowBob233)
  7. Southwest has a paid and award sale for 40% off of base fares booked by tomorrow night with promo code LUVFALL, a promo code obviously created to celebrate their fall from grace.

    The concept of “base fares” didn’t used to matter much with Southwest, but now that we’re in the “Southwest-is-basically-Ryanair” era of travel, I’d like to share a reminder that anything not included in the fare itself won’t be discounted, like seat selection fees and checked bag fees. Sometimes booking a bundle that’s 40% off that includes seats and checked bags in the fare is cheaper than booking basic and paying for add-ons, but only sometimes.

Happy Wednesday!

LUV’s fall from grace, illustrated.