My wife and I recently spent a lovely eight days on the Greek island of Crete. Neither of us had been before, but we knew a few people who had and who all enjoyed their trips there.

We hadn’t originally planned on visiting Crete this year, but when I had some Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® (FHR) credits to burn last year, a property in Crete showed up on FHR with reasonable pricing for dates over my birthday, so we decided to turn it into a vacation.

Well, a working vacation as I didn’t take any time off during the eight days we stayed there. As a result, we didn’t explore the island as much as we might have had this been pure vacation/exploration time.

Still, we had a wonderful time in Crete, so here’s everything that we got up to, as well as a few other places we didn’t make it to but which seemed worth highlighting.

How we got to Crete

Shae and I live in the north of England and our closest “major” airport is Newcastle. Ryanair operates seasonal nonstop flights between Newcastle and Chania; I can’t remember if they weren’t bookable for our flight out (we visited Crete in late April/early May) or if the cost was just too expensive once taking into account seat selection and baggage fees, but we decided to fly out of London Heathrow. This had the added benefit of being able to spend a few days down south upon our return to meet up with some friends.

I ended up booking us award flights on British Airways as they have nonstop flights to Chania from both London Heathrow and London Gatwick; we picked Heathrow. I believe the one-way off-peak award cost was 15,000 Avios per person + $1 or $2 in taxes and fees. When booking with BA Avios, you can choose to redeem fewer Avios and pay more for taxes/fees. There are various thresholds and while the first one or two options usually represent poor value, at the third or fourth threshold you normally get much better value.

As a result, I selected the option that cost 9,250 Avios + $31 in taxes/fees. That meant we were paid ~$30 more per person, but saved 5,750 Avios per person which seemed like a good trade-off as it’s like buying Avios for 0.54 cents per point. Even better than that, I was able to pay for the $62 in taxes/fees on one of our Hilton Honors American Express Aspire cards. That has an up to $50 per quarter airline credit which, unlike Platinum/Business Platinum airline fee credits, can be used for airfare. That made our net cost $12, or $6 per person + 9,250 Avios which was a decent deal. I forget what the actual cash cost was, but redeeming Avios was definitely the better option.

For our return flight we did something somewhat similar, although we redeemed 11,750 Avios + $21 per person. If I recall correctly, with our flight to Crete the best value option was at the fourth threshold of increased taxes/fees, whereas on our way back it was at the third threshold, hence the difference. Again, the cash pricing made it worth redeeming Avios and we paid the $42 in taxes/fees with a different Hilton Aspire card which meant that was fully covered by the airline credit.

In case you’re not familiar with Crete, it has two main airports: Chania on the northwest end of the island and Heraklion on the northeast(ish) side. Crete is a surprisingly large island and it takes ~2.5 hours to drive between those two airports, so it’s definitely worth bearing in mind where you’re staying when choosing which of the two airports to fly in and out of.

There aren’t any nonstop flights between the US and Crete, but you can fly to Chania and/or Heraklion from most major airports in Europe, so you hopefully wouldn’t need to book a convoluted routing in order to get there from the US. The two airports are also served by many European low cost carriers, so it’s worth looking at those if you’re traveling light and there’s no reasonably priced award availability for that final leg.

How we got around

If you’re only looking to stay at your hotel/resort during your visit in Crete and it’s near one of the two airports, and/or you’re happy booking excursions where transport is included, you wouldn’t need to rent a car.

However, I’m incredibly glad that we did book a rental car in order to explore Crete where we wanted, when we wanted. I imagine rental car pricing is more expensive in the summer due to Crete’s popularity as a summer holiday destination for Europeans, but it was very reasonably priced for our travel dates.

For our eight days, we booked an economy car (a Kia Picanto) via Hertz which cost a total of $196.99 (plus $75 to add me as an additional driver). We booked that via Capital One Travel in order to use some of Shae’s $300 credits from her Venture X cards. There were slightly cheaper options if we wanted to drive a manual (stick-shift), but we prefer automatics. We also chose Hertz as they’re based at Chania airport rather than being off-site like some other major rental car companies (I believe Alamo was off-site).

Speaking of off-site rentals, there were also some much cheaper rentals available via rental car companies I’d never heard of that weren’t located at the airport. We drove past at least a couple of them on the way to our hotel. They might be perfectly trustworthy, but they were located in these random gravel parking lots a reasonable distance from the airport and gave shady used car salesperson vibes. Like I said, they might be perfectly trustworthy, but be aware of that in case you book one and wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into when rocking up in a shuttle at a dimly-lit lot late at night after a long travel day.

Where we stayed in Crete

Domes Noruz Chania

We spent the first five nights at Domes Noruz Chania, a property that’s part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection but which we booked through Amex FHR. The pricing was ~$265 per night which seemed like a good use of our FHR credits, although room rates can get much more expensive in the summer.

We booked the stay using a mix of hotel credits on both my cards and Shae’s. Now that Amex lets you enter another guest’s details as the main person staying, we entered my name for all five nights for a couple of reasons. One is that would mean there’d be fewer hassles with having to check out and back in each day.

The other reason is that because we booked via FHR rather than a standard Online Travel Agency (OTA), we were able to add my Marriott Bonvoy account number and have it link properly. In addition to earning Marriott points and elite night credits on the stay, it meant we’d receive elite benefits thanks to my Lifetime Platinum status.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our stay. Service was a little patchy, although that can probably be mostly attributed to the fact that the hotel had only opened for the season the day before our arrival. They did have great elite recognition though, from multiple welcome amenities to an additional cake and bottle of Prosecco on my birthday to a fantastic proactive upgrade of a two story ‘Wellness Loft 1 Bedroom Suite with pool view & whirlpool.’

You can read my full review of Domes Noruz Chania here.

JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa

When researching flights back to the UK at the end of our trip, there wasn’t any availability on what was originally due to be our final day in Crete, but there was availability a few days later.

As a result, we decided to extend our trip by a few days. There were quite a few points-bookable options in Chania, with the JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa particularly catching my eye. It’s a relatively new property (it opened in June 2025) and we’d never stayed at a JW Marriott before, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.

I reached 50 elite nights with Marriott last year (which included 15 nights from a personal Marriott card, 15 from a Marriott business card and 10 from the Marriott debit card in the UK) which meant I was able to select five Nightly Upgrade Awards as my 50 night Choice Benefit. I applied three of those to our reservation and it paid off as we were upgraded to a $1,000+ per night Executive Suite a few days before our stay.

As you can see in the photo above, the resort has stunning views and that’s seemingly the case no matter where you are on the property. It’s a beautifully-designed resort with three outdoor swimming pools (plus one inside). Two of those outdoor pools are heated which was perfect for our stay as we visited in the off-season; while we had mostly amazing weather while at Domes Noruz Chania, the weather turned during our three days at the JW Marriott and so we appreciated the warmer pools.

Although the service wasn’t up to par there either, the food was delicious and we had a nice, relaxing time. There’s no proper beach at this resort, although there is one just up the road. The incredibly rocky “beach” does have a raised wooden boardwalk with many cabanas though, so you can still enjoy the sun and sea views.

Check out my full review of the JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa here.

What we did in Crete

As I mentioned earlier, this was a working vacation and so we didn’t have too much time to get out and explore the island seeing as we also wanted to enjoy the resorts we were staying at. However, we did get to explore several interesting places on the island.

Old Venetian Port of Chania

This was one of the highlights for me as it’s such a charming part of town.

Parking is a nightmare if you’re not prepared; thankfully Shae had done some research beforehand and scoped out a larger parking lot. You can find it here on Google Maps if you want to get directions, but definitely don’t count on finding street parking and be prepared for narrow streets in downtown Chania.

It’s only a few minutes walk from that parking lot to the Old Venetian Port of Chania, taking you down quaint alleyways that make you feel like you’re in some kind of small Tuscan village.

The alleyway opened out to the port, with the area festooned with cafes, restaurants, and bars looking out at Chania Harbor View and the Lighthouse of Chania, with its wonderfully clear water in front of you.

Shae and I decided to walk around the harbor out to the lighthouse. If you do this, be sure to wear sunscreen and/or a hat; I made the mistake of not doing this and even though it was only ~70-75° that day, the sun was beating down and I ended up on the verge of sunburn, especially having buzzed most of my hair off the week before.

The walkway out to the lighthouse has three levels and you can walk on any depending on how high up you want to be’ I wouldn’t recommend the highest level though as it’s a long drop down onto rocks on the other side. There are also a few spots to explore the fortifications.

Looking back at the port from that vantage point was interesting because it gives you a perfect view of Crete’s landscape, with the shoreline and water in the foreground, hills behind, and mountains behind that. In addition to not being aware of how large Crete was before our visit, I hadn’t realized how varied its terrain and landscape is. Seeing snow on the mountains in an island in the Mediterranean was even more surprising to me.

In addition to the variety of restaurants and cafes in the port, there are lots of cute little stores as well, so it was a wonderful place to spend a few hours between when we checked out of Domes Noruz Chania and in to the JW Marriott.

Ancient Olive Tree of Vouves

About a 30 minute drive to the west of Chania is the Ancient Olive Tree of Vouves (find it here on Google Maps). It’s one of the oldest olive trees in the world and although it’s not known exactly how old it is (its heartwood has been lost which you’ll see in one of the photos below), it’s thought to be anything from 2,000-5,000 years old.

As you can see, the tree is massive: the circumference at its base is 12.55 meters (~41 feet). Despite being so old, it still produces olives. Olives ripen in the fall and winter, so we were too early to see any on the tree; its flowers were starting to bloom though.

In addition to the tree, on site there’s a cafe/gift shop, as well as a free, small museum with artifacts that have been used to grow and harvest olives over the years.

Outside there are other olive oil-producing artifacts including a grinding millstone, olive press, and more.

Arkoudiotissa Cave (AKA Bear Cave) & Katholikon Monastery (sort of)

When researching things to do in Crete, we saw that Arkoudiotissa Cave (commonly known as Bear Cave, but also sometimes Arkoudospilio Cave) and Katholikon Monastery weren’t too far to the north of the JW Marriott we’d be staying at, so on our penultimate day in Crete we made the relatively short drive up there to visit both of them.

Confession time: we should’ve done more research.

After parking in the free parking lot (find it here on Google Maps) and paying the €2.50 (~$3) per person entry fee, we started walking towards the cave as that was the first of the two attractions. We’d expected both locations to be a relatively short walk away, but that’s not the case.

The cave is closest and the rocky trail turned out to be about one mile in each direction. Be sure to wear good footwear as the terrain is extremely uneven. I was wearing flip-flops and was fine as I pretty much live in them and am used to walking/hiking in them, so the hike down and up wasn’t too much of an issue for me. For normal people who don’t live their life in flip-flops though, tennis shoes or hiking boots (if you’ve brought them with you) would be a more advisable option.

You’ll know when you’re approaching the cave as there are some ruins outside.

The cave can be found on the right hand side with the monastic structure outside and was once used as a temple to the goddess Artemis.

‘Arkoudiotissa’ means ‘she-bear’, hence its nickname of Bear Cave. It’s named this due to a large stalagmite inside that resembles a bear.

We’d seen the (somewhat nearby) Katholikon Monastery in the distance on the way down and originally wanted to visit that too.

Beforehand, we’d assumed the cave and that monastery were closer to each other than they actually are. The trail to the monastery looked like it went down into a gorge and was probably another three miles or more round trip. The hike down to Bear Cave had already taken longer than we’d anticipated and it was going to be almost all uphill on the way back, not to mention the fact that we hadn’t brought any water with us seeing as we’d figured it’d be a short stroll. We therefore decided against continuing over to the monastery and headed back to our car after visiting the cave. If you want to hike down to the monastery too, give yourself plenty of time and bring water.

Where we ate & drank in Crete

Something I want to note before sharing about where we ate and drank in Crete is how impressed we were by the service we received in all the following places. While the service we received at both hotels we stayed at wasn’t impressive, the service we received everywhere else was excellent. Servers were unfailingly genuine, warm, and welcoming, so it definitely gave us a much better impression of service in Crete than we’d have gotten had we just remained at the hotels/resorts.

Anoskeli Winery

To celebrate my birthday, we went wine tasting at Anoskeli Winery and had an amazing experience (find it here on Google Maps). On our 50 state road trip we went wine tasting at dozens of wineries around the US. We had some great experiences at some of those, but our time at Anoskeli was definitely one of the best overall wine tasting experiences we’ve ever had.

If you do go for a wine tasting at Anoskeli, be prepared to spend ~1.5 hours there—it’s not a quick tasting at a bar like at some wineries. Instead, we took a seat outside on their patio in the shade.

Before trying any wine, we got to do an olive oil tasting and were also provided with a plateload of sourdough bread.

That was followed up by a charcuterie plate for us to have during our wine tasting.

We then got to try five wines—one white, one rosé, two reds, and a red dessert wine—and they were all very nice.

The experience finished off with a shot of some kind of spirit which is made from leftover grapes.

The wine tasting experience was made even better by Efi and Johanna who served us; they were both friendly and welcoming and spoke excellent English which was helpful as neither Shae nor I speak Greek. The tasting was very reasonably priced too; I believe it cost €20 (~$23.25) per person which is cheaper than wine tastings in Napa, not to mention the fact that it included a charcuterie board, lots of bread, and an olive oil tasting.

If you’ll be staying in Chania and enjoy wine tasting, I’d highly recommend checking out Anoskeli. We ended up buying a bottle of wine to go, along with some olive oil and other stuff as gifts.

Cretan Brewery

After finishing up with our wine tasting, we were driving along and spotted a sign for Cretan Brewery and decided to make an impromptu stop there (find it here on Google Maps).

They had ~10 beers on tap and they offer flights, so I was able to try all of them. They were all much better than I was expecting and we had a lovely time sitting out on their deck in the shade, looking out over the avocado orchard below.

Seeing as it was my birthday, Shae offered to be the designated driver. Cretan Brewery had a number of local sodas available. She chose the one they described as being most like Sprite, although it was much more of a bubblegum flavor than Sprite-like.

Fork N’ Knife

When staying at Domes Noruz Chania, we had dinner at the hotel on our first and final nights, but the other three nights we ate out at nearby restaurants.

Unlike the JW Marriott that doesn’t have much within walking distance, Domes Noruz Chania is based in a neighborhood where there are tons of restaurants, cafes, and stores within a ten minute walk. That gave us the perfect opportunity to try out some local Greek/Cretan food.

The first restaurant we visited was called Fork N’ Knife (find it here on Google Maps). It’s owned and run by a husband and wife team and they provided excellent service. The husband was front of house, hustling from table to table, while his wife was the chef.

We started off with appetizers of pita bread with tzatziki and stuffed vine leaves. Both of these were tasty; we ended up having tzatziki with almost every dinner in Crete and it was all excellent—much better than store-bought tzatziki which is the only kind we’ve had in the past.

For our entrées, we both ordered a gyros plate that featured meat atop a pile of fries, more pita, and a side salad. This was mostly very good; the only downside was that the fries weren’t particularly crispy and, being topped with the meat, ended up being a little soggy. They didn’t taste bad though and we still enjoyed our meal.

Artemis Restaurant

The next night we wandered around a little to see if we could find a restaurant that caught our eye. It didn’t take long before we came upon the cute-looking Artemis Restaurant (find it here on Google Maps) which is on the grounds of Dionyssos Village Hotel Apartments. The outdoor seating looked out on their swimming pool and beautiful gardens.

Our friendly server brought over some bread and tzatziki to start things off.

We didn’t order any appetizers that evening which turned out to be a wise choice as the portion sizes for our entrées were very large.

I was interested in getting the Kleftiko which was tender fresh lamb leg with red onions, diced tomatoes, garlic, carrots, potatoes, thyme, feta cheese, pepper, and white wine. However, I don’t like cheese and it apparently wasn’t possible to get it without the feta due to the nature of how it’s prepared, so I went with their kebab instead which came with fries and pita.

The fries were like butterfly fries and were deliciously crispy—a much better texture than the fries at Fork N’ Knife. The kebabs were very good too.

Shae ordered their chicken lemonato which was chicken cooked in the oven, with potatoes, thyme, mustard, and lemon juice. Her portion size was also very big—perfect if you’re looking to carb-load due to how many potatoes there were, but she wasn’t able to finish it all due to quite how much food there was (the potatoes were larger than they appear in the photo below).

Our meal finished off with a shot of…something. We didn’t order it, but our server brought it over for us to have to finish things off.

Zygos Grill & Pizza

On our penultimate night staying at Domes, we went for dinner at a restaurant we’d walked past a couple of nights before.

Zygos Grill & Pizza (find it here on Google Maps) looked cute on the outside and had a tasty-looking menu posted out front, so we decided to dine there that night.

It was another nice evening so we sat outside and, once again, we had a very friendly server.

I hadn’t had chicken souvlaki yet during our visit—or ever from what I can remember—so I ordered that. As with pretty much all the food we had in Crete, it was very good.

Shae’s never been a big fan of kebabs and gyros, so I was pleasantly surprised when she ordered their gyro plate; hopefully our trip to Crete has converted her to its deliciousness.

I’m not sure if it’s a Cretan custom, but at dinner the night before we’d received a free shot of something to end our meal, while at Zygos we received a complimentary dessert. I don’t know exactly what it was, but it seemed to be some kind of chocolate/hazelnut thing and was very nice.

Galileo Cafe

After exploring the Old Venetian Port of Chania in the blazing sun, we were ready for some kind of refreshment. There are tons of restaurants on the waterfront, but we weren’t hungry enough to have lunch and so just wanted somewhere to have a quick drink.

While wandering along in search of somewhere to have a drink, we spotted Galileo Cafe and that seemed like the perfect spot (find it here on Google Maps). It was bang in the middle of the port and so we had a great view looking out.

I ordered a Coke Zero, Shae had a mimosa, and we shared some ice cream. The ice cream wasn’t the greatest, but it was still nice and refreshing to have. Once again, the server was very friendly.

What we didn’t do in Crete

As I mentioned earlier, Crete is a large island and there’s lots to do. Here are a few places we didn’t make it to, but which we would make an effort to check out if returning.

Spinalonga

Spinalonga is a small island off the coast near Heraklion. It was once used as a fortress, then as a refuge for Muslims, then as a leper colony. I first heard about it years ago because my mum read a novel called The Island by Victoria Hislop (our affiliate link) which is set in and near Spinalonga. She fell in love with the book and so she made sure to visit Spinalonga when going on holiday in Crete about a decade ago and raved about how much she enjoyed that day trip.

Everything I’ve seen about Spinalonga online also makes it sound like a fascinating place to visit. Seeing as we were based in Chania for our vacation though, we’d have had a five hour round trip drive to Heraklion, not to mention a round trip ferry ride out to Spinalonga and perhaps several hours on the island. That wasn’t worth it for us on this trip, but if we do return to Crete then I’ll almost certainly book a few days in Heraklion so that we can visit Spinalonga and see more of that side of Crete.

Samaria Gorge

I love hiking, so Shae was considering arranging a guided hike in Samaria Gorge for my birthday.  However, she also knows that I’m a night owl who doesn’t like to get up early in the morning, so she ran it by me before booking it as it leaves very early in order to avoid the heat of the afternoon.

I decided against doing it during this trip as I just wanted to relax and sleep in a little, but it’ll be high on my list of things to do during a future visit. It’s a ~10 mile round trip hike, with the journey out taking you down into the gorge, but the return journey seemingly being mostly uphill.

The photos online look stunning and I’ve seen many people mention that this is a highlight of Crete, so add this to your list if you enjoy hiking too.

Beaches

Crete apparently has numerous beautiful beaches and coves, so if spending all day in the sand and sun appeals to you, be sure to research beaches that’ll be near where you’re staying.

Balos Beach Trail

Speaking of beaches, even if you’re not interested in spending all day on a beach, there’s a trail that takes you above Balos Beach that apparently has stunning views. We should’ve done this while staying at the Domes hotel as it was a much longer drive away when we were at the JW Marriott, so we never got around to doing it.

Your suggestions

If you’ve ever visited Crete, please share your recommendations in the comments so that other readers (and myself!) can get some tips on other worthwhile places to visit there.

The post 8 days in Crete: Here’s what we did appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

My credit card application was declined. Now what?

We get this kind of question a lot. And the truth is, credit card application strategies may vary by bank.

For example, you can read our Complete Guide to credit card application rules (by bank) here. Let’s say you have a letter that says there were too many new accounts, too much available credit, not enough usage of existing credit, etc. Then what? Don’t forget that you can always call and ask for reconsideration…

Watch here:

Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):

We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Monday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to mailbag@frequentmiler.com.

The post My credit card application was declined. Now what? | Question of the Week Ep03 | 5-17-26 appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Office Depot and OfficeMax stores have returned with their profitable gift card deal on Visa gift cards through May 23, 2026.

The Deal

• Buy $300+ Visa gift cards at Office Depot/OfficeMax & get $15 off instantly.

Key Terms

• Valid May 17, 2026 – May 23, 2026.
• Limit 10 per household/business (different stores may try to impose various limits that don’t correspond to the ad).

Quick Thoughts

As always with these deals, the best option is to buy in three-card increments as Office Depot/Max gives a $15 discount for every $300 you spend. Buying three cards means you’re spending $600, which takes off $30. Buying nine cards means you should get $90 off, but YMMV as to whether a store will let you do that.

For every three cards you buy, you’ll pay $23.85 in fees (3x$7.95), giving you a net $6.15 in profit in addition to any additional rewards. Buying nine cards at a time triples both the profit and rewards (but will likely involve an ID check to make sure that the payment that you’re using is yours).

In addition, it’s worth keeping an eye out for linked offers that might stack.

• April 19, 2026 – April 25, 2026
• March 22, 2026 – March 28, 2026
• February 22, 2026 – February 28, 2026
• January 25, 2026 – January 31, 2026
• December 21, 2025 – December 27, 2025
• November 23, 2025-November 29, 2025
• October 26, 2025 – November 1, 2025
• September 28, 2025 – October 4, 2025
• August 31- September 6, 2025
• August 3-9, 2025
• July 6-12, 2025
• June 8-14, 2025
• May 11-17, 2025
• April 13-19, 2025
• March 16 – March 22, 2025
• February 16-22, 2025
• January 19-25, 2025
• December 22-28, 2024
• November 24-30, 2024
• October 27-November 2, 2024
• September 29- October 5, 2024
• September 1-7, 2024
• August  4-10, 2024
• July 7-13, 2024
• June 9-15, 2024
• May 12-18, 2024
• April 14-20, 2024
• February 18-24, 2024
• January 21-27, 2024
• December 24-30, 2023
• October 29th to November 4th, 2023
• October 1st to October 7th, 2023
• September 3rd to September 9th, 2023
• August 6th to August 12th, 2023
• July 7th to July 15th, 2023
• June 11th to June 17th, 2023
• May 14th to May 20th, 2023
• April 14th to April 22nd, 2023
• March 19th to March 25th, 2023
• February 19th to February 25th, 2023
• January 22nd to January 28th, 2023
• December 18th to December 24th, 2022
• November 12th to November 18th, 2022
• August 28th to September 3rd, 2022
• July 4th to August 6th 2022
• May 21st to May 28th 2022

The post Office Depot/OfficeMax: Buy $300+ Visa Gift Cards, Save $15 appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Welcome to our weekly list of what’s ending this week as well as a collection of some other deals that are due to end soon.

More than a dozen deals are ending this week, with one of the most notable things to be aware of is that Hyatt’s big devaluation will occur on May 20. That means that May 19 is your last full day to book awards at their current award pricing.

Other offers expiring this week include award sales for both SAS and Turkish Airlines, the latest American Airlines shopping portal promotion, a couple of checking account bonuses, and more.

Below you’ll find this week’s Last Chance Deals. Those are followed by deals that Won’t Last Long and Other Limited-time Offers. Deals in bold were posted this week.

Expires Sunday, May 17, 2026

• Earn 2x MQDs with targeted Delta credit card spending offers (Expires 5/17/26)
• SAS award sale: Save 25% on all award flights (48K business class between US & Europe for adults, 24K for kids) (Book by 5/17/26 for travel through 9/30/26)

Expires Tuesday, May 19, 2026

• Brutal new World of Hyatt chart (Last chance to book at current pricing is 5/19/26)
• Hyatt category changes for 136 properties (Last chance to book at current pricing is 5/19/26)
• $400 checking account bonus with Capital One 360 (targeted) (Expires 5/19/26)
• Easy $400 bonus with a new Wells Fargo checking account (Expires 5/19/26)
• Save up to 30% on Accor stays in the Americas; also reduces award costs (Book by 5/19/26 for stays 6/4/26-12/17/26)

Expires Wednesday, May 20, 2026

• $200 back on $500+ at Away (luggage brand) via new Chase Offer on Sapphire Reserve cards (Expires 5/20/26)
• Hyatt FIND Experiences auctions for stay + 200K-300K AA miles + more (Expires 5/20/26)

Expires Thursday, May 21, 2026

• IHG award sale: Save 20% on Iberostar stays booked with points (targeted) (Book by 5/21/26 for stays 7/1/26-11/30/26)
• American Airlines shopping portal promo: Earn up to 2,000 bonus miles (Expires 5/21/26)

Expires Friday, May 22, 2026

• Caesars Rewards spending offers: 10% Chase Offer & $25 Citi Offer (stack with targeted Capital One Shopping promo) (Citi Offer expires 5/22/26, Chase Offer expires 5/31/26)
• 30% off select Turkish Miles & Smiles economy class award tickets (Book by 5/22/26 for travel 10/1/26-12/10/26)

• Wizz Air selling All You Can Fly pass
• Capital One Shopping offering $80 referral bonus for both sides
• Earn up to a $815 bonus with a new SoFi checking/savings account (SoFi bonus expires 12/31/26, Swagbucks bonus probably expires sooner)
• Targeted: 120K Membership Rewards points with upgrade offer
• [Jun/Jul ’26 added!] Baseball fans: Capital One once again has great seats for 5,000 miles each

Welcome Offers / Credit Cards / Other Finance

• New offers bypassing 5/24 (black star “Just for You” offers)
• Borrow up to $2K interest-free with Robinhood Gold (targeted / YMMV)
• Merrill Edge offering up to $1,000 bonus for Preferred Rewards members opening a new account
• Amex 20K offer for enrolling in Pay Over Time: Check link to see if you’re targeted
• Wyndham launches debit card, earn 1x gas and grocery + 2,500 point intro bonus
• Earn Virgin Atlantic points when buying a home via RBN Rewards
• New United debit card is now available for applications with bonus of 10K miles
• UBS credit cards finally have welcome bonuses (Expires 6/30/26)
• Easy money: $200 bonus with $1K deposit into first-time Ally Invest account (for existing Ally Bank customers) (Expires 12/31/26)

Travel

• Amazon Gift Card rebate w/ Avis car rentals
• Founderscard free trial for 3 months (then $395/yr)
• Hyatt & American Airlines Partnership Now Live – Link Your Accounts Now
• Hilton / Lyft partnership: Earn 3x Hilton points + CC rewards
• Earn 2x Avios on Airbnb bookings
• How To Save More On Choice & Wyndham Stays With A Free BenefitHub Membership
• Emirates Launches Skywards+ Subscription Plans: Surprisingly Compelling Offer
• Hyatt Leverage for small / medium-sized business discounts
• Earn 500 Hyatt bonus points per night at select properties
• Alaska Airlines Offering 90 Day Status Match, Ability To Extend With Challenge (Now Comes With Oneworld Status)
• Earn 10x Wyndham Rewards When Booking Viator Experiences
• Walmart+ Members Now Save 10c Per Gallon At Walmart, Exxon/Mobil & Murphy Gas Stations
• Earn 3x United Airlines Miles on vacation rentals with VRBO
• Bilt adds free Point.me integration for award searches with partners!
• Holland America cruise match program (possible free cruise offer)
• Delta Launches TakeOff 15: Cardholders Save 15% On Award Flights
• Bilt Offering 2x On Lyft Rides For Members, 5x For Cardholders
• Refer friends to Marriott Bonvoy and both sides earn bonus points
• Wyndham Rewards status match is back & it’s very generous
• Get 500 free points (worth ~$40) when registering with Leading Hotels of the World
• Free MSC cruise for veterans / service members (and spouses) without matching status
• Turkish Airlines status match (get 1-2 years of Star Alliance Gold with very reasonable requirements)
• Sixt status match from airline and hotel programs
• T-Mobile customers can get a free AAA membership
• New Avianca LifeMiles LifeMiles+ subscriptions, a great deal for enthusiasts
• Get bonus points offer on next Hilton stay when doing a dummy booking (Targeted)
• 3 nights + 30K points for $199 with Wyndham timeshare offer
• IHG Friends & Family Rate sometimes offers good savings
• JetBlue launches status match for AA, Alaska, Delta, United, Southwest, Frontier & Spirit elites
• Enterprise status match giving status through February 2027 (match from hotel, airline & car rental programs)
• Marriott & Aeroplan launch reciprocal status match opportunity
• Turo & United launch partnership; earn 5x MileagePlus miles on first rental, 1x after
• Ongoing Southwest promo for 20% off award flights within 14 days
• Get two years of Hilton Gold or Diamond with elite status match
• Vietnam Airlines offering paid status match; get SkyTeam status for a year
• Get GigSky 15 day international data plan free w/ Visa Infinite & Signature cards + 10% off plans with a promo code
• New Wyndham Experiences portal has launched with many redemption options
• Get 10% in Airbnb credit on HotelTonight bookings
• Alaska MVP members can earn bonus miles for new AND renewing CLEAR+ memberships
• Bilt offering ongoing Virgin Voyages status match
• Marriott & Lufthansa launch partnership; earn bonus status points and/or get a status match
• Earn United miles on Lyft rides; earn 1K bonus miles as new Lyft user
• You can earn higher rewards with Lyft Business Rewards (Alaska, Hilton, & United)
• Marriott and Singapore status match (Star Alliance Gold with just 4 flights)
• Bank of America Museums On Us: Get free entry to 200+ museums on 1st weekend of the month
• Save 15% on IHG award stays at new hotels
• New United Mileage Plus Status Match Challenge (includes Premier 1K)
• Spirit Airlines paid status upgrade: Higher status from $79
• You can buy National Parks pass from REI & pay with REI gift card from Capital One Shopping + earn rewards
• Flying Blue status match for US residents
• Google Hotels adds price tracking. Save money by tracking and re-booking / best price guarantees
• Get a free FoundersCard trial membership (for what that might be worth)
• Marriott Homes & Villas Amex Offer: Spend $1,000 & get $250 back (Expires 5/24/26)
• Best Western Chase Offer: Get 10% back on $100-$320 spend (Expires 5/24/26)
• Get $50 back on $250+ IHG stays with a targeted Amex Offer (Expires 5/26/26)
• 20% transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Air France / KLM Flying Blue (Expires 5/27/26)
• Buy Hilton Points For 0.5 Cents Each (Expires 5/29/26)
• Amex Membership Rewards 20% transfer bonus to Hilton Honors (1,000:2,400) (Expires 5/30/26)
• $100 back on $500 at Sixt with targeted Amex Offer (stack with C1 Shopping, enrollment required) (Expires 5/31/26)
• Hyatt promo: Earn 2X points on Homes & Hideaways stays (Expires 5/31/26)
• Air France/KLM Amex Offers: Spend $1,250 & get $250 back or spend $2,000 & get $400 back (Expires 5/31/26)
• Aeroplan devaluing award chart, but it could be worse (Last day to book using current award chart is 5/31/26)
• Viator Amex Offer: Spend $350 & get $35 back (use up to 2 times) (Expires 5/31/26)
• 20% transfer bonus from Capital One Miles to Qantas (Expires 5/31/26)
• Flying Blue Promo Rewards: Get 25% off awards between select US cities & Europe (Book by 5/31/26 for travel through 10/31/26)
• Save on Turo rides with Amex Offer, Chase Offer, & Citi Offer (Amex Offer & Chase Offer expire 5/31/26, Citi Offer expires 6/30/26)
• JetBlue Match to Mosaic: Free Spirit elite members get improved status through May (Expires 5/31/26)
• Sixt offering prepaid fuel for $49.99 for rentals in the US for Sixt ONE members (Expires 5/31/26)
• $100 back on $500 or more at Carnival with targeted Amex Offer (enrollment required) (Expires 6/2/26)
• 30% transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards (Expires 6/6/26)
• National Car Rental’s One Two Free promo returns (Expires 6/7/26)
• Save 10% when buying $150+ Hotels.com gift cards (Expires 6/7/26)
• New United Mile Play Offers: See If You’re Targeted For Bonus Miles (Expires 6/9/26)
• $200 back on $1000 at Hilton resorts in the Caribbean (Expires 6/16/26)
• Sonesta Amex Offer: Spend $300+, get $60 back (Expires 6/20/26)
• Buy Marriott Points for as low as 0.89 cents each (Expires 6/23/26)
• MGM Resorts offering 90 day status match; extend through 1/31/28 with qualifying activity (Match by 6/30/26)
• Hyatt promo: Earn 2K bonus points per night at Under Canvas properties (Expires 6/30/26)
• Hotels.com Amex Offer: Earn 10x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels (Expires 6/30/26)
• Get $75 back on $300+ spend at select Hyatt properties with a targeted Amex Offer (Expires 6/30/26)
• Hyatt promo: Earn 2X points at all-inclusive Bahia Principe brand (Expires 6/30/26)
• Chase Travel℠ Chase Offer: Spend $600 & get $100 back (targeted) (Expires 6/30/26)
• Southwest cardholder promo: Earn 25% bonus points when spending $3K+ (max 20K bonus points, targeted) (Expires 6/30/26)
• Delta Vacations Amex Offer: Get $200 back when spending $1K+ (Expires 6/30/26)
• Preferred Hotels promo: Earn 2,500 I Prefer points at new properties (Book by 6/30/26 for stays through 9/30/26)
• Norwegian Cruise Line Amex Offer: Spend $1,000 & get $200 back (enrollment required) (Expires 6/30/26)
• Wyndham promo: Earn 15K bonus points on 5+ night stay at its WaterWalk & Hawthorn extended stay brands (Book by 6/30/26, stay by 9/30/26)
• Get 10% back with IHG Chase Offer on $400-$620 spend (Expires 6/30/26)
• Save 30% on award stays at Virgin Hotels in New Orleans & Dallas (select months only) (New Orleans valid for stays 6/1/26-6/30/26, Dallas valid for stays 8/1/26-8/31/26)
• $75 back on $325 or more at Hertz with Citi Merchant Offer (stack with portals?) (Expires 6/30/26)
• Chase Ultimate Rewards offering 55% transfer bonus to Marriott (Expires 6/30/26)
• Avid hiker? Get 50% back on an AllTrails subscription with a targeted Amex Offer (Expires 7/5/26)
• Choice Hotels summer promo: Get 8K points every 2 stays (Can redeem for $50 gas gift card) (Expires 7/6/26)
• Preferred Hotels Amex Offer: Spend $500 & get $100 (targeted) (Expires 7/8/26)
• Delta gift card Amex Offer: Earn +5 SkyMiles on up to $2K (stack with Delta/Starbucks gift card deal) (Expires 7/14/26)
• Delta/Uber promo: Fly in Comfort Classic or Comfort Extra & save up to $80 on Uber rides (Expires 7/19/26)
• Targeted Marriott Amex Offers: Spend $375 & get $150, spend $250 & get $50, & more (Expires 7/22/26)
• Leading Hotels of the World Amex Offer: Spend $700 & get 15k Membership Rewards points (Expires 7/31/26)
• Hyatt promo: Get 20% points back on Las Vegas award stays (Expires 7/31/26)
• Best Western Amex Offer: Spend $250 & get $50 back (Expires 7/31/26)
• Expedia Amex Offer: Get 10% back on prepaid hotels up to $1,250 spend (Expires 8/4/26)
• Accor promo: Earn 2X points on stays in USA, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Panama, & Brazil (Expires 8/8/26)
• Get $100 back on a $500+ Omni Hotels & Resorts stay with targeted Amex Offer (Expires 8/14/26)
• Get $40 back when spending $200+ with a Hilton Amex Offer (Expires 8/15/26)
• Strawberry Hotels (formerly Nordic Choice) Summer Pass is back (Valid on stays 6/18/26-8/24/26)
• Earn 10X at Sunoco gas stations on Wyndham credit cards (Expires 8/31/26)
• Preferred Hotels promo: Earn $50 hotel cert for every 2+ night stay at a different hotel (Max $250) (Expires 8/31/26)
• IHG promo: Earn 2K points every 2 nights or 8K points every 4 nights (your choice) (Expires 8/31/26)
• Save 30% on award stays at Virgin Hotels in New Orleans & Dallas (select months only) (New Orleans valid for stays 6/1/26-6/30/26, Dallas valid for stays 8/1/26-8/31/26)
• Frontier Fly One, Get One offer: Earn 5,000 miles for each round trip (Register by 5/31/26, fly by 8/31/26)
• Wyndham promo: Earn 5K bonus points + save up to 25% on 2+ night stays at Caesars Rewards properties (Expires 9/1/26)
• Save on stays at Choice’s Cambria & Ascend Collection brands with targeted Amex Offers (Expires 9/1/26)
• GHA Discovery status match from many hotel/airline/cruise programs is back (Expires 9/1/26)
• Another Best Western promo: Earn 1K bonus points per night (Max 20K points, stack with other promo) (Expires 9/7/26)
• World of Hyatt cardholders can earn 11x bonus points per dollar at Under Canvas properties (Register by 6/12/26, stay by 9/8/26)
• Frontier offering Summer unlimited “GoWild” Pass for $199 (Expires 9/30/26)
• Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card has a limited time Turo benefit; $30 per rental, up to $180 in next 12 months (Expires 10/18/26)
• Get thousands of free Alaska Atmos Rewards points if you live within 75 miles of San Diego (Expires 11/7/26)
• Southwest offering status match/challenge to A-List & A-List Preferred (Expires 12/30/26)
• (Targeted) Both Citi AAdvantage Business cardholders & authorized users earn Loyalty Points on purchases (Expires 12/31/26)
• Caesars Diamond match offer for both new and existing players (Expires 12/31/26)
• New Sapphire Reserve benefit for 2026: a $250 credit for select Chase Travel℠ hotels (Expires 12/31/26)
• Join Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards & get $25 or $50 off your next flight (Expires 12/31/26)
• Hyatt House/Hyatt Studios promo: Stay 5+ consecutive nights & earn 5K bonus points (limit 50K points) (Expires 12/31/26)
• 3K bonus points for new IHG members after registering & staying within 21 days (Expires 12/31/26)
• Up to 15K bonus points with targeted Hilton promo (Expires 12/31/26, but must complete stays within 6 months of registration)
• IHG Business Rewards promo: Earn 2X points on stays (6X total points) (Expires 12/31/26)

Shopping/Spending Deals

• Get Great Moving Offers Including 15% Off Amazon & More
• Use a credit card to pay electric bill with no fee with Arcadia
• First Time Users: United MileagePlus Portal Welcome Bonus – 500 Miles Or 1,000 Miles
• Earn 1,750 United Miles When Joining MyPoints & Making $50 Purchase
• TopCashback: 5% bonus on Visa GC cash outs
• Lyft Pink now includes GrubHub+ (and you may have both for free)
• 10% off Best Buy birthday coupon [YMMV, but register]
• Save 20% for life with T-Mobile Insider Hookup (on Magenta Max)
• Delta SkyMiles & Starbucks Rewards Partnership: Earn Free Miles & Stars
• T-Mobile Dining Rewards: Earn 10% Cashback On Dining On Tuesdays, 5% Rest Of The Week
• AAdvantage Events: Buy tickets via Ticketmaster & earn American Airlines miles & Loyalty Points
• Upside app now sells gift cards; earn cashback & stack with Chase Offers & merchant coding
• Topgolf now on airline & hotel dining programs – earn miles/points while playing
• Grubhub+ is now free with Amazon Prime
• New Rakuten members can earn 10% bonus cashback for first 7 days (limit $50 bonus cashback)
• Link Marriott & Starbucks accounts to occasionally earn double Stars & minimal bonus points
• DoorDash DashPass annual plan now offers free Max subscription (but not for cardholder-earned DashPass)
• You can now earn Bilt points on home purchases (1 point per $2 of home purchase price)
• Sign up for T-Mobile Starlink trial
• Earn 25x Alaska Airlines miles on 1-800-Flowers and Harry & David orders with promo code AKA4
• Here’s how to save 30% on CardPointers annual & lifetime memberships
• Gift of College Cards now sold at Stop & Shop
• Earn 3x JetBlue points at CVS with card-linked offer; stack with shopping portals & other card-linked offers
• Now earn Bilt points with Rakuten shopping portal
• TopCashback: Earn $25 bonus when you join & earn $10
• Discover: Get a $20 bonus after spending $100 on mobile wallets (targeted) (Expires 5/31/26)
• MastercardGiftCard, VanillaGift, & AmexGiftCard are all waiving purchase fees with promo codes (Expires 5/31/26)
• Amazon promo: Get $10 off $75 when redeeming 1 Discover point (Expires 6/11/26)
• Targeted Bilt cardholder promo: 10K bonus points after $1k in spend (Expires 6/12/26)
• Dell Amex Offers: 5%-13% back (stack with Dell credits) (Expires 6/30/26)
• Q2 2026 activation links for cards offering 5% in rotating categories (Expires 6/30/26)
• Amex will remove Shop Saks benefit (Expires 6/30/26)
• Chase Q2 cobranded card spending offers with direct registration links (Expires 6/30/26)
• Rakuten: Best Ever 5K Amex points, 5K Bilt points, or $50 referral bonus for both sides (Expires 6/30/26)
• Get $50 back on $100+ pet-sitting booking with Rover Chase Offer (Expires 6/30/26)
• Hidden, targeted spending offers on cobranded Barclays cards: Get 5 or 10 extra points per dollar (Expires 6/30/26)
• Targeted Barclays spending offer: 2500 Atmos points after five $50 purchases (Expires 6/30/26)
• Targeted Barclays cobranded card offers: Add authorized user & get 5K bonus points when spending $200 (+ other offers?) (Expires 7/31/26)
• Wyndham cardholder promo: Earn 3k bonus points when paying 3 different bills 3 consecutive months (Expires 8/31/26)
• Targeted Amex Offers on Hilton cards offering up to 136,500 bonus points with enough spend (Expires 12/31/26, although you only have 90 days after enrolling to complete the spending)
• Save at Amazon with American Express Reward Dollars (from cash back cards) (Expires 12/31/26)
• Chase Sapphire and Freedom promo for 10x when using Paze is worth a look (Expires 12/31/26)
• Free Instacart+ and $20/month in credits with a business Mastercard (Expires 1/31/27)
• Earn up to 10.5K United miles when shopping with Instacart (Expires 9/8/28)

Bank Account Bonuses

• List of great bank account signup bonuses available this month
• Easy $250 checking bonus with Capital One 360
• Chase Business Checking: $500 bonus after $2000 deposit (Expires 6/18/26)
• US Bank: Up to a $1200 bonus with new business checking account (Expires 6/30/26)
• Discover: Earn $50 bonus cashback when adding an authorized user (Expires 7/3/26)
• Wells Fargo: $400 / $825 bonus for new business checking account (no direct deposit required) (Expires 7/7/26)
• $900 bonus with a new Chase checking and savings account (Expires 7/15/26)
• Up to $900 bonus with a new Chase checking account (no savings needed) (Expires 7/15/26)
• American Express Rewards Checking: $300 bonus for new customers (Expires 7/30/26)
• Bank of America Business Checking: Up to a $750 bonus (no direct deposit required) (Expires 12/31/26)

Other Helpful Resources

• Best Offers
• Current Amex Offers
• Instant Gift Card Deals

The post Last Chance Deals: Hyatt award chart changes, SAS & Turkish award sales, & more appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

I have been very gradually re-entering the miles and points game after a long stretch of years out of the loop. Today, I have an embarrassing story to share that I’d much rather keep to myself. But on this journey to re-enter the miles and points game (and even graduate from “player 2” to more of a player 1), I’d like to share the nuggets and fumbles I come across along the way.

In this post, for example, I’ll highlight an important step I took to check up on my credit score (and what I found when I did this).

Do you have any forgotten debts (like I did)?

Like many who start out in this hobby, my overall percentage of credit usage has decreased thanks to increasing lines of credit and increasing credit limits. But while I had seen a credit score boost from these efforts, it had plateaued in a way that confused me. So out of curiosity, I took advantage of Experian’s free credit report to see if there was anything I was missing.

Sure enough, there was a collections account balance of roughly $225 attributed to Austin Energy. Apparently, when I closed down one of the Airbnbs I’d managed in Austin years ago, a final energy bill was posted to my account that I never knew about, or assumed I’d resolved. And since I moved on from Austin to another stretch of nomad time shortly after, any letter Austin Energy had attempted to send was likely lost. 8 years later, the debt was still just sitting in a collections account without my knowledge.

Frustrating as it is to discover a debt you didn’t realize existed, it’s a huge relief to me that there’s a way to catch and resolve it. I simply logged into Experian and downloaded my credit report for free. Within that report, there was a “Debt” section which clearly listed the collections debt. There was also a “Collection accounts” page with more details, including the original creditor (Austin Energy) and a phone number for resolving the debt with the collector. I was able to resolve this with a simple, 15-minute phone call to that phone number. Then, a week or so later, my credit score jumped up 33 points.

This is easy to avoid if you regularly check your free credit report

Obviously, this is a humbling story because anyone in this hobby knows that taking care of your credit score is paramount, and it’s embarrassing to let something like this slip. But I wanted to share it as a healthy reminder that even the most well-intended of us may have random little debts like these, which are easy to miss. And a debt doesn’t have to be very large for it to go to collections. I remember a $17 Verizon charge that got missed in a similar way years ago, which also ended up going to collections. 

As a nomad, it was particularly difficult to receive mail in a timely or reliable way, and I realize many people don’t have that same problem. But I can’t be the only one who finds it hard to keep up with things in a move, and finds themselves moving every few years. I’ve moved apartments within a city, moved across the country, moved from one phone provider to another, moved from one internet provider to another…and so on and so on. This seems to be a trend with my generation, so I’m sure I’m not the only one doing all this hopping around. And these are all opportunities for those easy-to-miss debts.

For me personally, the solution is simple. I’m not going to magically become a more organized person when I move physically, or move my patronage from one company to another. But I’m now going to make it a routine to check my credit report every so often, just to make sure there’s nothing like this I’m missing. Don’t forget, this can be done for free in a multitude of ways, which you can read about here.

The post Watch out for easy-to-forget debts! An embarrassing, but useful reminder. (A Carrie commentary) appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Annual fees are getting more expensive, and it can feel like quite an investment to keep every rewards card. Luckily, Greg’s developed a worksheet which you can access and use to help determine when a card is worth its annual fee, based on how you actually value the different perks.

How to decide which premium cards are keepers

(00:33) –Find our worksheet for valuing premium cards here. 

(01:17) – Using the link in that post, you’ll make a copy of our worksheet in your own Google account

(01:27) – Our worksheet is designed to tell you if your spreadsheet version is out of date and needs to be recopied

(01:54) – By clicking “summary”, you should see a list of all the available cards within the worksheet

(03:23) – Click the card you want to view from the summary tab to investigate a specific card, then you can click the prompt to return to the summary tab for a view of all the included cards again

(04:33) – You can begin to enter perk values, but instead of asking yourself how much each perk or certificate is worth, ask yourself how much you would pay in advance for a subscription to that perk. Do this for each perk or benefit individually. The amount you assign should be less than the amount you’ll save and no more than other ways to get the same perk. Greg’s included his own estimated value, but you should edit this to your own value.

(08:50) – You can enter notes and your own values into the green column of the spreadsheet, entering the amount you would be willing to pay for the perk

(11:30) – You’ll be able to see the total value for the perks you’ve assigned an amount to. You can compare this to the annual fee to assess whether or not the value is enough to justify that amount (by at least matching it)

(15:43) – The notes you enter will show up in the summary tab as well as your assigned value

Subscribe and Follow

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

The post How to decide which premium cards are keepers (Video) appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

On May 1, Chase launched a 65% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy, meaning you’d get 1.65 Bonvoy points for every Ultimate Reward point that you transfer until May 15th.

That was an early bird bonus as the transfer bonus is continuing through June 30, 2026, but at a slightly lower 55% rate.

The Deal

• Get a 65% bonus when transferring Ultimate Rewards to Marriott Bonvoy through May 15, 2026, then a 55% bonus from May 16, 2026 through June 30, 2026.

Key Terms

• The 65% “Early Bird” bonus offer is valid for points transfers to Marriott Bonvoy completed between 12:00 AM ET on May 1, 2026 and 11:59 PM ET on May 15, 2026.
• The 55% bonus offer is valid for point transfers to Marriott Bonvoy completed between 12:00 AM ET on May 16, 2026 and 11:59 PM ET on June 30, 2026.
• Minimum transfer is 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
• Bonus Marriott Bonvoy points will be deposited by Marriott Bonvoy into your Marriott Bonvoy account up to 7 days after the points transfer is completed.

Quick Thoughts

A 55% or 65% transfer bonus rate sounds very compelling… and it has been historically. However, this will most likely still be a suboptimal redemption for most folks. Our Reasonable Redemption Values (RRV) pegs Marriott points at 0.77 cents each, so even after you account for the bonus, you’re still getting ~1.2-1.3 cents of average value per Ultimate Reward (UR) point.

Having said that, for folks who “cherry pick” rewards, our analysis showed that the top 25% of redemptions average 0.91 cents per point or better, a value which would bring the transfer bonus up to ~~1.4-1.5 cents per UR – almost the same as our RRV for Ultimate Rewards.

Because of Marriott’s labyrinthine rules governing who’s eligible for the welcome bonus on a new card, many folks can find themselves in a position where it’s difficult to quickly earn large amounts of Marriott points. If you just need to top up your Marriott account for a specific high-value redemption, or if you have a bunch of Ultimate Rewards and consistently get very high value for your Bonvoy points, a 55% or 65% transfer bonus could be worth considering. Still, it’s not going to be one of the most valuable ways to use UR points.

One oft-forgotten feature of Marriott Bonvoy is that it allows transfers to a wide variety of airline programs, including some that don’t partner with Ultimate Rewards, such as American, Alaska, and Japan Airlines. The ratio is 3-1, but for most airlines, you get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points that you transfer, or 60,000 Bonvoy points – 25,000 airline miles. The 55% or 65% transfer bonus means that you could indirectly access these programs from Chase at around a 1.0 to 0.55 or 0.65 transfer ratio. Again, this isn’t great in comparison to all of Chase’s 1-1 transfer partners, but if you have a boatload of UR and need JAL or Alaska miles, it might be worth the premium.

The post Chase Ultimate Rewards offering 55% transfer bonus to Marriott appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

A long-running joke in this space is that there’s no IT in Hyatt. That’s because Hyatt has long been known for its less-than-stellar IT.

I ran into my latest experience with Hyatt’s lackluster IT this week when I wanted to book a simple one-night stay at an airport Hyatt Place. The property I was trying to book is in Category 2, where an award would cost 8,000 points per night at standard rates. When I toggled the switch to use World of Hyatt points, it showed no available rooms.

However, when I toggled the switch to use one of my Category 1-4 free night certificates, it showed that I could book a room with a Category 1-4 free night award.

Not wanting to waste a Category 1-4 free night certificate on a Category 2 standard-priced award, I decided to call the Hyatt Globalist line to inquire as to why the property was available with a free-night certificate but not with points. To my surprise, the phone agent immediately saw the property as being available using points, and she made the booking over the phone without any issue at all. The entire call took less than 5 minutes. I was certainly happy with the outcome (and glad to know how to solve the issue the next time I run into it), though it is somewhat frustrating knowing that a property may be bookable with points but appear unavailable in search results. If I didn’t have a free night certificate in my account, I may have assumed that a standard room wasn’t available.

On the blog this week, we have your less-than-a-week countdown reminder of the Hyatt award chart and category changes coming up, surprisingly strong Citi Travel results, the best credit card combinations that cost less than $95 combined, how to keep your miles and points alive, and a lot more.

This week on the Frequent Miler blog…

(1 week to go) World of Hyatt announces 2026 category changes. They’re not inspiring.

You have mere days left to take advantage of Hyatt bookings at current award pricing. As of May 20th, 2026, in just a few days, Hyatt will launch its new award chart with 40 different pricing levels for hotels alone and over 100 when you consider the Miraval and all-inclusive charts, not to mention the charts for suites. There’s no doubt that the World of Hyatt program is going to be significantly complexified, and award pricing is going to feel a little bit more dynamic than it has in years past.

If you want to book a property that’s increasing in category or where you think it’s likely that the property will increase in pricing band, now is the time to do it. Make your bookings before May 20th, and you can lock in current pricing. Also, remember to check out our points advance post because it is possible for Discoverists and above to make bookings at current pricing, even if you don’t yet have the points to pay for the booking.

Another round of rental car comparison shopping reminds me to shop around

With the need to book rental cars for several upcoming trips in different cities, both domestic and abroad, I decided it was a great time to do a relatively full comparison of rental car prices across numerous booking platforms. I was quite surprised to find that Citi Travel was knocking it out of the park in terms of rental car pricing, often returning better pricing than what I could find elsewhere.

The trade-off there is that if you’re renting domestically, Citi cards that include rental car CDW coverage only include secondary coverage within the United States. Coverage on qualifying cards is primary for rentals abroad, but if you’re renting within the United States, any claim would first need to go against your personal insurance. Still, if you’re cool with that, the pricing through Citi Travel was often excellent. That said, AutoSlash usually wasn’t too far behind.

This data isn’t meant to be an indication of where you should be booking your rental cars, but it should be a good wake-up call to remember to shop around. As I wrote this post, I noticed the frequency with which rental car prices were changing, sometimes several times within the same day. It really makes sense to track your rentals with AutoSlash so that you can get a notification when prices change.

Analysis paralysis: Which way to pay for a 2-night hotel stay?

I have an upcoming trip to Lake Tahoe to make a run at Caesars Diamond Plus status, taking advantage of a tier credit multiplier. Before I could run the numbers on that, I first had to run the numbers on my hotel booking.

Overwhelmed by a slew of credit cards with hotel credits and various options for stacking, I wrote this post to help myself decide how to book my hotel. As it turns out, I cancelled what I said I had booked in this post and reconfigured plans after publication. More next week on what I ended up doing, but this post gives you a good road map of the various things to think about when it comes to your hotel booking options. This should also provide food for thought as to how to value hotel credits. Hint: You should be valuing them at significantly less than face value.

The best card for Priority Pass lounges, experiences, and restaurants

Speaking of analysis, the 2026 changes to the Chase Ritz-Carlton Visa card’s Priority Pass forced Greg to re-analyze the best Priority Pass options on the market. For many years, it was really easy to identify the best credit card for Priority Pass lounge access. The answer was, hands down, the Chase Ritz-Carlton card since it offers unlimited free authorized users, each with their own Priority Pass. Until this year, that Priority Pass came with unlimited guests. Now, Ritz cardholders are limited to two guests, though they can still add unlimited free authorized users, giving each person their own Priority Pass membership. Still, that’s not as ideal a solution as it once was, so Greg has fully updated this post with all of the best options depending on your situation.

Is the Bilt Palladium card worth its $495 annual fee? | Coffee Break Ep105 | 5-12-26

Speaking of the situational, the Bilt Palladium card is a polarizing topic. Some people think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Others think it has no place in anyone’s wallet. On this week’s Coffee Break podcast, we assert that it really does vary from one person to another as to whether this card is worth its annual fee. For a lot of people, it won’t be. Look no further than my analysis paralysis post above to see that the $200 hotel credit twice a year is not really worth $200.

I think it ultimately comes down to how much money you spend every year and your ability to take advantage of either the point accelerators or points based on housing. For high spenders, I think the ability to effectively earn 3 points per dollar or more on all unbonused purchases, combined with the ability to earn points 1:1 through Rakuten, is a pretty compelling offering. For folks who aren’t particularly high spenders, it probably won’t make any sense at all since you could direct all spending towards multiple other new card welcome bonuses instead.

There are multiple approaches to this hobby. The Palladium card is a great fit for a segment of credit card enthusiasts.

Best $95 travel credit card combo | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep358 | 5-15-26

If you’re put off by the ever-increasing annual fees on ultra-Premium credit cards, this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air might just have the solution for you. On this week’s show, Greg and I discuss the best combinations of cards that cost no more than $95 in total annual fees. It is possible to put together a pretty impressive wallet that covers excellent multipliers in a multitude of popular categories for no more than $95 out of pocket. People who don’t know much about this hobby sometimes ask me, “Which credit card should I get?”, but the truth is that the better question is “Which cards should I get?”. With the right combo, you can make sure that most of your spending is well-rewarded.

Are you eligible for a new Marriott card? (Brilliant changes reversed)

Now that Citi has taken over the rest of the American Airlines Advantage portfolio, Marriott may stand alone in the rare circumstance of being a loyalty program with two competing credit card issuers. As a result, eligibility rules for Marriott credit cards are incredibly complex. You need to consult a matrix to determine whether or not you’re eligible for a particular Marriott card based on which cards you have or have had before. That matrix was updated this week because American Express changed some of the application rules regarding the Brilliant card. See this post for the latest.

JetBlue and United Blue Sky partnership (elite benefits go live this week)

Speaking of the latest, the news this week may not quite seem like it came out of the blue, but there are updates nonetheless. JetBlue and United originally announced their Blue Sky partnership about a year ago. One of the marquee benefits of the partnership when it was announced was that there would be reciprocal elite benefits. In other words, United elite members would get benefits when flying JetBlue and vice versa.

Somewhat frustratingly, it’s been a long, slow rollout of this partnership, with other steps gradually launched over the last year, including things like reciprocal earning and redeeming of points and the ability to book flights with cash or with points on either carrier’s website. This week, JetBlue and United finally announced that reciprocal elite benefits would begin being available this week.

Personally, I have a United flight booked next week, and I have JetBlue Mosaic 1 status, but I haven’t yet been able to select preferred seats. I’m certainly looking forward to accessing priority check-in and getting priority boarding. If I’m able to score an extra legroom seat 24 hours before check-in, I’ll once again be thankful to have completed 25 for 25 last year.

American Express adds $300 in ChatGPT credits on Business Platinum and Business Gold cards

American Express Business Platinum and Business Gold cardholders can now receive up to $300 per year in statement credits for ChatGPT business subscriptions. That means you can get a ChatGPT Business subscription for two people for free for six months. Since that benefit is $300 per calendar year, if you’re a cardholder and you subscribe in July, you’ll get 12 continuous months for free between this year’s credit and next year’s credit.

One key warning I pulled out of the comments from a reader is that if you currently subscribe to the consumer paid version of ChatGPT, you can migrate your data to the business version of ChatGPT when you subscribe to ChatGPT Business. However, if you later decide to go back to the consumer version, the reader reported that you cannot migrate your data from the business version back to the consumer version. That might be a pain point for people who rely on conversation history.

How to keep airline miles and hotel points alive (2026)

One pain point that you want to avoid in this hobby is letting your miles and points expire. Some loyalty programs require activity once every 18 months in order to keep your points or miles alive. Others require activity every 24 months, and still others require activity every 12 months. What counts as activity, and which programs have no expiration at all? This post has been fully updated for 2026 with everything you need to know about how to keep your miles and points alive.

Hotel review: JW Marriott Crete Resort & Spa

Stephen had previously reported on his stay at a Dome’s property in Crete, Greece. This week, he wrote a complete review of the brand new J.W. Marriott in Crete. This looks like a really pretty resort, and he got a terrific suite upgrade, but service wasn’t quite up to snuff. That’s disappointing.

That said, I might try this place in the future if I were in Crete in the summertime, as the views do look pretty good and the grounds look pretty. I will say that I wasn’t surprised to hear about his issues using gift cards at checkout. It’s always a fiasco when I try to use Marriott gift cards at checkout. It’s good that Stephen brought his to the desk with plenty of time for them to figure out how to redeem them, but it stinks that he got stuck in the lobby for 45 minutes as they tried to sort it out.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye on this week’s last chance deals and be sure to grab the ones you want before they’re gone.

The post Surprisingly strong Citi Travel results, the best credit card combinations that cost less than $95 combined, keeping your miles alive, and more [Week in Review] appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

This post is designed to show current Amex Offers. If you have any Amex cards, even authorized user cards, then you’re eligible to sign up for offers when you log into your Amex account. If you’re planning to shop or book travel, check this page to see if an Amex Offer exists that will help you save money or earn extra points.

Amex Offers often appear on some cards, but not others. Don’t be surprised if an offer listed here is not available on any of your cards. Additionally, some of the offers shown here are only available in specific regions.

CardPointers

The data found below was graciously provided by CardPointers. CardPointers is an app and browser extension which can be used to automatically load Amex offers (and offers from many other institutions) to your cards. Once done, you can quickly and easily see all of the offers available to you.

Read more about CardPointers here.

Current Amex Offers

By default, the following table shows the first 10 offers. To find additional offers, use the search box, or change the number of entries shown, or press Page Next at the bottom.

Amex Offer	Expiration Date
1-800-PACK-RAT: Spend $300 or more, earn $60 Earn a one-time $60 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make a single purchase of $300 or more in-store at 1-800-PACK-RAT or online at 1800packrat.com by 7/31/2026. View Terms: Eligibility and EnrollmentEligible Card Members must first add offer to Card and then use same Card for qualifying spend. Only US-issued American Express® Cards are eligible.Limit of 1 statement credit per eligible Card Member account. If the Card Account is canceled or past due, it may not qualify to receive the statement credit(s).Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid in-store and online only at US website 1800packrat.com. Valid at participating locations in the US. Not valid on purchases shipped outside of the US. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Excludes Storage Squad and Zippy Shell divisions. Offer valid only on purchases made in US dollars.Offer only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditPlease allow 90-days after 7/31/2026 for the statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.Participation in Amex Offers is subject to Amex Offers Program Terms.POID: KBUL:0001	2026-07-31
1stDibs.com - Antique & Modern Furniture, Jewels, Fashion, Art: Spend $1,000 or more, earn $200 back Earn a one-time $200 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $1,000 in one or more qualifying purchases online at 1stdibs.com by 9/10/2026. View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers® Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of 1 statement credit per eligible Card Member account.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website 1stdibs.com or through the 1stdibs mobile app. Excludes commission fees, credit card processing fees, monthly subscription & listing fees, featuredlisting & ad fees, and shipping fees. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditIf you meet the offer requirements, the statement credit(s) will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for statement credit(s) to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if credit(s) have not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the credit(s). Credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers® are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling in this offer, you agree that American Express may use your transaction and personal information to administer the offer, communicate with you about it, and facilitate your offers experience in accordance with the American Express Privacy Statement.POID: KCA9:0001	2026-09-10
7forallmankind.com: Earn 6% back on purchases, up to a total of $250 Earn 6% back as a statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make purchases online at 7forallmankind.com by 6/1/2026. Limit of $250 back in total statement credits.  View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers® Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of $250 in total statement credits per eligible Card Member account.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website 7forallmankind.com. Not valid on orders shipped outside of the US. Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditIf you meet the offer requirements, the statement credit(s) will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for statement credit(s) to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if credit(s) have not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the credit(s). Credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers® are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling in this offer, you agree that American Express may use your transaction and personal information to administer the offer, communicate with you about it, and facilitate your offers experience in accordance with the American Express Privacy Statement.POID: K7YZ:0886	2026-06-01
177milkstreet.com: Earn 5% back on purchases, up to a total of $250 Earn 5% back as a statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make purchases online at 177milkstreet.com by 7/1/2026. Limit of $250 back in total statement credits.  View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers® Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of $250 in total statement credits per eligible Card Member account.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website 177milkstreet.com. Not valid on orders shipped outside of the US. Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditIf you meet the offer requirements, the statement credit(s) will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for statement credit(s) to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if credit(s) have not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the credit(s). Credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers® are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling in this offer, you agree that American Express may use your transaction and personal information to administer the offer, communicate with you about it, and facilitate your offers experience in accordance with the American Express Privacy Statement.POID: K7YZ:0930	2026-07-01
1800Flowers.com - Gourmet Food, Flowers & Gifts: Earn 25% back on purchases Earn 25% back as a statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make purchases online at 1800flowers.com by 7/31/2026. View Terms: Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to Card and then use same Card for qualifying spend. Only US-issued American Express® Cards are eligible.If the Card Account is canceled or past due, it may not qualify to receive the statement credit(s).Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at 1800flowers.com, cheryls.com, thepopcornfactory.com, 1800baskets.com, fruitbouquets.com, harryanddavid.com, wolfermans.com, stockyards.com, simplychocolate.com, berries.com, vitalchoice.com, and celebrations.com. Excludes e-gift card purchases, wholesale purchases, and transactions made via personalizationmall.com, bloomnet.net, NAPCO, and napcoimports.com. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Offer valid only on purchases made in US dollars.Offer only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditPlease allow 90-days after 7/31/2026 for the statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.Participation in Amex Offers is subject to Amex Offers Program Terms.POID: KC5X:0001	2026-07-31
1800Flowers.com - Gourmet Food, Flowers & Gifts: Spend $50 or more, earn $15 back, up to 4 times (total of $60). Earn a $15 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $50 in one or more purchases online at 1800flowers.com by 7/31/2026. Limit of 4 statement credits (total of $60).  View Terms: Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to Card and then use same Card for qualifying spend. Only US-issued American Express® Cards are eligible.Limit of 4 statement credits (total of $60 back) per eligible Card Member account. If the Card Account is canceled or past due, it may not qualify to receive the statement credit(s).Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at 1800flowers.com, cheryls.com, thepopcornfactory.com, 1800baskets.com, fruitbouquets.com, harryanddavid.com, wolfermans.com, simplychocolate.com, berries.com, vitalchoice.com, and celebrations.com. Excludes e-gift card purchases, wholesale purchases, and transactions made via personalizationmall.com, bloomnet.net, NAPCO, and napcoimports.com. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Offer valid only on purchases made in US dollars.Offer only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditPlease allow 90-days after 7/31/2026 for the statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.Participation in Amex Offers is subject to Amex Offers Program Terms.POID: KC60:0001	2026-07-31
accessories.ford.com: Earn 4% back on purchases, up to a total of $250 Earn 4% back as a statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make purchases online at accessories.ford.com by 7/1/2026. Limit of $250 back in total statement credits.  View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers® Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of $250 in total statement credits per eligible Card Member account.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website accessories.ford.com. Not valid on orders shipped outside of the US. Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditIf you meet the offer requirements, the statement credit(s) will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for statement credit(s) to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if credit(s) have not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the credit(s). Credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers® are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling in this offer, you agree that American Express may use your transaction and personal information to administer the offer, communicate with you about it, and facilitate your offers experience in accordance with the American Express Privacy Statement.POID: K7YZ:0921	2026-07-01
adidas.com: Earn +6 Membership Rewards® points per eligible dollar spent, up to 5,000 points Earn 6 additional Membership Rewards® points for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases made using your enrolled eligible Card online at adidas.com by 5/31/2026. Limit of 5,000 Membership Rewards points.  View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of 5,000 additional Membership Rewards® points per eligible Card Member.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website adidas.com. Not valid on purchases shipped outside of the US. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Excludes Hype sales and gift cards. Eligible Card Members will earn 6 additional Membership Rewards® points for each dollar spent, up to 5,000 points, on qualifying purchases on their eligible Card.Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Additional Membership Rewards® PointsYou must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program at time of qualifying purchase. If you meet the offer requirements, the additional Membership Rewards® points will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for additional Membership Rewards® points to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if the additional Membership Rewards® points are not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the additional Membership Rewards® points. Additional Membership Rewards® points may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling and making a qualifying purchase, you acknowledge that American Express may share certain transaction data regarding the offer with the merchant participating in such offer. For more information about how we share your information with the merchant, please review the privacy notice applicable to your American Express product or service and our Online Privacy Statement.Bonus ID: B8WU POID: KBXT:0001	2026-05-31
adriannapapell.com: Earn 4% back on purchases, up to a total of $250 Earn 4% back as a statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to make purchases online at adriannapapell.com by 6/1/2026. Limit of $250 back in total statement credits.  View Terms: By enrolling in this offer, you agree to these terms and the Amex Offers® Program Terms.Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to their Card and then use same enrolled Card for qualifying purchases. Any Cards issued outside of the US are not eligible. Only Card Members who enroll are eligible; offers are non-transferable.Limit of $250 in total statement credits per eligible Card Member account.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid online only at US website adriannapapell.com. Not valid on orders shipped outside of the US. Purchases must be made in USD, and offer is only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditIf you meet the offer requirements, the statement credit(s) will typically post to your account within 30 days after you make a qualifying purchase, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. In some circumstances, it may take up to 90 days after the offer end date for statement credit(s) to post. Please call the number on the back of your Card if credit(s) have not posted to your account 30 days after you made the qualifying purchase. Accounts that are canceled at the time of fulfillment of the offer will not receive the credit(s). Credit(s) may not be received or may be reversed if an eligible purchase is returned, partially returned, refunded, canceled or modified.GeneralAmex Offers® are available for varying and limited periods of time, are dynamic and personalized and may differ between Card Members. If you navigate away from the Amex Offers page, you may see different offers when you return. American Express reserves the right to modify or revoke the offer at any time.PrivacyBy enrolling in this offer, you agree that American Express may use your transaction and personal information to administer the offer, communicate with you about it, and facilitate your offers experience in accordance with the American Express Privacy Statement.POID: K7YZ:0906	2026-06-01
Aesop - Formulations for skin, hair, home & body: Spend $200 or more, earn $30 back Earn a one-time $30 statement credit after using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $200 in one or more purchases in-store at Aesop or online at Aesop.com by 10/5/2026. View Terms: Eligibility and EnrollmentEnrollment is limited. Eligible Card Members must first add offer to Card and then use same Card for qualifying spend. Only US-issued American Express® Cards are eligible.Limit of 1 statement credit per eligible Card Member account. If the Card Account is canceled or past due, it may not qualify to receive statement credits.Qualifying PurchasesOffer valid in-store at Aesop and online only at US website Aesop.com. Valid at participating locations in the US. Not valid on purchases shipped outside the US. Excludes wholesale purchases. See merchant website for shipping policy. Some merchants may not ship to all areas. Offer valid only on purchases made in US dollars.Offer only valid on purchases made directly with the merchant. Offer not valid on purchases made using third parties, such as resellers, delivery services, or other intermediaries.Statement CreditPlease allow 90-days after 10/5/2026 for the statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.Participation in Amex Offers is subject to Amex Offers Program Terms.POID: KC70:0002	2026-10-05

The post Current Amex Offers appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Update: This deal appears to be dead, with users reporting a message saying their account is ineligible for the promotion. That didn’t last long!

Dan’s Deals has uncovered a working link to subscribe to ChatGPT Business and get the second seat free for 4 years. That means that with the link below, as long as this deal lasts, you’ll be able to sign up for ChatGPT Business for 2 people for a total of $25 a month (possibly plus tax). That would mean that the new $300 ChatGPT business credit on Business Platinum cards and Business Gold cards could theoretically cover the cost in full each year, provided you’ve remembered to enroll in the benefit, and your state doesn’t have sales tax. Enrollment is required, so be sure to do that before you sign up.

The Deal

• At the time of writing the link below is offering a $25 per month discount for four years for ChatGPT Business. This means it is possible to sign up for the minimum two seats required for a total of $25 per month instead of $50 per month. This deal may get pulled at any time so if you don’t see the promotional pricing after clicking through, it might be dead.
• Direct link to this deal

Key Terms

• Promotional pricing applies for 48 months
• Starting May 15, 2030, ChatGPT Team will continue at $25/month.
• Cancel any time
• See landing page for full details

Quick Thoughts

Earlier this week, American Express launched a new benefit on the Business Platinum and Business Gold cards: up to $300 per calendar year in statement credits for ChatGPT Business subscriptions. As we noted in our post about the addition of that benefit, ChatGPT business requires signing up for a minimum of two users. Ordinarily, that costs $25 per month per seat, for a total of $50 per month at minimum. As a result, we suggested that if you have one qualifying card, you could wait until July to sign up and have July to December 2026 covered by your 2026 benefit, and January to June of next year covered by the 2027 benefit, in order to get an uninterrupted year of access free after rebate.

However, Dan’s Deals has uncovered a working link to an even better deal. If you sign up through the link under the deal above, at the time of writing, you should get $25 off per month, giving you two seats for a total of $25 per month for four years. That would mean that your $300 per-calendar-year benefit would cover your subscription each year for the next four years. Note that some states have sales tax on the ChatGPT business membership. In my state, the sales tax added 8%, so I will have to pay $2 per month for the next four years to have ChatGPT business for two people.

It is also important to note that when I went to subscribe, it defaulted to a subscription for five users. I had to reduce the number of seats to two in order to see it for $25 per month, as shown below.

This surely won’t last long, so if you’re interested, I would recommend taking advantage of it as soon as possible.

The post (Update: Dead?) Get 2 ChatGPT Business seats for $25/mo total for 4 years! (probably won’t last) appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

We talk a lot about the ultra-premium credit cards with expensive annual fees, but there are plenty of people interested in credit cards with more modest annual fees. Luckily, there are some great $95 credit cards that can be supplemented with fee-free cards for a great travel rewards strategy.

Best $95 travel credit card combo

Watch here:

Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):

Giant Mailbag

(01:20) – Melissa writes in with a question about locking in Hyatt prices before May 20th

(04:48) – Jonathan writes in offering a few key data points to update our Hyatt points advance article, which you can find here

Card News

(08:48) – American Express adds $300 in ChatGPT credits on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Cards

(12:40) – See our updated resource for the best cards for Priority Pass here

Crazy Thing: Priority Pass Restaurants

(16:04) – Priority Pass Restaurants

Awards, Points, and More

(18:02) – Mastercard Launches Mastercard Airport Dining Experience (‘Taste By/Of Priceless’ Airport Lounges)

(22:13) – JetBlue and United Unlock Reciprocal Loyalty Benefits

(25:51) – Read Nick’s post about Citi Travel for rental cars here

(30:49) – Read more about Sixt offering prepaid fuel for $49.99 for rentals in the US for Sixt ONE members here

(34:31) – Points Path Pro now shows United discounted cardholder pricing

(36:23) – Read more about how to keep airline miles and hotel points alive here

Main Event: Best $95 travel credit card combo

(37:37) – We’ll focus on which combination of credit cards might make sense for someone to use, but we’ll stick to a $95 annual fee budget. We’ll focus on transferable points and include cash back that can be converted to transferable points

(40:27) – Capital One

(42:21) – Chase

(47:54) – Citi

(52:03) – Wells Fargo

(56:07) – Other considerations

(1:01:05) – Best Mixed-Bank $95 Wallet

(1:10:40) – Nick’s pick for best $95 wallet

(1:13:39) – Greg’s pick for best $95 wallet

Subscribe and Follow

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

The post Best $95 travel credit card combo | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep358 | 5-15-26 appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

It seems like every Tom, Dick, airline, and credit card issuer has their own airport lounge these days. Never one to miss out on a chance to get in the game late, Mastercard has now announced the opening of two new proprietary lounges, one in Hong Kong and the other in São Paulo.

An early 2026 contender for Chase’s “The Edit” award for “Best Awkward Name,” Mastercard’s new lounges are called “Taste by Priceless” or “Taste of Priceless,” depending on location. They feature “chef-curated tasting menus, signature cocktails,” as well as an à la carte menu.

The São Paulo location doesn’t look half bad:

There should be a fair amount of open seating for the foreseeable future, as entry is currently limited to Mastercard’s newish “World Legend” and “World Legend Exclusive” cardholders. That’s a short list in the US, and includes:

• Bilt Palladium 
• Citi Strata Elite
• Citi AA Globe (I believe only some of these are issued as World Legend, so assume not all cardholders get access?)

If that’s you and you’re in Hong Kong or São Paulo, you can bring up to three guests into these oases of luxury, so long as you’re within three hours of departure. If you have any other kind of Mastercard, it’s gonna cost you $70-100 a pop…or what you might consider to be a “Tasteless Price.”

If you’re not in Brazil or Hong Kong and have a qualifying card, hold tight. More locations are expected within the next 3-5 years.

The post Mastercard launches “Taste by Priceless” Lounges appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Early this week, US Bank officially launched its new Amazon Business Cards for new applications.

In and of itself, the card is interesting to Amazon Prime customers, as it earns 5% back at Amazon, AWS, and Whole Foods, and 2% back on your top 3 monthly non-Amazon categories (the non-Prime version is 3%).

The initial launch includes what appears to be a dynamic welcome offer, which varies by account (the application flow prompts you to log in). When my wife and I look at it, it’s surprisingly lame: $100 back after $3,000 in spend. However, we’ve seen reports of people receiving offers of up to $750 back on that same $3k in spend. (h/t: DOC, reddit)

Card Details

Card Offer and Details

Amazon Prime Business Card ⓘ $27 1st Yr Value Estimate$100 Amazon gift card valued at $90 Click to learn about first year value estimates $100 Amazon Gift Card (or more?) Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler $100 statement credit after you make $3K in Net Purchases on your Card in the first 3 months. Offers seem to vary substantially by member. Terms apply. No Annual Fee Learn more Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: For Amazon Prime members, this is a great card for Amazon, AWS, and Whole Foods purchases. Earning rate: Prime Members: 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS, and Whole Foods Market (up to $150K in purchases per calendar year, 1% after) ✦ 2% back on your top 3 categories outside of Amazon (up to $150K in Purchases per calendar year, 1% after) ✦ 1% back on all other purchases Base: 1% Flights: 2% Hotels: 2% Grocery: 2% Dine: 2% Gas: 2% Office: 2% Brand: 5% Card Info: Mastercard Credit Card issued by USB. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatically earn 2% back on your top 3 spending categories (outside of Amazon) each month: Accounting & Tax Services, Advertising & Direct Marketing, Airlines, Car Rental, Cell Phone Providers, Computer & Software Services, Dining, Pharmacies, Entertainment, Gas & EV Stations, Grocery Stores, Hotel, Office Supply Stores, Postal & Shipping Services, Utilities

Quick Thoughts

$100 on $3k spend is pretty laughable, especially when the personal version of the card gives a $150 Amazon gift card on approval. $750 on $3k? That starts to get interesting. If you’re interested in the card, it’s worth checking to see what your offer is.

If you had an Amex Business Prime card previously and canceled it, you are eligible for a welcome offer on the US Bank version. Also, US Bank business cards don’t report to credit agencies, so this card won’t count towards your Chase 5/24 count, unlike the personal Amazon card.

The post US Bank Amazon Business cards are live with targeted welcome offers of up to $750 appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Update 5/15/26: Tickets are now available for June and July games. Get on ’em if you want ’em!

Remember — there are only 4 cardholder-exclusive seats for each game. Many of the highly desirable games will go quickly, and then the other tickets are a very poor value. You have to know what you’re looking for. See this example from Citi Field, where tickets are listed as “$40” in a section where the adjacent sections are going for $100+ per ticket. When you click that section, you’ll see that these are Capital One Cardholder Exclusive tickets available for 5,000 miles each. For reference, all other seats in this section cost more than 20,000 miles per seat in the example below.

If you click on a section without Cardholder Exclusive tickets, it will say “Powered by VividSeats”. Those tickets are a bad value!

~~~Original Post follows~~~

One of the best uses of Capital One miles is Capital One Cardholder Exclusives Major League Baseball tickets. I put that in bold because only the cardholder exclusives are a good deal. There are only 4 Cardholder Exclusive seats for each Major League Baseball game, but those four seats are typically within 5-15 rows of the field in highly desirable sections (in many cases, they are club level sections), and they only cost 5,000 miles or $40 in Capital One cash back per seat. This post explains what these are and where to find them. See this post for some examples from my experience at a New York Mets game and some reader input.

Note: Some readers have been a bit confused because Capital One sells cardholder-exclusive tickets, which are a great deal and what this post is mostly about, but when those aren’t available, they also sell general secondhand market tickets (which are typically an awful deal). See the heading below, “How to find the good Capital One cardholder exclusive tickets,” for more.

The Deal

• Capital One Entertainment is offering cardholders exclusive tickets to baseball games in April and May, with four seats available at 5,000 miles per seat (in excellent locations) for most of the games I checked
• Direct link to Capital One Entertainment

Quick Thoughts

Capital One sells sporting event tickets through a partnership with VividSeats. Most tickets yield an awful value of 0.6c per mile. However, Capital One has 4 Cardholder-Exclusive tickets for every game, typically a great value. They also sell seats powered by VividSeats that are an awful value. See the next section of this post for how to tell the difference.

The first game I looked up in New York when these seats launched was about $200 per ticket in the cardholder-exclusives section. These are seats I wouldn’t otherwise consider buying, but at 5,000 miles per seat, I enjoyed the great view shown above (and the Delta Club, where the concessions had much shorter lines). We even ran into Mr. Met in the club!

Cardholder Exclusive Seats are located very close to the field, though it varies a bit from one park to another. For example, Philadelphia has seats 5 rows behind the visiting team’s dugout, which my sister-in-law loved for a Phillies/Mets game, as she got to sit right behind her beloved Mets.

Again, Capital One has many publicly available VividSeats options at a poorer value—you’re looking for cardholder-exclusive seats.

There were no additional fees for any of the tickets I’ve bought (in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Kansas City) beyond the 10K miles for two tickets or 20K for four tickets, though some parks have a couple of dollars in tax that must be paid with your card.

The tickets at Citi Field (where the Mets play) are in the Delta Club section, so you get access to better concessions, and the seats are more padded. That type of thing will vary by park.

Personally, I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I enjoy cool experiences, and I wouldn’t be very likely to buy tickets so close to the field otherwise, so I bought tickets again this time around because it’s a fun experience at a reasonable price.

How to find the good Capital One Cardholder Exclusive tickets

Capital One can be finicky about how they display the Cardholder Exclusive seats. Sometimes, when cardholder-exclusive seats are available, you will only see those tickets available for sale.

Other times, the cardholder exclusives might be mixed in among nosebleed seats that yield terrible value. For instance, see this example from a New York Mets game: you’ll find cardholder-exclusive seats in the Delta Club 11 section, right near the field, listed at 5,000 miles per seat, alongside seats in the 400’s and 500’s sections. You’ll only get 0.6c per point toward seats, but Capital One lists those Delta Club 11 seats at $40 per seat, well below the going price!

You’ll kind of need to know what you’re looking for: 2 or 4 seats for 5,000 miles per seat, close to the field. Note that these are initially available for every game, but there are only four seats per game — expect most of the desirable games to get snatched up quickly. In most parks, the seats cost just 5,000 miles each with no cash outlay at all (I’ve bought tickets for games at both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field in New York, as well as tickets to games in Boston, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, and only paid 5,000 miles each in those cases). Some parks seem to charge a small fee of a couple of dollars, which I assume is a local tax.

To find tickets, just log in to Capital One Experiences, and you’ll find MLB Single Game Tickets under the cardholder exclusives.

This link should take you directly to MLB tickets.

As shown above, Capital One is now mixing the cardholder-exclusive seats with all VividSeats tickets. That makes it kind of a pain to find the good seats.

Here’s the simple way to tell the difference: check the sections right next to the field. You’re looking for one that has tickets “From $40” (typically seats in these sections go over over $100 per seat, or in cities like New York, they would be over $200 per seat). Those cardholder-exclusive seats will cost 5,000 miles each, and you can only buy in sets of 2 or 4. When you select those seats, you’ll see that they are clearly marked “Cardholder Exclusive Tickets by Capital One” as shown here:

If you select a set of tickets that says “Tickets Powered by VividSeats”, those are not the cardholder exclusives and are offered at poor value! See this example from the next section over from the one shown above: tickets start at $103, are available for 13,000 miles, and are “powered by VividSeats”. Those aren’t the exclusives.

The “value” appears to be the same because Capital One is saying that the cardholder exclusives are “worth” $40 each, but in reality, seats in that section would likely sell for north of $100 per ticket, just like the nearby sections — Capital One is simply listing a below-face-value price for their cardholder exclusive seats.

When you click through on those seats, you’ll see they are Capital One cardholder exclusives.

The cardholder=exclusive tickets have no additional fees — they are 5K miles per ticket, period. I bought tickets to both a Yankees game and a Phillies game (against the Mets) and paid 10K for two tickets to each game.

Again, Capital One also lists tickets in many different sections; those are not cardholder exclusives but are rather a selection of seats powered by VividSeats. The non-exclusive VividSeats tickets are not a good deal. You’ll only get 0.8c per point toward those tickets, and there are many add-on fees at checkout. The seats shown here are not cardholder-exclusive.

Kind of interesting and weird is that Capital One labels the good “exclusive” seats as though they cost $40, even though the exclusives are near the field in otherwise much more expensive sections. Don’t be confused by this — the cardholder exclusives are labeled as $40 tickets, but you can’t actually buy them for $40.

In fact, when you’ve got the cardholder exclusive tickets, you don’t even get the option to use money to buy the seats — you couldn’t buy them for $40 each if you wanted to, it’s 5K miles per ticket during checkout with no option to use fewer miles and no additional fees (and you must buy either 2 or 4 tickets). If you are seeing different mileage amounts or additional fees, you’re not looking at the cardholder-exclusive seats.

Also, if you pick a team that isn’t in your local area, you’ll have to type the city where you want to see them in the “Near” box. For instance, since I’m in New York State, it searched for Chicago Cubs tickets in New York City. I had to type in Chicago, IL, to see games at Wrigley Field.

I was really happy to see that Capital One isn’t tacking on any fees at checkout — it’s literally just 5,000 miles per ticket (you have to buy tickets in blocks of 2).

Overall, it’s great to see Capital One offer interesting exclusives to cardholders. While baseball isn’t necessarily a direct path to my heart, I could see tickets to certain sold-out events or in great locations like these baseball tickets being an exciting cardholder perk. I thought the Final Four tickets were a cool idea. Offering something similar for other major events could be both a great use of miles and a great perk for cardholders.

The post [Jun/Jul ’26 added!] Baseball fans: Capital One once again has great seats for 5,000 miles each appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Until yesterday, I’d never heard of Paze. Today, I’m very interested.

That’s because Doctor of Credit posted about a promo that Chase quietly added to most Freedom and Sapphire cards that gives you a bonus 10x when you use that card to check out with Paze. The promo is limited to 15,000 points per month (or $1,500 in purchases) and expires on 12/31/26. That’s a potential for up to 105,000 points on $10.5K in purchases through the end of the year.

Currently, the list of merchants that accept Paze is fairly small, but it includes some useful ones, such as United Airlines, Newegg, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Undoubtedly, more are on the way.

The Deal

• Get 10x additional points on top of your Ultimate Rewards points when you check out with Paze at participating merchants through December 31, 2026.
  • Up to $1,500 in purchases per month (for a total of 15,000 additional points monthly)
  • Eligible cards: Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Sapphire Preferred®, Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and Freedom Flex
  • List of merchants that use Paze as a checkout method
  • Note that you need to be in the United States or using a VPN when you activate Paze

Terms and Conditions

• From 05/01/2026 to 12/31/2026, you will earn 10 additional points when you check out with Paze at a participating online merchant, on up to $1,500 in total combined purchases each month (thatˇs 10 additional points on top of the points you earn on these purchases in the card rewards program, up to 15,000 additional points each month).
• Purchases posted to your account with a transaction date during the offer period are eligible for this offer.
• Please allow up to 8 weeks after qualifying purchases post to your account for bonus points to post to your account.
• “Purchases” do not include balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions including, but not limited to: travelers checks, foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, other similar digital or virtual currency and other similar transactions; lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers, or similar offline and online betting transactions; person-to-person money transfers and account-funding transactions that transfer currency, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.
• Paze℠: Existing Chase consumer customers with a digital profile (i.e., if you signed in to Chase Online℠ or the Chase Mobile^® app) and have recently made an online purchase using your Chase debit or credit card are eligible for Paze℠ . If you open a new credit card or deposit account with a debit card and have a digital profile, your new card will be automatically added to your Paze℠ wallet.
• Paze℠ isn’t currently available to Chase customers under the age of 18, business customers, commercial customers, or credit card authorized users.
• Chase First Banking℠ debit cards, Chase High School Checking℠ debit cards, Chase business credit cards (such as Ink Business℠), and Private Bank credit and debit cards aren’t eligible. Message and data rates may apply.

Quick Thoughts

Evidently, this promo has been live since May 1st, but to my knowledge, Chase hasn’t released any announcement. You’ll find it listed under “Boost your points” in the “Benefits” section of your online account:

When checking out at a merchant that accepts Paze, you’ll see it listed as a payment method alongside things like PayPal, Venmo, etc:

The list of merchants that currently accept Paze is very limited. However, it appears that Chase is putting in some serious effort to promote it, so I imagine that we’ll see the merchant list expand dramatically.

But what’s there is interesting already. Newegg is primarily an online electronics retailer that also sells gift cards, often with promotions. It’s popular among miles and points folks because it earns 4x points when using the Amex Business Gold card, making it a lucrative avenue for buying gift cards for personal use or resale. However, 10x is a heckuva lot more appealing than 4x…and don’t forget you’ll also earn your normal credit card rewards.

For those who spend cash on United Airlines tickets, that means that you could get the excellent travel protections from your Sapphire Preferred® or Sapphire Reserve® cards, and earn 12x or 14x Ultimate Reward points on the purchase when combining the promo with what you get from the card.

As far as I can tell, the terms don’t specify whether the $ 1,500-per-month limit is per account or per card, but my assumption is that it’s per card. This could make the potential ceiling even higher for folks with several eligible cards.

The post Chase Sapphire and Freedom promo for 10x when using Paze is worth a look appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Kroger is again running a promotion that awards 4x fuel points on third-party gift cards, whether purchased online or in-store, and Fixed-value Visa and Mastercard gift cards purchased in-store.

Both deals are valid only on Friday, May 15th.

Note that the terms on this promo now state that Amazon and fuel gift cards are excluded from earning 4x. You’ll still earn 2x fuel points (the normal rate).

The Deal

• Kroger and its empire of affiliated stores are offering 4x fuel points on the following gift cards:
  • All third-party gift cards in-store (must clip coupon)
  • Fixed value Visa/Mastercard gift cards in-store (must clip coupon)
  • Online purchases of gift cards (direct link, no coupon needed)

Key Terms

• Offer May 15, 2026
• Excludes Amazon gift cards.

Quick Thoughts

When buying third-party gift cards, earning 4x fuel points can save you up to 14% on gas. To illustrate how that 14% figure is calculated, let’s say you spend $250 on gift cards during the promotion. That would earn you 1,000 fuel points, which can be redeemed for $1 off per gallon on up to 35 gallons. If you’re able to refuel to that 35-gallon limit (perhaps with a large gas tank or refueling 2+ household vehicles at once), you’d save $35. Saving $35 on the original $250 of gift card spend works out to a 14% discount.

If your gas tank is smaller, though, your savings won’t be as high. For example, our car holds at most 12 gallons, so we can barely save 5% on gas through these promotions, given how much we spend on gift cards. You can often get better discounts on gift cards through sites like Raise, so weigh up all your options before buying them at full price from Kroger or its affiliates like Dillons, King Soopers, Ralphs, Fry’s, or Smith’s.

You can earn 4x fuel points on gift cards purchased online or in-store, though there are a couple of important differences between the two. If you’ll be buying in-store, you have to load the digital coupons to your account first, whereas you’ll automatically earn 4x fuel points when buying gift cards online from Kroger.

The other thing to bear in mind is that buying gift cards in-store lets you take advantage of the plethora of cards offering bonus spend at grocery stores right now. Kroger’s online gift card site processes payments through Blackhawk Network (owner of GiftCardMall and GiftCards.com), so those online orders don’t code as grocery purchases.

Past Offers

• May 1 – 12, 2026 for third party cards
• April 15-May 12, 2026 for Visa/Mastercard gift cards
• April 8-21, 2026 for third party cards
• March 25-April 7, 2026
• March 13th-15, 2026 for third party gift cards & March 13th-17th for Visa/Mastercard gift cards
• February 26th, 2026
• January 30th through February 1, 2026
• January 23rd, 2026
• January 7th through January 20th, 2026
• January 2nd through January 6th, 2026
• December 26th through December 28th
• November 12th through December 2nd
• November 7th through November 9th
• October 22nd through November 4th
• October 17th – October 21st for Visa and Mastercard gift cards.
• October 17th – October 19th for 3rd-party gift cards
• September 17th – September 30th
• September 14th – September 16th
• August 29th- September 1st
• August 22nd – August 24th
• August 15th – August 17th
• July 31st – August 12th
• July 25th
• July 18th
• July 11th
• June 25th – July 8th
• June 20th – June 22nd
• June 6th – June 17th
• May 30th – June 2nd
• May 23rd – May 26th
• May 16th
• May 1st – May 13th
• April 25th
• April 9th – April 22nd
• March 22nd – April 1st
• March 7th – March 18th
• January 31st
• January 8, 2025 – January 21, 2025
• November 13 – December 3rd
• October 23 – November 5th
• September 18 – October 1st
• August 30 – September 2nd
• August 23rd – 25th
• August 16th – 18th
• July 31st – August 13th
• July 26th
• July 19th
• July 12th
• June 26th – July 9th
• June 21st
• June 5th – 18th
• May 31st
• May 24th – 27th
• May 1st – 14th
• April 26th
• April 10th – 23rd
• March 20th – April 2nd
• March 15th – 17th
• January 31st -February 20th
• January 10th – 23rd
• January 5th – 7th, 2024

The post (EXPIRED) Kroger: Earn 4x fuel points on 3rd party and fixed-value Visa / Mastercard gift cards appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Chase has launched a new transfer bonus today, and it’s one that we don’t often see. Until June 5th, you can receive an additional 30% when transferring Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards.

The Deal

• Receive a 30% bonus when transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Rapid Rewards.
  • Expires 6/6/26

Direct link to offer

Key Terms

• Expires June 6, 2026, at 11:59 pm ET.
• Bonus Rapid Rewards points (“Bonus points”) offer is valid for point transfers to your Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account (“Rapid Rewards”) from your Chase Ultimate Rewards account (“Ultimate Rewards”) submitted between 12:00 AM ET on May 15, 2026 and 11:59 PM ET on June 5, 2026 (“Promotional Period”).
• Minimum transfer is 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Bonus Rapid Rewards points will be awarded by Southwest Airlines in your Rapid Rewards account up to 7 days after the points transfer is completed. Bonus points will not count towards Companion Pass^® or tier qualification.
• For this 30% bonus offer, you will receive 30% additional Southwest Rapid Rewards points for each Ultimate Rewards point transferred during the Promotional Period listed above. For example, if you transfer 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you will receive a total of 1,300 Rapid Rewards points (1,000 from the transfer, plus 300 for the Bonus Rapid Rewards offer).
• You must be enrolled in Rapid Rewards with both your membership in good standing and your Ultimate Rewards credit card account open, and not in default in order to participate in this offer. Visit Southwest.com to enroll in Rapid Rewards.
• Once you have transferred Ultimate Rewards points, they become subject to the Rapid Rewards Rules and Regulations and cannot be transferred back to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account.
• Taxes, government-imposed fees, and all applicable charges apply on Southwest Airlines reward flights and upgrades.
• Individual airline carrier restrictions may apply.
• All Rapid Rewards Program rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms.
• Reward flights are subject to availability.
• Chase is not responsible for the availability of flights or any other rewards in the Rapid Rewards program.

Quick Thoughts

Southwest points are dynamically tied to both the demand for and cost of flights, so it’s not possible to get incredibly outsized value for award flights. Nick found that the median value of Rapid Rewards Points was ~1.3 cents each, but he also observed redemption values ranging from 1.1 to 1.9 cents per point.

This transfer bonus means that you could count on getting ~1.7 cents per point of value when transferring Ultimate Rewards to your Rapid Rewards account, with the possibility of even better (or worse) on some routes. That’s certainly above our Reasonable Redemption Value for Chase Points of 1.5 cents each.

We normally caution against transferring points speculatively, and there are other opportunities to get better returns from your Ultimate Rewards. That said, for folks who burn through a lot of Southwest Points, this could be a decent opportunity given the 30% bonus combined with the relative infrequency of Southwest transfer bonuses.

The post 30% transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

5/15/26: We’ve now reached the final weekend for points sharing between Citi ThankYou Rewards customers. If you want to share points with your partner, friend, colleague, or anyone else, do it soon. Don’t wait until Sunday night either, as Citi is notorious for making changes before midnight Eastern time.

The following notice is now present on the general ThankYou Rewards website:

We had hoped that the end of points sharing might be confined to Citi ThankYou Mastercard holders (see below). Alas, that’s not the case. If you need to transfer any points between different household members, do it before 5/17…and don’t wait until the last minute to do it. Citi is notorious for implementing changes a couple of hours early.

As a reminder, this DOES NOT affect the ability to pool points between your own cards.

~~~Original Post Follows~~~

Citi ThankYou Points might be my favorite transferable currency due to its excellent portfolio of transfer partners and appealing credit cards. However, it has a rather draconian policy for transferring points between cardholders. Each calendar year, you can send a maximum of 100,000 points to another cardholder and receive a maximum of 100,000. The catch is that those transferred points then expire 90 days after they’re moved, a bug feature that I’ve seen burn countless folks.

Unfortunately, Citi may be about to make its transfer policy even worse, as some cardholders (including me) have received the following message on their April statements:

Update to ThankYou® Rewards Point Sharing
Effective 5/17/2026, Point Sharing will no longer be offered as a ThankYou® Rewards redemption option. Additionally, you will no longer be able to receive
shared points. You can share and receive shared points until 5/16/2026.
As a reminder, shared points expire 90 days after the date they were shared.

I received that notice on the statement for my Citi ThankYou Mastercard, a peculiar product that I believe exists only for folks who were converted from another Citi card that was discontinued; mine used to be the old Sears Shop Your Way card.

The reason I mention this is that I’m not yet 100% sure the change will apply to all ThankYou Points earned from any Citi card, or just those earned from this particular one. The only data points I can find from folks who have actually received this message are from their ThankYou Mastercards, also. The points from that card are already treated differently from other ThankYou Points, in that they expire 3 years after they’re earned, whereas the points earned from other cards don’t expire so long as the card is open.

There’s no notice on the ThankYou Point website, and when I called Citi to ask about points-sharing, no one I spoke to knew anything or could find any information about it…except the rep from my ThankYou Mastercard.

That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Citi is notoriously poor at communication, and it could just be that the message is showing up on ThankYou Mastercards first. After all, American Express doesn’t allow transfers between cardholders, and Chase only permits it between cardholders within the same household. It’s not like Citi would be completely out on its own if it decided to mimic Amex.

What Now?

That said, let’s assume that Citi is really ending points transfers on 5/17. I’ve never used the feature myself, as I can’t stand the 90-day expiration policy and didn’t want to be pressured to use them within that window. That said, I’m certain many people in multiplayer households use it to transfer points so they can immediately use them for a specific award; losing that ability stinks.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t affect the ability to pool points. For instance, I have my Citi Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Double Cash, Custom Cash, and ThankYou Mastercard all on the same ThankYou points account, so they all are deposited into one pool. There is no reason to ever have to use points sharing to move points from one of your cards to another, only between cardholders.

Many people get confused by this because the ThankYou Rewards website (where you combine accounts) is notoriously fickle. Any difference in profile between two cards will keep them from being combined online. This could be an initial, an odd space in the street address or zip code, or even that one account has a phone number listed as “home” while another has it under “mobile.” You can either try to figure out what’s wrong or call the ThankYou Rewards service center, and they can process it for you. However, just to be clear, ending points sharing should have no impact on your ability to pool points between your own cards.

For folks who regularly transfer between players, it will take some household planning, similar to what folks already do with Amex. It’s worth considering whether it makes sense to have one person as the primary point-of-sale earner, with the other using either mobile payment apps or authorized user cards.

It’s also worth taking a look at what redemptions you may want to make over the next year or so, then transferring points before May 16th. Just remember to move them into the relevant loyalty programs before the 90 days are up.

Final Thoughts

It looks like points sharing between Citi cardholders is coming to an end on May 17th. This is undoubtedly a customer-unfriendly move that stinks for folks used to moving points freely between cardholders. This puts Citi’s policy in line with Amex’s, but it’s much more punitive than Chase’s and Capital One’s.

This is most likely intended as an anti-fraud measure, though that’s no comfort to folks who used it as intended. I’m surprised that Citi felt like they needed to do this, given the 100k annual limit and 90-day expiry, but here we are.

I love Citi points and never use the points sharing feature, so I won’t notice its departure. However, for folks who rely on household transfers to build a redeemable stash of points, it may be worth designating one person as the Citi “point-earner” and then focusing on Capital One and Chase in order to share points freely between players.

The post (EXPIRED) Citi ThankYou Rewards: Last weekend to share points between cardholders (Ends May 17th) appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

Hotel credits have become rather ubiquitous on travel rewards credit cards. I would say that I’m swimming in hotel credits, but the truth is that it feels more like I’m drowning in hotel credits. Complexifying things is the fact that I’m a serial stacker, always looking for the best deal. That combination of factors recently led to analysis paralysis, where I had a lot of difficulty deciding just how to book a two-night hotel stay where elite status and benefits don’t particularly matter. This post is my attempt to help myself figure out how to book a two-night hotel stay, whether by using one of my various credits or stacking the best possible deal.

The situation

The situation at hand is that I need a two-night stay at a Caesars property on Lake Tahoe. I’m heading to Lake Tahoe for a Caesars tier credit multiplier in order to run the numbers on earning the rest of the way to Caesars Diamond Plus status in a single day.

I intended to stay at Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe since that property has been newly renovated. Reviews I’ve read suggest that Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, its sister property, which is connected by an underground walkway, is a bit more dated.

Unfortunately, I dragged my feet until availability completely disappeared at Caesars Republic for one of my nights. It was still possible to book a run-of-house room if I booked directly through Caesars. I didn’t particularly like the idea of a run-of-the-house room because I could get stuck with a smoking room. I don’t smoke, and I hate the smell of cigarette smoke. While I accept that going to a casino means being exposed to smoke, I don’t really want to retreat to a room that also smells like smoke. I decided to go with Harrah’s.

I don’t really care whether I end up with a room that has two queen beds or a room with one king. I’d slightly prefer the king, but not enough to pay (much) for it.

I’m only staying for two nights. Since it’s a casino property, elite status isn’t particularly important. I’m therefore relatively ambivalent about how I book the property, but I have quite a few different options that have my head spinning . . .

Various hotel booking platforms/credit options

To kick things off, here is a brief rundown of hotel credits I currently have available:

• $300 Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection (I have several of these). Current credits expire 6/30/26. Spoiler alert: Harrah’s isn’t on those.
• $300 Citi Strata Elite hotel credit for a stay of 2 nights or longer booked via Citi Travel. Current credit is valid through the end of 2026, though we may not renew this card when it comes up for renewal this fall, so it may effectively expire sooner.
• $200 Bilt Palladium hotel credit for a booking of 2 nights or more booked via Bilt. This credit expires 6/30/26.
• $250 The Edit by Chase Travel℠ credit. We have 4 of these credits between my P1 and P2 that expire 12/31/26. Spoiler alert: there are no The Edit properties that fit for this.
• $250 hotel credit through Chase Travel for select brands. Again, this doesn’t apply to this stay.
• $100 Splurge credit on Citi AA Globe card that can be used for hotel booking through AA Hotels. My wife and I both have this credit, and it is valid until the end of the year, though we may not renew my wife’s card when it comes up for renewal in October (we’ll keep mine for sure)
• Plenty of Capital One Shopping money to redeem for Hotels.com gift cards to cover this stay
• Plenty of Caesars Rewards credits to cover the stay if booked direct

While a few of those wouldn’t fit here, many of them could, so I had to weigh my options.

I should add that there is a current Amex Offer good for $40 back when you spend $200 or more at select Caesars Rewards properties (Lake Tahoe is included). Many of the options below require paying a ~$68 resort fee at the hotel. If I also charged meals to the hotel during my stay, I would likely be able to trigger that offer and save an effective ~20% on the resort fee + food, sort of inadvertently reducing the cost of some of the options.

But it isn’t yet clear to me which option is best, so here they are . . .

Book direct with Caesars and stack with portal cash, possible Amex Offer, or use Rewards Credits

A clear advantage of a direct booking would be the ability to use Caesars Rewards credits to pay for my room. There are a couple of ways I could stack to make the deal a little bit better:

• Click through from Rove Miles to Caesars to earn 6.5 miles per dollar on the base rate based on the current rate at the time of writing (1,176.5 Rove miles, worth $16.47 based on our Reasonable Redemption Values)
• Use an Amex card enrolled in an Amex Offer that’s good for $40 back on $200 or more. Note that enrollment is required, and this offer expires 5/24/26.

That would make the net cost approximately $225.75 after the Amex statement credit and Rove Miles.

Book direct with Caesars and use Rewards Credits

Since I recently opened the Caesars Prestige credit card and I have also moved some Wyndham points to Caesars in the past, I could use Caesars Rewards credits to cover the room and resort fee. Caesars would charge me 24,090 reward credits total to cover the room and resort fee. There would be no tax, which makes reward credits worth a little bit more than I realized. I knew that they could be used at a value of one cent each toward room and some types of charges while on property, but I hadn’t realized that they could be used to cover the resort fee and eliminate taxes on the room. That actually makes them worth a bit more than 1c per point when used toward rooms.

Interestingly, it still shows that I would earn Tier credits and reward credits on the reservation even when using reward credits to pay, so maybe I would still earn the Rove miles also.

However, there are quite a few other ways to consider booking this room.

Redeem Capital One Shopping rewards and book through Hotels.com + Retailmenot

I currently have OneKey (the Expedia/Hotels.com/vrbo loyalty program) Silver status thanks to having made a few Hotels.com bookings last year (using gift cards from Capital One Shopping to pay for my stays). As a result, I qualify for some special member pricing, which in this case got me a discount shown as $33.69 off. Interestingly, and this is new to me, Hotels.com is offering me the choice to either save now with that discount or bank that money for later as OneKey cash. As you can see, the price through Hotels.com is actually a little bit better than directly via Caesars, with the total coming to $269.17. I have plenty of Capital One Shopping gift card money to cover that.

But this option actually gets a little bit better. I could click through the shopping portal to go to Hotels.com and make this booking. At the time that I’m writing this, RetailMeNot is offering 12% back on Hotels.com bookings, up to $50 back.

I would only expect to earn that 12% back on the room rate portion of the bill, which means I would expect to earn 12% of $181. That’s $21.72 back from RetailMeNot. But it gets a little bit better yet because RetailMeNot currently has a couple of coupon codes listed on their site, and at least one of them works. They list a coupon for 10% back in the Hotels.com app or 8% back on the website. Since I was doing this comparison on my computer, I tried the code for 8% back on the website, and sure enough, it worked to drop the total price of the hotel by just a little bit.

That would drop the RetailMeNot cash back to just over $20. The resort fee portion of this is due at the property, so I would need to pay $187.49 to Hotels.com, which I could cover entirely with Hotels.com gift cards from Capital One Shopping. I’d end up with $20 in real cash back from RetailMeNot, using a net $48.19 out of pocket, along with the $187.49 in Capital One Shopping money to cover this stay. You could call the net cost ~$235, but most readers probably wouldn’t value Capital One Shopping cash at full face value, so I think it is more accurate to think of the net cost as $48.19 in real money + $187.49 in Capital One Shopping rewards.

Targeted Capital One Shopping offer for $100 back on $100

I might be able to do a little bit better yet through Hotels.com, depending on your perspective. Yesterday, I got targeted through Capital One Shopping for a special homepage offer to either get $100 back on an event ticket purchase of $100 or more or $100 back on a hotel booking of $100 or more. Again, these are targeted offers that only some members see.

The offer is a little more complicated to use than I expected. You need to use the Capital One Shopping Price Comparison tool to compare prices across sites like Priceline, Expedia, Trip.com, Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com, and more.

Interestingly, the “$100 back on $100” varies depending on the booking channel you choose. As you can see here, I could get $100 back if I clicked through to book directly with Caesars:

However, as you’ll probably notice above, the rate via Hotels.com was listed as being a little higher, and it would only be eligible for $80 in rewards if booked through Hotels.com. The total price was listed as $248, though I think it was likely off as it would have probably come to the same ~$269 as above.

Assuming that is true, and I wanted to book through Hotels.com rather than booking direct, I would be on the hook for the ~$269 price shown further above from Hotels.com. Today, I would pay ~$200 via Hotels.com gift cards (redeemed from Capital One Shopping). Later, I would have to pay the resort fee at the hotel, which would be $68.28 out of pocket.

To kind of break that down, I would redeem Capital One Shopping rewards for a Hotels.com gift card for ~$200 in order to avoid paying anything out of pocket right now. I would later spend $68.28 out of pocket at the hotel, eventually getting $80 back in Capital One Shopping Cash.

Spending $200 in Capital One Shopping cash now and later getting $80 in Capital One Shopping cash back means that the net result here is that it would cost me $120 worth of Capital One Shopping Cash and $68.28 cents in actual cash.

Maybe it would have been possible to click through to Caesars and pay with Caesars Rewards credits (24,090 Rewards credits) and still earn the $100 back from Capital One Shopping. I don’t know whether that would have worked, but I didn’t try that.

Book via Chase Points Boost

Via Chase Travel, the prices are inflated. Oddly, the 1 King premium room is less expensive than the 2 Queens premium room (despite the room with 2 Queens being cheaper when booking directly or via Hotels.com).

You might notice that the cents per point (cpp) redemption rate listed by Points Path is variable depending on the room type. However, that appears to be an error with how Points Path is calculating the rate as it’s not accounting for the resort fee which is paid for at the hotel. When accounting for that, the Points Boost rate is 1.25cpp for each room type.

Interestingly, the resort fee is less on some room types at $68 than it is on other room types at $78. I don’t really understand why, but either way, you have to pay that cost out-of-pocket.

I’m not actually going to book the room this way, but I wanted to include it for completeness here. The 1 King room that I would book would cost me more than 19,775 points plus $78. That’s clearly inferior to the other options so far, so I didn’t spend any more time thinking about this one.

Citi Travel to use Strata Elite $300 prepaid hotel credit

My wife has the Citi Strata Elite card. One of the benefits of that card is a $300 credit for a prepaid hotel booking of two nights or more. We haven’t yet used that for this year, and we don’t have any clear plans to put it to use. I hadn’t been very interested in booking through Citi Travel because of its past reputation for higher prices and the fact that you won’t typically earn hotel points and elite credits. With this stay, those hotel points and elite credits aren’t meaningful.

After my recent surprises with the terrific pricing I found on rental cars through Citi Travel, I became significantly more interested in checking it out for this hotel stay.

And Citi once again surprised me with better pricing than I expected. Initially, the system showed an even better price than what is shown above, but when I got to the checkout page and toggled the switch to make the booking for someone else, it popped up a message saying that the price was no longer available. I don’t know whether it had anything to do with me toggling that switch.

The best price available through Citi Travel was for a room with one king bed. I was happy to see the total price here of $179.46 plus the resort fee of $78.28. The Strata Elite hotel credit would cover the $179.46 of the room rate, taxes, and fees, while I would have to pay the $78.28 out of pocket at the hotel. That would be a pretty good deal. It would somewhat awkwardly leave me with about $120 of the Strata Elite Card’s annual hotel credit. Since that $120 left over would need to be used on a stay of two nights or more, I fear that the credit would become even harder to use in full. That made me less excited about using the Strata Elite.

Bilt Palladium $200 hotel credit

While the Citi Strata Elite 300 credit might be overkill, my next thought was to see if I could make use of the Bilt Palladium card’s twice-a-year $200 credit for a hotel booking through Bilt. That credit has to be used once between January and June and once between July and December. Further, it can be topped off with an additional $100 hotel credit by using Bilt cash. My wife hasn’t yet used either credit on her Bilt Palladium card for the first half of this year, and we haven’t had a clear use in mind as to how we would use it. That would make this stay a potentially perfect use of Bilt cash.

Annoyingly, Bilt makes it really hard to see the entire price of a hotel. While you can see the room types listed above along with prices in initial search results (as shown above), it doesn’t show a full breakdown with taxes and fees unless you click “Book”. I find that really misleading. Labeling the button with the word “Book” makes it seem like clicking that button will force the booking, which may not be what you want to do. In fact, if you do decide to chance it and click that button in the hopes that it will take you forward to a checkout page, the next thing you see is a pop-up asking you to confirm with a text message code to make your booking.

The background makes it look like you would have a place to enter guest information and see a full price, but the wording certainly makes it sound like the hotel is going to be booked if you enter that text message code. That would make me really nervous about any sort of non-refundable booking.

However, in this case, the hotel would be refundable, so my wife went ahead and entered the text message code.

As you can see above, by booking through Bilt, we could use my wife’s Bilt Palladium hotel credit. Since Bilt’s price was higher than Citi’s price, I’d have to come out of pocket for another $37.72 in addition to the $68.28 due at the hotel for the resort fee. I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to use a little Bilt Cash to cover the $37.72 overage. Not so fast . . .

It is possible to toggle on both the hotel credit and the $100 monthly hotel credit that you can cover with Bilt Cash. However, that $100 monthly hotel credit via Bilt Cash has to be used as a whole. It wasn’t possible to use just $37.72 in Bilt Cash.

Instead, if I wanted to use the $100 monthly Bilt Cash hotel credit, it would reduce the amount going toward the Palladium Card’s hotel credit. Instead of using the $200 Palladium Card hotel credit, it would only use $137.72 of Bilt Palladium hotel credit plus the $100 in Bilt Cash hotel credit.

That would leave me with ~$62 of unused hotel credit that expires on 6/30/26 and can only be used to book a hotel stay of 2 nights or more. I didn’t particularly like that idea.

A potential solution would have been to have booked an upgraded room that had a price closer to $300, so I could use the entire credit in one shot. I didn’t prefer that here as I hope we’ll be able to put the Bilt Cash to use in some better way (like via a transfer bonus).

AA Hotels with Citi AA Globe Splurge Credit

The option I almost completely forgot until the very end was that I could book via AA Hotels. The main draw here for me would be that the Citi AAdvantage Globe Card has a $100 Spurge credit. One of the options for that credit is booking prepaid hotels through AA Hotels.

My wife and I both had Barclays Aviator Silver Cards that were recently converted to the Citi AA Globe Card, so we each have one of those Spurge credits to use. As you can see above, the first night would have been $114.88 plus resort fee. After my $100 Spurge credit on a Globe Card, this night would cost me $14.88 out of pocket, plus the ~$34 resort fee and resort fee taxes. Additionally, I’d have earned 2,500 American Airlines miles (and Loyalty Points). Those miles are worth almost as much as the cash outlay in this case, making the first night feel almost net free.

Unfortunately, the same room type was significantly more expensive the next night at $183.82 plus resort fee. It would have come with more miles at 3,400 American Airlines miles, but even after the credit, it would cost me about $118 between the leftover portion of the room charge and the resort fee for that second night.

Even with the price differential, this can be a contender. Consider that it breaks down pretty well:

• Night #1: Net $14.88 + $34 resort fee, earn 2,500 miles
• Night #2: Net $83.82 + $34 resort fee, earn 3,400 miles
• Total: $166.70 out of pocket for 2 nights + 5,900 miles/Loyalty Points

According to our Reasonable Redemption Values, the miles are worth $82.60, making the “net” cost here $84.10. That’s certainly a contender.

With cash rates I had been seeing earlier in the week, I might have been able to cover the room rate portion of a 2-night stay with a single card credit if I had thought of this a few days prior (paying just resort fees out of pocket).

Summarizing the options

To sum things up, I could:

1. Book direct, paying a “net” $225.75 (accounting for the value of Rove Miles)
2. Use 24,090 Caesars Rewards credits to cover the room in full (possibly still earning ~$16.50 in Rove miles and over $2 in Caesars Rewards), paying nothing out of pocket
3. Pay a net $48.28 out of pocket (after $20 back from Retailmenot) + $187.49 in Capital One Shopping cash
4. Pay $68.28 out of pocket + a net $120.89 in Capital One Shopping rewards (using $200.89 in Capital One Shopping rewards initially and getting $80 back later)
5. Pay $78 out of pocket at the hotel + 19,775 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
6. Pay $78.28 out of pocket at the hotel + use $179.46 in Citi hotel credit (leaving us with $120.54 in hotel credit through Citi that can only be used on a stay of 2 nights or longer)
7. Pay $106 out of pocket ($37.72 via Bilt + $68.28 at the hotel) and use $200 of Bilt Palladium hotel credit
8. Pay a “net” $84.10 through AA Hotels ($166.70 out of pocket, getting back 5,900 miles)

The right answer there doesn’t necessarily seem super simple to identify. I kept finding myself coming back to the expiration dates. The Bilt hotel coupon expires in six weeks, and we have no other plans to use it, which created a sense of urgency. Keeping my Capital One shopping rewards available for redemption later feels like it makes sense since those don’t expire, and there are a lot of different ways I can use them, not just for hotels.

Booking via AA hotels is the one alternative that seems particularly interesting. We aren’t under a time crunch to use those hotel credits, but I don’t anticipate where we’ll use them otherwise. It’s a really strong contender here, particularly because I do value American Airlines miles pretty highly. It would also get me a chunk of the way to requalifying for American Airlines status. AA Hotels is intriguing here!

Ultimately, I booked via Bilt, but I’m still within the cancellation window. AA hotels certainly has me reconsidering what to prioritize here.

I think this really illustrates the problem with expiring hotel credits and the reason why you really shouldn’t value them at full face value. The $200 Bilt Palladium credit simply is not saving me $200 in actual cash in this situation. In fact, it cost me a little cash over what I would pay via some of the other booking channels, but it gave me the opportunity to wipe the soonest-expiring credit off the books. It wasn’t worthless, but it was worth significantly less than $200.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Citi once again showed strength in pricing. Citi’s all-in rate was not only better than the rate I would get booking directly with Caesars as a Caesars Platinum member, but it was also better than Hotels.com after using RetailMeNot’s 8% discount code. The 12% in cash back through RetailMeNot would drop the net price lower until you consider the 12 Citi ThankYou points per dollar spent on a booking through Citi, were it not for the credit being used to cover the stay.

Not very surprising is the fact that Chase Travel was overpriced. Unfortunately, we’ve seen that pretty consistently (though not always).

Overall, I hate that it takes this much effort to figure out the best way to book a hotel. The amount of time I spent comparison shopping credits here really soured me on having so many, or at least on the value of having more than one or two to consider. I’ll keep that in mind as cards come up for renewal.

The post Analysis paralysis: Which way to pay for a 2-night hotel stay? appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.

A couple of months ago, we updated this post to account for new rules limiting eligibility for Amex Bonvoy Brilliant and Bevy card bonuses. Previously, having the Chase Ritz-Carlton card was the primary barrier to entry, but that barrier suddenly applied to all Chase Bonvoy cards.

However, Amex seems to have reversed those changes for the Brilliant, and it’s now relatively open for Chase cardholders, according to the terms. The draconian limits on the Bevy remain. Hopefully, this won’t continue to happen frequently; Greg just recovered from his headache after editing the chart last time.

Marriott offers several credit cards from two issuers, some of which can be very attractive. You might be considering signing up for a new card, but if you’ve ever signed up for any other Marriott card, you might not qualify. Chances are very good that you are blisteringly baffled by Bonvoy’s byzantine card bonus rules. Are you eligible for a new card bonus? The answer depends upon which cards you have now, which you’ve had before, when you signed up, when you canceled, and the color of the moon.

What follows is my best attempt to simplify the rules…

Eligibility Matrix

This display visually shows the rules as I understand them:

		Card You Want
Cards You've Had (Or Recently Applied For)		Chase Bonvoy Bold	Chase Bonvoy Boundless	Chase Bonvoy Bountiful	Amex Bonvoy Business	Amex Bonvoy Brilliant	Amex Bonvoy Bevy
Chase	Ritz Carlton					30	30
	Bonvoy ($45 card)
	Bonvoy Premier	24
	Bonvoy Bold				90 24	90 24	30 90 24
	Bonvoy Boundless
	Bonvoy Bountiful			24
	Bonvoy Business ($45 card)				30		30
	Bonvoy Premier Plus Business
Amex	Bonvoy	30		30 90 24
	Bonvoy Business	90 24
	Bonvoy Bevy
	Bonvoy Brilliant

Eligibility Key
	You are eligible for this card and a welcome bonus
30	You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you have had the card on the left within the past 30 days
24	You will not be approved if you currently have or if you've received a welcome bonus in the past 24 months for the card on the left
90 24	You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you were approved for the card on the left within the past 90 days, or if you've received a welcome or upgrade bonus in the past 24 months.
30 90 24	You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've had the card on the left within the past 30 days, or if you were approved for it within the past 90 days, or if you've received a welcome bonus or upgrade bonus for it in the past 24 months.
	You are not eligible for a welcome bonus if you've ever had this card before (but the system seems to "forget" that you've had the card about 5 to 7 years after you cancel)

 

Hoping to get a Chase Marriott card?

Here are the currently available Chase Marriott cards:

Card Offer and Details
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card ⓘ $1075 1st Yr Value Estimate3 Marriott 50K Free Nights valued at $924, Marriott 50K Free Night valued at $308 Click to learn about first year value estimates Up to Four 50K Free Night Certificates + $100 airfare credit ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Earn 3 Free Night Awards after spending $3k on eligible purchases within 3 months of account opening, and earn 1 additional Free Night Award after spending $4k total on eligible purchases within 4 months of account opening. Plus, get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. $95 Annual Fee Learn more This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule (click here for details). Recent better offer: Five 50K free night certificates after spending $3k on eligible purchases within the first 3 months + get up to $100 in statement credits after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases. (Expired 3/13/26) Earning rate: 6X Marriott Bonvoy ✦ 3X gas stations, grocery stores, and dining on up to $6K in combined purchases each year ✦ 2X everywhere else Base: 2X (1.54%) Grocery: 3X (2.31%) Dine: 3X (2.31%) Gas: 3X (2.31%) Brand: 6X (4.62%) Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn Gold status when you spend $35K each calendar year ✦ 1 Elite Night Credit towards elite status for every $5K spent Noteworthy perks: Annual free night certificate for 1 night at a hotel redemption level up to 35K ✦ Automatic Silver status ✦ 15 nights of elite credit each year ✦ 1 Elite Night Credit for every $5K spent ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card ⓘ $342 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 85K points ⓘFriend-ReferralThis is a friend-referral offer. A member of the Frequent Miler community may earn a referral bonus if you are approved for this offer 85K points after $4K total spend in first 3 months $250 Annual Fee Learn more Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 6X Marriott ✦ 4X restaurants & grocery on up to $15K spend per year ✦ 2X everywhere else Base: 2X (1.54%) Grocery: 4X (3.08%) Dine: 4X (3.08%) Brand: 6X (4.62%) Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One 50K Free Night Award after $15K calendar year spend Noteworthy perks: 15 night credit towards elite status every year upon account anniversary ✦ 1,000 bonus points with each qualifying stay ✦ Gold elite status ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card ⓘ $208 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 30k Points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer 30K points after spending $1k on eligible purchases within the first 3 months No Annual Fee Learn more This card is subject to Chase's 5/24 rule. Click here for details. Recent better offer: 60K points + Free Night Certificate after $2K spend (Expired 7/17/25) FM Mini Review: The best use for this card is probably to downgrade from the Ritz or Boundless card to avoid the annual fee. That way, you can always upgrade again when you need the annual free night or other perks Earning rate: 3X Marriott Bonvoy ✦ 2X grocery stores, rideshare, select food delivery, select streaming, and internet, cable and phone services ✦ 1X everywhere else Base: 1X (0.77%) Grocery: 2X (1.54%) Brand: 3X (2.31%) Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Silver status ✦ 5 nights of elite credit each year ✦ Complimentary Instacart+ for 3 months (must activate by 12/31/27) ✦ $10 monthly Instacart credit See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide

In order to get accepted to any of the Chase cards, you must not only satisfy the Marriott-specific rules shown in the chart near the top of this post, but you must also be under 5/24:

Hoping to get an Amex Marriott card?

Here are the currently available Amex Marriott cards:

Card Offer and Details
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card ⓘ $1030 1st Yr Value Estimate$125 statement credit valued at $125 Click to learn about first year value estimates 150K Points + $125 statement credit ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Earn 150,000 bonus points and a $125 statement credit after you spend $8k in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees) (Offer Expires 7/15/2026) $125 Annual Fee Learn more Recent better offer: 5x50K free night certificates after $8K in spend (expired 10/16/24) Earning rate: 6x at Marriott Bonvoy® properties ✦ 4x at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased from U.S. suppliers and on U.S. purchases for shipping ✦ 2x on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply. (Rates & Fees) Base: 2X (1.54%) Dine: 4X (3.08%) Gas: 4X (3.08%) Brand: 6X (4.62%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn an additional 35k free night certificate (can be topped-up with up to 25k additional points, subject to resort fees) after you spend $60K on eligible purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status ✦ 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year ✦ 35k Free Night Award every year after card renewal (subject to resort fees) ✦ Complimentary premium Internet access at Marriott properties ✦ Terms Apply (Rates & Fees) See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card ⓘ $680 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates Up to 135K Points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Earn 85K bonus points after $5K in eligible purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50K bonus points after you make an additional $2K in eligible purchases within the first 6 months Terms apply. Rates & Fees $250 Annual Fee Learn more Recent better offer: Earn 175K points after $5k in eligible purchases within your first 6 months of card membership. (Expired 5/13/26) Earning rate: 6X Marriott ✦ 4X restaurants & U.S. Supermarkets on up to $15K in eligible purchases per year ✦ 2X on all other eligible purchases Base: 2X (1.54%) Grocery: 4X (3.08%) Dine: 4X (3.08%) Brand: 6X (4.62%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: One 50K Free Night Award after $15K calendar year spend on eligible purchases. Noteworthy perks: 15 night credit towards elite status every year upon account anniversary ✦ 1,000 bonus points with each qualifying stay ✦ Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
Marriott Bonvoy® Brilliant® American Express® Card ⓘ $650 1st Yr Value Estimate$300 dining credit ($25 per month) valued at $270 Click to learn about first year value estimates Up to 150K Points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Earn 100K bonus points after $6K in eligible purchases within the first 6 months and an extra 50K bonus points after you make an additional $2K in purchases within the first 6 months. Terms apply. Rates & Fees $650 Annual Fee Learn more Recent better offer: Earn 200K points after $6k in eligible purchases within your first 6 months of card membership. (Expired 5/13/26) FM Mini Review: Decent ultra-premium option for Marriott fans, especially those aiming for lifetime status tiers Earning rate: 6X Marriott ✦ 3X airfare on flights booked directly with airlines ✦ 3X restaurants worldwide ✦ 2X on all other eligible purchases Base: 2X (1.54%) Flights: 3X (2.31%) Dine: 3X (2.31%) Brand: 6X (4.62%) Card Info: Amex Credit Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Annual Choice Award with $60K calendar year eligible spend, choose one of: 50k points, 5 Nightly Upgrade Awards, 85k free night certificate, or $1K off a Marriott Bonvoy brand bed Noteworthy perks: 85K Free Night Award each year upon renewal ✦ $300 dining credit per calendar year ($25/mo) ✦ Marriott Bonvoy® Platinum Elite Status ✦ 25 elite nights credit ✦ Priority Pass™ membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests ✦ Global Entry fee credit ✦ Free premium internet at Marriott properties ✦ Note: Enrollment required for some benefits. See also: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide

In order to get accepted to any of the Amex cards, you must not only satisfy the Marriott-specific rules shown in the chart near the top of this post, but you must also have fewer than 5 or 6 Amex credit cards:

More Info

Please see these posts for more information about Marriott credit cards:

• Which Marriott Bonvoy card is best?
• Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide

The post Are you eligible for a new Marriott card? (Brilliant changes reversed) appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.