Hilton Promos

It’s hard dedicating posts to Hilton. Takes a lot out of me. I start getting dizzy and my left eyelid begins to twitch uncontrollably. Next thing I know, I’m wandering aimlessly into traffic and chanting with a mysterious Jamaican accent.

Oh well, there’s a bunch of promos right now…

Get 2,500 Lufthansa miles for stays. That might be stackable with the current double point promo. Can definitely be combined with the Hilton Amex Offers that are in many accounts right now.

Some people are also targeted for 50,000 points. Others are seeing versions of it for 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, or 25,000 points.

Reduced Mileage Awards

Pop Quiz:
Which of the following is most likely?

A. Meeting a man in his twenties who doesn’t have a beard.
B. Eating a spectacular shrimp cocktail at Denny’s.
C. Getting seduced by your soulmate at Walmart.
D. Figuring out a good way to use American Airlines miles.

Answer:
That was a trick question. All of the above are equally improbable. But maybe that’s why so many of you like American’s Reduced Mileage Awards. The latest list is here. Have a great weekend, nerds!

Catching Up

Catching up with a bunch of stuff after yesterday’s Top 25 post…

  • The million-point contest link from a couple of days is now working.
  • Transfer bonuses with American Express points. 25% to JetBlue and 30% to Virgin Atlantic.
  • Also a 30% bonus on hotel points to Air Canada.
  • Here’s a JetBlue promo to get a 20% code for flights.
  • Next-day edit of the Top 25 list for IHG and Marriott/SPG card links.
  • A new Delta award sale to London.
  • Also Air France promo awards to Europe.
  • Get a $50 off $300 code from Hotels.com.
  • Some people can opt in to receive emails and 6,000 points from Southwest.
  • Here’s an IHG promo for bonus points if you stay at new hotels.

(Apologies for messing up some of the links to other MileNerd pages. The short story…I tried doing a little cleanup work but my lack of tech skills made a bit of a mess. If you find a page that isn’t opening, delete the numbers from the web address and it should work. I’ll try to fix this in the next few days)

The Top 25 Credit Cards

(If you see any errors, please let me know. I try to keep a full list, but it’s a lot of information and I do make mistakes)

 

Significant Changes Since Last Month:
-Wyndham 45,000-point link added.
-Barclays Arrival added back.
-IHG up to 100,000.
-Amtrak back up to 30,000 from 20,000.
-Wells Fargo Propel bonus is 30,000 points now.
-Hilton Business 100,000-point offer available.
-Citi ThankYou up from 50,000 to 60,000.
-Lufthansa up to 60,000.
-Bank Of America Travel Rewards up from 20,000 to 25,000.
-FlexPerks personal/Business offering $400 in travel credits. Slight increase.
-Amex Blue Business Plus offering 10,000 points at the moment. If you start an application and don’t finish it, you’ll probably get an email offer for 20,000.
-Ritz card removed.

 

Before Playing This Game:
-Find a new hobby until you can pay off all balances each month.
-Take a second to look at what you’re applying for and confirm a bonus is what you expect.
-Get a screenshot of the bonus description in case you have issues collecting it later.
-Take 2 minutes to read the small print before applying.
(Look for “once in a lifetime,” “no bonus for cardholders in last 24 months,” etc.)
-Keep everything very organized in a spreadsheet. You’ll thank me later.

 

Time for my monthly Top 25 Credit Cards. It’s called “Top 25” out of tradition, but you’ll get many more links than that below. Again, if you’re a rookie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. It’s a little outdated but many basic questions can still be answered there. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. Also, “churning” (getting the same card more than once) might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually. If you’re new, it might be wise to start with Chase cards because of the limitations they’ll place on you soon.

Miles and points are far from an equal currency. 50,000 Delta SkyMiles are worth less to me than that amount from Alaska Airlines. 25,000 Hyatt points mean way more than the same number from Hilton. And so on. These links work right now (August 1st at midnight). If you read this later, many of the offers will have changed. Things move fast so read offer details and terms before applying. Especially all that small print when you’re trying to get bonuses more than once on the same card. Ok, enough chatter…here we go! My “Top 25” current credit cards are below.

Read More

Alaska Changes

For years, getting Alaska cards has been a “sure thing” for me. When Bank of America started limiting personal cards, I just switched over to the Business side and kept cruising along there. It has been one of the few predictably easy things left for me in the credit card game.

Well, a surprising sight just showed up in my mailbox…

A decline letter for my “sure thing.”

Based on emails from others who’d been cruising along too, this looks like a change for everyone. Finally, after many years, it looks the Business side is limited too.

As I see it, there’s a pattern with the life cycle of awesome deals. Even with something like MoviePass…

1. A deal comes out and it’s so good that people can’t believe it’s true.
2. It’s genuinely amazing for a while.
3. It’s still technically good but is becoming challenging. The prime is clearly over.
4. It dies (or becomes not worth the time and effort).

I’m sure I’ll be able to get Alaska cards again at some point. But it looks like that will be a more “reasonable” number. The prime is clearly over.