End Of Week Stuff

  • Hyatt is entering the crowded world of home rentals and is offering 100 bucks for your first stay.
  • If you’re buying a computer, take a minute to check your Amex offers first. A bunch of readers are seeing Dell and/or Lenovo offers worth 10,000 points.
  • Big spenders can pick up 35,000 miles from the Starwood business card instead of 25,000 once again.
  • University of Washington nerds get 5,000 Alaska miles now and status later (for good grades).

Have a great weekend, nerds!

American Cards Back To 60,000

If I type up a Top 25 on Monday, it’s a lock I’ll spend the rest of the week correcting it…

Citibank’s American bonus is back up to 60,000 miles for their personal and business cards. If you haven’t opened/closed the personal version in 24 months, that road is clear for you. And if you haven’t opened/closed the business version in 24 months, you can get one of those.

Thank You Premier Link

I took it off the list Monday and reader Sam sent in a working link for the Citi Thank You Premier 5o,ooo-point bonus on Tuesday. Spend $4,000 in 3 months. This bonus is “not available if you have had a ThankYou Preferred, ThankYou Premier or Citi Prestige card opened or closed in the past 24 months.”

My thoughts? Well, I like this card more than I used to. Of course, that has a lot to do with Chase being borderline useless to me and Bank Of America becoming a pain in the ass.

50 Off 300 Twice

Use code PAYPALFALL2017 to get $50 off of a $300 Hotels.com purchase.

And if you have a Hyatt card, register to get $50 back with Hyatt Place or Hyatt House.

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:
-Some readers getting 100,000 points for IHG card by calling to apply.
-Southwest much higher for this month. Perfect time to go for companion pass.
-Barclays Arrival dropped from 50,000 to 40,000 points.
-Merrill Lynch card is gone…
-But Bank of America’s Premium Rewards card is alive now.
-Delta 60,000 and 70,000 point Gold and Platinum links added.
-Removed Citi Thank You Premier card for now.

 

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 (October 2nd 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.

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