This week, we'll cover how to take a break sooner with a mini retirement, up to 185k bonuses on Amex Marriott cards, new Citi cards and transfer partner, $2,000+ in bank bonuses, negative changes to another U.S. Bank card, $15 off $50+ Amazon household products, support cancer research and earn AA Miles, how to make your kid a tax-free millionaire, and more!

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🔐 Take a Break Sooner & Boost Your Career and Income

If you think you need to wait until you're 65 to retire, this episode will change your mind. Did you know it's feasible for almost anyone to take a mini retirement, and when done right, it can also fast-track your career and income? Learn how to plan one, negotiate time off, manage costs, avoid pitfalls, and make it work if you’re self-employed.

📺 Watch or 🎧 Listen

🛫 Travel, Points & Miles

💳 New Offers on Amex Marriott Cards

Marriott has over 9,000 hotels around the world and many amazing luxury brands in their collection (e.g., St Regis, Ritz Carlton and Luxury Collection). While they've had some recent devaluations, they're also out with some new big offers (the personal cards are best-ever):

• ​Bonvoy Brilliant​: 185k after $6k spend in 6mo (ends 9/24).
• ​Bonvoy Bevy​: 155k after $5k spend in 6mo (ends 9/24).
• ​Bonvoy Business​: 125k after $8k spend in 6mo (ends 10/22).

Note: these elevated offers are referral links from our members. If you're interested sharing your links, you can ​learn more here​.

🤩 Citi: New Cards, Transfer Partners, 20x Points & More

Lots of news from Citi this week!

1. The ​Citi Strata Elite Card​ ($595/year) is Citi's new premium travel card that earns up to 12x on Citi Travel, 6x on weekend dining (Fri/Sat 6p-6a ET), 3x on other dining and 1.5x on everything else. The card says the benefits are worth up to $1,500 per year, but realistically it's probably closer to ~$500 (at least for me). However, it might be worth it for the bonus, which is normally 80k, but ​this podcast​ discusses how to get the 100k offer.
2. As part of the Strata Elite launch, Citi added American Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner if you have the Strata Premier, Strata Elite or legacy Prestige card. I'm very excited about this because AA miles are hard to get and have a ton of great uses.
3. The no-annual-fee ​Citi Strata℠ Card​ also opened to new applicants. It earns 5x on Citi Travel hotels and cars, 3x on gas, EV charging, transit, supermarkets, and a selected category, plus 2x on dining. It's a pretty good no-fee card if you're excited about the Citi ecosystem.
4. Finally, Citi has expanded ​ThankYou Points transfer options to its no-annual-fee cards​, allowing access to most airline and hotel partners. Unfortunately, it's at a reduced transfer ratio compared to the premium cards

P.S. Don't miss out on the ​Citi Shop Day​ on 8/5, where you can earn ​20x points​ at select merchants like Nike, Kohls, Best Buy, Petco, and more.

✈️ 7,500 JetBlue TrueBlue Points via Partners

JetBlue has a great new promo to earn up to ​7,500 bonus TrueBlue points​ by interacting with TrueBlue partners like Dunkin', Avis, and TrueBlue Dining through the ​Partner Passport Challenge​. I'm planning on going for the full 7,500 if I can find a way to make the rental car part work. The promo runs through 10/28.

💰 Points on Sale: Avianca, JetBlue & Southwest

If you have a redemption in mind or if you’re already familiar with these two programs, these deals might come in handy. Expiration dates are in parentheses.

• Avianca: 1.27¢ with a ​160% bonus​ (8/11).
• JetBlue: 1.43¢ with a ​125% bonus​ (8/11).
• Southwest: 1.5¢ with a ​50% bonus​ (8/20).

👎 Negative Changes for another U.S. Bank Card

In addition to confirming the ​negative changes to the U.S. Bank Smartly card​ that I previously shared, US Bank also announced that the ​Altitude Reserve card will be "revamped"​ in December. The changes are pretty much entirely negative, except that they've said they'll be adding some airline/hotel transfer partners. If they offer some unique/valuable partners at a 1:1 ratio, it might be enough for me to keep the card, but I'm not holding my breath.

🏨 Latest Hyatt, Radisson & Hilton Promos

Here are a few hotel promos to take advantage of if you have any upcoming travel plans.

• Hyatt All-Inclusive Resorts: Save ​up to 40%​ when you book by 8/6 for travel until 12/31.
• Radisson: ​Up to a 35% discount​ on stays from 10/27 through 2/28/26, plus earn ​2,000 bonus points​/stay if you're a new Radisson Rewards member. ​Registration​ is required.
• Hilton: Selected members can ​earn 3,000 bonus points​ when you register by 12/31 and complete a stay within 4 months.

🎗️ Earn AA Miles for Supporting Cancer Research

Through 9/30, American Airlines will give you 50 AAdvantage miles for every $1 donated using an AAdvantage® Mastercard to ​Stand Up To Cancer​. It’s a great way to support cancer research and earn miles at the same time!

🤝🏻 Update on JetBlue Partnerships with TAP & United

The last day to earn or redeem TrueBlue points on TAP Air Portugal flights is 9/30, marking the end of a ​short-lived loyalty partnership​. Meanwhile, JetBlue’s ​new partnership with United​ just received DOT approval and is expected to launch this fall—hopefully, this one sticks around longer.

💼 Earn 20x LifeMiles on Business Class Flights

Avianca is offering ​a limited-time promo​ where travelers can earn 20x LifeMiles per dollar spent on business class flights in the Americas and Europe. Book your flight before 8/15 for travel until 11/1, and ​registration​ is required​.

🤑 Latest Deals

🏦 $2,000+ Worth of Bank Bonuses

Bank bonuses are a great way to maximize your savings, so here are 4 ways to do it.

• ​Up to $500 from TD Bank​: Open a new TD Beyond Checking account to earn $300 and open a TD Complete Checking account to earn $200 with qualifying direct deposits before 8/31.
• ​Up to $450 from U.S. Bank​: When you open a ​new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account​ before 9/16 and sign up for online banking or the U.S Bank Mobile app and complete 2 qualifying deposits.
• ​$825 from Wells Fargo​ (Business): Open a new ​eligible business checking account​ before 9/2 and complete the qualifying requirements to receive your $825 bonus.
• ​$300 from Novo​: Open a business checking account, complete 2 debit card transactions and deposit a minimum of $5,000.

🧴 $15 off $50+ Amazon Household Products

Amazon is offering a ​$15 credit​ on select household products when you spend $50+ and use promo code ​STOCKUPSAVE​. And you can save even more if you have a credit card that has increased earning rates for Amazon purchases.

🏞️ Free National Park Admission on 8/4

A quick reminder that ​8/4 is an entrance fee-free day​ at U.S. National Parks. The next free entrance is on 9/27 for National Public Lands Day, so mark your calendar.

🎁 Latest Gift Card Deals

If you want to learn how to save and profit from gift cards, listen to ​Ep #212​. For now, here are some gift card deals I found this week. Expiration dates are in parentheses.

• Rove Miles: Earn ​4x miles​ on ​GiftCard.com​ purchases (8/5). Plus, get 500 Rove Miles just for signing up through ​this link​.
• Kroger: Earn ​4x fuel points​ on 3rd party gift cards (8/12).
• Target: Get a ​$5 gift card​ with a $50 gift card purchase (N/A).
• Uber: ​$79.99 for a $100 gift card​ at Costco (limit 2, N/A).
• Office Depot/OfficeMax: Get ​$15 off​ a $300+ Mastercard gift card (limit 10, 8/2).

🕵️ Great Finds

🧐 Why the Upper Middle Class Isn’t Special Anymore

I enjoyed reading ​Nick Maggiulli's take​ on how the rise in high-net-worth individuals is making perks that once felt exclusive (think airline lounges and luxury resorts) feel overcrowded and less special.

💸 How to Make Your Kid a Tax-Free Millionaire

If you're a high earner with kids, ​this article​ by Ankur Nagpal (Founder of ​Carry​) breaks down how we might be able to use the new Invest America accounts to set our children up with big some tax-free savings.

📋 My Past Week

Here's a quick look at some of what I was up to this past week:

• We're working on hitting our minimum spend of $30,000 in 6 months to get the 200,000 point bonus on the Sapphire Reserve for Business℠​ card we recently got. 
• We just got back from a weekend trip visiting family in Colorado and had a great time hiking in the mountains, grilling, eating s'mores by the fire, and playing some mini golf. Despite only being a 3-night trip, it was a great summer vacation!
• We watched ​Happy Gilmore 2​, but I thought it was a bit of a letdown, given the high Rotten Tomato scores it received.
• I also started watching ​Dexter: Resurrection​ and am really enjoying it. I wouldn't start here if you're new to the franchise, but if you're already a fan, I think you'll enjoy this series too.
• I'm really excited that we're close to aligning our audio and video production on the podcast so that we can soon start releasing the video episodes on Spotify, as well as getting the videos up on YouTube at the same time as the audio feed.
• I finally got my JetBlue Mosaic status after matching from the AA Platinum Pro status I've earned this year with my Citi AA Biz card. While I have no plans to fly JetBlue, I still might get a JetBlue card and go for the 50 tiles I'd need to earn Mosaic 4 status, which would come with 6 certificates for upgrades to their Mint business class (which is really nice).