π° My Top Finds, Latest Deals, and Best Recommendations (9/27/25)

This week, we'll cover a deep dive on Bank of America credit cards & rewards, Capital One's 3 new transfer partners (including JAL!), how to earn a Southwest Companion pass with a 120k offer, $2,300+ worth of bank bonuses, business class award deals to 6 destinations, latest transfer bonuses, up to 50% off, hotel promos: Marriott, IHG, Hilton & more, Amazon deals: 50% redemption bonus + $35 off gas, 25 ways to win the last 100 days of 2025 and more!
π³ Deep Dive on Bank of America Credit Cards
This week, I dive deep into Bank of America’s credit card lineup and why I have 5 different BoA cards right now. I'll go over how the Preferred Rewards program can help you earn an unlimited 3.3% cash back on everything. I also cover approval rules, credit limits, unique perks like free museum access, and more.
π My Past Week
Here's a little sneak peek into how my last week turned out.
- Q3 is coming to an end, so I made sure to use up all the monthly/quarterly credits I have on various cards, most notably the new $100/quarter Resy credit on the Platinum. With all this Resy credit, we'll have to start upgrading our date nights :)
- The stars really aligned for our trip to Japan this week. On the same day that the Park Hyatt Tokyo βopened the calendar for award bookingsβ, CapitalOne added Japan Airlines as a transfer partner. We managed to book JAL Business on the exact flights we want (and I may waitlist for JAL First) and used a Hyatt Suite Upgrade award to confirm an upgrade to a Deluxe Suite at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. Can't wait for this trip next year!
- Last weekend I went to a meetup in Denver for βThe Daily Churn Podcastβ and it was really incredible getting to meet so many people are similarly as excited about earning points and miles as I am. It was also great to put some faces and real names to people I've gotten to know this year by their discord/slack usernames. I have two more similar meetups on the calendar this year and look forward to pausing on travel after those.
- I woke up Monday feeling like crap and noticed that I had the worst Oura Ring readiness score I've had in years. It was really helpful to dig into what was going on, because I didn't have any obvious cold/flu/stomach symptoms. Also, don't forget that the refreshed Platinum Card has a $200 Oura credit.
- We made a few delicious recipes this week: βCrispy Halloumi With Tomatoes and White Beansβ and βTurkey Chiliβ. Our kids don't have the spice tolerance I do, so I added some chili flakes and hot sauce to each, which made them even better! If you have any favorite recipes, please reply and send them my way.
- I'm excited to be heading to the pumpkin patch today with the family for some early fall adventures (and hopefully some pumpkin-flavored treats)!
π³ Spotlight: 120k Points + SW Companion Pass
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is offering 120,000 points after a $10k spend in 3 months. The best thing about this bonus is that after earning it, you'll also earn a Southwest Companion Pass that’s valid for that year and the next year!
The ideal time to βapply for this cardββ is after 10/1, so you can complete the $10k minimum spend in January and secure the Companion Pass for the remainder of 2026 and all of 2027.
You can read more about how to earn a 2-year Southwest Companion Pass with this bonus on this blog post I wrote βhereβ.
π« Travel, Points & Miles
π€ Capital One Adds Japan Air Transfers (+ 2 Others)
Capital One just expanded with βthree new transfer partnersβ: Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Preferred Hotels. The standard transfer ratio for Japan Airlines is 2:1.5, Qatar Airways is 1:1, and Preferred Hotels is 1:2. However there's a β30% transfer bonus to JALβ until 10/22 that I already used to book flights to Japan. I'm most excited about JAL because they have a lot of inventory they only make available to their members. Just know you need to have a JAL account opened for 7 days before booking AND miles expire 3 years after transferring.
πΊ Business Class Award Deals to 6 Destinations
Check out these business class award flight deals if you're looking to travel to/via these destinations.
- π«π― Fiji: From β60K Atmos points or AAdvantage milesβ
- π©πͺ Germany: From β54K JetBlue or Atmos pointsβ
- π―π΅ Japan: From β41K Virgin pointsβ
- πΉπΌ Taiwan: From β75K Aeroplan pointsβ
- πΉπ· Turkey: From 33K βTurkish miles or United pointsβ
- π¬π§ U.K.: From β23K Virgin pointsβ
π Latest Transfer Bonuses: Up to 50% Off
I don’t recommend speculative transfers, but if you’re planning a trip, you might be able to score a great deal using one (or more!) of these bonuses.
- Capital One β JAL Mileage Bank: β30% bonusβ (10/22)
- Citi β Avianca LifeMiles: β25% bonusβ (10/18)
- Citi β Turkish Miles&Smiles: β50% bonusβ (10/18)
- Citi β Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: β30% bonusβ (10/18)
- Rove Miles β Air France/KLM Flying Blue: β20% bonusβ (10/22)
- Rove Miles β Finnair Plus Avios: β20% bonusβ (12/31)
π¨ Hotel Promos: Marriott, IHG, Hilton & More
If you have upcoming travel, here are some hotel promos you can take advantage of.
- Wyndham: βEarn up to 30K bonus pointsβ. Get 7,500 points after two-night stays, up to 4x, between 9/25 and 1/20/26. βRegister hereβ before 1/16/26 to qualify.
- Hilton: βSave up to 20%β when you book by 9/29 for stays between 9/26 and 4/6/26.
- IHG: βSave up to 25%β when you book by 10/5 for stays until 12/31.
- Marriott: βSave up to 20%β when you book weekend stays between 9/29 and 10/19. Book by tomorrow, 9/28, with promo code βQRIβ.
- Accor: βSave 20%β when you book via the ALL Accor app before 10/9 for 2+ night stays between 10/24 and 12/10.
- Radisson: βUp to 7K bonus pointsβ, earned in tiers on 3 separate stays between 9/19 and 11/18.
βοΈ Earn 10,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles
Earn β10,000 bonus Flying Blue milesβ when you book select Air France/KLM flights by 10/7 for travel between 9/23 and 3/31/26. To qualify, the first flight in the reservation must be with Air France/KLM.
π’ Alaska Launches Atmos for Business
Alaska Airlines just launched βAtmos for Businessβ, allowing companies to earn extra points on corporate travel (1 point for every $1 spent on Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines tickets). If you own a company that spends at least $5,000 annually on travel, βenroll hereβ for free.
π³ 50k Point Welcome Bonus on Mesa Ending on 9/30
The limited-time 50,000 point welcome offer on the βMesa Homeowners Cardβ expires on 9/30. I'm a big fan of this card and wrote up more details in βthis postββ. To earn the bonus, use βthis linkβ, enter the code CHRIS50 on the application and spend $12k in the first 3 months.
π€ Latest Deals
π¦ $2,300+ Worth of Bank Bonuses
Bank bonuses are a great way to maximize your savings, so here are a few ways to do it.
- βUp to $775 from TBK Bankβ: Open an AIM Checking Account and complete activities including direct deposits, auto transfers, Bill Pay and POS transactions, and more.
- βUp to $500 from TD Bankβ: 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 10/31.
- βUp to $450 from U.S. Bankβ: When you open a βnew U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking accountβ before 11/20 and sign up for online banking or the U.S Bank Mobile app and complete 2 qualifying deposits.
- βUp to $300 from CIT Bankβ: Open a new Platinum Savings account with the promo code PS2025 and complete a qualifying deposit before 10/22.
- βUp to $300 from OnePayβ: Open a Cash Account before 10/31 and complete qualifying direct deposits.
π Latest Gift Card Deals
If you want to learn how to save and profit from gift cards, listen to βEp #212β. For now, here are some gift card deals I found this week with expiration dates in parentheses.
- Office Depot/Max: β$15 off $300+β Mastercard gift cards (9/27)
- Safeway / Albertsons / Vons: β10× pointsβ on Zift cards (9/27)
- Meijer Mperks: β$10 off $150β Visa gift cards (9/30)
- Giftcards.com: β10% offβ popular brands with promo code GIFTOBER (10/5)
- Safeway: β$10 off $50β on select gift cards (10/7)
- DashPass: β10% offβ gift cards brands (12/31)
- Kroger: β$5 off $50β select gift cards (N/A)
π Amazon Deals: 50% Redemption Bonus + $35 off Gas
On 10/1, Bilt members can redeem βBilt Points for up to 50%β more value when making purchases at Amazon.com.
On 10/3, Amazon Prime members can βsave $1 per gallonβ (up to $35) at bp, Amoco and am/pm gas stations in the U.S. All you need to do is activate the offer ββhereββ and create a free Earnify™ account with BP.
ποΈ Exclusive Sports Experiences from Marriott & Choice
One of the unique perks from loyalty programs are the exclusive giveaways/redemptions. Here are two you should check out right now.
- Marriott ‘Keysakes’ Contest: A chance to wake up inside Levi’s Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday in the Marriott Bonvoy Super Bowl Sleepover Suite. βEnter the sweepstakesβ before 12/8.
- Experiences by Choice: Redeem points for βVIP sports experiences βincluding grandstand seats and VIP packages.
π΅ High Yield Verizon + Openbank Savings Account
βVerizon + Openbank Savingsβ is a partnership that offers monthly bill credits for up to 12 months as a reward for using Openbank's High Yield Savings Account. I was surprised to see they offered a competitive interest rate (4.2%), which makes this promo worth doing for almost any Verizon customer. You just need to maintain the following balances to earn the respective monthly bill credits:
- $1,000+ = $5/mo bill credit ($60 total)
- $10,000+ = $10/mo bill credit ($120 total)
- $30,000+ = $15/mo bill credit ($180 total)
The $1k/$10k levels seem like a great deal, making the effective APY >5%. The $30k tier is still interesting, but depending where else you'd park your cash, it might not be worth it. That said, as a former Verizon customer, I think you'll save more by switching to another carrier.
π΅οΈ Top Finds
π 25 Ways to Win the Last 100 Days of 2025
I can't believe we're already in Q4 and I love βthis list of 25 actionable habitsβ that Sahil Bloom put together to help you finish 2025 strong. It covers practical ideas to improve every aspect of your life, from productivity, mindset, relationships, and more.
πΊ Show Recommendation: Black Rabbit
I binged βthis Netflix showβ on my flights last weekend and enjoyed it. The show is about a restaurant owner in NYC, whose life and business spiral into danger when his troubled brother returns to the family business.
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