Sept. 27, 2025

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

πŸ’° 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!

Advertiser Disclosure

πŸ’³ 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.

πŸ“Ί Watch or 🎧 Listen

πŸ“– Read the Blog Post


πŸ“‹ My Past Week

Here's a little sneak peek into how my last week turned out.

  1. 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 :)
  2. The stars really aligned for our trip to Japan this week. On the same day that the Park Hyatt Tokyo ​opened the calendar for award bookings​, 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!
  3. Last weekend I went to a meetup in Denver for ​The Daily Churn Podcast​ 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.
  4. 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.
  5. We made a few delicious recipes this week: ​Crispy Halloumi With Tomatoes and White Beans​ and ​Turkey Chili​. 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.
  6. 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)!

πŸ’³ 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 ​apply for this card​​ 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 ​here​.


πŸ›« Travel, Points & Miles

🀝 Capital One Adds Japan Air Transfers (+ 2 Others)

Capital One just expanded with ​three new transfer partners​: 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 ​30% transfer bonus to JAL​ 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.

πŸ’Ί 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.

πŸ”„ 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.

🏨 Hotel Promos: Marriott, IHG, Hilton & More

If you have upcoming travel, here are some hotel promos you can take advantage of.

✈️ Earn 10,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles

Earn ​10,000 bonus Flying Blue miles​ 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.

🏒 Alaska Launches Atmos for Business

Alaska Airlines just launched ​Atmos for Business​, 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, ​enroll here​ for free.

πŸ’³ 50k Point Welcome Bonus on Mesa Ending on 9/30

The limited-time 50,000 point welcome offer on the ​Mesa Homeowners Card​ expires on 9/30. I'm a big fan of this card and wrote up more details in ​this post​​. To earn the bonus, use ​this link​, enter the code CHRIS50 on the application and spend $12k in the first 3 months.


πŸ€‘ Latest Deals

🏦 $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.

🎁 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 with expiration dates in parentheses.

πŸ›’ Amazon Deals: 50% Redemption Bonus + $35 off Gas

On 10/1, Bilt members can redeem ​Bilt Points for up to 50%​ more value when making purchases at Amazon.com.

On 10/3, Amazon Prime members can ​save $1 per gallon​ (up to $35) at bp, Amoco and am/pm gas stations in the U.S. All you need to do is activate the offer ​​here​​ and create a free Earnify™ account with BP.

🎟️ 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.

πŸ’΅ High Yield Verizon + Openbank Savings Account

​Verizon + Openbank Savings​ 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.

πŸ•΅οΈ Top Finds

πŸ† 25 Ways to Win the Last 100 Days of 2025

I can't believe we're already in Q4 and I love ​this list of 25 actionable habits​ 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.

πŸ“Ί Show Recommendation: Black Rabbit

I binged ​this Netflix show​ 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.


Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.