This week, we'll cover my 5 biggest points & miles mistakes, crazy deals on CapitalOne shopping (+ free $80), 5% back or 5x points from Q1 rotating bonus categories, up to 5K free Rove miles for Mesa cardholders, 20% off last-minute gifts on eBay (+ gift ideas!), 26 money rules for 2026, new podcast recommendation, and more!

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🤦‍♂️ My Top 5 Mistakes with Points & Miles

In this episode, I share the 5 top mistakes I've made in my points and miles journey. I dig into the hidden cost of status, the math point values, the power of opportunity cost, and why you shouldn't hoard points.

📺 Watch or 🎧 Listen

📖 Read the Blog Post

📋 My Past Week

Here's a quick recap of what I was up to last week:

• One of our family holiday traditions is getting everyone unique ornaments each year and a few years ago, my wife Amy started layering in some family games and they're a hit every time, especially if we have family in town. Here are a few examples if you want to try this out with your family and friends: ​head, shoulders, knees, cup​, ​matching number surprise​, ​ping pong party game​, and ​reindeer marshmallow pickup​.
• Last weekend our daughter had a cough like most kids do in the winter, but after looking and feeling more lethargic than normal, we checked her pulse ox and it was bouncing between high 80s - low 90s. When looking at her chest/stomach it also appeared that her breathing didn't look normal. So we took her to Stanford Pediatric ER where she underwent some treatment. It turned out she had a severe case of RSV (despite testing negative the day before). It was only after they were able to stabilize her and keep her oxygen saturation levels above 93, were we discharged. It was defintiely a bit of a scary moment, but I'm so glad we had a pulse oximeter (they're only ~$20) and couldn't be more thankful for the excellent care at the ER. Pro-tip for the ER if you have time: pack a few snacks, water, iPad, charger, and comfy clothes, because you never know how long you'll end up staying. Fortunately everyone in our house is on the mend and we're hoping to be healthy through the rest of the holidays!
• When the weather cools down, we love making cozy recipes like ​Slow-Roast Gochujang Chicken​. It's packed with flavor and heat! I'm also a sucker for anything Gochujang, which is why these ​Gochujang Carmel cookies​ also hit the spot.
• We were fortunate to lock in mortgage rate a few years ago, but it makes moving to most other places nearby seem so expensive. So I started learning everything I could about ADUs in California and we're considering adding some extra space without having to move. Stay tuned as I go deeper down this rabbit hole.
• We had to take both cars into the shop this week and given how much I love to optimize, I typically try to shop around to get the best deal. However, this time I just took them both the the same convenient place nearby. While I might have paid an extra $50-100, it felt so freeing to do the convenient thing once and let go of optimizing everything. I hope to reinforce this feeling and do more of that in 2026!

Travel, Points & Miles

💸 Q1 Rotating Bonus Categories: 5% Back or 5x Points

There are a few select cards that offer 5% cash back/5x points on eligible combined spending in rotating bonus categories every quarter. Here's what's active for Q1 2026:

• Chase: Dining, Norwegian Cruise Line, and American Heart Association. ​Activate here​.
• Discover It: Grocery stores, wholesale clubs, and select streaming services. ​Activate here​.
• Citi Dividend: Amazon and select streaming services. ​Activate here​.
• US Bank Cash+: 2 categories of your choice, including home utilities, electronics stores, sporting goods stores, cell phones, gyms/fitness centers, movie theaters, etc. ​Activate here​.

Remember that you have to activate these categories before you start spending in order to earn the bonus rate.

🤩 Up to 5K Free Rove Miles for Mesa Cardholders

If you had a Mesa Homeowners Card, the new ​Match Your Mesa​ program by Rove will match up to 5K of lost miles for free. The total promo is capped at 2 million miles, so act quick. And if you're new to Rove, you can use my ​referral link​ to get an additional 500 points when you sign up.

💳 New SoFi Smart Card: Unlimited 5% on Groceries

SoFi is launching a new ​Smart Mastercard​, offering unlimited 5% cash back on grocery purchases for ​SoFi Plus members​ ($10/month). This card is a charge card, and it is currently accepting ​waitlist applications​. Personally, I'd prefer 4x Amex points with the Amex Gold, but for team cash back, this is pretty great.

That said, if I were getting a new card, I don't think 5% on groceries is enough to make me pick this over ​these cards with big welcome offers​.

📣 New Hotel, Airline and Points Promos This Week

Award Flight Deals

• Turkish Airlines: ​30% off economy awards​ when you book by 12/22 for travel between 1/14 and 5/15.
• Singapore KrisFlyer: ​30% off award tickets​ when you book by 12/31 for travel between 1/1 and 1/31.
• LA/Seattle → Taipei: Business class from ​98K Delta SkyMiles​.
• Dallas/LA/SF → Melbourne/Sydney: Business class from ​80K American Airlines miles​.

Airline Promos

• Cathay Pacific: ​Up to 5,700 bonus miles​ when you register ​here​ and complete 6 missions before 1/31.
• Alaska Airlines: ​Win 1 million points​ via the ​Atmos Rewards Seatback Sweepstakes​, no purchase necessary.
• American Airlines (Targeted): ​Up to 3,100 miles​. Get 100 bonus miles for free if you're eligible, book a stay at AAdvantage hotels for 750 miles, or book a car via AAdvantage Cars for 750 miles, and if you book both, you get an additional 1,500 bonus miles.

Hotel Promos

• Hilton Honors: ​3,000 bonus points​ for new members after completing 3 stays by 3/31. ​Registration​ required.
• IHG: ​25% off​ at Luxury and Lifestyle properties when you book by 12/28 for stays through 5/31.
• Marriott Homes & Villas: ​2x points​ for 4+ night stays in 2026. Register ​here​ before 2/1 and complete your stays before 9/30.
• Preferred Hotels: Easy ​250 bonus points​ when you sign up for email & text alerts.
• IHG (Targeted): ​15% off​ on Points & Cash stays​ booked by 12/31 and completed by 1/26.
• IHG (Targeted): Get ​Diamond Status​ when you purchase 120K elite qualifying points before 12/31.

New Transfer Partner

• Bilt Rewards x Spirit Airlines: Bilt ​added Spirit Airlines as a 1:1 transfer partner​, marking it first time Spirit has partnered with any transferable points program. That said, I can't see a wold where I'd ever be flying Spirit again after my terrible experience getting stranded in Colombia.

🤑 Latest Deals

🤯 Crazy Deals on CapitalOne Shopping (+ Free $80)

​CapitalOne Shopping​ is a shopping portal available to anyone (you don't need a Capital One card to join). While they sometimes have good deals listed, it really shines a few days after browsing online retailers with their browser extension. Like clockwork, I regularly get emails with CRAZY offers a day or two after browsing sites. In the past week, I've gotten emails for 21% off Apple, 35% off CVS, 10% off Best Buy and more! Even better, if you ​sign up now​, install the shopping extension, and leave it on 90 days, they'll give you a ​free $80 credit​.

💰Costco.com: $50 Off $500+ [Targeted]

This week Costco sent an email to some members offering $50 off a $500+ online order. Mine ended up in spam, so defintiely search your inbox if you're interested. The coupon is valid until 1/18/26.

💳 40% Off Amazon with Amex Cash Back Cards

Amex cash back cardholders can ​save up to 40%​ when using just 1 cent in rewards at Amazon through 12/31. This is a great way to maximize the value of your cash back rewards during holiday shopping.

🍽️ $50 Referral Bonus from InKind

​InKind​, a free dining rewards app that's helped me save $100s, is offering a limited-time referral bonus until 1/31. Referrers get $50 (double the usual $25 bonus) when a friend makes a $50+ purchase, and the new user gets $25. Here's ​my referral link​ if you want to use it!

🎄 eBay: 20% Off Select Last-Minute Gifts

Running behind on holiday shopping? eBay is offering ​20% off last minute gifts​ if you purchase before 12/21 with promo code ​HOLIDAYRUSH​. If you need some gift inspiration, feel free to check out my holiday gift guide below.

🎁 Latest Gift Card Deals

Gift cards are a great option if you’re unsure of what to gift someone. So here are some deals I found this week with expiration dates in parentheses:

• Office Depot/Max: ​$15 off​ $300 Mastercard gift cards (12/20)
• Hy-Vee: ​$10 off​ $150+ Visa/Mastercard gift cards (12/24)
• SLH: ​10% bonus​ gift card on gift card purchases (12/24)
• Publix: ​$10 off $100​ Visa/Mastercard gift card & $25 grocery purchase (12/26)
• Adidas: ​$75 for $100 gift card​ (limit 2, 12/31)
• AutoCamp: ​Up to 55% bonus​ when you buy gift cards (12/31)
• Amazon: ​Up to 30% off​ popular gift cards
• Google Play App: ​Up to 15% off​ popular gift cards
• ​Staples​: ​Up to 15% off​ popular gift cards
• ​Giftcards.com​: ​Save 10%​ on Starbucks, Chipotle & more restaurants when you buy 3 gift cards

✈️ 3 Free Months of CLEAR Plus with Uber One

If you have Uber One, you can get ​3 free months of CLEAR Plus​. If not, there are several credit cards​ listed here​ that offer free CLEAR Plus or statement credits to cover the annual fee.

🕵️ Top Finds

💰 26 Money Rules For 2026

Sahil Bloom put together a list of ​26 money rules for 2026​, covering everything from spending principles to investment strategies. It's got some great frameworks for thinking about money in the new year.

🎙️ Pod Recommendation: The Telepathy Tapes

Amy and I recently started listening to ​The Telepathy Tapes​, and it's absolutely mind-blowing. Season 1 is focused on investigating claims of telepathic abilities. I'm a pretty big skeptic around things like this and I'm definitely still questioning things.

🔬 The Many Different Sizes of Life

This ​interactive visualization​ takes you on a journey through the scale of life, from the smallest cells to the largest organisms. If you have kids (or just love learning), it’s a fun way to understand the incredible range of sizes that exist in this world.

🎄 Happy Holidays

As we head into the holidays and wrap up 2025, I wanted to say thank you for reading and supporting this newsletter. I'm so grateful for this community and hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, good food, and quality time with the people you love most!

Chris

P.S. Thanks to Nick Gray for the email selfie suggestion!