This week, we’ll cover how to have better conversations & deeper connections, new bonuses for IHG and United cards, 8 transfer bonuses from Flying Blue, BA, JAL, Qatar & more, Bilt cuts Hyatt transfers to 4:3, bank bonuses worth over $9,000, and more!

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💬 Learn How to Have Better Conversations

Want to learn how to turn small talk, awkward encounters, and everyday logistics into conversations that actually matter? Vanessa Van Edwards (who spent 20 years studying what makes a conversation work) and I explore the chemistry behind great conversations, how to find the topics that make people light up, and the three levels of conversation that lead to deeper connection.

📺 Watch or 🎧 Listen

📋 My Past 2 Weeks

• We got back all the photos from our family photoshoot and they were so amazing. I'm not sure why we haven't done family photos more regularly, but I think we'll probably make it an annual tradition. If you need a Bay Area recommendation, shoot me a note and I'm happy to share!
• We've been talking about getting some e-bikes for cruising around town with the girls and thanks to stacking a few discounts, we managed to get an amazing deal on two ​Lectric Bikes​. We already set up the XP4 with a Buddy Seat and the Xpedition 2 should arrive next week. While I usually prefer the workout from a regular bike, we can cover much more distance on these e-bikes and parking is so much easier than a car!
• Somehow I ended up down a serious rabbit hole around building an ADU in our backyard to add on some sq ft to our property. I was blown away at how well Claude could take a few images of our yard and generate some incredible 3D renderings of what the ADU might look like with very little input from me. TBD on whether we actually move forward, but I'm constantly blown away with what I can accomplish so easily with these AI tools.
• One of our daughters' friends offered to have both our girls stay for dinner this week, so Amy and I snuck in a last minute date night. Ever since we stopped having an Au Pair, we've lost our regular date night tradition. We had so much fun that we immediately texted a handful of parents in our kids' classes offering to set up monthly kid swaps so that each set of parents gets a monthly date night. Fingers crossed it actually happens!
• I made ​Dutch Babies​ for breakfast this week and they were so delicious. We did one with whipped cream and berries and another with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and arugula. Both were a huge hit with the whole family and I'm honestly not sure why we don't make these more often.

⭐ My Top Picks

💳 Up to 110K Miles on United Cards

If you've been eyeing a United card, this is a great time to consider one, because they just dropped some new limited-time offers across most of their cards. Two of them are at a best-ever offer level. I want to make sure to lock in the United cardmember discounts you get as a cardholder, so I actually picked one of these cards/offers this week. You can find more ​info about all the cards and welcome offers here​.

✈️ Alaska's Big Atmos Rewards Overhaul

Alaska dropped a ton of Atmos news this week:

1. ​Bank of America points will transfer into Atmos​ starting in 2027, but it's not clear which cards will be able to transfer points.
2. You can now ​choose how you earn​ status points in 2027. The choices are based on distance flown, price paid or segments.
3. You can join one of six ​free Communities​ for perks like 20% back on children's award tickets and status points on point transfers.
4. You should ​register for more info on the new Alaska debit card​ by 10/31 to get a free 20% flight discount code.

I really love everything Alaska is doing right now and I only wish they hadn't scaled back their routes from SFO so I could fly them more.

🔄 8 New Transfer Bonuses: Up to 100% More Miles

There's a bunch of transfer bonuses running through 10/31. The Rove ones are the only ones that really stand out, but it's just so hard to accumulate Rove miles. As always, I'd only move points with a specific redemption in mind:

• Amex → Aeromexico: ​20% bonus​
• Amex → Flying Blue: ​25% bonus​
• Capital One → British Airways: ​20% bonus​
• Citi → Qatar: ​35% bonus​
• Rove → JAL: ​50% bonus​
• Rove → Flying Blue: ​40% bonus​
• Rove → Qatar: ​35% bonus​
• Wyndham → United: ​100% bonus​

📉 Bilt Cuts Hyatt Transfers to 4:3 on 1/1/27

One of the best uses of Bilt Points is about to get a little worse. Starting on 1/1/27, ​Bilt points will transfer to Hyatt at 4:3 instead of 1:1​. You can still transfer 1:1 through 12/31 and I'll likely move some of my Bilt points over before the year ends. That said, I'm going to save most of my Bilt points for the amazing transfer bonuses they keep having!

🏨 IHG Refresh: New Card + Increased Offers

IHG's card lineup just got a major refresh with the addition of a brand new card and increased welcome offers of up to 200K bonus points. For details on the new card and all the new offers, check out this ​blog post​.

📖 Recommended Book: Conversation

If you enjoyed ​episode #297​ with Vanessa, you'll probably enjoy reading her latest book, ​Conversation​. It’s a practical playbook for improving your relationships, packed with science-backed strategies to have more meaningful conversations and build deeper connections.

📖 Order Conversation

📰 The Rest of the Week

💳 Credit cards & points

• Air France/KLM: ​70K miles + 100 XPs with a $3K spend​ — I'm considering this card to ​go for Flying Blue Platinum status​.
• Amex: ​Biz gold card's $240 credit swaps FedEx for UPS​ — I've never used this credit for Fedex, so doesn't affect me at all.
• U.S. Bank: ​Up to $1,000 bonus on new business cards​

✈️ Airline news & promos

• AAdvantage Business Program: ​15K new member bonus​
• Aeroplan: ​15% bonus when you transfer Marriott points​
• American: ​Every mainline jet will have Starlink in 2027​ — I can't wait for every flight to have fast/reliable internet.
• Flying Blue: ​25% off select awards in October​

🏨 Hotel news & promos

• Hilton: ​Buy points at 0.45¢ with up to a 120% bonus​ — This is the best price I've seen and makes sense for the right booking.
• Hyatt: ​3K bonus points for 3-night stays​
• IHG: ​Up to 3x points for 2+ night stays via the app​
• Marriott: ​Buy points at 0.81¢ with a 55% bonus​
• Marriott: ​Up to 6K points or 8x per $1 on dining​

💎 Award deals

• 🇳🇱 Amsterdam: ​Biz class from 60K Flying Blue miles​
• 🇦🇺 Australia: ​Roundtrip from 25.4K SkyMiles​
• 🇪🇺 Helsinki, Munich and Paris: ​From 20K Atmos points​
• 🇰🇷 Seoul: ​From 20K Atmos points​
• 🇵🇫 Tahiti: ​Roundtrip biz class from 85K JAL miles​

🔗 Card-linked offers

• Amazon: ​Up to 50% off with Amex​ or ​40% off with Citi​
• Delta: ​Up to $330 back on SkyMiles transfer fees​ — I wish I were targeted for this one so I could start consolidating our balances.
• Frontier: ​$50 off $200​
• ITA Airways: ​$225 off $1,250​
• JetBlue: ​$60 off $400​
• ANA: ​20K Membership Rewards points on $2,500​
• Perplexity Enterprise​: ​$125 off $325​
• UPS Shipping Online: ​Up to $500 off​

🏦 Bank bonuses

• Bank of America: ​$400-$2,500 business checking bonus​
• Bask Bank: ​$300 checking or savings bonus​
• Citi: ​Up to $2,500 checking bonus​
• SoFi: ​$300 for moving $1K+ in crypto​
• TD Bank: ​$200-$300 checking bonus​
• U.S. Bank: ​Up to $1,500 business checking bonus​
• Wells Fargo: ​$2,500 bank or investing bonus​ — If the link doesn't work, try opening it in incognito mode.

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.