Aug. 15, 2026

πŸ’° My Top Picks, Recommendation & More (8/15/26)

πŸ’° My Top Picks, Recommendation & More (8/15/26)

This week, we’ll cover the new rules of points & miles in 2026, 20% Aeroplan bonus + 25% off awards, Hyatt's hidden 50% discount on second rooms, U.S. Bank finally has transfer partners, Amex kills multi-card offer activation, Resy to add 25k+ restaurants, wineries and experiences, redeem your Bilt Cash for BLADE helicopter rides, offer for $199 back on $199+ at Trust & Will, and more!

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πŸ“– The New Rules of Points & Miles in 2026

This week, we'll break down the biggest trends reshaping points and miles. We discuss new ways to earn transferable points without a credit card, the award search tools worth using right now, a six-month check-in on Bilt, and what's coming next for premium cards.

 


⭐ My Top Picks

✈️ Aeroplan: 25% Off Awards + 20% Transfer Bonus

Two Aeroplan deals landed this week:

🚫 Amex Kills Activating Offers on Multiple Cards

Historically many tools like CardPointers have been able to use a workaround to activate Amex offers on multiple cards at once. Unfortunately, that ​stopped working​ for most people this past week, so each offer can only be activated on one card (which is the way Amex always intended).

🚁 Bilt Cash Now Books BLADE Helicopters

Bilt finally turned on the BLADE redemption it promised at launch. You can now ​book BLADE helicopter transfers​ between Manhattan and JFK or EWR in the Bilt app and apply up to $350 of Bilt Cash per seat, twice a year. If you hit platinum two years in a row, that means you could end up getting a great deal on 4 seats on a BLADE flight all at once.

πŸ”„ U.S. Bank Finally Has Transfer Partners

After a year of delays, U.S. Bank ​launched its first four transfer partners​ for Altitude Reserve cardholders, but two of them (Flying Blue and Qantas) are no longer showing up. That leaves Ethiopian at 1:1 and Accor at 2:1. The Accor transfer will only get you ~1.15¢/point, but Ethiopian is interesting, with ​business class from 15,000 miles​.

🍽️ Resy Credits to Work at Some Tock Restaurants

Resy has ​just added​ Tock's 25,000+ restaurants, wineries and tasting experiences to their app, and starting 9/15 "select" Tock restaurants will work with Amex Resy statement credits. Resy recently ​added some restrictive language​ that made people worry about many restaurants not qualifying, but so far that hasn't actually happened, so I'm optimistic that the Resy credit will work at most Tock restaurants (and possibly the wineries and experiences).


🏨 Recommendation: Hyatt Family Plan

When traveling with our family I much prefer booking a suite that has room for all of us, but sometimes it's not possible or wildly expensive, so we need to book two rooms. In that case, you should know that Hyatt has an ​unpublished Family Plan Rate​ that takes up to 50% off a second room when you're traveling with kids. I actually booked two second rooms with points that I'm about to cancel because 50% of the cash rate is a much better deal. To book these rates, you can call the hotel, message ​@HyattConcierge​ on X or email your My Hyatt Concierge (if you're Globalist). Note that the second room has to be a cash rate, but the first room can be cash or points.


πŸ“° The Rest of the Week

πŸ’³ Credit Cards & Points

✈️ Airline News & Promos

🏨 Hotel News & Promos

πŸ’Ž Award Deals

πŸ”— Card-Linked Offers

 


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.