Episode 52: Q2 5x Categories, Transfer Bonuses, and Heightened Welcome Offers

We've got a full show today. Let's get right into it... 0:25 Q2 2021 5x Categories Chase FreedomGas StationsHome Improvement StoresDiscoverGas StationsWholesale ClubsSelect Streaming ServicesCiti DividendSupermarketsDrugstores 3:15 Amex 40% Transfer Bonuses to Hilton/Marriott 1,000 MRs become 2,800 Hilton1,000 MRs become 1,400 MarriottOne use model: Marriott to “high value” foreign carrier programsMore on that in the paid show 7:10 Amex Bonvoy Heightened Offers Amex Bonvoy Business 100k$5,000 min spend in 3 months$125 AF$150 statement creditAvailable through referral35k cert on renewalAmex Bonvoy Brilliant 125k$5,000 in 3 months$450 AF$200 back at restaurants$300 Marriott creditNot seeing it available through referral as of yet (affiliate and public only)50k cert on renewal 21:10 Amex Delta Gold 90,000 Offer (HT Brian at FM) Seen while making a booking on Delta.comReferral a better option if you have 30k + 70,000 + $200 creditBut… (see next item) 11:45 Amex Removing Referral Capability for Some (DoC) Seems to be some new kind of penalty boxUsed to be that certain cards were unable to refer from, but other cards (especially new ones) were able toNow it seems to apply to all cards if affectedEven squirreled away links don’t work any more saying: Sorry this referral link is no longer valid and you will not receive the referral bonus.Thought to be related to self-referral but I really don’t think that’s the caseSame household referral for sure, but I really don’t think I self-referredA troubling shot over the bow for sure... 15:30 Buy Aeroplan Miles for as Little as 1.2 cpp (Direct Link) Through April 2, 2021A good example of how cashing out bank points isn’t giving up on travel If you want to hear more, subscribe at patreon.com/milenomics. This week we go deeper into a few of the topics we discussed here as well as: Waiting on AmexCiti ShenanigansRetention Offers and more...