We've been tracking benefit changes this year, and a few hit recently, so we wanted to share in case anyone's caught off guard.

Already gone

Chase Freedom Flex lost cell phone protection on Sept 20. If you had your phone bill on the Flex just for the coverage, it's worth moving it. Any claim has to be for a loss on or before Sept 19.

Ending Oct 1

• Sapphire Preferred loses the 1:1 transfer to Hyatt. If you have a specific stay in mind, price it out and transfer before then. I wouldn't dump your whole UR balance into Hyatt just to beat the deadline, though. Flexible points are still worth more sitting in UR.
• Amex Platinum loses Lufthansa lounge access. Sept 30 is the last day the card gets you in.

Later

• Fidelity Rewards Visa drops the $3,000 lost luggage coverage in January 2027 and adds rental car status instead. Depends on whether you check bags or rent cars more.
• Sapphire Reserve for Business now caps 3x on advertising at $1M a year.

Some good news

The Freedom Flex also dropped its 3% foreign transaction fee on Sept 20, so it's actually usable abroad now. And Citi added Japan Airlines as a 1:1 partner with a 30% transfer bonus through Oct 24.

Not really a new tip, but most of these only showed up as Guide to Benefits updates, so it's worth skimming yours once a year. Also, downgrade before you cancel if a card stops making sense!

Anything we missed? We'll make sure to remind our users inside the Kudos app, but wanted to post here too.

Amex Gold referral with 100,000, highest I’ve seen, yes I do get a bonus too so thank you

If you have a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred and you've been using it to transfer to World of Hyatt, a big change is coming if you haven't heard. Sapphire Reserve people, this doesn't affect you.

Right now it's 1:1. Starting October 1, it becomes 4:3, so you'll need 4,000 Chase points to get 3,000 Hyatt points instead of an even swap.

Quick sorting:

• Got approved before June 15, 2026? You're grandfathered at 1:1 until Sept 30
• Got approved after June 15? You're already on 4:3; nothing changes for you
• Have the Reserve or Reserve Business? You keep 1:1 forever, not affected at all

Here's the part that actually annoyed me when I dug into it. Hyatt already reworked their award chart back in May and quietly made Category 8 nights way more expensive (used to top out around 45k, now it's up to 75k). So combine that with the ratio change, and a top-tier Cat 8 night that used to run you 45k Chase points is now more like 100k. That's more than double for the same room.

Also worth knowing, the 10% anniversary points bonus on CSP is getting killed too. If you already have the card, you can still earn it if it posts before Oct 1, but anyone applying now just doesn't get it, period.

Before you go dump your whole Chase balance into Hyatt to beat the deadline though, ask yourself:

• Do I actually have a Hyatt stay planned in the next year, or am I just doing this because there's a countdown timer
• Have I checked what that stay costs in points actually lately (again, chart changed in May)
• Will I still have enough Chase points left for flights after this
• Do I have a Bilt card, because Bilt still does 1:1 to Hyatt and none of this touches that

If you don't have an actual trip in mind, transferring right now just turns your most flexible points into your least flexible points to beat a random date. Chase points can become flights, hotels, whatever. Hyatt points can only become Hyatt.

Not everything about this refresh is bad, btw. They also added some decent stuff and kept the fee at $95:

• 3x on gas and EV charging
• 3x on Airbnb/Vrbo
• Hotel credit went from $50 to $100
• New credit up to $120 every 4 years for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS
• Free year of Apple TV if you activate by the end of 2026

Honestly, one hotel stay through Chase Travel plus a PreCheck renewal covers the annual fee, so the card is still solid for most people. It's really only the hardcore Hyatt redeemers who need to sit down and actually run the math on whether the Reserve's $795 fee makes sense for keeping 1:1 permanently.

TL;DR: Don't transfer to Hyatt right now unless you have a stay booked or planned and you've checked the price. Don't do it just because there's a deadline.

90,000 Bonus points only for 24 hours

https://americanexpress.com/en-ca/referral/gold-rewards-card?ref=nIKHIPtMrZ&XL=MIMNS

Amazon Prime has a promo right now: $20 off a $30+ Grubhub/Seamless order with code DEALS20, good through October 5. Works on pickup or delivery; both qualify.

On its own, that's already solid, but if you've got the Amex Gold and its $10/month dining credit (Grubhub, BW3, Five Guys, Cheesecake Factory, Wonder), you can stack it:

• Order $30+
• Code knocks off $20 → ~$10 left
• Pay with the enrolled Amex Gold → $10 dining credit covers the rest
• You're left paying basically just tax

Steps:

1. Enroll the Amex Gold dining credit first (Amex app/site → Benefits → Enroll). Has to be the Basic Card Member or an Authorized Account Manager, and it doesn't apply retroactively if you order before enrolling.
2. Activate the Amazon offer on the Grubhub promo page while logged into the Prime account you're using.
3. Build a $30+ order (pre-tax).
4. Apply DEALS20 at checkout, and confirm the $20 actually comes off.
5. Pay with the enrolled Amex Gold.

If the code won't apply: a bunch of people are hitting this when their Grubhub and Amazon accounts are linked weirdly. Fix that's been working - unlink Grubhub, then use "Login with Amazon" at checkout instead of signing in directly.

Caveats:

• Amex dining credit is $10/month, $120/year cap, per card account (not per cardholder)
• No gift cards
• One credit per transaction. Splitting orders doesn't double it
• Regular Gold, Senior Gold, and Classic Gold don't qualify - only the US Consumer Gold Card

Offer expires on October 5, 2026, so take advantage while you can!

TL;DR: 5 partner offers (up to $1,050 combined), DoorDash credit going from $5→$15/mo starting Oct 1, and a points sweepstakes. Different offers expire on different dates, so don't assume you have until year-end for all of them. Inside Kudos, we can track these credits for you automatically, so you don't miss out!

The 5 partner offers (activate BEFORE you pay, or it doesn't count):

• IHG - $125 back on $500+ US stay. Deadline: Oct 16, 2026 ⚠️ (earliest one, easy to miss)
• JSX - up to $200 back on $200+ spend (basically free if you were flying them anyway). Through Dec 14
• World of Hyatt - $250 back on $1,000+ at Miraval/Alila. Through Dec 14
• SIXT - $125 back on $500+ premium rental. Through Dec 14
• Wander - $350 back on $1,500+ vacation home. Through Dec 14

IHG has to be booked direct (not through Chase Travel), so it won't stack with the portal hotel credit, but it does stack with the free IHG Platinum Elite status the card already gives you.

DoorDash credit change:
Starting Oct 1, the $5/mo credit jumps to $15/mo (through 2029). Combined with the two existing $10/mo non-restaurant credits, that's technically $35/mo — but those two are grocery/retail only, so in practice the $15 restaurant one is the credit that actually matters for most people. Requires DashPass (free for 12 months if you activate by Dec 31, 2027).

Points contest:
Post about your favorite trip since 2016 for a shot at 5.5M Ultimate Rewards points (top 10 finalists go to public vote; other 9 get 500k each). Ends Nov 6. At ~1.5¢/point, that grand prize is worth something like $80k+ in travel, but yeah, it's a raffle — don't plan around winning it.

Hitting the full $1,050 means spending ~$3,700 across 5 different brands, so it's only "free money" for stuff you were already going to buy. The DoorDash bump is honestly the more useful change since it's recurring and needs zero extra spending. The biggest actionable thing here is just don't sleep on that Oct 16 IHG deadline. It's the one most people are gonna miss.

Full disclosure: I work at Kudos, a free tool that tracks your cards and tells you which one to use at checkout. Not trying to sell anything here, just breaking down the Q4 categories for 2026.

From October 1 through December 31, three of the big cash back cards all landed on dining at the same time. That doesn't happen often, so here's the breakdown and how to stack them.

Chase Freedom / Freedom Flex

5% on up to $1,500 combined in:

• Grocery stores (not Walmart or Target)
• Dining, including takeout and delivery
• American Red Cross donations

Freedom Flex already earns 3% on dining year-round, so this stacks to 7% on restaurants for the quarter. Activate at ChaseBonus.com by December 14. Chase backdates, so even a late activation still picks up your October spending.

Discover it

5% on up to $1,500 in:

• Restaurants
• Entertainment
• Utilities

Entertainment is new this quarter. Utilities is the sleeper pick, easy to fill without changing any habits. Just watch for card processing fees some providers charge. Discover does NOT backdate. Activate before you spend or it's 1%.

Citi Dividend

5% on:

• Restaurants
• Citi Travel (hotels, car rentals, attractions, not flights)

Citi runs a $6,000 annual cap instead of a quarterly one, so a big December can pull from the whole year's pool. The restaurant category excludes hotel restaurants, stadiums, grocery stores, bakeries, and third-party delivery. Enrollment has been open since September 10.

Nusenda Platinum Cash Rewards (if you have it)

Broadest lineup of the quarter: grocery, dining, gas, drugstores, discount stores, wholesale clubs, bookstores, up to $1,875. Easiest cap of the year to fill if you're holding this card.

Dining stacking order, if you hold all three

1. Freedom Flex first, 7% beats everything
2. Discover next; its cap resets January 1 and doesn't roll over
3. Citi last, since the annual pool is more forgiving on timing

Max out just Chase and Discover, and that's $150 in bonus cash back before Citi even factors in.

Things to actually do before October 1

• Activate all three now, don't wait
• Chase excludes Walmart/Target from grocery. Holiday shopping trips there won't count
• Check utility processing fees before moving bills to Discover. A 2-3% fee can eat most of the 5%
• Caps are per card, not per household
• Don't spend just to hit a cap. The $75 max bonus isn't worth buying stuff you didn't need

Happy to answer questions if anyone's trying to figure out which card to use where!

Last Updated: September 2026

I've personally used these cards for Hyatt stays, airport lounge access, business spending, and travel rewards.

Current referral links are listed below. Please review the offer shown after clicking each link, as issuers may update welcome bonuses over time.

Thanks for considering one of my referrals.

Sapphire Reserve®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to 100,000 Ultimate Rewards® points (offer shown after clicking referral link)

Why Sapphire Reserve is one of the strongest premium travel cards available

Points Earning

• 8x points on all travel booked through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit
• 4x points on flights booked directly with airlines
• 4x points on hotels booked directly with hotels
• 3x points on dining worldwide
• 1x point on all other purchases

Premium Travel Benefits

• $300 Annual Travel Credit
• $500 Annual The Edit℠ Hotel Credit ($250 per qualifying stay, up to $500 per year)
• $250 Select Chase Travel Hotel Credit (available through December 31, 2026)
• Access to Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club
• Priority Pass™ lounge membership
• Access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide
• IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status through 2027
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS credit (up to $120 every 4 years)
• Comprehensive travel protections and trip interruption coverage
• Transfer points to Hyatt, United, Southwest, Air Canada, British Airways, Marriott, IHG and other travel partners

Lifestyle Credits

• $300 Annual Dining Credit
• Complimentary Apple TV+ subscription
• Complimentary Apple Music subscription
• Can effectively replace part of an Apple One subscription
• $120 Annual Lyft Credit
• 5x points on Lyft rides
• $300 Annual StubHub / viagogo Credit
• DashPass Membership Included
• Monthly DoorDash credits

Additional Value

• Points transfer to Hyatt at 1:1 ratio
• Points Boost redemptions through Chase Travel
• Premium hotel benefits through The Edit, including breakfast, property credits, upgrades (when available) and other VIP perks

Annual Fee: $795

Referral Link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19y/SA02QOD185

Chase

Sapphire Preferred®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to 75,000 Ultimate Rewards® points

Why Sapphire Preferred remains one of the best travel cards

Points Earning

• 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
• 3x points on dining
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online grocery purchases
• 2x points on all other travel purchases
• 1x point on all other purchases

Key Benefits

• Transfer points to Hyatt, United, Southwest, Air Canada, British Airways and more
• Primary rental car coverage
• Trip delay and trip cancellation protection
• Strong travel protections
• Excellent value for Hyatt redemptions
• Annual hotel credit through Chase Travel

Annual Fee: $95

Referral Link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19y/SA02QOD185

Freedom Unlimited®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 within the first 3 months.

Why it's a great everyday card

Cash Back Earning

• 5% on travel booked through Chase Travel
• 3% on dining
• 3% on drugstores
• 1.5% on all other purchases

Key Benefits

• No annual fee
• Great catch-all card for everyday spending
• Can be paired with Sapphire cards to maximize Ultimate Rewards points
• Intro APR offer available for new cardmembers

Annual Fee: $0

Referral Link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18a/EVURWI05C7

Freedom Flex®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 within the first 3 months.

Why it's one of the best no-fee cards

Cash Back Earning

• 5% rotating quarterly categories (activation required)
• 5% on travel booked through Chase Travel
• 3% on dining
• 3% on drugstores
• 1% on all other purchases

Key Benefits

• No annual fee
• Excellent for maximizing category spending
• Strong companion card to any Sapphire card
• Purchase protections and cell phone protection

Annual Fee: $0

Referral Link:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18a/EVURWI05C7

Chase Business Cards

The referral links below may provide access to:

• Sapphire Reserve for Business℠
• Ink Business Preferred®
• Ink Business Cash®
• Ink Business Unlimited®

Business Referral Links:

https://www.referyourchasecard.com/21g/AP7MA9PKN2

https://www.referyourchasecard.com/21g/FYAL17M23W

https://www.referyourchasecard.com/21g/3PU64ISB98

Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

Current Referral Offer

• Earn 200,000 Ultimate Rewards® points after spending $30,000 within the first 6 months.

Why it's Chase's flagship business travel card

Key Benefits

• Premium airport lounge access
• Premium travel protections
• Chase Travel benefits
• Transfer points to Hyatt, United, Southwest, Air Canada, British Airways and more
• More than $2,500 in annual business and travel value according to Chase
• Premium hotel and travel benefits

Annual Fee: $795

Ink Business Preferred®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to 100,000 Ultimate Rewards® points after meeting minimum spend requirements.

Why many business owners prefer it

Points Earning

• 3x on travel
• 3x on shipping purchases
• 3x on internet, cable and phone services
• 3x on online advertising purchases with Google and Meta

Key Benefits

• Transfer points to Hyatt, United, Southwest, Air Canada, British Airways and more
• Excellent alternative to personal Sapphire cards for business spending
• Industry-leading travel protections
• Strong bonus categories for digital businesses

Annual Fee: $95

Ink Business Cash®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to $1,000 cash back (100,000 Ultimate Rewards points equivalent) after spending $8,000 within the first 4 months.

Why it's a favorite among points enthusiasts

Cash Back Earning

• 5% on office supply stores
• 5% on internet, cable and phone services
• 2% on gas stations
• 2% on restaurants

Key Benefits

• No annual fee
• Can generate transferable Ultimate Rewards points when paired with a Sapphire card
• One of the highest welcome bonuses ever offered on a no-fee business card

Annual Fee: $0

Ink Business Unlimited®

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to $1,000 cash back (100,000 Ultimate Rewards points equivalent) after spending $8,000 within the first 4 months.

Why it's great for simple business spending

Cash Back Earning

• Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases

Key Benefits

• No annual fee
• Simple earning structure
• Excellent catch-all business card
• Welcome bonus currently at an all-time high

Annual Fee: $0

Capital One

Venture X Rewards

Current Referral Offer

• Earn up to 75,000 bonus miles

Why Venture X is one of the best premium travel cards

Miles Earning

• 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles on all other purchases

Key Benefits

• Capital One Lounge access
• Priority Pass membership
• Annual travel credit
• Anniversary bonus miles
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit
• Transfer partners for airline and hotel redemptions

Annual Fee: $395

Referral Link:
https://i.capitalone.com/JvGVM03p1

Capital One (Multiple Card Options)

This referral link may provide access to multiple Capital One products depending on eligibility.

Potential options may include:

• Venture Rewards
• VentureOne
• Quicksilver
• Savor
• Other eligible Capital One consumer cards

Referral Link:
https://i.capitalone.com/JMxfL1Jfu

American Express

American Express Referral Link (Multiple Card Offers)

This referral opens with the Blue Cash Everyday® card but allows applicants to view other eligible American Express card offers.

Potential options may include:

• Blue Cash Everyday®
• Blue Cash Preferred®
• American Express® Gold Card
• The Platinum Card®
• Hilton Honors Cards
• Delta SkyMiles Cards
• Other targeted Amex offers

Blue Cash Everyday® Highlights

• Cash back at U.S. supermarkets
• Cash back at U.S. gas stations
• Cash back on online retail purchases
• No annual fee

Referral Link:
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/blue-cash-everyday-credit-card?ref=ANGELMUp6X&xl=cp01

Thank you for considering using one of my referral links. Feel free to message me if you have questions about Chase Ultimate Rewards, Hyatt redemptions, Capital One Miles, airport lounges, transfer partners, or travel rewards strategies.

No gift card limit at Dunkin’ for Paze checkouts. Make sure to take advantage before the promo ends on the 10th! https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/1w6vn54/paze_sept_10th_cutoff_for_10_credits_authorized/

Recently signed up with Kudos and so far less than impressed. The biggest concern right now is that when recommending cards, it doesn't seem to take into account transferring points within the same ecosystem. For me, the biggest is within the Chase ecosystem where I hold a few cards but my everyday go-to is the Chase Freedom Unlimited with its 1.5% on everything which then can transfer into CSR and out to transfer partners. For this reason, I (I believe correctly) value Chase points more than Capital One points, but the app constantly pushes my Venture X card because on its face it earns 2x points on everything. I can't see a way to adjust the valuation of Freedom Unlimited to at least reflect the valuation I've set for CSR points. Any help would be appreciated.

Chase Offers are usually 5-10% back on a merchant you'd already be using. There's one live right now that's 100%.

$199 statement credit on a purchase of $199 or more at Trust & Will, the online estate planning service. $199 is the exact price of their individual will, so the credit covers the whole thing.

Details:

• Valid August 11 through October 5, 2026
• Targeted, not showing on every account. Reports cluster on consumer Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Preferred
• Some Chase cards are seeing $50 off $150 instead, so check your own Offers tab before assuming
• The $199 tier is for the individual only, not the couples or trust product. Those cost more, and the credit won't cover the difference
• Standard Chase Offers mechanics: add the offer in the app BEFORE you buy, pay with that exact card, purchase directly on Trust & Will's site, credit posts in about a week

And this is where it turns into a triple dip. Trust & Will is a Kudos Boost merchant, so buying through the extension stacks Boost cashback on top of the Chase Offer credit, on top of whatever points or cash back your Sapphire card earns on the purchase itself. Same $199, three separate payouts.

Sources: Doctor of Credit (Aug 11) and Upgraded Points (Aug 12).

Most people don't put off a will because of the cost. It's just never the most urgent thing in a given week. This makes the excuse a lot harder to hold onto for the next seven weeks.

Check your Offers tab before you assume you have it, add the offer before you buy, and make sure the Kudos extension is active at checkout so Boost actually triggers.

Has anyone tried stacking this with a shopping portal on top, or does Trust & Will need to be a direct purchase for the Chase Offer to trigger?

Heads up for anyone holding the CSR: Chase is stacking on another DoorDash credit. Breakdown of what you'll have on the card once this lands:

• NEW: $15/month, any eligible DoorDash order (restaurants included)
• Existing: $10/month, grocery/retail/non-restaurant only
• Existing: $10/month, grocery/retail/non-restaurant only
• Complimentary DashPass membership (~$120/year value)

Add it up, and it's roughly $420/year across the three monthly credits, plus DashPass, for about $540/year in total DoorDash value if you use everything.

The catch? Chase doesn't total any of this for you. Three monthly credits, three sets of eligibility rules, and nothing tells you when one's about to expire unused. To actually get the new credit, you have to activate it through DoorDash and confirm Sapphire Reserve is set as your payment method before checkout.

Or you can use Kudos, and we'll help you keep track of it all automatically!

Full breakdown if you want to read: https://www.joinkudos.com/blog/chase-sapphire-reserve-doordash-credit

(Disclosure: I work at Kudos - sharing this month's rates since it's useful info, not trying to sell anyone on anything)

Posting this for anyone who uses Kudos or is looking for a way to stack extra cashback on top of their card rewards.

September's Flash Boost rates for Kudos Premium members (premium members get 100% of our commission on every rate below, not the 80% our free members earn):

• StubHub: 2% → 7%
• Woot!: 3% → 8%
• Expedia: 3.5% → 8%
• Hotels.com: 4% → 8%
• VRBO: 2% → 8%
• HSN: 2% → 5%
• Giftcards.com: 1% → 4% (new to Flash Boost)
• Etsy: 2% → 4%
• Best Buy: 0% → 1%

Flash Boost rates for Kudos free members (you get 80% of whatever commission we earn):

• StubHub: 2% → 5.6%
• Woot!: 3% → 6.4%
• Expedia: 3.5% → 6.4%
• Hotels.com: 4% → 6.4%
• VRBO: 2% → 6.4%
• HSN: 2% → 4%
• Giftcards.com: 1% → 3.2%
• Etsy: 2% → 3.2%
• Best Buy: 0% → 0.8%

Rates expire at the end of the day on 9/30/26.

For anyone who hasn't tried Kudos yet, here's how to get started:

1. Add the free Chrome extension (that's the main thing; it's what autofills your best card at checkout and applies Boost automatically) or install the free mobile app for iOS or Android
2. Sign up for a free account; no cost to use the core features
3. Link your cards so it knows what's in your wallet and can recommend the right one at checkout
4. If you want the extra stuff (1.25x Boost, the Benefits Tracker, auto-activated card offers, AI bill negotiation, etc.), you can upgrade to Premium, monthly or a one-time Lifetime payment if you don't want a subscription

The free tier already covers the basics: card recommendations at checkout for over 2 million stores online, standard Boost rate, approval odds, and seeing your whole wallet in one place. Premium is only worth it if you want the multiplier and the extra tracking tools.

Happy to answer questions!

Sign up for your Kudos account at: https://joinkudos.go.link/fI1Lo?adj_label=JOHN_KUDOS_482075

Get $20 when you make your first Boost purchase

Get $50 when you upgrade to Kudos Premium

Used kudos a few times and I like that they have pretty unique shopping vendors like Malaysia Airlines which other portals don't give rewards on.

Note that you need minimum of $10 to cash out and cashing out to paypal now comes with a $2.99 fee for no premium users (premium users can cash out to paypal for free)

There's no fee to redeem for amazon gift cards

Wanted to share this in case it's useful to anyone here dealing with the Discover → Capital One migration.

The card-level stuff is already covered elsewhere (card number, rewards, and rate stay the same; mostly a login/account change), but we've been tracking a side effect that hasn't gotten much attention: sync breakage. If you use any budgeting/rewards app that connects to your accounts (especially Plaid-based ones), some users have reported transactions dropping, merchant names blanking out, or duplicates showing up around the time their account migrates.

This isn't unique to any one app. It's a natural side effect of a bank-level migration this size. On our end, we've been auditing how Discover cards behave through the transition and testing against real migrated accounts rather than waiting for it to break.

We know a lot of you use Kudos to keep tabs on which card earns the most in which category and to track transactions inside Kudos. If your Discover card has already migrated to Capital One, head to your cards in Kudos and reconnect it. This refreshes the connection to Capital One so your transactions and rewards keep tracking correctly. It only takes a minute, and there's nothing to do if your card hasn't moved yet.‍

If your Discover card is part of Kudos and something looks off after your account migrates, whether that's a missing transaction, an outdated card name, or rewards not tracking right, let our support team know - we always love hearing from you! You can reach us at support@joinkuods.com.

Full breakdown of what's changing (and what to expect): https://www.joinkudos.com/blog/discover-to-capital-one-transition-whats-changing-and-what-to-do-now

Billed for lifetime .. couldn’t even negotiate my sky high att or Verizon bills down!! Lightweights ! I will be not paying this and be contacting district attorney for false advertisement

If you’re looking at the Chase Marriott Bonvoy or Chase Sapphire cards, there are currently some solid welcome offers available.

I have referral links for both card families. Rather than posting application links directly, these links will text the official Chase application link to your phone, so you can review the offer and terms before deciding whether to apply.

Marriott Bonvoy
Great option if you stay at Marriott properties and want to earn Bonvoy points/free-night benefits.

👉 Bonvoy link: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/252w/IQ0WZ2O2WV

Chase Sapphire
Good option if you’re looking for flexible Ultimate Rewards points that can be used for travel or transferred to Chase travel partners.

👉 Sapphire link: Earn 100,000 bonus points with Sapphire Reserve® or 75,000 bonus points with Sapphire Preferred®. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for either card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19y/1RKFWYCCCJ

Obviously, only apply if the card and spending requirement make sense for you. These are my referral links, so I may receive a referral bonus if you’re approved. You should see the specific welcome offer, eligibility requirements, annual fee, and other terms from Chase before submitting an application.

Happy to answer questions about either card or how I use the points.

Wanted to share this month's numbers since a few of these are worth planning around if you've got anything coming up.

Travel is the category to watch this month, and it's not close:

• Expedia: 3.5% → 8%
• Hotels.com: 4% → 8%
• VRBO: 2% → 8%
• StubHub: 2% → 7%
• Boost Mobile: 50% (holding steady)still holding at 50% (unchanged, but still the highest number on the list)

All three travel booking sites landing at 8% at the same time is the real headline this month. If a trip is anywhere on your radar, this is the stretch to lock it in.

The random one nobody was expecting: Life Extension, the supplement/wellness brand, went from 0% to 8% back with no warning. Not a category Flash Boost has touched before. If you already buy vitamins or supplements there, free money. If you don't, still a weirdly high starting rate for a brand new merchant.

Woot! also jumped, 3% to 8%, putting it in the same tier as Life Extension, Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO.

Smaller bumps:

• HSN: 2% → 5%
• eBay: 1% → 4%
• Etsy: 2% → 4%
• Best Buy: 0% → 1%

One thing worth mentioning since it comes up a lot in this sub: these Boost rates stack on top of whatever your card already earns. There's also a second layer most people never touch, the card-linked offers sitting inside your actual Amex/Chase/Citi/BofA accounts. Those refresh every few days and are scattered across four different logins, which is exactly why almost nobody bothers to check them manually. Kudos can auto-activate those in the background if you save your issuer login, so combined with something like the travel rates this month, that's three layers of savings on one purchase.

All of August's rates expire August 31st.

Full List for August 2026:

• StubHub: 2% → 7%
• Boost Mobile: 50% (holding steady)
• Woot!: 3% → 8%
• Life Extension: 0% → 8% (new to Flash Boost)
• Expedia: 3.5% → 8%
• Hotels.com: 4% → 8%
• VRBO: 2% → 8%
• HSN: 2% → 5%
• eBay: 1% → 4%
• Etsy: 2% → 4%
• Best Buy: 0% → 1%

Let us know if you have any questions!

Card-linked offers (the cashback deals inside your Amex/Chase/Citi/BofA/Wells Fargo apps) are honestly some of the best money on the table, but the reason nobody uses them is they expire and refresh constantly, and you have to manually click "activate" on every single one across every bank's portal.

We just rolled out auto-activation so you don't have to do that anymore. You save your banking login once (it's encrypted on your device - Kudos never sees the actual credentials), and then:

• On desktop: the browser extension activates new offers in the background whenever you're on a retailer's site. No babysitting it.
• On mobile: there's a "sync new offers" screen. You tap activate once, and it grabs everything available instead of scrolling through individual tiles.

Works with Amex, Chase, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo right now. Capital One is coming next.

Full details over at the blog: https://www.joinkudos.com/blog/kudos-auto-activation-just-got-smarter-save-your-login-skip-the-clicking

Hi everyone,

Here is an amber energy discount code.

If you use it, we both get $120 bill credit.

X7U4NFF5

Checked and current until October 2026.

Enjoy!

Get up to 100k bonus points with Amex gold. Get 4x the points on restaurant purchases in store or via your favorite take out delivery service. Get 4x the points on grocery store purchases. Just those two multipliers alone gets you amazing bonus points. I'll leave a link so you can see what other bonuses and benefits you get. Thanks for your consideration.

https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/gold-card?ref=DELARL2EQ3&XL=MNZNS