👋 Hi Reader,

Hope you're having an amazing start to your weekend! Here's what's included in today's newsletter:

• 💰 How to earn more points in multiplayer mode
• 🏙️ All the Hacks Billboard in Times Square
• 🏦 $7,500+ worth of bank bonuses
• 🤖 Free year of Perplexity AI Pro
• 💺 Business class award deals to 6 destinations
• 💳 100K welcome bonus on the Citi Strata Elite
• 🤝 United x Instacart: bonus miles, $0 delivery fees & more
• 💰 United, Avianca, Hilton & more points on sale and more!

If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to forward it to anyone else who might (and if that's you, you can subscribe here). Thank you!

Chris

💰 How to Earn More Points in Multiplayer Mode

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Want to 3x your points and miles? Kai (who earned a total of $40,000 and 5 million points with his partner in 2024) and I break down how to earn, manage, and maximize rewards with a partner, family, or friends. Plus, learn how to handle the logistics, emotions, and systems that make it all work.

🔒 Protect Your Points & Miles Today

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… Protect Your Points​

I’ve used credit card points to take some incredible vacations that would’ve cost thousands — savings that made trips possible for my family. But a bill in Congress, the Durbin Marshall Bill, could put rewards like these at risk.

The law would require banks to enable multiple networks to process payments. Supporters say it lowers costs, but when debit fees were capped in 2010, debit rewards vanished, checking account fees rose and a Richmond Fed study found that 98% of merchants either kept prices the same or raised them. The real winners are more likely to be large retailers than consumers.

To keep your rewards, visit Protect Your Points and tell Congress to vote no.

📋 My Past Week

Let me share a quick recap of what I was up to last week:

• Thanks to Brex, there's an All the Hacks billboard running in
  Times Square and I flew out this week to check it out. Even if it doesn't drive a single new listener, it was so cool to see it in person. If you’re in NYC and want to check it out, it’s located here and will be showing up every ~4min from 8-9a, 4-5p, and 12-1a through tomorrow (10/12).
• Thanks to Bilt Platinum status, I took a free Blade helicopter ride from JFK, which was a fast and amazing way to get to the city. That said, I was definitely a bit nervous after watching a helicopter crash earlier this year in NYC. I’d probably still do it again for free, but the midtown helipad is so close to Penn Station and Blade departures are only every 40 minutes, so it might not actually be that much faster than taking the LIRR (JFK) or NJT (EWR). If you want $50 off Blade, my referral code is ChrisH423.
• On the flight back home, I also got to experience the new TSA Touchless ID at EWR. The idea is that you no longer need to take out your ID, but as someone who often uses Clear, it was very underwhelming. It's supposed to reduce the ID Check time from ~20 to ~8 seconds, but based on my experience at EWR yesterday, the bottleneck seems to be the X-ray machines.
• Here are two great recipes from the past week: Sweet and Sour Eggplant with Garlic Chips (we added some tofu for more protein) and Crispy Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli (this one is so easy for a weeknight meal).
• I've been spending more and more time playing with some coding tools (Replit and Cursor). My latest project is building a family calendar web app to run on an old iPad I'd like to mount on the wall. It's amazing how easy it is to build software to look/function exactly as you want.
• I don’t think I could make the switch to Android, but after watching this review of the new Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, I got pretty close to considering it. Realistically, I'll probably just hope Apple can launch something cool and unique next year!

🛫 Travel, Points & Miles

💺 Business Class Award Deals to 6 Destinations

If you’re looking to travel to or through these destinations, check out these business class award flight deals:

• 🇦🇺 Australia: From 70K AAdvantage miles​
• 🇧🇪 Belgium: From 60K Aeroplan points​
• 🇮🇪 Ireland: From 45K Atmos points​
• 🇮🇹 Italy: From 55K Atmos points​
• 🇲🇦 Morocco: From 55K Atmos points/AAdvantage miles​
• 🇵🇹 Portugal: From 60K Aeroplan points​

And if you don't mind flying economy class, you can take a round-trip flight to Spain for just 6,400 Avios on Iberia or fly to Europe for 26,000 SkyMiles.

🏨 Hotel Promos: Marriott, IHG & Preferred

Here are some of the hotel promos to take advantage of if you have upcoming travel plans.

• IHG: Save up to 30% when you book before 10/16 for stays through 2/28/26.
• Marriott: Save up to 20% on stays booked by tomorrow, 10/12, for travel through 11/2 with promo code QRI.
• Marriott: Earn 25K bonus points on eligible vacation packages booked before 10/31 for travel through 3/31/26.
• Preferred Hotels: Earn 2,500 bonus points when you book new properties (listed here) by 12/31 for stays through 3/31/26.

🤩 Free $100 for Delta Bookings to Europe in Q1 2026

Delta SkyMiles members can earn a $100 eCredit (valid for 6 months) when they book flights to select European destinations. Enroll here first and then book the flight before 11/30 for travel between 1/1/26 and 4/30/26.

🔁 Bilt Adds New Partners: Etihad and (maybe) Rakuten

​Bilt Rewards has added Etihad Guest as a new 1:1 transfer partner, but be cautious of Etihad's punitive cancellation and expiration rules before transferring and booking.

In other Bilt news, there's a rumor that you might be able to covert Rakuten Cash Back to Bilt Points, which I would absolutely choose over American Express (assuming Bilt is also 1:1).

🤝 United x Instacart: Bonus Miles, $0 Fees & More

If you're a United MileagePlus member, link your account to Instacart and enjoy $0 delivery fees on orders placed shortly before, during, or after a domestic United flight. Also, as of 10/6, new Instacart members can also earn 5,000 miles after four $35+ orders and 5,000 miles for enrolling in Instacart+. Existing members only get 500 for linking accounts and placing a $35+ order within 60 days, but if you're already using Instacart, it's better than nothing.

🚀 Fast Track to Frontier Platinum Status for $99

Frontier Airlines is currently offering a fast track to Platinum Status. You must register, pay $99, and earn 12,500 Elite Status Points within 90 days to achieve Platinum status through 2026. To be eligible, you should not currently hold Elite Platinum or Diamond Status.

🤑 Latest Deals

💳 Up to 50% Off + $15 Off on Amazon with Amex

Amazon's Shop with Points promo for Amex cardholders is offering up to 50% off (up to $80 in savings) on your next purchase. Click here to see if you're eligible.

Plus, get $15 off when you add your Amex card to your Amazon Wallet and spend a minimum of $15.01 with promo code AMEXQ4ABC15.

🏦 $7,500+ of Bank Bonuses

Bank bonuses are a great way to save, so here are a few worth checking out.

Consumer

• ​Up to $1,000 from Bank of America: When you enroll in the offer before 11/30 and deposit a qualifying amount. This is a targeted offer, so check your email to see if you're eligible.
• ​Up to $500 from SoFi​: Earn $300 when you open a new SoFi Checking and Savings account and set up a qualifying direct deposit. Plus, earn $150 when you use Rakuten to open the account, and get an additional $50 here if you don't already have a Rakuten account.
• ​$425 from Wells Fargo: When you open an Everyday Checking account before 11/18 and complete a qualifying direct deposit.
• ​$150–$200 from Discover: When you open a new Online Savings account before 1/30/26 and complete a qualifying deposit.

Business

• Up to $3,500 from Wells Fargo: When you upgrade to a Premier Checking account and complete a qualifying deposit with a bonus code. Click here for a $2,500 bonus or here for $3,500.
• ​Up to $1,200 from U.S. Bank: When you open a new U.S. Bank Business Essentials® account or Platinum Business Checking account before 1/14/26 and complete the required activities. ​
• ​$750 from a Popular Bank: When you open a Business Complete Checking account with code NC72 4472 227F J9TX before 1/22/26 and complete qualifying activities.
• ​$200 from U.S. Bank: When you open a new business savings account with promo code Q4SAV25 before 1/14/26 and complete the qualifying requirements.

Plus, Kraken has a deposit match promo, where users can earn up to a 2% bonus on new cash or crypto deposits of $1,000+ during October.

🤖 1 Free Year of Perplexity AI Pro with Venmo

Perplexity AI is offering 12 months of pro for free when you connect to Venmo and there's no purchase necessary. You can also link your PayPal account to get the same 1 year access.

⚽ World Cup Tickets for AAdvantage Members

American AAdvantage members will get access to redeem as few as 75,000 miles for tickets to FIFA World Cup 26. Sales start on 10/13 for top tier AA Elites, with access for all AA members coming over the following two days. Full details here.

🚊 $2.50 off $10+ in Transit for Mastercard Holders

For the rest of 2025, Mastercard is offering a $2.50 statement credit every month you spend $10+ on transit in participating cities. Full list of cities and terms are here.

🔗 Card-Linked Offers: $800+ in Savings

I love leveraging card-linked offers to maximize my savings, so here are some I found this week. Expiration dates are in parentheses.

• IKEA: 10% off, up to $27 (10/25)
• ExxonMobil: 10% off, up to $20 (10/29)
• AT&T Wireless: $75 off $100 (10/31)
• Home Depot: 10% off, up to $25 (11/2)
• Marriott: 10% off, up to $75 (11/15)
• Apple Pay: $25 bonus after 5 uses (11/30)
• Best Western & SureStay: $50 off $250 (12/31)
• Delta Travel Extras Portal: $120 off $600 (12/31)
• Frontier Airlines: $50 off $200 (12/31)
• Icelandair: $225 off $1,500 (12/31)
• Popular Bank's Travel Portal: $100 off $600 (12/31)
• Accor Luxury Hotels: $100 off $500 (3/16/26)

Note that some of these offers are targeted, so I highly recommend using CardPointers Pro (get 30% off here) to automate these offers.

💰 United, Avianca, Hilton & More Points on Sale

If you’re planning a redemption or are familiar with these programs, here are some deals that might come in handy. Expiration dates are in parentheses.

• United: 1.93¢ with up to a 95% bonus (10/18)
• Frontier: 1.08¢ with up to 150% bonus (10/24)
• Southwest: 1.5¢ with up to 50% bonus (10/29)
• Lufthansa: 1.41¢ with a 50% bonus (10/31)
• Amtrak: 2.69¢ with a 40% bonus (11/10)
• Choice Hotels: 0.74¢ with a 40% bonus (11/10)
• Hilton: 0.5¢ with a 100% bonus (11/21)

🕵️ Top Finds

💸 The Art of Spending Money

I became a big fan of Morgan Housel's writing after reading The Psychology of Money, and even had him join for an episode of the podcast. So I'm really excited to check out his latest book The Art of Spending Money. He's likely going to join me for another episode of the podcast, so if you have any questions you want me to consider, please reply to this email and let me know!

🍗 Korean Fried Chicken at Home

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My YouTube feed is filled with Joshua Weissman's videos, but this one caught my eye and has had me craving Korean Fried Chicken for the past few days. Can't wait to put his recipe to the test soon.

💬 Parting Thoughts

As always, thanks so much for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s newsletter, and if you enjoyed it, please let me know why! Or if you have suggestions for a future newsletter, please share those as well. I read every reply that comes in from these emails :)

Chris