πŸ€‘ My Top Finds, Latest Deals, and Best Recommendations (3/1/25)


πŸ‘‹ Hi Reader,

Happy March! Here's what's included in today's newsletter:

  • 🧳 50 years of travel tips
  • πŸ’° Free unclaimed money from your state
  • πŸŽ™ Find your purpose, be a better friend and learn human skills
  • πŸ†“ Free LMNT, pancakes, sparkling water, magazines & more
  • 🏨 Earn up to 22,500 bonus Wyndham Rewards
  • ✈️ Up to 5,000 loyalty points towards AAdvantage elite status
  • πŸ“‰ Recent airline and hotel devaluations and more!

One small favor: if you enjoyed reading, please forward this newsletter to someone else who might too! And if that's you, make sure to subscribe here :) Thanks so much in advance!


πŸ€— Purpose, Friendship, and Human Skills

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This week, I spoke to Simon Sinek about ways to unlock the power of purpose and friendship. Learn how to find your β€˜why,’ strengthen your friendships, and master the human skills that truly matter.


⚑ Free Sample of My Favorite Electrolyte Drink Mix

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… LMNT​

Did you know that electrolyte deficiency or imbalance can cause headaches, cramps, fatigue, brain fog, and weakness? That's one of the reasons I love LMNT, which is designed to provide the optimal ratios of sodium, potassium, and magnesium for health, performance, and energy. Amy and I drink LMNT all the time and we love that it has zero sugar, zero coloring, and zero artificial ingredients or fillers.

Take advantage of their "no questions asked" refund policy and get a FREE sample pack at chrishutchins.com/lmnt​


πŸ€‘ Latest Deals

πŸ’° Find Free Unclaimed Money From Your State

Did you know that you can find free unclaimed money you're owed on your state's unclaimed money site? After sharing this hack with hundreds of people, countless people have found out they're owed >$100 and a few people have even found more than $1,000. So definitely try it out and let me know how much you end up finding!

πŸ†“ Free Pancakes, Sparkling Water, Magazines & More

Here’s a list of all the latest freebies I found this week:

  • Free Buttermilk Pancake Stack on 3/4 (National Pancake Day): Just go into any IHOP dine-in location between 7am-8pm.
  • Free Amazon Baby Welcome Box: When you sign up for Amazon's Baby Registry and make a $10+ purchase on Amazon but there’s a catch. You need to purchase the $10+ product after you "Add to Registry" and "Add to Cart" and checkout like you normally would.
  • Free 6-Pack Bubbl’r Antioxidant Sparkling Water: Just enter your email here.
  • Free Magazine Subscriptions: Check out this list on Doctor of Credit of free magazine subscriptions like Bon Appetit, Architectural Digest and Conde Nast Traveler (no CC required).

πŸ›« Travel, Points & Miles

πŸ“‰ Recent Airline and Hotel Devaluations

We're only two months into 2025 and we've already seen a few devaluations of rewards programs. I think I'm most disappointed by World of Hyatt, but fortunately we haven't seen any super terrible devaluations yet this year.

  • Avianca LifeMiles: Increased award prices on partner business and first-class flights. Business class increased by 8–15%, while first class saw hikes of up to 25% (e.g. Lufthansa First Class from 87,000 to 111,000 miles).
  • Marriott Bonvoy: Expanded dynamic award pricing, leading to significant fluctuations in points required for free nights, especially in high-demand locations. However, their β€œsecret” award chart helps identify the best uses for the free nights.
  • Hilton Honors: Increased points required for premium properties, with some top-tier hotels now charging over 100k points per night.
  • World of Hyatt: 2025 category shifts moved many hotels into higher award tiers, making free night certificates harder to redeem at popular properties.

✈️ Up to 5k Loyalty Points For AAdvantage Elite Status

If you’re planning to fly American Airlines in March, you might be eligible to earn up to 5,000 Bonus Loyalty Points if you register before you book the flights. You'll earn an extra 500 Loyalty Points per segment flown (except basic economy fares).

πŸ€‘ Up to 15k Bonus Points on Biz Purchases

If you're targeted, you'll earn up to 15,000 bonus points when you spend on qualifying purchases with a popular bank’s* business cards between 3/1 and 5/31. Make sure to ​register for the bonus here​.

🏨 Earn Up to 22,500 Bonus Wyndham Rewards

The Wyndham Rewards Spring 2025 promo is offering members up to 15,000 bonus points for qualifying stays of 2+ nights between 2/26 and 6/16. Plus, if they’re a Wyndham Rewards Earner Cardmember, they can earn up to 22,500 bonus points. Registration is required before 5/9.

πŸ›οΈ Get 20% Off Stays at Accor

Accor is offering a discount of up to 20% on bookings made through their ALL app for stays of 2+ nights. The deal is valid for bookings made by 3/2 for stays between 3/28 and 6/7.


πŸ•΅οΈ Great Finds

🧳 50 Years of Travel Tips

Kevin Kelly wrote an incredible list of some amazing travel tips he's picked up throughout his 50+ years of traveling.

πŸ’Ύ Retro Tech Dreams

I came across this account on X that posts about retro tech, early web and vintage computing. It’s super nostalgic and I love it!


πŸ’¬ 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!

Chris

Chris Hutchins

Discover the latest and greatest hacks, deals and recommendations to upgrade and optimize your life, money and travel – all while spending less and saving more.

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