👋 Hi Reader,

Hope you're having a great weekend! Here's a quick sneak peek of what's included in today's newsletter:

📝 10 lessons for better decisions about money & life
🏨 Amex Platinum's hotel credit gets a big downgrade
💳 300K miles + $1,000 travel credit on Venture X Biz
💎 Biz class award deals Paris, Istanbul, Manila & more
📺 A true-crime series I'm really enjoying
🏦 Up to $2,900 in bank bonuses

If you enjoy reading, please forward this email to a friend who might too! And if that's you, make sure to subscribe here. Thank you so much!

Chris

📝 10 Lessons for Better Decisions: Money & Life

I share the 10 biggest takeaways from this year's Long Angle retreat, covering money, AI, parenting, relationships, health, and life. We explore why what you measure shapes your behavior, how to use AI agents, why simple rules beat perfect plans, how to teach kids about money, and why “later” may be the most expensive word in your vocabulary.

📺 Watch or 🎧 Listen

💰 Start Your Year-End Review & Save on Taxes

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… Gelt

If the only time you hear from your CPA is at filing, you're paying for compliance, not strategy. The moves that can change a business owner's 2026 tax bill (how you pay yourself, the retirement plan you set up, the equipment you place in service) usually close at the end of the year, but there's still time to strategize around them now.

Gelt, a modern CPA firm for business owners, works on your taxes all year and helps you make those moves before the windows shut.

Start your year-end review now and keep more of what you earn at chrishutchins.com/gelt.

📋 My Past Week

Here's a quick recap of what I was up to last week:

Even though work and two kids leave us very little downtime, my wife Amy and I are excited to have new seasons of so many shows right now. I just finished the 4th season of The Diplomat, and Amy and I are ready to get caught up on Slow Horses, Lupin, and Nobody Wants This.
I spent the past two weekends at points/miles events and really enjoyed getting to spend time with tons of people who love this game like I do. Fortunately, this weekend Delta had no delays and it was an easy trip. If you ever happen to be looking for an interesting meetup location, check out the MSP Airport Conference Center, which is conveniently located inside security.
I wasn't able to get an iPhone Duo from Apple on launch day, but I was able to order one from Red Pocket that says it'll be arriving on Tuesday. I got a chance to play with a friend's yesterday and it only made me more excited to get one. My biggest concern is what to do for my wallet, since my MagSafe wallet won't fit on the back. I confirmed that there's room for credit cards on the back, so I hope I can find a replacement soon.

⭐ My Top Picks

🏨 Amex Plat: FHR Credit Downgrade + 5X on Airbnb

Amex just confirmed a huge downgrade to one of the marquee perks of the Platinum and Business Platinum cards. Starting 1/1/27, Fine Hotels + Resorts stays will need two nights to trigger the $300 semi-annual credit. On the plus side, it will covers 2+ night Airbnb Luxe stays and adds a new $250 Airbnb Experiences credit. Both cards will also earn 5X points on Airbnb stays booked through Amex Travel.

💳 300K Miles + $1,000 Travel Credit on Venture X Biz

The Capital One Venture X Business card has a welcome offer of up to 300K bonus miles and a $1,000 Capital One Business Travel credit. You can earn 150K miles after a $40K spend in 4 months, then another 150K miles and the $1,000 credit after $120K total spend in the same 4 months. It's a huge minimum spend, but given that the card earns 2X miles, you'd be earning 4.5X miles + $1,000 travel credit on the first $120K spent. If I didn't already have this card, I'd be going for it now (assuming I had enough spend on the horizon).

💼 Amex Business Platinum Adds a Coworking Perk

While I don't think it makes up for the FHR downgrade, the Amex Business Platinum just added a new coworking perk. You now get a free ZO membership with Clubhouse lounge access and Studio coworking day passes at 20+ spots in six U.S. cities: New York, Boston, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

📺 Recommended: American Hostage

American Hostage is a crime thriller series on MGM+ that dramatizes the true story of Tony Kiritsis, who took his mortgage broker hostage for three days in 1977. Jon Hamm plays an Indianapolis radio reporter who gets pulled into the crisis when Tony demands to be interviewed on his popular news program.

📰 The Rest of the Week

💳 Credit cards & points

Alaska: Summit 100K & Ascent 80K + companion perks — I'm a huge fan of the Summit card and love to see this bonus back.
Amex: Biz Platinum limits 2X Shipping & Wireless Credit — Huge loss for anyone on US Mobile, Visible, and many other carriers.
Bilt: JetBlue added as a new 1:1 transfer partner — I'm not excited about this, but even if you were, I'd wait to see what happens on 11/1 Rent Day.
Discover it: $200 bonus + 2X first-year cash back
Popular Travel Portal: Points worth 2.5¢ at 11 luxury hotels
Transfer Bonus: Amex → Marriott 35% bonus (ends 12/10)
Transfer Bonus: Cap1 → Virgin Atlantic 30% bonus (ends 11/20)

✈️ Airline news & promos

Alaska: SEA to Osaka & Tahiti, intro fares end 10/26
Delta: 2027 Medallion thresholds unchanged
JetBlue: Free first class upgrades for Mosaic
SAS: Paid status match from $99, no flying needed

💎 Award deals

🇮🇩 Bali: Alila Villas Uluwatu from 35K Hyatt points
🇹🇷 Istanbul: Biz class from 65K Miles&Smiles miles
🇶🇦 Qatar: Qsuite from 70K Avios points
🇵🇭 Manila: Biz class from 75K Atmos points
🇫🇷 Paris: Biz class from 48K Flying Blue miles
🇪🇸 Spain: Biz class from 45K Atmos points
🇨🇭 Switzerland: Biz class from 60K Aeroplan points

🔗 Card-linked offers

Best Buy: $25 off $250
Fine Hotels + Resorts: $50 off $500 — Stacks with the $300 hotel credit on Amex Platinum.
Marriott: $150/$200 off $300/$450
Miraval: $200 off $1,000 — Not as good as this $250 off $1,000 offer I shared last month (if you have it on your cards).
Turo: Up to $30 off $150
Virgin Atlantic: $200 off $2,500

🏦 Bank bonuses

Capital One: Up to $1,500 savings bonus + 3.20% APY
E*Trade: $400 checking bonus
Schwab: Up to $1,000 checking bonus

💬 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!