Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. With all the recent news about the refreshed Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card and the upcoming change to Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to Hyatt, I thought it would be interesting to share why I don’t currently have a Hyatt credit card and don’t have any Hyatt elite status either (shocker!).
Grant’s World of Hyatt Account (as of 6-14-2026)
Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well. I’ve been a big fan of Instacart ever since Chase added $10 and $20 Instacart credits to many of their cobranded credit cards in May 2025. Before then, I had never used Instacart because I assumed the grocery prices were significantly higher than shopping in-store and I actually enjoyed going to my local grocery stores. Between my wife and I, we currently have 8 qualifying Chase cobranded credit cards, which provide $80 – $100 in Instacart credits each month. When you combine those credits with discounted Instacart gift cards, it becomes possible to have groceries delivered to your front door for a fraction of the normal cost.
Good afternoon everyone and I hope your week is going well. One of my favorite resources for finding new bank account bonuses is Doctor of Credit’s Best Bank Account Bonuses page, which he updates frequently with the best offers available. That master list links to individual posts that break down everything you need to know about each bank account: bonus requirements, how to avoid monthly fees, when it’s safe to close an account, how frequently you can churn the account, and more. It’s an invaluable starting point for anyone interested in bank account bonuses.
For the past 11 years, I’ve been systematically opening new checking accounts, savings accounts, cash management accounts, and brokerage accounts to earn these new account bonuses. Each year, I tally up the results and share them here on the blog. Over that time, I’ve earned more than $30,000 in bank account bonuses!
Of course, these bonuses aren’t completely free money. You’ll receive a 1099-INT or 1099-MISC each year and will owe taxes on the bonuses. That said, there are ways to stack the value. In some cases, you can fund an opening deposit with a credit card and earn miles, points, or cash back. If the timing works out, you might even meet a credit card minimum spending requirement or hit a spending threshold to unlock additional rewards.
Here’s a look at my results from the past 11 years, with links to each yearly recap:
Drum roll please… here are the 9 bank accounts Laura and I opened in 2025 that paid out $3,475 in bonuses:
| Bank Account Name | Opened | Closed | Bonus | Notes |
| Capital One 360 Checking | 10/30/24 | 02/18/25 | $250 | Bonus posted 1/14/25 |
| US Bank Smartly Checking | 10/30/24 | Open | $400 | Bonus posted 1/13/25 |
| Chase Total Checking (Laura) | 11/11/24 | 03/28/25 | $400 | Bonus posted 2/18/25 |
| Chase Savings (Laura) | 11/11/24 | 03/28/25 | $200 | Bonus posted 2/18/25 |
| Chase Business Complete Checking | 03/10/25 | 06/25/25 | $300 | |
| Wells Fargo Way2Save Savings | 03/31/25 | 08/05/25 | $525 | |
| Chase Total Checking | 04/28/25 | 09/03/25 | $300 | |
| Chase Savings | 04/28/25 | 09/03/25 | $600 | |
| Bank of America Advantage Checking | 08/24/25 | Open | $500 | |
| $3,475 |
Good afternoon everyone and let me be the first (or maybe the tenth) to wish you a very happy New Year! Fresh off the heels of reviewing my 2025 travel predictions (including 7 wins and plenty of misses), it’s time to look ahead. From airlines and hotels to credit cards and loyalty programs, here are my overly ambitious (and occasionally wishful) predictions for what 2026 has in store for the miles and points community.
Good afternoon everyone, I hope your holiday season is going well. As we wrap up the year, it’s time to revisit My Overly Ambitious 2025 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions and see how my crystal ball actually performed. Correct predictions are in green, incorrect predictions are in red, and half correct predictions are in orange. Without further ado, here are the results of my 2025 predictions: