Tag Archives: Free Stuff

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My Favorite Underrated Wells Fargo Autograph / Journey Credit Card Feature: Transfers Starting at 1 Point

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Good afternoon everyone and happy Friday! A warm welcome to any former Bilt Card 1.0 members who may have found their way here. By now, you’ve likely received your no annual fee Wells Fargo Autograph Credit Card and are wondering: What should I do with this card, should I keep it?

While the Wells Fargo Autograph offers decent bonus categories, my favorite feature is something far less flashy, but far more useful to me: you can earn transferable points and move them to airline and hotel partners without paying an annual fee.  This is a huge deal if you ever need to top off an account with fewer than 1,000 points. There are no minimum transfer amounts, which means no orphaned points stranded after a redemption.  That combination is wonderful, but not very common in the miles / points space.

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How Fast Does the Citi Strata Elite $200 Splurge Credit Post for Best Buy Purchases?

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last month, both Laura and I applied for the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card because we had a property tax payment due by December 31 (and we were hoping to triple-dip the $300 Annual Hotel Benefit and $200 Splurge Credit). Long story short (and a situation deserving of its own blog post), Citi declined my application but approved Laura’s application.

If you already have the Citi Strata Elite, the $200 Splurge Credit should be very easy to use. I wanted to share our experience and show how quickly you can expect the credit to post.  Laura selected Best Buy as her “Selected Brand” and spent $200 on Best Buy’s website (they offer a wide variety of gift cards available). The purchase posted on December 29 and the $200 statement credit posted 2 days later on December 31.

Since the Splurge Credit resets each calendar year, she was able to use it again in 2026. Laura kept Best Buy as her “Selected Brand” and made another $200 purchase on January 3. Once again, the credit posted quickly, just 2 days later on January 5. We were both pleasantly surprised that the credits posted automatically and without any need to contact Citi.

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By the Numbers: How Much I Earned from Bank Account Bonuses in 2025

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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

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No Upcoming Hilton Stay? Turn Your Credit Into a $50 Snack Shopping Spree

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Reposting on 12/10/2025: as we approach the end of the year, you only have 3 weeks left to use your Q4 $50 Hilton Credit from your Hilton Surpass credit card and AMEX Platinum card. Don’t despair if you don’t have any upcoming Hilton stays, just go on a Hilton snack shopping spree! Read the full post for more details.

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last week, I received a reminder email from Hilton about the Q4 $50 Hilton credit on my American Express Hilton Honors Surpass Credit Card.  I also receive another Q4 $50 Hilton credit from my American Express Business Platinum Card.  In the past, it was easy to use both credits, I’d simply book a Hilton stay once a quarter.  But things are a little different now with a newborn at home.  So when Q3 was coming to an end, I had to get creative to make sure those Hilton credits didn’t go to waste.

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“Reflecting” on My New Mirrored AMEX Business Platinum Card

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Good afternoon everyone, and happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, American Express unveiled their new mirrored-finish Platinum Card lineup, and as a longtime card enthusiast, I knew I had to add this shiny collectible to my collection. Instead of applying for a new card, I logged into my American Express online account and ordered a replacement American Express Business Platinum Card.

While waiting for the replacement card to arrive, I discovered something interesting: you can’t add your old AMEX Business Platinum Card to your Apple Wallet once you’ve requested a replacement. Every attempt I made to add it resulted in an error until the new mirrored card arrived and was activated.

This post walks you through ordering a replacement AMEX Business Platinum Card, the delivery timeline, design changes, activation process, and adding your new card to your Apple Wallet.

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