Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. I recently read a great blog post on Frequent Miler about maximizing American Express credits and it made me realize that there are a ton of AMEX credits out there right now with various frequencies (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and yearly). After reading the blog post, I took a look at my current American Express credit card lineup and it hit me… I don’t have any of those credits anymore and I’m not sad about that.
Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. First, a quick nod to the bookworms and literary buffs who caught the reference to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Now let’s fast forward to this century. In mid-December, Laura and I both applied for the Citi Strata Elite Credit Card because we were hoping to triple dip the annual benefits ($300 Hotel Credit and $200 Splurge Credit) in December 2025, January 2026, and again in January 2027 before the $595 annual fee was due. Unfortunately, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” in terms of instant approvals.
My application: instant denial. Laura’s application: pending.
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.
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.
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 |