Recap Week Ending 11/8/26

I just got back from Chicago Seminars and am exhausted. But I met a lot of really cool people and caught up with old friends. And I was able to meet some of my subscribers! Definitely worth checking out if you have never been.

Here’s something interesting to read to start your Monday morning. Citi is hiring an intelligence analyst for merchant and loyalty rewards. This is someone who hunts down people who are manufactured spending, gaming bonuses, and partake in “adversarial earn-and-burn strategies”. Will you become a RAT? Link to Citi job posting.

Despite the blowback on Airbnb and vacation homes, there’s a lot of growing options to use points or coupons for home rentals. People do like these options apparently!

Wyndham launches Homes & Havens, book for 15k, 30k, or 45k points per bedroom per night. Details on Award Wallet.

Chase The Edit credit will be eligible for 10,000+ rental homes in 2027. Details on View from the Wing.

Amex also added the ability to use their portal to book 1 million+ Airbnb properties and a $250 credit on experiences if you book an Airbnb Luxe with Platinum Card (American Express)

I recently presented at Chicago Seminars! How to buy points and turn into luxury trips.

So, is buying points worth it?

It depends on your own strategies for earning points, knowledge and timing to redeem those points, and the math has to make sense (buying points to redeem is cheaper than paying cash outright).

I think there are many reasons to buy points because some hotel and airline programs sell points at great rates and I would rather save my transferrable points on my credit card. Food for thought!

Avios is having their best-ever price on buying points at ~1.1 cents per point. You can buy 200k Finnair Avios (link to buy here) for $2,170 through Nov. 16. Your Finnair account needs to have been opened before October 31, and you need at least 50 Avios in your account. You can move Avios from other Avios programs (Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar) to fulfill that requirement. Oh, buying points from Finnair also helps you earn status towards Finnair (View from the Wing with details).

And to put the price in perspective, you can buy enough points between US-Helsinki in business class (62.5k points) for ~$688. Add $150-200 in tax/fees, you are now paying around $900-1,000 each way to fly business class!

The November to December period is the best time to meet a bunch of sign up bonuses (SUBs). Retailers have great seasonal promotions that stack with shopping portals and credit card offers. It’s also sadly the time to think about estimated 4Q tax payments (due January 15).

So, plan ahead before the good sales and elevated cashback happen during Black Friday week (November 23). The Black Friday shopping season has consistently been starting earlier since my time tracking retail sales in 2019, so the earlier you open your card in preparation for this, the better!

This is the time to potentially reach for cards that have higher minimum spend than we normally would be able to achieve. Think business cards with higher spend amounts in shorter time periods like Amex Biz Plat or Gold, Chase Sapphire Business Reserve, Capital One business cards, or others.

Fly Swiss business class between North America and Switzerland, or onward through other parts of Europe serviced by Star Alliance airlines (Swiss, Lufthansa, Brussels Airways).