Credit cards

End-of-Week Update — Friday, October 23, 2026

Hey friend — here's what changed since Tuesday and what you need to lock in before the weekend. Two Citi transfer bonuses close tomorrow night, a cluster of other transfer and award deadlines land October 30–31, and Four Seasons just dropped its 2027 global expansion map (Berlin and Venice are both coming back). Let's get into it.

🔥 WHAT'S HOT — ACT FAST

• Citi ThankYou → Avianca LifeMiles (25%) and → JAL Mileage Bank (30%) both end tomorrow night, Saturday Oct 24. If you've been sitting on ThankYou points (Strata Elite, Strata Premier, Prestige, AT&T Access More), this is the weekend to move them.
• A cluster of Oct 30–31 deadlines: Amex Membership Rewards → Flying Blue (25%), Amex MR → AeroMexico ClubPremier (20%), Capital One → British Airways Avios (20%), and Citi ThankYou → Qatar Privilege Club Avios (tiered up to 35%) all close within the next week.
• No live Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus right now — the last one (70% to Marriott Bonvoy) expired Oct 15, and nothing has replaced it yet. Worth knowing if you're a Chase-heavy reader waiting to move points.
• Flying Blue "Promo Rewards" — roughly 25% off business-class saver awards to Europe from ~14 North American gateways — must be booked by Oct 31 (travel through March 31, 2027).
• Brand new and worth knowing: Amex is tightening the Platinum card's Fine Hotels + Resorts benefit starting in 2027 — a two-night minimum stay will be required to unlock the credit, where today a one-night stay qualifies. Nothing changes for bookings made this year, but if you're holding an FHR stay for 2027, check the fine print.
• Existing Chase Sapphire Reserve holders: Chase Offers are running 10th-anniversary spend-and-gets through your account/app — notably $1,000 spent at Hyatt's ultra-luxury Miraval or boutique Alila properties gets $250 back. Check your Chase app; these are targeted, not universal.

TRANSFER BONUSES LIVE RIGHT NOW

Transfer via each program's own portal: Citi ThankYou, Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One travel partners.

*Capital One also lists bonuses on its newer "Rove Miles" currency (50% to JAL, 40% to Flying Blue, 35% to Qatar Avios, all through Oct 31) — these came from a single tracker this week without independent confirmation, so double-check before moving real points.*

HOTEL PROMOTIONS

• Marriott Bonvoy: 1,500 bonus points per paid stay of 2+ nights, *plus* an extra 3,000 points if that stay is at a Resort-category property (up to 4,500/stay total, uncapped). Register by Nov 13; stays must complete by Nov 22. Register here.
• Hilton Honors "More Points to Play": 3,000 bonus points per stay at luxury, lifestyle, resort, or all-inclusive properties; 1,000 at other Hilton brands. Uncapped. Stays Oct 15–Dec 31. Register here.
• World of Hyatt: no registration needed — book the specific "New Hotel Member Bonus Offer" rate at one of roughly 64 newly-opened Hyatt properties and earn double points, capped at 25,000 bonus points per stay (replaced the old flat 500-pts/night bonus on Oct 1; award stays don't qualify). Each eligible hotel sets its own dates, so check that property's own Hyatt.com page for the rate code.
• IHG One Rewards: starting with your *second* qualifying stay, earn 2X points on direct bookings (3X in the IHG app) through Dec 31. First stay earns no bonus. Register in your IHG account's Offers tab before you stay. Separately, IHG InterContinental Ambassador enrollment (Oct 18–Dec 31) plus 2 qualifying nights nets 10,000 bonus points for new Ambassador members.
• GHA Discovery (Anantara, Capella, Kempinski, Pan Pacific, Patina): 15% off Discovery Dollar purchases through Nov 19 — buy D$ at $0.85 each, up to 5,000 D$, redeemable 1:1 toward most hotel charges. D$ expire 24 months after issue. Buy here.

AIRLINE SWEET SPOTS

Thom's home airport is DFW, so these lead with it. Award-chart figures below come straight from the published partner charts (American/Aeroplan/JAL/Qatar's own pages), verified against those charts as of September 8, 2026 — durable pricing, but double-check live availability before booking.

• DFW → Tokyo (HND) on JAL, 60,000 AAdvantage miles one-way in business — American's chart price on JAL-operated metal. This beats Aeroplan's 85,000-mile Air Canada-chart price for the same route, and cash fares run $3,000+ one-way.
• DFW → Doha (DOH) nonstop on Qatar Airways Qsuites, 70,000 AAdvantage miles one-way in business — no fuel surcharges booking through AAdvantage (unlike routing the same Qsuites award through British Airways Avios). Saver space is genuinely scarce; a domestic connection to another Qatar gateway is a common fallback.
• DFW → Santorini (JTR), 90,000 Aeroplan miles in business (Star Alliance partner metal) — pair it with Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel on Marriott points (80,000–140,000 points/night, dynamic).
• DFW → the Maldives (MLE), 110,000 Aeroplan miles in business — pair it with the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa at 40,000 World of Hyatt points/night for an overwater villa.
• DFW → Paris (CDG) / London (LHR), 75,000 Aeroplan miles in business each — pair Paris with the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile (15,000 pts/night) or London with the Hyatt Regency London–The Churchill (25,000 pts/night).
• Flying Blue Promo Rewards: roughly 25% off business-class saver awards (~45,000–60,000 miles one-way) from about 14 North American gateways to Europe. Book by Oct 31 for travel through March 31, 2027.

CREDIT CARD DINING & TRAVEL CREDITS

• Amex Resy credit reminder (Platinum and Gold): since Aug 1, 2026, being bookable on Resy isn't enough — the restaurant's Resy page must show the "Qualifies for Resy Credit" badge at the time you book. One tracker found roughly 214 US restaurants that quietly lost eligibility. Always check the badge before you book, not just whether the place is on Resy.
• Amex Platinum's Fine Hotels + Resorts credit is changing for 2027: a two-night minimum stay will be required to trigger the FHR credit, up from today's one-night minimum. Nothing changes for 2026 bookings.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve picked up a new $15/month DoorDash credit usable on *any* order, including restaurant delivery, starting Oct 1, 2026. Sapphire Preferred holders only get a $10/month credit on grocery/convenience orders — restaurant delivery doesn't trigger it on that card.
• Capital One Dining has shut down. The curated-restaurant reservation platform stopped taking new bookings as of Sept 29, 2026; existing reservations are honored through Dec 31. Capital One's exclusive-experience perk has moved to "Capital One Entertainment" instead — there's still no dining statement credit on Venture or Venture X.
• Targeted Amex Offers live now: spend $375+ at Marriott, get $150 back (stays Oct 23–Nov 23; *excludes* Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, W, and JW Marriott, so it's not a luxury-brand play); spend $2,500+ direct with Virgin Atlantic by Dec 13, get $200 back. Both are targeted — check your Amex account/app for eligibility, don't assume you have them.

DINING CREDITS BY CARD

*Capital One Venture X/Venture: no dining statement credit, ever — "Capital One Dining" was reservation access, not cash back, and it's now shut down anyway. Amex Business Platinum (US): no confirmed US dining credit found this week — that benefit currently exists only on international (Canada/Australia/UK/Singapore) versions of the card.*

CARD OFFERS WORTH THE SPEND

Eligibility traps:

• Chase 5/24 — Chase Sapphire Reserve won't approve you if you've opened 5+ personal cards (any issuer) in the trailing 24 months. Business cards like Ink Business Preferred generally don't count against this total.
• Amex once-per-lifetime — Platinum and Gold only pay their welcome bonus once per card product, ever, per person.
• Citi 48-month rule — No new Citi Strata Premier bonus within 48 months of your last bonus on that card (or its prior name, Citi Premier), even across a product change.

Card offer figures this week are less stable than usual — several reputable outlets reported different numbers for the same card in the same month. Confirm the live offer on the issuer's own site before applying.

DINING CITY SPOTLIGHT: San Antonio, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta & San Diego

*Database note: Resy-credit badge status comes from a database check dated Sep 15, 2026; Michelin and Chase Sapphire Reserve dining-list status come from a Sep 9, 2026 snapshot. Treat both as directionally right, not live-checked this week.*

San Antonio (Thom's hometown pick)

• Isidore, Nicosi, Mixtli — each holds a Michelin star; San Antonio is a stronger fine-dining scene than it gets credit for.
• Cullum's Attaboy — Bib Gourmand *and* ✅ qualifies for the Amex Resy credit.
• Clementine — on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining list.

Los Angeles

• Providence — 3 Michelin stars, LA's top fine-dining ticket. On Resy; Resy-credit badge not confirmed this check.
• Kato Restaurant and Vespertine — 2 Michelin stars each, both on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining list.
• n/naka, Holbox, Osteria Mozza, Citrin, Meteora — 1 Michelin star each.
• Camphor — the only LA pick in the database confirmed ✅ qualifying for the Amex Resy credit this week.
• République, Bestia, Bavel — all on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining list.

Atlanta

• Bacchanalia and Hayakawa — 1 Michelin star each, both ✅ qualify for the Amex Resy credit.
• Little Bear and Fishmonger — Bib Gourmand, both ✅ qualify for the Amex Resy credit — a rare run of stacked recognition + credit eligibility.
• Mujō — 1 Michelin star, on the Chase Sapphire Reserve list, but Resy-credit badge not confirmed this check.

San Diego — thin week, said plainly

• Morning Glory and Callie — Bib Gourmand. Kingfisher — Michelin Selected. San Diego has very little Michelin Guide coverage overall.
• Ironside Fish & Oyster, Juniper and Ivy, Herb & Wood, Animae, Mothership — all on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining list.
• No San Diego pick in the database is confirmed qualifying for the Amex Resy credit this week.

Seattle — also thin, said plainly

• Seattle currently has no Michelin Guide coverage in the database at all.
• The Pink Door, Lark Restaurant, TOMO, Takai by Kashiba — all on the Chase Sapphire Reserve dining list.
• No Seattle pick in the database is confirmed qualifying for the Amex Resy credit this week. (Canlis is a well-known high-end option on Resy, but we can't confirm its credit-badge status from this week's data, so we're not marking it ✅.)

VALUATION CHANGES

The Points Guy's October 2026 monthly valuations moved several programs by 0.1¢ or more since our last reference:

No material change for Citi ThankYou (1.9¢) or Delta SkyMiles (1.2¢).

POINTS VALUE CHEAT SHEET

*Per The Points Guy's October 2026 monthly valuations.*

THIS WEEK'S MOVE

Fly DFW to the Maldives in business class for 110,000 Aeroplan miles one-way, then book the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa for 40,000 World of Hyatt points a night in an overwater villa. At Hyatt's newly-revised 1.65¢ valuation, that's roughly $660 of value per night for a room that regularly runs well over $1,500 cash — and it's one of the most aspirational redemptions in this database, full stop. Award-chart pricing verified as of Sep 8, 2026; confirm live saver availability before you commit miles.

*Figures, dates, and terms above were verified against multiple independent sources where noted, but points-and-miles offers change fast — always confirm current terms, dates, and availability directly with the airline, hotel program, or card issuer before booking or applying. This newsletter is independent commentary, not financial advice, and is not endorsed by any airline, hotel group, or bank mentioned above.*