🤑 My Top Finds, Latest Deals, and Best Recommendations (5/3/25)
👋 Hi there,
Happy Saturday—hope your weekend is off to a great start! Here's a quick look into today's newsletter:
💵 Easy $450 U.S. Bank bonus
🛏️ Up to 30% off IHG stays + 5k new member offer
🪥 Optimizing your oral health for a longer life
💺 Big changes coming to Southwest seating
🔁 Current transfer bonuses
✈️ Flying Blue Promo Rewards for May 2025
🔗 $500+ in card-linked offers
🎥 Free movie ticket from Fandango
👪 Lessons to become an amazing parent and more!
As always, I hope you enjoy reading, and please share this newsletter with someone else who might too! (And if that's you, subscribe here so you don't miss out on amazing deals in the future). Thanks so much!
Chris
🪥 Optimizing Your Oral Health for a Longer Life
Did you know that improving your oral health can also help improve your overall health? Learn how to optimize your oral health with the ideal routine, how to choose the right dentist, and so much more.
And if you wan't to check out Dr. Mark Burhenne's Fygg Toothpaste, he's offering 15% off with code ALLTHEHACKS.
⏳ Renting? Stop Leaving Points on the Table
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by… Bilt Rewards
Paying rent is unavoidable—but missing out on points every month shouldn’t be. With Bilt Rewards, you earn valuable transferable points on your rent payments, without additional fees.
Joining Bilt is free and whether you rent or not, you can rack up points when dining at local restaurants, taking Lyft rides, going to fitness classes and so much more!
Join Bilt Rewards for free at chrishutchins.com/bilt and start making your rent work for you.
🤑 Latest Deals
💵 Easy $450 U.S. Bank Bonus
U.S. Bank is offering up to a $450 bonus when you open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and complete qualifying activities before 6/26. To get the full bonus, you need to have a combined total of $8,000 of direct deposits over 90 days. Even if you assume you need to maintain an $8k balance (you don't), it'd be an effective 22.8% return.
💳 Discover Promos: $50 + 4% Cash Back
If you have a Discover card, check your email or account for 2 new targeted promos that expire on 6/30.
Earn $50 when you add an authorized user and make a purchase (no required minimum).
Earn 4% extra cash back on up to $2,000 in spend. This offer also stacks with grocery and wholesale purchases that already earn 5% as a quarterly category.
🎁 Latest Gift Card Deals
Want to learn how to save and profit from gift cards? Give a listen to Ep #212, but for now, here are some gift card deals I found this week.
Giftcards.com: Save 10% on brands like Instacart, DoorDash, Ulta, Groupon, Gap and so much more with promo code MOMGIFT. Offer valid until 5/11.
Amazon: Discounted gift cards for brands like Instacart, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Google Play, Ulta and more.
Meijer: Get 5k points when you spend $50+ on gift cards. Plus, get $10 off $150 worth of Mastercard gift cards.
Kroger: Earn 4x fuel points when you purchase 3rd party gift cards. Offer valid until 5/13.
🔗 Card-Linked Offers: $500+ in Savings
Here are a few card-linked offers that you might want to add to your card. Or check out one of my favorite apps, CardPointers Pro (get 30% off here), which will add them automatically.
Travel Portal: $100 off $600+ (7/29).
Away Luggage: $200 off $500+ or $100 off $200+ (5/21).
JetBlue: $50 off $200 (7/28).
Walmart+ Annual Membership: $49 off $98 (5/5).
Amazon: Up to 3,600 Membership Rewards points (6/25).
Viator: $25 off $250 (7/18).
Grubhub: 10% back - up to $20 (6/18).
ExxonMobil: 10% back - up to $20 (6/18).
🎥 Free Movie Ticket for Fight or Flight
Fandango is offering a free ticket (or $15 off) to see Fight or Flight with promo code CHAINSAW. I haven't seen it, but who doesn't like something for free. Available while supplies last!
🎧 Headphones on Sale (Up to 40% Off)
If you've been wanting to buy the latest headphones, now might be a good time to use these deals.
Apple AirPods 4 & AirPods Pro 2: Up to 32% off on Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target.
Google Pixel Buds A-Series: For $59 on Amazon (normally priced at $99).
P.S. I use Apple AirPods 2nd Gen most day (and SHOKZ OpenRun Pro when running) and here's list of most of the stuff I use for life, work, health, home and beyond:
🛫 Travel, Points & Miles
🛏️ Up to 30% Off IHG Stays + 5k New Member Offer
As part of IHG’s last-minute deals, IHG One Rewards members can get up to 30% off bookings made before tomorrow, 5/4 for stays through 6/30. This is a great opportunity if you’ve got summer travel coming up. It’s free to join IHG One Rewards PLUS there’s a new member offer for 5k bonus points.
🔁 Current Transfer Bonuses (Up to 30% Off)
I don’t recommend speculative transfers, but if you’re planning a trip, you might be able to score a great deal using one (or more!) of these bonuses.
Qatar Airways: 30% bonus until 5/31
Air France-KLM: 25% bonus until 5/31
Qantas: 20% bonus until 5/31
Virgin Atlantic: 25% bonus until 6/15
Accor Hotels: 50% bonus until 5/20
As always, I wouldn't recommend taking advantage of these if you don't have a trip in mind. Here’s a list of historical transfer bonuses, so you can get a good sense of what to expect in the future.
🤔 Strange Changes to Emirates
There's been strange things happening with transfers to Emirates and unfortunately it doesn't look like it's heading in a positive direction.
Temporary Loss of 2 Transfer Partners: From 5/29 to 6/30, two popular banks* will temporarily lose the ability to transfer points to Emirates. If you need to transfer points, do it before 5/29.
Capital One Transfer Bonus Confusion: There was an unadvertised 25% bonus that was removed a day later.
Citi Devaluation: Citi ThankYou points now transfer at a 1.25:1 ratio (1,000 Citi = 800 Skywards miles).
*For compliance reasons, we can’t include names of all cards/banks.
✈️ Flying Blue Promo Rewards: May 2025
Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program May 2025 Promo Rewards are offering a 25% discount on economy award flights between Europe and Atlanta, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Washington, Boston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. There are also business-class options to Montreal starting at 45k miles and to Sint Maarten for 63,750 miles. Book before 5/31 for travel until 10/31.
💺 Big Changes Coming to Southwest Seating + Bags
Starting in a few weeks (5/28), bags no longer fly free on Southwest. And next year, they'll have assigned seating and extra legroom seats. The new fare classes (Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra) will determine what seats you can pick and when.
That said, elite flyers and cardholders will still get perks like free checked bags and early seat selection. Even better, these perks will extend to up to eight companions on the same reservation, which is a pretty decent offer.
✈️ Up to 75k AAdvantage Loyalty Points Bonus Offer
Some AAdvantage members are being targeted for a bonus of up to 75k loyalty points. Log into your AAdvantage account on aa.com or the app, then check the "Promotions" tab to see if you're eligible. Sadly, neither of us were targeted, but hopefully you were!
🪪 Reminder: Real ID Deadline (5/7)
Starting next week (5/7), you’ll need a Real ID to fly domestically in the U.S. without additional screenings. If you don't have one, there are other accepted alternatives listed here, so makes sure to be prepared!
🕵️ Great Finds
🤝 The Economics Behind Hotel Loyalty Programs
Here’s a really interesting breakdown of how hotels get compensated when you book with points. Bottom line: if you use award stays, you should still get the same perks and treatment as cash-paying guests—because you've earned it.
👪 Some Great Parenting Lessons
I came across this post and really enjoyed it. It’s a collection of lessons from 100 parents on what it really takes to be a GOAT parent. It might not be a weekly tradition or even remotely healthy but I just did "Donuts with Dad" yesterday :)
💬 Parting Thoughts
As always, thanks so much for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s newsletter, and if you enjoyed it, please let me know why!
Chris