🤑 My Top Finds, Latest Deals, and Best Recommendations (5/31/25)
👋 Hi there,
Hope your weekend is off to a great start! Here's a quick look into today's newsletter:
💳 Welcome offer: 5 free hotel nights (worth 300k points!)
🥗 Understand and improve your gut health
💸 Bank & brokerage bonuses worth $13,000+
🌴 Fly first class to Hawaii: 24.5k points
💰 Free $40 from the ShopBack Portal
🔗 $1000+ in savings via card-linked offers
🛒 Make $20 profit with a new Costco membership
🎬 50% off AMC tickets on Wednesdays
📉 The downfall of Southwest explained 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
🥗 Understand and Improve Your Gut Health
The gut is often referred to as your "second brain" because it's literally the engine of your entire body. So learn how to keep it running smoothly with practical, evidence-backed tips. We break down the gut’s powerful role in digestion, immunity, and brain health while challenging common misconceptions about reflux, probiotics, and more.
🌿 Fresh, Fast, and Healthy with Green Chef
Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… Green Chef
With spring in full swing, it’s the perfect time to upgrade your meals and Green Chef makes it easy with fresh, organic ingredients and over 80 weekly options.
We've cooked Green Chef meals for years and love the variety and flexibility. Whether you’re into Mediterranean, plant-based, gluten-free, or high-protein meals, they’ve got something for every lifestyle.
Get 50% off your first month, then 20% off two more months + free shipping with code 50ALLTHEHACKS at chrishutchins.com/greenchef
🛫 Travel, Points & Miles
💳 5 Free Nights with Hotel Card Welcome Offer
This week, 2 personal hotel co-branded cards announced their best-ever welcome offer for 2025. One of them includes 5 free nights (worth 300k points!) but you can find out more details about both offers here.
🏨 Hotel Promos for Summer: Hilton & Marriott
The last few weeks, I’ve shared multiple hotel promos (which you can read about here and here), and now there are 3 new promos to use for your summer travel.
Marriott Hotels: Save up to 25% when you book between 6/4 and 6/8 for stays between 6/9 and 7/6.
Hilton: Save up to 20% (+ get up to $100 at select Luxury, All-Inclusive, and Resort Properties) when you book before 6/30 for eligible stays between 6/1 and 9/1.
Marriott Homes & Villas: Earn 2x points when booking stays of 4+ nights before 6/5 for stays until 9/5.
🌴 Fly First Class to Hawaii from 24.5k Points One-Way
JetBlue TrueBlue is offering discounted first-class one-way flights to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines, starting at 24,500 points. This deal includes various routes from the West Coast and is valid for travel between July and October 2025.
P.S. Our family loves Hawaii, and we've documented how to maximize travel savings and our favorite spots on Ep #201 and Ep #226.
🏢 Bilt Rent Day: Up to 200% Accor Transfer Bonus
Bilt Rewards is offering up to a 200% transfer bonus to Accor Live Limitless for June Rent Day (valid from 6/1 until 6/2). Even better, Accor points can be transferred 1:1.25 to Qantas and 1:1 to Air France (and a few other partners), making this effectively a transfer bonus to those airlines as well!
💺 Seats.Aero: 20% Off Annual Subscriptions
Seats.Aero is one of my go-to tools for spotting award seat availability across dozens of programs. You can now get 20% off an annual subscription with the promo code UPGRADEDPOINTS until 6/30.
⚖️ Credit Card Competition Act Update
The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) is an attempt to lower swipe fees by requiring big banks to enable at least two payment networks on credit cards. It's failed before (probably because it doesn't seem like it'll actually work), but lawmakers are currently trying to pass it by attaching it to broader legislation after earlier efforts stalled. I hope these efforts fail, but we'll know soon enough.
🌍 Marriott & Emirates Expands Partnership
Marriott Bonvoy and Emirates Skywards have expanded their partnership, allowing members to earn bonus points and miles on both hotel stays and flights and to transfer Emirates miles to Marriott on a 3:2 basis. However, I wouldn't recommend transferring your miles over unless they're about to expire because Emirates miles are worth way more than Marriott points.
💸 U.S. Bank Double Bonus Days (June 11–13)
U.S. Bank's Double Bonus Days event from 5/11-13 allows cardholders to double their earned rewards when they use the Shopping Deals website or browser extension or by activating cash-back offers in the mobile or online banking app. Amy and I have 2 U.S. Bank cards, but we've never seen this offer before, so we're hoping to earn some extra rewards next month.
🛋️ Amex Centurion Lounge SFO Closure and Relocation
The Amex Centurion Lounge at SFO temporarily closed on 5/27 due to airport renovations. A smaller, temporary lounge will open in Terminal 2 by late June, and the original lounge is expected to reopen in Q3 2027.
🤑 Latest Deals
💸 Bank & Brokerage Bonuses Worth Up To $13,000+
In Ep #184, I shared how you could be earning a lot through bank and brokerage bonuses, so here are some offers worth a cumulative total of over $13,000 to help maximize your savings.
Bank Bonuses
Up to $3,500 from Wells Fargo: Open or upgrade to a Premier Checking account using a bonus offer code (get one here) before 7/8. Deposit and maintain a linked balance of $250,000 for a $2,500 bonus or $500,000 for a $3,500 bonus for 90 days.
Up to $730 from SoFi: Earn $325 when you open a new SoFi Checking and Savings account using this link and set up a qualifying direct deposit. Plus, earn $375 when you use Rakuten to open the account (+ get $30 here if you don't have a Rakuten account).
Up to $570 from TD Bank (offers end today, 5/31): Open a new TD Beyond Checking account to earn $300, OR open a TD Complete Checking account to earn $200 with qualifying direct deposits. Additionally, open a Signature or Simple Savings account and complete qualifying requirements to earn an extra $200. You can also earn an additional $60 bonus currently through Swagbucks (+ get a $10 bonus here if you don’t have an account).
$400 from Wells Fargo: Open a new Everyday Checking account before 7/8 and complete the qualifying requirements.
Brokerage Bonuses
Up to $30,000 + 3% match on IRA transfer from WeBull: There are 3 different offers here as well. Earn up to a $30k+ cash bonus when you deposit a qualifying amount, get a 3% match on your IRA transfers, and get free access to a 12-month WSJ subscription. Valid until 6/30.
Up to $5,000 from tastytrade: Open a new tastytrade account with promo code MYNEWBONUS and complete a qualifying fund deposit.
8.1% APY + free stocks + 3% transfer bonus from Moomoo: A triple stack bonus includes up to 8.1% APY in the first 3 months (4% thereafter) on uninvested cash and up to 60 free stocks for a qualifying deposit before 6/3. Plus a 3% match on the first ACAT transfer up to $20k until 7/12.
🔗 $1000+ in Savings via Card-Linked Offers
Here are the best card-linked offers I’ve found this week. Some of these are targeted offers, so I highly recommend using CardPointers Pro (get 30% off here) to automate these offers. Expiration dates are in parentheses.
Qantas: $250 off $1,000+ (7/4).
IHG: $50 off $250 (8/26).
Flights via Amex Travel Portal: $500 off $2,000+ (6/17).
Disney+: $10.99 off $10.99 (7/30).
Hilton: 10% back up to $65 (unknown).
CLEAR Membership: $50 off $199 (8/21)
Budget Car Rental: $50 off $250+ (7/25).
Fred Meyer: 15% back up to $15 (8/27).
Food Lion: 5-7% back (6/28).
💰 Earn $40 via ShopBack Portal
ShopBack currently has a $20 signup bonus after you earn $5 in cash back. Plus, earn an additional $20 bonus when you register for Frequent Miler’s private Quest and spend $20 at any retailer before 6/30. Just make sure you sign up for ShopBack with the $20 bonus before registering for Quest to ensure you get both bonuses.
🛒 Up to $20 Profit with Costco Executive Membership
If you buy a Costco Executive Membership for $130 using this Groupon deal before 6/22, you'll get a $50 Costco Shop Card plus a $100 discount on a $200 order at Costco.com. If you're not familiar, the Executive Membership comes with 2% back each year, up to $1,250.
🎬 AMC Wednesdays = 50% Off Tickets
Starting 7/9, AMC Stubs members can enjoy 50% off adult tickets every Wednesday. Perfect for a midweek movie night!
🕵️ Top Find
📉 The Downfall of Southwest Explained
After years of touting “Bags Fly Free,” Southwest started charging $35–$40 per checked bag on 5/28. If you're wondering how this happened, this video does a pretty great job at breaking down what’s changed, why it’s happening, and what it could mean for travelers.
💬 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