October 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Southwest card bonus points stop counting toward the Companion Pass on Jan. 1, 2027. What still counts this year, and whether it's worth it.
southwest · companion-pass · rapid-rewards
October 4, 2026 · 3 min read
Seven bank transfer bonuses are running in October, from Amex, Chase, Citi and Capital One. For each one we worked out what a point is worth kept, moved normally, and moved with the bonus. Citi to Avianca and Japan Airlines come out furthest ahead; the two hotel bonuses still lose value.
transfer-bonuses · amex · chase
September 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Chase's September 10 refresh raises the Aeroplan card's annual fee to $195, adds automatic Aeroplan 25K status, and pushes travel and gas earning rates up. The catch: the 3X dining and grocery rate is now on a clock, stepping down to 2X on January 1, 2027. Here is exactly what changed, who comes out ahead, and how PointBagel tracks a date-based rate change like this one.
chase · aeroplan · air-canada
June 12, 2026 · 9 min read
Chase announced a Sapphire Preferred refresh on June 10, 2026, and the changes land June 15: new 3x categories, a doubled hotel credit, and a quiet 25% cut to Hyatt transfers. Here is every change with exact dates, what our algorithm says the card is worth, and what we built so your numbers stay right the moment it goes live.
chase · sapphire-preferred · ultimate-rewards
April 29, 2026 · 11 min read
A four-step framework for deciding whether a card is worth its annual fee, and what to do when it isn't.
annual-fees · strategy · retention-offers
April 6, 2026 · 11 min read
The Chase Trifecta costs $95/year and the Amex Trifecta costs $1,220 before credits. Both are elite setups - but they serve different types of spenders.
chase · amex · trifecta
April 2, 2026 · 11 min read
Both cards are the most popular mid-tier travel cards on the market, but they're built for different spenders. Here's the math at three different spending profiles.
chase · amex · sapphire-preferred
March 20, 2026 · 9 min read
The Chase Sapphire Reserve costs $495 after credits but beats the Preferred on earning alone only once you're booking around $5,800 of travel a year through Chase Travel.
chase · sapphire-reserve · sapphire-preferred
