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• Costco.com sells $100 inKind restaurant gift cards for $64.99, limit 5 (35% off dining).

• Capital One is running a 30% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.

• Rove added Copa ConnectMiles at 1:1 with a 40% bonus through Sept 30.

• Discover it Q4 is restaurants, entertainment and utilities (activate before Oct 1).

• US Bank Altitude Reserve finally named its airline transfer partners, including Qantas.

• WSJ documents issuers tightening premium perks (CSR DoorDash now needs a $20 minimum).

• Radar: Delta Amex 200K still live, PayPal's 5% groceries may be gone, Flying Blue adds punitive basic awards next week.

Costco: $100 inKind restaurant card for $64.99

Costco.com is selling $100 inKind gift cards for $64.99, a limit of 5 per member, so up to $500 in dining value for $324.95. inKind cards work at hundreds of participating independent restaurants, and buying at a 35% discount stacks on top of whatever dining multiplier your card already earns.

→ Check the inKind app for participating restaurants near you, then buy up to 5 cards at Costco.com while the price holds.

single retailer listing, price per the Costco.com title · Doctor of Credit

Capital One: 30% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines

Capital One is offering a 30% bonus on transfers to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank for a limited time. JAL is one of the best uses of the program, with business class to Tokyo and a well-priced Oneworld award chart, so the bonus lowers already-strong rates.

→ If you hold Capital One miles, confirm your award space first, then transfer only what you need for that specific JAL booking (transfers are one-way).

single source (One Mile at a Time) · One Mile at a Time

Discover it Q4: restaurants, entertainment, utilities

Discover it's fourth-quarter 5% categories (Oct 1 to Dec 31) are restaurants, entertainment and utilities, on up to $1,500 in spend. Notably there is no Amazon this quarter for the first time in years, and utilities is a rare, hard-to-double category if you lack an Elan or Cash+ card. The Chase Freedom Flex Q4 list has not been published yet.

→ Activate the category the moment it opens (Discover requires activation each quarter) and route dining and utility bills there through year end.

corroborated (r/CreditCards thread and category announcement) · r/CreditCards Q4 categories

Rove adds Copa ConnectMiles with a 40% bonus

Rove Miles now transfers 1:1 to Copa Airlines ConnectMiles, with a 40% bonus running through September 30, 2026. Copa is a Star Alliance program with no fuel surcharges, so it can be a cheap way into United and other Star carriers if you build up Rove points.

→ Only transfer against a specific award you have priced out on Copa's chart, since ConnectMiles is niche and the bonus expires Sept 30.

corroborated (Doctor of Credit and View from the Wing) · Doctor of Credit · View from the Wing

US Bank Altitude Reserve transfer partners announced

US Bank has finally named airline transfer partners for the Altitude Reserve, a program that until now had no transfers at all. The list includes Ethiopian ShebaMiles and Qantas Frequent Flyer, opening up Star Alliance and Oneworld award options for Altitude points.

→ If you hold the Altitude Reserve, review the full partner list and hold points for a transfer redemption rather than cashing out through the travel portal.

single source (r/CreditCards) · r/CreditCards

Chase IHG Business free night rising to 50K

The anniversary free night on the Chase IHG Business card is increasing from up to 40,000 points to up to 50,000 points per night. That covers more properties at the certificate's ceiling, meaningfully raising the perk's value at renewal.

→ If you hold the card, note your anniversary date and target a 41K to 50K IHG property to capture the higher ceiling.

single source (Doctor of Credit) · Doctor of Credit

Pendry San Diego lands on The Edit

On r/ChaseSapphire, a member reports the Pendry San Diego is bookable through The Edit (Chase's luxury hotel program) with $500 in property credits on a two-night stay, plus a points-boost rate around 1.65 cents per point. That pairs the standard fourth-night-free and credit stack with a solid points value.

→ Price a two-night Pendry San Diego stay in The Edit and compare the cash-plus-credits math against paying with points at 1.65 cpp.

single unverified report (one Reddit data point) · r/ChaseSapphire

Best Buy: 10-15% off DoorDash and Instacart cards

Best Buy is discounting DoorDash and Instacart gift cards by 10% to 15%, which DansDeals flags as a strong use of the Amex Strata Elite's splurge credit (a category-restricted statement credit). Buying delivery credit below face value stretches that credit further than paying rack rate.

→ Buy discounted DoorDash or Instacart cards at Best Buy and, if you carry the Strata Elite, put them against the splurge credit.

single source (DansDeals) · DansDeals

WSJ: issuers are quietly tightening premium perks

The Wall Street Journal documents the widening cat-and-mouse game on high-fee cards: Amex ended the United-deposit trick on its airline credit and closed the Lululemon gift-card workaround, lounges are cracking down on guests, and the CSR's twice-monthly $10 DoorDash credit now requires a $20 minimum after DoorDash changed its rules. The takeaway is that loophole-dependent value is eroding faster than headline benefits.

→ Audit each recurring credit you hold and drop cards where more than half the value is behavioral spend you would not otherwise make.

corroborated (WSJ via r/ChaseSapphire discussion) · r/ChaseSapphire (WSJ discussion)

A CSR + Amex Platinum trip, fully costed

On r/ChaseSapphire, one member broke down a 10-day Seattle and Portland trip run across the CSR and Platinum and netted $2,024 after fees by chaining hotel credits, dining credits and loyalty perks. Commenters flag the usual caveats: verify that program credits actually stack, and note that some readers only clear the math because they live in a big city with frequent, natural spend.

→ Use the post as a template, but build your own spreadsheet before renewing so you know whether your travel pattern actually clears both annual fees.

single unverified report (one detailed Reddit breakdown) · r/ChaseSapphire

Delta Amex offers still up to 200K

The elevated Delta SkyMiles welcome offers (up to 200,000 miles, some with status shortcuts) that we led with last week remain live and are being repackaged across blogs. No terms have changed since our coverage.

→ If you were waiting, the offers are still open, but confirm the exact bonus and spend on the Amex application page before applying.

corroborated (multiple outlets, unchanged) · DansDeals

PayPal 5% groceries may be gone

On r/CreditCards, several PayPal cardholders report the 5% grocery category disappeared for September, though some later saw it reselect itself, so it may be a rollover glitch rather than a permanent nerf. The 5% wholesale/grocery rate was the card's main draw.

→ Check whether your September grocery category is showing before relying on it, and have a backup grocery card ready.

single unverified report (conflicting Reddit data points) · r/CreditCards

Flying Blue adds punitive basic awards next week

DansDeals reports Air France/KLM Flying Blue will introduce stripped-down basic award fares in September, a change that effectively raises the cost of full-flexibility redemptions. Details on exact pricing are still thin.

→ If you have a Flying Blue redemption in mind, price and book it before the change lands next week.

single source (DansDeals) · DansDeals

Amex Platinum: targeted Hilton Diamond trial

Some Amex Platinum cardholders are being offered a 90-day Hilton Honors Diamond trial with a path to keeping status by hitting a stay threshold. It is targeted, so not everyone will see it.

→ Check your Amex offers and Hilton account for the trial, and only chase the retention threshold if you have Hilton stays already planned.

single source (Miles to Memories) · Miles to Memories

cpp (cents per point): The cash value you get per point in a redemption; higher is better.

ConnectMiles: Copa Airlines' loyalty program, part of the Star Alliance network.

inKind: A dining app whose gift cards are accepted at participating independent restaurants.

Points Boost: Chase feature giving elevated point value on select portal bookings (up to ~2 cents each).

splurge credit: A category-restricted annual statement credit on the Amex Strata Elite card.

The Edit: Chase's luxury hotel booking program offering property credits and perks like fourth-night-free.

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