These cards are making moves

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Well, good morning!

Our Weekend Round-Up newsletter is like finding an extra slice of pizza in the fridge when you thought you were out—it’s just an unexpected delight that makes everything better 🙃

So let’s jump right into all the travel goodies from this week.

✅ Check out this new 30% transfer bonus from UR Points to Avios.

✅ Or get up to a 35% transfer bonus from ThankYou Points to Qatar Airways!

✅ Marriott and Aeroplan team up to offer reciprocal benefits.

✅ Hyatt is out here sending tons of targeted (and really good) offers. Did you get one?

✅ Catch up on our latest YouTube video about when you should upgrade, downgrade, or just cancel a credit card.

🏆 Favorite pick of the week: October’s Top Cards Update

This time around, we saw a couple of cards making some moves… some really interesting moves 😏

We already know by now that the DD team’s favorite card (and the most popular one by you all) received a second elevated offer for the year!

And that card is offering the ability to earn 60,000 bonus points AND a $300 travel credit (a first for this!!) after meeting the minimum spend.

Because we’ve already talked so much about this one in the past week or so, I’ll direct you to read our Red Alert email if you’d like to learn more about it.

This next one is exciting… and unexpected…

One of the best hotel programs for award redemptions is, undeniably, Hyatt.

It becomes even more valuable when you have a card that earns UR Points, and therefore gives you the ability to transfer those points to Hyatt 👀

But what’s even more valuable is when that hotel’s own credit card is currently offering 5 Free Night Awards (FNAs) as its welcome offer 🤯

To expand on this more, each FNA can be used for one night at a Category 1-4 hotel anywhere in the world.

So ideally, you’d want to maximize this offer by using these FNAs with a Category 4 property to get the biggest bang for your buck.

I’d hate to “waste” them on a lowly Category 1 that might be pretty darn cheap to just pay for with cash.

So the big thing to consider here is if you’ll be traveling to a destination that offers Category 4 hotels where these could be redeemed.

Some larger cities may only offer Category 6 properties and up, for example.

But regardless, getting five FNAs is an extremely generous offer, especially for a card that has an annual fee under $100.

Plus, each year on your cardmember anniversary, you’ll receive an additional FNA… which is pretty sweet 😎

If you’d like to check out our entire list of the best card offers right now, head to our Top Cards page!

🏃🏻‍♀️ Runner-Up

🥇How to travel to Japan for cheap

Japan is a dream. It was also voted the best country to visit in 2024, so that’s saying something.

It’s certainly one of my top two favorite countries for several reasons—cat things everywhere, the food, nature, culture, friendly locals, cats 🐈🐱🐈‍⬛

Did I mention cats? Cat-shaped food, cat-shaped souvenirs, cat statues, cat cafes, cat hotels, a CAT ISLAND.

Even the cats in Japan are orderly and courteous.

I have had some of my best cat experiences while in Japan (I’ll spare you), but……

It’s not the cheapest destination to travel to.

So by popular demand, Mike wrote up a really nice newsletter about how to travel to Japan for super cheap 🤗

He provides some insights on how to get there using miles and points, how to choose accommodations (and get good deals), and even how to travel within the country.

If you’ve never been, it certainly deserves to be on your travel wish list.

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed on how to start planning, take a look at some of his recommendations for a future trip! 👇

📣 Quick Callouts

❌ Expired: MASSIVE Delta award sale
🏃‍♂️ Interesting: Mike delivers some miles and points hotspots for the island Provence of Hainan, China
🤓 Travel trivia: Which country is home to “Cat Island,” a small island known for its ridiculously large number of kitties?
🛳️ Good to know: Southwest launches a cruise portal (where you can earn bonus Southwest points!)