The Points Tool You've Always Wanted

Bilt’s September 2026 Rent Day promotion includes a transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Bonus percentages are tied to Bilt status, with Platinum members receiving a 75% bonus, Gold 45%, Silver 35%, and Blue 25%. You can boost your bonus to the next tier by redeeming $200 in Bilt Cash, allowing Platinum members to receive up to a 100% bonus. Transfers are capped at 150,000 Bilt points for earning the bonus, and the offer is valid only on September 1, 2026. This promo doesn't excite us very much, particularly at the levels below Platinum, as there are regular transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic from other programs throughout the year. The 75% Platinum bonus could be excellent, but only if you have a specific redemption in mind. If you're flush with Bilt Cash, which expires at year end, spending $200 to reach the 100% bonus as a Platinum member or to move from Gold to Platinum could make sense. But again, this only makes sense if you already have a redemption in mind. We wouldn't transfer speculatively to Virgin Atlantic. While there are some excellent low-points redemptions, taxes and fees can be very high, particularly on flights to and from Europe.

September 1, 2026 update: Rakuten has increased the bonus on the Bank of America Travel Rewards card from $250 to an all-time-high $350 and the Unlimited Cash Rewards bonus from $75 to an all-time-high $150. The Customized Cash Rewards bonus remains at $150. That makes the Travel Rewards offer particularly strong, with a $350 Rakuten bonus plus the card's 25,000-point welcome offer after just $1,000 in spending. Since those 25,000 points are worth $250 toward travel, you're effectively getting $600 in combined value from a no-annual-fee card with a very small spending requirement, particularly if you have the 5/24 space.

August 25, 2026: Rakuten is offering elevated bonuses when applying for three Bank of America cards, which you can then stack with each card's welcome offer. Earn $250 from Rakuten on the Bank of America Travel Rewards card, $150 on the Customized Cash Rewards card, or $75 on the Unlimited Cash Rewards card. The Travel Rewards card also offers 25,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days, while the Customized Cash and Unlimited Cash cards offer $200 and $250, respectively, after meeting their spending requirements. That makes these solid overall offers for cards with no annual fee. If you have your Rakuten earning preference set to Bilt, you can earn Bilt points instead of cash back, although the conversion rate depends on your Bilt status. These offers are not available if your Rakuten account is set to earn Amex Membership Rewards.

Amex has a nice targeted offer for Small Luxury Hotels bookings where you can receive $100 back after spending at least $300. You must activate the offer and book directly through slh.com for stays between October 2 and December 31, 2026. The offer is valid for bookings in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. This essentially gives you 33% back on a $300 stay, making it worth checking your Amex Offers if you have an upcoming Small Luxury Hotels stay.

IHG One Rewards Premier Business cardholders have received an email from Chase informing them that the card's annual anniversary free night certificate will increase from 40,000 points to 50,000 points beginning after December 31, 2026. Cardholders receive one certificate each year after their account anniversary, with no spending requirement beyond paying the card's $99 annual fee. You'll still be able to add an unlimited number of IHG points to the certificate to book properties costing more than 50,000 points per night. This is a nice improvement that should make the annual certificate easier to use without having to add your own points. So far, only IHG Business cardholders have been notified of the increased certificate cap.