Breaking Points: Credit Card News

Update: The easy Newegg gift card play described below is now dead, as Newegg has disabled gift card purchases through Paze. Alternative options still exist, but they require significantly more effort and may not be worth pursuing unless you were already planning a purchase.

Paze is offering $10 back on purchases of $10 or more, up to $100 back per eligible card. While many banks have cards that qualify, Chase cardholders can stack this promotion with the separate 10x Ultimate Rewards offer currently available when checking out through Paze with eligible Chase cards. One easy option is buying $10 gift cards from Newegg, which accepts Paze. Complete ten $10 purchases and you'll receive $100 back from the Paze promotion while also earning 1,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the 10x offer. The deal becomes even more attractive if you purchase gift cards for merchants where you already receive additional value through card credits or other promotions, like Instacart and DoorDash.

Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 15% transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles. The standard transfer ratio is 1:1, so with the bonus, you’ll receive 1,150 Avianca LifeMiles for every 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred. Offer expires July 15, 2026.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering 100,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. That's 25,000 points more than the standard offer of 75,000 points and ties the highest welcome offer we've ever seen on the card. The annual fee remains $95, and the elevated offer comes on the heels of a recent card refresh that increased the annual hotel credit to $100, added new bonus categories, a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry/NEXUS credit, a complimentary year of Apple TV+, and emergency evacuation coverage up to $100,000. Unfortunately, Chase also recently devalued Hyatt transfers on the Sapphire Preferred from 1:1 to 4:3, making the Sapphire Reserve cards the only Chase products that still transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio.

Update: Amex issued a statement regarding this change:
"We have added a Resy Credit eligible badge to Resy venue pages to provide additional clarity to diners at the time of booking. We have not removed Resy venues that are eligible today and will be adding more eligible venues later this year when Tock venues become bookable on Resy."

Starting August 1, 2026, restaurants will display a Resy Credit eligible badge in order to qualify for Amex's Resy dining credit. Several American Express cards offer statement credits for dining at Resy restaurants, and there was initially concern that the change would limit the number of eligible venues. However, Amex says it is not removing any currently eligible restaurants and plans to add more later this year when Tock venues become bookable through Resy. We'll have a better sense of the real-world impact once the change takes effect in August.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is offering a 50% transfer bonus to Accor Live Limitless. The standard transfer ratio is 2:1, so with the bonus, you’ll receive 750 Accor Live Limitless points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou Rewards points transferred. Offer expires July 18, 2026.