Breaking Points: Credit Card News

Atmos Rewards has released its October Members Day Global Getaways, with discounted one-way awards to six international destinations starting at 20,000 points. Fly to Seoul starting at 20,000 points; Paris, Helsinki, and Munich starting at 25,000; and Stavanger and Sapporo starting at 30,000. You must book by October 10, 2026, for travel between January 15 and March 8, 2027. There is also some overlap with Atmos' new Communities feature announced last week. Seoul is one of the 10 Bonus Points Challenge destinations for Families on the Go, while Helsinki is one of the 10 for Global Locals. Visiting new destinations on your Community's list earns progressively larger amounts of bonus points and status points, with up to 10,000 of each available for visiting all 10. Read more about Atmos communities here and read all the details about the Global Getaways for October here.

Rakuten is offering $400 back when you apply for the Bank of America Premium Rewards Card through its portal. That stacks with the card’s current welcome offer of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Since Bank of America points can be redeemed for 1¢ each, that gives you $1,000 in combined cash value before accounting for the card’s $95 annual fee. If your Rakuten earning preference is set to Bilt points and you have Bilt Silver status or higher, the $400 Rakuten bonus can instead become 40,000 Bilt points, which can increase the overall value even more. If your Rakuten account is set to earn Amex Membership Rewards points, you will not see this offer. Rakuten bonuses on Bank of America cards have been changing frequently, sometimes from one day to the next, so check the current offer before applying.

Preferred Hotels is offering two promotions, neither of which are very exciting on their own but the stacking potential makes them worth mentioning. I Prefer members can earn 2X points on stays of at least two nights when they register and book by October 31, 2026 and complete the stay by December 31. A separate promotion offers 2,500 bonus I Prefer points when staying at participating new Preferred Hotels properties booked by December 31 for stays through March 31, 2027. If you book an eligible new property for at least two nights by October 31 and stay by December 31, you can earn both bonuses on the same stay. If you are also an AARP member, you can stack another 2,500 bonus points after your first qualifying stay through the I Prefer/AARP partnership. This partnership also offers complimentary I Prefer Gold status. If you're considering a Preferred Hotels stay before the end of the year, check the new-property list before booking and earn some extra points from your stay.

SimplyMiles is offering 1,160 American Airlines AAdvantage miles and 1,160 Loyalty Points after spending $150 or more with Turo using a linked Mastercard by December 31, 2026. This could be particularly valuable for Citi AAdvantage Globe and Platinum cardholders, as both cards offer $30 Turo statement credits, up to $180 per year. Those credits should stack with the SimplyMiles offer, meaning an eligible $150 Turo purchase could earn the $30 statement credit plus 1,160 AAdvantage miles and 1,160 Loyalty Points. You can also earn Qatar Airways Avios on eligible Turo bookings through Turo's partnership with Qatar Airways, adding another layer of rewards. Some Chase and Amex cardholders may also have targeted Turo card-linked offers, although those have not always stacked reliably with SimplyMiles. Just remember that standard credit card rental car insurance generally does not apply to Turo rentals.

Best Western currently has several promotions that can stack on qualifying stays. A new offer gives members 2,000 bonus points per stay through October 28, 2026, up to 10 stays and a max of 20,000 total bonus points. That can stack with Best Western's separate 2X points promotion running through December 31. On top of that, some travelers may be targeted for a Best Western Amex Offer giving $50 back after spending $250 or more, or a Chase Offer giving 10% back on $100 or more, up to $32. If you have a Best Western stay planned this month, register for both the 2,000 point promotion and the 2X promotion and check your Amex and Chase Offers before booking.