Breaking Points: Credit Card News

Singapore Airlines has released its latest Spontaneous Escapes, offering 30% off Saver award rates on select routes for September 2026 travel, including several options to and from North America. Discounted pricing includes:

• Los Angeles or Seattle to Singapore for 30,800 miles each way in economy
• Singapopre to San Francisco for 30,800 miles in economy
• Singapore to Los Angeles or San Francisco for 55,300 miles in premium economy
• Los Angeles to or from Tokyo for 56,350 miles each way in premium economy
• New York to or from Singapore for 59,150 miles in premium economy

Book by August 31, 2026 for travel between September 1 and September 30. The premium economy options are particularly appealing if you already have September travel plans, but Spontaneous Escapes awards cannot be changed or canceled. Confirm availability and your travel plans before transferring points or booking.

Air Canada is offering up to 25% off award flights to destinations within Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, and Asia-Pacific when booked by August 18, 2026. The sale has a wide travel window, covering eligible flights from September 8, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The biggest limitation is that the discount only applies to Air Canada-operated flights, which are dynamically priced. Chase is also offering a 20% transfer bonus to Aeroplan through September 30, which can make these awards more attractive if you're transferring Ultimate Rewards points. Eligible Chase Aeroplan cardholders can also stack that with their 10% transfer bonus as well. Even with those bonuses, we wouldn't transfer points speculatively or go out of our way to book because of this sale, but the combination is worth checking if you already have an Air Canada trip in mind.

August 21, 2026 update: Rakuten has added the Chase Ink Business Cash to this promotion, offering the same $100 cash back or 10,000 Bilt points available with the Ink Business Unlimited. The Ink Business Cash also has the same elevated 100,000-point welcome offer and no annual fee.

Rakuten is offering a $100 bonus (or 10,000 Bilt points if you've selected Bilt as your earning preference) when applying for either the Chase Ink Business Unlimited or Chase Ink Business Cash as a new Chase for Business customer. Both Ink cards currently offer elevated 100,000-point welcome bonuses with no annual fee, making these especially appealing offers. Rakuten is also offering $25 cash back or 2,500 Bilt points on the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which stacks with that card's current welcome offer. If you're in two-player mode, however, the 40,000-point Ink referral bonus is generally the better option, provided the applicant is a brand new Chase for Business customer. If your Rakuten account is set to earn Amex Membership Rewards, you will not see these offers. Rakuten earnings must be set to cash back or Bilt points.

American Airlines is offering 50 AAdvantage miles per $1 donated to Stand Up To Cancer when you donate at least $25 with an eligible American Airlines Mastercard through September 30, 2026 (or until qualifying donations reach $5 million). You can earn the bonus on up to $10,000 in donations, but there are some caveats. The miles do not count toward Loyalty Points or elite status. If you make charitable donations annually or were already planning to donate, earning 50x AAdvantage miles is a nice little cherry on top. We wouldn't make a donation just to earn the miles. A $1,000 donation would earn about 51,000 miles after including the card's standard 1x earning, which means you're basically buying AA miles for 1.96¢ per mile. American also notes that receiving miles may reduce the tax-deductible portion of your donation, so keep that in mind before participating.

In one of the more unique ways to use Bilt Cash if you're part of the Bilt ecosystem, Bilt members can finally redeem Bilt Cash for BLADE helicopter rides booked through the Bilt Travel Portal. Cardholders can use up to $350 in Bilt Cash per seat, twice per year, or up to $700 if booking for two people on one ride. If you are a Bilt elite member, you can stack your existing BLADE discounts, including 10% off eligible flights for Silver members and higher. You can also redeem Bilt points for BLADE flights, but the redemption rates is 0.7¢ per point, so we do not recomend doing this. BLADE bookings through Bilt are currently limited to transfers between Manhattan and JFK or Newark, with additional locations expected in the future.