We’re one week from September, which means a pile of monthly card credits are about to vanish for good – here’s your reminder to actually use them. Also today: a simple trick to turn Chase “cash back” into far more valuable travel points, and United is expected to announce new routes tomorrow.
⏳ Your August Card Credits Are About to Reset
We’re one week from September, which means a pile of monthly credit card benefits are about to disappear for good.
Didn’t use your up to $10 Amex Platinum Uber Cash this month? Gone. Skipped the $7 Dunkin’ credit on your Amex Gold? Same story. These little perks add up to hundreds of dollars a year … but only if you actually use them.
If you’re already using our free Credit Card Benefit Tracker, this is your nudge: log in, check what’s still sitting unused, and knock it out before the calendar flips. It’s also a great time to update your points & miles balances in our newly redesigned Points Wallet.
The tracker flags anything within 30 days of its expiration in orange, then in red once you’re within two weeks – so if something’s glowing red right now, don’t wait.
Haven’t set it up yet? Here’s why you should:
- It’s free, takes about five minutes to set up.
- It tracks 120+ travel cards. Don’t see a card in your wallet? You can add any card manually.
- We think it’s one of the best ways to stay on top of your Chase 5/24 status.
- There are no bank logins, card numbers, or other sensitive data required.
Set up your free tracker (or log back in) before August’s credits disappear.
– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder
🤝 Deal of the Day: Get $80 for Free with Capital One Shopping
Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥🔥
Why we love it: Capital One Shopping is an excellent and easy-to-use shopping portal to score discounts and earn rewards (which you can then redeem on gift cards at dozens of retailers). This bonus should be all the reason you need to get started.
Sign up, add the Capital One Shopping browser extension to your device, and you’ll get $80 in rewards 90 days later – no purchase required!
Best of all, you don’t even need a Capital One Card.
Get started with Capital One Shopping now!
– Kyle Potter, executive editor
↔️ How to Combine Chase Points & Cash Back
Did you know you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points and cash back freely between Chase cards?
That matters because cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and Chase Freedom Flex℠ market themselves as cashback cards, but that “cash back” is actually just Ultimate Rewards points sitting in a different bucket. Move them over to a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (among others), and they instantly become transferable points that can be kicked over to Chase’s full stable of airline and hotel partners for (often) greater value.
The equation is pretty simple: Every cent of cash back is the same as 1 Chase Ultimate Reward point. That means $100 in cash back becomes 10,000 points when you move it to the right card.
With the current *Ink Cash* and *Ink Unlimited* offers, that $1,000 bonus (after $8,000 spend in 4 months) turns into 100,000 transferable points if you’re also holding a Sapphire or Ink Preferred card, for example.
Related: You Might Be Eligible for Business Cards and Not Even Know It
To do it, log into the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, click “Manage rewards,” then “Combine Points.” Pick the card you’re moving points from and to, enter the amount, and hit submit. The points land instantly and are ready to transfer to partners.
Beyond making your Chase points more valuable by transferring them to travel partners, there’s another reason this is useful. If you’re closing a card, you can shift the points over to another card first, keeping them alive for as long as you have an open Chase card.
Bottom line? If you’re carrying a Chase cashback card alongside a Sapphire or Ink Preferred card, don’t let those points sit idle as cash back. A few minutes in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal is enough to turn them into more valuable travel rewards instead.
Get full step-by-step instructions on how to combine your Chase points!
– Jackson Newman, senior editor
🎙️ Introducing Starter Kit: A New Podcast Series Dropping Soon!
🧰 Starter Kit: How to Get Started in Points & Miles
✈️ Episode 1 of Starter Kit is dropping Tuesday, Aug. 25. In the series of bonus episodes, we want to give travelers all the tools to become a points and miles expert … or as we like to call them, “sickos.” Whether it’s getting started in travel rewards credit cards, getting confident in transferring and redeeming points and miles, or getting your rewards organized, we’re giving you the information you need to become a fellow sicko!
Watch the trailer now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
📲 From the Thrifty Traveler Company Slack
If you’re wondering what a stuffed animal (??) and travel company have in common … well, it’s all thanks to our team of Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal analysts who hunt down the hardest-to-book business and first class seats in the skies, day in and day out.
We call these ultra-rare deals “unicorns” – and in the process, the unicorn has become TT’s unofficial mascot of sorts.
It’s high time we get one for the office … and maybe a robot, too.
– Jackson Newman, senior editor
✈️ Other Travel Tidbits
- 🏈 Qantas is offering fare discounts to Australia tied to the NFL’s Melbourne game, using promo code TOUCHDOWN. Save $50 in Economy, up to $1,500 in First, on round-trip flights booked through Sept. 18. (Qantas)
- ✈️ United is reportedly set to announce new 2027 international routes tomorrow, with Los Angeles rumored to be in line for a new destination. Singapore, Bangkok, and Manila are all speculated. (Ishrion Aviation, via X)
- 🇺🇸 The refreshed Citi AAdvantage Executive card is now offering its highest-ever bonus: 125,000 miles after spending $15,000 in five months. The card’s annual fee just jumped to $695, but new perks have also been added. (Doctor of Credit)
- ✈️ New FAA rules take effect Sept. 1, requiring flight attendants to collect all cabin service items – including pre-departure drinks – before pushback, not takeoff. (JonNYC, via X)
