👋 Hi Reader,

Hope you're having a great weekend! Here are a few things you'll find in this week's newsletter:

• 🛫 Free Airline Companion Pass
• 💳 Multiple Best-Ever Card Offers
• 🏨 Free Nights at Hilton and IHG
• 💰 A 2% Brokerage Bonus (up to $100k)
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Debunking 10 Parenting Myths
• and more...

As always, I'd really appreciate if you can forward this to anyone who might enjoy this newsletter. Thanks in advance!

-Chris

🛫 Travel, Points & Miles

📈 Best Ever 120k Point Welcome Bonus

The limited-time offer on this card* might be the best opportunity to earn transferrable points I've seen. Getting 120k points, which could be worth at least $1,500, on a card with such a low minimum spend and annual fee is pretty incredible. If you're wondering whether you'd be eligible for a business card, you might be surprised and can read more about that here.

As always, you can support us and find these top credit card offers on this page: Top Credit Card Offers​

*For compliance reasons, we can’t include names of all cards/banks

💳 Earn a Southwest Companion Pass + 120k Points

Right now, the Southwest business cards are offering the best welcome bonus I've ever seen of 120k points, which after spending the points required will earn you enough for a Southwest Companion Pass.

• Card 1*: 60k bonus points after $3k spend in 3 months, plus an additional 60k after $15k spend in 9 months.
• Card 2*: 80k bonus points after $5k spend in 3 months, plus an additional 40k after $15k spend in 9 months.

The timing becomes crucial when it comes to maximizing the Companion Pass which will be valid for the remainder of the year plus the entire following year. So earning the welcome bonus in 2024 will get you Companion Pass through 12/31/25.

As always, you can support us and find our favorite credit cards on this page: Top Credit Card Offers.

*For compliance reasons, we can’t include names of all cards/banks

🏨 Three Limited Time Free Hotel Night Offers

In addition to free night offers on two Hilton Amex Cards expiring on 7/31, there's one more best-ever hotel offer that came out this week.

• Card 1*: Earn 5 Free Nights at IHG after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. This might be the best consumer card offer I've seen this year! The free nights come in the form of 60k/night certificates that historically could be topped up as well. You can find the top credit card offers at the top of this page: Top Credit Card Offers​
• ​​Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card​: In addition to earning 130k bonus points and a free night certificate after spending $3k in 6 months, you'll get another free night certificate every calendar year that you spend $15k.
• The ​Hilton Honors American Express Card​ is also offering a free night certificate and 70k bonus points after spending $2k in 6 months

We already picked up one a Surpass Card, but might get another before these offers end.

P.S. Hilton Honors just added almost 400 luxury SLH properties​, which are bookable with points and offer Hilton Honors elite benefits.

*For compliance reasons, we can’t include names of all cards/banks

🛫 New Federal Airline Rules: No Hidden Fees & Automatic Refunds

The D.O.T. recently introduced new rules for airlines to improve passenger rights, including easier refunds for cancellations or delays and upfront disclosure of fees, but these changes are only expected to be in effect later this year. To recap, you’re due for a refund if:

1. Your flight is canceled or significantly changed (3+ hours domestically or 6+ internationally) and you decline alternative options.
2. Your checked baggage is delayed for 12+ hours (domestic) or 15-30 hours (international).
3. You pay for services like Wi-Fi or seat selection and they are not provided.

Refunds should be issued automatically without a request and received within 7 business days for credit card payments and 20 days for others. They should be given in the original form of payment, not as vouchers (unless you choose), including the ticket price and all associated taxes and fees.

🤑 Latest Deals

💰 WeBull's Massive 2% Brokerage Bonus

This might be the biggest non-retirement brokerage transfer bonuses I’ve ever seen. You can earn 2% on all inbound transfers up to $5m (meaning the bonus is capped at $100k). I don't experience with WeBull, but they are a member of SIPC, which gives you $500k protection and they have their other protections listed here. The 2% is paid out over 2 years and transfer need to happen by 7/31/23. Full details are here.

💸 $530 Bank Bonus from SoFi

SoFi Checking & Savings customers with a new direct deposit can earn a bonus of up to $300 on qualifying deposits until 7/31/24. This even works for existing customers who haven't done a direct deposit before. Even better, unlike many other bank bonuses, SoFi savings is paying 4.6% APY. Additionally, Swagbucks is offering a $230 bonus for new SoFi customers who set up a direct deposit of $400+ and you can use this link to get $10 bonus with a new Swagbucks account.

📦 Amazon Prime Day: July 16-17

Amazon is celebrating their 10th Prime Day from July 16th to 17th. The Verge has a guide to finding the best deals and Amazon is already listing some of the deals here. There aren't many deals I'm excited about, but if you need a set of AirTags, the 4-pack is on sale for $75.

You might also want to check out these Amazon-related Amex offers:

• ​Spend $400 at Amazon and get 1,500 points - can be done up to 3x times until 8/30/24.
• Add an eligible American Express Card to your Amazon Wallet to get $15 off $15.01 or more with code AMEXPD15OFF​

🕵️ Great Finds

👨‍👩‍👧 Debunking the Biggest Parenting Myths

​

Did you know most parenting advice isn't always based on real data? Emily Oster’s books and blog, ParentData have helped Amy and I make countless data-driven decisions as parents, so it was amazing to get to have her on the show this week to debunk some of these shockingly common misconceptions.

👩🏻‍🔬 4-Week Sprint Program for AI Founders (Apply ASAP)

Two good friends of mine, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky, run the venture firm Character Labs and they are offering a 4-week sprint program for pre-seed founders building in AI. They reopened applications and the deadline is tomorrow, 7/14 at 11:59pm CT. I've learned so much from Jake and JZ and highly recommend applying if you want to work with them.

🏠 The American Elevator Problem

I really enjoyed this NYT OpEd that highlights the skyrocketing costs of housing in America through the lens of American elevators. Turns out that thanks to complex regulations and labor issues, elevators in the US cost cost 4x more than in many other countries. It's a fascinating read.

💬 Parting Thoughts

Thanks so much for reading - I hope you enjoyed!

Please feel free to reply to this email with any thoughts, feedback or even if you just want to say hi! :)

Chris