Monday, November 9, 2026
It's deadline season: three of the best offers on the board die in the next ten days, and the two best transfer ratios in the game are quietly being cut.
1. Marriott's Boundless Card Hits 200,000 Points — And It's Gone Wednesday
WHAT HAPPENED — The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless is offering 200,000 bonus points after $3,000 in spend in the first three months, plus up to $100 in airline purchase credits ($50 for $250+ in airfare through December 31, 2026, and another $50 for the same spend in the first half of 2027). The annual fee stays $95 and is not waived. Marriott's own card page confirms the 200,000-point offer; multiple outlets peg the application deadline at November 11.
WHY IT MATTERS — This is the largest publicly available bonus this card has ever carried, on a $95 card. At a 50,000-point property that's four free nights before you've spent a dollar of your own.
YOUR MOVE — Apply by Wednesday if you're under 5/24 and clear of Marriott's cross-issuer rules: you're ineligible if you hold the Boundless or the old Premier, or if a Marriott Amex (Bonvoy, Business, or Brilliant) paid you a bonus in the last 24 months. If you're short on points for a specific redemption, the Amex Membership Rewards to Bonvoy 35% transfer bonus runs through December 10 — but earn the 200K first and transfer second. Offer ends: November 11, 2026 · Verified: November 9, 2026 · Source: https://www.marriott.com/credit-cards.mi
2. The 1:1 Hyatt Transfer Is Dying — Bilt Is Next, On December 31
WHAT HAPPENED — Bilt will move Bilt Points to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3 effective January 1, 2027, meaning 1,000 Bilt Points buy 750 Hyatt points. That follows Chase, which in its official June Sapphire Preferred release confirmed Ultimate Rewards transfers to Hyatt at 4:3 for Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred — immediately for new Preferred applicants from June 15, and from October 1, 2026 for existing Preferred and Ink Preferred cardmembers.
WHY IT MATTERS — Hyatt is the best-value hotel currency in the business, and 1:1 access to it is now concentrated in the Sapphire Reserve. Everyone else takes a 25% haircut.
YOUR MOVE — If you hold Bilt Points and have a Hyatt redemption you actually intend to book, transfer before December 31 — the ratio cut is a 25% loss and Bilt has offered no grandfathering. Do not speculatively dump your whole balance into Hyatt; move only what a specific booking needs. If you're a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred holder, stop treating Hyatt as your default hotel transfer and reprice against cash and Bonvoy. Offer ends: December 31, 2026 (last day at 1:1 from Bilt) · Verified: November 9, 2026 · Source: https://media.chase.com/news/Meet-the-New-Chase-Sapphire-Preferred
3. IHG's Entire Card Lineup Was Rebuilt — Launch Bonuses Expire November 18, Fees Rise in 2027
WHAT HAPPENED — Chase and IHG replaced the IHG card portfolio: a new $350 Premier Select (200,000 points after $5,000 in three months, automatic Platinum Elite, 20 elite night credits, up to $300 in food and beverage credits, $200 airline credit), a Premier whose fee rises from $99 to $150 while automatic status drops from Platinum to Gold, a no-fee card at 125,000 points after $2,000, and a Business card going from $99 to $200 with 190,000 points after $5,000. Launch bonuses are valid for applications through November 18, 2026; fee increases hit existing cardholders at their 2027 account anniversary.
WHY IT MATTERS — This is a fee hike and a status downgrade dressed up as a refresh, with a nine-day window of genuinely large launch bonuses in front of it.
YOUR MOVE — If IHG is in your rotation, apply by November 18 — Premier Select if you'll use the food and beverage and airline credits, the no-fee card if you just want 125,000 points cheap. Existing Premier holders: your renewal in 2027 costs $150 for Gold instead of $99 for Platinum, so diary the anniversary and decide then whether to product-change. Separately, Chase is running an 80% transfer bonus to IHG through December 3 — ignore it. IHG points are the weakest currency Chase transfers to, and an 80% bonus still doesn't make Ultimate Rewards worth converting. Offer ends: November 18, 2026 · Verified: November 9, 2026 · Source: https://awardwallet.com/credit-cards/ihg-one-rewards/new-ihg-card-lineup/
4. Last Call: Southwest Card Bonuses Still Count Toward Companion Pass — Until They Don't
WHAT HAPPENED — Southwest's consumer cards are at elevated offers — Plus 80,000 points after $1,000, Premier 85,000 after $2,000, Priority 90,000 after $3,000 — reportedly through December 2, 2026. Southwest's own 2027 page confirms the program is rewritten January 1: Companion Pass qualifying points are retired entirely, A-List becomes Silver and A-List Preferred becomes Gold, a new Platinum tier (140,000 tier qualifying points) carries unlimited Companion Pass trips, and a second milestone at 95,000 TQPs grants just three companion trips. Today's requirement is 135,000 qualifying points or 100 one-way flights per calendar year, and a Companion Pass earned in 2026 keeps unlimited trips through December 31, 2027.
WHY IT MATTERS — From January, unlimited companion travel is a top-tier elite benefit rather than something a card bonus can buy. This is the last cycle where a welcome offer is a realistic path.
YOUR MOVE — If you want a Companion Pass, start now. The Priority card's 90,000 points plus the 10,000 annual Companion Pass boost plus $3,000 in spend puts you near 103,000 — roughly 32,000 short of 135,000, closeable with a second card or ordinary spend before year end. Earn it in 2026 and you fly a companion free through the end of 2027, straight through the program's first year under the new rules. Offer ends: December 2, 2026 · Verified: November 9, 2026 · Source: https://www.southwest.com/rapid-rewards/2027/whats-changing/
5. Avios Are Cheap Twice Over: Finnair's 50% Sale and Chase's 30% Bonus
WHAT HAPPENED — Finnair Plus is selling Avios at up to 50% off from November 2 to 16, on a sliding scale: 30% off at 5,000–19,000, 35% at 20,000–49,000, 40% at 50,000–84,000, and 50% at 85,000–200,000, capped at 200,000 Avios, with a 10% tier points bonus thrown in. Separately, Chase is transferring Ultimate Rewards to British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus Avios with a 30% bonus through December 1.
WHY IT MATTERS — Avios are pooled across BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair, spend on American Airlines metal, and Finnair's tier points can be a back door to status. Two independent discounts on the same currency inside one month is unusual.
YOUR MOVE — Buy Finnair Avios only against a priced-out redemption; at the 85,000-plus tier the discount is real, but Avios buy nothing if BA is charging surcharges on your route. If you hold Ultimate Rewards, the 30% Chase bonus is the cleaner play and runs three weeks longer. Also live: Citi ThankYou to Turkish Miles&Smiles at 40% through November 30, capped at 50,000 bonus miles — still one of the best sweet spots for Star Alliance premium cabins. Offer ends: November 16, 2026 (Finnair) · December 1, 2026 (Chase bonus) · Verified: November 9, 2026 · Source: https://www.finnairshop.com/en/buy-avios
BOTTOM LINE
Best opportunity: the 200,000-point Marriott Bonvoy Boundless offer — a record bonus on a $95 card, and it's gone Wednesday. Biggest risk: your Hyatt points pipeline. Bilt goes 4:3 on January 1 and Chase already cut the Preferred cards, so 1:1 access to the best hotel currency now runs almost exclusively through the Sapphire Reserve.