Whew, fall and winter 2025 got busy!
I finished the 100,000 Citi Strata Elite bonus for a total of 119,525 Thank You points added to my account. After that I kind of ran out of credit cards I could be approved for (I really wanted the 100,000 points from Capital One’s Venture X card, but that was a no go even though they sent me email promotions) so I ended up going for a $400 targeted offer on the Dodge credit card. I should wrap that up in January. I also canceled the American Express Business Gold as I didn’t receive a retention offer and I just couldn’t justify the $375 fee.
Since I didn’t have bonuses to work on for much of the end of the year, I spread my spending across various cards: 9,342 Membership Rewards, 2,346 Ultimate Rewards, and from Discover $66.02 on the credit card and $73.45 from the debit card. I completed the $200 Ally checking account bonus that I started in July, so I’m looking at other bank/brokerage incentive offers.
The last few months I’ve taken a few trips including a very fun Disneyland Halloween vacation for Oogie Boogie Bash and the Princess breakfast.
Not too long after that I headed back to California seeing Jack’s Mannequin in both Los Angeles and Anaheim.
I went to Los Angeles again for a total bucket list experience–the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony! That was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t find a nearby hotel for a good deal with any of my credits, so I paid cash but I did get to use the $100 Resy credit that I usually struggle with in Phoenix. Another concert trip was to Las Vegas for the Straylight Run/Taking Back Sunday sideshow for the When We Were Young festival. That was a great show and I got to use a Fine Hotels and Resorts credit at the Fontainebleau which conveniently was where the concert was. That’s a really nice venue, so I’m planning to go back for Yellowcard in May.
In non-bank earnings, those no alcohol purchase required rebates really paid off–$67! They all ended, but I’m hoping something similar pops up for 2026. Each month from Swagbucks I did the discounted $25 MasterCard which I turned into Uber and Apple. With Swagbucks I also made some PayPal redemptions for $10 total. More PayPal redemptions came from MyPoints for $25, ReceiptPal for $15, $6.26 from Rakuten, and $5 with Shopkick. From Amazon Shopper Panel, I added $12.80 in Amazon gift cards. I added a bit more to my Amazon balance with $3 from Checkpoints and $25 from Well onTarget (my insurance started doing this for healthy activities). With Microsoft Rewards, I earned $50 in Starbucks gift cards.
