🎫Priority Boarding

inKind, a New Restaurant Gift Card Platform

inKind partners with local establishments, ranging from casual coffee shops to fine dining, and serves as a centralized gift card/credits platform.

They’re investing heavily in promoting across credit card brands and have put out some massive value deals that are easily cashed out.

There’s a specific combination of live offers that gets you $350 in credits for spending only $100, plus free annual membership to their “pass”. Here’s how to capitalize on this steal of a deal (read the whole post first):

1. Load up $250 in inKind and get $350 with this deal

2. Chase Sapphire Reserve holders have a targeted card offer that gives $150 back on $250 in inKind spend

3. This reduces your cost to $100 for $350 credit

4. Get the AMEX card offer which gives a one-time $100 statement credit for the inKind pass (expires 03/18/24)

The inKind pass gives you 20% back on dining expenses (excluding pre-purchased credit) - check the fine print for restrictions.

Make sure you look up restaurant options in your city to ensure adequate selection. If there are restaurants near you, inKind is worth paying attention to as they’ve been throwing money at people to use their platform.

However, avoid floating too much credit on the app. You never know how sustainable these things are.

If you choose to sign up, you can stack the above offer with my referral offer that gives $25 off $50+ in spend (thanks in advance🙏). If you go through this sign-up flow, make sure ypu skip the prompt to buy dining credit and come back to open the specific offer link we mentioned above.

Using inKind to pay your restaurant check is simple:

• Open your app and click ‘Pay’

• Go through the prompts and enter your receipt check number

• Your bill amount populates in the app, and you can pay from your pre-purchased credit + credit card

Happy dining!

⏳️Final Boarding Call - Time Sensitive

Spontaneous Escapes by Singapore Airlines

Similar to last week’s newsletter where we talked about Air France’s monthly deals, Singapore Airlines has the same idea.

Through September 30th, deals are available for October flights (hence the ‘spontaneous’). Caveat: these are unique offers and sometimes can’t be canceled/refunded.

Most of us are in the US and will only care about US routes, but you can see a full list of routes here. KrisFlyer miles are very easy to obtain as it’s a transfer partner of Chase, AMEX, Capital One, and Citi.

As an example, I just found:

• SFO-SIN business class saver award availability for 107k on 10/10

• SIN-SFO for 52.5k points in prem economy on numerous days

160k for a round-trip, non-stop flight in prem. economy + business class is solid deal for a 16+ hour flight.

You can easily get enough points for this in 2-3 months by signing up for the Chase Ink Unlimited and Chase Ink Cash which are both at 90k sign-up offers. Check here for the highest credit card offers.

If someone wants a spontaneous escape, you’ve got one right in front of you.

How to search:

1. Log into KrisFlyer

2. Click the little “redeem flights” bubble

3. Enter your route, dates, and class

4. Default view will have a weekly calendar above flight options

Easy AMEX $250 Personal Checking Offer

Get a $250 bonus when you open a new American Express Rewards Checking account and receive a direct deposit of $500 or more by 12/10/23. Offer expires 10/31/23 and there are no monthly fees.

There are data points saying Fidelity brokerage account transfers will trigger the direct deposit requirement. If you have time to experiment, try transferring money in from other banks/brokerages to satisfy the DD requirement.

DD requirements usually range in the thousands, so this offer requiring $500 makes it one of the better and easier deals. Hop on it!

Note: There’s a bug right now that doesn’t allow people with AMEX business checking accounts to apply.

☁️Cloud 9 - Vacation Inspiration

JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge

One of my bucket list items is to stay on a safari that’s in the heart of the wilderness, completely remote and isolated from civilization. Thankfully, I can eventually achieve this milestone vacation via points.

The JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge marks the debut of the first luxury safari lodge in the brand portfolio with impressively low redemption costs.

Availability flies off the shelves and for good reason. A few weeks ago, a huge wave of availability was released and I’m still seeing a good number of days remaining.

5 nights can cost anywhere from $13,000 to $19,000 but right now, you can redeem them for 400k-450k Marriott points.

How to book/see the calendar:

1. Log into Marriott and head to Masai Mara page

2. Click “Flexible Nights”, choose number, and select month

3. Hit “Search”

4. “Edit” results, check “Use points / awards”, and refresh calendar

Remember that booking 5 nights gives you the lowest-cost night for free. This doesn’t work if you mix in free-night certificates.

One thing to remember is luxury redemptions, unfortunately, have hidden costs that aren’t immediately obvious.

Masai Mara is difficult to get to and requires a bush plane that costs ~$400 per round-trip (kind of like the Maldives seaplane). There’s also a park fee of $70 per person, per night, and this comes out to $700 for 5 nights.

That being said, this is still a prime example of the insane privileges that credit card points unlock.

Many of us may never be blessed with these experiences otherwise.

📜Link Menu

Register for Hyatt’s “Bonus Journeys” - $3k points for every 3 nights stayed, up to 21 nights, completed between 10/06/23 - 11/30/23.

Register for Choice Privileges promo - earn 8k points after 2-night stays (unlimited # of times), completed between 09/12/23 and 11/06/23.

Why Airplane Seats Are Getting Bigger And Fancier Again - The intro and 7min+ were the most interesting.

TSA Screeners Caught Stealing At Miami Airport - Make sure to keep your valuables in difficult-to-reach areas, just as a precaution.

Deals & Offers

AMEX - Card Offers (login and check)

• Shake Shack - Spend $15, get $5 back. Expires 10/18/23
• inKind Annual Sub (Free) - Spend $100, get $100. Expires 03/18/24

Chase - Card Offers (login and check)

• Hyatt - Get 15% back on $100+ spend, up to $37.95 cashback ($253 max). Expires 10/31/23
• Southwest (targeted) - Get 10% back on $50+ spend, up to $40 cashback ($400 max). Expires in 1-7 days
• inKind (on Chase Sapphire Reserve) - Get $150 back on $250+ spend. Expires 09/27/23

Other

• Kroger Online - $20 for $25 Fandango gift card
• Starbucks - Buy $25 gift card, get $5 extra (first 110k people)

🤡Meme

Memories and experiences are so much more precious when shared with loved ones. It can also be terrifying to travel alone!

Share Fly EnPoints with friends and family so you can travel-hack to your next destination together!