Weekly Recap: Apr 27–May 3 — Chase Sapphire Reserve 150k, New Transfer Partners & IHG's Big Offer

A genuinely packed week. The Chase Sapphire Reserve surfaced a 150,000-point welcome offer — one of the highest public bonuses on record for that card. Wells Fargo added Cathay Pacific as a transfer partner, which quietly turns the Autograph Journey into a more serious contender for premium cabin seekers. On the flip side, Aeroplan and LifeMiles both devalued, and Spirit Airlines officially shut down. Here's what you need to know.

Credit Card & Program News

Chase Sapphire Reserve Hits 150,000 Points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is offering 150,000 Ultimate Rewards points — one of the highest publicly available welcome bonuses we've seen on this card. UR points transfer at 1:1 to Hyatt, United, Air France/KLM, and a dozen other partners, making this offer worth well over $2,000 in aspirational travel value. If you're under Chase's 5/24 rule and have been waiting for a reason to pull the trigger on a premium travel card, this is that moment. These elevated bonuses don't stick around.

Spirit Airlines Has Shut Down — Act Now on Chargebacks

Spirit Airlines has officially ceased operations, and if you have outstanding credits, gift cards, or ticketed flights, your options are narrowing fast. The most effective tool at this point is a credit card chargeback, but dispute windows are typically 60–120 days from the charge date. This is a hard reminder of why booking travel on a credit card matters: it's often your only real consumer protection when an airline goes under. Spirit's miles are now essentially worthless.

Citi ThankYou Points Sharing Gets Restricted

Citi tightened the rules on how ThankYou Points can be shared between accounts, cutting back on flexibility that many cardholders have used to pool points across household members. The Citi Strata Premier and Citi's broader TYP ecosystem remain strong earning tools, but if your strategy relied on moving points freely between accounts, check your current setup. The new limits reduce what's possible for multi-card households significantly.

Hyatt Category Changes Are Live

World of Hyatt adjusted property categories this week, with some properties moving up in price and others moving down. The changes affect both cash and award redemptions. If you have specific Hyatt properties on your radar — or points sitting in your Hyatt account — verify the current category before booking. The World of Hyatt Credit Card continues to earn at the same rates, so the changes are purely on the redemption side.

Signup Bonuses

IHG Premier at 140,000 Points — Genuinely Good

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card is offering 140,000 points for $3,000 in the first 3 months. IHG points are worth roughly half a cent each in standard redemptions, so this bonus translates to about $700 in hotel stays — and IHG's footprint is massive, covering InterContinental, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, and more. The annual free night benefit and 10x on IHG purchases make the $99 annual fee easy to justify after year one. The IHG One Rewards Premier Business matches this offer at 140,000 points for $4,000 in spend.

Citi AAdvantage Elevated to 80,000 Miles

Citi's AAdvantage credit card lineup is featuring an elevated 80,000-mile welcome offer. AA miles hold steady around 1.7 cents each in value, putting this offer at roughly $1,360 on the high end — solid for a co-branded airline card. American's expanded oneworld partner network and Avios conversion options have made AA miles more useful than they were a few years ago. If you're building toward a business class redemption to Europe or Asia, this offer is worth a look.

AmEx Blue Business Plus: Small Bonus, Strong Long-Term Card

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express remains at 15,000 Membership Rewards points for $3,000 in 3 months — not a headline number, but the card earns 2x MR on all purchases (up to $50k/year) with no annual fee. In a setup where you already hold a premium Amex card to unlock the best transfer partners, the BBP is a workhorse that punches above its weight. MR transfers at 1:1 to Air France/KLM, Avianca, and over a dozen other airline programs.

Transfer Bonuses & Partners

Wells Fargo Adds Cathay Pacific — A Legitimately Big Deal

Wells Fargo confirmed Cathay Pacific Asia Miles as a new 1:1 transfer partner, available from both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey and Wells Fargo Autograph. Cathay Pacific is one of the best premium cabin redemption currencies available — their own business and first class products are exceptional, and they partner with American, Alaska, British Airways, and other oneworld carriers for redemptions globally. This meaningfully upgrades the Wells Fargo points ecosystem and gives existing cardholders a compelling reason to bank points for a specific redemption rather than cashing out.

Chase UR Transfer Bonus to Marriott and Air France/KLM

Chase is running an elevated transfer bonus from Ultimate Rewards to both Marriott Bonvoy and Air France/KLM Flying Blue. Flying Blue is particularly worth noting — they publish monthly promo awards and consistently have some of the best award pricing on SkyTeam metal. If you've been sitting on Chase UR points waiting for the right moment to move them to Flying Blue, this is it. Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve can transfer to these programs.

Bilt → Avios Transfer Bonus: Real, but Read the Fine Print

Bilt launched a transfer bonus to British Airways Avios (and associated Iberia/Aer Lingus Avios accounts). The headline bonus sounds appealing, but the actual percentage depends heavily on your Bilt status tier — lower-tier members get a significantly smaller bonus, and there are caps on how many points qualify at the elevated rate. Avios remain genuinely useful for short-haul American Airlines flights and Iberia's surprisingly competitive transatlantic pricing. Worth transferring if the math works for your tier and you have a specific redemption in mind.

Capital One Adds Qantas Transfer Bonus

Capital One launched a transfer bonus to Qantas Frequent Flyer from its miles programs. Qantas is an underused redemption path for North American travelers — they're excellent for booking Finnair, British Airways, and other oneworld partners, often at rates better than booking directly through those programs. If you hold the Capital One Venture X Rewards or another Capital One miles card and have a oneworld redemption planned, now's the time to move miles over.

Airline & Hotel Deals

Air Canada and Avianca Both Devalue Award Charts

Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles both implemented award chart devaluations this week, with the moves attributed at least partly to pressure from United Airlines — a dominant partner in both programs. Aeroplan in particular had been a premier program for premium cabin redemptions to Europe and Asia. These changes reduce value on some of the most popular sweet spots. The takeaway is not subtle: loyalty currencies devalue, and hoarding large balances in any single program carries real risk. Have a redemption plan and execute it.

Hilton Targeted Offers Rolling Out

Hilton is distributing a fresh round of targeted bonus point offers to Honors members and cardholders. The bonus structure varies widely — some members are seeing 2x–5x on eligible stays through specific dates. Log into your Hilton Honors account before any upcoming stays to see whether you've been selected. These targeted offers expire quickly and aren't available to everyone, but if you were picked, they can dramatically improve the value of a stay you were already planning.

More This Week

Citi Strata Premier: The Underrated Card Worth Reconsidering

The Citi Strata Premier got a detailed feature this week spotlighting why it's one of the most overlooked cards at the $95 annual fee tier. The card earns uncapped 3x on groceries, gas, and restaurants, and transfers to Turkish Miles&Smiles, Avianca LifeMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, and other valuable programs. At a moment when most mid-tier cards are cutting benefits or raising fees, the Strata Premier's formula has quietly held together. If you want a flexible-points earning card without paying $550/year for the privilege, this one deserves a fresh look.

Account Shutdown Activity at Chase and AmEx

Both Chase and American Express have been active in closing accounts this week, including some with large points balances. The consistent lesson every time this happens: accumulating points without a redemption plan is a liability, not an asset. An unexpected account closure can make those points inaccessible permanently — and appeal processes are slow and uncertain. If you have large balances sitting idle across any program, start thinking about what you're saving them for.

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Card Curator Take

The Chase Sapphire Reserve at 150k is the action item of the week — this offer is rare and will expire. For existing Wells Fargo cardholders, the Cathay Pacific transfer partner addition is the most structurally significant news: you now have a path to one of the best business class products in the world from a program that many overlook. And the back-to-back devaluations from Aeroplan and LifeMiles are a clear signal to stop hoarding and start redeeming. Check your Card Curator dashboard to see which of these developments directly affect the cards and programs in your wallet.

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Use Card Curator to track how these changes affect your wallet.