CardStack Insiders #5

Hey there!

Happy Sunday. Spent the weekend in the CardStack codebase shipping fixes and lining up what’s next, and I have a lot of exciting updates coming. More on that at the bottom.

But first, issue #5 of CardStack Insiders. Hyatt is screwing loyalists, the Freedom Unlimited bonus dies Wednesday, and there’s free Delta miles sitting on the table.

If you have ideas or app feedback, reply any time. I read everything. Forward this if it helps someone, or subscribe here if a friend sent it. Thanks for reading.

Hyatt dropped their 2026 category updates. 136 hotels changing, 112 going up. That’s the obvious part.

The real change is the new pricing tiers. Every category now has a range. So your “Category 4” hotel can quietly cost way more without ever moving categories. Category 8 swings by up to 40K points depending on the night.

A bunch of solid U.S. properties are leaving the cheap 1–4 range. Hyatt Regency Seattle, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Hyatt Regency Jersey City. And 5 hotels are jumping to Category 8, including Andaz 5th Avenue and Hotel du Louvre in Paris. Top end now hits 85K per night.

What I’d do: changes kick in May 20. If you’re even thinking about booking, do it now and lock current pricing. If the price drops later, Hyatt refunds the difference. No downside.

Delta’s shopping portal is giving 500 bonus miles on $100+ spend through May 4. Stacks with whatever the store already offers.

Watch the usual traps. Gift cards, shipping, taxes usually don’t count. And you have to start and finish in the Delta portal in one session or you won’t get credit.

Also don’t blindly use Delta. Compare rates first. Some portals pay way more.

Chase Freedom Unlimited — no annual fee, 25K points after $500 spend. They frame it as $250 cash back, but it’s actually more valuable if you know what you’re doing.

You get 1.5% on everything, 3% on dining and drugstores. And if you have a Sapphire, those points become transferable. That’s where the real value is.

Before applying, check Rakuten. Sometimes there’s an extra bonus for approvals.

Quick hits:

• Abu Dhabi business: 70K Etihad
• Amsterdam business: 60K Virgin
• Amman business: 70K Royal Jordanian
• Argentina business: 50K Atmos
• Park Hyatt London: 5K points/night when the calendar cooperates (sanity check against the new Hyatt tiers before booking, not last year’s chart)
• Madrid business: 40.5K Iberia Avios

Always check active transfer bonuses in CardStack before moving points. A 25-30% bonus changes the math entirely.

New offers from Amex and Chase. Check if your cards have them.

• Air France / KLM: $250 off $1,250 or $400 off $2,000 (5/31)
• AT&T Wireless: $75 off $100 (4/30)
• Citi Travel hotels: $50 off $300 (5/14)
• Fox One: $19.99 off $19.99 (5/16)
• Go Rentals: 20% back, up to $200 (8/5)
• Hilton: 10% off, up to $65 (5/15)
• Leading Hotels of the World: $150 off $700+ (7/31)
• Marriott: 10% off, up to $80 (5/15)
• The Parking Spot: $10 off $50+ (5/15)

The CardStack browser extension adds every eligible Amex and Chase offer across all your cards in one click while you’re on the bank’s site. Stop missing offers because you forgot to check the app.

Spent the weekend cleaning things up. Fixed a bunch of bugs, made the app more reliable, and added 10 new cards. These will be live in the App Store (v1.3) as soon as Apple approves the update.

Also deep in a big upgrade to Stack. Goal is simple: make it more proactive and actually do things for you so you’re not babysitting your cards.

More on that soon.

That’s it. Reply with feedback. Forward to a friend who’s leaving money on the table. Subscribe here if someone forwarded this to you.

Adam