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In the last two years, there has been fierce competition between banks to earn your business with their rewards-card products. As a result, we've seen a huge increase in the number of cards that offer additional points for purchases you make with specific types of merchants. These spending categories can mean a lot of extra points if you have the right strategy, but for some, it only makes earning rewards more complicated. In today's episode, we'll cover the top cards for spending on Travel, Dining & Restaurants, Groceries & Supermarkets, and Gas & Fuel. www.abroaders.com/236

IberiaPlus is back with a new flash sale offering 50% off award travel between now and April 15th. The deadline to book is Sunday February 10th, but those who can act quick could score business-class awards from North America to Europe for as little as 17,000 points each way. In today's episode, we'll cover all the promo details and dive into the IberiaPlus program. This week is the last chance to score the Southwest Companion Pass with a limited-time offer from Chase, the Citi Prestige card makes it's long-awaited comeback, and we say goodbye to the Amex SPG card forever. In program news, Citi launches a 25% bonus to Turkish Miles and Smiles, Lufthansa raises award prices, and everyone seems to have a new sale on buying points. www.abroaders.com/235

Singapore KrisFlyer has long been one of the favorite programs of miles enthusiasts, so the recent devaluation announcement is a big disappointment. Singapore is a member of StarAlliance, which makes it possible to use their miles to book on 27 different airlines within the alliance. The program also offers some unique features, like additional award availability for KrisFlyer members when booking Singapore or SilkAir-operated flights. It's easy to accumulate these miles quickly because the program is a transfer partner with Chase, Citi, Amex, Marriott, and Capital One. Although it's never good to see prices go up, this announcement could certainly have been worse. www.abroaders.com/233

Transferrable bank points are especially valuable because they provide multiple options for booking travel. The conventional wisdom is that you get the most value transferring to a frequent flyer program. But that isn't always the right advice. Today, we explore how to make the right choice when you can redeem points towards the cost of a paid ticket or book an award through a frequent flyer program. www.abroaders.com/232

Capital One had created a major shakeup in the travel rewards space by announcing the ability to transfer points to a dozen frequent flyer programs. They now join Citi, Chase, Amex, and Marriott in the realm of super-flexible, transferrable points. We've also got major positive updates to the Amex Business Gold card, more details on the Citi Prestige 4th night free benefit, and a slew of new credit card offers to stack up points before the holidays. www.abroaders.com/230

Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands are among the trickiest destinations to reach from North America using miles—especially for premium cabin redemptions. Success depends on planning ahead, diversifying your points for maximum options, and knowing what routes to check. This week, we cover all the direct routings with Star Alliance, One World, Skyteam, and a few independent airlines you can book with the right miles. www.abroaders.com/229

Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 40% bonus on transfers to British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus through November 15th, 2018. These two loyalty programs can book flights with 29 different airlines—offering service to more than 1,000 destinations worldwide. Their pricing scheme is dramatically different from other loyalty programs, which means amazingly good deals on some itineraries, and horrible value on others. www.abroaders.com/228

AP 225 Checklist for Opening a New Rewards Card