It took a while, but I’ve finally come to terms with the recent news regarding

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Quick one, but important one.

We have a potential development underway…

And it ain’t great.

Hoping it’s just a temporary glitch in the matrix.

Required reading for all bums in this game, to collect and share data points, and figure out what the f*** is going on.

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Feel free to ask questions in the comment section. for the next 72 hours.

Intro

I got a ton of new followers on X and subscribers here on Substack after the below Tweet last week.

As always, many are extremely skeptical, so they never start.

Here’s what I wish I knew when I started and how I’d approach the game in 2026 as a newbie, if I wanted to earn $10K+ within my first 12 month.

Read

I’d take an entire weekend to read every single Substack post I’ve ever published.

Starting from the very first one in late 2022 until now.

Many of those old posts aren’t relevant at all and those old plays no longer work.

But it’s crucial to understand the history of the game, and identify common patterns and themes.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Most Basic Overview

Here’s the most basic overview of our game:

We earn tens of thousands of dollars per year, by taking out multiple credit cards and earning large sign up bonuses.

These sign up bonuses are earned by hitting a minimum spend requirement on that card. For example, $3,000 after spending $20K+ on an Amex Business Platinum card within the first 90 days of opening the card.

That’s it.

That’s really the meat and potatoes of this game.

Sure category spend (like 4X on restaurants) is also good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the amount you can earn through signup bonuses.

In the above example ($3,000 after spending $20K) that’s literally a 15% return.

Not many other places you can get that!

Business Owners vs Manufactured Spenders

Whenever I explain the game, I always hear the same objection right away. “But who spends $20K+ in 3 months?”

There’s two types of players in this game.

Those that have a business in which they are spending thousands of dollars each month on inventory, ads, supplies, etc…

And those that will need to resort to “manufactured spending.”

The biz owners have a huge advantage as they simply have to learn the basics of this game, and they don’t have to worry at all about how to generate spending.

Biz owners literally just need to optimize a few things, figure out which cards there going to get and then just do a bunch of applications and the rest is plug and play.

Manufactured Spenders (the vast majority of the Slack group) will need to learn and develop enough methods to consistently hit the large minimum spending thresholds.

If you had to choose?

This game is infinitely easier if you have an existing business.

But if you can spend a little bit of time learning manufactured spending you can still do just as well.

Manufactured Spending

The most simple way to put this is…

You’re spending money and somehow getting the money back into your bank account ASAP.

Some examples:

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Amazon Prime Day Part 2 is October 6th to October 7th.

We’ve learned some lessons from this past July, so here’s how I’m approaching the game this time around.

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

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We discussed this on last week’s call but it’s a critical concept.

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The link to tonight’s call will be posted in the Slack Group shortly before 8:00PM ET.

If you’re a paid sub and not in the Slack Group, please DM me here to get access.

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.

Summer is officially over, and it’s time to take advantage of the current deals and position ourselves to squeeze as much juice out of this game that we possibly can for the remainder of 2026.

Also, there’s an important concept that I consistently see people botch on the Twitter/X timeline that I need to address. If you’re new, pay extra close attention because you’re quite literally leaving tens of thousands of dollars in points on the table if you don’t get this right.

Let’s get into it.

Bum Note: There is also another extremely important concept for all Bums, even veterans that have been in this space since 2022. Make sure to scroll down and read the Putting it “On Ice” section for additional ALFA

Beating a Dead Horse

I have no idea who this guy is, and don’t mean to call him out specifically…

It’s more of the same concept that I see over and over and over again on the X timeline.

People think that they’ve discovered something magical whenever there is a new shiny object in the form of a new credit card offering.

Whenever there is a new card, whether it’s 3%, 4%, or even 5% back (just for example, the highest on all spend is usually 3%)…

It gets dwarfed by the amount we can earn by consistently getting multiple Amex signup bonuses a year, particularly business cards.

Per above, even after you factor in the annual fee, your point per dollar while working on Amex SUBs is well over 10% during that period, so the 3% card is a total waste.

Not sure how to get multiple Amex SUBs?

Here’s how:

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Welcome Bums!

Today we have a very special guest post from Slack User: Chris.

Whenever I have the fortune of catching up with Chris he’s always either telling me about a trip he just got back from, or a trip he’s going on.

What makes his situation a bit more unique is that he applies the knowledge from the Bum Substack/Slack community but is constantly researching and exploring new cards.

Chris epitomizes what it means to be a true bum. He had his first baby about a year ago, and like my daughter, his daughter has already been all over the world (on points of course).

Take it away Chris!

Bum Note: Below is Chris’s unedited guest post.

One year with the Atmos Rewards Summit Card

One year ago, I was approved for the Atmos Summit Rewards Card and when I crunched the numbers from the previous 12 months, I can confidently say it’s the best credit card I’ve ever held in my wallet from a pure earning standpoint.

The Atmos Summit card is the premium flagship credit card that was borne out of the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska Airlines. The previous iteration of Alaska’s loyalty program, MileagePlan, was well-known throughout the points and miles world for its lucrative partner redemptions.

Alaska was not a member of any of the big three airline alliances until 2021 so they had partnerships with individual airlines and there was once a time that you could find deals to like flying Cathay Pacific in first class from North America to Hong Kong for 70,000 miles or Emirates in their swanky A380 in business or first class code around 100,000 miles.

While some of those sweet spots are sadly a vestige of the past, the new combined loyalty program of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, called Atmos Rewards, is still full of sweet spots.

And since I started focusing on earning Atmos points, especially since this card entered my wallet, I’ve been able to take advantage of many of them.

First, let me lay out the value proposition for this card:

• $395 annual fee

• 80,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $4,000 in the first 90 days after opening. Note: I earned 100,000 as an introductory offer and 5,000 more for having signed up for their wait list.

• Companion certificates: You receive 25,000 points off a companion’s award redemption every year just for holding the card. Additionally, if you spend $60,000 in a card member year (the clock starts when you are approved), you receive a second 100,000 discount off a companion’s award redemption. This can have huge value, especially when looking at a business class redemption.

• Elite status help: After the first year you receive 10,000 Atmos status points to help you with your status journey, if you’re chasing that. Atmos Silver, the lowest tier, only requires 20,000 points, so holding the card gets you halfway there. You also receive 1 status point for every $2 of spend, so putting $20,000 on the card would net you the other 10,000 to get you to Silver.

• Lounge & Wi-Fi Access: 8 Alaska Lounge passes and 8 in-flight Wi-Fi passes annually, broken in two of each per quarter and they don’t carry over unfortunately, so if you don’t use them you lose them.

• Flight Delay Credits: You receive an instant $50 voucher if an Alaska flight is delayed by 2+ hours or canceled within 24 hours of departure, even for weather (something that other airlines don’t do!).

How you earn points with the Atmos Rewards Summit Card

• Earn 3x points on Alaska or Hawaiian purchases

• 3x on dining worldwide

• 3x on all foreign transactions - uncapped - with no foreign transaction fees. This one is super unique and if you like to travel (which is probably why you’re in the hobby) this is a very fruitful earning category.

• 10% Relationship Bonus if you also have a Bank of America checking or savings account. This bumps your earnings to 3.3x on 3x categories (everything else is 1.1x).

• You can share your points with other Atmos members and also transfer your points to some hotel loyalty programs including Marriott Bonvoy.

• And then some of the more standard benefits you see included on many annual fee cards, including a free checked bag; earlier boarding for you and up to six guests on the same reservation; and $120 towards TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years

• $25 off per person on partner award fees, which helps reduce your out-of-pocket spend on award redemptions.

Here’s what I love about the card:

1. My organic spend earns me more points than any other card

Due to Atmos Reward’s deal with Bilt, I can earn 3x Atmos points when using my card to pay rent on their platform. While the payment is subject to a 3% transaction fee, the 3x points I earn on my rent (and the fee) is always worth more than one cent per point, so I feel I eventually come out on top. Living in a very high cost of living city, the rent payment alone earns me over 12,000 Atmos points. When you add other monthly spend, I can hit 15,000 points in a month.

Importantly, in addition to earning rewards points, all of that spend also goes towards the $60,000 threshold I need to hit in order to get the 100,000 companion discount, something I just received a couple of weeks ago. That can be worth thousands of dollars when used for a premium cabin redemption.

2. A meaningful boost towards airline status

While airline loyalty programs are constantly being devalued and status has become diluted, there are some concrete benefits in that arena by holding and aggressively spending on this card. Keep in mind that Alaska is in the Oneworld Alliance, of which American Airlines is a member.

With my card setup right now, I am on track to hit Atmos Gold, their second tier, which would translate to Oneworld Sapphire, a status level that would allow me to get Main Cabin Extra seating on American Airlines flights at the time of booking. On a transatlantic flight

I’m currently booked on, that would save me upwards of $90 alone. (I am a mere 151 points short of Silver status right now but will hit Gold by the end of the year). While a first class upgrade will be elusive, getting those four extra inches of legroom just because of my status is a tangible benefit.

Final thoughts:

Some (or all) of these benefits might not be worth it to you but between what feels like a windfall of points over the last 12 months and the fact I’m on track to attain meaningful airline status, this is my favorite card in my wallet.

If this card sounds like it’s a little too much, I encourage you to check out the Atmos Rewards Ascent Card, which has slightly fewer benefits (except 2x on gas, EV charging stations, rideshare, and select cable and streaming services) but only a $95 annual fee. In addition to earning 70,000 points after spending $2,500 in your first 90 days, you can also get a nearly free companion fare (buy one fare and your companion only spends $99) after spending $6,000 in a cardmember year.

Bum Conclusion

Solid writeup, and good pointing out that this card earns him more on organic spend than any other card.

Definitely worth checking out if you’re not working towards an Amex SUB.

Big thank you to Chris, and we might need a trip recap post or two from all the family vacations he’s been on!

Comments are open if you have any questions for Chris!

Good luck!

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.

Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Read more

Had a request from BowTiedKaa to post a brief “State of the Union” to go over the plays I’ve been working on and how I’m approaching the game this summer.

While things have change quite a bit this year…

I just got back from an epic Eurotrip and were scoping out spots in Switzerland/France for our ski trip this winter.

And I am currently generating enough free points to cover that trip.

Here’s how:

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I’m back home stateside and fully recovered from another incredible European vacation!

I’m privileged to be part of this community and able to do so many of these amazing free vacations.

Here’s a recap of all the highlights as well as a few hiccups.

The Flight

We flew from Newark → Geneva, a trip we’ve done many times by now, so we’re familiar with the Swiss airport over there.

As many of you know from my prior trip reports, my 5 year old daughter has been on many flights by now, so she knows what to expect.

This was my 10 month old son’s second flight and I must say, he was a champion!

He is too big for a bassinet so we just got a row of 3 seats in economy plus, and we used United points + travel bank to cover.

I definitely missed not having a lay flat seat, but understood my wife’s concerns about wanting be close to our daughter and make it easier for my son.

United Lounge Mishap

I had two United passes (thanks to my United Explorer card) and I thought I could try to plead my case to allow my two kids in as well as they are young.

Well, my preferred United Lounge in Newark had a sign that said “Full, we are not accepting passes at this time.”

I pleaded with the staff, but they directed me to a different lounge on the opposite end of the terminal.

Not the end of the world, but a bit annoying with two young children.

When we got to the other lounge, they told us they just closed.

I begged and they decided to allow two of us in, but said we had to pay $59 for our two children.

My wife refused to pay that out of principle, and had me go in really quick to grab a quick bite for my daughter and then meet them outside.

Well, let’s just say that would have been the biggest waste of $118 ever spent.

The lounge was really bland and unless you were drinking alcohol (we weren’t) there were some sad looking sandwiches, some soup and some cookies.

My daughter settled on some cookies and we got out of there.

Again not a huge deal, but this particular lounge was way worse than the Priority Pass lounges we are used to, so was definitely disappointing.

I even had to pay out of pocket for lunch! The horror!

Annecy, France

I’ve now been to Annecy, France numerous times and I have to say it gets better each time.

I’ll talk a bit about what I did, and give some tips for people who are interested in visiting one day, as I think it’s a place that should seriously be on everyone’s bucket list if they are into outdoor activities.

Lodging

For context, we stayed by relatives on the outskirts of the city in an AirBnB.

I’m usually quite biased to hotels especially because we get them for free with points, but an AirBnB made more sense this trip.

Funny enough, the AirBnB did not have AC as many apartments don’t in France.

This was the week after the major heat wave, so luckily it was only about 90F-93F instead of around 100F. It wasn’t ideal but we made it work and spent most of our time outside the apartment so it was cooler at night.

Another thing, WiFi didn’t work initially. We got instructions from the owner on how to fix it, but honestly we didn’t even bother after a day and it was nice to disconnect.

It was the first time I can remember I stayed somewhere without WiFi or cell reception (we had cell reception immediately after walking outside) and I have to say, it was honestly nice.

But for you guys visiting?

I strongly recommend hotels, and you want to look in the below area where the lake meets downtown Annecy.

Hotel Imperial Palace is an excellent option if you want to have stunning views of the lake, easy beach access, and still have an easy walk to downtown!

Activities

Tour du lac

This is one of the highlights of the trip for sure!

If you are visiting, you must bike around the lake as it is honestly the most stunning bike ride I have ever done.

It’s a 25 mile loop and most people go West to East.

While there are some serious bikers along the way…

Many people opt to get an E-bike as there are some steep climbs along the way.

We went this route as we were going with my father-in-law so wanted to make it easy for everyone.

We rented from Takama in downtown Annecy which is a quick walk from the start of the path. They spoke perfect English, and we had zero issues, just remember to use the locks they provide to lock your bike if you stop along the way.

23 Fbg Sainte-Claire, 74000 Annecy, France

Unless you’re a serious biker I definitely recommend getting a pedal assisted E-Bike.

There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, etc that offer a nice view of the lake and a good spot to rest.

There’s also a few spots to access the beach and cool off, so definitely back sunscreen, a towel, and a bathing suit!

Hiking (Semnoz)

Semnoz is a family friendly affordable ski resort that doubles as a great spot for hiking during the warmer months.

There are short family friendly hikes with great views of Mount Blanc and all of Annecy.

Don’t worry, you can drive all the way to the top, so you can make the hikes as long or short as you want.

There’s a nice little restaurant at the top Les Rochers Blancs which is nice for a post hike meal.

Lake Annecy

You can make a day or afternoon of just hanging out by the lake as well.

There’s crystal clear water and a nice sand beach so it made for a perfect day with the family.

We rented a boat for a 45 minutes for about 40 Euros, which was one of the highlights of the trip for my daughter.

If you have young kids they’ll likely love it!

The only thing is the boats go incredibly SLOW which is understandable given the lake isn’t that big and it’s a safety concern.

Other than that we had a great time!

There’s plenty of small places to grab food right by the lake (in the area where you’d swim) or you can pick up sandwiches and have a little beach front picnic.

Fine Dining

While I didn’t get to partake this trip…

If you’re into fine dining (Michelin Star restaurants) and tasting menus and whatnot, France is an amazing country for this!

I also found that compared to major US restaurant cities (NYC, LA, SF, Napa) you could get way better deals here and it costs way less.

I highly recommend Le Clos Des Sens…

A 3 star Michelin restaurant that features hyperlocal seafood and vegetables from the area surrounding Lake Annecy.

If you’re splurging for the tasting menu, you can’t go wrong with the drink pairing as well.

Fun Fact: It’s also a nice hotel if you want to splurge and stay there!

General Thoughts and Closing Remarks

This is a great part of France that gets overlooked, particularly by Americans.

I’ve had no problems speaking English everywhere I went, and didn’t experience any attitude from any staff.

To be honest, I really regret not hitting up another Michelin restaurant! With an infant and juggling lots of logistics, it just wasn’t in the cards this trip.

Other than the Boat excursion, and the minimum cost of the rental bikes, we spent a lot of time visiting friends, hanging out at the beach, hiking, and walking around the city.

Some of our best family experiences this trip were days we spent very little money and did free activities.

This trip made me reflect a bit about this game, particularly when my wife went to a fancy purse store and got a funny look from the cashier for buying a (relatively) expensive purse while being dressed quite casually.

As I’ve been thinking more about my health and fitness…

I often think about fitness in a “you need to earn it” mentality where you get in what you put out and you can’t fake it or hack it.

The points game feels like a glitch in the matrix where you’re able to do “rich guy stuff” for free!

Funny entering lounges, high end restaurants, and getting weird looks when you’re just a regular Joe that gets to experience the finer things.

Maybe I need to dress better? But I digress!

Anyway, with the greater changes in this game over the past year…

I’ll be taking a look at different opportunities to print points…Ones that took a back seat in the past.

Stay toon’d!

Good luck!

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.

Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Read more

Many of you are flush with Citi points.

Some of you are still planning your Euro Summer, so this post comes at a perfect time.

Accor All allows us to access European hotels at a discounted rate…

And even better, there’s a Citi transfer promo going on for the next couple of weeks that can provide outsized value.

Let’s dive in.

BUM Note: I’ll be going on vacation from this Thursday July 2nd until Monday July 13th. During this time, I will step away from the grind and won’t be checking the Slack community or X.

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Intro

Aaand we’re back.

Amazon Prime Day, 2026 edition.

Read to the bottom as there are quite a few new features this year.

Many of you are working on that $3,300+ monster sign up bonus from

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Read more

My friends and family members often ask me if this game is worth it.

They all know I’ve been in the game for a decade plus now…

Yet many assume it’s too much work and since they don’t understand it right away, they never bother to start.

Huge mistake.

As the above tweet points out, this game is literally life changing.

Since I earn enough points to cover all my traveling, I usually invest the rest…

But I always like to save a decent amount for fun.

This game allows you to do “rich guy shit” like go to the NBA finals in NYC when tickets cost thousands of dollars.

In fact, one single signup bonus from the Amex Business Platinum will cover the whole thing!

BowTiedBum “Events”

The screenshot below outlines a clear path to a $3,300 play that simply requires clicking a few buttons.

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Here’s a step by step guide on how to use Kasheesh to print Amex points and easily hit massive signup bonuses.

Kasheesh is currently my favorite tool for this.

It’s incredibly simple and only takes a few minutes to put massive spend on your cards.

Let’s have a look.

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Intro

Got really good feedback from the past few months, so we’ll continue to do these posts to highlight the important Slack messages from each month to make sure everyone is up to speed.

We’ll get right into it and separate each section by Slack channel.

Read more

This one is an important one…

As the game took a seismic hit last week that left us all a bit stunned.

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