Top Miles & Points Deals From 2025
I can't believe the end of 2025 is actually here. In some ways it was one of the longest years of my life, yet in other ways it feels like it went by in a blink of an eye. One of my favorite things to do at the end of each year is reflect back on what changed in the miles and points world. It is a good reminder of how much things can change, usually for the worse, but also a great look at the fact that good things are still constantly happening too. It is human nature to focus on the devaluations and negative stuff, but let's look at my 5 favorite deals from 2025. Share yours over in the ToP Facebook Group.
Best Deals Of 2025
These are my favorite miles & points deals from 2025. They could be loyalty program changes, new card offers, valuable deals and everything in between. My favorite changes will likely not be your favorite changes. I am curious to see how much they overlap with each and everyone one of you though. Here they are, in no particular order.
Citi ThankYou Points Adding American Airlines As A Transfer Partner
We have to kick this off with the obvious choice, American Airlines finally joining the ThankYou points program. It is something that people have been begging to happen for a decade or more now. This is a big win for the ThankYou points program, but it is also a great deal for us.
This change opens up earning American Airlines miles in a multitude of ways via the Citi credit cards now. Whether that is via access to more welcome offers, or just a better earning structure that Citi ThankYou point earning cards offer. It is a big reason why we just product changed a Citi Double Cash to a Strata Premier. I wanted to have that Strata Premier 3x earning set up for American Airlines transfers, plus whatever else we need from Citi.
Even after a few devaluations American Airlines miles are still some of the better miles out there for US travelers. That is especially true when considering their partners and what bookings can be made there. That is why the addition of AAdvantage miles to the ThankYou points portfolio makes my top 5 list.
Bank of America Launches The Summit Visa Card
In a year of premium card launches and refreshes that mostly missed the mark, the Atmos Summit Visa stands above the rest. This card was designed with actual purpose and usefulness. It actually stayed true to the program it was trying to represent, a real novelty in 2025. No random credits for third party vendors here! It focuses everything it has on being a compliment to your Atmos Rewards account and their program. Hopefully more issuers take notes because Bank of American and Alaska Airlines knocked it out of the park here.
Bilt Rent Day Accor Transfer Bonus
A deal that was pretty epic for my family was the Bilt Rent Day Accor transfer bonus. The Accor program flies a bit under the radar for miles and points travelers. That is likely because the points are harder to come by than most, and they have a fixed rate value. That is where the Bilt transfer bonus made such a huge difference. With my Bilt Rewards status I was able to get 2 ALL Accor points for every 1 Bilt Rewards point. That is pure bananas compared to other transfer rates that are well below 1 to 1. I think it was the best transfer bonus ever in terms of guaranteed value. With the way the Accor program works we were guaranteed over 4 cents per Bilt point. Not hoping to get – GUARANTEED.
Throw in the fact that Accor gives you the family rate of 50% off a second room, and my family was able to do some real damage from a value perspective. We used the program to book two rooms while in London at a 4 star hotel. With the transfer bonus, plus the 50% off the second room, we were able to secure the rooms for only 6,500 Bilt points a night. I hope this offer comes around again in 2026 so I can drain my Bilt balance once again.
Rakuten Adds Bilt Points As A Redemption Option
We can stick with Bilt for the next best deal of 2025 too. This time around they brought Rakuten into the fold to offer some value to us. We now have the ability to redeem Rakuten cashback for Bilt points for 1 cent a piece. With most people valuing Bilt points at around 2 cents per point, you can see why this is a big deal. While the ability to redeem your Rakuten cashback for Amex Membership Rewards points for a long while now, this is better. Membership Rewards are fairly easy to amass, especially when compared to Bilt Rewards. While you need to have Bilt status in order to keep the 1 to 1 transfer ratio long term, it isn't too hard to get the lower tier status if this deal is important to you. That is even more true if the upcoming mortgage payments count towards status earning.
Amex Platinum Refresh
Of the non co-branded bank premium card launches / refreshes this year, I think the Amex Platinum did the best job of adding value. For the $200 increase per year we received the following credits:
- $400 Resy
- $300 Lululemon
- Increased digital entertainment credit
- $200 more per year in FHR credit
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to find $200 in value from that equation.
While the Amex Platinum was far from a long term keeper for me at the old $695 annual fee, it is a much tighter calculation now. That is true even at the higher $895 fee. I find the Resy credits super easy to use along with the $200 Amex airline incidental credit. That knocks $600 right off the top. Am I able to get over $300 in value from $300 at Lululemon, $100 at Saks, $300 in streaming credits and $600 at FHR hotels? Most likely. As you can see, I don't value the Oura credits or Walmart+ stuff, but you might.
On the other side of things the Business Platinum card got much worse in my opinion. They kind of flipped in terms of which one I was willing to pay for long term.
Top Miles & Points Deals From 2025: ToP Thoughts
While 2025 had its fair share of devaluations, I think it also had a lot of good. We just forget to look at the positive side of things at times. Hopefully that is exactly what my top miles & points deals from 2025 did. I am excited to hear from you what your favorite deals were for this year. I am sure JetBlue 25 for 25, or Japan Airlines becoming a transfer partner of programs for the first time, will be on many other people's lists. Share your top 5 over in the ToP Facebook Group.
