Hiya friends, and happy weekend, everyone!

This Weekend Round-Up comes to you from the mountains of Colorado, where fall is definitely in the air, and this girl couldn’t be happier about it.

I’m itching to get outside and enjoy the cooler weather, but first, let’s quickly run through the travel news from the week!

✈️ Have it your way and choose how you earn points and status with Atmos Airlines.

💳 Save on flights AND hotels with this card that automatically earns you elite status.

🥶 Copy Mike’s itinerary for your own trip to the Arctic Circle on points!

🥞 Stack these Hilton offers to earn a LOT more points on your next hotel stay this fall.

🏨 Staying at a Hyatt soon? Earn 3,000 bonus points on 3-night stays with this promo.

🛍️ Shop and earn 2,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points through October 12th.

🧳 Save on checked luggage fees and fit more in your carry-on with this travel gear.

🏆 Our Favorite Pick: Credits I almost forgot to use

We just wrapped up the first full week of a new month (and new quarter), and Mike so helpfully reminded us to go check all those Q4 card credits.

While I don’t personally have a fancy card with quarterly credits, I do have a few with annual or semi-annual credits. 

I thought I was sitting pretty and all caught up on using them, until I did my due diligence and double-checked. And I realized oops… I still have a couple to use! So shoutout to Mike for the reminder! 🙈

So here’s how I’m going to wrap up the last quarter of 2026 and make sure I’m getting every drop of value out of my cards.

A Couple’s Getaway

My husband opened a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earlier this year because he had a big tuition payment coming up, and we figured, why not earn a welcome offer out of it?

He opened the card, we paid the tuition, immediately paid it off, and pocketed the miles, which I’ve already allotted for upcoming trips.

What I didn’t do was use the $300 travel credit that comes with it. 🤦‍♀️

But he finally finished that doctorate he’s been working so hard on, so it’s time to celebrate and put that credit to good use.

There’s a really nice resort in Colorado Springs that is frankly out of my tax bracket on most days. Buuuut, for the right dates, I can find a good deal in the Capital One travel portal and get a night there that is almost completely covered by the $300 travel credit.

And because it’s a Premier Collection property, it includes free breakfast (in their gorgeous dining room overlooking the Garden of the Gods) and a $100 experience credit that I’ll use for a nice dinner on property or a trip to their spa.

Since I can’t use points/miles here, the Capital One travel credit is coming in clutch and saving me money on a stay I’ve had my eye on for a while.

So if I can convince the grandparents to babysit, that’s a really nice celebratory getaway for just $13. 🙌

A Michelin-recommended tasting menu

I also have this premium card that comes with a $150 semi-annual dining credit at select restaurants, and there happens to be one not far from the Garden of the Gods resort.

Four by Brother Luck has a Michelin recommendation and offers some bomb-looking tasting menus priced at $80 a person. So my $150 credit can go a long way to covering a delicious date night for two, perfect for a celebration without breaking the bank.

And I can save that Garden of the Gods experience credit for the spa. 🧖‍♀️

Save on travel, both foreign and domestic

Obviously, our travel cards help us get to cool far-off places like Europe, Asia, or even the Arctic Circle. But the right cards can be just as useful at home… which is great, because we can’t always drop everything and fly across the world — even if we want to.

These same two cards have helped me fly business class to Europe this year and use airport lounges in New York, Denver, and Costa Rica. Some of their credits paid for train travel across Switzerland, hotels along the way, and a nice dinner out during an overnight layover in NYC.

Now I’m using those last few credits for a nice little stateside getaway.

The best cards are the ones you get lots of value from, and for me, that means everyday earning with points, miles, and credits that help me save on smaller getaways, not just the big trips.

👀 This Week’s Drops

🌍 Week in Review

• Monday: ✨ How to earn instant airline elite status

• Tuesday: 🥞 Three awesome stackable offers

• Wednesday: 🤔 Choose how you earn points (and status)

• Thursday: 🥶 How to fly around the Arctic with points

• Friday: 🏯 Fly to Asia for 20,000 points

Alright, this gal is going to put her computer down and go spend as much time outdoors as possible!

Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll catch y’all next time! 👋

29.7499° N , 95.3584° W

With contributions by Mike Dodge and Sam Anthony.