The Top Stories of 2026
Let’s get right into the highlights of what we covered so far this year, starting off with:
1️⃣ Bilt Card 2.0
Bilt kicked off the year with MAJOR news and a complete revamp of how to earn Bilt Points while paying rent and newly added mortgages.
6 months later, after all the dust has settled - the value of Bilt has become clearer and the numbers speak for themselves.
The Bilt Palladium is one of the strongest catch all cards on the market, effectively earning 3.33X points on everyday expenses when including the points unlocked on rent and mortgage.
In fact, all Bilt cards can get a 1.33X boost on up to 75% of non-housing spend when opting for Bilt Cash rewards structure.
Bilt Points also remain objectively the best transferrable points currency because of their many transfer partners, Rent Day transfer bonuses, and flexibility when redeeming.
A full 6-month review is coming to the YouTube channel soon...
But you can check out this video to see Daniel's initial review which goes over how the Bilt math works.
2️⃣ Year of Devaluations™
If 2025 was the "Year of The Premium Credit Card", 2026 was followed up with some pretty nasty devaluations.
We might need to apply for that "Year of Devaluations" trademark and start selling some t-shirts to cover the losses!
Every year has devaluations, but this year has just felt different and much worse.
Hyatt was the most significant devaluation with a new 5-tier award chart (3-tiers before) and award nights as high as 75,000 points (previously only as high as 45,000 points per night).
Luckily, a fixed award chart still remains and the initial devaluation back in May was mostly mild.
Emirates, Air Canada, and Cathay Pacific are a few of the other programs to recently increase points pricing as well.
3️⃣ Credit Card Changes
Several cards disappeared and some cards even got upgraded.
The Citi Custom Cash, US Bank Shopper Cash Card, and Wells Fargo Attune are no longer open to new applicants.
But one card in particular had a HUGE refresh…
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card got new credits, points multipliers, and additional benefits including:
3x points on vacation homes added
3x points on gas & EV charging added
$50 Chase Travel Hotel Credit increased to $100
$120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit added
Complimentary Apple TV subscription for 1 year (terms apply)
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation coverage added
AND the card is keeping the same $95 annual fee!
The catch?
Hyatt transfers were devalued to a 4:3 transfer ratio on the Sapphire Preferred.
But every other transfer partner on this card remained at a 1:1 transfer ratio, so the changes here were mostly positive (unless you're a Hyatt fan of course).
4️⃣ The Overall Theme
Devaluations happen. New cards come and go. Systems evolve.
The credit card game is constantly changing and strategies are always adapting.
It’s fitting that today is our 150th newsletter send! 🎉
Thank you for trusting us to share breaking news in that precious inbox real estate of yours twice per week.
Each article has our own unique perspective and spin on what’s happening.
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