Our roundup of this week's top 5 travel deals

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As we close out 2025, this week's newsletter is all about last chances. I've rounded up the top travel deals and offers that won't make it past December 31st, which means you've got just a few days left to take advantage of them before they're gone for good.

So grab a cup of coffee and make sure you're not leaving any money on the table as we head into the new year. Here's your "last chance" checklist for 2025.

We've been celebrating our recent launch of ​Points Path for iPhones and iPads​ with a ​holiday sale on Points Path Pro​. But there are only a few days left to lock in the discount.

With ​Points Path Pro​, you'll get live points pricing for 16 airline programs instead of just the basic six. That includes popular frequent flyer programs like Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Avianca, Emirates, Etihad, Virgin Atlantic, and more.

You'll also unlock points price tracking alerts for up to 30 flights at a time, our points calendar that shows you the best prices 3 days before and after your search dates, Delta American Express 15% off points pricing in Points Path, access to our Lufthansa First Class dashboard, and much more.

Through December 31st, you can get ​20% off your first year of Points Path Pro​. That brings the annual subscription down from $79.99 to just $63.99, which works out to less than $5.50 a month. We only run one or two sales a year for our Pro tier, so make sure to grab this one while you can.

In case you missed it...

​Unlock more value from your credit cards with this powerful tool​

If you've been putting off signing up for one of our favorite online shopping portals, your window to claim the ​$50 new member bonus​ is closing fast.

​Rakuten​ is a free shopping portal that lets you stack extra rewards — on top of what you already earn with your credit card — when you make online purchases from over 3,500 retailers like Sephora, Nike, Macy's, and Expedia.

But here's where it gets especially interesting for travelers. Instead of cash back, you can choose to ​earn American Express Membership Rewards or Bilt points​ at Rakuten. That means if a retailer offers 10% cash back, you'll earn 10 points per dollar spent instead.

Even better, if you've never been a Rakuten member, right now you can ​earn a $50 new member bonus​ by joining and spending $50 in the first 90 days.

But this offer is only available through referral links, so ask your friends or family members for one, or ​feel free to use ours​ (and we greatly appreciate it if you do). And remember that this bonus offer is ending on December 31st, giving you just a few days left to claim it.

Amazon's current targeted discount offers for paying with credit card points are ending in the next few days, so if you're eligible, now's the time to take advantage.

Right now, Amazon is running several Pay with Points promotions that can save you serious money. However, not everyone is eligible for them. Fortunately, it's easy to check if you are by just clicking on these offer links.

• American Express: ​Get up to 50% off when paying with American Express Membership Rewards points​, up to an $80 maximum discount. Expires December 31st.
• American Express: ​Get up to 30% off when paying with Blue Cash Reward Dollars​, up to a $30 maximum discount.
• Discover: ​Get up to 40% off when paying with Discover cash back​, up to a $50 discount. Expires December 29th.
• Citi: ​Get up to 40% off when paying with Citi ThankYou points​, up to a $50 discount. Expires December 31st.

If you're eligible for one or more of these offers, make sure to activate and use them before they expire. And if you're not eligible for any of them, take a look at ​our guide to Amazon's Pay with Points program​ to learn how you can potentially become eligible for these types of discounts in the future.

19 genius travel finds you didn’t know existed!

With close to a thousand flights under our collective belts, we've experienced it all. But year after year, we’re still finding new items that make traveling significantly easier. The only thing better than discovering a perfect new travel hack is sharing your discovery with friends. So here are our top 19 items for your next trip that you never knew you needed. (But trust us... you do!)

Click here to see our entire list!

If you have a ​Chase Freedom or Chase Freedom Flex​ card, your chance to earn bonus cash back on PayPal purchases is running out at the end of 2025.

Each quarter, these Freedom cards earn 5% back on a set of categories that rotate, up to $1,500 in combined purchases. For the 4th quarter of 2025, the categories are department stores, Old Navy, and Chase Travel bookings, plus PayPal during the month of December.

The PayPal category is particularly valuable because you can use PayPal at so many places, from major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy to countless online stores. You can even use PayPal's QR code feature to pay at many physical stores.

Just remember that the window to activate these ​Chase Freedom​ bonus categories has already closed for this quarter, so you can only earn bonus rewards if you previously activated them. And if you've already maxed out your $1,500 spending cap on the other categories earlier in the quarter, your PayPal purchases will only earn the standard 1% rate.

Dozens of valuable credit card benefits reset at the end of each calendar year, and if you don't use them by December 31st, they vanish forever. But that means there are still a few days left to take advantage of them.

Premium travel cards like the American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Strata Elite all come with annual statement credits that expire at year end. These include credits for airline incidentals, hotel stays, rideshare trips, and even lifestyle purchases like streaming services and food delivery.

While you may not be able to use up all your unused credits in the next 48 to 72 hours, it's certainly possible to get at least some of them. And remember that when it comes to things like hotel credits, you can make a prepaid booking for 2026 and get the 2025 credit if the charge posts before December 31st.

Our friends at The Points Guy have put together a ​comprehensive guide of calendar-based credit card credits and perks​, so make sure to take a few minutes to run through the list to be sure you're not leaving any cash on the table.

Reduce your travel anxiety with TSA-approved stress balls

Stress balls are a fantastic fidget to keep your hands busy and calm nerves. But some of them are filled with gels and liquid, so it's important to buy a TSA-approved one for flying. The ​Serenilite stress balls​ won’t trip you up at security, and come in several densities for varying grip strength.

Get it at Amazon!

That brings us to the end of the final roundup of travel deals for 2025. But if you're planning an EV road trip in the new year, check out our ​new guide on how to find hotels and Airbnbs with EV charging​. Happy New Year and safe travels! ✈️

This story may contain links through which we are compensated when you click on or are approved for offers, and we may receive compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. Points Path and Your Best Credit Cards may receive a commission from card issuers. This compensation may impact how and where links appear in this story. This story does not necessarily include all financial companies or all available financial offers. The editorial content in this story is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. All prices are accurate as of December 28, 2025, at 1am ET.