delta

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6 ways I’d personally use 100,000 Chase points

by Harlan 4 Comments

use 100000 chase points

I’m bananas over the new offer to earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. (Here’s my recent post on this incredible offer with even more ways to redeem Chase points.)

Which got me thinking – how would I use 100,000 Chase points?

use 100000 chase points

I mean, I could always go back to Mexico

I love thought experiments like these. So while you might use them differently – there are so many ways and everyone has a different travel style – here’s what I’d get up to at this moment in time. We like the points!

How I’d use 100,000 Chase points

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5 Easy Ways to Earn Points for Airbnb Stays (Updated 2020)

by Harlan 5 Comments

save on airbnb

My friend Meghan asked if I knew of any ways to save on an Airbnb booking. I gave the obvious one – get up to $35 off a booking with a new account.

save on airbnb

New to Airbnb? Save $20 off your first $200+ stay, plus get $15 off your first $50+ experience booking

Most everyone has an Airbnb account by now. But if you don’t, here’s my link if you’d like to sign up (and I’ll get a $10 travel credit as well).

That’s honestly the biggest savings. Still, there are other ways to get a return on your Airbnb stay: earn points or miles for it. Depending how you like to redeem them, you can get big value by stacking a few of the methods I’ll tell you about.

Lezz begin, shall ve?

5 ways to earn points and miles for Airbnb stays

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9 Easiest Signup Bonuses to Earn (7 Under $500, 2 With a Single Purchase!)

by Harlan 2 Comments

a man in a suit with his hand up

This one’s for peeps who think they can’t earn signup bonuses because the minimum spending requirements are too dang high.

When you think about, spending $3,000 (the usual spending requirement) is, of course, $1,000 per month for 3 months – or $250 per week. These cards tend to have the highest bonuses.

The problem with bank marketing is they throw out huge numbers and scare people off. But when you break it down, it appears way more manageable.

In any regard, there are plenty of cards with much lower minimum spending requirements. And some of them are genuine keepers!

cards with low spending requirements

Or rather, they look high – but most of them aren’t that bad once you break it down

Let’s look at 10 of the easiest signup bonuses you can earn.

10 cards with low spending requirements

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9 Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards – All With a 2% or Better Return

by Harlan 1 Comment

a man sitting at a table holding a credit card

Everyone should have at least 1 credit card without an annual fee. When a card is free to keep forever, you never have to second-guess it. And the card works its powers on your credit report to increase available limits, decrease utilization, and help boost the average age of all your accounts.

My oldest credit card is from 2002 and has no annual fee. No matter how many new cards I open, I’ll always have a 16-year-old card to raise the average age of my accounts higher and therefore, my credit score.

When a card has a fee, it’s harder to justify keeping it – unless you get outsized value.

But having a card without an annual fee doesn’t mean you have to give up solid returns. All of the cards on this list can get you 2% back or better.

a man sitting at a table holding a credit card

Chase Freedom is one of the best no annual fee cards – up to 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per year from 5X earning! I’ll share my top faves

Here’s my list.

9 best no annual fee credit cards

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Last Summer, Bumped off Delta Flight. This Fall, Free Business Class Flights to Mexico City

by Harlan 6 Comments

a man taking a selfie with mountains in the background

This time last year, I was hiking through the mountains of Glacier National Park in Montana. I wrote about how I booked the trip and the one and only time I’ve ever had to use rental car insurance to file a claim.

I also got to stay at Granite Park Chalet with my dear friend Angie for 3 nights of mountain views, good company, and sneaky shots of whiskey before bed. 😵

delta bump

Glacier National Park is one of my favorite places on earth

On the way home, I got bumped off my original departing flight. And ended up leaving 30 minutes later, getting home an hour earlier, and now – scoring a free flight to Mexico City with my $500 Delta voucher for taking the bump.

All in all, I came out ahead on this one!

Turning a Delta bump into more free flights

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3 Excellent Amex Small Business Card Welcome Offers – Which Is Best for You?

by Harlan 4 Comments

a man in a suit and tie

Update: The Starwood small business Amex 35,000 point offer expired as of 3/28/18. It is NO LONGER available. 

Amex is bringing it with their small business cards. There are notable welcome offer increases on a few of them right now.

And they are definitely NOT created equal.

amex business card offers

#spgamex is gonna go the way of the #dodo

Here’s what to consider about each one.

Big welcome offers on Amex small business cards

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Booking Glacier: I Used Points for Free Flights and Hotel Nights – and Still Paid $1,000

by Harlan 17 Comments

a man taking a selfie in front of a mountain

Later this week, I’m heading to Kalispell, Montana, to hike in Glacier National Park with my friend Angie. I can’t wait – it’s been 10 years since I’ve been in Montana!

glacier national park

Me in Montana – 2007

Though I’m excited, I found it admittedly difficult to cobble this trip together with points and miles – rural places are not kind to our hobby. So I paid about $1,000 out-of-pocket because I really wanted to go.

Here’s how I minimized costs as much as possible.

Flights to Glacier National Park with US Bank Altitude Reserve points

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Pro Tip: Purchase In-Flight Wifi Before You Fly

by Harlan 3 Comments

a screenshot of a price list

Just a little reminder and tip.

I rarely pay for in-flight wifi. It’s kinda nice to be uncontactable for a little while. Most domestic flights are ~5 hours max anyhow, and usually shorter.

But I found myself needing to get some work done on a plane this week and made the decision to rely on American’s in-flight wifi from Gogo.

(Typing on a computer in a cramped economy seat is another issue altogether. And I highly recommend one of these for seatmates who can’t stop staring at your screen.)

Yes, I like saving big on in-flight wifi

Yes, I like saving big

The all-day pass I bought 5 minutes before boarding my American Airlines flight was $16. But on the plane, they wanted $24. So I saved a tidy $8, a  ~33% discount, just for paying in advance.

Note that prices can vary based on the flight. But in general, if you need or want it, it’s better to purchase an all-day pass ahead of time.

And WHERE you buy the pass makes a difference for American or Delta all-day passes. 

Why buy an in-flight wifi pass

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Booking Hawaii: Part 2 – Using Citi ThankYou Points for Award Flights on Delta and United

by Harlan 5 Comments

palm trees on a beach

Also see: 

When last we parted, all was happy and good. Flights for 4 people were booked to Honolulu. Then life, as it does, got in the way.

Jay went back to New York for a too-good-to-pass-up film job. That’s right – I am now in Dallas alone. *cue torrential tears*

That was a whole other wrenching experience, but it also had consequences for this planned trip.

“So no Hawaii trip?” “I can’t.” Crap.

No Honolulu for you?

No Honolulu for you?

I called Connexions Loyalty (the travel agency Citi uses to book flights with ThankYou points) to ask if I could transfer the ticket to my little brother. I knew it would be a long shot, but worth trying.

The best they could do was cancel the ticket and give Jay the credit – no transferring, no name-changing. Oh, and there would be a $200 fee to redeem the credit. That stung, but at least part of the ticket will be put toward eventual travel.

By the time this all shook out, I accumulated more Citi ThankYou points. And continue to earn 30,000 to 40,000 ThankYou points per month.

Then I thought, why not take my little brother anyway?

How to add another person to the trip?

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Delta Beats American If You Credit Premium Flights to Alaska Mileage Plan

by Harlan 6 Comments

a blue sky with clouds

Or, “Why I’m Flying Delta Again”

In my quest to credit partner flights to earn elite status on Alaska Airlines, I’ve been focused on flying coach with American. That’s because ALL AA economy flights get 100% credit with Mileage Plan.

Welcome indeed

Welcome indeed

If economy is your preference, American is by far better than Delta – if your end goal is to earn status or redeemable miles with Alaska.

But, if you fly Business or First, Delta wins hands-down. And, it might even be worth it to fly Delta anyway.

Let’s take a look.

Why Delta as a means to Alaska Airlines status?

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16 Points & Miles Predictions for 2016

by Harlan 3 Comments

a group of people sitting on a couch

Happy New Year! I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon with the predictions. So here’s my effort.

"Everyone else is doing it, so why can't we?"

“Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?”

2015 was a crazy year

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

Out and Out’s Points and Miles Predictions for 2016

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Get FREE Airline Lounge Memberships Through Business Programs

by Harlan 13 Comments

Also see: 

I love going to the Admirals Clubs. And I also love not paying for them.

I’ve written about this before. But now my membership has expired, and I’m about to redeem for another free year of Admirals Club membership.

I don’t have the Citi AAdvantage Executive card or the Citi Prestige card. They’re fine in their own right, and I’ve had my eye on the Citi Prestige for a sec, but I won’t need it for its lounge perk.

a large domed ceiling with a circular light

The Admirals Club @ CLT can be a nice place to hang and get some work done

I’ve been doing this since the Amex Platinum Card nixed the benefit at AA Admirals Clubs a couple of years ago.

If you book travel for other people (who don’t care about the points), you can easily build up enough to get a free membership yourself.

All the award opportunities

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