I like flying Delta domestically for a few reasons. First and foremost, the direct flight to Paris is key. If you’ve been stuck at customs in Chicago, Atlanta or JFK you know the pain I’m trying to avoid. If you’re flying to europe from the west coast you can effectively cut your travel time in half by flying direct. I recently learned that Seattle is closer to Paris than Denver due to the curvature of the earth… don’t believe me? (more…)
Gift cards might not get you Tahiti like miles and points will, but with V-day approaching I thought I’d share the best rewards cards for buying gift cards and using them to hack your way to getting a discount on everything you buy. No more hunting for the right shiny or good smelling bauble for your special someone before V-day hits. (I recently proudly bought a nice smelling citrus scent diffuser from France for my wife, which she promptly returned.) Gift cards and some flowers are my preferred V-day approach. Not only can you get killer deals on converting points and miles to gift cards, but here’s how you can buy gift cards and save money at the same time.
If you’re going to become a gift card buying rockstar, buy them where your rewards card gives you the most rewards. For example, several rewards cards will give you extra cash back for purchases made at grocery stores (up to 6%). With this in mind you can end up getting 6% cash back on nearly any purchase you make if you stock up on gift cards at the grocery store. Let’s see how this would work with some purchases you might make this week
Step 1: Make a list of what you’ll be buying in the next two weeks: (more…)
Do you remember the first time you got hit with baggage fees at the airport? I do, and it was like a kick in the back of the head. I showed up at the airport ready to hop on a flight for a much needed getaway with the cute wife to our old stomping grounds of San Francisco. Money was tight and I had been careful to find the absolute best deals on airfare, hotels and our rental cars, but when we checked in and they told me we had to pay $25 for each bag, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me after all my work. Judging by the perpetually crowded overhead bins that have persisted since that time, travelers have come to expect the baggage fees and maximizing carry on luggage has become an art form. I still much prefer to breeze through security and get on and off a plane without any luggage, and it turns out that airline credit cards are a good way to do so. Here are the cards that can get you around baggage fees: (more…)
Chase has really been upping their game this year by adding points partners left and right. They’ve added several partners to which you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards Pointswithout any fees. Speaking of fees, I have to say that most times I’ve ever seen points transfer promotions I cringe because the fees usually eat of the value of the points. I’ve seen these occasionally with Delta Skymiles. If you don’t know what the value of your points are, then paying 2 cents per point to transfer them to someone else doesn’t seem so bad, but if you do your homework you quickly realize that the 2 cents are worth more than the points in the first place. That’s part of the reason why I think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program is getting pretty darn good.
American Express was the pioneer of the rewards programs, and had the best program for a long time, but Chase is getting close to winning the title. Here are the programs you can transfer your points to:
Hotel Rewards Programs:
Hyatt Points
Priority Club Points
Marriott Rewards Points
Frequent Flyer Points
Southwest Rapid Rewards
United Mileage Plus Points
British Airways Avios Points
Continental OnePass
Korean Air Miles
Chase also has some serious promotions for earning more points:
The Chase online mall/portal has some serious point earning opportunities. For example Apple purchases can earn you 10 points per dollar. Use your card to buy a Macbook Pro, and you’d earn almost enough points for a free flight on that purchase alone!
Yesterday I mentioned how you can get 5000 Hilton Honors points by signing up for text messages and spending $100 at a Hilton Hotel, but today as I was doing some research I came across a few more promotions you should be aware of:
1) The ‘More Points’ Promotion: Just register your Hilton Honors account (you can sign up for a new account and still register) and get 1000 bonus honors points for each night, and an additional 5000 points for any weekend stay of two nights or more at any Hilton hotel between now and March 31. That means if you stay two weekend nights at a hotel at $100 per night, this promotion alone would earn you: 7200 Honors points.
2) The ‘Double Dipping’ Promotion: Between now and March 31, if you again, register for the promotion, Not only will you receive Hilton Honors points, but you will also receive airline miles on a frequent flyer program that you select.US Airways will even give you triple points, (American Airlines AAdvantage, Air Canada, and Delta Skymiles programs will give you double)
Finally a few reminders about a couple of other Hilton Honors promotions:
While I haven’t yet confirmed it, I’ve heard that you can actually combine these offers to get a whopping number of points all together! For a two nights stay that would mean:
-5000 Honors Points for signing up for text messages, and spending $100 at the Hotel (Dinner at the hotel restaurant perhaps?)
-7200 Points from the More Points promotion (with a conservative assumption of a $100 per night rate)
-600 US Airways Points
-50 Points for submitting a photo:
Total: 12,250 Hilton Honors Points + 600 US Airways Points Not too shabby
Here are few deals I hope you’ll enjoy and tell your friends about (including more free hilton honors points):
20% off any Virgin America flight: Good for purchases made before February 29th and for travel from now until February 29th and from April 15th – June 15th
1000 free hilton honors points for signing up for sms messages from the hilton honors program. (You can cancel the text messages if you choose to later) plus another 4000 hilton honors points when you spend $100 at a hilton hotel. Depending on how you use your hilton honors points that’s like getting $50 – $100 worth of points back by spending $100.
Amex statement credit for shopping in the Big Apple: Register your card and get $50 back when you spend $200 at at least two participating merchants. Anthropologie, Bloomingdale’s, and Costco are some of the names you’ll recognize.
Whip out your Chase Freedom Card and get an additional 5% off any of your Amazon.com purchases. Did you know you can sign up to be an affiliate for Amazon and run your purchases through your own links and get another 4-10% off! Combined that’s 9-15% off anything you buy at Amazon!!
I wanted to share this short documentary that I found interesting. It gives you a good view into the world of travel hacking and racking up miles and points to earn whatever your personal ultimate rewards might be: A free flight to asia, comfy upgrades to first-class, and the freedom to travel in style when you might not otherwise be able to afford it. Keep in mind this video focuses on extreme tactics (i.e. mile runs). It’s interesting to see how the die-hards do it, but don’t think you have to go after 30 million miles like these guys. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get a rush of adrenaline the first time you get on a flight and realize you didn’t have to pay for it. There’s nothing better than feeling like you found the secret back door to affordable and even free travel!
I still remember the first time I was upgraded to first class on an international flight. (more…)
One of the biggest searches on the web is “Best Credit Card”. People don’t just want any credit card, they want the best one. My aim with this blog (and a big part of the CreditSense site is to remove the mystery and get right to which are the best cards and signup offers). To inform your choice, here’s a slick diagram to show you know what people care about when choosing their card:
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It’s “Green Monday”, a term from eBay circa 2007 and used to describe the Monday that falls around the second week of December and has typically been one of the heaviest spending days of the year online. It’s the time when the moderate procrastinators are really starting to feel the pressure of the quickly approaching holiday deadlines, but the professional procrastinators are still holding out and saying things like, “I really should get my shopping done.”
In a down economy online spending has gained even more favor among US consumers. For the week of December 9, consumer’s online spending was up 15 percent from the same period last year according to comScore an internet activity tracking firm. They added that the previous 30 days were also up 15 percent, reaching online sales of $24.6 billion. Every measurable metric and calendar milestone, “Black Friday”, “Cyber Monday”, have all seen record highs as well, with Black Friday e-commerce sales jumping 26 percent. So with no foreseeable slowdown in online sales, here are four helpful tips to stretch your ‘green’ this year.
Take advantage of free shipping offers whenever possible. This year December 16th is the day when thousands of merchants offer free shipping because it is one of the last days that will allow for ground shipping to reach their customers before December 24. By taking advantage of these free shipping offers you can save 100′s of dollars and maybe even have enough to buy yourself that extra gift you’ve been wanting like a spa package to decompress after the holidays.
Use low interest cards like the Citi Platinum Select that offers 0 percent interest on purchases and balance transfers for 21 months, or cards that offer cash back rewards like the Chase Freedom Visa. This Chase card offers a $200 cash back bonus plus 5 percent cash back on all gas purchases as well as purchases in many other spending categories. It just makes CreditSense to put as much money back in your pocket as you can.
Use the “in store pickup” option whenever it is practical. You won’t have to fight the crowds, you just walk in and pick up your items and leave. You can save valuable time and money this way.
Buy from direct distributors, not retailers, whenever possible. Buying from companies like ltdcommodities.com can save you 30% to 70% over retail markup because they are the wholesale distributor and you won’t have to buy in bulk.
I don’t personally know of a single American who doesn’t like the idea of getting a little cash back, but If cash back isn’t your hot button and you like to travel, then here’s a freebie tip for you this year. Get your mittens on a rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. This is a card that gets you 50 thousand (50,000) unlimited reward points. 50,000 points can go a long way toward the next getaway you’re planning.
There are 12 days to Christmas. Shop wisely and use your CreditSense so you can have peace of mind this Holiday season.
Buying a Gift Card for Someone? Here’s What You Need to Know:
Christmas is in two weeks so you are probably starting to think about Christmas shopping. Just kidding, you got it all done before Thanksgiving. In any case, if you are like the millions of other Americans this year, you likely purchased or are about to purchase a gift card of some type. In 2012 it is expected that over 100 Billion will be spent on gift cards annually.
Retailers love gift cards, because it is cash today for goods or services they get to deliver tomorrow. Actually, retailers love it even more because billions of dollars go unspent on gift cards every year. In fact companies have sprouted up all over the place just to buy your old gift cards, because by law, gift cards cannot expire. That means you might be able to use the 86 cents on your Chilies’ gift card you got for your birthday 5 years ago.
Retailers and gift card issuers have many ways around this law and many other tricks that you should be aware of as you endeavor to find just the right gift card from Amazon for that special someone.
Unlike credit cards, gift cards do not have all of the standard required disclosures. The Credit CARD act of 2009 does require gift cards to add more disclosures, such as service charges and dormancy charges, but The Act does not require these disclosures to be in a normalized format. Therefore if you want to know anything about your gift cards you need to read the fine print and ask the hard questions.
Following are some issues you need to consider about your gift card:
1. Your Gift Card Can Expire
Most gift cards have an expiration date. But the funds on the card will not expire. The Credit Card Act of 2009 requires that retailers issuing gift cards honor them indefinitely. But it is no coincidence that Billions of dollars a year go unused. Usually, a retailer will have a 1-800 number for customers to call in order to be reissued a gift card after expiration. A replacement card will generally be sent at no additional charge. (Have you ever heard of anyone doing this?).
2. There are Additional Fees
You bought a $50 gift card but your nephew was unable to purchase the latest video game for $49.95. Obviously the gift card does not pay the sales tax—that would be too cool. But on top of that, many gift cards charge service fees. Sometimes these fees are characterized as convenience fees or dormancy fees. Dormancy fees generally kick in if the card has not been used for 2 years. Some retailers will deduct $2 dollars a month after the card has not been used for 2 years until the balance hits $0.
3. You Can Add Funds to the Card
This is kind of a no brainer. Retailers love gift cards for the above mentioned reasons. Naturally they are going to allow you to add funds. There are statistics well known to retailers indicating that for every dollar placed on a gift card a certain percent will go unspent. Therefore the more money put on gift cards the better. Often retailers will only allow you to put more money on a card if you come into the store, but this tactic is fast becoming obsolete as more shoping is done exclusively online.
4. You Might Be Able to Replace Your Card if Lost or Stolen
Retailers are not good at giving away money. Most of them require you to register the gift card online or in some cases via mail or in the store. It should come as no surprise that retailers want to ensure that they do not replace a card and thus allow someone to use it twice. Therefore, retailers generally require that you register the card or provide some proof of purchase. In most cases a receipt will do. Save those receipts.
5. You Can Know Your Balance
My method is to write it directly on the card or on a small post it note I tape to the card. But there are other methods. Today you can usually find it online. Most gift cards today are in the form of a credit card, so the id number is unique to that card. Also, it will always be available in the store from a cashier. Lastly, it should be readily available on a 1-800 which should be on the card as well.
6. There are Additional Perks to Using a Gift Card
As mentioned above, retailers love gift cards because of the amounts that go unused. Retailers, therefore, often game this by offering additional perks to customers for purchasing gift cards. These perks include free shipping, additional discounts, or limited editions. This is all because retailers know that portions of the money will never be spent. Use this to your advantage. Be a savvy consumer, and always check creditsense.com for the good offers.
I've traveled the world, hitchhiked across Europe, and biked faraway coasts for weeks at a time. I'm here as a blogger with CreditSense to share my adventures and show you how you can take advantage of credit card offers, hotel points and frequent flyer miles to travel for free.
4 Buying tips to Make Your Green Go Farther
Buying a Gift Card for Someone? Here’s What You Need to Know:
I've traveled the world, hitchhiked across Europe, and biked faraway coasts for weeks at a time. I'm here as a blogger with CreditSense to share my adventures and show you how you can take advantage of credit card offers, hotel points and frequent flyer miles to travel for free.