Author Archives: Caroline Lupini

About Caroline Lupini

Caroline absolutely loves to travel. She's been to 70 countries so far and is on a quest to visit them all! Frequent flyer miles help her get there. Find her at carolinelupini.com, on Twitter @carolinelupini, and on Instagram @caroline.lupini.

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Why I Love My Chase Sapphire Reserve

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If you’ve been in the market for a new credit card, chances are you’ve stumbled across some information about the famed Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR). In fact, this credit card has lately been catching a little more attention than usual due to a few changes in its benefit structure, but we’ll get to that a little later. 

I manage a collection of 30+ credit cards and they’re all beneficial to me in some way (otherwise there’s no point in keeping them) but I never leave home without my trusty CSR in tow. I’ve always liked the overall Chase awards structure, but that combined with the CSR earning potential and slew of benefits really bumps this card up to the next level. Here are some of the reasons why I love my Chase Sapphire Reserve.

The Earning Potential

The CSR functions as a basic 3X card for the categories that CSR is built for: travel and dining. Every other purchase will earn 1X points. Are there other credit cards that are better suited for earning points? Definitely. However, my largest purchases generally fall into the travel and dining categories anyway, and Chase is pretty lenient with their definitions of “travel” and “dining” purchases. 

For example, travel purchases include anything that could possibly fall under the umbrella of travel. This includes several different modes of transportation and accommodations including hotels, hostels, homestays, and Airbnbs.  Continue reading →

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5 Things You Should Know Before Getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve

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The media has been abuzz since the Chase Sapphire Reserve was first announced in 2016, and with the recent annual fee increase, many people are wondering if this card is still the premium card it once was. If you haven’t yet taken the plunge, there are a few things that you might want to know before applying. Here’s a complete rundown of one of my favorite credit cards: the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Yes, there’s an annual fee, but…

…it comes with a ton of perks, which I’ll talk about in detail later. In fact, the Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee has been the talk of the town over the past few weeks because Chase just upped the annual fee from $450 to $550. Honestly, this change hasn’t been as catastrophic as some folks projected it to be; the extra hundred bucks is peanuts compared to the benefits and entitlements that Chase already had. Chase has added partner benefits to offset the bump, and they’ll be more useful for some people than others. Either way, if you take advantage of your card benefits, you’ll easily end up saving more than $550 per year.
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EverlyWell: At Home Blood Tests & Why I Love Their Food Sensitivity Test for Travel

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You may have been putting off getting common blood work done, or maybe you just can’t prioritize a trip to the lab when you’re experiencing a lapse in insurance. Or, it could be that you haven’t had time to consider your own health over your busy agenda. Whatever the reason, EverlyWell can help get you back on track to prioritizing your health and wellness and even give you some extra information that will come in handy when you’re traveling.

Based in Austin, TX, EverlyWell is a health and wellness company that aims to provide a variety of accessible at-home health tests. Whether you are curious about your food sensitivity or you want to check your vitamin levels, EverlyWell is an inexpensive and verified alternative to expensive lab tests. EverlyWell provides over 30 at-home tests to help you monitor your own wellbeing, on your own time, from the comfort of your own home.

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Robinhood Relaunches Savings Account with 2.05% APY

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If you haven’t heard of Robinhood, now is an excellent time to join the team. Starting this week, the commission-free investment company has grown from its roots in portfolio development and day trading to becoming a solid cash management option. As of October 8th, you can open your own brokerage checking/savings account with Robinhood and start earning over 2% APY.

This may not be the first you’ve heard of this as last year, the company announced their intentions to unveil the Robinhood Cash Management product with a 3% APY; a notably competitive rate for the industry. As it stands, the actual introductory APY sits at 2.05% which isn’t bad, but it isn’t 3%. As with any percentage yield, though, it varies with the market and the market has dropped since the initial announcement. Currently, Robinhood is accepting additions to the waitlist for the product, and once you elect to participate in Robinhood Cash Management, all previously uninvested funds will be swept into participating program banks that will pay the 2.05% APY.

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Earn $5 When You Sign Up for Acorns

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If you’ve just started paying more attention to your financial health and wellness, you may have heard about some easy ways to start micro-investing. However, it can be difficult to begin when you’ve never had an investment profile before, especially if you don’t have enough capital for a solid play-portfolio.

There are quite a few personal finance apps out there to help consumers get started on day trading and micro-investing, but it’s up to you to figure out which ones are relevant to you. If you are just beginning but want to learn more about micro-investing, I definitely recommend signing up for Acorns.

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