Author Archives: Grant

About Grant

Grant is an expert in frequent flyer miles, hotel loyalty points, credit card rewards, and cash back deals. He also has a pretty cool travel blog. Find him on Twitter @travelwithgrant.

a blue and red credit card

When Does the AMEX Hilton Aspire Free Weekend Night Certificate Post to Your Account?

Posted on by . 17 Replies

Good morning everyone.  A few months ago, I was approved for the American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card (referral link).  As part of sign up bonus, you get 100,000 Hilton Honors Points after spending $4,000 in 3 months, you get Hilton Diamond Elite Status as long as you have the credit card, $250 airline fee credit every calendar year, and a Free Weekend Night Certificate every cardmember anniversary (good for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night stay at qualifying Hilton properties).

A few days ago, I received the following email from Hilton with the subject line of “Your Rewards has arrived!” with details of my Free Weekend Night Certificate.  In today’s post, I will share how long it takes to get the Free Weekend Night Certificate and where you can see the code.

a screenshot of a computer

Continue reading →

a blue and red credit card

Does the $450 Annual Fee Count Toward AMEX Hilton Aspire Minimum Spend? Maybe Yes

Posted on by . 3 Replies

Good morning everyone.  On May 15, I received my 100,000 Hilton Honors Points from my new American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card (referral link).  This credit card requires $4,000 in minimum spending within 3 months to get the 100,000 Hilton Honors Points.  The strange thing is, I think I got the 100,000 Hilton Honors Points before I completed the full $4,000 in minimum spend.  I believe I was a few hundred dollars short by May 15, but it looks like the $450 annual fee counted toward the $4,000 minimum spend.  My friend recently got his 100,000 Hilton Honors Points and noticed the same thing.  Let me see if I can dig a little deeper and see what is going on.

a screenshot of a travel program

Continue reading →

a woman with blonde hair and a green shirt

PSA: Most US Bank “Travel Cards” Charge FOREX Fees

Posted on by . 5 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Father’s Day Weekend. As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m getting ready for my Greece and Malta vacation. As part of my packing process, I call my banks and credit card companies, tell them I’m traveling internationally, and ask them to put travel notifications on my cards. During my recent call to Discover, I “discovered” 3 surprising facts about using Discover credit and debit cards internationally. In today’s post, I discovered some disappointing information about using US Bank credit cards internationally.

Continue reading →

a blue sign with white text

Are you Missing American Express AMEX Offers? Try this Trick

Posted on by . 2 Replies

Good morning everyone, happy Saturday.  In today’s post, I will show you what to do when AMEX Offers are hiding/missing from your online account.  I’m not sure if this in intentional or accidental, or if American Express is beta testing something, but when I logged into my American Express online account Friday morning, the AMEX Offers section was totally missing.  This only happened when I logged into my business American Express online account.  However, when I logged into my personal American Express online account (shown in the second picture), the AMEX Offers section showed up in the correct spot.  Luckily, there is a very simple solution to see your AMEX Offers.

a screenshot of a computer screen

Continue reading →

a blue credit card with white text and a white and orange circle

3 Surprising Facts About Using Discover Credit & Debit Cards Internationally

Posted on by . 18 Replies

Good morning everyone. I am heading to Greece and Malta for vacation and called my credit card companies and banks to add travel notifications to my accounts. I know most credit card companies and banks do not require you to alert them when you are travelling internationally, but I like the peace of mind of speaking to a person and making sure the travel notification are added to my accounts. When I travel internationally, I like to bring several credit and debit cards from various banks, just in case if some of the cards get lost, stolen, or declined. This means I end up making several calls, but it’s worth it to me.

a group of credit cards

Image source: http://westprincechamber.com/we-now-accept-credit-and-debit-cards/

Continue reading →