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 logo with a red and black design

Break Up Letter from Comenity Virgin America Visa Credit Card

Posted on by . 1 Reply

Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  By the time you read this post, I will be on my way to Chicago for the Chicago Seminars travel conference.  I’m a little late to the party here, but Doctor of Credit was the first I saw to cover this story.  Virgin America is shutting down their credit card program and sent out the following letter to cardholders.  Long story short, if you do nothing, your Comenity Virgin America Premium Visa Credit Card or Comenity Virgin America Visa Credit Card will be closed on January 4, 2018 and all benefits of using the credit card will end on December 31, 2017.  Based on when you paid your annual fee, you will receive a prorated refund on the annual fee, based on the January 4, 2018, closing date.  Please check out page 2 and 3 of the letter for more information.

a close up of a document

Continue reading →

a hammock on a beach

Say Hi to Grant at the Chicago Seminars Travel Conference this Weekend (October 20-22)

Posted on by . 3 Replies

Good afternoon everyone.  This weekend, October 20-22, I will be at the world famous Chicago Seminars in beautiful Chicago Elk Grove, Illinois (near Chicago O’Hare International Airport).  I love going to travel conferences, especially the Chicago Seminars.  It is great to see so many familiar friends, both readers and bloggers alike.  I will be there from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening wearing my Travel with Grant shirt.  If you see me, please stop by and say hi.

Every year, I go to several travel conferences and wear my Travel with Grant shirt, so I am very easy to spot.  But I always get emails the Monday after the event saying something along the lines of, “I saw you at the travel conferences and wanted to say hi, but I was too shy.”  Please don’t do that, if you see me, or any other travel blogger that you recognize, please stop and say hi.  We are there to meet and talk to you.  You flew or drove all the way to the travel conferences, so you just have to go the last 5-10 feet and make an introduction.  Trust me, it is worth the initial awkwardness (everyone feels like that at their first travel conference).

While you are there, keep a lookout for this guy pictured below.  His name is Ray and he knows a thing or two about churning credit cards. I hope to see some of you this weekend.  Safe travels everyone.

a man and a man posing for a picture

Grant and Ray @ Chicago Seminars (October 2014)

a blue rectangular sign with white text

1,500 Membership Reward Points Posted Fast for $100 Grocery Store AMEX Offer

Posted on by . Leave a reply

Good evening everyone.  A few weeks ago, American Express released an AMEX Offer where you could earn 1,500 Membership Reward Points after you spent $100 at grocery stores before November 30.  This offer is really good, but unfortunately I only had this AMEX Offer on my American Express Everyday Credit Card.  The nice thing about this AMEX Offer is that you didn’t have to complete the spending requirement in 1 transaction, so you could make several grocery store purchases that added up to $100.  If this AMEX Offer did require a single grocery store purchase of $100, I would have just bought a $100 grocery store gift card to Safeway, Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.  Here are the complete terms and conditions of the AMEX Offer:

a screenshot of a email

Continue reading →

a blue text on a white background

1,500 FlexPoints or 2,500 Club Carlson Points for Setting Up Automatic Payments

Posted on by . Leave a reply

Good afternoon everyone.  Yesterday afternoon, I received 2 promotional emails from US Bank to receive FlexPoints and Club Carlson points for setting up an automatic payment and paying with a specific US Bank credit cards.  The promotional emails came from US Bank (1800USBanks@email.usbank.com) with the subject line “Act now and earn 1,500 FlexPoints” and “Act now and earn 2,500 bonus points.” Here is what the emails look like.  If you have other US Bank credit cards, you may have received a similar offer.  Please share your offers in the comments.

Continue reading →

a woman with blonde hair and a green shirt

Keep, Cancel or Convert? Chase Sapphire Reserve ($450 Annual Fee) & JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton ($450 Annual Fee)

Posted on by . 20 Replies

Good morning everyone, I have a dilemma on my hands.  The $450 annual fee is posting in the next 2 months on my JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card and I need to decide if I should keep both my Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card and JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card.  Both credit cards have $450 annual fees and I don’t *need* both credit cards, but what should I do?  As a reminder, I recently converted my Chase Freedom into a Chase Sapphire Reserve, but I have had my JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card for almost 3 years (I applied for this credit card when the sign up bonus was 140,000 Marriott Points).  I will walk through all the perks for both credit cards and see if I have a clear answer by the end of this post.

Contender 1: Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card

a black and silver credit card

Continue reading →