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.

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Retention Offers for Bank of America Alaska Airlines and US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Cards

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your Labor Day Weekend is going well.  I have 2 data points to share regarding retention offers on my Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card and US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card.  When you pay the $75 annual fee on the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card every year, you get a $99 Alaska Airlines companion pass that is good for a future Alaska Airlines flight.  My annual fee posted in early August and I already received the $99 Alaska Airlines companion pass, but I wanted to see if I could get the $75 annual fee waived too.  After a long talk with the Bank of America retention department, I was only able to get a 2,500 Alaska Airlines miles retention offer – no annual fee waiver or statement credit.  The 2,500 Alaska Airlines miles posted a few weeks after my call and I just called Bank of America to close the credit card, so I wouldn’t have to pay the $75 annual fee.  The agent didn’t want me to close the credit card, so she convinced me to convert it to a no annual fee Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card instead.

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Want to go on a Roadtrip? TransferCar has Several 1 Way Car & RV Rentals Available

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your long Labor Day Weekend is going well.  Last year, my brother and I drove an RV from Los Angeles to Denver, stopping at several national and state parks along the way.  We used a service called TransferCar (based in Australia / New Zealand) that coordinates 1 way car and RV rentals.  It is a relocation service, whereby the car and RV rental companies would rather have individuals (like you and me), drive the cars and RVs for $1-$5 per day, instead of paying hundreds of dollars to transport the cars and RVs back to their primary location.  I documented the entire trip process here, if you want to learn more:

Anyway, it’s been a while since I was on TransferCar’s website, but they have a ton of car and RV rentals available.  Most rentals are $1-$5 per day and some even include gas credit and a travel allowance.

TransferCar US Inventory 9-3-2016

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Forget Chase Sapphire Reserve! Apply for US Bank FlexPerks & Ameriprise AMEX Platinum before September 1

Good morning everyone.  I think the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card hype is dying down a bit.  Unfortunately, I am way over 5/24 and I have no pre-qualified offers, so it looks like I won’t be getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card anytime soon.  I’m a glass half full kind of guy, so I am always looking for the next best thing.  There are 2 other cards that I am applying for now.

The first is the US Bank FlexPerks Business Edge Visa Credit Card.  Thanks to the awesome performance by Team USA, the current sign up bonus is 34,800 FlexPoints after spending $2,000 in 4 months.  The sign up bonus is great and the minimum spend amount is quite easy.  The sign up bonus is the same for the personal version of the credit card – US Bank FlexPerks Visa Signature Credit Card.  I already have that credit card (along with the US Bank FlexPerks American Express Credit Card), so the business version is the only one I am going after.

US Bank Olympics Promo Landing Page

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Ebates Triple Cash Back Week Live Now (Augst 23-29)

Good evening everyone.  I know today was full of Chase Sapphire Reserve chatter, but there is another deal worth mentioning this week.  Ebates is now offering triple cash back (at least 3 times the standard cash back rate) for several merchants.  If you are new to Ebates, you can sign up for a free account (link) and get a $10 bonus after you make your first purchase of $25 or more.  Also worth mentioning, there are currently 26 merchants offering in-store cash back (add a Visa or American Express credit card to your Ebates account, link merchants to the credit card, and earn cash back for in-store purchases).  Depending on your shopping patterns, some of these cash back deals can be very enticing.

Triple 1

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