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.

OC Travel Hackers Meetup on Saturday August 20 from 12-2pm @ Tustin District In-N-Out

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Grant. 2 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well. I apologize for the short notice, but I will be in Orange County this weekend and I wanted to organize an OC Travel Hackers Meetup on Saturday afternoon at the Tustin District In-N-Out. I’m looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces and meeting some new travel hackers in Orange County.

Where: In-N-Out Burger, 2895 Park Ave, Tustin, CA 92782 (Google Maps)
When: Saturday, August 20 from 12-2pm

Please let me know if you are planning on joining, so I can get a rough estimate of how many people will be there. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!

Alaska Airlines Companion Pass Code Posted 16 Days after Annual Fee is Billed

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Grant. 8 Replies

Good morning everyone. Yesterday, I wrote August 2016: Which Annual Fees did I Pay & which Credit Cards did I Close? In that post, I shared my thoughts on the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card and what to do when the $75 annual fee posted to my account. When I saw the $75 annual fee post to my account, I had to make a decision whether or not to keep the credit card and pay the $75 annual fee or to call Bank of America and close the credit card to avoid paying the $75 annual fee. To complicate my thought process, I knew that the Alaska Airlines companion pass code would post to my Alaska Airlines account shortly after the $75 annual fee billed to my credit card (that is the best perk of the card, in my opinion). For those who are unfamiliar with the Alaska Airlines companion pass code, it allows you to buy any paid Alaska Airlines operated flight and bring a companion for as little as $120 (taxes and fees may vary, depending on your destination).

I was hopeful that the companion pass code would post soon, that way I could keep the companion pass code and still close the credit card without paying the $75 annual fee. So the question is, “How long does the Alaska Airlines companion pass code take to post to my Alaska Airlines account after the annual fee is billed?” Let’s find out below…

Continue reading →

August 2016: Which Annual Fees did I Pay & which Credit Cards did I Close?

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Grant. 11 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. I quickly wanted to thank everyone who joined me at my Mountain View meetup yesterday – it was great speaking with you all and I will set up another Mountain View meetup soon. Last August, I wrote July App-O-Rama Update: Several Reconsideration Calls Required to be Approved for 6 New Credit Cards. In that post, I shared my successes and failures of applying for the following 7 credit cards:

I was eventually approved for the following 6 credit cards:

AMEX Everyday – 10,000 AMEX Membership Reward points
Citi American Airlines Business – 50,000 American Airlines miles
US Bank Cash+ – $100 cash back
Bank of America Alaska Airlines – 25,000 Alaska Airlines miles
Bank of America Spirit Airlines – 15,000 Spirit Airlines miles
Ebates Cash Back – $10 cash back

Of the above credit cards, 3 have annual fees that just posted recently:

Citi American Airlines Business – $95
Bank of America Alaska Airlines – $75
Bank of America Spirit Airlines – $59

I also have a US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card that just posted a $60 annual fee (originally opened in July 2014). Of the 4 credit cards with annual fees, which ones are worth keeping and paying the annual fee? Which credit cards did I decide to close? Continue reading →

Reminder: Travel Hacker Meetup @ Mountain View In-N-Out (Sunday August 14 from 12-2pm)

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Grant. Leave a reply

Good afternoon everyone, this is a friendly reminder regarding my upcoming Mountain View meetup tomorrow afternoon. I hope to see some familiar faces and meet some new readers.

Where: In-N-Out Burger, 53 West El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA 94040 (Google Maps)
When: Sunday, August 14 @ 12-2pm

After the meetup, I am going to the 49ers preseason game at 4pm versus the Houston Texans at Levi’s Stadium – a short Lyft ride away. Tickets are currently selling for $15-$20 on Seatgeek (earn 3% cash back on Ebates). There is no need to RSVP to the event, but I look forward to talking with other miles and points collectors. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great weekend everyone!

Granny Rewards Loyalty Program: Receive $5 SaveYa eGift Card for $1,000 in Gift Card Granny Purchases

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Grant. 8 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start. I have written about Gift Card Granny many times before (1, 2, 3, etc.) – it is my go to source every time I want to buy or sell a gift card. In today’s post, I will give you an introduction, overview, and review of Gift Card Granny’s loyalty program – Granny Rewards. The program is free to join, you just need to create a free Gift Card Granny account. To motivate you to join, they provide 2,500 points as a sign up bonus (warning: 2,500 points is not worth much).