Category Archives: Credit Cards

a group of people posing for a photo

Join Me @ FBZ Elite Summit in Austin, Texas (Oct 26, 2019)

Posted on by . Leave a reply

Have you been trying to figure out ways to travel more and spend less? Do you wonder how people stock up enough points to stay in luxury hotels and fly first class? Or maybe, you’re just trying to figure out how to divvy up your points for the maximum amount of free stuff. If any of this interests you, then join me at this year’s FBZ Elite Summit in Austin, TX!

FinanceBuzz is proudly hosting the FBZ Elite Summit for FBZ Elite members, which will be a day-long conference that aims to help attendees learn how to manage points and miles, travel frugally, save money, and connect with other travel enthusiasts. Most importantly, the main FinanceBuzz goal is to help people become financially independent and aware of the clever financial footwork involved in the points and miles game, ultimately resulting in free and discount travel for you and your friends.

a group of people in a photo

Continue reading →

a blue sign with white text

American Express Card Changes: Claims Resolution, Person to Person Transactions & Plan It Feature

Posted on by . 3 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend.  My American Express Gold Card statement just closed and I noticed that there were a few “Important Changes” listed at the bottom of my statement.  I will share the details of those changes and provide my thoughts.  There was also a change to the Plan It feature listed on my American Express Everyday Credit Card statement, which I will share at the bottom of the post.  To get started, American Express announced immediate changes to the “Claims Resolution and Claims Resolution for Covered Borrowers” section and upcoming changes regarding “Limits on person-to-person transactions” that will go into effect on November 1, 2019.

a close-up of a card

Continue reading →

a close-up of a credit card

Dealing with Banco Popular’s Avianca Vuela Credit Card Identification Verification Process

Posted on by . 9 Replies

Updated at 9:30am PT on 8/28/19: My 60,000 bonus miles posted today.  Scroll down to the end of the post to see more details.

Good morning everyone.  As part of my July App-O-Rama, I applied for and was instantly approved for the Banco Popular Avianca Vuela Credit Card, I even wrote a post about unboxing the new credit card.  Everything looked good on my side, my credit card was activated and the $149 annual fee posted to my account (the only charge on my first statement).  I paid the credit card and tried to make a few online purchases to complete the $1,000 minimum spend requirement, but my transactions kept getting declined (so embarrassing…).  Uh oh, this didn’t sound good.

a screenshot of a account

Continue reading →

a close-up of a credit card

My Disappointing Experience with AMEX Business Platinum 35% Membership Rewards Point Rebate

Posted on by . 20 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  2 months ago, I wrote First Class Flights Cheaper than Economy with AMEX Business Platinum 35% Membership Rewards Points Rebate.  In that post, I showed how I booked an Alaska Airlines first class flight using American Express Membership Rewards Points to trigger the 35% Membership Rewards Points rebate.  That flight was booked on May 30 for travel in mid October and cost 19,666 Membership Rewards Points.  According to the benefit terms, the rebate should appear in 6-10 weeks.  Based on the May 30 booking date, the 10 week mark was August 8.  I kept checking my Membership Rewards account ever few days in August, but no Membership Rewards Points ever posted.  On Friday, I decided to call the American Express Membership Rewards department to investigate the issue.  What ensued was not a very pleasant experience with the rep.

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading →

a close-up of a credit card

Keep, Cancel or Convert? US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card ($60 Annual Fee)

Posted on by . 2 Replies

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  As part of my “Keep, Cancel or Convert?” series, I like to evaluate and reevaluate credit cards to make sure they still deserve a spot in my wallet (or credit card drawer). For today’s post, I will review my US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card (no longer available to new cardholders) which just charged me the $60 annual fee.  The only reason I keep this credit card year after year is the 40,000 anniversary Radisson Rewards Points.  I am basically buying 40,000 Radisson Rewards Points for $60, which is 0.15 cents per point (CPP).  I probably value Radisson Rewards Points at 0.4-0.5 CPP, so I have no problem paying the annual fee every year.

Even though I planned on keeping this credit card, I called US Bank to ask if there were any retention offers available.  After reviewing my account, the rep first said she could cut my interest rate in half.  I politely declined that offer and said last year I was offered Radisson Rewards Points to keep the credit card open – was that offer still available?  The rep said yes, but it was only for 2,500 Radisson Rewards Points.  I told her that was better than nothing and accepted the offer.  The rep said I should see the 2,500 Radisson Rewards Points on my next statement.

a credit card with a red text

Continue reading →