Category Archives: Credit Cards

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How to Use Amazon Shop with Points Redemption for Orphaned US Bank Rewards (Get 1 CPP Value)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few weeks ago, I was approved for the US Bank Business Altitude Connect Credit Card that offered 60,000 points (worth $600 cash back) after spending $6,000 in 6 months.  I completed the minimum spending requirement and received the sign up bonus this morning.  After redeeming the majority of the sign up bonus as a statement credit, I had 1,772 orphaned (aka leftover) points.  In this post, I will show you how to use the Amazon Shop with Points feature to use up any orphaned US Bank Rewards (either points or cash back).

To get started, sign into your US Bank account, go to your credit card account, click the Rewards and Benefits tab, and then click the Redeem or View My Rewards button.  As you can see, I have 1,772 points left in my account.  To see the redemption options, click the 3 lines in the upper left corner.

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How to Use 2 American Express Business Platinum Cards to Split CLEAR Plus + 1 Family Member into 2 Charges

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few weeks ago, I got my CLEAR renewal email that said my membership would be increasing $50, from $169 to $219.  That was a bummer since I was looking forward to using the $189 CLEAR Plus credit that comes with my American Express Business Platinum Card.  Since I currently have 2 AMEX Biz Plat Cards, I wanted to use both cards to get the CLEAR Plus credit.

I have an AMEX Delta credit card which provided a discounted CLEAR membership of $149 for myself and I have my wife as a family member on my CLEAR membership for an additional $70.  Technically, I might have been able to remove my wife from my CLEAR account and set her up with her own account which would have cost her $179, since she is a general Delta SkyMiles member, but I wanted to see if I could keep costs low.

Here is what I did next…

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Upcoming AMEX Changes to Employee Cards, Premium Private Jet Program, Departures Magazine & Upgrade with Points

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend!  I just returned from my “free” Holland America Line cruise from Boston to Quebec and had a great time.  Yesterday, when I was reviewing my recent American Express credit card statements, I noticed a few upcoming changes that I wanted to share.  These notices came on my American Express Business Platinum Card, but should apply to most Platinum Cards and some Membership Rewards earning cards.  None of these changes are huge, but they might affect some cardmembers.

American Express is changing the name from “Additional Business Green Rewards Card” to “Additional Business Expense Card” effective August 17, 2023.  Replacement cards will have the new name going forward.  Effective November 2, 2023, that name change will be updated in the Cardmember Agreement.  No changes to the card benefits are mentioned.

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The Sites, Smells & Tastes from 3 Days in Prague, Czech Republic

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Good evening everyone.  A few weeks ago, my wife and I decided to book a last minute trip to Europe this summer with stops in Prague (PRG), Copenhagen (CPH), and Amsterdam (AMS).  We both had a fantastic time in Prague and I highly recommend visiting for a few days the next time you are in Europe.  Here are some of the highlights from our 3 days in Prague.

To get started, we used 65,000 KLM / Air France Flying Blue Miles + $242 in taxes/fees per person to fly Air France Business Class from San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG) to Prague (PRG).  We then took a $22 Uber from the airport to MGallery Century Old Town Prague Hotel (part of Accor).  I booked 3 nights through the Citi ThankYou Travel Portal and used the $100 Hotel Credit from my Citi Premier Credit Card.  The hotel was a short walk from the Old Town Square and had beautiful charm and an awesome breakfast spread.  The total cost with the $100 Hotel Credit was $476, or $159 / night.  Here are more photos from the hotel website.  During our stay, I realized that MGallery was a brand under the Accor family of hotels and they have 120+ boutique hotels around the world, with the majority spread out around Europe.

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New Targeted Capital One Travel Discounts (Ex: $30 Off Flights to Montana on Any Airline)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  Last month, I wrote PSA: Check for Targeted Capital One Travel Discounts (Ex: $75 Off Flights to Montana & $30 Off Flights to New Mexico).  In that post, I showed how to search your Capital One Travel portal to see if you had any targeted travel offers (usually discounts on hotels and flights to select states).  I took advantage of both offers ($75 off flights to Montana & $30 off flights to New Mexico) and continued to check daily to see if new offers would appear.

Thankfully, my persistence paid off and I found new offers in my Capital One Travel portal.  I only had 1 flight deal ($30 off flights to Montana), but I decided to take advantage of the offer and booked another flight to Montana.  As you can see, the $30 discount is applied to the total and you can pay the remaining balance with your Capital One Venture X Credit Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to earn 5x points on flights booked through the travel portal or pay with your existing Capital One points.

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