Category Archives: Credit Cards

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Register for FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday, September 17 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  If you are not busy this Saturday, September 17, I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday, September 17, at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last 2 years and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Click here to view the complete 3-4 hour schedule and lineup of speakers.

If you register for the seminar, but are unable to watch the live stream, you can access the recording of the seminar and watch later on.  This is also a great way to re-watch your favorite presentations and catch any details that you originally missed.

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Product Change US Bank Credit Card to Redeem Rewards Below Minimum Redemption Threshold (Altitude Go to Cash Plus)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Labor Day Weekend!  This post may not be very exciting, but the principles behind this post are useful.  Let me explain…

When US Bank converted my US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Card into the US Bank Altitude Go Credit Card, I used it for a few weeks before deciding that I wanted to product change to another US Bank Cash+ Credit Card (for the 5% cash back categories).  At the time, I had 31 points on my Altitude Go, so if I had decided to close my credit card instead, I would have lost those 31 points (worth 31 cents).  But instead, by product changing from one card to another, US Bank converted my unredeemed rewards into statement credit (31 points = 31 cents).

This is noteworthy because of the minimum redemption threshold normally required for the Altitude Go: “U.S. Bank points are worth a penny each when redeemed for options like cash back, travel, gift cards or merchandise, although minimum redemption requirements apply. (You need at least 2,500 points for cash back or gift cards; 1,000 points for travel or merchandise.)”  US Bank has a similar minimum redemption threshold on the Cash Plus that went into effect on June 1, 2021.

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My Frustrating Experience Buying Hilton Points (14-24 Hour Turnaround Time)

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Good afternoon everyone.  Gather around, I have a story to tell.  I needed to book a 5 night stay for an upcoming trip and I decided to book a Hilton Garden Inn.  Hilton has a 5th Night Free feature that is part of their loyalty program – “When you book a standard room reward stay, every fifth night is free.”  The total price for the first 4 nights came to 274,000 points (and the 5th night was 0 points).  At the time, I had a little more than 174,000 points, so I went to the Hilton Buy Points page since they are currently running a 100% bonus promo.  I purchased 50,000 points for $500 and received 50,000 bonus points for free.  I expected the points to be deposited to my account immediately after purchase and I would complete my 5th Night Free hotel reservation.  Unfortunately, I learned that when you buy Hilton points, the points do not post to your account instantly.  Read on to hear more about my ordeal…

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Targeted Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card Referral Offer: 50K Miles + Companion Pass with $3K Spend

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  Yesterday, I received an email from Alaska Airlines about a “Special Email Referral Offer.”  The referrer will get 15,000 Alaska Airlines Miles for each referral and the referee will get 50,000 Alaska Airlines Miles plus an Alaska Airlines Companion Fare (just pay taxes and fees up to $22) after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  The $75 annual fee is not waived.

The other current best offer I could find for the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card is for 40,000 Alaska Airlines Miles plus $100 statement credit plus an Alaska Airlines Companion Fare (just pay taxes and fees up to $22) after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  The $75 annual fee is not waived either.  So the only difference between the standard offer and the referral offer is whether you want a $100 statement credit or 10,000 more Alaska Airlines Miles.  In my opinion, 10,000 Alaska Airlines Miles is worth more than $100 to me (probably closer to $150), so I think the referral offer is better.

If you currently have a Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card, you might have received the targeted referral offer yesterday with the subject line “#NAME#, get a 15,000 bonus mile offer when you refer a friend” from the the sender “mileage.plan@ifly.alaskaair.com”.  Let’s go through the referral process to see what it looks like.  To get started, I clicked the blue REFER A FRIEND button.

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American Express Removed $25 Minimum Redemption Amount for AMEX Old Blue Cash Credit Card (OBC) on July 14

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  In news that probably only matters to me, there is a positive change on the American Express Old Blue Cash Credit Card (OBC).  I was reviewing my recent credit card statement and saw that American Express removed the $25 minimum redemption amount, effective July 14, 2022.  As far as I remember, this credit card has had the $25 redemption threshold since I initially got this credit card back in 2014.  I decided to check it out and redeem my entire balance… all $15.07 of it :)

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