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Hawaii Travel Hack: Combine Alaska Airlines Companion Fare & Hawaiian Airlines Award Ticket

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Good morning everyone, happy Wednesday.  I am writing to you from the WiFi-connected Golden Gate Transit bus, heading to work in San Francisco.  I love Hawaii and I have written a few posts about traveling to Hawaii over the last few years.  Some of my favorite posts about Hawaii include:

Recently, I was trying to book a flight from Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii (LIH) to San Francisco (SFO) or Oakland (OAK).  I will show you how I used a Bank of America Alaska Airlines Companion Fare and Virgin America miles to book a Hawaiian Airlines award ticket.  But first, take a quick look at these route maps from Alaska Airlines and Virgin America.  Those 2 airlines offer lots of flights, but there are only a few routes to Hawaii, and not every major Hawaiian airport is served.

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Earn a $10 Statement Credit for using US Bank Credit Card with ApplePay (May 23 – June 30)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I am really late to the party, but US Bank sent out emails last week to cardholders with a $10 bonus if you added your US Bank credit card to your ApplePay wallet and made an ApplePay purchase of $10 or more.  I received the email for my US Bank Club Carlson Personal Credit Card, US Bank FlexPerks Select+ American Express Credit Card, and US Bank Cash+ Credit Card.  I have 3 other US Bank credit cards that did not receive the email.

There are 2 ways to use ApplePay: in-app purchases, such as buying tickets from the StubHub app or for paying for your Uber/Lyft ride; or in-store purchases, made at the register at your local store or gas station.  I’m not sure if both ways will trigger the bonus, but I assume so.

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Barclays Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card Downgrade & Retention Offer

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Good morning everyone, happy Memorial Day!  A few days ago, I called Barclays to close my Barclays Lufthansa Miles & More World Elite MasterCard.  The $79 annual fee was coming due soon and I barely spent any money on the credit card after completing the minimum spending requirements last year.  After calling the number on the back of the credit card and explaining that I wanted to close the credit card because the annual fee was posting soon, the rep transferred me to a different department (I don’t remember the department name, but let’s call it the Barclays retention department).  After explaining my situation to the second rep, she asked me if I would be willing to downgrading the credit card to a no annual fee version of the Barclays Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card.  Sure, I said, that sounds good to me. The downgraded credit card will earn 1 Lufthansa mile for every $2 spent and the conversion would be completed on June 5.

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See, Eat & Drink: The Perfect Long Weekend in Vancouver, Canada

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Heading to Vancouver, Canada, anytime soon? Don’t leave home without this list of what to see and what to do. What makes me an expert? Well, not only do I love Vancouver, but I’ve been going there for years! And what a bargain the US Dollar gets right now ($1.00 USD = $1.35 CAD, as of 5/28). I’m going to make some assumptions: that you haven’t been before or at least in a long while, and that you’re staying downtown, as that’s where most of the hotels are. If you drink coffee, I’ll throw in some great cafes to try too. I’m also assuming you’re not renting a car, since it’s not really necessary.

  1. They don’t have Uber, and taxi from the airport is set by zone, so I always use a taxi into downtown. They do have public transportation, but we still take a taxi from the airport. For two people and given the exchange rate, it makes sense. It’s ~$37 CAD (~$27 USD) from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and takes about 20-30 minutes depending on traffic.
  2. I stay downtown at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Just in case that’s your hotel chain of choice as well, it’s a terrific property. If I’m paying cash for a hotel stay, I always use Pruvo to monitor for price drops! I feel pretty strongly about this hotel, its location, and its lounge.
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Image source: https://www.lai.org/images/home/vancouver-skyline

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Great First Experience Calling American Express Platinum Concierge for Restaurant Reservations

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your Memorial Day Weekend is going well.  I have the American Express Business Platinum Charge Card and some of the card benefits get a lot of attention: Centurion Lounge access, Priority Pass membership, $200 airline reimbursement annually, Global Entry fee reimbursement, and the 50% Pay with Points rebate on flights.

Surprisingly, there are several other less talked about benefits of the American Express Business Platinum Charge Card too.  One such benefit that I just used for the first time was the American Express Business Platinum Charge Card Concierge (I believe the various versions of the American Express Platinum Charge Card also have this benefit).  I wanted to make a dinner reservation for a special occasion and I wasn’t having any luck with OpenTable (unless I wanted a 5pm or 10pm reservation – no thank you!).  I decided to call the Concierge (1-800-492-8468) and see if they could help me out.  If you have a personal American Express Platinum Charge Card, just call the number on the back of your card and you can navigate to the Concierge Department.

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