Tag Archives: Amazon

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Amazon Prime: Keep or Cancel? Help Me Decide!

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A while ago Amazon announced an increase to their Amazon Prime fees. And even though there are ways to keep the fees at the $99 yearly for a bit longer, it still seemed to me I should take a closer look at whether or not I was getting value from having Amazon Prime even at the $99 rate.

I always say, “Let math be your friend” and in fact, I enjoy math. And I enjoy using spreadsheets, too. I’m not exactly Don in The Rosie Project, but I can come awfully close to his obsession with tracking things.

So let’s take a look at what I actually DO use Amazon Prime for, because I think a lot of people see all the potential uses of Amazon Prime but don’t really use them. Continue reading →

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Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s Celebrate with an Amazon Gift Card Giveaway [10 Winners Announced]

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Updated 6am PT on 5/15: 10 winners announced, please scroll down to see the winning comments.

Good morning everyone and happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there – especially my mom!  I might be a bit biased, but I think know I have the best mom in the world!  My parents got me hooked on travel at a very young age and my love for travel has only grown larger as I have gotten older (and the ability to earn thousands of miles and points from credit card sign up bonuses has helped too).  There are so many family trips around Europe, to various tropical Caribbean Islands, and long road trips around California, picking a favorite family vacation would be impossible.  Every trip is special in one way or another.

To celebrate Mother’s Day and to give you all a chance to brag about your mother’s, I decided to set up an Amazon Gift Card Giveaway.  Read on to find the details of the giveaway…

a group of people holding drinks

My family in St. Kitts (my dad is taking the photo).  Cheer’s to all the moms out there!

Continue reading →

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My Barclays Credit Card Targeted / Spending Offers for May 2018 [Letters Now Attached]

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Updated 10:20am PT on 5/15: I received letters from Barclays with the complete terms for all 3 targeted spending offers.

Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  A few days ago, I called Barclays to request a downgrade from my Barclays Arrival Plus Credit Card to the no annual fee Barclays Arrival Credit Card.  After the downgrade was completed, I asked the rep (I believe he was a customer relationship manager, or some similar title) if there were any targeted / spending offers available.  To my surprise, there was an offer.  To say I don’t put much spend on my Barclays credit cards would be an understatement – all 4 of my credit cards have $0 balances and haven’t had charges on them for a few months.

The rep said that my new Barclays Arrival Credit Card had the following offer: earn a $50 statement credit after spending $1,000 each month for the next 3 months.  Since that was the only offer available, I accepted the offer, even though I have no intention on spending $3,000+ over 3 months to get a $50 statement credit ($50 / $3,000 = 1.67% bonus).  I then asked if he could check my 3 other Barclays credit cards and see if there were any offers available.  Who knows, if you don’t ask, they will never proactively tell you about your offers.

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Continue reading →

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Would You Let Amazon Deliver Your Packages Like This?

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The digital world never ceases to amaze me! You might feel the same way when you read this article. Calling all digital nomads with certain cars OR those of you who drive a Volvo or GM vehicle! We’ve all seen those Amazon packages on people’s doorsteps. Amazon’s newest delivery trial to the trunks of people’s cars just struck me as so funny! Your trunk…..the new home delivery place! Enjoy the article and let me know if you’ve tried this or if you’ll use it when it comes to your ‘hood………or actually your trunk :)

a man loading a box into a car

Image source: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/24/17261744/amazon-package-delivery-car-trunk-gm-volvo

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Travel Hacking Mistakes WE Still Make

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In life, there’s always room for improvement, that’s for sure. And that holds true for the travel hacking world that each of us creates. Talking about mistakes we make is never an easy conversation, but Grant and I had it anyway. Whether the mistakes are the once-and-we’ll-never-do-that-again type, or those reoccurring mistakes that we seem to make over and over again, shedding light on the mistakes helps us think through what we’re doing and perhaps more importantly, what those mistakes might be costing us in the way of miles and points. After admitting our mistakes and deciding to share them with you, Grant and I had a good laugh about it all. Then he went back to enjoying his chai latte and I finished off my cortado, and of course we vowed to wipe the slate clean and not make the same mistakes again.

Let’s Take a Look at Our Mistakes

Grant felt that maybe searching and booking award flights and hotels too far out is a mistake because there are often good deals if you wait to the very last minute. Continue reading →