Tag Archives: American Express

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Forgot Card? Access American Express Centurion Lounges & Capital One Lounges with Phone

Good morning everyone.  Yesterday, my friend told me that there is a way to access American Express Centurion Lounges and Capital One Lounges without having your American Express Platinum Card, American Express Business Platinum Card, or Capital One Venture X Credit Card with you at the airport.  You just need to sign into the American Express app or Capital One app and there is a way to display a QR code to access the lounges.  I never knew this feature existed, so I thought it would be worth sharing in case you ever find yourself at a lounge without your card.  Several years ago, I wrote a similar post for Priority Pass: Access Priority Pass Lounges without your Card (Use Priority Pass App & Apple Wallet).

Access to American Express Centurion Lounges

To get started, download the American Express app (iOS or Android).  Then sign into the app, select your personal or business Platinum card, and then click the Membership button on the bottom.

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Hilton Timeshare Vacation Package Deals: $299 for 4 Night Stay + 150,000 HH Points (7 Destinations Available) [Expires January 10]

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I just received a great timeshare vacation package offer from Hilton Grand Vacations that should be available to everyone.  There are 7 destinations available to choose from and the cost is $299 for a 4 Night / 5 Day stay, plus you will get 150,000 Hilton Honors Points.  150K HH Points is worth $750 to me, so Hilton Grand Vacations is giving you a 4 night stay + $750 in points in exchange for paying $299 and attending a 2 hour timeshare sales presentation.  That is a pretty sweet deal!  I have experience with timeshare sales presentations and they are not too bad.  I will go through the booking process to show you what it is like, what is included, and how much it costs.

Here is the email I received and here is the link to the landing page.  This offer expires on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, so act fast if you are interested.

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Have you Read my Most Popular Posts of 2022?

Good afternoon, from rainy Northern California.  Every year, I like to check out my stats from Google Analytics to see which blog posts were the most popular.  I created 2 lists by looking at all blog posts written in 2022 and then I looked at which posts were read the most in 2022, but written in previous years (#stayingpower).  I will list the blog posts from top to bottom based on pageviews, share the original published date, and provide my thoughts or a short summary of each blog post.  If you are curious, here were the most popular posts from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

2022’s Most Read Posts (Written in 2022)

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My Wild & Crazy 2023 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day! One of my yearly traditions is to write my predictions for the coming year and you can check out how I did in 2022 here: Let’s Review my 2022 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  I plan on doing a mid-year review in July to see if I am on track, but without further ado, here are my predictions for 2023…

My 2023 Airline Predictions

  • American Airlines or Alaska Airlines will be added as a transfer partner from a transferable points currency.
  • British Airways will change their award chart to calculate the number of Avios needed on a combined distance flown, not on a segment by segment basis.
  • Delta Airlines or United Airlines will introduce a “Miles and Cash” payment option for award tickets (pay 10,000 miles or pay 8,000 miles + $40).
  • Southwest Airlines will work very hard to make up for their December 2022 travel nightmare by offering a transfer bonus from Chase and spending offers on their credit cards in January 2023.

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How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2022?

Good evening everyone, happy New Year’s Eve!  Doctor of Credit has a Best Bank Account Bonuses page that he keeps up to date with the best offers each month.  In that master post, he links to individual bank account bonuses with helpful information regarding the bonus details, how to avoid monthly fees, when to close the account, how often you can open a new account, and much more.  For the last 8 years, I have been opening new checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and cash management accounts for the new member bonuses.  At the end of each year, I share my results on the blog.  Over the last 8 years, I have made over $20,000 in bank account bonuses.  You will receive 1099-INT tax forms every year, so you have to pay taxes on the bank account bonuses, but sometimes you can fund the opening deposit with a credit card and earn miles, points, or cash back.  If you are lucky, you can meet a minimum spending requirement by funding a new checking account or reach a high spending target to earn more rewards.  Here are my results from the last 8 years with links to corresponding yearly summaries:

Drum roll please… Here are the 18 new accounts I opened in 2022 that paid out $4,485 in bonuses:

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