Tag Archives: Capital One

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New AwardWallet Plus Feature: Receive Alerts for Incoming Miles & Points with Balance Watch [Winners Selected]

Updated 8pm PT on 3/15/19: Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway.  I wish I could give everyone codes, but I only have so many codes available.  Here are the winners: Mike Saint, Bill Pisor, LAURAPDX, Brandon, Priscilla Ennis, Seth, Will, Stephanie Woods, iwantmoremiles, and Jim F.  I will email the winners the codes.  Thank you.


Good afternoon everyone.  A year ago, I wrote AwardWallet Feature I Wish Existed: Keep Checking for Account Balance Changes.  In that post, I wished there was a way for AwardWallet to constantly check a specific airline / hotel account to see when miles or points posted.  This is super important if you transfer points from a transferable points currency (Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, Capital One Points, or Marriott Bonvoy) in the hopes of booking an award flight before the award space disappears.  Some transfers are instant, while others may take several hours or several days.

I am happy to report that AwardWallet took my idea and added the feature to AwardWallet.  Here is a blog post describing Balance Watch and how the feature works:

“Balance Watch will monitor a loyalty account to let you know as soon as your points arrive. Once activated, AwardWallet will check your balance up to twenty-four times per day and send you a desktop, mobile, and email notification as soon as a change is detected.”

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Image source: https://awardwallet.com/blog/balance-watch/

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It Happened Again: Don’t Leave Home Without At Least Two Of These!

I can’t believe this happened again, though with a different friend. Doesn’t he read my blog posts on TWG? This time on my friend’s FIRST day, which was to start a seven week trip around Mexico, the ATM ate his debit card. He had no cash on him. His bank told him they’d send a new debit card, but after tracking the card’s delivery and waiting four days, my friend had doubts about getting his card.

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PSA: Don’t Leave Home Without At Least 2 of These

This “don’t leave home without two of these” story began when I received an email from a friend. It was titled, “Big Request.” Let me start by saying my friend is an experienced traveler and spends six months a year in Mexico, yet still she made a big mistake. Here’s what she wrote:

“I have a big request for you: My Capital One Visa credit card was hacked, so I had to cancel that account. However, that is an important card for me to have in Mexico, because they do not charge a foreign currency exchange fee on purchases. So, they are sending me a new card in the mail, and say it should arrive in 4-6 days. Capital One does everything online and it was difficult to tell them to send it here to Mexico. Please check all mail from Capital One, find the card, and FedEx it to me here in Mexico. I am sorry to burden you with this, but there are levels of bureaucracy involved here that are daunting.”

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Image source: http://sundowntraveler.com/travel/gear/top-3-travel-items-to-keep-in-your-pocket/

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Capital One Money Market Account $200 Sign Up Bonus

Good afternoon everyone.  A few months ago, I signed up for a Capital One 360 Money Market account with a $200 sign up bonus (thanks Doctor of Credit).  The promo seemed simple enough, sign up for a money market account, using promo code SAVE200, and then deposit $10,000 before December 31, 2017.  I even received the following email on November 27 confirming the details from DOC.  I thought it was going to be smooth sailing, but after waiting 2+ months since the December 31, 2017 deadline, I got antsy and went in search of my $200 bonus…

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