Tag Archives: Cash Back

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American Express Sends Out Checks for “Technical Error” Regarding Annual Fee Refund

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Updated at 7:30am PT on 2/10/24: This post was written in 2019 when American Express sent out checks with the help of Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions.  If you receive a check like this in 2023 or 2024, the check may not be legitimate.  Please scroll down to the comments section for more information.  Thank you.

Good morning everyone, sorry for the lack of posts lately, I was on vacation in Tahiti and Moorea for 10 days for my pre-honeymoon and didn’t have time to write any posts.  I have several posts in the pipeline, so I will work on getting those published over the next 2 weeks.  Anyway, this morning, Doctor of Credit wrote Numerous American Express Bonus Adjustments Posting Now for Referrals and More.

Yesterday, when I picked up my held mail from the Post Office, I received a letter and check from American Express regarding a “technical error” that caused an annual fee to be charged but not refunded when I closed an American Express credit card.  I have several open and closed American Express credit cards so it wasn’t obvious which credit card this was related to.  Luckily, the letter says account ending in 01009 and I was able to look up that credit card number in my credit card spreadsheet.  I keep all open and closed credit card details in the spreadsheet, so I was able to find out that it was my closed American Express SPG Business Credit Card.

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My Oversold Delta Flight: $700 AMEX Gift Card, Hotel Voucher & Morning Flight

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Good morning everyone.  Last week, I was flying back from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Oakland (OAK) on Delta.  The flight was oversold, so the gate agent was looking for a few volunteers to take a later flight (depart SLC at 10:30pm, land in OAK at 11:30pm) in exchange for a $700 gift card.  Since I didn’t need to get back to OAK right away, I asked the gate agent if I could take a morning flight into OAK (depart SLC at 8:30am, land in OAK at 9:30am – I would then take BART into SF for work) and I also asked for a hotel voucher for the night.  The gate agent said that was possible, so he added me to the volunteer list, and I waited near the gate for all passengers to board.  After all passengers boarded the flight, the gate agent called me up, changed my flight to the new morning flight, printed out a hotel voucher, and showed me the list of gift cards that I was eligible to claim.  I didn’t take a photo of the laminated sheet on the counter, but I believe these were the same gift cards that were offered.  I decided to go with an American Express gift card since that was basically cash to me.

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Success! Airbnb WORKS with US Bank FlexPerks Real-Time Rewards (Special Circumstance?)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend.  I had delicious clam chowder in Bodega Bay and then BBQ’d chicken and corn at home.  Last week, I got an email from Airbnb about paying for the second half of an upcoming Airbnb stay in Tahiti.  I don’t use Airbnb very often, but apparently you can split your Airbnb payments into 2 parts (pay half when you reserve your Airbnb and pay the other half a few weeks before you arrive at the Airbnb).  I had a stash of FlexPoints from my US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card and recently enrolled in Real-Time Rewards (for the 500 free FlexPoints).  I was hoping I could redeem my US Bank FlexPoints for 1.5 cents each with Real-Time Rewards to cover the Airbnb payment.  I clicked the Update Payment Details button at the bottom of the email and paid $804.69 with my US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card.

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Frequent Traveler University (FTU) Signature Chicago June 1-2 ($30 Off with Code PIZZA + Free Pizza Dinner)

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Updated 10am PT on 5/15/19: The new promo code PIZZA will save you $30 on your FTU ticket, but you must purchase by 5/17/19.  You will also get a free pizza dinner on Friday, May 31 (attendees will get a RSVP email prior to the event, limited to first 75 participants to register, includes assorted pizzas and soft drinks).

Updated 6am PT on 4/24/19: The new promo code SPRING will save you $25 on your FTU ticket, but you must purchase by 5/13/19.

Updated 11am PT on 4/11/19: The new promo code EASTER will save you $30 on your FTU ticket, but you must purchase by 4/22/19.

Good morning everyone.  I had a great time at the last Frequent Traveler University (FTU) in Seattle and I am happy to announce that the next travel conference has been announced for Chicago on June 1-2 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago.  You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.  Use promo code EARLYBIRD by April 10 to get $35 off your FTU ticket.  If you are one of the first 75 people to book your ticket, you also have access to a free pizza dinner at Barnaby’s on Friday evening (May 31).  I love going to travel conferences, listening to speakers, meeting blog readers, and catching up with good friends, but sadly, I am busy that weekend.  My fiance is a teacher and that is the first weekend of her summer vacation, so we are heading to Tahiti and Moorea for a few days of fun in the sun.

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Use Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card to Purchase SWA Upgraded Boarding (4 Free Annually)

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Mother’s Day weekend.  I flew Southwest Airlines down to Orange County to visit my family for the weekend.  I also had the chance to use my Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card to purchase an upgraded boarding position (A1-A15) for my flight.  I normally do not purchase upgraded boarding (I can usually get an A or early B boarding position when I check in), but the Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card provides 4 free upgraded boarding credits every year and my annual fee was coming up soon.  On my May statement, I saw this message about the $149 annual fee that is scheduled to post on June 1.

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If I pay an annual fee on a credit card, I like to maximize all the benefits/features and get my money’s worth.  Here are all the benefits/features of the Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card, including the 4 free upgraded boardings every year.

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