Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Marathon Man: “Manufactured Spending is like Card Counting” and my #WestCoastDo Thoughts

Card Counting Casino

Marathon Man: “Manufactured Spending is like Card Counting” and my #WestCoastDo Thoughts

Don’t worry Marathon Man, your secrets are safe. The one thing you said that I will share is, “manufactured spending is like card counting.” That is such a great analogy that fits perfectly.  Just like card counting, MS is not illegal, but it is definitely frowned upon.  The comparison to MS is wonderful.  After catching up on some sleep, I have a few points I want to share about the #WestCoastDo and the other travel conferences I have attended.

1 – First off, great job to Matt @ Saverocity for putting together and pulling off a great travel conference.  I am sure those in attendance would agree.  The lunch was fabulous and the extended happy hour was much appreciated. Thanks for all the hard work, time, and money you spent on this conference.  You da’ man!

2 – Uber is great in Phoenix/Scottsdale.  I used Uber a few times to get to/from my Holiday Inn Express hotel (please don’t screw me over Into the Nights) as well as to get to the airport.  There are lots of drivers at all hours of the day and night.

Uber in PHX

3 – George @ Travel Blogger Buzz is much nicer in person.  I have been a long time reader and friend of George, but this was the first time meeting him in person.  He is very nice, funny, and just fun to hang out with.  He shared his thought on #WestCoastDo here.

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My Credit Card Affiliate Links will be Removed on Monday, November 10 at 12PM CT

Which Credit Card

My Credit Card Affiliate Links will be Removed on Monday, November 10 at 12PM CT

Good evening everyone, I wish I were here with better news, but unfortunately on the eve of #westcoastdo, I received an email from my credit card affiliate network that my Barclays credit card links will be deactivated Monday, November 10 at 12PM CT.  Shortly after noon, I will remove all Barclays credit card links from my blog.

Over the last year and a half, I have slowly and steadily lost all the great credit card links, from Chase, Citi, American Express, Bank of America, Discover, US Bank, and now Barclays.  With the loss of Barclays, I will only have links for secured credit card, which I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy.  The loss of credit card affiliate links is probably a result of very low approval numbers (I am too small for the banks to bother keeping) and the manufactured spending topics I often discuss probably didn’t help either.

It is kind of ironic, really.  When I started my blog in May 2013, I had all the great credit card links and none of the site traffic.  Fast forward to today, the situation has completely swapped.  In a few days, I will have no credit card links and much greater site traffic.  The timing was terrible, but also a blessing.   Continue reading →

a close-up of a logo

New Citi American Airlines Executive Card with Admirals Club Logo

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Good Thursday morning everyone, here are some random news articles for you.  Recently, I wrote about the newly redesigned Citi American Airlines Executive Credit Card (link) and commented on the fast that the new design did not have an Admirals Club logo on the card.  Over the weekend, I visited the Admirals Club in SFO and the front desk agent told me that Citi forgot to include the Admirals Club logo on some of their new Executive Cards.  I called Citi and they sent me a new card via FedEx Overnight.  Here is what the back of the card looks like with the Admirals Club logo in the upper right corner.  If you have the old-new Executive Card, you can call Citi and request a new-new Executive Card.

New AA Exec Back Admirals Club Logo

American Express is on a roll with their AMEX Offers.  I wrote about the new offers this week (post 1 and post 2) but apparently AMEX is still rolling out new offers.  The latest offer to grab my attention is the Marriott Hotels offer, spend $200+ and receive a $50 statement credit.

Marriott Hotels AMEX Offer

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AMEX Offers: Petco Gift Cards, FedEx Office Shipping Supplies, $1,000 Cash Back from Duxiana, and New Reebok Shoes

AMEX-Offer-Logo

AMEX Offers: Petco Gift Cards, FedEx Office Shipping Supplies, $1,000 Cash Back from Duxiana, and New Reebok Shoes

This is a follow-up post to Complete List of New AMEX Offers: FedEx Office, Sony, Petco, Waldorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels, a Disturbing 2x Membership Reward Trend, and even more Offers.  I had some free time today, so I did some research regarding the latest AMEX Offers.  There is currently an AMEX Offer for Petco.com.  Spend $10 or more online and get a $5 statement credit.

PetCo AMEX Offer

I’m a dummy and forgot to go through an online shopping portal, but Cash Back Monitor has plenty to chose from (I would use Shop Discover, Alaska Airline’s Mall, or Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall).  Don’t make the same mistake I did, use a shopping portal!

Petco Shopping Portals

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Quick Deal: 11 Reams of Paper for $10 at Staples (Expires November 8)

Staples Logo

Quick Deal: 11 Reams of Paper for $10 at Staples (Expires November 8)

Greetings from San Francisco, this is essentially the same deal from last week, just a new coupon code to use. If you bought paper last week, you can buy paper this week and get the Staples Easy Rebate.

Every Sunday morning, Staples updates their coupons page (link) with the weekly deals.  For the last few weeks, paper has been promoted because it is a loss leader for Staples and get’s people into the store.  Without these deals, I would just buy my $200 Visa gift cards from Staples.com and never enter the store.  Remember, you must tell the checkout cashier the coupon codes, otherwise you will not get the prices below.

Staples Paper Rebate 11-2-2014

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