Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

False Alarm! Online Serve Reloads are Posting as Purchases (Not Cash Advances)

AMEX Serve Logo

False Alarm!  Online Serve Reloads are Posting as Purchases (Not Cash Advances)

(Hat tip to RRGG for keeping me informed along the way)

It’s been an exciting last 24 hours, but I am happy to share some good news.  According to FlyerTalk (link) and comments on my last post (link), online Serve reloads are not posting as purchases (and earning miles/points/cash back as before).

Serve Reloads Posting as Credit Not Cash Advances

For some reason, online Serve reloads are affecting cash advance balances across many banks, especially Chase.  Even though the cash advance balance changes, no actual cash advance fees are posting.   Continue reading →

Don’t Disrupt your App-O-Rama Schedule by Applying for the Chase Ink Plus Credit Card #Rant

 

Which Credit Card

Don’t Disrupt your App-O-Rama Schedule by Applying for the Chase Ink Plus Credit Card #Rant

Honestly, you could replace “Chase Ink Plus” with any other credit card and the argument would still be valid.  Every few weeks, a large credit card sign up bonus comes out and the entire blogosphere goes crazy!  Let me refresh your memory:

  • Chase United MileagePlus – 50,000 United Airlines miles
  • American Express SPG – 30,000 SPG Points
  • Chase Ink Bold/Plus – 60,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points
  • Chase Freedom – 20,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points
  • Citi American Airlines Executive – 100,000 American Airlines miles
  • And so on and so on…

So what’s my point? Most of the credit cards above have increased sign up bonuses for several weeks, if not months.  I was approved for every card on the above list, even though I did not apply as soon as the  increased sign up bonus came out.  Let me say this again, just because a credit card has recently raised the sign up bonus, doesn’t mean you should go and apply for the card as soon as possible.

Let me explain…  Continue reading →

Random News: Ebay and PayPal Split, Hilton Free Night Certificate, RebAgents, Emirates Miles, $160 AirTran Credit, and Nickelodeon AMEX Offer

Ebay Baby

Random News: Ebay and PayPal Split, Hilton Free Night Certificate, RebAgents, Emirates Miles, $160 AirTran Credit, and Nickelodeon AMEX Offer

Before I dive into the random news, today is the last day of September.  Make sure you max out your Amazon Payments, Bluebird reloads, Server Reloads, etc. before the limits reset tonight at midnight.  With that said, here are some random news topics…

I just received the following email from Ebay.  Sometime in 2015, PayPal will become a separate company (probably going IPO as well).  I’m not sure how this will affect anything, but I think it is worth sharing.

Ebay PayPal Split Announced

 

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Citi Hilton HHonors Free Night Certificates (link) and received a helpful email response regarding how Citi calculates your $10,000 annual spend to qualify for the free night certificate:

The screenshot you posted says you only get credit for charges after your annual fee date. I assumed that was the day I activated the card so I spent $10,750 on the card in my first year with some cushion to be safe. I never received the annual certificate and when I asked, Citi said I only spent $9,800. I checked my statements and that number excluded the $950 I spent in the few days between when I activated the card (around 7/25) and the date the first annual fee was charged (8/2). Citi is investigating for me and it seems like this is a technicality that will ultimately be resolved in my favor, however, if I had known I either would have not spent anything until I saw the annual fee hit or would have spent the extra $200 to hit the bonus before moving on to a different card.

Hopefully this warning can help avoid potential time spent on the phone with Citi for you and others that may be cutting it tight on the $10K spend.

 

A friend of mine writes for the blog RebAgents (rebate + agents) and sent me the following link: Why finding a Real Estate Agent or Realtor should be the last step in your home search checklist (link).  If you are in the market for buying or selling your house, check out the link to learn more about how to reduce your real estate agent’s commission and buy/sell your house faster.

 

A reader of mine has Emirates miles and wants to know what to do with them.  Any advice?

I have like 14500 skywards emirates miles what will be best way to redeem it ?? I tried to do some research on it , I cannot find anything.

Also I have 5 different accounts with emirates ( my relatives ) all has 8k miles

 

I have $166.45 in AirTran credit that will expire on October 30, does anyone have any experience converting this credit to Southwest Airlines credit?  Any way to extend the expiration date?

$160 AirTran Credit

 

Last but not least, I checked my AMEX accounts and this AMEX Offer caught my attention.  If you have kids (or are a kid yourself), you probably watched Nickelodeon at one point.  I spent a large chunk of my childhood watching these shows and it would have been awesome to go check out Nickelodeon Suites Resorts when I was younger.  I am too old now, but maybe you can take your kids and give them the best vacation ever!

Nickelodeon Suites Resorts AMEX Offer

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!

Look Mom, I’m on the Home Page of Boarding Area and my Chicago FTU Advanced Review

FTU Advanced Badge Front

Look Mom, I’m on the Home Page of Boarding Area and my Chicago FTU Advanced Review

Greetings Boarding Area readers! This week, Travel with Grant will be a featured blogger on the Boarding Area home page (thank you Randy for inviting me to be a Prior2Boarding blogger). If this is your first time reading my blog, this is all you need to know:

  • I talk a lot about manufactured spend and have several detailed guides about Bluebird, Serve, and various money saving deals like AMEX Offers, Chime Card, and Staples Easy Rebates.
  • I am very disloyal when it comes to airline and hotel “loyalty” programs, but I prefer the term “free agent” instead. I have airline miles in several frequent flyer programs and hotel points in several hotel reward programs.
  • I fly economy 95% of the time and will redeem frequent flyer miles if award space is available *and* the cheapest paid ticket is more than I want to pay.
  • I believe in “earning and burning,” rather than hoarding miles/points for aspiration international first class flights or $1,000+ hotel rooms. Spending fewer miles/points allows me to travel more often.
  • Last but not least, I have 27 credit cards (link) and I am only 24 years old – pretty good credit card to age ratio, right? Credit cards are an amazing tool if used responsibly. To put it bluntly: if you pay interest or late fees on your credit cards, you are subsiding our travel lifestyle/hobby. Please don’t pay interest or late fees!

FTU

Continue reading →

Random News: Last Day for AMEX $10 Statement Credit, iPhone 6/Plus Cases, Friday’s App-O-Rama Results, and Hang-Up-Call-Again Success Story

AMEX Serve Logo

Random News: Last Day for AMEX $10 Statement Credit, iPhone 6/Plus Cases, Friday’s App-O-Rama Results, and Hang-Up-Call-Again Success Story

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  I had the pleasure of meeting a blog reader (and hopefully a future blog reader) for coffee in Oceanside this morning to talk miles and points.

Let’s get to the random news, shall we?

Sorry for the late notice, but today is the last day to take advantage of the $10 AMEX Serve Statement Credit After Making 5 $10+ Purchases.  You must make 5 purchases of $10 or more with your Serve Card between August 15 and today.  The statement credit posts after a few days of making the qualifying purchases.

Serve $10 Statement Credit 5 $10 Purchases

Click here to read the full article.  Continue reading →