Tag Archives: Citi Bank

a lake with trees in the background

Three Weeks in New Zealand – Without A Car!

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Buenos dias everyone! Back in November, I was able to snag two economy tickets from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand for a jaw-dropping $395 per person roundtrip, nonstop on Air New Zealand. (My understanding is tickets twice that price would still be a good deal – right now, the lowest price I see for these flights through the end of 2018 is $1,150). I used Citi Thank You Points from my Citi Prestige Credit Card to book these tickets at a value of 1.25 cents per point (so a little over 63,000 points total).

At first, I avoided making any further plans because I thought the tickets might get canceled – but after a couple of months, I was pretty confident that they would stick. I eventually booked tickets from Mexico City to San Francisco (using American Express Membership Rewards points with the 35% AMEX Platinum Card rebate), and a few days before our trip, I finally started sketching out our plan.

A map of Tonei's route in New Zealand, as described in the article

Map created on Travellerspoint.com

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a close up of stamps

Travel Hacking Mistakes WE Still Make

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In life, there’s always room for improvement, that’s for sure. And that holds true for the travel hacking world that each of us creates. Talking about mistakes we make is never an easy conversation, but Grant and I had it anyway. Whether the mistakes are the once-and-we’ll-never-do-that-again type, or those reoccurring mistakes that we seem to make over and over again, shedding light on the mistakes helps us think through what we’re doing and perhaps more importantly, what those mistakes might be costing us in the way of miles and points. After admitting our mistakes and deciding to share them with you, Grant and I had a good laugh about it all. Then he went back to enjoying his chai latte and I finished off my cortado, and of course we vowed to wipe the slate clean and not make the same mistakes again.

Let’s Take a Look at Our Mistakes

Grant felt that maybe searching and booking award flights and hotels too far out is a mistake because there are often good deals if you wait to the very last minute. Continue reading →

a blue and green credit card

Goodbye Citi Double Cash Gift Card Redemption; Hello American Express Plan It (Pay-Over-Time Payment Option)

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Good morning everyone, happy Saturday.  I have 2 small credit card topics to cover in this post.  The first topic is regarding the Citi Double Cash Credit Card and the second topic is about a new American Express card benefit that is being introduced to the American Express Hilton Ascend Credit Card (and other American Express charge and credit cards).  According to my recent Citi Double Cash Credit Card statement, the option to redeem cash back for gift cards is ending July 20, 2018.  After that date, you will only be able to redeem your cash back for check, statement credit, and direct deposit (to your bank).

a screenshot of a credit card

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a woman with blonde hair and a green shirt

March App-O-Rama: Which 7 Credit Cards am I Considering?

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Good morning everyone, happy Saturday! Thanks for the comments on yesterday’s post regarding which non-5/24 Chase credit cards I should get. I think I have narrowed down my App-O-Rama (AOR) credit card list to these 7 credit cards. I plan on applying for these credit cards sometime next week. Please let me know if you agree or disagree with any of the credit cards on this list. If there are any credit cards that you think are worth applying for, please share them in the comments and I will check them out.

Based on yesterday’s post, I will apply for these 2 Chase credit cards:

  • Chase Marriott Business Credit Card: This is the only non-5/24 Chase business credit card and who couldn’t use more Marriott points? The current sign up bonus is 75,000 Marriott points after spending $3,000 in 3 months. The $99 annual fee is waived the first year. I already have the Chase Marriott Rewards Credit Card, so the annual category 1-5 Marriott free night certificates will pair nicely with each other. I don’t plan on spending much on this credit card after meeting the minimum spend requirement. As long as I can redeem the Marriott free night certificate for more than an $99 hotel night, this is a decent credit card to hold on to for a long time. *snarky comment alert* If Marriott keeps devaluing their program, by the year 2029, there will not be any Marriott category 1-5 hotels left…
  • Chase Iberia Credit Card: Since you can get 1 personal and 1 business credit card from Chase on the same day, I have decided to go for this personal credit card. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 Avios after spending $3,000 in 3 months and an additional 25,000 Avios after spending $10,000 in 12 months. The annual fee is $95. I don’t plan on booking any Iberia flights in the near future, so I won’t be able to take advantage of the 10% discount on Iberia flights. I don’t plan on spending much on this credit card after meeting the minimum spend requirement and will close the credit card when the annual fee comes due the following year.

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a blue credit card with black text

Hilton Free Weekend Night Certificates Posted from my Citi Hilton Reserve Credit Cards

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Updated at 12:40pm PT on 2/13: My Hilton account now shows the 2 Free Weekend Night Certificates in my account.

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  I have a short post today on the Hilton Free Weekend Night Certificate.  I used to have 2 Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Credit Cards and spent $10,000 on each credit card before the conversion to the American Express Hilton Ascend Credit Card.  This morning, around 2am PT, I received 2 emails regarding my Free Weekend Night Certificates.  These Free Weekend Night Certificates came earlier than I was expecting and did not mention anything about spending a combined $15,000 on the Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Credit Card and American Express Hilton Ascend Credit Card.  Here is what the Free Weekend Night Certificates email looks like.  You have to make a reservation before the expiration date listed in the email.  I believe your reservation can be anytime after that though.

a screenshot of a email

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