Tag Archives: Credit Cards

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Do You Use An Affinity Reward Credit Card? Here’s a Better Option!

I swear this happened the other day because I could not make this stuff up, even if I tried. And it’s by far the number one mistake people make in gathering miles and points. I’m in line to pay for groceries and the man in front of me pulls out a credit card to pay for his items. I have a curious nature, so I always look to see what credit card people use for their expenses. I contorted my body in several different directions in order to catch the name on the card and it was a, drum roll please… TJ Maxx Credit Card. Who knew TJ Maxx even had a credit card? And I’m not judging people who shop at TJ Maxx. Observing this man using his TJ Maxx Credit Card at a grocery store reminded me of all the other friends and family members I have who use these affinity cards. Using affinity cards doesn’t make sense if the goal is to travel more for less. Credit cards that accrue flexible points and miles so they can be used on various airlines and at multiple hotel chains makes much much much better sense! Continue reading

a blue and red credit card

Does the $450 Annual Fee Count Toward AMEX Hilton Aspire Minimum Spend? Maybe Yes

Good morning everyone.  On May 15, I received my 100,000 Hilton Honors Points from my new American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card (referral link).  This credit card requires $4,000 in minimum spending within 3 months to get the 100,000 Hilton Honors Points.  The strange thing is, I think I got the 100,000 Hilton Honors Points before I completed the full $4,000 in minimum spend.  I believe I was a few hundred dollars short by May 15, but it looks like the $450 annual fee counted toward the $4,000 minimum spend.  My friend recently got his 100,000 Hilton Honors Points and noticed the same thing.  Let me see if I can dig a little deeper and see what is going on.

a screenshot of a travel program

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PSA: Most US Bank “Travel Cards” Charge FOREX Fees

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Father’s Day Weekend. As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m getting ready for my Greece and Malta vacation. As part of my packing process, I call my banks and credit card companies, tell them I’m traveling internationally, and ask them to put travel notifications on my cards. During my recent call to Discover, I “discovered” 3 surprising facts about using Discover credit and debit cards internationally. In today’s post, I discovered some disappointing information about using US Bank credit cards internationally.

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Are you Missing American Express AMEX Offers? Try this Trick

Good morning everyone, happy Saturday.  In today’s post, I will show you what to do when AMEX Offers are hiding/missing from your online account.  I’m not sure if this in intentional or accidental, or if American Express is beta testing something, but when I logged into my American Express online account Friday morning, the AMEX Offers section was totally missing.  This only happened when I logged into my business American Express online account.  However, when I logged into my personal American Express online account (shown in the second picture), the AMEX Offers section showed up in the correct spot.  Luckily, there is a very simple solution to see your AMEX Offers.

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3 Surprising Facts About Using Discover Credit & Debit Cards Internationally

Good morning everyone. I am heading to Greece and Malta for vacation and called my credit card companies and banks to add travel notifications to my accounts. I know most credit card companies and banks do not require you to alert them when you are travelling internationally, but I like the peace of mind of speaking to a person and making sure the travel notification are added to my accounts. When I travel internationally, I like to bring several credit and debit cards from various banks, just in case if some of the cards get lost, stolen, or declined. This means I end up making several calls, but it’s worth it to me.

a group of credit cards

Image source: http://westprincechamber.com/we-now-accept-credit-and-debit-cards/

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