Tag Archives: Free Stuff

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How to Renew your Global Entry Card & Membership Online ($100 Fee Every 5 Years)

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Good morning everyone.  A few years ago, I wrote how to sign up for Global Entry, and now I am writing about how to renew your Global Entry membership (most of the process is the same).  I didn’t know my Global Entry membership was expiring in November 2019 until I received this email from Global Entry with the cryptic subject line “Program Expiry”.  I have several credit cards that reimburse the $100 fee for Global Entry (including my Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card), so it was a no brainer to renew my Global Entry membership.  To get started, I went to the Trusted Travel Program website.

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American Express Membership Rewards Points Post Fast for AMEX Card Referrals

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Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Fourth of July Weekend.  I spent the week in Orange County, CA and the weekend in Boulder, CO at a wedding.  While I was down in Orange County visiting my family, I went out to dinner with my grandparents.  My grandpa used his Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card to pay for dinner (3x on restaurant purchases).  My grandpa has been an American Express customer for 30+ years and is a mini travel hacker, so after dinner, I told him that he should get the American Express Gold Card because it offers 4x on restaurants and grocery stores (2 of his most frequent expenses).

Later that week, I was over at his house and he asked me to help him get the new American Express Gold Card.  He asked me to send him a link for the card, so I logged into my American Express online account, copied my referral link, and emailed it to him.  According to the referral page, you can earn 10,000 Membership Rewards Points for each referral, up to a maximum of 55,000 Membership Rewards Points per year.  The referral points should post within 8-12 weeks, but in my experience, the referral points posted within 3 days.  I sent my grandpa the referral link on July 2 and he applied and was approved for the card on the same day.

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3 Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending June 30: Alaska (30%), American (10%) & Virgin Atlantic (40%)

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Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 3 offers ending in the next few days.  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 3 buy miles/points promos ending on June 30.  First up, Alaska Airlines is offering a 30% discount, when you purchase at least 20,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles.  This offer expires on June 30.

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My Recent American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card Retention Offer

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Good morning everyone.  2 months ago, I wrote Keep, Cancel or Convert? American Express Hilton Aspire Credit Card ($450 Annual Fee).  In that post, I shared that I was offered a retention offer by the American Express rep: earn 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points after spending $2,000 in 3 months. 10,000 Hilton Honors points is worth about $50 to me and I was planning on keeping the credit card anyways, so I accepted the offer.  A few minutes after the call, I received the following email from American Express.  Unfortunately, the email did not mention any of the retention offer details, but I decided to spend $2,000 on the credit card anyway.

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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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