Tag Archives: Free Stuff

a black letter b and b

American Express Cards Will No Longer Earn 2x Membership Reward Points on Uber Rides (Effective February 1)

Posted on by . 17 Replies

Updated 11pm PT on 1/4: This change affects all American Express cards, not just the American Express Platinum Card.

Good evening everyone.  I was reviewing my American Express Platinum Business Charge Card statement this afternoon and spotted this announcement.  Effective February 1, American Express Platinum cardholders will no longer earn 2x Membership Reward Points on Uber rides.  I believe this change affects all version of the Platinum Card.  I think this change has to do with the new Barclays Uber Visa Credit Card which earns 2% cash back on Uber rides.  A few months ago, Tonei wrote Lesson Learned: International Uber Rides Do Not Earn 2x Membership Reward Points, but international Uber rides haven’t earned 2x Membership Reward Points in a long time.  I looked all over my statement but could not find any more information about this announcement.

a black text on a white background

Continue reading →

a close up of a word

Eat These 7 Foods on New Year’s Eve For Good Luck!

Posted on by . 6 Replies

We love to travel, right? And when we do travel, many of us enjoy foods from different countries. Even if you’re not superstitious, why not finish off 2017 with these LUCKY foods from around the world! All of them are said to represent various forms of success in the year to come. I’m curious how many of them you know about. I actually didn’t know much about these 7 foods bringing good luck. But now I’m thinking I’ll change up my New Year’s Eve menu. Who can’t use more luck?

1. In American South, greens are said to represent money and financial success.

2. In Italy, China, and Brazil, the shape of beans, especially lentils, is also said to symbolize coins.

3. In many Asian cultures, shiny fish scales represent coins, too, because they resemble them.

a close-up of a snake skin

Shiny fish scales. Image source: http://www.messianic-torah-truth-seeker.org/Torah/Kashrut/Tahor-clean-Scaled-fish.htm

Continue reading →

a close-up of a logo

Help Me Choose my Meal on British Airways Business Class

Posted on by . 1 Reply

Updated 1/3 4:30pm PT: Based on popular demand, I selected Braised British Beef as my meal choice. Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll.

Have you ever had the opportunity to pre-order your meal while traveling business class? On a few flights I took last year, I really loved the eating on demand option. Now on an upcoming British Airways flight, I’ve got the option to pre-order my meal. I’ve never flown British Airways before, so why not let you all help me choose! I’m guessing at least a few of you have flown British Airways before :)

a screenshot of a recipe

Please select your top choice. I’ll order whichever option gets the most votes. Thanks for your vote!

a pile of money with white text

How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2017?

Posted on by . 18 Replies

Good morning everyone, happy last Friday of the year!  A long, long time ago, before Doctor of Credit was as popular as he is now, he did a guest post for me back in March 2014: Guest Post from Doctor of Credit: Bank Account Sign Up Bonuses.  DOC has always been a big fan of bank account bonuses, but it took me a long time to get on the bandwagon and now I am hooked.  Earlier this year, I wrote about my 2016 Roundup of Bank Account Bonuses.  In 2015, I made $1,175 in bank account bonuses.  In 2016, I made $2,850 in bank account bonuses.  And this year, I made $3,700 in bank account bonuses.

Here are all the bank accounts I opened, the date they were closed and the bonus I received.  To be fair, I am still waiting for the $200 bonus to post from my Capital One 360 Money Market account, but I met the requirements already, so now I just need to wait.  I learned about all of these bonuses on DOC and he keeps a very detailed and up-to-date bank account bonuses page.

a screenshot of a bank account

Continue reading →

a blue and white background with text

(Reposted 12/29: 724 FlexPoints Left) Take a Point, Leave a Point! Share your Leftover FlexPoints to Help Other Travel Hackers

Posted on by . 39 Replies

Updated 12/29 at 7am PT: I still have 724 FlexPoints ready to give to readers.  If you need a few extra FlexPoints to book an award ticket by 12/31, please read this post and leave a comment below. Thank you.

Good afternoon everyone.  As you probably know, beginning on January 1, 2018, FlexPoints will be worth a fixed 1.5 cents per point (CPP) down from their current value of up to 2.0 CPP.  This is definitely a big blow to the US Bank FlexPerks Rewards program.  I’ve been a long time fan of the US Bank FlexPerks Rewards program and first got into the program when US Bank ran their 2014 Winter Olympics promo with an increased sign up bonus for their US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card.  Since then, I’ve earned and redeemed 200,000+ FlexPoints over the last 3+ years.

Since I can get 1.5 CPP value with my new Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card and Chase Ultimate Reward Points are so much easier to rack up than US Bank FlexPoints, I have decided to liquidate my FlexPoints stash.  It is a sad day and an end to an era, but all good things must come to an end.  But there is good news!  I have decided to share my 4,793 leftover FlexPoints with my readers.

If you need between 1 and 4,793 FlexPoints to book a travel redemption (at the 20,000 or 30,000 FlexPoint threshold), please leave a comment with the number of FlexPoints you need.  After a few days, I will email each commenter, starting with the smallest FlexPoint request and ask for your FlexPerks account number.  I will then transfer the number of FlexPoints you need.  This is my small gift to my readers.

a screenshot of a computer

Continue reading →