Good afternoon everyone. Yesterday, Frequent Miler reported Southwest compensating passengers with 25K points each as a goodwill gesture (check your email!). Since I read that post, I eagerly awaited my email since Laura and I were both affected by Southwest Airlines when we tried to fly home on December 26. This morning, at 10am PT, I received the Southwest Airlines email that contained 2 sets of award codes for 25,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Points each. This is a very nice goodwill gesture by Southwest Airlines and I really appreciate it. In this post, I will show you how to redeem the award codes to get the points deposited into your account. Lastly, if you would rather redeem your points for gift cards, I will show you how to do that too.
Tag Archives: Free Stuff
Have you Read my Most Popular Posts of 2022?
Good afternoon, from rainy Northern California. Every year, I like to check out my stats from Google Analytics to see which blog posts were the most popular. I created 2 lists by looking at all blog posts written in 2022 and then I looked at which posts were read the most in 2022, but written in previous years (#stayingpower). I will list the blog posts from top to bottom based on pageviews, share the original published date, and provide my thoughts or a short summary of each blog post. If you are curious, here were the most popular posts from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
2022’s Most Read Posts (Written in 2022)
- Choose a New Design for your Discover It Credit Card – 159 Colorful Options Available (2/2/2022) – If you are tired of the standard Discover It Credit Card design, pick a new card design from 150+ options. This also helps if you have multiple Discover It cards so you can easily tell them apart.
- The Era of Visa-Free Living in Mexico is Over (1/28/2022) – Tonei wrote this post and they covered the Visa changes that came to Mexico early last year.
How Much Money Did I Make from Bank Account Bonuses in 2022?
Good evening everyone, happy New Year’s Eve! Doctor of Credit has a Best Bank Account Bonuses page that he keeps up to date with the best offers each month. In that master post, he links to individual bank account bonuses with helpful information regarding the bonus details, how to avoid monthly fees, when to close the account, how often you can open a new account, and much more. For the last 8 years, I have been opening new checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and cash management accounts for the new member bonuses. At the end of each year, I share my results on the blog. Over the last 8 years, I have made over $20,000 in bank account bonuses. You will receive 1099-INT tax forms every year, so you have to pay taxes on the bank account bonuses, but sometimes you can fund the opening deposit with a credit card and earn miles, points, or cash back. If you are lucky, you can meet a minimum spending requirement by funding a new checking account or reach a high spending target to earn more rewards. Here are my results from the last 8 years with links to corresponding yearly summaries:
- 2015: $1,175 (no post)
- 2016: $2,850 (summary)
- 2017: $3,700 (summary)
- 2018: $2,725 (summary)
- 2019: $1,000 (summary)
- 2020: $800 (summary)
- 2021: $3,600 (summary)
- 2022: $4,485 (this post)
Drum roll please… Here are the 18 new accounts I opened in 2022 that paid out $4,485 in bonuses:
8 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Choice Hotels (25%), British Airways (50%), Marriott (25%), Air France / KLM (120%), United (80%), Southwest (50%), Etihad (45%) & Alaska (50%)
Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday! I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 8 offers that end in the next week. 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 8 offers that end soon.
Up first, Choice Hotels is offering up to a 25% discount, depending on the number of Choice Hotels Privileges Points you purchase. This offer expires tomorrow – December 17.
PSA: Southwest Airlines EarlyBird Check-In is **NOT THE SAME** as Upgraded Boarding to Trigger Priority Credit Card Benefit
Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. If you have the Chase Southwest Airlines Priority Credit Card, please read this post so you do not make the same mistake as me. Aside from the sign up bonus, this credit card has some pretty cool benefits: $75 Southwest Airlines travel credit (can be used with Southwest Airlines egift cards), 4 Upgraded Boardings, and 7,500 Southwest Airlines points every year you pay the $149 annual fee. Because the $75 Southwest Airlines travel credit and 7,500 Southwest Airlines points is worth at least $150 to me, I keep the credit card open each year, even though I only flew Southwest Airlines twice this year. In this post, I will show you everything you need to know about the Upgraded Boardings and share my mistake in purchasing EarlyBird Check-In.