Tag Archives: Gift Cards

a close up of stamps

Travel Hacking Mistakes WE Still Make

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 red text on a white background

MealPal: Select Meals Under $7 (Available in Select Cities)

Good morning everyone.  MealPal is a new lunch program (available in select cities) where you pay a fixed price per meal (ranging from $6-$7, depending on your plan).  You then reserve lunch at participating restaurants, walk in during your reservation time, tell them your name, and then walk out with your lunch. I’ve been meaning to write about MealPal for months, but have never gotten around to it until now.  Luckily, MealPal has a great promotion running now.

a menu for a restaurant

Continue reading

a horse drawn carriage with horses

Before Closing Wells Fargo Propel World AMEX Credit Card, Get $100 Airline Reimbursement

Good afternoon everyone.  During last week’s rundown of credit cards who charged me an annual fee in March, I wrote about my Wells Fargo Propel World American Express Credit Card.  In that post, I mentioned that this credit card has a $175 annual fee and I could not figure out how Wells Fargo could justify charging $175 for this credit card.  I also reminded myself that this credit card offers a $100 airline reimbursement credit each cardmember year.  And since the annual fee posted on April 2, I figured I was in a new cardmember year.  I then used this credit card to buy a $100 Southwest Airlines egift card.  A few days later, I received the following email regarding the $100 airline reimbursement.

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading

green text on a white background

AMEX Membership Rewards Changes: No Points for Cash Equivalents (Gift Cards) & Person-to-Person Payments (Venmo)

Good morning everyone, I was looking through my recent American Express statement and saw an ominous message on my American Express EveryDay Credit Card.  The message said, “See page 5 for a Notice of Change to the Membership Rewards Program Terms & Conditions.”  Uh oh, that sounded pretty bad.  I cautiously scrolled down to page 5 expecting the worst.  What did American Express do?

a screenshot of a credit card

Continue reading

a close-up of a logo

PSA: You Cannot Use AA Gift Certificates for American Airlines Basic Economy Tickets [Partially True]

Updated 3:30pm PT on 2/8: I just received an update from Brant, here is what he said:

After another lengthy phone call to AA, turns out that the agent I originally talked to yesterday was only half correct. You CAN use GC’s to buy a basic economy fare, which I was told you could not. However, you cannot use residual funds from a canceled ticket purchased with a GC to book another flight in a lower category. The original tickets were in economy and I was trying to use the funds for basic economy. The original agent assumed that this restriction applied to using GC’s to make a basic economy ticket from the start. In other words, bad information.

Sorry for the misinformation everyone  it looks like you can use AA gift cards to buy American Airlines basic economy tickets, but only if the AA funds do not come from a regular American Airlines economy ticket  I hope that makes sense.


Good morning everyone, I just received a Facebook message from my friend, Brant, that I wanted to share with everyone (he said it would be helpful for others to know).  Here is what Brant said:

So, I just got off the phone with American Airlines and after a 30 minute ordeal I discovered something interesting that you might want to write on your blog for those who have been collecting AA gift certificates. I have around $2,700 worth of certificates that I bought using airline credit on AMEX Plat, Chase Sapphire Reserve, etc. Anyway, you cannot purchase a “basic economy” tickets using gift certificates. No way, no how, period even if you have status with AA. Just an interesting but aggravating fact you might want to mention.

a screenshot of a plane

Continue reading