Tag Archives: Southwest Airlines

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Q4 Credit Card Category Strategy: Do Way Better than 5% Cash Back at Amazon

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Good afternoon everyone, Q4 is among us.  With that, comes new cash back categories for Chase Freedom, Citi Dividend, and Discover It credit card holders.  Let’s go through the list of categories really quickly, starting with the Citi Dividend Credit Card: 5% cash back at Best Buy and department stores.  Most people will probably buy Visa Gift Cards at Best Buy.  I would also like to mention that you can often buy department store gift cards for much more than a 5% discount by shopping on Gift Card Granny.  Macy’s gift cards are 10%+ discounted, Sears gift cards are 6%+ discounted, and Kmart gift cards are 7%+ discounted.

Citi Dividend Q4 Calendar

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My Unsuccessful Chase Sapphire Preferred Reconsideration Call, Visit, and Tweets

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Good morning everyone.  A few weeks ago, I did an 8 card App-O-Rama.  One of my top credit cards to apply for was the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.  I previously opened a Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card back in August 2012 which I then downgraded to the Chase Sapphire (Basic) Credit Card in August 2013 which I then converted to the Chase Freedom Credit Card in November 2013.  Since I received the sign up bonus back in August 2012, I waited the necessary 24 months to reapply.

When I first received the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card, the sign up bonus was 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  The current sign up bonus is 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.  Long story short, I was low on Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (aren’t we all?) and I had waited long enough to reapply, so I was ready to apply for my second Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Side note: Doctor of Credit and a few other blogs and forums are reporting that Chase has really cracked down on approving applications for people that have more than 5 credit inquiries total during the last 2 years.  I (foolishly) ignored those warnings and insisted that my previous 3 years with Chase, 16 total approved Chase credit cards (8 currently open), and reconsideration call skills would be enough to get approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t enough.   Continue reading →

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An American Express Credit Card can Make/Save Over $300 from AMEX Offers in One Year

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(Hat Tip to Noah @ Money Metagame for the idea)

Good morning from beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona.  I am staying at the $80/night Hyatt Place in Scottsdale after an exciting day at the Phoenician Hotel and Resort for the First2Board PHX Sessions.  This morning, I was reading Money Metagame’s article and it got me thinking… how much money have I made/saved using AMEX Offers on 1 AMEX card over the last 12 months?  If you log into your American Express account, click AMEX Offers For You, and click My Savings, you will see all the enrolled offers that you participated in.  I think this list may exclude AMEX Sync Offers, so take that into consideration if you don’t see all your offers.  Here is what I bought and the profit ($/%) per AMEX Offer:

  • Office Depot: $50 Amazon Gift Card = $10 savings (20% free)
  • Whole Foods: $75 loaded to my Clipper Card = $10 savings (13.3% free)
  • Home Depot: $75 Panera Bread Gift Card = $15 savings (20% free)
  • SamsClub.com: $20 Sams Club Gift Card = $20 savings (100% free)
  • Smart & Final: 3 x $50 Southwest Airlines Gift Card = $75 savings (50% free)

Savings from AMEX Offers 1

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PSA: Sometimes Booking Flights Individually is Cheaper than Booking Together

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great Father’s Day weekend.  Even though I didn’t see my dad yesterday, I did speak to him on the phone and helped him book an award flight to Seattle.  As I was searching for Southwest Airlines flights for him, I found an award flight for 9,631 Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward Points (SWA RR Points).  Unfortunately, my dad did not see the same price, he saw a higher price.  Let me explain why.

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My Chase Freedom, Discover It, and Citi Dividend Q3 MS Strategy

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Good morning everyone, I just updated my Chase Freedom vs. Discover It vs. Citi Dividend 5% Cash Back Card Comparison page and thought I would share my Q3 strategy.  If you want to learn more about each card and activate the quarterly cash back bonuses, click the above link.

For Q3, Chase is offering 5% cash back at gas stations and Kohl’s.  Some gas stations (and convenient stores classified as gas stations) sell VGCs and PayPal My Cash Cards.  Each gas station has different rules, so you may have to try a few different places before you will be able to find one that accepts credit cards.  Kohl’s also sells a variety of gift cards and VGCs.  Most Kohl’s stores carry $50 and $100 VGCs, but some carry $200 VGCs.  You may need to check out a few stores to find the best GCs.

Chase Freedom Q3

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