Tag Archives: Travel Credit Cards

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Delta TakeOff 15 Benefit (15% Award Travel Discount) Available within 24 Hours of New Credit Card, But Cannot Use on Existing Award Ticket Reservations

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  On Tuesday, I applied for the American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card through a targeted Delta mailer and was instantly approved.  The reason I applied for this credit card is because it comes with the new Delta TakeOff 15 card member benefit that provides a 15% discount on Delta award travel and I haven’t received the sign up bonus on this credit card before.  I have an upcoming Delta flight from San Francisco to Atlanta to Jacksonville (SFO-ATL-JAX) for an upcoming “free” Carnival Cruise and I wanted to save some miles on that award ticket (and future Delta award tickets I will book).

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Stacking Carnival Cruise Line Fun Match “Free” Cruise with 2x $35 Off $100 Chase Offer & BankAmeriDeal

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few weeks ago, I followed Nick’s advice from Frequent Miler and got a “free” cruise from Carnival Cruise Line.  Nick also got me a “free” Holland America Cruise, so if I ever see Nick on the High Seas, I will be sure to buy him a refreshing drink (or two).  Technically, these “free” cruises aren’t really free, I still had to pay a few hundred dollars in taxes, fees, port expenses, and gratuities, but I’m excited to go on my first cruise since my 2002 cruise to Alaska (scroll to the bottom to see some old school photos).

With the Carnival Fun Match promo, I received an offer for a “free” room (up to a balcony room), $50 in FunPlay credit, free drinks in the casino, and $100 OnBoard Credit per person. To reduce the cost, I split the $200 deposit and paid with 2 credit cards to trigger 2x $35 statement credits.

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My 2 Unsuccessful Retention Offer Calls for Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business & AMEX Gold

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well. Yesterday, I called Chase and American Express about 2 credit cards that had annual fees that just posted. When I called Chase about my Chase Marriott Bonvoy Premier Plus Business Credit Card (no longer available for sign up or product change), I told the rep that the $99 annual fee just posted to my account and that I wasn’t using this credit card very much since I use my JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card (no longer available for sign up, but can be product changed into) for my Marriott purchases.  I asked the rep if they were able to waive the annual fee. The rep looked for retention offers and said there were no offers available.  For reference, in past years, I have received retention offers of $50 or $100.

Generally, I prefer to keep credit cards that are no longer available, unless there is a very good reason to close or product change them to another credit card, so I decided to keep the card open.  With that said, I can easily get more than $99 of value with the 35K Marriott Free Night Certificate that comes with this credit card each year. In fact, I already redeemed my 35K FNC for a stay later this month that costs more than $200.

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Travel with Grant Turns 10 Years Old + 10 x $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Travel with Grant just turned 10 years old!  Yup, I started this blog on May 1, 2013 and I can’t believe I’ve had a travel blog for 10 years (I really can’t believe I have done anything for 10 years, let alone blogging). To celebrate this special occasion, I wanted to give away 10 x $10 Amazon Gift Cards to my readers.

To enter the giveaway…

Leave a comment on this post by 11:59pm PT on May 3 telling me about your favorite article / topic covered on Travel with Grant.  I will select 10 winners by Friday, May 5 and email them a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway and here’s to 10 more years!

P.S. In case you were wondering, here are the 9 other blogiversary posts I wrote throughout the years:

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Last Call: See My Presentation at FTU Virtual Seminar on Saturday, April 29 ($25) or Free with Online Annual Membership

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  If you are not busy tomorrow, Saturday, April 29, I highly recommend attending the FTU Virtual Seminar (tickets available for $25) or free if you have the FTU Online Annual Membership.  The seminar starts on Saturday, April 29, at 8am PT / 11am ET.  I have attended all of the FTU Virtual Seminars over the last 2+ years and they are always well done, educational, and entertaining – and I am sure this seminar will be no exception!  Here is the schedule for the event.  If you need one more reason to attend, I will be presenting on “Credit Cards 201: Before, During, and After Application Tips” where I will share my more advanced credit card application tips.

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