Tag Archives: US Bank

US Bank FlexPerks: No Foreign Transaction Fees, 1,000 FlexPoints for Joining Visa Checkout, 3,000 FlexPoints for Spending $5,500, and other Offers (Targeted?)

FlexPerks Visa Signature Card

US Bank FlexPerks: No Foreign Transaction Fees, 1,000 FlexPoints for Joining Visa Checkout, 3,000 FlexPoints for Spending $5,500, and other Offers (Targeted?)

Thanks to Dan for the heads up.  Apparently US Bank listened to me and got rid of the foreign transaction (FOREX) fees on their US Bank Flexperks credit card.  Previously, I wrote The US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa might be the Worst Travel Credit Card Ever stating that this was the only chip and signature card that had FOREX fees.  I’m glad they fixed that mistake.

US Bank FlexPerks No FOREX

if only they could update their terms and conditions page to match the new FOREX fee change.

FOREX Fees FlexPerks

The following offers may/may not be targeted.  With that said, I am including the links for all the offers.  Therefore, some of the links may/may not work.  Good luck!   Continue reading →

How to Book US Airways Off-Peak Award Flights to Europe for 30,000/35,000 Miles Round Trip

All award space and screenshots were taken on September 10.  Award space has likely changed (for better or worse) since this post was originally published.
USAir-Logo

How to Book US Airways Off-Peak Award Flights to Europe for 30,000/35,000 Miles Round Trip

US Airways off-peak flights to Europe are amazing.  I went to Europe in January 2013 and visited Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, Munich, and Brussels.  In January 2014, I went back to Europe and visited Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, and Rome.  Of course it is cold in January, but if this SoCal boy can handle a bit of snow, I’m sure you can too.  The weather in southern Europe, specifically Spain and Italy, is usually pretty good year round.  Rome in January was about 50-60 degree each day.  Amsterdam and Vienna were about 30-40 degrees each day.  Berlin was freezing, probably 10-20 degrees each day.

With that said, a winter getaway could be just what you need.  Thanks to US Airways and their off-peak awards to Europe, you only need 35,000 US Airways miles to fly from the US to many cities in Europe.  The rules are:

  • You must travel only on US Airways operated flights (no American Airlines or One World Alliance partners)
  • You must travel in economy class (no business or first class allowed)
  • You must complete your travel between January 15 and February 28

If you want to see the full US Airways award chart and other off-peak dates, please click here.

US Airways Off Peak Schedule

To read the entire post, please click here.

More Info Regarding Chime Card Loads After October 8 and my App-O-Rama Planning

Chime Logo

More Info Regarding Chime Card Loads After October 8 and my App-O-Rama Planning

Literally a few minutes before writing this post, I received the following email from Chime regarding the previously announced changes to debit card loads (link). Starting October 8, you will be able to load up to $200 per day, with a minimum load amount of $25.  If you use a debit card from Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Comerica Bank, or USAA, your debit card loads will remain free.  If you use a different debit card (including the PayPal Business Debit Card), you will *most likely* get hit with a “fee of up to 3%” per load.  We still need to wait and see what Chime does regarding the PayPal Business Debit Card.  If you use a debit card from one of the previously mentioned banks, the October 8 change will benefit you.

Chime Debit Card Updated Terms

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Master Collection of all of My Reconsideration and Retention Calls

Which Credit Card

Master Collection of all of My Reconsideration and Retention Calls

As an experienced miles and points collector, I can’t stress enough how important it is to be approved for new credit cards (and their huge sign up bonuses) and to keep the best travel credit cards while paying the least amount of annual fees.  Some credit card companies will offer statement credits, either to fully or partially offset the annual fee, just by calling and asking.  Other times, they will offer a “spending challenge” where you will have to spend $X in Y months to get a statement credit or bonus miles/points.  Here are some of my recent conversations concerting reconsideration calls (calls to be approved for new credit cards) and retention calls (calls to minimize or eliminate the annual fee).

For simplicity, green represents good calls (such as being approved or receiving a favorable retention bonus) and red represents bad calls (such as not being approved or not receiving a retention bonus).

Reconsideration Calls (and one Reconsideration Bank Visit):

  • 7/14/14 – US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card bank visit (link).  
  • Account approved after a few days.
  • 6/12/14 – Citi American Airlines Executive World MasterCard (link).  
  • Account approved over the phone.
  • 6/12/14 – Chase Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card (link).
  • Account approved over the phone.

Retention Calls:

  • 8/6/14 – Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card (link).
  • Received a category 1-4 free night certificate after spending $1,000 in 3 months.
  • 8/6/14 – Chase Southwest Airlines Premier Credit Card (link).
  • Received 3,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward Points.
  • 7/29/14 – Dad’s Citi American Airlines Platinum MasterCard (link).
  • Received a $95 statement credit.

To read the entire page, please click here.