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CategoryPotential US Bank Gift Card Fraud Spotted in the Wild
I hate that I have to write a post like this (again), but I would be remiss if I didn’t put this warning out there. Years ago there was an
Absolute versus relative redemption values
In Wednesday’s post about passing on the current IHG Rewards point sale, I mentioned that it’s not enough to get good absolute value from a points redemption if you’re not
PSA: Iberia.com hates Google Chrome. Use Internet Explorer
I am writing this in hope of saving you a few hours of your life in frustration. At least for me, Iberia.com is very buggy in Chrome and Firefox. It wouldn’t let me login 95% o..
First flight on Southwest – lessons learned and tips
So I finally flew Southwest for the first time and my hot take is that I don’t really understand why people have such strong feelings about it. Before my flight
You probably shouldn't participate in a good IHG points sale
Through Friday, June 15, IHG Rewards Club is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points, meaning you can buy up to 200,000 points for $1,000, or 0.5 cents each, when you
Shop Talk: Chase Ritz-Carlton, Full Sized Car Seats, Open Ended European Vacations, Kauai (Food & Coffee) and More
Welcome to another edition of Shop Talk where we discuss what’s going on in our personal points & miles space and highlight what we think is interesting in the broader
To my reader who mistyped his own e-mail address, Starwood edition
I recently received a question from a reader using the “Contact” page, but the reader seems to have mistyped their e-mail address, which I discovered only after writing my reply.
Help! I’m flying Southwest for the first time
A lot of ink has been spilled about how Southwest Airlines is the best airline for families. And even though this purportedly is a family blog, I’ve never flown Southwest
Using Chase Ink Business Unlimited to rejigger your Ultimate Rewards card portfolio
Chase has been fiddling with both their personal and business credit card lineup for a few years now, introducing both the personal Freedom Unlimited credit card, which earns 1.5..
New Ritz Carlton Redemption – A Luxury Cruise
I recently came across a new luxury content site for the ultra rich called Penta, that’s part of Barron’s,. They’ve covered some interesting things in the past like a piece
Shop Talk with Matt from Saverocity: Self-Insuring your Travels and more
Welcome to another edition of Shop Talk where we discuss what’s going on in our personal points & miles space and highlight what we think is interesting in the broader
3 questions about Americans and money
It’s a slow, rainy Sunday around here, which is as good an occasion as any to contemplate the mysteries of life. In that spirit, here are three questions I genuinely
How are things going on that Plastiq/Masterpass promo?
Plastiq’s fee-free promotion when paying bills with Masterpass and an associated Mastercard continues, with a slight change. There is now a $250 limit per-payment which is fee-fr..
Aeroplan Blocking LOT Polish Awards
Aeroplan is notorious for blocking useful partner award space, from Swiss to Avianca to EVA at various times. The latest victim (from our perspective) is LOT Polish Airlines. I..
Did the Marriott Hotel + Air arbitrage opportunity just get even better?
All the way back in September, 2016, I wrote that Marriott Hotel + Air packages offered an outlandishly good opportunity to transfer Starpoints to certain airline (but not train!..
Yes, collecting SkyMiles still makes perfectly good sense, you dolt
Just my luck. The very weekend after I wrote that I was cancelling my Delta Platinum Business American Express because I’d given up on American Express’s games awarding high spend
“Suicide of the West” is not a very good book
Last week I got into a discussion on Twitter with a long-time conservative reader who was upset about something he called “tribalism.” We went back and forth for a while
Confirmed? American Express is killing the golden Delta goose
I wrote back in February that I was concerned the unbonused manufactured spend I put on my Delta Platinum Business credit card wasn’t counting towards my annual Medallion Qualifi..
Booking Disney hotels with the Citi Prestige 4th night free – Step by step guide
I’ve long stated that I find using points to book Disney World vacations can be a good value, since you can’t get huge discounts off of published Disney prices. I
Shop Talk: Is the Points & Miles Game Just a Huge Waste of Time?
Welcome to another edition of Shop Talk where we discuss what’s going on in our personal points & miles space and highlight what we think is interesting in the broader
Cumulative losses as the psychic cost of investing
I was playing around with a pretty cool tool called Portfolio Visualizer and got to thinking about the difference between how finance professionals and ordinary people talk about..
Non-London American Airlines routes to Europe
A few weekends ago I held one of my notorious subscribers-only meetups in Philadelphia, and a long-time reader mentioned that American Airlines was launching non-stop service fro..
IHG and Radisson Won’t Honor Award Booking If Hotel Leaves Chain
You booked a stay using hotel loyalty points, and that hotel leaves the chain. Will your award reservation be honored? With SPG, Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, you have a good ch..