Episode 48: Booking Travel in 2021
We’re back today with a show we’ve talked about recording for some time now. The topic of booking travel in 2021 is a unique one because this is a very
What the Times got right and wrong about travel hacking
The New York Times Magazine had an article in yesterday’s paper issue (although, confusingly, it’s been available online since last week) about travel hacking. I spoke to the aut..
Good reasons to own bonds
Become a Patron!For as long as I’ve been writing about money, I’ve been saying almost everybody owns too many bonds. My argument has nothing to do with “risk” or “volatility”
Quick hits: rollovers (hitting); awards (waiting); Chase targeted offers (missed me so far)
There are quite a few current and expired offers floating around right now that I want to put in one place to make it easy for readers (and me) to
Episode 47: Amex Enhances, Virgin Atlantic Devalues, and New Year Opportunities
We’re back with a packed No Annual Fee episode of the podcast. Let’s get right into it… 0:22 2021 Amex Perks/Offers (Summary from Amex) Personal $30 PayPal Credit Per Month
A tale of two Hyatts Place
Last week I took a road trip to neighboring Delaware to check out some of the beach communities we missed on our trip to Exmore in August. It was a
Understanding one (positive) nuance of the latest federal relief
Become a Patron!One of the most immediate consequences of the laziness of finance and economics reporters is that they’re incapable of exerting themselves to understand any issue..
How Citi Calculates Months for Retention Bonuses
I recently accepted a retention offer on my Citi Prestige card and bungled the timing of the spending requirement. I called Citi and discovered what I did wrong so I
Ep. 150 – Festivus the Fifth
Episode Description
It’s a Festivus for the rest of us! We gather around the aluminum pole one last time and discuss our airing of grievances (it’s 2020, there were a lot),
50k MR or $500 Retention Offer on NEW Amex Platinum, No Spend Required
This is the most generous retention offer I’ve ever encountered.
Today I called Amex to see if there was any retention offer on my Aspire card, since I barely used the benefits ..
How big a deal is reinvestment risk?
Become a Patron!When financial professionals talk about investing, the conversation invariably turns to the question of “risks.” This is a term of art only vaguely related to its..
How I'm positioned going into 2021
With the end of the year in sight and the possibility of travel again appearing on the horizon, I thought it would be unusually desirous to take stock of my
12+ Luxury Expedia VIP Access Hotels to Consider Booking (before 1/31/2021)
We were discussing in Episode 104 of the podcast how the Citi Expedia card is set to devalue its best redemption (booking their “VIP Access” hotels at 1.4 cents a
[Expired] No Fee Hilton Aspire Upgrade Offer [Regularly $450]
Update (12/15/2020): We had CF Frost on Episode 106 of the podcast to discuss this deal and all things Amex Update (12/15/2020): It appears Amex has pulled the offer. This
Is investment behavior “coaching” possible?
Ever since I took my first job in college as a sandwich artist, I’ve been suspicious of the American reluctance to talk about money. The franchisee scumbag who hired me
Shop Talk: Keep These Things in Mind Before Pursuing Hyatt Globalist
Welcome back to another edition of Shop Talk – our “podcast on paper” where we do a deeper dive here on the blog on a topic we’ve been discussing on
Ep. 149 – Dubai w/ Spencer Howard
Episode Description
Spencer Howard from Straight to the Points and the amazing award newsletter swings by. We celebrate a big life change before moving on to discuss his recent t..
Register for Hyatt free night earning opportunity (and other Chase grocery offers)
There’s a great opportunity right now for Chase World of Hyatt and legacy Hyatt cardholders, so I want to remind readers to register for both offers (and some other available
PSA: Use Firefox to link Rakuten to your Amex account
Rakuten is in the news a lot lately. Between various 15% cashback deals at stores like Saks 5th Avenue, and the 90-100% cashback on the LifeLock, there are some good deals. Fur..
Surprise Surprise: IHG not (yet) extending Free Night Certificates beyond Dec 2020
Back in April, IHG blanketly instituted Dec 31, 2020 as the expiration date for all unexpired free night certificate (FNC) as of Mar 1, 2020 that had already been issued. That m..
Yes, Triple Dip is possible with your new Amex Platinum
If you are the owner of a new Amex Platinum card because of the extraordinary signup bonus (here’s the coverage by Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler), you might be wondering wh..
Exciting: Hilton Improves Points Redemption Value!
I’m seeing an exciting development with Hilton Honors that I haven’t seen reported in the blogosphere (but I also haven’t read every blog).
The value of Hilton points has hovered ..
Ep. 148 – African Safaris w/ Saianel
Episode Description
We talk to Ivan (@saianel) about his recent trip to see the Great Migration in Tanzania and how it compares to the other two (!) safaris he’s been on.