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
[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…
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.
Why are some Visa cards dropping collision damage waiver coverage?
As I tweeted out on Friday, I was surprised to get an e-mail from US Bank telling me that my Flexperks Travel Rewards card would no longer have “Auto Rental
Grocery store rewards datapoints at the end of a lucrative few weeks
The last few months have seen a more or less continuous stream of offers supercharging the value of grocery store manufactured spend:Between September 4 and 10 Green Dot cards ea..
Ep. 147 – Mexico: A Month of Remote Schooling, a Covid Scare, and More w/ Jeff Brownson
Episode Description
Jeff Brownson returns to discuss spending a month remote schooling with his wife and children in Mexico this past September. We discuss why they decided to “s..
Galveston Revisited: my interview with the head of Galveston Park Board
Back in May, Sam and Robert of the Milenomics Squared podcast (and a slew of other activities in and around the world of travel hacking) invited me to join their
The Manifesto Episode 13: Deep Dive into Galveston, TX with Kelly de Schaun
Earlier this year we launched a podcast network, adding the Manifesto hosted by Gideon the Free-quent Flyer to the Patreon Feed. In this episode…
Ep. 146 – Signing Up for Some Credit Cards and Planning Some Travel
Episode Description
Trevor and Joe check in about what’s been going on. We’ve been signing up for some new credit cards, taking advantage of AMEX 3X referral opportunities, and e..
Foreign exchange products: TransferWise and Revolut
As long-time readers know, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and so I end up hearing a lot of podcast ads. A few months ago, I started hearing ads
Early Experiences with Amex Three-For-All
Just one week ago Robert broke the news about American Express’ Three-For-All. This enhancement to their current (and very generous) universal referral system is…
Ep. 145 – Hiking and Fishing the National Parks w/ Becky Pokora
Episode Description
We welcome back Becky Pokora from sightDOING who took a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks recently. We discuss the long hikes you can take wh..
Ep. 144 – No More Change Fees and Chase Freedom Flex
Episode Description
We hit up not one, but two guests on this week’s news focused Observation Deck. First, Leslie from Trips with Tykes drops by to discuss which airline’s no cha..
Ep. 143 – National Parks Road Trip w/ Nick S
Shoutout and thanks to Nick for the great trip report, beautiful pictures, and links to products mentioned (they are pure non-affiliate links, too!) This is one episode you might..
The Chase Freedom family of cards: it's (still) all about quantity
In a case of impeccable timing, at the beginning of this week I was high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, far from cell service, and so
Non-owner car insurance
Non-owner car insurance is one of the least-understood insurance products because it is needed by so few people: most people who drive own a car, and most people who own
Kings Canyon National Park: An Underrated Gem
I’ll keep this short and let the pictures do most of the talking, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed Kings Canyon National Park on my first Sierra Nevada visit in late July. Kings Can..