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CategoryGetting car rental rates at Autoslash prices without giving up the benefits of booking direct
If you’ve been around miles and points travel at all, you are probably familiar with Autoslash. It’s an awesome tool for finding the best publicly available car rental rates, and
How looking at reservations in isolation makes me overpay for travel
There is a mistake I consistently make in my travel hacking practice: I compare every travel purchase I make to its lowest-cost alternative in isolation. For example, take an air..
Using Hotel Points for Europe in September? Book Early
For the 2nd year in a row, I’m going to Europe the 1st week in September. The crowd is a bit smaller and temperature has gotten a bit cooler. However, also for the 2nd year in ..
Differences between non-retirement investment options
If you’re in the right mood, there’s something a little bit depressing about the subject of investing: how boring it is. An easy way to think about this is that
The rhetorical confusion between the administrative and regulatory states
On the occasion of a new Federalist Society nominee to the Supreme Court, I thought it’d be worth explaining a set of issues that are going to repeatedly come before
My Hilton Aspire card referral bonus FINALLY posted – after 4 months
I referred a friend to the Amex Hilton Aspire card back in March 2018. The 25k bonus points showed as earned in my card’s April statement, but it never posted to my Hilton accou..
Will we see you at Frequent Traveler University DC next month?
Frequent Traveler University moves to DC, and its only a month away! Frequent Traveler University DC will take place at the Crystal City Marriott in Northern Virginia, just out s..
Thinking about Vanguard’s no-transaction-fee ETF announcement
The finance blogosphere has been ablaze the last week with Vanguard’s announcement that they’ll be eliminating trading fees on an enormous swathe of ETF’s that currently cost $7 ..
Shop Talk: Chasing Deep Discounts on Disney Travel & Missing the Big Picture
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
Fuel Rewards: Sign up to Save 25 Cents a Gallon with your first fill-up!
There are a lot of traits of points and miles folks that lend themselves to the pursuit of other savings, outside of pure travel rewards. One area where I think
If you're reading this, hopefully I'm in the Czech Republic
I’ve heard that our top scientists, in their wisdom, have determined that people enjoy the anticipation of a holiday even more than they enjoy the holiday itself. I’m no scientis..
Marriott Travel Packages are getting more expensive (also maybe more valuable)
I saw Spencer Howard post on Twitter a seemingly-official (or at least well-spoofed) document listing the new prices of Marriott Hotel + Air packages when the combined Marriott, ..
Hotel benefits by length of stay
The other day I was looking at hotels for an upcoming weekend trip with flexible dates. I settled on a convenient Hilton property, and was immediately annoyed that I only
Keep a Bank of America Card Open for Free Museums
For a long time, Bank of America (BOA) has sponsored free museum days in the US. Currently, select museums throughout the country are free to BOA cardholders on the first full w..
Distinguishing between falsifiable and non-falsifiable claims
Right-wing troll Ben Shapiro has a cliché he deploys whenever he’s confronted by someone who disagrees with his particular brand of snarky malevolence: “facts don’t care about yo..
What if low US labor force participation is driven by low US labor standards?
There is no cliché more beloved by chin-stroking observers of The West than the “sclerotic” labor markets of Western Europe.
France is of course the most notoriously sclerotic l..
Transfer Starpoints to Amtrak Guest Rewards before August 1, 2018
For many years I was a booster of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to Amtrak Guest Rewards, due to their zone-based redemption system which made it possible to get 3 or
My (boring) Citi shutdown story
For the past few years, I’ve carried three credit cards issued by Citibank:Double Cash;Dividend Platinum Select;and AAdvantage Platinum Select.These are all middling credit cards..
Means-testing and the real marriage penalties (wonkish)
For decades (at least as long as I’ve been alive), people have used the expressions “marriage bonus” and “marriage penalty” to describe what happens to the income tax liability of
Shop Talk: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in This Game.
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
Do this now: register for 2018 3rd quarter bonus categories
With July 1 right around the corner, it’s time to make sure you’re registered for quarterly bonus earnings on some popular no-annual-fee credit cards.Chase FreedomAfter a great f..
JW Marriott Chengdu – Low Category City Luxury
A few months ago, I wrote about Le Meridien Chiang Rai, then a category 2 SPG redemption (now cat 3) for a luxurious 5-star resort tucked away from the bustle. Now I’d like to t..
Potential 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