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CategoryHow to get started travel hacking (hint: don't apply for any credit cards!)
A lot of people seem to treat my site as a space for “advanced” travel hackers, but I’ve never felt that way myself; in fact, I don’t think of myself
Amex Gift Cards Terms Change, what to do?
I was reading in the Forum Level 2 this morning that the terms changed on Amex Gift Cards. We have a rule where we don’t talk about what goes on
Using Mint to track travel hacking expenses and returns
The single most important thing you can do to succeed in travel hacking is stay organized. That’s true of every single aspect of the game:If you’re booking your hotel stays
Loyalty is an expensive, annoying trap
I shared on Monday that over the weekend I was the proud recipient of $1,300 in Delta voluntary denied boarding compensation, and reflected on some of the possible consequences for
How do you react to a shock to your travel budget? How should you?
Yesterday my scheduled flight out from my ancestral homeland was overbooked — very overbooked. They asked for 6 volunteers, and ended up taking 5 of them, each of whom received
New Staples Visa gift cards got you down? Try these two weird old tricks
I like buying Visa gift cards from Staples. I buy a lot of Visa gift cards from Staples. But the new Staples Visa gift card design has been causing me
Money talks, bullshit walks
I’m going on a mini rant here, based on a comment from Travel Blogger Buzz that I just read, here it is:
My blog has not seen a single phucking penny
Quick hit: my annual fees and retention offers
I wrote yesterday that I don’t chase signup bonuses as one of my principle methods of earning miles and points. But I also consider recurring annual benefits to be worth
Reminder: you can still sign up for Nationwide Visa Buxx cards
I earn only a small fraction of my miles and points chasing signup bonuses. There are people who get all the miles they need through signing up for new credit
Deciding on Cruise Destinations
I thought to share more of a ‘how to fish’ post here, perhaps it will spark some ideas, and hopefully you can help me refine my process.
I just received a
I still don't understand the appeal of revenue-based rewards programs
Invariably when I write about Ultimate Rewards transfer partners, commenters chime in that I’ve left out Southwest. And this is invariably true: Southwest doesn’t serve my local ..
The only way I know how to value miles and points
Yesterday I saw Trevor at Tagging Miles musing about how he values his miles and points, but in listing the different methods he’s seen people use, he doesn’t mention the
Cheapest Miles To Australia & Oceania
This is a pretty straight forwards continuation of my “Cheapest Miles To…” series, where I make charts for the cheapest miles to get to a region. All the prices are from North Am..
Exploring the Virgin Australia award chart
Yesterday MileValue wrote about the partnership between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines, which allows points to be transferred between the two programs at a 1.35:1 ratio ..
The 20-cents-per-mile breakeven point for Delta and United mileage earning is still wrong
Regular readers know the sacred cows that get repeated daily by affiliate bloggers, which drive me bonkers whenever I accidentally glance at one:”The Chase Sapphire Preferred is ..
Simplifying and automating debit card transactions
Last month I wrote about using Amazon Allowance to generate credit and debit transactions, like those required by Wells Fargo to waive monthly maintenance fees, by Bank of Americ..
Ben Schlappig's hobby has nothing to do with mine
I don’t know Ben Schlappig, although I’ve been in the same, large room with him a few times. But Ben has been the subject of a recent media blitz (Rolling
Retiring to hotels: good idea, or great idea?
After a prominent miles-and-points blogger cast off the chains of the rental housing market I wrote a light-hearted piece about manufacturing enough spend to, with the help of th..
Automate Twitter American Express offers the (really) easy way
Hat tips go to William Charles, Devil’s Advocate, and Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspirations for this post.IntroductionIn the last few weeks there have been a flurry of posts about..
How does the Club Carlson annual free night benefit work?
IntroductionOn June 1, the US Bank Club Carlson co-branded credit cards underwent a serious devaluation: the last-night-free benefit was eliminated, and replaced with a single, d..
How to glamp right. Hint: don't be me
I’m still recovering from a 3-night glamping adventure, so no serious miles-and-points analysis today. Instead, here are my thoughts on what you should keep in mind when going gl..
Thoughts towards earning domestic airline miles as cheaply as possible
[For reasons I cannot begin to understand, I am camping far from civilization this week. I have a couple posts scheduled, but won’t be participating as actively as usual in
Can current cardholders get one more TripIt Pro subscription from Barclaycard Arrival+?
[For reasons I cannot begin to understand, I am camping far from civilization this week. I have a couple posts scheduled, but won’t be participating as actively as usual in