RECENT POSTS
  • Miles and Points

    How to Combine SPG Starpoints Between Accounts

    Here’s a lesser-known but generous feature of the Starwood Preferred Guest program: members of the same household can combine SPG Starpoints into one account. If you alone don’t have enough SPG points for a redemption, pool points with a family member for that upcoming vacation. I did exactly that, and I’ll show you how. What are SPG Starpoints? Starwood Preferred Guest is a hotel loyalty program where you earn points for each stay. These SPG Starpoints are a favorite for travelers: they have high value when you redeem at Starwood properties like Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, they can be transferred directly to miles in a huge list of frequent flyer programs,…

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  • Credit Cards

    Don’t Downgrade Your Chase Sapphire Reserve. Not Yet, Anyway.

    UPDATE 2: The $300 travel credit applies to purchases at grocery stores and gas stations through June 30, 2021. UPDATE: Chase recently changed it’s annual fee refund policy for product changes from 60 days for a full refund to about 40 days. The premise of this post still works, just mind the timing if you choose to downgrade/product change. In late 2016, Chase introduced the Sapphire Reserve to it’s stable of credit cards. It carries a hefty $550 annual fee ($450 for renewals), but it also offers a myriad of travel benefits that offset that fee. These include an annual $300 travel credit, complimentary Priority Pass airport lounge access, and…

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  • Offers

    FREE: 1000 Marriott Rewards Points and $10 at Starbucks with Visa Checkout

    Visa Checkout is teaming up with Marriott and Starbucks in 2 separate offers. You can earn up to 1000 Marriott Rewards points and get a $10 bonus when you purchase a $10 Starbucks eGift card. Visa Checkout is a digital wallet service similar to paypal. According to their website: It’s simple to sign up for Visa Checkout. Set up your account, and start spending less time filling out forms when you shop. On a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop, Visa Checkout works with your existing debit or credit cards across all your devices, no matter where you are. So, shopping stays convenient and paying online gets even easier. You don’t…

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  • Credit Cards

    Disposing of my Metal Platinum Amex After Canceling

    Last week, I finally decided to cancel my Amex Platinum card. I had been a long-time card member, but at this point, the annual fee outweighs the benefits I’m currently enjoying. I’ll write about my reasons in a future post. When the American Express phone agent read through his disclaimer as I canceled, I was told I needed to destroy and dispose of my physical cards. I told the agent that I had the new, fairly hefty, metal version of the card. “Do you have any suggestions for destroying my cards?” I asked. “I’ll tell you what,” the agent replied, “I’ll send envelopes that you can use to mail them…

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  • Shopping

    Today Only – Ebates 12% Cash Back at 300+ Stores

    Ebates, one of my favorite cash back shopping portals, is running an Member Appreciation Sale. Today only, get 12% cashback at over 300 top stores when you click through their portal. Here’s a small sample of featured 12% cash back merchants. If you’re not familiar with shopping portals, you can read my full primer here. In short, shopping portals are websites that provide links to various retailers’ websites. In return for directing customers to their site, those retailers pay a commission to the portal for each customer that makes a qualifying purchase. The portal then allots a portion of that commission–in the form of points or cash–to the original customer. If you’re not already an Ebates…

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