My chance to give back. I got in the game in 2003 with a "mistake rate" in Bora Bora and since then I've collected literally millions and millions of frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I've flown around the world in first class seats that would cost $29,000 using frequent flyer miles and a few bucks in tax. And I've stayed in some of the finest hotels - all for free! I've hosted two seminars on miles and points at South By Southwest in Austin, and have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, published on Bravo TV's JetSet site, and spoken on the Condé Nast Traveler podcast series.
A few years ago I realized many of my friends actually thought I was paying for my flights!! So I started sharing my tips. My favorite thing in the world is helping others have the experiences I do, so please follow along and help me help you. Don't forget to sign up for the free email newsletter on the right side of the page so you don't miss anything.
NOTE: On January 12th, 2020, the Chase Sapphire Reserve‘s annual fee went from $450 to $550 and added new benefits with DoorDash and Lyft. This post compares the two cards taking into account the new benefits. The new Lyft benefits…
While I’d been hoping that we’d see a Citi ThankYou transfer bonus to Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles while AsiaMiles is running it’s own 10% transfer bonus, it hasn’t materialized. There is a potential, targeted 25% transfer bonus to AsiaMiles from Amex…
The End of Close-In Award Fees for American Airlines AAdvantage American Airlines announced today that they would be following Delta and United in doing away with those pesky (and egregious) fees for booking an award flight within 21 days of…
I read, with great interest, this article in USA Today from Dawn Gilbertson. She talks about comments from Delta CEO Ed Bastian that hint that they are evaluating changing the way they approach change fees, in which he seems to…
This is a really short blog post but many have been wondering if the relaunch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve with the new annual fee of $550 might bring a temporary boost in the new cardmember bonus offer. Chase Sapphire…
Today, Chase upped their bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card to 100,000 Bonvoy points when you spend $5,000 in your first three months. This is up from the “standard” offer of 75,000 for $3,000 in spend and, given the…
If you have reached either 50 night or 75 nights with Marriott Bonvoy in 2019, you have earned a bonus gift from Marriott for the achievement. You must select your gift by January 15th, else you will automatically be given…
Today, January 12th, the new Chase Sapphire Reserve Lyft benefits took effect and can now be activated on your account. Let’s look at what they are, how they work, and if you should activate Lyft Pink now or later. First,…
All three of the personal Southwest credit cards from Chase are sporting newly increased bonus offers that are the highest we’ve ever seen and just perfect for getting your Southwest Companion Pass (which there’s still time to get nearly two…
[This post has been updated on October 17th, 2019 to reflect the new Companion Pass Requirements of 125,000 Rapid Rewards points vs. the older requirement of 110,000 that was in effect when this article was originally written. It’s also been…
