When American Express implemented a new policy to stop issuing points on gift card purchases (mainly at Simon and possibly GiftCardMall), a lot of people tossed out their Marriott Bonvoy cards. Thee new Marriott Bonvoy program has had its issues, leadi…
Read MoreAuthor: Ariana Arghandewal
Global Entry Enrollment Interview at Abu Dhabi Airport
Most of you have probably heard of the Global Entry enrollment interview process. But did you know that instead of scheduling your interview months in advance at a busy airport near you, you can do an interview on arrival? There are over 50 airports in…
Read MoreThe Pros and Cons of Solo Travel
I’ve traveled on my own quite a bit over the years. Pretty much every domestic trip I’ve taken over the last three years has been alone. My 2016 trip to Europe? A solo journey. A last-minute trip to the Maldives earlier this month? On my own. Coordinat…
Read MoreWaldorf Astoria Maldives Review: Things to Know Before You Go
I recently spent three nights at the new Waldorf Astoria Maldives, an experience I shared on Instagram. Since the hotel just opened two months ago and there aren’t many reviews out there, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people interested in s…
Read MoreIs Moneygram banning churners from buying money orders at Walmart?
I’ve been getting reports from readers who think they’ve been banned by Moneygram from buying money orders at Walmart. Apparently frequent churners have been getting “transaction could not be completed” messages when attempting to buy…
Read MoreNavy Federal More American Express Card: Worth a Second Look
Most of us don’t look outside the established rewards credit card bubble: Chase, Amex, Citi, CapitalOne and Bank of America. But there are lots of great credit cards out there that stay under the radar. Cards that offer generous rewards and no annual f…
Read MoreAn Idiot Abroad: Club Lounge Edition
It’s 2 A.M. and I’m yelling at a stranger in the Etihad business class lounge at Abu Dhabi Airport. I’ve just dozed off when the Ted Danson look-alike, who had been pushing his luck in the last hour with his speakerphone conversations, begins slamming …
Read MoreCredit Cards on the Chopping Block
It’s that time of year again to re-evaluate the credit cards in my wallet. I keep a spreadsheet with all of my credit cards and their various statement closing, due and annual fee dates. A bunch of them are either approaching an anniversary or the annu…
Read MoreHas Amex Stopped Issuing Points at GiftCardMall?
By now, you’ve probably heard that American Express is no longer issuing points on gift card purchases. Or at least in theory. A month ago, Amex added language to their terms stating that gift card purchases would no longer earn points or count to…
Read More8 Notable Features of the Apple Card
The Apple credit card came out a few weeks ago and the coverage has been abysmal. After reading two articles in the mainstream news, I still had no idea what the basic features of the Apple Credit Card were. One Yahoo post focused on superficial aspect…
Read MoreSimon Mall $1,000 Visa Gift Card Promo Extended Through October!
Great news for those of you who like hassle-free gift card churning: Simon Mall is extending the $1,000 Visa promotion through October 31, 2019! Simon Mall had originally planned on running this promotion through August 4, then extended it through Augu…
Read More5 Manufactured Spending Risks to Be Aware Of
I share my weekly manufactured spending activity pretty regularly on this blog. It helps me track how many points I’m earning at what cost and gives readers an idea of how it’s done. That being said, I don’t think these posts directly address the risks…
Read MoreWhat IS a Cheap Business Class Fare to Europe?
Years ago Virgin Atlantic and British Airways would run these incredible business class fare deals to Europe. At one point, a round-trip between San Francisco and London in VA’s Upper Class came in around $1,480. At the time, I thought “Why would I pay…
Read MoreMy MS-friendly Walmart Shut Me Down: What’s Next
Last week, I made a routine stop at my MS-friendly Walmart. I’ve been going to this location for years. I know the manager, staff and even trained a few cashiers on how to deal with “gamers.” I walked in, greeted one of my favorite cashiers and when I …
Read MoreChicago Seminars 2019: How to Get the Most Out of It
The Chicago Seminars are just two months away and one of the most common questions I get about these points and miles conferences is, “Is it worth it?” I attended my first seminar in 2013 and found it to be a great experience. Since then, I’ve missed t…
Read MoreMy JetBlue Account Was Hacked
Data hacks have become pretty common these days, so it’s not surprising when accounts get hacked. What is surprising is that companies know their customers are targets and are doing very little to prevent it. On Wednesday, my JetBlue account was hacked…
Read MoreMy Week in Manufactured Spending: $394.95 Cash Back and 614 Points
Last week, I bought $29,000 worth of Visa gift cards at Simon Mall across two visits. The total was split across three credit cards: The Discover it Miles Card, Fidelity Rewards Visa and Chase Ink Plus. The reason I used the Chase Ink Plus was because …
Read MoreSimon Mall $1,000 Visa Gift Card Promo Extended to August 31!
I just got word that Simon Mall is extending the $1,000 Visa gift card promotion through August 31! This is exciting news if you’ve been maxing out this promotion since it started two weeks ago. If you’re like me and mostly waiting until the weekend to…
Read MoreOnly Bloggers Affected By Hyatt Data Breach?
Hyatt had a minor data breach recently and so far, it only seems to be affecting bloggers. I’m sure a few people are feeling schadenfreude at this news, but it’s not that big of a deal…so far as I know. What happened Yesterday, I received a call …
Read MoreMy Week in Manufactured Spending: 2,068 Points and $374.19 Cash Back
I think this may be the first manufactured spending week where almost all of my rewards consisted of cash back. Normally I’m using cash back rewards to cover manufactured spending fees. But this week I was trying to maximize Simon Mall’s $1,000 Visa gi…
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