Miles and Points, Square Peg

1) Make sure to read this post on PFDigest on Wells Fargo Propel card with 40,000 points bonus. Sounds like a great deal and I have put it at the top of my Best Deals page. Pays me no commission.

2)  A good post with screenshots on MMS blog about different hotel programs and how you can book reservation with points for others, using your account. Read more HERE  

3) Through May 25th, Aeroplan (Air Canada program) is offering a 25% bonus on transfers from certain programs, including SPG, though not Amex Membership Rewards.

4) AirTran program will be discontinued on November 2nd, 2014, and all credits will be converted to Southwest Rapid Rewards.  If you have AirTran credits and are looking to redeem for an expensive route, now may be the time to do it.

Remember, AirTran flies to Caribbean, though economy availability is abysmal. You can also convert Rapid Rewards to AirTran credits, though  find award seats first.

Read more on the whole thing HERE

5) Via OMAAT, American Express is offering a 30% transfer bonus for Membership Rewards points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club between May 1 and May 31, 2014. This could be a good deal for redemptions on Virgin America, where some flights cost only 10,000 roundtrip.

6) Lufthansa card bonus is increased and US Airways card now pays me commission. I wrote a post on it yesterday, which I recommend you read. On a related note, now you can get a free checked bag for you and up to 4 companions with your US Airways card on their flights.

7) Chase INK Plus and Bold  bonus is temporarily increased to 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points instead of a standard offer of 50,000 points. Both cards pay me commission. Should you apply? It depends.

If you planned to do it anyway in the near future, now may be a good time. If not, it’s OK to pass on this bonus, as losing 10,000 points is not the end of the world. I don’t plan to do any further posts on this deal other than the ending date of the offer.

It is a very good bonus and was even before the increase. If you have applied for one of these cards in the last 90 days, you may get 10,000 points credited if you send a secure message to Chase. You can find further details in my list of business cards HERE

On my mind

Very often  bloggers say that they basically write for themselves. If the readers come along for the ride, great. There is nothing wrong with that, and if the writing is compelling, people will follow. However, that’s not how I feel. I don’t want to write for myself.  I really would like my posts to benefit someone, even if  just a few.

Sometimes I get really discouraged and wonder if all the effort I put into my site is even worth it.  But then I get a really nice comment from a reader who was able to book five award tickets to Hawaii and said it was partially due to my blog. And  I think, maybe it is worth it after all.

It’s been close to a year now (gasp!) and I am still trying to figure out my blog’s identity. Where does it fit in?   Does it  even need to fit in? It’s becoming more clear  that  my site is   a “square peg in a round hole.” But I kind of like it that way!

I guess, if I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be “simple yet not simplistic, crazy but quite lucid, family yet not a momma blog.” Oh, and hopefully and most importantly beneficial.