- EvolveMoney started to accept payments made with Visa and MasterCard, but there is a 3% fee involved. It could still be worth it to meet minimum spending requirements. Payments via debit cards (including most gift cards) are still free.
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If you are planning on taking a paid Virgin America flight, get 20% off your ticket via this promo
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Don’t forget to check out the new list of reduced mileage awards available to certain Citi AAdvantage cardholders
5. Great post on Travelisfree listing 5 tips for getting the most value out of your SPG points.
- AAdvantage program now waives $25 fee for awards that can’t be booked online. In related news, now you can use Dividend miles to book standard (as well as saver) awards on American. This can come in handy when you have to fly on short notice and prices are astronomical. Remember, you can only use Avios (BA partner program) for saver awards.
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Chase IHG Rewards Club card now pays me commission. The offer comes with 70,000 points after spending $1,000 in 3 months. I’ve mentioned on Tuesday that some have been able to get a targeted offer of 80,000 points plus $50.
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Today is first Friday of the month, and you know the rest.
On my mind
I was thinking the other day how things tend to come full circle. Back in the olden days, I used to attend elite High School, sort of like prep school here, I guess. Not bragging, just giving the background for my rant.
Ironically, many of my former classmates (mostly programmers) got recruited by Fortune 500 companies, and are currently advancing the economy of United States. #BrainDrain
Anyway, not surprisingly, all of us were geeks. But even at that there was a hierarchy. There were cool geeks, those who were popular or had money (or both). There were your nerdy geeks, glasses and all. Not that there is anything wrong with that!
And then there were freaks, like yours truly. We were anti-“Dawson’s Creek” before the show “Dawson’s Creek” ever came into existence. I wore ripped jeans and listened to obscure music bands. Yet, I had this long braid, wrote poetry and liked to read “Crime and punishment” and ‘War and peace” for fun, not just because it was required. Yes, I was a socially awkward teenager. So was my circle of pals.
My friend found her dad’s old clothes from the seventies and Russian fur hat with the hanging ears.
You should have seen us walking in the center of town, her wearing her crazy clothes and guitar over her shoulder. All the popular kids would stare at us and we would just stare back. What are you looking at? We acted like we didn’t care, except we did.
Well, fast forward to present day, and once again, I’m one of the freaks among the miles and points blogging community of geeks. It honestly feels like I’m in the midst of a giant High School-type popularity contest.
On one hand, it takes me back to the days of my youth. On the other hand, I’m getting too old for this! I don’t have an agenda and am lousy at playing politics (a must skill for a points blogger).
Not to mention, once a freak, always a freak. I’ve learned to embrace it.
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Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Oh no, it didn’t at all 😉
@Leticia I’m glad!
It’s fun to be a freak when you can be a smart freak and you know it 😉
@Leticia Argh, I hope the rant didn’t come off as too “navel-gazing”! I wasn’t trying to showcase how smart I am, but rather that I am a freak, and I’m OK with it. 🙂
I have a hat just like that that has gotten me through cold Wisconsin and semi cold Cincinnati winters. I don’t wear it for fun, however.
We were just going to use the reduced AA miles for our March Disney/Orlando trip (yes, just 2months after our January Disney/Orlando trip). Couldn’t make it work as Saver flights to Florida cities are pretty limited during the Spring Break month, or as most people call it, March. I have yet to use one, but looking forward to my first. We ended up doing a combo of Southwest and Allegiant. Ever done Allegiant? One ways to Orlando (Sanford, actually) were $80 out of Cincinnati.
Also, an aside, but I have completely fallen in love with Southwest this year. EVERY FLIGHT IS A REWARD FLIGHT! And every city I want to visit in Orlando has a Southwest route! And it’s so easy to get enough for a one way with our UR cards. I feel like every other month I earn enough points for a Southwest one way.
Given the amount of time I spend in Florida, I may want to look into jobs there.
I am tapped out of Marriott points for the first time in years (I may cry. seriously) so I may have to look into the IHG card.
Cheapblackdad, you totally seem like a guy who would wear that type of hat. If you were in my school, we would probably hang out in the same circle! 🙂
Sorry, the AA promo didn’t work out. It’s tough for a family of 4 who has to travel on specific dates. That’s why Southwest is awesome sauce. I agree, the fact that you can find seats on any flight is a tremendous plus. Then you have free cancellation policy, free bags etc. If only they would start flying to Canada and Europe. Oh well, you can’t have everything!
If you play UR cards right, you can certainly do well at it. Still, I do recommend you look into MR program as well. Amex EveryDay Preferred could provide you with diversification. Even if you only use it for groceries and gas, you can rack up a ton of points. They transfer to Jet Blue, which is similar to Southwest. Of course, you have to hit 30 transactions per month.
IHG card is great, I’ve raved about it before it started paying me anything. Do try to get the better targeted offer if you go that route.