Well, friends, few days ago we finally bought a new recliner. It was looong overdue. So, I’ve decided to immortalize this mundane event via blog post. And here it is, in all its generic splendor:
Just a reminder, here is what 15-year old predeccessor looked like at the end of its life span:
Needless to say, it wasn’t an extravagant purchase. The old recliner was the rotating kind, and my kids constantly took turns spinning each other. Right now they have a lot of free time on their hands.
So… The chair had to go. However, finding a replacement wasn’t an easy task. You see, this is my husband’s throne. He eats in it, naps in it and watches TV in it. So, I wanted to make sure the new recliner was to his liking. I told him the price is no object. Oops.
We went to three different furniture stores and he finally found the one. It was $900 plus tax. Gulp! I told him it was OK to buy it since he would have to sit in it for the next 15 years. But after thinking about it some more, he said it was too much money. You betcha! The kids are going to destroy it anyway.
So, we started looking again and he settled on one that was $450. Now we are talking. But then I saw a recliner on Sam’s Club website, and it was only $250. If you have Chase Freedom, you probably know that right now you can get 5 points per dollar on purchases made at wholesale clubs, including Sam’s.
In fact, according to Doctorofcredit, Chase has extended this deal through the end of the year. Did you know that you can buy Disney and Southwest gift cards at Sam’s at 5% off? And extra points from Chase Freedom would be in addition to the discount.
You can also buy $500 Disney gift card for $475.
We don’t have Sam’s Club membership, but my in-laws do. So, we decided to tag along and bring minivan just in case. The closest Sam’s Club is 1 hour away, so we figured we could go to a few furniture stores while we were there. I really wanted my husband to like that $250 recliner. Honestly, I thought it was great. If you are looking for furniture, definitely check out Sam’s Club.
Unfortunately, my husband thought it wasn’t quite right. So, off we went to Rooms-to-Go, followed by Furniture Warehouse. And that’s where we found our new recliner, which also cost $250. It was a floor display item on clearance, but looked brand new. My husband said he liked it almost as much as that $900 recliner. Buy buy buy!
While looking around the store, I saw this bizarre art piece:
I mentioned to our friendly furniture salesman that I found this painting quite disturbing. To which he said it wasn’t his taste either. We got into a conversation and he mentioned that he is also a professional photographer and some of his works have been featured in various publications.
I’m embarrassed to say but I was surprised when I heard it. Furniture salesman who is also a creative type. How could this be? You know how I always poke fun at stereotypes on my blog? Well, apparently, I need to do some soul-searching myself. Why can’t a furniture salesman be a talented photographer?
Ironically, I’m quite defensive when folks question the fact that lady bloggers (I didn’t come up with the term) can do math. What do you mean you are surprised that a stay-at-home mom knows so much about miles and points? I’m offended and shocked. Shocked!
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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.
Well you just described most of my life! I always hated meeting people at parties and explaining that I worked in insurance. Sounds so boring and I felt immediately sized up and boxed bc of a job. Congrats on the couch!
@Amanda I’m pretty sure that after talking to you for 5 minutes nobody would think that you are boring and conventional! It’s true that it’s easy to box individuals based on who they are or what they do. I was pegged a dumb/simpleton housewife when I first started blogging about miles and points. Hey, maybe I am! 🙂
I love the way you describe the family dynamics in a funny and engaging way while making purchasing decisions. I have a question for you: what is the best way of using CITI Thank You points I earned with a “CITI Mastercard ThankYou Premier” card? I noticed they are 1:1 with gift cards and very bad redemption for credits on charges…
@Sebastian Thank you so much for reading! It’s hard to apply my regular life events to miles and points hobby, but I try to tie it all together on occasion.
On Citi Thank You Premier card, it really depends on your upcoming plans. But here are few things you can do that will yield better return than gift card redemption:
1) Redeem points on revenue travel. You get 1.25 cents toward flights, hotels, car rental and cruises. You will see prices clearly displayed in Citi Thank You portal in “travel center” category. This might be your best bet, especially if you plan on canceling the card soon. So take a look at your upcoming trips and see if you can utilize the points. There are all kinds of options, but flights and car rentals will probably be the best bet. You can call and redeem points on Southwest because they won’t be displayed online. Remember, with Southwest you cancel and redeposit cash value of tickets and use it later for another flight.
2) If you happen to have Citi Prestige, you can combine the points and get 1.33 cents on airfare, 1.6 cents on American flights. Check out this post //milesforfamily.com/2015/12/14/no-american-munich-is-nowhere-close-to-moscow/
3) Transfer to miles. This could be the best option of all but once again, it depends on your plans. The most lucrative programs for Americans are probably Singapore (redeemable on United) and Air France (redeemable on Delta). I wrote a post that goes into detail on these options //milesforfamily.com/2014/09/01/united-miles-or-thank-you-points-for-intra-european-flights/ Look towards the bottom.
Also, check out this post on why these programs are good for flights to Hawaii //milesforfamily.com/2015/09/07/a-case-study-from-boston-to-hawaii-via-citi-thank-you-points/
I recently wrote a post on Qantas, which can also be a good deal for some, factoring in current bonus on transfers //milesforfamily.com/2016/06/08/should-you-consider-taking-advantage-of-30-bonus-on-transfer-from-citi-thank-you-program-to-qantas-frequent-flyer/
As always, feel free to email me with further questions or comment here.
Thank you for your reply!
We are a family of 6 and currently have 2 companion tickets on Southwest for 2016 and 2017 so I am mostly interested on using this option but I couldn’t quite follow you on the possibility to transfer to Southwest. Can you please expand on that? Have you done it?
@Sebastian Unfortunately, you can’t transfer Citi points to Southwest directly. However, you should be able to redeem them on revenue flights and get 1.25 cents per point. You would have to call, though. Southwest flights don’t show up on Citi travel portal. I haven’t done it myself, but I remember reading about this option. As far as I know, it’s still available.
Of course, transferring Ultimate Rewards to Rapid Rewards will yield a better return because you’ll be getting 1.5 cents per UR point. But Citi might be a decent option also. You will still be able to use Companion pass because it’s valid on revenue and award flights. Hope this makes sense? Follow up with any further questions.
It’s posts like this that keep me coming back. I too am a very down-to-earth miles and points player, so your mostly coach approach appeals to me, but it’s your random sense of humor, musing thoughts and funny little glimpses of your daily life that truly set you apart and make me smile.
Debra, thanks for stopping by! It’s funny, when I was writing the post, I was wondering if it should even be published. It’s definitely full of random humor and musings. My life is kind of mundane for the most part, but I’m glad folks like you can relate and find it interesting.