This is a news recap from last week, tailored to regular families. For faster updates, follow Miles For Family on Twitter or check the feed on the right side of the blog.
1) According to Onemileatatime, the increased offers on personal and business versions of Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite MasterCard will be pulled on March 1st. Nancy wrote a post on these offers and reasons you might want to consider them. Should you jump on these increased bonuses? It really depends.
For one, I’m fairly confident that they will come back at some point. Obviously, I can’t guarantee anything, but I don’t think it’s “use it or lose it” kind of deal. Also, there are several other sign-up bonuses that beat AA offers when it comes to hotness. If eligible, I recommend you consider those instead.
On a related note, it appears that the application link without “24-month restriction” verbiage has finally died. Nancy and I both mentioned it a few times and it was listed in my Hot Deals page. I actually decided to apply for it yesterday due to avalanche of medical bills we got recently and discovered that it’s kaput. Goodbye sweet 50K AA miles. I’ll see you in a year.
Update: The link is live again.
2) New American Express Platinum Offer: 75,000 points after $5,000 in spend by DoC. Much better than the previous deal, but I would hold out for 100K offer if at all possible.
3) IHG Rewards Club Points and Money 5%-15% Cash Discount for stays through the end of April by LoyaltyLobby. Not a huge deal, but every little bit helps.
4) Last reminder to match to MLife Gold status if you happen to have Platinum status with Hyatt (via co-branded credit card). See this post for reasons on why you may want to jump on this deal before new Hyatt program kicks in.
5) How to transfer Membership Rewards points by Travel Codex. A good primer for new readers.
Look ma, no smile!
I wanted to share something with you guys. I’ve mentioned before that in my culture folks rarely smile in photos or anywhere in public. It’s a weird thing because we are definitely not the gloomy type of people.
Sure, we like dry, dark sense of humor, but it’s more of a coping mechanism to deal with the unfortunate realities of life. For example, during World War II, every fourth citizen of Belarus was killed. This fact was drilled into our heads when we were children. Grandma, I just want to play outside! No, you need to hear the war stories. You like, you like!
Anyway, the other day my mom has sent me a few photos, so check them out. Here is one where my dad is holding a fish he caught that day:
Is he proud of his catch? Upset that the fish is not bigger? Ticked off that my mom made him pose for the picture? Or maybe it’s like that episode on Simpsons where Homer exclaims: “Oh I wish, I wish I hadn’t killed that fish!” Hard to say.
And here is one of my parents during their 40th wedding anniversary party, which took place few days ago. I know their marriage hasn’t been perfect, but come on!
Seeing these photos brings back all kinds of memories. Some good, some bad, few dysfunctional ones. But mostly I’m just grateful that my parents are still around, married for forty years. And that’s no joke!
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
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.
You know I was an exchange student in Venezuela. People there laugh and smile a lot… except in photos. Families have all of these framed photos on display in their homes where everyone looks so serious. I was told they consider it more formal not too smile. So when it’s a special event and everyone is dressed in their best clothes, I guess the lack of smile is a sign of respect of the occasion. Even if it’s a two year olds birthday party and your surrounded by cake, balloons, and a clown! I’ve often wondered if it’s not a hangover from the days of old fashioned cameras… When they had to hold the pose forever and a photo was a big deal, that deserved respect.
@Amanda I think you have a point there! Never thought of it that way. And hey, that’s the first time I’ve heard that you were an exchange student in Venezuela. How neat!
Thanks Leana for all the info. You’re the best!!!!
@Stephanie Thanks for saying that! I feel like my readers are the best. I really do!
Just got a Citi premier 50,000 bonus targeted mail offer for $3,000 spend. How’s their travel portal?
@Stephanie This is a really good offer! Their travel portal is similar to Chase UR portal. I believe they use the same provider. You should get 1.25 cents per point towards travel.
Do check T and C because you may not be eligible for this offer if you had Citi Prestige within the last two years. Targeted offers normally don’t contain this language.
Just checked, and I was matched to M Life Gold – thanks for the reminder. I also received targeted offers from Korean Skypass for 40,000 and 45,000 bonus points….I’m seriously considering the offers because it would mean another 4 free roundtrip flights to Hawaii with an open jaw (would love to see Pearl Harbor just for a day or two).
I finally found a use for my Avios since hubby nixed the idea of Japan for just him and our son….so I’m taking hubby to Boston since I finally found non-stop flights with AA (it will be our first adult only getaway in years). Our AA points are dwindling so I want to build that back up somehow because they come in handy for certain one-ways for the 4 of us.
@Stephanie Congrats on getting the match to go through! I don’t know if this plan will work, but try to match back to Explorist on March 1st. I wouldn’t wait even an extra day because the loophole may be closed quickly if too many people do it all at once. And they probably will.
I think those are great targeted offers on Korean Skypass card. Living in LAX gives you access to many options. This is a good one for Hawaii, without a doubt.
I’m glad you finally utilized your Avios. It can be a difficult program when it comes to AA flights, but with some patience, you can eventually find something. It definitely takes persistence.
Not smiling in photos was something that really struck me when I visited Moscow back in 2006. I went with a Russian friend and we celebrated New Years (which I’ve been told is a bigger deal in Russia than Christmas) at the small, typical Moscow high rise apartment of her best friend with some other friends of hers. I took some pictures, and none of these young, partying people smiled for the camera. They were very welcoming of me, and seemed to really enjoy the party, so it wasn’t as if they didn’t like me or were having a bad time. It just seemed like that wasn’t done there. I guess in this sense, Russian culture is similar to yours (or was back then)? Any thoughts?
@Debra Belarus culture is very similar to Russian one, so your observation doesn’t surprise me at all! I think American people might get the wrong idea unless they actually get to interact with Russian people like you did. I think one of the reasons people there don’t smile in public is so they don’t stand out. A relic from the olden days. You blend in or you get sent to Siberia! 🙂