About Harlan

Just a dude living in Memphis, traveling, and working toward financial independence.

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Added My Brother as an Authorized User – His Score Went up 100+ Points in a Month!

by Harlan 19 Comments

a screenshot of a phone

Also see:

When my little brother (he’s 24) told me he wanted to get a place with his girlfriend – their own place – the first thing I asked was, “How’s your credit?” because I knew they’d check.

authorized user

Last month, his score was 586

He didn’t know. When we checked, his score was a dismal 586. It wasn’t because he had bad credit. But because he had no credit at all. Literally, zero accounts ever in his life.

I think I have 30 credit cards by now (?), a paid-off auto loan, and about to have two mortgages. With regard to my brother, hopefully I’ve helped create a path to his own points and miles journey.

But first things first.

Address matters when you add an authorized user

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Last Chance to Get the Hilton Surpass Amex for 100,000 Points (And Why I Got It)

by Harlan 8 Comments

a mountain with trees and blue sky

UPDATE: One or more of these offers are no longer available. Click here to see the latest deals!

Through May 31st, 2017 (this Wednesday), the Hilton Surpass Amex has its best-ever sign-up bonus. Yes, it’s offered 100,000 Hilton points before. But this go-around, you also get a free weekend night certificate after your first cardmember year.

I wrote how 120,000 Hilton points can easily be worth over $700. But throw in the free night cert, and you’re approaching $1,000 in value from a single sign-up bonus.

hilton surpass amex 100,000

I used Hilton points to stay in colorful Colorado next week

Plus you get Hilton Gold elite status with the card which means… free breakfast! (My fave perk lol.)

I was low on Hilton points and am becoming intensely interested in a trip to Mexico City this year. There are lots of lower-category hotels there – and you get the 5th night free on any award stay.

In general, Hilton points go further at low-tier hotels. But it’s all about how you like to use them.

The Hilton Surpass Amex is worth it if you’ve never had it

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Plastiq Rent Payments With US Bank Altitude Code as Travel but Do NOT Earn 3X

by Harlan 31 Comments

a screenshot of a computer

On May 1st, I got the US Bank Altitude Reserve card – the first day it was available.

I wrote how payments with Plastiq coded as travel with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (lots of peeps on Reddit confirm this, too). So I was hoping that would be the case with the US Bank Altitude Reserve. Especially because the minimum spending requirement is $4,500 – that would’ve been a nice points haul at 3X.

us bank altitude

The merchant code gave me hope for 3X

And the charges did code as travel. But my statement just closed and I only got 1X point per $1.

This US Bank card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are both Visa cards. So while it doesn’t work for the former, I’m hoping it will still earn 3X with the latter for a while longer.

Here’s what I found.

A charge that codes as travel but didn’t earn 3X

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Why I Got a 0% APR Card to Help Pay Down Debt

by Harlan 27 Comments

a screenshot of a credit card

Also see: 

Welp, I finally did it. Got a new credit card to help pay down my student loans.

It’s an idea I floated before. But I didn’t bite because there have always been other cards I wanted instead. Plus, I like to save or invest money instead of throwing it toward student loans.

0 apr credit cards

I hate their name. I hate how their logo has an apple in it. I hate everything about it pretty much

I’m constantly torn about taking a solid year to get rid of it, then I think… man, I could invest that. Or pay down my mortgage. Or just have it.

Ultimately, I think a hybrid approach is best: break everything down into buckets and work on each one a little at a time. Save a little, invest a little, use the rest for bills.

But I’ve decided to give myself a head start on the student loan bucket. Here’s why.

Lower principal means less interest

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Airbnb Hosting by the Numbers: 2017 Update

by Harlan 21 Comments

a room with a couch and kitchen

Also see: 

Thought it was time to do an update on my Airbnb hosting. And the state of it. Mostly because if the numbers look good, I might get another one.

Long ago, I started my Airbnb operation in New York, which was a smashing success. Until it wasn’t. I no longer have properties in New York, as of last month.

So far it’s going well in Dallas. I have two here. They’re easy to track and manage for what they are because they’re on two separate profiles.

airbnb hosting 2017

My downtown Dallas Airbnb

In my opinion, a side business is the best way to maximize credit card points these days. I easily put $6,000+ of expenses on my cards each month – and the bulk of that is in bonus categories.

I recently found out some rent payments code as 3X for “travel” with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. So that’ll keep me with an extra ~20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per month – a handy ransom (if they all code as 3X)!

Airbnb hosting by the numbers

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Booking BAP: A $5,000 Trip to Europe for $238 & Points!

by Harlan 22 Comments

a building with flags on top of it

Also see:

In a few weeks, I’ll be in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Prague for the first time. I am calling this trip “BAP” (after the 3 cities).

This is the trip I booked waaay back in August 2016 for biz class seats with Etihad miles. At the time, I paid ~37,000 miles for round-trip seats from New York to Brussels on Brussels Airlines. Etihad has since raised the price to 88,000 miles – which can still be a good deal to Europe in Business.

That was about 9 months ago – the furthest out I’ve ever planned a trip. At the time, I figured I’d fill it in when the time came. Which is now.

brussels amsterdam prague

I’m coming for ya, Brussy

Here’s how I put together a $5,00+ week-long trip to Europe for $238 out of pocket.

Booking BAP (Brussels, Amsterdam, Prague)

1. To New York and back

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[False Alarm] Citi Card Apps No Longer Have 24 Month Language?

by Harlan 25 Comments

a black and blue credit card

Update: Not sure what’s going on but I see the 24-month language on some application pages. I’m wrong and nothing has changed. I got excited and jumped. Going to close this for now. Sorry for the false alarm! 

Just a quick post.

Citi has been limiting card sign-up bonuses per family of “brands” to every 24 months – with a clock that resets if you open OR close an account within that family. The 3 brands are:

  • American Airlines
  • Hilton
  • ThankYou points

So for example, if you opened or closed the Citi Hilton Reserve within the previous 24 months, you could NOT get the sign-up offer on the Citi Hilton no annual fee card. Period.

But it looks like that restriction has shifted:

citi 24 months

“New accounts only”

Now it says, “This offer valid for new accounts only.”

What does that mean?

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Cool! Some Plastiq Payments Coding as 3X for Travel With Chase Sapphire Reserve

by Harlan 48 Comments

a black credit card with silver text

It looks like some payments with Plastiq are triggering 3X points per $1 with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Apparently, rent or mortgage payments are coding as “lodging/travel” and appear as “travel” – which is a 3X category.

I made a $30 payment toward one of my Airbnbs and didn’t change the category in Plastiq – I left it marked as a rent payment.

chase sapphire reserve plastiq 3X

I sent the payment as “rent, mortgage, and real estate”

And when I checked today, it had cleared and earned 90 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (3X).

SWEET

SWEET – 3X

If you have rent or mortgage payments, it would be worth it to use your Chase Sapphire Reserve card, even considering Plastiq’s 2.5% fee.

By the numbers

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2017: The Year of Solo Travel (Ch-ch-changes)

by Harlan 18 Comments

a graffiti on a building

I occasionally post personal updates here. Because I expect they’ll influence the way I travel and how I plan trips.

I wrote about getting a job at a PR firm in Manhattan, paying off my credit cards and starting FIRE, and leaving New York for Dallas: all personal things that influenced the scope of my thinking, and subtleties about how I travel.

So here’s another update: I’m newly single. The past couple of months have been pretty rough. Although I still managed to visit New York and Chicago to see Hamilton.

solo travel

“Sho,” by Jaume Plensa, at SMU in Dallas

Now it’s table for one, breakfast for one.

And with my trip to Brussels coming up in a few weeks, I realized I’ll be traveling alone for the foreseeable future. I started researching a RTW trip with stops in Hong Kong and South Africa (my first time in both places!) on brand new (to me) airlines.

I was also thinking of visiting Vermont in the fall to see the changing colors. And it hit me so hard that I’ll be doing all of this alone. So I’ve been gathering my personal power. It’s been good getting to know me more.

I’ve also never felt so alive. And I’ve never felt so alone. Solo travel.

Seven years

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Easy Win: Do the Dollar Shave Club Amex Offer and Get Some Free Stuff

by Harlan 4 Comments

a group of body care products on a counter

So there’s a semi-complicated new Dollar Shave Club Amex Offer that you can approach in a couple of different ways.

Whichever way you wanna slice it, it’s extremely worthwhile because you end up with free stuff. If you have this Amex Offer in your account, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t get in on this.

Dollar Shave Club Amex Offer

Shave wit me

I’ll break it down and help you decide which route you should go, should you be a human who removes hair with a razor or bathes, and have this Amex Offer. Even if you don’t, read on.

Dollar Shave Club Amex Offer

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Get $25 With New Accounts at Giving Assistant, Ebates, and BeFrugal Shopping Portals

by Harlan 3 Comments

a close up of a button

When you shop online, always always click through a shopping portal to earn extra points, miles, or cashback.

I personally use Cashback Monitor to find the best payouts before I shop anywhere.

shopping portal bonus

Da best

I usually like to earn Alaska miles or Chase Ultimate Rewards points for online shopping. But occasionally, cashback offers are simply too good to pass up.

And competition is fierce. So much that they’ll sometimes give you free money to sign up and use their portals.

BeFrugal is a new one for me

BeFrugal is a new one for me

I thought I’d round up 3 cashback portals where the initial bonus might be worthwhile for a little shopping. And tell you what’s required to get the bonus AKA the cash in your hot little hand.

Note: I get cashback when you sign up for these portals, too. Thank you for using my links!

Get a shopping portal bonus

These bonuses are for NEW sign ups. If you’re an old-timer to points and miles, you likely already have accounts with all of these portals. In that case, check out my backlog of Every Single Out and Out post! 😉

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I’m Over Cashback Cards and Into Starwood Points

by Harlan 18 Comments

a couple of people driving a convertible car on a road

Update: The Starwood AMEX 35,000 cards are NO LONGER available.

There, I said it.

In 2013, I famously said (typed), “I don’t care about Starpoints.” At the time, my grievances were:

  • 1 point per $1 spent was too low of an earn rate
  • You have to spend so much to earn a meaningful reward
  • The earn rate with other hotel programs is better, so why bother with Starwood?
Starwood Points vs cashback

I like you now and I’ll be sad when you leave

But a lot has changed since then. The merger with Marriott opened a few cool new opportunities, like:

Nothing's fine I'm torn

Nothing’s fine I’m torn

And, I’ve been putting a non-bonused spend on my Amex Starwood card, to the chagrin of my previously beloved Fidelity Visa.

In fact, I think I’m…. over cashback cards. For now, at least.

Drinking the Starpoints Kool-Aid

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