About Harlan

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

More articles by Harlan »

Goodbye to All That: In a Month, Dallas Here I Come!

by Harlan 14 Comments

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It begins: my last month as an official New York City resident.

Movers are booked.

The date is set to wake up and start driving away, all my things loaded in my new Subaru Forester – including the pup!

Resting after a run upstate

This little guy has spent his whole life in Brooklyn!

My dog will be 6 this year, and he’s never known much outside of New York. He’s gonna shed SO MUCH in Texas.

My house is sitting there, waiting to be lived in. I even went ahead and joined a gym in Dallas (and got a sweet discount thanks to FoundersCard).

The house

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MileagePlus X App: Earn Bonus United Miles at Amazon, eBay, & More

by Harlan 28 Comments

a screenshot of a phone

So I just got the Mileage Plus X app and am kicking myself, because it’s been available for points-earning potential since 2014.

But better late than never. And I’m discovering all these cool uses for it.

mileageplus x app

MileagePlus X – oldie but goodie

If you have the Citi AT&T Access More card, you can use it as a payment method on the app to earn a total of 5X miles on Amazon and eBay.

And, a step beyond, you can use it as a defacto shopping portal to get a better payout either in-person OR online.

I got some ‘splainin’ to do!

What’s MileagePlus X?

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Lyft: Cheaper & Better Than Uber, Now With Cashless Tipping

by Harlan 5 Comments

a man sitting at a table

It took me a long time to get into the whole “Uber” thing. I was always like… why not just take a taxi?

The price wasn’t that much cheaper until recently.

The few times I uber-ed, the main thing I liked was the cashless tipping. The price, all things considered, was equal to a cab (I say/write this in NYC).

Then, they slashed fares. 

uber vs lyft

Underdog extraordinaire

And, I started going to Dallas a whole lot more, without a car. I grew accustomed to firing up Uber as I walked outside and getting a ride to my condo. Again, with the cashless tipping.

I love the simplicity of the bundled fare. You just get out when you arrive, and you’re on your way. The receipt comes via email seconds after the door closes.

…But now there’s no cashless tipping

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Tokyo: Cherry Blossoms, Microbars, Amazing Food, Views, & Wanderings

by Harlan 12 Comments

a group of people under a tree

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Back in January when I burned some American Airlines miles for a round-trip First Class award ticket to Japan, I had no idea of what to expect from the place.

The trip was my first time there (and in Asia!). I was nervous about getting around, the language barrier, navigating the huge metro system, and figuring out the basics, like ordering food and buying train tickets.

From landing at Narita, to getting to the Hilton Tokyo, to taking the bullet train to Osaka, and everything in between, it could not have been easier.

In fact, over the week I spent in Japan, I quickly fell in absolute love. The cities, the Japanese, and the country’s infrastructure… simply incredible.

Exploring Tokyo

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Pay ~$12 for $50 Worth of Mother’s Day Gifts at 1800Flowers.com With Amex Offers

by Harlan 2 Comments

a collage of different gift items

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I don’t usually post “deals” but I’m feeling mushy and this is a really good one.

If you want to send your Mom (or anyone else) a gift through 1800Flowers.com, there are currently some promotions you can stack for big discounts. Here’s how it works.

Stack it up

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BauBax Ultimate Travel Jacket Review

by Harlan 11 Comments

a man standing on a sidewalk

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I wrote back in July 2015 about the “ultimate travel jacket” from BauBax.

I was on the fence about getting one, but Jay got it for my birthday, which was in late August.

And um, I just got it this month. So yes, flash forward 10 months and the jacket has finally arrived.

Just in time for summer when you don’t need a jacket lol.

I threw it in my bag and took it with me to Japan to start exploring its features.

But first things first…

About the BauBax ultimate travel jacket

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My Experience Getting the $650 Phone Credit With Citi AT&T Access More Card

by Harlan 21 Comments

a screenshot of a cell phone price list

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Here’s my experience to add to the mix.

Getting the Card and Buying an iPhone

I applied for the Citi AT&T Access More card in late January, and received the card on February 2nd, 2016. That same day, I bought an iPhone.

Here’s the link Citi gives you to shop for a new phone – it won’t work unless you click through from your Citi account because it tracks your purchase, much like a shopping portal. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to turn off your ad blockers so the purchase is tracked correctly.

Pick a phone, any phone

Pick a phone, any phone

The selection of phones is the exact same as if you navigate to AT&T’s cell phone shop.

I sprang for an iPhone 6S with 128 GB of memory. The taxes for New York were ~$75. After the phone credit, that’s like paying ~$275 for a brand new phone with a lot of memory to burn through.

asd

Net $200 + taxes for a new 128 GB iPhone

I had an iPhone 5 with 16 GB and was tired of deleting apps/pictures/the entire phone every time it needed an update.

I sold it on eBay for ~$134.

Boo ya

Boo ya

There’s a FedEx ship center 2 blocks away. So I popped in and sent it. It took maybe 10 minutes to list and 10 minutes to ship.

Plus, the sale brought my out-of-pocket cost for the new iPhone down to ~$141 after taxes, which is a screaming good deal.

Do you HAVE TO HAVE AT&T service?

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Must-Haves of Travel: Portable Travel Tubes

by Harlan 6 Comments

a group of plastic bottles

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Announcing the newest entry of the ever-popular “Must-Haves of Travel” series lol. Stefan remarked he’d run out of room if he took them all each time he took a trip.

But this one goes part-n-parcel with the others because it offers a storage solution. And a quite ingenious one!

travel tube

Introducing: game-changers

It’s one of those things that’s “duh” in retrospect – I should’ve looked on Amazon for these little guys ages ago: portable, squeezable travel tubes. But now that I have them, there’s no going back.

Hitherto, I’d been using little tubs or plastic sandwich bags. But travel tubes are a step beyond.

What’s a travel tube?

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Bye to RadPad, Hello to Plastiq for 2% Bill Payment Fees With MasterCard (Including Mortgages and Utilities)

by Harlan 24 Comments

a screenshot of a credit card

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RadPad has been a sweet deal these past few months thanks to their 1.99% fee for paying with a MasterCard.

You could earn 3X Citi ThankYou points by paying with the Citi AT&T Access More card (and still can until June 1st, 2016). Because I have 3 Airbnbs, it’s been a points-generating machine for me.

Even better, when you pair it with Citi Prestige, the 3X points are worth nearly 5% back when you redeem for American Airlines flights. Even with the fee considered, you still come out ahead.

Another one bites the dust-ah

Another one bites the dust-ah

RadPad increases to 3.49%

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Update: Denied for Chase Freedom Unlimited – DIAF!

by Harlan 16 Comments

a close-up of a letter

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Well, I got the letter today that I was straight-up denied for the new Chase Freedom Unlimited card (which is now open for online applications).

It was to be my last Chase card.

I kept trying to call the automated line for info (888-338-2586), but even now it still says to look for a letter in the mail. I presume this one:

asd

So ugly

The reason?

“Too many credit cards opened in the last 2 years.”

Wowwww. It’s interesting that’s listed as the only reason.

It seems this rule will now cover ALL Chase cards, including small business and co-branded cards.

DIAF – Die in a fire

Definition: To be in a fire, and die within it.

 Usage: I hate you, DIAF.

Why I applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited

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Reflecting on 3 Years of Blogging on Out and Out

by Harlan 8 Comments

a drawing of a plane flying through a line

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Three years, eh? I can hardly believe it.

When I started Out and Out, I was floating through life, working at a public relations firm in Manhattan. Yeah, your typical rat race 9 to 5 that was actually 8 to 6ish. I was tired most of the time, and didn’t travel nearly as much as I wanted. Most of my travel was to and from a cubicle.

On a whim, I bought a domain, OutAndOut.net (it still works btw), and used it as a journal for all the points and miles stuff I was reading as my daily dose of escapism under the fluorescent office lights.

Yup, that included The Points Guy, View From the Wing, and Million Mile Secrets. Those blogs have all changed in the past 3 years. And so has this one.

400 posts

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