About Harlan

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

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5 Hyatt Category 4 Hotels Where the Hyatt Card Annual Free Night Rocks

by Harlan 27 Comments

a body of water with pink blossoms on trees

I’ve had some pretty good experiences with Hyatt points, even though the way they handled their recent Hyatt Diamond promo was a disaster. #jaded

Anyway, one can have a finite number of Chase cards, but I choose to renew the Chase World of Hyatt card year after year.

That’s because you get a free night certificate when you renew the card each year, and it’s good at Category 1 through 4 hotels. So obviously, I try to use them at Category 4 properties to get outsized value.

Last year, I gave my free night away to Jay’s grandparents for a night at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch (which is a Category 2), because the certificate was about to expire and it was their anniversary. Jay and I both have the Chase Hyatt card, so we gave them 2 nights at the hotel. They loved it!

hyatt category 4 hotels

New year, new options!

I just renewed the card again and paid the $75 annual fee, so I thought I’d take a spin through the Category 4 hotel list to see where I might use the annual free night in 2016.

I found at least 6 hotels where you’ll recoup the annual fee 4x over… or more. It got me thinking.

Never change

Never change

Oh, and because these are all Category 4 hotels, you can also redeem 15,000 Hyatt points for a free night. In many cases, you’ll get over 4 cents per point in value!

5 Hyatt hotels worth 4x or more than the annual fee on the Chase Hyatt card

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Hotel Review: Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown

by Harlan 11 Comments

a room with a couch and a lamp

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After staying at the Hyatt Place in “Austin”, I headed to Dallas to do some house-hunting.

Picking up the rental car was a nightmare, but once on the road, I was at the Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown in about 25 minutes.

The parking garage is beyond a gate where you have to swipe your room key, and there are maybe 4 parking spots outside the hotel, as it’s located off a major thoroughfare (Harry Hines Boulevard), which, if there are more than a few people checking in, creates a huge, annoying queue.

Thankfully, I got a spot, grabbed my wallet, and headed to checkin/get a room key within a couple of minutes.

Checkin and arrival

After flying and driving, it hit me that I was super thirsty once I saw the water for sale near the checkin desk.

The desk agent greeted me warmly, and quickly found my reservation.

He acknowledge my Hyatt Platinum elite status, which is completely useless except for random scenarios like this checkin.

I didn’t know parking was an extra $14 a day, and had a 3-night stay… an extra $42.

For some reason, I thought it would be included as the hotel isn’t in downtown Dallas or in a particularly clogged area. Whatever, I asked if he could add it to my Chase Hyatt card along with… abottleofwaterI’msothirsty.

He validated my parking, gave me a room key, and said there would be no charge for the parking, and to enjoy the water. In fact, he gave me another bottle to take to the room!

I was bowled over by the gesture after getting through a flight and driving and parking and finding the place. It was very kind, and I was grateful. It really is the little things.

So, checkin could not have not any smoother. And the gracious service from checkin continued through the entire stay.

 

Hallways of the Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown

Hallways of the Hyatt House Dallas/Uptown

Everyone, from the cleaning staff to the bartenders to the other desk agents were attentive and professional the entire time.

The room

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PayPal My Cash Cards With Credit Cards at CVS Still Working, but YMMV

by Harlan 14 Comments

a few blue and white credit cards

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Out and Out reader Jack commented:

Had trouble today for the first time loading my PayPal my cash card with a credit card at CVS.

Once the lady scanned the PayPal My Cash card the computer prompted her as CASH ONLY. She refused my credit card.

Did they finally hardcode?

I wanted to follow up because I had a similar experience here in New York City.

I went to a CVS on Houston Street, handed over 2 PayPal My Cash cards, and requested $500 on each, for a total of $1,007.90 after activation fees.

The cards scanned without a problem, and the total popped up.

I swiped my new Citi Prestige card, hoping to help meet the $3,000 minimum spending requirement this way, and then pay with rent with RadPad and the PayPal Business Debit MasterCard.

Like Jack, I got a similar prompt on the register. I asked if she wouldn’t mind just trying to swipe the card. It wasn’t declined. It simply didn’t process.

She said it looked like cash only – no credit cards allowed.

So I set out to try a store in southern Illinois over the Thanksgiving break.

Success! But it’s very YMMV

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Clear the Clutter: 5 Apps to Organize Your Digital Life to Create Clarity

by Harlan 6 Comments

a screenshot of a computer

I had to take a stand. My digital life was becoming unwieldy.

I’d groan when another email came in. It took multiple clicks to find events on different calendars. Multiple email accounts.

Information spread out in too many places. Not enough good stuff, and too much trouble to find anything enjoyable.

I was beginning to stagnate in the sheer stuffness of it all. Actually, I was stagnating. I got there.

asd

Ahhh, yes… Clean simplicity leads to increased productivity, fewer errors, and a clearer mind

I pared my digital life down to a few basic apps. It’s been a few days now and I’m already used to my new workflows.

Better yet, the space in my mind allows me to think more clearly, make fewer mistakes, and get my work done faster.

I’m not a productivity blogger, but I do like to be productive. Maybe this’ll help you, or at least turn you on to a few new ways of doing things.

The clutter has GOT to go

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Booking Martinique: My Experience With Citi Prestige Concierge and 4th Night Free Benefit

by Harlan 6 Comments

palm trees on a beach

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I’ve been getting to know the ins and outs of my new Citi Prestige card, including the perk I was most excited about: the 4th night free benefit.

asd

Yeah, I could deal with that

Here’s how it all worked with getting the 4th night free in Martinique, where I plan to visit in February thanks to Norwegian’s new non-stop service from JFK (and Boston and BWI!).

Finding the hotel

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Save (or Earn!) Money at Amazon and More This Holiday Season

by Harlan 5 Comments

a black bag with a white text and a black and white text

I’m in holiday shopping mode, and enjoying the many shopping deals available right now.

If you see a good deal, maximize it even more.

Irresistible, really

Irresistible, really

For example, I ordered some stuff from The Body Shop today and stacked:

Plus, I got a tote bag stuffed with products for $35… including a product I wanted that usually costs $36 on its own. And free shipping and samples.

Here are a few other ways to save before Cyber Monday sucks you into a shopping frenzy.

1. Paribus

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Just Booked: Martinique $317 Round-Trip and Non-Stop on Norwegian

by Harlan 5 Comments

a beach with a mountain in the background

Hot off the heels of my trip to Barcy in January, I’ll be heading to the French Caribbean island of Martinique in February 2016!

So excited!

So excited!

There’s quite a good sale going on right now, and as I looked through the fares a few weeks ago, I thought wow, these will sell out quick!

But, they didn’t. And when I saw the fares start to increase, I pulled the trigger on this one.

The flights are wide open

The flights are wide open

I usually wouldn’t book 2 trips so close together, but this sale, combined with the $250 airline credit on my new Citi Prestige card, formed a perfect storm of BOOK THE TRIP.

Why I did it

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Get an Easy 1% Cash Back on Your Rent and Other Debit Card Purchases

by Harlan 15 Comments

a screenshot of a credit card

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I have to thank Out and Out reader Greg for pointing this out.  He says:

I have a Paypal Business Debit MasterCard that earns me 1% cash back on “credit” purchases. I don’t fund it, I just use it to pay almost all of my bills and have it linked to my bank account.

I get my 1% cash back on everything, don’t have to worry about my Paypal balance (as long as my bank balance is good), it makes me feel like I’ve added a layer of protection to my bank account, and it buys me some float time from when I make a purchase until it clears my bank account.

I don’t do “debit” transactions with it BC I don’t get 1% cash back and and money is immediately withdrawn from my bank account… Unless of course my Paypal account still has a balance left from my monthly cash back reward, then that is deducted before anything hits my bank account.

After doing a little digging, Greg is absolutely right!

I wrote about how to pay rent with RadPad and the PayPal Business Debit MasterCard.

You can add in PayPal My Cash cards purchased from CVS to earn points and miles, too. As long as you load up your account and ONLY take the money out through a purchase made from the PayPal Business Debit MasterCard.

asd

RadPad and PayPal play well together

And yes, RadPad specifically codes as a purchase and earns 1% cash back.

In application

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I’m Prestigious! Getting Citi Prestige and First Impressions of the Card

by Harlan 35 Comments

a black and blue credit card

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I got my Citi Prestige card this week and wanted to share the experience. Because it was an experience getting this card.

And I can’t wait to dig in to to all the perks this card has to offer!

Here are my first impressions and things I noticed right away.

The 2-package process

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Citi Smart Savings Are Here!

by Harlan 20 Comments

a screenshot of a website

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I wrote before about seeing hints that Citi might compete with AMEX Offers “soon.”

Looks like it’s here!

This is the first I’ve seen of this, so I’m excited to see what Citi will continue to do with Citi Smart Savings offers.

Here’s what I got on my accounts.

What’s Citi Smart Savings?

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Alaska MileagePlan: The Last Good Loyalty Program? (Alaska Vs. American by the Numbers)

by Harlan 17 Comments

a comparison of logos with a man's face

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I’ve been interested in Alaska’s MileagePlan program for a while now. But I’ve never actually banked any flights to them.

As I get ready to base out in Dallas, I, like everyone else, am waiting for all of American’s little shoes to drop. And what it might mean.

For all the speculation, we haven’t actually heard anything from American yet.

It’ll be a shame the program might change as I move to their backyard.

a

There can only be one

I even thought, wow, I can really kick off earning miles toward Executive Platinum status with my biz class flight to Barcy in January. That’ll be a nice boost toward status right at the beginning of the year.

But now I’m looking at MileagePlan all over again.

The numbers

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Must-Haves of Travel: Calcium Bentonite Clay

by Harlan 4 Comments

a white plastic container with red text and black text

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This stuff is intense!

WHAT AN ADVERT

WHAT AN ADVERT

Labeled, “World’s Most Powerful Facial” with a tagline of “FEEL YOUR FACE PULSATE!”

But seriously, this stuff gets down into your pores in a way that’s really incredible, and perfect for clearing out any build-up caused by travel.

What’s calcium bentonite clay?

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