About Harlan

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

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Discover it® Cashback Match™ Is an Amazing Cashback Card (For the 1st Year at Least)!

by Harlan 18 Comments

a close up of a credit card

My new Discover It card came in the mail this week, in very nice packaging.

And I might have to change my tune now.

I’ve long heralded the Fidelity AMEX as the best cashback card.

But now I’ll refer to it as the best ongoing cashback card. Because, the 1st year at least, the Discover It has it beat by a mile.

I’ll still get great use out of the Discover It card the 2nd year, albeit much reduced.

The 1st year, this card is good for an easy $600, at least. And I’m even thinking this no annual fee card has the potential for over $1,000 back.

Getting the Discover It card

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There’s a New AMEX Serve Prepaid Debit Card

by Harlan 10 Comments

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It looks like Serve has a new prepaid debit card – and it’s already on the front page of their website.

Old blue Serve, meet new green Serve

OBS and NGS (Old Blue Serve and New Green Serve)

AMEX is apparently splitting the “Old Blue Serve” into 2 separate products.

And you can reload the “New Green Serve” at CVS, Family Dollar, Walmart, and 7-Eleven.

asdas

$0 “cash reloads” at CVS, Family Dollar, and 7-Eleven… I wonder if you can pay with a credit card?

And New Green Serve has a $4.95 monthly fee – but not if you’re in Texas, New York, or Vermont.

I’m not sure if you can have both products at the same time – or what the split means for Old Blue Serve, if anything.

Aside from the new monthly fee, and the free cash reloads, it looks like the 2 products are exactly the same.

It would be really awesome if CVS took credit cards for the “cash reloads.”

I’d take my new Hilton credit card for a joyride (as it’s one of the only credit cards left that still earns points at drugstores – 3X Hilton points @ $1,000 a month reload limit would equal 36,000 points annually.  That’s good for a few Hilton Category 2 hotel stays!).

All of the other terms and conditions – reload limits, ATM fees, etc. are identical.

After switching from Bluebird to Serve then to REDbird, then back to Serve again, I’ll keep my eye on this as it seems like AMEX is still rolling this out. This would be a great way (and convenient) way to manufacture some spend and pay bills you can’t ordinarily pay with a credit card.  Especially in the barren wasteland of New York City.

Although if you can’t, I’m perfectly fine collecting my free $240 a year with the Fidelity AMEX.

Mark this one as developing…

Kohl’s B’day Gift, Free Admirals Club Membership In, Instant FIA Credit Line Increase + Inquiry

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Just a few bits and baubles to follow up on recent posts.

1. Kohl’s $10 Birthday Gift

Also see: 

August is my birthday month, and Kohl’s got their timing perfect.

Because today, in the mail, was a card/gift from Kohl’s. Right after I mentioned how much I love them this morning.

$10 birthday present from Kohl's

$10 birthday present from Kohl’s

I also just received my Yes2Rewards this morning as an email, too.

Kohl’s has a great thing going. Their rewards program is more straightforward than Sears Shop Your Way Rewards and their website is way better, they have frequent discounts (usually 30% off) and promotion codes, often free shipping, and now I get a $10 bonus.

I wish their portal payout on the Discover Deals shopping portal was 10% cashback like Macy’s, Sears, and Kmart (it’s 5%).

But free money is great. I can always buy some new sheets and towels for my Airbnbs.

2. Admirals Club Membership Materials Are In

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I Haven’t Washed My Hair in a Month – and It Feels Great!

by Harlan 8 Comments

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Yup!

I know, it sounds kind of weird. I was like, “What the hell am I getting myself into?”

But it’s been a month and I haven’t used any shampoo. And it feels great!

What’s No ‘Poo?

“No ‘Poo” is “no shampoo.” I have no idea why it’s abbreviated to “no ‘poo.” Because it sounds like you’re aren’t ever going to poop again.

But nope! No ‘poo means you cut out shampoo once and for all. And replace it with baking soda and/or apple cider vinegar.

There’s a surprisingly huge section of Reddit devoted to people’s experiences with it. And amazingly, you won’t turn into a dirty hippie!

The idea is that normal shampoo has dozens of chemicals in it, and you’re putting them into your hair every day.

All the crap in an ordinary bottle of shampoo

All the crap in an ordinary bottle of shampoo

So I picked up the shampoo I was using and turned it over. Sure enough, there was a whole laundry list of stuff I couldn’t pronounce.

What’s “Hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride?” It sounds like something that’s gone through a lot of processing.

What about “Methylchloroisothiazolinone?” I’m out.

What I did

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No Annual Fee Cards + Personal Finance: Why You Need (At Least) One

by Harlan 4 Comments

Like it or not, in this country you need good credit. It’s as avoidable as death or taxes. As in, not at all.

Starting out with credit cards, you’ll encounter a catch-22: you need good credit to get a credit card, but you need a credit card to build good credit.

No annual fee cards are NOT boring. In fact, they have some innovative rewards!

No annual fee cards are NOT boring. In fact, they have some innovative rewards!

A good place to start is no annual fee cards.

For beginners

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My Best Advice: “You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To”

by Harlan 5 Comments

I’m just read through an old scrapbook from 1991 to 1993. Yup, I still have some things from nearly 25 years ago.

My little brother hadn’t been born yet, and I wrote a lot of letters to my family. Once I learned how to address envelopes and send letters, I sat down and wrote all the time. And when I got a letter in the mail, I’d get so excited. I thought it was the best thing in the world – to get a letter in the mail.

I was lucky to have a supportive family while growing up in rural Mississippi. My Mom was always there to take care of me, and I still talk to her on the phone constantly.

This letter from my Gramma is over 23 years old by now, and I still have it

This letter from my Gramma is over 23 years old by now, and I still think about it

My grandmother taught me about positive thinking early on. I’ll never forget a phrase I read in one of her letters.

“You can do anything you set your mind to.”

It was the first piece of advice that really stuck with me, and it was a good one. The letter came on June 4th, 1992. I was seven years old at the time.

The law of attraction

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Complete the Hyatt Diamond Challenge in 9 Nights With the Citi Prestige Card

by Harlan 9 Comments

Random thought of the evening.

I’m going through my cards and want to dump:

And replace them with:

The hitch is that you have to wait ~8 days between applications with Citi, so I’m not sure which of their cards to get first. But I’m warming up to the idea of Category 1 and 2 Hilton hotels – there’s a ton of value to be had there.

Anyway.

Citi Prestige + Hyatt Diamond Challenge

Via The Points Guy, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge (something that’s always tempted me). You’ll have 60 days to complete it when you sign up (so until September 30th).

And via View From the Wing, the Citi Prestige card’s 4th night free benefit is “too good” to last. (I agree.)

Hyatt hotels are easily bookable with the Citi Prestige travel program. (Here’s the link to Carlson Wagonlit to search.)

A quick search in Dallas turned up 6 Hyatts, most under $100 a night

A quick search in Dallas turned up 6 Hyatts, most under $100 a night

If you book a 4-night stay for $100 a night, you’d pay $300 (after the Citi Prestige statement credit).

Do this 3 times in 60 days, pay $900, get Hyatt Diamond status. Any many hotels are available for under $100.

If you have Hyatt stays coming up anyway, this might be something to mix-and-match with cash + points stays.

And hotels booked with the Citi Prestige card do earn elite credit.

What’s Hyatt Diamond status worth?

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Must-Haves of Travel: Activated Charcoal

by Harlan 9 Comments

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Activated charcoal FTW

Activated charcoal FTW

After reading an article by fellow Brooklynite Jenny on Healthy Crush about activated charcoal, I had to try it.

Activated charcoal is made by burning something carbon-based, like wood or coconut shells to remove all of the oxygen. What’s left is a highly absorbent material filled with millions of tiny pores that trap and bind gas and toxins and can carry thousands of times its weight.

That’s really cool.

It comes in capsules and looks like this:

Activated charcoal capsules

Activated charcoal capsules

Uses for activated charcoal

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List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

by Harlan 13 Comments

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

Spoiler alert. On this list, I find the FIA Fidelity AMEX to be the most valuable. I just love that card so much.

List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

Thank you for being a friend – and for NOT being issued by American Express

And this post is gonna be focused on Serve.

Note: It is possible to send money between Serve and REDbird, or Serve and Bluebird.

So if you’re managing multiple cards, you can get a Serve card, load it up for $1,000 each month, and send it to Bluebird or REDbird to pay bills that normally don’t accept credit cards. Like student loans, utilities, mortgage payments, or anyone else.

List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express: 

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I Use Miles Because I Won’t Pay Revenue Prices… Right?!

by Harlan 10 Comments

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Correct me if I’m being thick because I definitely have my “forest for the trees” moments.

Meaning of value... are you in there? Oh, there you are.

Meaning of value… are you in there? Oh, there you are.

I read an article on Point Me to the Plane about a flight that got 2.5 cents per Delta mile.

Then the comments read: if you wouldn’t pay cash for the flights, that’s not how much the points/miles are worth.

But… I use points and miles for flights and hotels specifically because I won’t pay cash for them.

In fact, I’ve planned entire trips (like Hawaii, Paris, RTW/Australia, and Eurotrip 2014 in Lufthansa First Class) that I would’ve never paid for if it weren’t for points and miles.

a screenshot of an airline

I did NOT pay $7,243 for this flight… but I did pay 40,000 Avios + $453 in fuel surcharges. So what are the points worth?

I thought… that was the “point” of points and miles? 

Targeting aspiration AKA value

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Cardmatch Offer: 30K Points for AMEX EveryDay Preferred

by Harlan 1 Comment

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The Points Guy posted about a couple of offers that came up on Cardmatch today:

  • 100K points for AMEX Platinum personal/biz
  • 50K points for AMEX PRG personal / Gold biz

And the commenters mentioned a couple of other offers.

What’s my offer?

So I headed to Cardmatch on CreditCards.com to see what came up… cuz I would’ve totally gone for the 100K Platinum biz offer.

I was targeted for the 100K Platinum personal offer, but I already have that card.

Then I scrolled down and noticed:

30K Points for the AMEX EveryDay Preferred

30K Points for the AMEX EveryDay Preferred

That’s a good deal!

I’ve written about the AMEX EveryDay Preferred card before.

I got the card with a 15K bonus over a year ago. Just paid the $95 annual fee on it and can say this one’s definitely a keeper (unlike the US Bank Club Carlson Visa Signature, Chase British Airways Visa Signature, and Barclaycard Arrival Plus).

I use the card as intended, mostly at grocery stores and Costco (for now), with a couple of other purchases here and there. (I use Amazon Allowance to help me meet 30 transactions per month to trigger 1.5 AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent.)

I also wrote about my experience getting the card. It’s the only card I’ve ever been straight-up denied for. Until I called AMEX and asked WTF? and then they approved me anyway.

Bottom line

Along with the stellar offers for 100K points for AMEX Platinum and 50K points for AMEX PRG, add this one to the pool.

It’s double the usual sign-up bonus and is a very worthwhile card to have.

Check Cardmatch on CreditCards.com to see if you were targeted (under “Free Interactive Tools” on the right).

I’ve had the card for a year now and really recommend it. It has 0% interest for 15 months to start out, and you can always downgrade it to the no annual fee version after 11 months if you don’t like it.

Were you targeted for anything good on Cardmatch? Was your offer different?