About Harlan

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

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Back from FTU Seattle!

by Harlan Leave A Comment

Typing this on a Delta plane on the way back to NYC. Feeling overwhelmed in the best way possible by the experience I’ve had in Seattle.

Lots of firsts:

  • First time in Seattle (and Washington – was my 42nd state visited!)
  • First FTU
  • First Delta biz class transcon SEA-JFK
  • First Marriott stay
  • First taste of Washington beers

FTU Seattle was a great experience. I was able to attend 7 out of the 10 sessions – had to leave early to get back to NYC. The flight selection was limited since I burned all my SkyMiles for this trip, so had to take what I could get.

I have a lot to catch up on and a lot of new observations I’d like to share. Going to gouge myself with Girl Scout cookies (thanks, Jasmin!) and make a few new posts.

Oh, and here are the states I have left to visit:

  • Wyoming
  • Idaho
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • West Virginia
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Oregon

Off to Seattle & My First FTU!

by Harlan 1 Comment

By the time this is up, I’ll already be in Seattle. 

However, right now, I am on a Delta plane burning the last of my SkyMiles.

To lament briefly, it’s a shame. I love Delta’s brand, operations, flight attendants, and route network. They are a huge presence here in NYC, both at LGA and JFK. It would be so easy to pledge my loyalty to Delta. But all the other stuff makes me not want to have anything to do with them – the gutting of SkyMiles, the way they treat their “partners”, the unannounced changes, and all the rest. 

In any regard, I am enjoying the flight and service, and am excited about getting to Seattle. It will be my first time there, and my first FTU. 

Will definitely report back about my stays at Hyatt Place and the airport Marriott in Seattle, impressions of Delta First Class, and of course all the things I learned at FTU. 

If you happen to be there, totally say hello. There’s a pic of me on the About page (and in various trip reports). 

Happy travels!

Confirmed: Amex Serve $50 Bonus Works with Amazon Payments + Posts Instantly

by Harlan 6 Comments

Always a good feeling to wake up to an extra $50 when you don’t expect it. Last week, I talked about my experience getting the Amex Serve card after ditching Bluebird. I’m currently testing out different banks to see if they charge cash advance fees + give me points for using credit cards. So far, I’ve confirmed US Bank does not charge any fees and they already posted my Club Carlson points.

Serve’s $50 Bonus Promo

Right now and until the end of June, Serve is running a promo that gives $50 for two direct deposits of $250 or more. The questions in mind when I saw this were:

  • Does Amazon Payments count as direct deposit?
  • When will the bonus post?

Bluebird generates a monthly statement like any other bank account. I thought maybe Serve would do the same thing and post the bonus at the end of a statement cycle, that is, if Amazon Payments counted at all.

I can confirm that Amazon Payments does indeed work as direct deposit AND that the bonus posts as soon as the second direct deposit clears.

All in a day's work

All in a day’s work

I loaded $1,000 to Amazon Payments after getting in on the recent (and current!) 6.6% cashback at the Arrival portal. It’s a great way to generate some points and liquidate Amex gift cards. In fact, I just ordered a second round.

From there, I sent over two direct deposits of $250 to my Serve account simultaneously.

This morning, all the cash was in the account with the bonus $50. Can’t beat that!

Bottom line

If you’re at all interested in getting a Serve account, I highly recommend signing up using this promo link and scoring an extra $50 for doing so.

Serve is a great complement to the points and miles world if you’re far from a Walmart and can’t load up Bluebird at CVS any more. Or if Walmart stops accepting gift cards for Bluebird reloads. (There have been reports that this might be starting to happen.) $1,000 a month is the credit card load limit (on the non-Isis version) for Serve accounts. It isn’t much, but it’s enough to pay a few bills and still get some points rolling in. Every little bit helps. It really does! – I did some quick math on this post.

Review: US Airways Club @ CLT / Charlotte

by Harlan 1 Comment

I had the opportunity to go down to Charlotte, NC on US Airways earlier this week. Even though my Amex Platinum Card doesn’t get me into American’s Admirals Clubs or US Airways Clubs any more, I was still able to get in thanks to a recent award redemption with American’s Business Extra program.

I flew JFK-CLT and had high hopes for the US Airways Club at CLT since it is one of their hub airports. I was not disappointed.

I checked into the Club at around 8:20am. It was pretty empty. I really only had time to grab a to-go coffee and slap on a tie. But I returned at around 3pm and got to hang out for a couple of hours and snap some photos. Both times, check-in was a breeze and the agents couldn’t have been more friendly.

The lounge

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Amex Serve: Which banks charge cash advance fees?

by Harlan 20 Comments

Update 3/3/15: US Bank credit cards are no good with Serve. It is coding as a cash advance. 

Update 11/2/14: I tried to load up Serve with my Chase British Airways and it is coding as a cash advance! I have also read reports that the Sapphire and Freedom are starting to code as CA, too – so with Chase, beware. 

I also loaded up $5 with my US Bank Club Carlson Visa. It is still on my account as a pending transaction – will post with an update soon. 

For now, I am using my FIA Fidelity Amex. I couldn’t get the Serve website to accept my Barclaycard Arrival no matter how many times I tried. No idea why. But it took my Fidelity Amex on the first try, so not sure if the website is glitching out or what. Just keep an eye on Serve. I think it’s starting to go the way of Vanilla Reloads, unfortunately.

Update 10/12/14: There is some speculation that US Bank (and possibly other banks) are starting to code Serve reloads as cash advances. These fees destroy any value you get from a points-earning credit card. I have already loaded my $1,000 this month so can’t personally test until November. I’d recommend loading up $5 and giving it a few days – let the transaction post. If you are charged a fee, avoid any other cards issued by that bank. The next step in manufactured spend is hopefully just around the corner!

As you guys know, I just ditched Bluebird and got a Serve card to help manufacture some spend post-Vanilla Reloads at CVS.

From what I understand, you can still purchase Vanilla Visa cards with a credit card at CVS, assign it a PIN with the first purchase, and use a service like Evolve Money to make bill payments. I may employ this method soon to pay student loans and electricity bills (HT: Neil). Just make sure your payee is in their system before you get started.

Why I got Serve

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Oil Pulling: Week Six

by Harlan Leave A Comment

Also see:

It’s been six weeks since I’ve started oil pulling each morning. Here’s my experience over a month later of daily 20-minute pulls.

For starters, it’s now firmly part of my morning routine. I don’t notice the flavor, the texture, the saliva… anything, really. The details that might’ve bothered me or that I’d get caught up don’t matter so much any more. It’s just the thing I do to get the day started.

Side effects

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T&Cs

by Harlan 3 Comments

So I needed to reset myself this week. Working too much, friend in town, holiday, etc.

Expedia/Swiss ticket

I got myself into a couple of situations where I didn’t fully excavate the T&Cs – the dreaded terms and conditions – which further depleted me.

All is fine and good until you get to this little set of rules that is typically appended onto something you (or I) might think is a really good deal. And I’ve gotten myself into some sorry situations for not fully reading them these past few days.

In the post where I talked about the upcoming trip to Venice in Swiss biz class, I said:

I was able to click through the FIA/Fidelity portal to get 3 points a dollar back + points for using a mileage-earning credit card… 

Wrong.

Had I properly read the T&Cs I would’ve seen this disclaimer:

Retailer Exclusions
Bonus points will be awarded only after travel is completed. The following are not eligible to earn bonus points: Air Travel, pre-packaged vacations, Groupon Getaways, any car transaction exceeding a purchase price of $5,000 USD. Car transactions between $1,000-$5,000 are subject to investigation by Expedia.

AKA I got nothing for clicking this link and spending nearly $1,500. I would’ve earned 1 point a dollar by instead clicking through to Travelocity at the Ultimate Rewards portal. 1,500 points is better than no points. But I didn’t read the T&Cs, so, like a schmuck, I got nothin’.

Zoola Rewards

Then, I really thought the Zoola Rewards portal would a boon. After all, you have to put your credit cards on file with them. I thought it would be a great way to stack a lot of points into one transaction. Key word: thought.

I tweeted them and got confirmation that you do have to click through their portal to earn the cash back. Therefore, I would not advise using that portal unless you want CASH. But even still, if you have cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, you can redeem those points for cashback or a statement credit – and they’re much more versatile in case an idea for a trip comes along. So, the Zoola Rewards thing could be good for those who don’t have cards that can earn cash or statement credits and just want to earn cash – not points or miles. In all other instances, it’s not the right thing to use. I have to recommend avoiding this portal now. Why? I confirmed, on Twitter, their T&Cs.

So there you have it.

Bottom line

Let this be a reminder to always confirm what you’re getting – or what you think you’re getting. No matter how rushed you are to snag a deal, it only takes a few extra seconds to read. Don’t make an assumption. You know what they say about assumptions. They make an ass out of u & me.

Or, this week, just me.

Happy travels and remember to read the fine print!

My US Airways Flight Attendant Interview

by Harlan 5 Comments

This will have to be a text-only post, as there was really no way to discreetly take photos of anything I experienced. But talk about a recon mission!

The application

I found a link to apply for the US Airways flight attendant position while trolling Craigslist as part of my side hustle gig. I clicked through out of curiosity. The application was quite short, and I thought for an instant that it could be really cool. After all, this was before American started to devalue and I knew the position would soon be part of the “new American.” And I think about the travel industry so much anyway that I was like… why not work for the travel industry? Five minutes later, I’d applied.

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Zoola Rewards – a new cashback portal

by Harlan Leave A Comment

a logo with a cartoon face

Update: I only recommend this portal if you want CASH BACK and don’t want to earn points or miles. AVOID this portal if your card offers cash back or statement credits. See this post for more info and the confirmation I received via Twitter.

Sorry if I’m tardy to the party on this one but… 

I just signed up for Zoola Rewards, and think you should too. It’s a new(?) cashback rewards program. All you do is plug in your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card numbers and shop at any of the merchants to receive cashback in the form of a check mailed directly to you once a year or a direct deposit in 3, 6, or 12 month intervals. I chose direct deposit every 3 months (duh).

I was only semi-interested in the service until I started poking around the website and saw a LOT of familiar merchants with some nice cashback returns.

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List of Changes to American in the AA/US Airways Merger

by Harlan Leave A Comment

DisAAdvantage

This is mostly for my own benefit, just because I want to keep track of everything that is happening with American during their merger with US Airways.

I will continue to update this post (though hopefully not frequently…).

Note: I do not really care about the US Airways side of things, only how they affect American.

On April 8, 2014 (with no advance notice):

  • American has eliminated distance-based Oneworld Explorer awards
  • American has eliminated stopovers at the North American “gateway” city on AAdvantage awards
  • American has created multiple tiers of AAdvantage standard award levels
  • AAdvantage Gold members and Dividend Miles Platinum and Gold members will receive one fewer free checked bag. American Executive Platinums still get 3 free checked bags and Platinums get two. Golds now get only one
  • Flights to and from South America won’t have second bag charges
  • Full fare tickets and AAnytime awards do not get free checked bags
  • Phone ticketing fee increased to $35 from $25

(Hopefully not) To be continued…

Rolling with the punches (Or, Et tu, American?)

by Harlan 3 Comments

Update: American’s shitty response when I tweeted this post:

Did you feel it this morning? The quake that rippled through the blogs regarding American’s sudden overhaul of award redemptions? They also eliminated the beloved Oneworld Explorer Award AND stopovers at North American “gateway” cities – two features I really loved about the AAdvantage program. It’s a veritable mAAsacre.

I have to admit, I was really down about it. I don’t really care about the new five-tired award redemption system. I only ever booked SAAver awards anyway. The others are pure capacity controls, nothing more.

I was really looking forward to booking an Explorer Award in the near future. American recently introduced an unprecedented 100K bonus on the Executive AAdvantage card, which was enough, or nearly enough, to book a decent Explorer Award. I know a lot of people were looking into it and beginning to plan one of their own, including me.

And now, overnight, it’s gone. No advance notice. No, “hey you might want to book this soon”. Just a complete, unannounced overhaul.

The other thorn was the elimination of the free one-way that you could tack onto an award redemption. I was planning on doing that too, to get back from Oktoberfest, then onward to somewhere else. Now, the “somewhere else” prices as a completely separate award.

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Bye, Bluebird: My Experience Getting the Serve Card

by Harlan 4 Comments

Yesterday, after writing the post about how to best manufacture spend post-Vanilla, I went ahead and dumped Bluebird. I’ve heard of many ways people have done it, and the different sequences of opening/closing, and all the conflicting rules about switching from Bluebird to Serve.

Here’s how I did it:

  • Applied for a Serve card by following this promo link to get a $50 credit after two direct deposits of $250 or more (I plan to do this with Amazon Payments in May)
  • Yes, WITH my Bluebird account still open
  • Of course I got an “account being reviewed” message because you can’t have a Bluebird and a Serve account at the same time
  • So then I called Bluebird CS to close account
  • Then Serve CS to open the pending account
  • Seconds after I hung up, I got a “Welcome to Serve” email

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