About Harlan

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

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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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Manufacturing spend post-Vanilla at CVS

by Harlan 9 Comments

Vanilla Reloads: Gone the way of the dinosaur

Vanilla Reloads: Gone the way of the dinosaur

Man, the news of CVS changing their policy to cash-only for Vanilla Reloads shook my little points manufacturing world upside down. I loved it so much because I essentially turned CVS into my bank; loading Vanilla Reload cards was my deposit transaction. Quite literally, because that’s how I’ve been paying rent up until this month.

So now what?

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Booked: Venice in August

by Harlan 4 Comments

This year is shaping up to be very Europe-y. So far, I have Paris in June (on British Airways), Germany in Oktober (on Lufthansa), and now, Venice sandwiched in between the two in August (on Swiss).

I got in on the fare war that Star Alliance carriers were having at Delta hubs, and was able to book the new business class on Swiss round-trip for a hair under $1,500. Not nothing, but a good deal since it was only $40 more than regular ol’ economy. Plus, it’s my birthday trip: I’ll be turning 30 in Italy this year!

I’m glad I booked when I did because now, fares are around $5,000 for the same itinerary.

I'd much rather pay a third of that

I’d much rather pay less than a third of that!

This is good because:

  • It’s Star Alliance. I slipped into a Oneworld zone last year with mostly LAN and American metal
  • It’s on Swiss. I really want to see and try new products
  • It’s not SkyTeam. The only member I’m interested in at this point is Korean. Screw Delta, Air France, KLM, and Alitalia
  • I’ve never been to Italy, and can’t wait to see Venice
  • It’s my birthday trip, so will feel super special to be in a beautiful new place 🙂

Buying this ticket was NOT the most financially responsible thing I’ve ever done, but whatever. 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, so around $75 back right off the bat. It will also give me new things to explore and write about (and I’m still not caught up with everything).

Last year was all about the Southern Hemisphere, with Easter Island, Santiago, Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand. This year is looking to be about Western Europe. So funny how these themes seem to crop up each year.

Did anyone else get on this deal? I’d love to hear about all the itineraries people were able to construct!

 

Switching credit lines / allocations with American Express

by Harlan Leave A Comment

Activation notification via email from American Express

Activation notification via email from American Express

I got my new Amex EveryDay Preferred card the other day. Instead of being really excited about, like usual, I was sorta like, “Hrmph.” My credit limit was not… where I wanted it to be. I wasn’t satisfied by how low it was. Not to worry, I can just switch around lines of credit, right?

Denied again

I have two consumer lines of credit with Amex that are not charge cards: the Delta Skymiles Platinum card and now, the EveryDay Preferred card.

On the Delta card, let’s say I have a $10,000 credit limit, and on the EveryDay, let’s say they gave me $2,000. I have $12,000 in total to switch around however I want, in theory. $6,000 for each, for example. No problem, I thought, I’ll give Amex a call. Read More

Review: Qantas Lounge @ AKL

by Harlan Leave A Comment

This lounge visit was directly before my first-ever Qantas flight in economy AKL-SYD. I booked the ticket with 10,000 Avios points. After returning the car to Avis, we headed to check-in, fully expecting to go afterward to the Emperor Lounge thanks to my Priority Pass Select card via Amex. I’d get in for free but my “mate” would have to pay $27. I figure $27 bucks for a few drinks, free wifi, and maybe some lunch-type items would be alright.

However, I asked the agent checking us in if I could add my AAdvantage number to the ticket instead of British Airways number (since I have some status with American but nothing with British Airways). I figured if he saw that I was American Platinum/Oneworld Sapphire that it might do something. Sure enough, when he handed me the boarding pass and said, “And the Qantas lounge is right past security…”

Hmmm. “Can I get into the Qantas lounge?” Since I was Oneworld Sapphire, that was enough to grant entry. Maybe others know that, but I sure didn’t. It saved me from having to pay for access to the Emperor Lounge. Score! Read More

Just booked: A ~$20,000 Dollar Trip to Paris for FREE? You betcha!

by Harlan 14 Comments

See you soon, Paris!

See you soon, Paris!

I am over the moon right now because I just booked an epic trip to Paris in June. I have booked complex, multi-stop and RTW itineraries before, but even still, was amazed at how easily and quickly this trip came together.

The trip

Leaving from EWR.

  • EWR-ORY in business class on British Airways
  • 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome
  • 1 night at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile on Club floor
  • ORY-LHR-JFK in business class on British Airways
  • 2 incredibly stoked adventurers

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Will Vanilla Reloads at CVS be cash only starting 3/31?

by Harlan 1 Comment

Is that so?

Is that so?

Well, this would certainly be a game changer.

Per this report from PM&M and this post from @Ringsthecaddy on Twitter, CVS stores will stop accepting credit cards for Vanilla Reloads starting TOMORROW (3/31). Does that mean we can get in one last day of reloading? Or is it essentially “effective immediately?”

Vanilla Reloads have become a huge staple in my points earning strategy, to the point where I’ve relied on it to pay monthly bills like rent and student loans (and I know this is true for many others out there). To have it taken away with no warning would be tough. I can revert back to bill pay through my bank, but earn no points in doing it that way.

If this is true about CVS, they’ve changed their policy overnight with no warning – and we only know about it because of a leaked memo. I can’t say I blame them, but I wonder what the catalyst was? Transaction fees? Too many fraud attempts from criminals? Too many points addicts getting their fix at CVS for $4 a pop?

The game will go on no matter what. Here’s a post from Points Chaser about how to cope. We’ll all find out soon enough how this shakes out.

Mark this one as developing. Don’t be sad because it’s over; smile because it happened… right?

Hotel Review: Dome Home B&B, Healy, Alaska

by Harlan 1 Comment

The Dome Home B&B in Healy, AK

The Dome Home B&B in Healy, AK

Denali National Park is a lot of things. It’s huge, beautiful, natural, wild, raw, breathtaking – and very far from most anything. There are no hotel chains here, so staying at the Dome Home Bed & Breakfast didn’t earn me any stay credits with any points program – but it did earn me some American miles. How? Sites like Pointshound and Rocketmiles are GREAT for earning points in far-flung places – sign up if you haven’t already. There are some gems on there for boutique hotel and B&B bookings like this one that will still earn you miles! I always checked Rocketmiles for every booking I make, just to see what’s available. And everyone should absolutely see Alaska someday, points or no. It is gorgeous!

I settled on the Dome Home after seeing that I could still earn miles for booking at that it was located near to Denali in Healy, Alaska – only a 30-minute drive from the northern entrance to the park. They also had a brewery I wanted to visit, and it was a 15-minute drive from a tourist oasis where there were restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and gas stations in case we needed anything “for the road.”

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Review: VIP Lounge @ GDL/Guadalajara Terminal 1

by Harlan Leave A Comment

I had the good fortune to visit Guadalajara, Mexico for a night as part of my trip from LAX-GDL then GDL-ATL. (Click to read my experience in Aeromexico’s economy class.)

I wasn’t expecting many (or any) amenities at GDL, but pulled up my Priority Pass app on my phone just for kicks. There is one Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 1, and I was able to go for free thanks to my American Express Platinum card – Priority Pass Select membership comes with the card.

I headed over to the lounge not expecting much, but was very pleasantly surprised (the best kind of surprise?).

Off to Atlanta on Delta!

Off to Atlanta on Delta!

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Hotel Review: Grand Hyatt Manchester, San Diego

by Harlan 1 Comment

Grand Hyatt Manchester entrance

Grand Hyatt Manchester entrance

I was in San Diego for some business and spent a few nights at the Grand Hyatt Manchester, near downtown and the Gaslamp District. It was my first time at this Hyatt, and I was quite looking forward to it.

This review also feels kind of gratuitous (like the review of the Centurion Lounge @ DFW) because Lucky has also reviewed the same property. BUT – I have breakfast pictures! Take that!

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Hotel Review: New York-New York, Las Vegas

by Harlan 2 Comments

Outside New York-New York in Las Vegas

Outside New York-New York in Las Vegas

Weekend in Vegas

I took a cab here from LAS, which was super cheap – only about $15. I read a tip somewhere to the cab driver to “avoid the tunnel,” whatever that means, so I said that and about 10 minutes later arrived at my introduction to the most artificial place in the world:  Las Vegas.

I went to Las Vegas for the weekend to hang out with a friend from high school. It had been a couple of years, and a visit was overdue. Also, Ms. Britney Spears announced a residency at Planet Hollywood, so that was reason enough for us. Add to that Shania Twain at Caesar’s Palace, and you have a recipe for the gayest weekend ever.

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