Credit Cards

Category Archives for Credit Cards.

Is the Citi AT&T Access More Card + RadPad a Viable Increase Spend Option?

by Harlan 21 Comments

a screen shot of a phone

I wrote earlier about my wishes for the Citi ThankYou program and increasing fascination with Citi.

Today, I had some sort of psychic break and picked up the Citi AT&T Access More card.

Oops, I did it again

Oops, I did it again

I applied for it instead of the Citi ThankYou Premier card. Based on my current spending habits, and the fact that I already have Citi Prestige, the Citi ThankYou Premier seemed redundant.

Except for its broad 3X category for all travel including gas. But then I thought, you know, no.

Before I go all-in with Citi ThankYou, I wanna see what’s next. I can pick up that card up any time. And use my Chase Sapphire Preferred (or some other card) for gas/other travel.

And then, thinking more on the Citi AT&T Access More card, I thought about why it could be better. Including for paying rent at RadPad, a topic I’ve mined frequently.

About the Citi AT&T Access More card

Read More

4 Things Holding Back Citi ThankYou From Being the Best Points Program

by Harlan 26 Comments

a plane flying through the air

For too long, Chase Ultimate Rewards has been considered the best all-around points program for peeps who like collecting them (myself included).

You welcome

You welcome

AMEX is failing miserably at just about everything right now, except for AMEX Offers.

They lost Costco and jetBlue, might lose Starwood, Membership Rewards doesn’t have (m)any great transfer partners (maybe Delta, Aeroplan, and ANA for niche award flight redemptions), and they’ve absolutely failed to make timely and industry-leading adjustments to their credit card and points line-up for a long time (thanks for dropping forex fees after like, a decade…).

That left the door wide open for Citi to swoop in (Barclays and Bank of America were never a concern). And man, they really took their chance.

I went from having 1 Citi AAdvantage card to wanting multiple Citi cards in a short while. I’m in love with Citi Prestige because of all the money it’s saved me in the few months I’ve had it.

Current Citi cards I have and want

Read More

10,000 Citi ThankYou points for catching a site error

by Harlan 11 Comments

a screenshot of a card

Citi’s been hit-or-miss with peeps calling in about various website errors recently.

Doctor of Credit shared an experience about getting a 5,000 bonus Citi ThankYou points because the Citi Prestige application site showed an error on earning 3X ThankYou points on all travel purchases including gas.

Error alert!

Error alert!

It actually earns 3X points on airfare and hotel purchases, not travel broadly defined – probably my only complaint on this otherwise incredible card. (Here’s how much I’ve saved I picked up the card in November 2015. And it’s available via my links if you decide to apply.)

How I got 10K points

Read More

16 Points & Miles Predictions for 2016

by Harlan 3 Comments

a group of people sitting on a couch

Happy New Year! I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon with the predictions. So here’s my effort.

"Everyone else is doing it, so why can't we?"

“Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?”

2015 was a crazy year

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

A portrait of the Fidelity AMEX card

Out and Out’s Points and Miles Predictions for 2016

Read More

Barclaycard Aviator Downgrade Offer + Q1 Bonus Points at Supermarkets

by Harlan 6 Comments

a credit card and a card on a book

RIP, Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard®.

As part of closing on my house, I had to ax this card (I’ll explain why in another post). But, before the boot, I downgraded the card from the Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard® (with an $89 annual fee) to the regular ol’ “Aviator card” (with no annual fee), and got it in the mail just in time to say goodbye.

You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin', Clementine

You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin’, Clementine

Here are 2 offers I got that might be helpful to some folks. One you have to call to receive, the other is targeted – so be on the lookout if you’re interested.

Downgrade offer

Read More

3 Days Left to Save Money on Christmas Gifts With Amazon Prime!

by Harlan Leave A Comment

a screenshot of a gift card

Also see: 

There’s a lot going on with Amazon right now in terms of deals:

  • 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (10% cashback with Chase Freedom, if you activated the offer in time)
  • 10% cashback with Discover It (5% back now and 5% back after 12th billing cycle for new cardmembers)
  • Amazon’s own deals – which are fantastic

The chance to get 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (which turn into 10X United Airlines miles, 10X Hyatt points, 10X Southwest points, etc. when paired with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus) is too good to pass up. It’s a big reason why the AMEX Jet.com offer is on hold for me.

adas

3 days left for Prime 2-day shipping

If you’ve put off last-minute gifts, this is a *perfect* weekend before Xmas to knock out last-minute shopping with Amazon Prime membership (you could even buy it today and start using it right away if you really wanted to!).

Tons of good deals

Read More

Booking Barcelona: Citi Prestige + Hilton Diamond at Alexandra DoubleTree

by Harlan 4 Comments

a city street with buildings and trees

Also see: 

The hotel stay for Barcy is all set. And, I booked it – again – with Citi Prestige. I wrote about my first experience booking a hotel room it for Martinique.

View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here

asd

Gonna eat the hell out of that free breakfast

I settled on the Alexandra Barcelona, a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

I’d originally booked the Hilton Barcelona as a Points & Money reward.

Why the switch?

Read More

Taking Another Look at Hilton, Hyatt, and Diamond Elite Status

by Harlan 28 Comments

a fish under a glass tunnel

Also see: 

To begin, I must say I’m disappointed I wasn’t one of the lucky ones to receive Hyatt Diamond status. Although I did luck out with Hilton Diamond status.

I realize I’ll likely sound like a spoiled brat whining about something I didn’t get for free. Especially when others have spent much more time and money to actually earn the status. That said, the way Hyatt handled the Diamond status match – from free-for-all to the later restriction to only match SPG Platinum members, and all the missteps in between- was very mishandled.

Booooo

Booooo

Hyatt had an opportunity to capitalize on the SPG/Marriott merger and they blew it – unless you got the match, then you win. I likely would’ve gone out of my way to stay with Hyatt more in 2016 and beyond. This whole thing has left such a bad taste behind that it makes me want to actively avoid Hyatt, and only use them for free award night stays.

Although I think what Hilton is doing is genius, at least from a marketing perspective. And, let’s face it: Hilton has a much larger footprint than Hyatt (4,100+ hotels compared to ~600). And Hilton is in every place there’s a Hyatt with few exceptions.

For example, there are NO Hyatt hotels in Barcelona (where I’ll be in a few weeks). But there were 4 Hilton options:

Furthermore, the next time Hyatt has a Diamond status challenge to stay 12 nights, I won’t even consider doing it (even though you can complete it with only 9 nights if you have Citi Prestige). Why would I spend $1,000 on something so many others got for free?

Anyway, that’s my preamble – just wanted to clear the air here. Again, I completely understand I don’t “deserve” the status in way. It just sucks to see so many get it for free, even though my credentials where enough – at one point – to get me in, too. A case of “early bird gets the worm” if there ever was one.

But now, I’m taking another look at Hilton, as I expect to have more paid stays there, at least for now. And, it’s not as bad as you’d think.

Hilton Diamond Vs Hyatt Diamond

Read More

A Step Beyond Foreign Transaction Fees: Bank Exchange Rates Affect How Much You Pay Abroad

by Harlan 5 Comments

a black circular icon with a circular arrow pointing to a stack of coins

The other day, when I wrote about my experience booking a hotel room in Martinique, I pulled up the Mercez app to see what exchange rate I’d get on $1,118 Euros with the Citi Prestige card.

Lots of cards advertise “no foreign transaction fees” which means they don’t add extra fees to the amount they convert.

Mercez tells you the real rate for each of your cards

Mercez tells you the real rate for each of your cards

But what’s interesting is not all banks convert cash at the same rate.

The amounts can add up, especially if you spend a lot (or live) abroad.

Rates according to Mercez

Read More

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

Read More

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

by Harlan 14 Comments

a few blue and white credit cards

Also see: 

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

Read More

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

by Harlan 6 Comments

palm trees on a beach

Also see: 

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

Read More