Category Archives for Just the Tip(s).
It’s nearly mid-November, how’d that happen?
I’m gearing up for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, as I’m sure many of you are, too.
Dear everyone I know, you might get a kitchen appliance. Love, H.
Here are my top picks for cards to use for gift shopping and travel this holiday season.
Also see:
The (good) hits just keep on coming! (I wrote about a free private jet flight from FoundersCard yesterday).
I got free Caesars Diamond elite status this year from FoundersCard, which comes with a ton of benefits, including:
Because of this, I’ve been thinking about a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
Up next: 4 free nights in the Bahamas!
Another benefit of Caesars Diamond status is 4 free nights at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas (part of the Marriott Autograph Collection).
Well, I just called to book it – and it went off without a hitch!
I used British Airways Avios points for flights there. And American miles for flights back. Total cost of ~$214 for round-trip coach flights for 2 from Dallas to Nassau. But the whole experience is worth nearly $2,600.
That includes 4 free nights from Caesars Diamond status – courtesy of FoundersCard. I’m so stoked!
Just a little reminder and tip.
I rarely pay for in-flight wifi. It’s kinda nice to be uncontactable for a little while. Most domestic flights are ~5 hours max anyhow, and usually shorter.
But I found myself needing to get some work done on a plane this week and made the decision to rely on American’s in-flight wifi from Gogo.
(Typing on a computer in a cramped economy seat is another issue altogether. And I highly recommend one of these for seatmates who can’t stop staring at your screen.)
Yes, I like saving big
The all-day pass I bought 5 minutes before boarding my American Airlines flight was $16. But on the plane, they wanted $24. So I saved a tidy $8, a ~33% discount, just for paying in advance.
Note that prices can vary based on the flight. But in general, if you need or want it, it’s better to purchase an all-day pass ahead of time.
And WHERE you buy the pass makes a difference for American or Delta all-day passes.
Y’all know I love a good opportunity to stack!
Well shiver me timbers and ’tis the season, but I’ve been putting most of my spending these days on… Amex cards?! Yup, even though I recently product changed to the precious Chase Sapphire Reserve.
For regular spending, I’m meeting the minimum requirement on the Hilton Amex (no fee version). And for everything else, I’ve been using my Starwood Amex business card to run payments through Plastiq. It’s just too good of a deal right now.
Here’s why.
Out and Out reader Claudia let me know all the of the items included in last week’s awesome Kohl’s appliance deal are now on sale for $14.99 (at the time, they were all $16.99).
So if you’re crazy like I was/am, and bought 40 items in total, making a quick 15-minute call to Kohl’s can get you $80 back!
That obviously sweetens the previous deal – and saves you more.
Here are a couple of things to note.
I caved. And called Chase. Asked if they’d let me change my Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. And thankfully, they did.
I’m happy to report I’m now the owner of a shiny new Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
Got itttt
Here’s why I did it.
Update 10/4/16: It looks like Kohl’s gift card purchases from the MPX app are NOT coding as department store as expected. Peeps in the comments say it didn’t work with their Chase Freedom cards.
No dice here, either 🙁
I haven’t heard of this happening before now, so I will gather new data points before I recommend this moving forward. Thanks to all who let me know!
I’m bummed about this, but at least we got the 1,500 United miles (worth ~$30) as consolation. Though I would’ve preferred the cashback.
Update 10/3/16: This deal has expired. I plan on writing about my experience with it – here’s how to keep up with the blog so you’ll get the updates!
Need a little rush this weekend? How about buying $600+ worth of appliances at Kohl’s?
Last year they had a similar appliance deal I didn’t take part in. But this year I did.
Now before you think I’m crazy (although it may be waaay too late for that), let me explain.
This is a moneymaker if you do it right!
Hat tip to Jill Cataldo for blogging about this and my friend Jas for turning me on to this deal!
I feel like I say this every time I write about Kohl’s, but… it’s no secret I freaking love Kohl’s.
Right now, they have a lot of appliances on sale for $17, including:
Lots of appliances for $17
In total, there are 8 kitchen appliances at the $17 price.
All of the items have a $12 Visa gift card rebate
And, all of the items linked above are eligible for a $12 mail-in rebate. You get a Visa gift card with a limit of 5 per product.
That means if you buy 5 of all 8 items, you can get 40 X $12 back, or $480.
Right now, there’s also a 15% promo code: SMS1871. And it does work for these items.
When you add all of them to your cart and add the promotion code, the total is ~$625. You also get $110 in Kohl’s cash to spend next week.
I paid ~$625 for all 40 appliances
Note that taxes in your state might be different than mine! In Texas, the taxes came to ~$48.
And, you must purchase the items by tomorrow, October 2nd, 2016, to qualify for the rebate (here’s the rebate form). Cheers to the weekend!
Also see:
Something fast and simple I’ve been practicing lately has gone a long way to change my mindset when I stay in hotels: unpacking.
It sounds so small – it is! – but I’ve found the effect is well worth the extremely minimal effort it takes. And, you end up saving yourself time in the end.
It beats living out of a suitcase, especially for stays of more than a few nights (and curiously, I’ve had a lot of 4-night stays recently thanks to Citi Prestige). Unpacking has made the difference between feeling transient or temporary and like I’m home for a little while. And that mindset carries over to how I interact with the place I’m in, albeit in a very small way. But, hey, it all adds up.
For my next trick, I will put up a post from the city I’m currently visiting lol.
I got to Austin on Sunday, and decided to meet up with a friend for drinks downtown.
No problem, I’ll Uber down, a 15-minute ride.
Tips from my friend Jason
He gave me two tips: Ride Austin and Fasten.
Lots of folks got the 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards point offer on the Amex Mercedes-Benz card earlier this year (including me).
If that’s you, you should’ve received a certificate in the mail for $100 toward “genuine Mercedes-Benz parts and accessories.”
I frequently pass a M-B dealership in Dallas, and one weekend afternoon, I decided to pop in and see what I could get.
So here goes!
I made a glancing comment on my Booking Hawaii: Part 3 post:
There were technically no award nights available, but I love the soft perk of Hilton giving Diamond guests enhanced award availability.
(Yasss, quoted myself!)
Which prompted some discussion in the comments. Drew asked for more detail. And Brandon reported getting more award space at a lower rate.
Aye verily, I was able to book an award stay when no award rooms were “technically” available:
Boom
Hilton also has the room rate as “confidential.” Fancy!
This is, as far as I know, an unpublished benefit of the Hilton HHonors program.
They go on to say:
How Hilton describes this perk
If you’re Diamond with Hilton, this could come in handy more often than you think.
Also see:
I’ll go ahead and tell you the moral of this story: tend to your reservations.
After booking 4 flights to Honolulu, then adding my little brother into the mix, the final piece of the puzzle was to book the hotel rooms.
Hello and welcome to Out and Out! My name is Harlan – I’m a points and miles enthusiast who loves to travel. I am interested in personal finance, the power of positive thinking, and the extraordinary journeys that make life worth living.