Category Archives for Just the Tip(s).
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I wrote back in July 2015 about the “ultimate travel jacket” from BauBax.
I was on the fence about getting one, but Jay got it for my birthday, which was in late August.
And um, I just got it this month. So yes, flash forward 10 months and the jacket has finally arrived.
Just in time for summer when you don’t need a jacket lol.
I threw it in my bag and took it with me to Japan to start exploring its features.
But first things first…
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Here’s my experience to add to the mix.
I applied for the Citi AT&T Access More card in late January, and received the card on February 2nd, 2016. That same day, I bought an iPhone.
Here’s the link Citi gives you to shop for a new phone – it won’t work unless you click through from your Citi account because it tracks your purchase, much like a shopping portal. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to turn off your ad blockers so the purchase is tracked correctly.
Pick a phone, any phone
The selection of phones is the exact same as if you navigate to AT&T’s cell phone shop.
I sprang for an iPhone 6S with 128 GB of memory. The taxes for New York were ~$75. After the phone credit, that’s like paying ~$275 for a brand new phone with a lot of memory to burn through.
Net $200 + taxes for a new 128 GB iPhone
I had an iPhone 5 with 16 GB and was tired of deleting apps/pictures/the entire phone every time it needed an update.
I sold it on eBay for ~$134.
Boo ya
There’s a FedEx ship center 2 blocks away. So I popped in and sent it. It took maybe 10 minutes to list and 10 minutes to ship.
Plus, the sale brought my out-of-pocket cost for the new iPhone down to ~$141 after taxes, which is a screaming good deal.
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Wanted to shed some light on this topic because I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it since my original post on the Fidelity Cash Management Account from July 2015.
Despite what the Fidelity website says, despite what any phone agent will tell you, Fidelity does NOT charge a 1% conversion fee on international cash advances.
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Announcing the newest entry of the ever-popular “Must-Haves of Travel” series lol. Stefan remarked he’d run out of room if he took them all each time he took a trip.
But this one goes part-n-parcel with the others because it offers a storage solution. And a quite ingenious one!
Introducing: game-changers
It’s one of those things that’s “duh” in retrospect – I should’ve looked on Amazon for these little guys ages ago: portable, squeezable travel tubes. But now that I have them, there’s no going back.
Hitherto, I’d been using little tubs or plastic sandwich bags. But travel tubes are a step beyond.
Update: One or more card offers below are NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Please check here for the latest deals!
OMG, cringe. Did I just write that headline? Me, Mr. “I Don’t Care About Starpoints?”
I did. A lot has changed since that proclamation nearly 3 years ago. Devaluations, tougher approval rules, and a vastly different landscape for points and miles.
In particular, you can only get an AMEX sign-up bonus once per lifetime on all their cards.
This is the highest bonus there’s ever been – and likely will ever be – on the AMEX SPG cards. I took the bait.
File this under #hypothesis and #gumshoe. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this happened soon.
Redditors are claiming they’ve seen offers to earn 100,000 Hilton points on the AMEX Hilton Surpass card.
AYFKM? Photo source: Reddit
If the offer is indeed real, if will run through May 4th, 2016. And you’ll earn 100,000 Hilton points after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Like previous offers, the $75 annual fee probably won’t be waived. And you’ll get Hilton Gold status just for having the card.
If you have a few breakfasts at Hilton in a year, that covers the annual fee.
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UPDATE 3/31: I was denied. 🙁
Chase will soon (in April 2016) extend their restrictive 5/24 rule to all their card offerings, including co-branded and small business credit cards. And presumably to the new Chase Freedom Unlimited card when it launches online.
The 5/24 rule means if you’ve opened 5+ cards within the previous 24 months, you’ll be instantly denied for a new Chase card. I’m suddenly no longer their target market.
It’s the last week of March, which means this is my last crack at opening up that Chase Marriott Premier card or a Chase Ink Cash, for example.
Instead, I went with the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which will be available for online applications on April 7th, 2016.
However, you can apply in-branch or over the phone right now. (Or at the bottom of this page.)
So today, I strolled over to the Chase bank 2 blocks away on my lunch break (I still haven’t grocery shopped since getting back from Vipassana) and applied in-person for the new Chase Freedom Unlimited.
I love how the acronym for this card is, endearingly, FU.
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I’m targeting late April/early May to be out of NYC and in Dallas full-time.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted a silver Subaru Forester. Buying a house and moving to Dallas meant I’d need to buy a car sooner or later.
The budget I had in mind was $6,000 for everything. Tax, title, registration, base price of the vehicle, everything.
I knew car prices tend to rise as it gets warmer, so when I found a great deal on the car I wanted in late February, I went ahead and snagged it.
My new cahhh. I named him Clyde
Oh! And I wanted to pay for it in full. No financing.
Just an in-shape, reliable used car whose only expenses were maintenance, insurance, and gas. Boom.
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Update 3/7/16: Bluff Works has generously offered a $10 discount to Out and Out readers! Use promo code PROBLUFFOUT when you check out. It’s valid until April 15th, 2016.
Out and Out was recently in Barcelona. For the trip, 2 very different companies set up collaborations.
The first was Coco Luxe (coconut oil on-the-go, which is one of my travel must-haves).
The other was a company that makes another kind of on-the-go products. And with it came the chance to try new pants!
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Out and Out is excited to present a guest post!
Travels of Adam is written by Adam, who writes about travel with an emphasis on the LGBT community.
Adam got in touch after my post about fun things to do in Barcelona went up. He’s traveled there more extensively, so I thought it would be fun to share his Barcelona tips with you guys.
It’s awesome to have another voice on here! And if you’re a blogger or writer, or have a cool story to share, get in touch because I’d love to share more guest posts!
Without further delay, I’ll let Adam whisk you away to Barcelona.
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Ever since I got my Citi Prestige card, I’m finding I have a lot more paid hotel stays. Which means:
For my upcoming trip to Japan, the hotel rates were pretty high because of cherry blossom season. I booked anyway in hopes the prices would drop. But I didn’t know how to track it except to check manually on the hotel site every day, which sucks because it’s time-consuming.
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The title says it all.
I’ve written about FoundersCard a lot over the years. Some peeps think it’s phooey, others love it. I’m in the latter camp.
The selection of ancillary benefits reads like a round-up of the best of the best from co-branded cards (free TripIt Pro, Hilton Gold elite status, Cathay Pacific Silver elite status, 10% off British Airways flights).
The one benefit I’m consistently asked about is Total Rewards Diamond elite status.
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.