Category Archives for Just the Tip(s).
Getting a new credit card is a big step for lots of peeps. It’s a new account, new financial history, and something else to track.
Did you know your new credit card came with a checklist? It does. Sorry
Some of you might be like “Ugh,” but I’m like “Yay!” Even though I have 33 credit cards right now (yep!).
Here are the steps I take with each new card. And you should, too. It’ll help maximize your benefits, earn more rewards, and keep track of what’s what!
With over 30 credit cards in my sock drawer wallet now, I have a lot to keep track of. Especially minimum spending requirements and limited-time promotions. I’ve long advocated everyone use Mint.com to track transactions on all their accounts.
Especially because you can see your transactions at a glance – that’s helpful to monitor any unwanted activity if you have several accounts.
Mint.com is the (free!) ace in your hole
But there’s another extremely helpful use: you can track your spending on a particular account based on date or timeframe. Which helps you know how close you are to meeting a spending threshold. Here’s how.
Quick!
If you’ve been on the hunt for the Kirkland Signature 4-piece Urethane Cover Golf Ball, here’s your chance because they’re back in stock!
Kirkland Signature Golf Balls are a hot item in the resell community
They’re ~$30 for 2 dozen, shipping is ~$5, some states have taxes – and the limit is 2 per membership. If you’ve been looking for these either to resell or just have as gifts or to use, go go go!
It finally happened – I had to file a claim to use my card’s collision damage waiver benefit. I knew the day would arrive sooner or later.
After I hiked down from Granite Park Chalet, I found my rental car had a little *DING* on the front passenger side door. The parking lot was packed, and it was obvious someone parked too close and opened their door too hard into my rental car. It was nearly imperceptible to the point where I thought about not saying anything about it.
See that little dent? Yeah, I nearly didn’t either… *grumble*
But, I was responsible and filed a proper report when I returned the car. I wasn’t expecting to ever hear anything about it again. Until one day, I got a random call saying they filed a claim against me. In a near-panic, I filed my own claim online through Chase in just a few minutes.
THANK GODS I waived the CDW and put the charge on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Taking those small steps saved me nearly $700 – for a little ding on a car door.
Just a quick reminder. Spencer from Straight to the Points set up a special promotion code for Out and Out readers for downloading the Drop app.
Get early access to Drop!
You get:
There’s also an ongoing offer to earn extra points with Plastiq. If you haven’t already, take a minute this Saturday and get $5 free for downloading!
After you link your banks, the points add up automatically. The only reason you’d want to interact with the app is to activate special offers and redeem your points.
There’s currently a waitlist for the public – but the promotion code above also gets you early access. It’s a pretty cool deal, so definitely take advantage if you haven’t already!
Boom
You can also search “earn with Drop” or “Drop loyalty” in your device’s app store to find the app. Follow the prompts and under the “Account” section under Settings, there’s a box that says, “Have a code?” Click it and enter “outandout” to activate your bonus. 👍🏻
Oh and if you can’t find the Plastiq offer listed under “Ongoing Offers” shoot Drop a quick email (inside the app) and ask them to add it for you. Other readers have had success that way.
Thank you for reading – hope you all have a good weekend! 😺
Spencer from Straight to the Points is back to talk about a new Plastiq promotion… and an exclusive offer for Out and Out readers to earn 5,000 points with Drop!
Update 9/25/17: The Plastiq offer from Drop may possibly be targeted. We are checking to see what we can do. If anything, you still get $5 just for downloading the Drop app with promotion code “outandout“!
A few months ago, Drop launched in the US to much fanfare in the miles and points world as the hot new shopping portal. You just needed to attach your credit or debit card (or cards) and shop as usual.
You can easily earn and redeem Drop points at lots of merchants
Redeem the points you earn for merchant gift cards like Hotels.com, Amazon, American Airlines, and Starbucks to help offset future expenses.
The launch was rough. But Drop is starting to get a handle on the US market. Shortly after launching, they limited the number of points you could earn with their ongoing offers to 5,000 points per week. That definitely put the brakes on some people, but there are still one-time offers to help boost your rebates!
That brings us to today.
Saw a deal I couldn’t pass up – had to share!
If you’re in Atlanta, Dallas, or Southern California, see if these Instacart deals will work for you. You can get $20 off an order of $35+ with promotion code “ALDIDELIVERY” – that’s over half off your groceries!
Irresistible! Even with the 10% service fee, I still saved over 50% on groceries
Instacart does add a service fee. But even with that considered, I still saved a heap on groceries. Can’t beat free food!
Plus, your first delivery is free!
I had a MoviePass back when it first came out in… 2012? I was in New York at the time. And IIRC, it cost $30ish a month. But in New York, that was still a great deal… when it worked.
The service was glitchy AF. For one, you had to be within 100 yards of the theater to activate the card. That’s fine, except the GPS back then couldn’t locate me properly. Other times, I’d check in via the app but the card would be declined and I’d end up paying for the movie myself.
It’s baaaack
If you have an issue, they say to “chat” them through the app – which simply is NOT practical when you’re standing in a line with a movie about to begin. Worse, if you call, they say to leave a voicemail. 🙄
A couple of times, I just went ahead and bought my ticket and asked for reimbursement later. But that was a days-long process that was tedious for something as small as a movie ticket.
The final straw was when – I remember it – I wanted to see Lincoln in Brooklyn. It was a cold winter day… Seriously, it was freezing. I got the GPS to work but had to go outside the theater in the gross snow. Then the ticket machine inside kept declining the MoviePass card. So, on my phone, I brought up the theater’s mobile site and bought the ticket online. Somehow, the MoviePass worked.
But they knew. Like clockwork, the next morning, they told me my account was canceled. By that point I was so frustrated with the whole thing that…
…I said eff it!
And the whole thing left me feeling bitter.
I just made my last round of rent, mortgage, and HOA payments through Plastiq with my Citi AT&T Access More card because Citi is removing those transactions from earning 3X starting next week.
But as I reviewed the transactions, I noticed they weren’t coding as rent like they had before. Instead, they’re coding as “Misc Government Services.” That gave me pause because of the language in Citi’s T&Cs:
Quoth Citi
But upon further review, I earned 3X in this very same category as early as this month. Which makes me wonder… will 3X live on for rent and mortgage payments with the Citi AT&T Access More card?
You got an Airbnb so you could make extra money, yeah? Well, congrats, you’re officially a small business owner. You can get business credit cards based on your yearly income. Those cleaning supplies I mentioned in Part 4 are now expenses. And, you might be on the hook to pay taxes.
Evernote is key to keeping track of receipts and expenses
I personally use Evernote to save every single receipt. And tag them with the tax year and “expenses” for easy work at tax time. After a while, you definitely find your rhythm with this Airbnb stuff. You might even want to get another.
This series is meant for peeps who want to list an entire home separate from their primary residence on Airbnb.
After you get a few reviews and bookings, you’ll need to figure out how to keep the gravy train rolling. But, good news – the hard parts are over!
If you found a place, set it up, and listed it on Airbnb’s site, that is easily 90% of your whole Airbnb journey. The rest is just pruning and perfecting.
Your Airbnb calendar will be your lifeline
This is the part where you can be hands-off, travel, drop things off here and there. Basically, the whole reason you started this whole crazy thing: to have mostly passive income roll in.
Now that you’ve found a place and set it up, you’ll want to get it listed as quickly as possible so guests can book it. And by far the best way to attract bookings is so have a ton of photos.
You’ll want to have lots of crisp, clear photos to show your listing to guests
You’ll also want to hit a good mark with your pricing. But at first, I drop my prices as low as possible to get a few bookings. And therefore a few positive reviews – they’re another huge opportunity to get more bookings.
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.