Queer and There

Category Archives for Queer and There.

Hotel Review: La Pagerie, Les Trois Ilets, Martinique

by Harlan 4 Comments

a courtyard with palm trees and buildings

Also see: 

The ticket to Martinique cost $67 out-of-pocket ($317 fare – $250 Citi Prestige airline credit). And I booked Hotel La Pagerie through Citi Travel Concierge and got the 4th night free.

Citi Prestige saved me a boatload of cash on this trip. Safe to say I love this card.

Grounds of the Hotel La Pagerie

Grounds of the Hotel La Pagerie

Arrival and check-in

Read More

What’s with all the crap promotions lately?

by Harlan 6 Comments

a credit card with a picture of a child on a bicycle

As I look out onto the barren fields where credit card crops once grew, I mourn the loss of Chase (with the 5/24 rule). Of Citi (when they shut down so many peeps’ accounts). And definitely of AMEX (1 bonus per lifetime? Um, OK). Barclays and Bank of America are both one-card wonders (Arrival for sign-up bonus and Alaska Visa, respectively).

I don’t know about you, but I’ve received a lot of terrible offers lately. Here are the best of the worst.

AMEX

Read More

Loving Citi More Than Ever – Time to Cancel Other Cards?

by Harlan 15 Comments

a screenshot of a website

The credit card landscape is shifting fast:

  • Chase will apply the 5/24 to all its cards starting in April 2016, including co-branded and business cards
  • Citi has been shutting peeps down for usage they don’t like (multiples of any 1 card, money order payments, etc.)
  • Barclays had a good product with the Arrival Plus card, then butchered it. That was pretty much the only good card they had
  • US Bank is useless
  • Bank of America is only good for the Alaska Visa
  • Wells Fargo is a cantankerous little beast
  • There are a few other niche cards, like the Fidelity Visa and BBVA NBA card, worth looking into, but not many

Card offers come and go. Benefits change. Mergers happen and shake things up. Revenue-based elite status throws a wrench into points-earning calculations.

asd

Could ThankYou become the go-to?

Lately, I’ve been using my Citi cards for most of big purchases. And my trusty Chase Sapphire Preferred for dining.

Non-bonused spend goes on the Fidelity AMEX (I still have the AMEX version). And that’s pretty much it. All the other cards I have are for niche benefits or very specific spending (Chase Hyatt Visa, for example).

Recently, I went ahead and canceled the Chase British Airways Visa.

RIP

Bye, you useless thing

And downgraded my US Bank Club Carlson Visa Signature to the no annual fee version just to keep the credit line and history intact (here’s my recent offer to increase my credit line in exchange for 250 Club Carlson Gold points).

Poor AMEX

Read More

Coco Luxe: Coconut oil on-the-go for $12. Worth it?

by Harlan 7 Comments

a tube of cream next to a package of coconut oil

Also see: 

I’ve written about how awesome it is to travel with coconut oil. So when Coco Luxe asked me if I wanted to review their product, I thought, why not. I travel with coconut oil anyway, so I took it to Barcelona.

The big draw with Coco Luxe is that it comes in a 3.4 ounce tube. It clears TSA and all you have to do is throw it in your bag. So, the convenience factor.

Their cute logo :)

Their cute logo 🙂

Full disclosure: They sent me a free tube in exchange for an honest opinion. And if you purchase a tube, I get a percentage of the sale. Now, putting all bias aside…

About Coco Luxe

Read More

10 Fun Things to Do in Barcelona

by Harlan 4 Comments

a tall metal object in front of a building

Also see: 

I had a great time in Barcelona and wanted to share some adventures that rounded out the trip.

Barcelona reminded me of Paris in lots of ways: the buildings, the twisty-turny side streets, the grand thoroughfares, and the dozens of cafes lining every street.

Lemme go ahead and set the tone here

Lemme go ahead and set the tone here

But it was decidedly very different. The Mediterranean replaces the River Seine as the city’s main waterway, the food had a much different focus, and the city itself has wayyyy different attractions. Including a few things you can’t do, get, or see anywhere else in the world.

Here are a few things I loved about Barcelona.

10 Fun Things to Do in Barcelona

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

Get Honey, Save Money! (Browser Extension for Chrome)

by Harlan 4 Comments

a screenshot of a computer

Also see: 

You guys know I’m all about saving money when shopping online.

In fact, I’m borderline obsessed with Paribus, which is an incredible way to save money when there’s a price change on items you bought.

Enter Honey Chrome extension

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

Out and Out Is in Barcelona! Any Must-Dos? (And Updates!)

by Harlan 16 Comments

a group of buildings with balconies

Dear Out and Out readers, I miss you so.

I got to Barcelona (Barcy) Wednesday morning and have spent the past 3 days wandering, sleeping, working, eating (tapas), and drinking (sangria and Spanish wines and local craft beers).

Wandering in the Gothic Quarter

Wandering in the Gothic Quarter

I still have 3 more full days in Barcy and am totally open to ideas about how to fill the time. I’m meeting with friends, and have a few things on my to-do list (on Todoist):

asd

Restaurants, sites, and things to see. Anything I should add?

I’ll get up tomorrow and see La Sangrada Familia, then maybe head to the Picasso Museum and see the Arc de Triomphe along the way.

Feel free to share any tips about where to go, what to do, or great restaurants you love. I’ll try to work in as many things as possible!

A few updates

Read More

Forget AAdvantage! I’m Switching to Alaska MileagePlan This Year

by Harlan 30 Comments

a close-up of a logo

Also see:

The beginning of the year is an excellent time to set new travel goals.

Especially when you’re looking at this:

ada

Ruh roh!

I already broke down the numbers of qualifying for top-tier status on American and Alaska, and found that Alaska MVP Gold 75K status is easier to earn with less flying. And you end up with more miles than AAdvantage Executive Platinum status when you start from zero and hit the top tier – 36,250 miles to be exact.

And now it’s even more attractive in light of American’s upcoming devalued award chart.

But… what about Dallas?

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

Out and Out’s Best Posts of 2015

by Harlan 4 Comments

a colorful confetti and streamers

Wow. Out and Out made huge strides in 2015. A lot happened – and even more will happen in 2016.

Blog traffic tripled this year. In fact December 2015 is the biggest month ever for the blog (and it’s not over yet!). I’m thinking of how to improve things around here even more, and celebrating every step of the way because I couldn’t grow without your support.

Celebrate!

Celebrating!

You guys are awesome. I love my readers!

I’ve ironed out many ideas on here and found solid resolutions thanks to tons of community-focused comments. And meeting new peeps at the regular Reach for the Miles meetup has been fantastic.

I hope to continue the momentum and keep improving.

But first, I want to take a moment to pause and look back at where we’ve been this year.

Best of 2015

Read More