Also see:
Just a little reminder to go grab your free Kindle single from the IHG app! I wrote about how to do this in February this year. And thought it might be a nice happy during the busy holiday travel season.
I already got mine!
Check the IHG app to see how many books you can get
As a reminder, you can get: Read More
How I did not discover by now is beyond me. If you need a nice stiff drink this holiday season, here’s an extremely good deal.
With the Hooch app, you get 1 drink per day (in select cities) for ~$10 a month. The list of bars is pretty solid – and more importantly, the drinks are good!
I am loving Hooch so far. A drink a day for $10 a month!
And if you use my link to sign-up, your first month is only $1! Plus, they have a great deal on gift memberships until November 26th, 2017 (Sunday)!
I tried the app myself. Here’s what I think so far.
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!
Lately, I’m concerned with helping my 24-year-old brother develop healthy financial habits. I didn’t take control of my financial life until I was nearly 30. And god I wish I could get back those early years. Why?
Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.
The earlier you start, the longer your money grows. It’s a simple concept. But so many peeps put off investing.
It’s perceived as complicated, overwhelming, and something to fear. The financial industry made sure you feel that way so you’ll overpay some bozo to manage your finances. Don’t get tricked. Get smart – and fast. Your financial future is an out-of-control emergency you can’t afford to sleep on.
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just as long as you do start.
Am I crazy about Acorns? No. But it’s a great place to begin
Acorns is a micro-investing app that will fit the bill nicely. Here’s my review.
Say what you will about Chase, but their hotel cards that come with a free anniversary night are worth every penny.
I wrote how I got $500 in value from the IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card earlier this year. And I’ve used my World of Hyatt Credit Card free night certificate at the Hyatt Centric in New Orleans and the Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia. I also wrote about 5 worthwhile Category 4 hotels where you can get a lot of bang for your Hyatt free night cert.
A view of Texas hill country – paid for with my Hyatt free night certificate
And this past weekend, I got a stay worth ~$284 at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown (full review soon!) in exchange for my $75 annual fee.
With values like this, a card with a valuable free night each cardmember year is a no-brainer to keep year after year. Especially when you can get outsized value in popular areas like downtown Austin.
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.
Well, the day is finally here – tomorrow begins FinCon 2017 in Dallas! I got early bird tickets back in February and it seemed the day would never arrive. I’ve been looking forward to attending my first FinCon expo for a while!
Finally, FinCon 2017 is here!
I know a lot of fellow bloggers and readers will be there – so if you see me around, say hey! Read More
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! 😺
Update: This offer is NO longer available. To see the latest credit card deals, click here.
The tiered sign-up bonus for the Chase British Airways card ends on October 5th, 2017 – in one week! Until then, you can earn:
Committing to spend $20,000 on a single card is a lot to ask. And it’s certainly not for most peeps.
Fly to Amsterdam with British Airways Avios points and ride a bike
But it can be worth it to see this as a 50,000 point sign-up offer to spend $3,000 within the first 3 months – that’s much more reasonable. And forget about the other tiers.
50,000 points for that amount of spending it a respectable sign-up bonus. Especially because this card is NOT subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.
And a thank you to Ben for helping to unravel the numbers of this deal even more!
Also see:
I’ve written extensively about my adventures hosting on Airbnb. I’ve always leased apartments, then listed them on Airbnb. That formula worked in New York and continues to work in Dallas.
The Airbnb service is intended to rent space in your primary residence. I’d never done that because I didn’t want strangers in my actual home. But last month, I took a weekend and converted my spare bedroom and bathroom into a private guest room and listed it on Airbnb.
My guest bedroom
And so far… wow! The response is incredible. Guests are loving it. And something that surprised me… so am I!
A nice benefit is I’m earning more than if I had a roommate. And I’m even thinking it could get to the point where it could cover my entire mortgage payment – I could live in my own place for basically nothing!
Hello and welcome to Out and Out! My name is Harlan â Iâm 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.