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Targeted Citi Hilton Visa Promo for 7,500 Points (Stack It to ~44 Hilton Points per Dollar)

by Harlan 7 Comments

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I noticed an offer in my Citi account – it can totally be a good one if you were targeted, and have paid Hilton stays coming up.

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Earn 10X Hilton points on up to $750 – total of 7,500 Hilton points

When you enroll and spend $750 at Hilton hotels through July 31st, 2016, you’ll get 7,500 bonus Hilton points AKA 10 extra points per dollar.

That’s a good deal if you A) have this card and B) have paid Hilton stays coming up.

You can also stack the heck out of this!

Combine promos to get a boatload of Hilton points

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Hotel Review: Hilton Tokyo Shinjuku

by Harlan 24 Comments

a city street with trees and buildings

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To start, I wanna say, I loved this hotel! The location, ambiance, and staff were all wonderful. Getting out at the Shinjuku station and walking to the Hilton Tokyo with the lit-up neon lights is an experience I’ll never forget.

Hilton Tokyo review

Entrance of the Hilton Tokyo

But first things first.

Landing at NRT

I’ll do a review of the flight over soon.

I was nervous about flying into NRT because it’s a solid 90 minutes from Tokyo no matter which method you choose to get to the city: train, bus, or taxi.

We landed around 5pm, so I figured the train was best to avoid rush hour traffic. The airport is incredibly well-signed. But once you get to the trains, you’re bombarded with a zillion options and routes. I looked at the JR lines, the Tokyo metro, and rapid transit to another station.

To sort through it all, we entered the options into the individual machines until we found the best routing and price. All told, it took 15 minutes to price out 3 or 4 train tickets. We paid a little more to get there a little faster. From NRT, the faster you go, the more it’ll cost. But even the most expensive ticket was only ~$40.

Arrival and check-in

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MileagePlus X App: Earn Bonus United Miles at Amazon, eBay, & More

by Harlan 28 Comments

a screenshot of a phone

So I just got the Mileage Plus X app and am kicking myself, because it’s been available for points-earning potential since 2014.

But better late than never. And I’m discovering all these cool uses for it.

mileageplus x app

MileagePlus X – oldie but goodie

If you have the Citi AT&T Access More card, you can use it as a payment method on the app to earn a total of 5X miles on Amazon and eBay.

And, a step beyond, you can use it as a defacto shopping portal to get a better payout either in-person OR online.

I got some ‘splainin’ to do!

What’s MileagePlus X?

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My Experience Getting the $650 Phone Credit With Citi AT&T Access More Card

by Harlan 21 Comments

a screenshot of a cell phone price list

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Here’s my experience to add to the mix.

Getting the Card and Buying an iPhone

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

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.

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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

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.

Do you HAVE TO HAVE AT&T service?

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Bye to RadPad, Hello to Plastiq for 2% Bill Payment Fees With MasterCard (Including Mortgages and Utilities)

by Harlan 24 Comments

a screenshot of a credit card

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RadPad has been a sweet deal these past few months thanks to their 1.99% fee for paying with a MasterCard.

You could earn 3X Citi ThankYou points by paying with the Citi AT&T Access More card (and still can until June 1st, 2016). Because I have 3 Airbnbs, it’s been a points-generating machine for me.

Even better, when you pair it with Citi Prestige, the 3X points are worth nearly 5% back when you redeem for American Airlines flights. Even with the fee considered, you still come out ahead.

Another one bites the dust-ah

Another one bites the dust-ah

RadPad increases to 3.49%

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Imagining a New Premium Chase Card

by Harlan 8 Comments

a group of chairs in a lobby

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There were rumors on Reddit that Chase is putting together a new premium credit card with a high annual fee a la AMEX Platinum and Citi Prestige.

Moreover, on that same link, there’s another rumor that Chase is planning an overhaul to its Ultimate Rewards program to make it less lucrative.

While I don’t believe Chase would mess with Ultimate Rewards any time soon (because they need to compete with AMEX and Citi’s transferable points programs), I do think Chase is ripe for a new ultra-premium credit card offering.

I thought it’d be fun to imagine what that card might look like. And what features it would need to have for Chase to remain a viable competitor in the premium credit card space.

A new Chase card?

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Review: Sala VIP Miro Lounge @ BCN Terminal 1

by Harlan 2 Comments

a room with chairs and a railing

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“Yo, dude, Harlan. Haven’t you been back from Barcelona for like, 2 months? When you gonna wrap up the Barcelona posts?”

“I knowww. This is it. Last one, I promise!”

But for real. As I get ready to head to Tokyo, I figured I should finally put the lid on the Barcelona series. For now at least. :p

Before flying back to New York in American Airlines Business Class, I made sure to put my Priority Pass (that came with my Citi Prestige card) to good use by making a visit to the Sala VIP Miro lounge @ BCN.

Sala VIP Miro lounge

Sala VIP Miro lounge

I was able to access it with a guest for free. I added this visit to the Citi Prestige by the Numbers page.

The Sala VIP Miro lounge

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It’s Back! 75,000 Hilton Points for Citi Hilton Visa With No Annual Fee

by Harlan 4 Comments

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If you want to boost your Hilton points balance, you can earn 75,000 Hilton points when you get the Citi Hilton Visa. The minimum spend is $2,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening.

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75,000 Hilton points for a no annual fee card is a pretty good deal

If I didn’t already have this card, I’d sign up for it. I caved after being seriously tempted the last time this offer popped up because:

  • 75,000 Hilton points is nearly enough for 2 five-night award stays at Hilton Category 2 properties
  • The card comes with automatic Hilton Silver elite status
  • You’ll get the 5th night free on all award stays
  • The card has no annual fee
  • It helps to build a positive relationship with Citi, who you’ll note is NOT AMEX or Chase
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Drugstores, eh?

You’ll earn 6X points on your Hilton stays, which is awesome. (Just don’t use it outside the US, because there’s a foreign transaction fee!)

But this is one of the few cards that still earns bonus points at drugstores.

You’ll earn 3X points at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations. And 2X points everywhere else.

Is a Hilton card better than a 2% cash back card at drugstores?

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TripBAM Monitors Your Paid Hotel Rates & Alerts You If the Price Drops

by Harlan 9 Comments

a screenshot of a hotel

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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:

  • It’ll be easier to earn and maintain hotel elite status (at Hilton)
  • I want to get the best possible price on every day

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.

Enter TripBAM

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United Miles Versus Singapore Miles: Which Star Alliance Partner Awards Are Cheaper With Each Program

by Harlan 5 Comments

I’m getting more into Citi’s ThankYou program recently (because Citi ThankYou points are so easy to earn).

And while I can’t totally abandon Ultimate Rewards (for access to United Airlines, British Airways, and Hyatt), I’ve been thinking of award flights where collecting Citi ThankYou points instead of Ultimate Rewards might actually make more sense.

Why Singapore Airlines miles?

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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.

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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

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The best card for shopping at Costco is… Citi AT&T Access More?

by Harlan 8 Comments

a screenshot of a credit card

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In my wanderings with the Citi AT&T Access More card, I learned you’ll earn 3X Citi ThankYou points per $1 spent at Costco.com – including gift cards.

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This $300 Costco cash card earned 900 Citi ThankYou points with the Citi AT&T Access More card

It got me thinking… is the Citi AT&T Access More card the best card to use for shopping at Costco?

Buy Costco Cash Cards online

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