DFW

Tag Archives for DFW.

Investing Vs Pay Down Student Loans: Why I’m Gonna Aggressively Save for Retirement and Just Pay the Minimum

by Harlan 18 Comments

a man standing on a beach

I’ve been taking stock of my complete financial life: mortgage, credit cards, savings, and other debt.

At one point, I became obsessed with getting rid of my student loans. They’re an ugly stain, a black cloud always marring my ideal financial vision. Last year, I made a $7,000 payment just to start chipping away at the principal. I see now it was an emotional, not logical, decision.

Since then, I don’t feel like made much progress. And deep down, I want to save more in my IRA account. I was paying so aggressively that I wasn’t saving as much.

After running the numbers, I’ve decided to say screw the student loans. I’m gonna pay the bare minimum and invest everything else.

Past Harlan went to school. Future Harlan is gonna save his pennies. (Third person tense activatedddd!)

invest student loans

I just wanna be carefree. For me, that means giving up the ghost of paying off my student loans – I’m gonna invest the rest

I’m tired of missing out on opportunities.

Why I’m forgetting about paying off my student loans

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CityPass: Save up to 50% on Popular Attractions in 13 Cities

by Harlan Leave A Comment

citypass savings

CityPass is a service I personally recommend to peeps when they stay at my Airbnbs and ask for fun stuff to do around Dallas.

Within Dallas, a $49 adult CityPass includes 4 attractions. Two of them are set. And you get to pick the other two. In this way, you build a little package for yourself. It’s fun, and saves you money when you travel. The Dallas package (for example) saves 40% on the 4 places you visit.

citypass savings

I loved spending time at the Dallas Botanical Garden as part of my CityPass ticket

The CityPass tickets filled up a weekend with places I’d been meaning to visit for a while.

CityPass has deals for 12 US cities and Toronto. If you visit a place on the list and want some fun touristy things to do, check what’s included for that city. They also have discounted tickets for kids and some cities have theme parks, aquariums, and much more to choose from!

CityPass savings

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Review: American Airlines Business Class 777-200 Dallas to Tokyo-NRT

by Harlan 17 Comments

a tray of food with chopsticks

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The day finally came to travel to Japan. I love travel days. And this one was silky smooth.

We arrived to the airport in 20 minutes flat, cleared PreCheck in I swear to gods 90 seconds, and headed to the Centurion Lounge. There was time for breakfast, a cocktail, and a free manicure. And, our departure gate was right across from the lounge.

(Perfect!)

I was relaxed and happy when boarding began. And used 54,000 American miles for this flight.

The actual cost is 60,000 American miles. But I got a 10% mileage rebate upon booking – so 6,000 miles were instantly redeposited into my account. This perk comes with most American co-branded cards (with both Citi and Barclays). It’s worth the annual fee for this alone.

american-airlines-business-class-777-200-review

Ready to fly over the Pacific (and nearly halfway around the world!) in Business Class for 54,000 American miles

Last time I flew this route in this plane was in First Class.  So I was curious to see how the new retro-fitted Business Class seats would look and feel. And off we go!

American Airlines Business Class 777-200 review

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Review: JAL Business Class Sky Suite 787-8 NRT-DFW

by Harlan 21 Comments

a box with food in it next to a bottle of wine

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Last week, before my flight from Tokyo to Dallas, I checked if seats were open on JAL. I originally booked my way home with 50,000 Alaska miles for an American Airlines Business Class ticket. But I was totally willing to pay 10,000 more miles to fly back on JAL. Especially when the cash rate was $7,300+!

JAL Business Class Sky Suite

JAL Business Class cabin

Seats were available! I called Alaska Airlines to make the switch. A few minutes and 10,000 miles later, I was booked into a JAL Sky Suite seat back home to Dallas.

I’d always wanted to fly a Japanese airline. Both times I’ve flown were with American. So I did a happy dance I was able to score this seat.

Even better, the new flight time was within 5 minutes of my old one. So I didn’t have to change any plans, other than fly home in a better seat on a new (to me) airline!

JAL Business Class Sky Suite review

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This Thursday 3/15: Join Us at the Frequent Flyer Meetup in Dallas!

by Harlan 1 Comment

a group of people in a room with lights

It’s almost here!

In 3 days, this Thursday, 3/15 @ 6pm, please join 14 of us at the Out for Miles – Dallas points & miles/frequent flyer meetup!

So far, there are 54 peeps in the Meetup group. And 14 RSVP’d to the event this week! So it should be a nice crowd.

a group of people in a room with lights

Grab a beer at this big yet cozy brewery in the Dallas Design District

I went to the venue last week to try a craft brew. And it was delish! The folks there are so welcoming. It should be a fun time to connect and mingle.

Here are the details.

Feel free to add your attendance via the links above. Or simply show up!

This place doesn’t serve food, but they don’t mind if you bring your own or have something delivered. I’ll try to have snacks brought in. There are also plenty of restaurants within a 5-minute drive.

See you in a few days!

My $100 Haul of Free Mercedes-Benz Gear (The Card With This Perk Is Going Away!)

by Harlan 3 Comments

a man standing in front of a building with cars

I’ve been meaning to write about this year’s edition of $100 in free Mercedes-Benz stuff (last year’s haul is here). I still have my glasses and water bottle, but lost the coffee cup to the TSA gods at LaGuardia. :/ (I now use a HydroFlask to transport coffee to the airport.)

I dusted off my certificate and headed to my local Mercedes-Benz dealership.

amex mercedes benz certificate

Thanks for the free jacket, water bottle, and keychain, Amex!

I ended up getting a nice fleece-lined windbreaker worth $89, a water bottle, and a keychain. Total cost: $0!

You get one of these $100 certificates every year with the Amex Platinum Mercedes-Benz card. But, as I just found out from Nick at Frequent Miler, it’s going away in January 2019. If you’ve never had it, get it while you can!

This year’s $100 Amex Mercedes Benz Certificate

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Out and Out’s Travel Goals & Plans for 2018 ✈️

by Harlan 3 Comments

a beach with palm trees and a body of water

Getting ready to give new life to this here dear blog. 2017 was a doozy; the beginning of 2018 wiped out a lot of my energy. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reading, relaxing, and healing.

It’s been a long ride but I’m finally feeling a bit more “with it” after getting back from Puerto Vallarta last night (!).

travel plans 2018

One magical trip already in the books – what’s next for Out and Out in 2018?

I also haven’t told you about my trip to Denver last month. In fact, the last trip I wrote about was New Orleans from November 2017, so I have some catching up to do!

When I’m not writing here, you can always follow me on Instagram for updates. I think of it as my auxiliary journal and always post pics from every new place I visit!

Travel plans 2018 – in the books

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Announcing: Dallas Points & Miles Meetup Group (Join Now and First Event Info!)

by Harlan 6 Comments

a city with many tall buildings

File under: things I’ve been wanting to do for a looong time – a proper points & miles meetup!

I was lucky enough to regularly attend meetups when I lived in New York a few years ago and always had a blast hanging out with the community. And looked for something similar in the Dallas area – I’ve missed the chance to geek out on points, miles, and travel. I got tired of waiting and made a group myself!

dallas points meetup

Now open for new members – Out for Miles!

Allow me to introduce Out for Miles – the first event will be March 15, 2018!

A new Dallas meetup is open

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Airbnb Hosting by the Numbers: 2017 Update

by Harlan 21 Comments

a room with a couch and kitchen

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Thought it was time to do an update on my Airbnb hosting. And the state of it. Mostly because if the numbers look good, I might get another one.

Long ago, I started my Airbnb operation in New York, which was a smashing success. Until it wasn’t. I no longer have properties in New York, as of last month.

So far it’s going well in Dallas. I have two here. They’re easy to track and manage for what they are because they’re on two separate profiles.

airbnb hosting 2017

My downtown Dallas Airbnb

In my opinion, a side business is the best way to maximize credit card points these days. I easily put $6,000+ of expenses on my cards each month – and the bulk of that is in bonus categories.

I recently found out some rent payments code as 3X for “travel” with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. So that’ll keep me with an extra ~20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per month – a handy ransom (if they all code as 3X)!

Airbnb hosting by the numbers

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Join Me at FinCon 2017 in Dallas with Limited-Time $249 Passes

by Harlan 6 Comments

a group of tall buildings

I read a lot of personal finance blogs. Increasingly, they mention “travel hacking” AKA what we do on the daily as a way to travel cheap.

And it’s true – I see the parallels between the 2 niches. Especially if you’re using the money you save on traveling and put it in a retirement account. WHICH YOU ALREADY DO, RIGHT? 😉

So when I learned FinCon will be in Dallas this year, I couldn’t think of a single reason not to attend – expect for maybe the cost of the pass.

When I looked, I saw the basic passes were only $249 until February 14th, 2017. Then they’d go up to $469.

Be a Super Early Bird and Come to FinCon for $249

Be a Super Early Bird and Come to FinCon for $249

I whipped out my card faster than you can say “points and miles” and bought a pass without a second thought. And you should come, too!

Why attend FinCon?

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I’m Switching to Alaska and Southwest (With Companion Pass) Next Week

by Harlan 19 Comments

a purple background with white text

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American who? Delta what? Beginning 2017, I’m exclusively flying and crediting everything to Alaska or Southwest.

If I have to fly American, that’ll be credited to Alaska. Thanks to Alaska’s merger with Virgin America, I might not see the inside of DFW much next year. DAL is gonna become my new jam – and it’s only 10 minutes up the street.

Switching to Alaska and Southwest

I’ll be at DAL a lot more than DFW in 2017

I’m also going to transfer 90,000 Starwood points to Marriott to get:

I easily value that at least $5,000.

Bring on the Alaska and Southwest “Love”

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