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Chase Freedom Vs Freedom Unlimited: Which Is Better for Your Spending?

by Harlan 4 Comments

Chase has 2 great no annual fee cards that pair nicely with premium Ultimate Rewards cards: Freedom and Freedom Unlimited.

The Freedom card earns 5X in rotating quarterly categories on up to $1,500 per quarter in combined spending. The Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5X on all purchases with no cap.

Really gonna depend on bonus categories and how much you typically spend

Lots of peeps ask which is better. To which I always answer: it depends on how much you like the bonus categories. But there’s a longer answer even beyond that: how much to you plan to spend on the card each year?

Let’s talk about the break even point and which is better for your finances.

Freedom Vs Freedom Unlimited

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The Dublin 2017: $2,000+ Cashback This Year From a No Annual Fee Card 💸

by Harlan 4 Comments

Oh my word, I am in love with the Discover it® Cashback Match™ card. I just got my third one and am already busy earning that sweet cashback.

After the first year with my first card, I earned ~$1,184 in matched cashback (~$2,368 in cashback for the year). And after the first year with the second card – this year – I earned ~$1,113 in matched cashback. Or ~$2,226 for the year. All this from a card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

discover it cashback match

Incredible – look at that sweet cashback

It’s easy to get $600 in cashback if you make the most of the bonus categories. And you can get a sometimes staggering 30% cashback by stacking the Discover Deals shopping portal with the rotating quarterly bonus categories. When I say “it adds up” I mean it REALLY adds up!

I wasn’t sure if I could get the same card 3 years in a row. But I’m living proof that you can. And even at the low end, $600 back from a no annual fee card is still worth it. I think everyone (especially those over 5/24) should get this card!

Why now is an amazing time to get a Discover it® Cashback Match™ card

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5 Ways to Earn Points for Airbnb Stays (10% Back at Least!)

by Harlan 3 Comments

My friend Meghan asked if I knew of any ways to save on an Airbnb booking. I gave the obvious one – get $40 off a $75+ stay with a new account.

New to Airbnb? Save $40 off your first $75+ stay

Most everyone already has an Airbnb account by now. But if you don’t, here’s my link if you’d like to sign up (and I’ll get a $20 travel credit as well).

That’s honestly the biggest savings. Still, there are other ways to get a return on your Airbnb stay: earn points or miles for it. Depending how you like to redeem them, you can get big value by stacking a few of the methods I’ll tell you about.

Lezz begin, shall ve?

5 ways to earn points and miles for Airbnb stays

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Yasss: Just Got My 3rd Discover it® Cashback Match™ Card (And New Application Rules!)

by Harlan 9 Comments

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When last we spoke of my beloved Discover it® Cashback Match™ card, I’d been rejected from getting my 3rd card for a 3rd year in a row. And encouraged to apply again “at a later time.” 🙄

On a hot October morning, and on a lark, I rang Discover to reconsider me one more time. The phone agent explained the application had expired even though it had been under a month. Then repeated that ingratiating little line: “You are welcome to apply again any time.”

I noticed Discover did NOT pull my credit last time I applied. So reasoned even if they did, it was hit I was planning to take anyway. I asked if I could apply with her on the phone, just in case.

I selected the rainbow design again. Entered all in my info. Pressed “Submit Application,” and got my little high. And then…

third discover it

Squeeee

I was approved for my 3rd Discover it® Cashback Match™ card! Visions of The Dublin danced in my head. And I learned why my previous application was auto-denied…

Discover’s new application rules

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DENIED! No 3rd Discover it® Cashback Match™ Card for Me 😿

by Harlan 7 Comments

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Right after I got a 2nd Chase British Airways card, I trotted over to the Discover website hoping to pick up a 3rd Discover it® – Cashback Match™ card.

Last week, I had 2 Discover It cards. So I closed Discover It #1. With Discover It #2, I’m expecting a sweet $800+ cashback match next month:

discover it 3rd year

#ReadyForIt

Last year, I got back $1,100 in cashback match. So Discover has been generous to me, doubtlessly.

But, you can only have 2 Discover cards at once, so if I wanted #3, that meant #1 had to go.

I checked to make sure over a year had passed since I opened #2.

Good to go?

I waited until September 8th passed, and then a few extra days to be on the safe side. Then, with zeal in my little eye, I prepared my grubby mitts for a new Discover It – and a new year of that sweet cashback match.

PWND! No Discover it® – Cashback Match™ for you!

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Don’t Miss Out: Free Museums, One Month for 5X, Hilton Surpass 100K

by Harlan Leave A Comment

Happy Wednesday!

Here are some deals still on the go – snag ’em while you can!

Through May 31st (today!)

Hilton Surpass Amex 100K offer

Last call to earn 100,000 Hilton points with the Amex Hilton Surpass. Here’s why I took the bait with this truly best-ever offer. Not into Hilton points? Think again. I estimate this bonus is worth at least $1,000 if you plan carefully.

June 3rd and 4th

Free museums

Free museums if you have a Bank of America debit or credit card. Only good for the cardholder and doesn’t include special exhibits. That said, there’s a participating museum in nearly every state, so check it out if you want some free culture this weekend.

limited time deals

Check out the Denver Zoo this weekend for F-R-E-E

Through June 30th

Get your 5X!

If you have Chase Freedom, get 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points and drugstores and supermarkets on up to $1,500 in spend. Can activate retroactively and still get bonus points. Easy categories here.

Activate your 5X – you have a month to max it out

With Discover It, get 5% back at home improvement stores and wholesale clubs on up to $1,500 in spend. Must activate BEFORE you shop. New cardmembers get their cashback matched after the 12th billing cycle, so it’s like getting 10% back. Discover is not accepted at Costco, but you can purchase cash cards online and use them in-store for a nice discount. Boom.

The Boxed deal is back

The Boxed deal might be in your Amex account

I wrote about how to save 50% on merchandise at Boxed with an Amex Offer. Instead of $15 back on $50+, it’s now $25 back on $65+. Still a dang good deal. Even better, you can tweet #AmexBoxed to add it to your synced card even if you weren’t targeted.

2X SPG points

Doctor of Credit has the details. You get 10,000 bonus SPG points for spending $10,000 on your Starwood business Amex through the end of June. So, 20,000 SPG points on $10,000 in spend = 2 SPG points per $1 spent. Great deal if you’re targeted – worth checking.

Bottom line

Get ’em while they’re around. Any other good ones to share? Let me know and I’ll add ’em!

I’m Over Cashback Cards and Into Starwood Points

by Harlan 16 Comments

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There, I said it.

In 2013, I famously said (typed), “I don’t care about Starpoints.” At the time, my grievances were:

  • 1 point per $1 spent was too low of an earn rate
  • You have to spend so much to earn a meaningful reward
  • The earn rate with other hotel programs is better, so why bother with Starwood?
Starwood Points vs cashback

I like you now and I’ll be sad when you leave

But a lot has changed since then. The merger with Marriott opened a few cool new opportunities, like:

Nothing's fine I'm torn

Nothing’s fine I’m torn

And, I’ve been putting a non-bonused spend on my Amex Starwood card, to the chagrin of my previously beloved Fidelity Visa. (Although I still use the mess out of my Discover it card cuz I want that sweet Dublin!)

In fact, I think I’m…. over cashback cards. For now, at least.

Drinking the Starpoints Kool-Aid

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Kohl’s Deal Results: What I Learned & How It Turned Out

by Harlan 17 Comments

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A few times per year, Kohl’s sells small kitchen appliances at a steep discount. With card category bonuses, shopping portals, promo codes, and rebates, it works out to better than free – especially if you can resell them. It’s the ultimate in deal stacking.

I ordered 40 appliances. (Do I sound crazy yet?)

kohl's deal results

“What have I gotten myself into now?”

While I’d love to say the whole thing went off without a hitch, that’s not exactly true. Here’s what I learned about stacking. And how it all turned out.

Stacking is like jenga

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6 Last-Minute Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas for the Frequent Traveler

by Harlan 3 Comments

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Yeahhhh buddy, ’tis the season (for putting things off to the last minute)!

If you have an Amazon Prime membership, there’s still time to order gifts before Christmas with free 1-day or 2-day shipping.

Here are some cute stocking stuffers for anyone who travels often. And hey, if you get an Amazon gift card, maybe you’ll treat yourself to a couple of these. (Or if you buy one, use your Discover It card for 5% cashback through December 31, 2016. Just remember to activate your bonus before you shop).

6 Gift Ideas for Travelers

1. Noise-canceling earbuds

For the love of gods, yes yes yes. These little guys are worth their weight in gold if you want to work or read during your flight. And if you get the seat next to a screaming child (we’ve all been there), they can go a long way toward preventing that third Aleve (or is that just me?).

gift ideas for travelers

The prices run the gamut

Earbuds are like cars: there are cheap ones, and there are really not cheap ones. What’s funny is how, at all price ranges, you can find a solid pair with nearly all 5-star reviews.

I’d personally go middle-of-the-road, but whatever you decide on will surely be welcomed with open arms. I mean… ears. 🙂

2. Travel tubes

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[EXPIRED] Hurry! ~$500 Moneymaker on Kitchen Appliances at Kohl’s With Discover it® Cashback Match™ or Freedom

by Harlan 239 Comments

Update 10/4/16: It looks like Kohl’s gift card purchases from the MPX app are NOT coding as department store as expected. Peeps in the comments say it didn’t work with their Chase Freedom cards.

No dice here, either

No dice here, either 🙁

It looks to also be true with Discover It. My purchase coded as “Misc. General Merchandise.” So I lost the 10% cashback and will get 2% cashback instead.

I haven’t heard of this happening before now, so I will gather new data points before I recommend this moving forward. Thanks to all who let me know!

I’m bummed about this, but at least we got the 1,500 United miles (worth ~$30) as consolation. Though I would’ve preferred the cashback.

Update 10/3/16: This deal has expired. I plan on writing about my experience with it – here’s how to keep up with the blog so you’ll get the updates!

Need a little rush this weekend? How about buying $600+ worth of appliances at Kohl’s? 

Last year they had a similar appliance deal I didn’t take part in. But this year I did.

Now before you think I’m crazy (although it may be waaay too late for that), let me explain.

This is a moneymaker if you do it right!

Hat tip to Jill Cataldo for blogging about this and my friend Jas for turning me on to this deal!

Build the deal

I feel like I say this every time I write about Kohl’s, but… it’s no secret I freaking love Kohl’s.

Right now, they have a lot of appliances on sale for $17, including:

Lots of appliances for $17

Lots of appliances for $17

In total, there are 8 kitchen appliances at the $17 price. 

as

All of the items have a $12 Visa gift card rebate

And, all of the items linked above are eligible for a $12 mail-in rebate. You get a Visa gift card with a limit of 5 per product.

That means if you buy 5 of all 8 items, you can get 40 X $12 back, or $480.

Right now, there’s also a 15% promo code: SMS1871. And it does work for these items.

When you add all of them to your cart and add the promotion code, the total is ~$625. You also get $110 in Kohl’s cash to spend next week.

sa

I paid ~$625 for all 40 appliances

Note that taxes in your state might be different than mine! In Texas, the taxes came to ~$48.

And, you must purchase the items by tomorrow, October 2nd, 2016, to qualify for the rebate (here’s the rebate form). Cheers to the weekend!

Stack stack stack

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Yes! Just Got My $1,100+ Discover it® Cashback Match™ (The Dublin)!

by Harlan 27 Comments

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Well, I woke up this morning to find a smooth $1,100+ in raw cash in my Discover It account. Talk about something nice to wake up to!

And just last week, I got a second Discover It card – so I can have another Dublin around this time next year!

Um, what’s The Dublin?

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