promos

Tag Archives for promos.

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

March 2, 2018 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.

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

Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, New Mexico

March 2, 2018 by Harlan 3 Comments

New Mexico is pure magic. It’s one of my favorite places on earth.

Every time I’m there, I feel deep soul-healing. Those high desert landscapes are what my soul looks like, I think. I’m so completely at peace with the mountains and wind and all of it.

So I was definitely looking forward to staying at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, nestled 25 minutes north of Albuquerque and 45 minutes south of Santa Fe in northern New Mexico.

This little sign is where the magic began

Two friends and I drove here non-stop from Dallas – a solid 10-hour drive. We left at 4am, stopping only in Amarillo for an early lunch. A few hours later, we drove through the cute town of Bernalillo and into the 550 acres of the resort, technically located in Santa Ana Pueblo.

This is a wonderful, special resort. I highly recommend staying here if you ever get the opportunity. Here’s my experience and how I stayed for completely free!

Hyatt Regency Tamaya Review – Arrival and check-in

AncestryDNA Vs 23andMe – Which Ancestry Test Is Best?

January 20, 2018 by Harlan 5 Comments

a paper with instructions and a package on a bed

Over the holidays, I did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: starting tracing my ancestry. Because both AncestryDNA and 23andMe had DNA tests on sale for Cyber Monday, I decided to get both – and compare.

Which DNA test reigns supreme?

For the basics, they’re pretty much the same – with an edge to AncestryDNA because of its bigger database.

But the health reports addition to 23andMe blew me away. And it’s worth spending the extra money to unlock a huge amount of personal information you might not even be aware of yet. That’s scary and exhilarating – and makes you consider how much you really want to know.

Dang it, I already let it slip which one I like more. #fairandbalanced 🤷🏻‍♂️

AncestryDNA Vs 23andMe Review

6 Holiday Gift Ideas for Travelers

December 4, 2017 by Harlan 5 Comments

Some amazing products and services crossed my path this year. And I want to share them in case you need some gift ideas for the travelers in your life.

I have personally used them all. And can attest to their quality. It can be a challenge to shop when you don’t know exactly what to get someone. Consider these!

(And for good measure, here are some stocking stuffer ideas.)

Holiday Gift Ideas for Travelers

1. A new blazer and/or chinos

Don’t Forget the Pups: First BarkBox FREE With 6+ Months of Toys & Treats 🐶

November 24, 2017 by Harlan 3 Comments

With all the holiday deals out there, here’s another I wanted to share: BarkBox. I’ve had this monthly subscription since December 2013 for my 8-year-old Corgi/Shepherd mix who is also the love of my life, Fenwick.

It’s worth every last freakin’ cent. Every month, they stuff the boxes with:

2 high-quality chew toys
At least 2 bags of treats
Something to snack on, like a bully stick

I have been continually impressed with the quality of the treats and toys. And Fenwick loves opening his BarkBox every month. It saves me on having to buy treats (I have bags and bags of extras). And if your dog likes to rip up toys or chew the hell out of ’em, they’ll get that moment of bliss every month.

Fenwick can’t decide which BarkBox toy to play with first!

I estimate each box is worth $40+. And I’d have to buy treats anyway.

The 12-month plan is $20 a box. And the 6-month plan is $25 a box. If you wanna try it out, you get double toys and treats in your first box when you sign-up with my link.

Get a BarkBox subscription

PSA: Get Your FREE Kindle Book Via the IHG App

November 23, 2017 by Harlan 5 Comments

Also see:

Everyone Can Get Free Kindle eBooks From IHG App

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

Need a Drink? Get a Free Cocktail Every Day for $10 a Month (in AZ, CA, FL, NJ, NY, TX, HKG)

November 23, 2017 by Harlan 1 Comment

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.

Out and Out’s Hooch app review

My Free Anniversary Night in Downtown Austin – Thanks to the Chase Hyatt Card!

November 7, 2017 by Harlan 4 Comments

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.

A cute lil weekend trip

Lower Plastiq Fees With Drop + 5,000 Drop Points for Out and Out Readers! 💸

September 22, 2017 by Harlan 18 Comments

Spencer from Straight to the Points is back to talk about a new Plastiq promotion… and an exclusive offer for Out and Out readers to earn 5,000 points with Drop!

Update 9/25/17: The Plastiq offer from Drop may possibly be targeted. We are checking to see what we can do. If anything, you still get $5 just for downloading the Drop app with promotion code “outandout“!

Save on Plastiq Fees (Plus a Special Offer from Drop for Out and Out Readers)

A few months ago, Drop launched in the US to much fanfare in the miles and points world as the hot new shopping portal. You just needed to attach your credit or debit card (or cards) and shop as usual.

You can easily earn and redeem Drop points at lots of merchants

Redeem the points you earn for merchant gift cards like Hotels.com, Amazon, American Airlines, and Starbucks to help offset future expenses.

The launch was rough. But Drop is starting to get a handle on the US market. Shortly after launching, they limited the number of points you could earn with their ongoing offers to 5,000 points per week. That definitely put the brakes on some people, but there are still one-time offers to help boost your rebates!

That brings us to today.

A New Drop Plastiq Promotion!

Free Food for Atlanta / Dallas / SoCal: $20 Off $35+ in Groceries at Aldi (And $5 Off Booze Delivery for Everyone Else)

September 20, 2017 by Harlan 5 Comments

Saw a deal I couldn’t pass up – had to share!

If you’re in Atlanta, Dallas, or Southern California, see if these Instacart deals will work for you. You can get $20 off an order of $35+ with promotion code “ALDIDELIVERY” – that’s over half off your groceries!

Irresistible! Even with the 10% service fee, I still saved over 50% on groceries

Instacart does add a service fee. But even with that considered, I still saved a heap on groceries. Can’t beat free food!

Plus, your first delivery is free!

Instacart $20 off details

Why I Got a 0% APR Card to Help Pay Down Debt

May 3, 2017 by Harlan 27 Comments

Also see:

Should You Use a 0% APR Card to Pay Off Debt?

Welp, I finally did it. Got a new credit card to help pay down my student loans.

It’s an idea I floated before. But I didn’t bite because there have always been other cards I wanted instead. Plus, I like to save or invest money instead of throwing it toward student loans.

I hate their name. I hate how their logo has an apple in it. I hate everything about it pretty much

I’m constantly torn about taking a solid year to get rid of it, then I think… man, I could invest that. Or pay down my mortgage. Or just have it.

Ultimately, I think a hybrid approach is best: break everything down into buckets and work on each one a little at a time. Save a little, invest a little, use the rest for bills.

But I’ve decided to give myself a head start on the student loan bucket. Here’s why.

Lower principal means less interest

Get $25 With New Accounts at Giving Assistant, Ebates, and BeFrugal Shopping Portals

March 18, 2017 by Harlan 3 Comments

When you shop online, always always click through a shopping portal to earn extra points, miles, or cashback.

I personally use Cashback Monitor to find the best payouts before I shop anywhere.

Da best

I usually like to earn Alaska miles or Chase Ultimate Rewards points for online shopping. But occasionally, cashback offers are simply too good to pass up.

And competition is fierce. So much that they’ll sometimes give you free money to sign up and use their portals.

BeFrugal is a new one for me

I thought I’d round up 3 cashback portals where the initial bonus might be worthwhile for a little shopping. And tell you what’s required to get the bonus AKA the cash in your hot little hand.

Note: I get cashback when you sign up for these portals, too. Thank you for using my links!

Get a shopping portal bonus

These bonuses are for NEW sign ups. If you’re an old-timer to points and miles, you likely already have accounts with all of these portals. In that case, check out my backlog of Every Single Out and Out post! 😉