Dealing with sticky Staples gift card problems; Matching SPG 30K; status matching forever; more…
Welcome to the Frequent Miler Week In Review series. Every Saturday we bring you some of the best posts from around the web. Enjoy!
This Week Around the Web
Doctor of Credit:
Applied For The SPG Cards...
319,000 points after $33K spend
UPDATE 10/1/2015: Please note that the 30K SPG offers described in this post have expired.
Yesterday, my wife applied for 8 new credit cards and was instantly approved for 5 of them. At the time...
Amtrak to tie award prices to ticket prices. Sigh.
In the points & miles world, Amtrak (yes, Amtrak) offers some of the best bang for your buck when it comes to redeeming points. Currently, points can be transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards, SPG,...
$37.50 for peace of mind and 10,000 points
My wife just received a 10K bonus point offer from Barclaycard for her Wyndham card. All she has to do is spend $500 per month for three months:
This is not nearly as good as...
How to sign up for the Amex gift card Premium Shipping 3-Month Free Trial
Important Update 5/18/2016: Amex no longer pays out for purchases made through portals unless the Amex gift card denominations are $200 or less. As a result, I no longer recommend buying Amex gift cards...
Kmart offering 100% back in SYWR points for multiple items. Many items available for...
Kmart is again offering multiple items for sale for 100% back in points. Some of the items are available for shipment (previous similar offers had items for pickup in-store only). This is great for...
The truth about Delta
Delta has long been the punching bag of airline programs for those in the miles & points hobby… for good reason. For years, their award booking website was famously broken; saver level awards (e.g....
Amex serves up new version of Serve [developing story…]
Note: On January 8, 2016 American Express sent out a notice to a large number of Bluebird & Serve cardholders informing them that loading capabilities on their accounts had been terminated. For more information,...
How to increase credit card spend from your couch, (almost) fee-free
UPDATE 8/21/2015: Amex has changed their terms for portal cash back. They now only allow cash back for gift card denominations of $200 and below. As long as this restriction is in place, the...
An easier (and now cheaper) way to increase credit card spend: Plastiq
There are many reasons why you might be interested in increasing credit card spend, such as:
Meet minimum spend requirements to secure big credit card signup bonuses.
Earn credit card big spend bonuses.
Earn credit card rewards,...
Discover Deals portal is back.
Sorry for the false alarm issued earlier (Discover appears to have dropped their cash back portal. Will it return?). The portal is back, along with Sears 10% cashback and much more…
Discover appears to have dropped their cash back portal. UPDATE: It’s back
Update 2:55 pm EST: The portal is already back
Not only has Discover recently announced a disappointing selection of 5% categories for the 4th quarter (“online shopping” isn’t there this year), but they seem to...
Pay mortgage, rent, and more by credit card. Plastiq offers 1.99% Amex and MasterCard...
Plastiq is a card-based payment service that allows consumers to use credit cards to pay bills where credit cards are not normally accepted. Common examples include rent, mortgage, tuition, etc.
Plastiq usually charges a flat...
Increase rewards, liquidate gift cards: New resource pages
A couple of weeks ago I announced a new resource page: How to increase credit card spend. One of the many techniques listed there is to use prepaid cards. Specifically, the idea is to...
