Credit card purchase perks and how they apply when using gift cards
One of the best ways to increase point earnings or cash back when buying merchandise is to double dip: first get the most points or cash back possible from buying the merchant's gift cards,...
Bye bye Mio
A few days ago, I received a letter from InComm Inc. The letter was sent to inform me that my Mio card was going away. They were somewhat coy about it. The first part...
The best mix of Ultimate Rewards cards
Chase's Ultimate Rewards program is hands down my favorite loyalty program. Through incredible sign-up bonuses, generous category bonuses, and the often lucrative Ultimate Rewards Mall, it is easy to earn oodles of points quickly. ...
Extreme savings at Lowes, Home Depot, Sears
Yesterday, a reader named Brian asked me the following question: If the cost of an appliance (and its delivery, say) were the same at Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears, where would you buy...
The single best credit card and why my favorite cards didn’t make the list
"If I were to get just one credit card, which one should it be?"
I get this question a lot, but it's not easy to answer. The best card for you depends upon your credit...
Ink metamorphosizes from MasterCard to Visa. Why I care.
According to several blogs (here, here, and here), in late June Chase quietly began shipping out Chase Ink cards as Visa cards rather than MasterCard cards. Most will regard this as a ho hum...
When 18X beats 21X. Same store, same portal.
Note: Most of the following post was written yesterday morning. Since then, I learned about some additional related issues, so I added information about that to the end of this post. It's like getting...
2000 easy AAdvantage miles for everyone?
Many blogs have written about this month's AAdvantage eShopping portal promotion. A lot of people received seemingly targeted emails offering 2,000 bonus miles after spending $35 or more through the portal. I was...
A guide to Plink rewards
Plink is a rewards program that lets you earn points for shopping at various merchants. The cool thing about Plink is that it is independent from other rewards you may earn such as store...
Bluebird direct deposits are now required for free ATM withdrawals, and other Bluebird tidbits
It has long been the case that Bluebird's Member Agreement has stated that MoneyPass Network ATMs are free for Bluebird cards receiving direct deposit. Specifically, the Member Agreement says, “To qualify, at least one...
Citibank Stork delivers again
In my May 31 post titled "Citibank Stork delivers news," I described a letter from Citibank with news about changes to the Citi ThankYou Preferred card. Its terrifying to get a letter from a...
Best options for buying merchant gift cards
UPDATE 7/29/14: Please see the updated version of this post here.
If you're in the market for gift cards, you're probably interested in finding the best options for saving money and/or earning extra points. Or,...
Buying miles and points from the IRS with reloadable prepaid cards
This is the sixth and final post in a series dedicated to analyzing options for earning points and other rewards when paying federal taxes. If you haven’t already, please review the earlier posts:
Buying...
Vanilla Reloadables
This is an update to a post of the same name published a year ago. A lot has changed since then so I thought it would be good to create a new post rather...
