Jetting to London thanks to a sharp tool shed, good bonuses for low spend, and more

This week at Frequent Miler we covered some of the tools we use to earn big and then put that stash of miles and points to use. Thanks to a healthy stockpile of points, Greg took off to Europe at the drop of a hat this week. If you’re a low spender looking to create your own rainy day fund full of points, hope isn’t lost — see this Frequent Miler week in review for how you can get there, too.

The Tools We Use (for playing the game)

If you’re reading this blog, it’s likely because you want to or like to earn a lot of miles and points and get a fantastic deal. Greg previously wrote all about the games we play to enjoy travel that is more comfortable and costs us less money. This post outlines many of the key tools we leverage in order to get the best deals and maximize our mileage in terms of points earned. Share it, bookmark it, come back to it.

Extra 1x on Chase cards via Apple Pay & Google Pay

While we only occasionally feature Quick Deal posts in our week in review summaries, this one seemed like a big enough deal to warrant inclusion: Use your Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Freedom Unlimited, or Amazon Rewards / Amazon Prime credit card through Apple Pay or Google Pay through the end of the year for an additional point per dollar. That makes the Freedom Unlimited worth 2.5x everywhere that accepts these forms of mobile payments, which is excellent.

Iberia accounts going negative and what we can take away from the promo

Some wondered whether or not Iberia had the IT to do it, but in the end Iberia has followed through with its promise to put accounts in the negative if people transferred out Avios earned from the summer’s unbelievable 9K-per-flight promo. The problem is that, at least in some cases, it seems they pulled back more Avios than they should have. Adding insult to injury, Iberia left room for interpretation as to the deadline for using Avios and let some people use Avios after it was over — only to debit their accounts later. It’s messy — if you transferred Avios out and/or didn’t use all your promo Avios, you might want to log in and make sure they took away the amount you were expecting.

To London on a whim

I’ve often told my wife that one of my favorite things about having stockpiles of miles and points is the fact that I could go almost anywhere in the world tomorrow if I wanted. There is just a sense of freedom in that feeling, even if I never up and run to London on a random weekday in December. The fact that Greg did do that this week makes me smile for the good fortune many of us have to be in that position with miles and points. But he wouldn’t have gone to London this week if he didn’t know where to look to find the flights he wanted. See this post to find out how he did it.

Current Visa and Mastercard Gift Card Deals

Can you name which stores have Visa and Mastercard deals ending today? How about next Saturday? I find it hard to remember, too. The next time you’re out shopping on a Saturday and you can’t remember whether Safeway has Mastercards on sale or Kroger is offering fuel points or there’s something crazy going on at BJ’s Wholesale, check this resource.

Changes coming to Biz Platinum: higher fee, Dell credit, and more

One of the reasons I’ve kept the Business Platinum over getting the personal version has been the difference in annual fee. Starting in February, there will still be a difference….but now that difference will price me out. It remains to be seen how a couple of the benefits will work, but I can’t imagine they will really justify the 32% increase in fee.

Best offers for low spenders

Minimum spend requirements for new credit card welcome bonuses have been trending upward and in some cases have begun spreading that required spend over longer periods of time. But what if you just don’t spend that much and aren’t interested in methods to manufacture spend? Greg highlights the cards here with very low spend requirements for those looking to pick up a bonus or two without overextending themselves with required spend.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for this week in review around the web and our weekly last chance deals.

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