“Social Media is pointless” – Yes, those words have come out of my mouth before. I don’t enjoy social media personally. If it wasn’t for my blog, I probably wouldn’t even bother having an Instagram or two Facebook accounts (don’t ask). I would definitely NOT bother with Instagram and have already done away with Snapchat. … Read more
The Simon Mall $1,000 Visa gift card promotion continues through the end of the month (fingers crossed it gets renewed – again). When the promotion started back in July, I wrote about how these gift cards were not the cheapest way to manufacture spend. At $3.95, the cost of a $1,000 Visa gift card is significantly … Read more
I’ve recently been struggling with my new Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card and fraud alerts. I’ve had about four in the last week and became extremely frustrated. But a nice gal on Saturday morning straightened me out. With new Citi cards, if they see a transaction over about $400 from Kroger, CVS, Walgreens or Walmart (the … Read more
Most of you have probably heard of the Global Entry enrollment interview process. But did you know that instead of scheduling your interview months in advance at a busy airport near you, you can do an interview on arrival? There are over 50 airports in the U.S. and abroad that offer Global Entry enrollment interviews … Read more
The Apple credit card came out a few weeks ago and the coverage has been abysmal. After reading two articles in the mainstream news, I still had no idea what the basic features of the Apple Credit Card were. One Yahoo post focused on superficial aspects like “sign-up is easy” and “it looks cool.” Nothing … Read more
I share my weekly manufactured spending activity pretty regularly on this blog. It helps me track how many points I’m earning at what cost and gives readers an idea of how it’s done. That being said, I don’t think these posts directly address the risks involved in manufactured spending. I have on occasion shared how … Read more
Years ago Virgin Atlantic and British Airways would run these incredible business class fare deals to Europe. At one point, a round-trip between San Francisco and London in VA’s Upper Class came in around $1,480. At the time, I thought “Why would I pay for this when I can use miles?” Those were abundant days. … Read more
The Chicago Seminars are just two months away and one of the most common questions I get about these points and miles conferences is, “Is it worth it?” I attended my first seminar in 2013 and found it to be a great experience. Since then, I’ve missed two events (last year it was because of … Read more
After playing this game for almost thirty years, I can tell you that this hobby, has provided me with life opportunities that never would have been possible without the advice and guidance that came from those that helped me get started. Steve Belkin for one, always had time to answer my questions. Randy Peterson provided … Read more
The Discover It Miles card was one of my favorite credit cards for manufactured spending. The card earns 3x miles on all spending during the first year. It has no annual fee either, which is a nice bonus. I got the Discover It Miles card two years ago and used it to generate $3,100 worth … Read more