Money

Bank of America Checking Account Offer

Bank of America Checking Account Offer

Today I received a Bank of America checking account offer for 25,000 Alaska Airlines miles if I open a new Bank of America Interest Checking or Bank of America Core Checking account before July 31, 2015.  The offer also mentions you must receive at least two direct deposits, each of $2,000 or more, within 90 days of opening the account.

The offer seems to be targeted to Bank of America customers with an Alaska Airlines Visa card.  However, it seems that all you have to do is go to bankofamerica.com/alaskaoffer to sign up (Note: I do not receive any payment or compensation for you signing up).  You may have to connect an Alaska Airlines Visa card to the account to verify that you are eligible.

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Using the Citi Price Rewind Benefit

Citi Price Rewind I recently applied, and was approved, for a Citi Prestige MasterCard.  The card has some great perks including airport lounge access, Global Entry application fee credit, and reimbursement for airline tickets.  One of the lesser known but powerful perks is the Citi Price Rewind benefit. The Citi … Read more

$900 Fee for Hyatt Diamond Suite Upgrade

UPDATE: Both charges were refunded to my credit card.  The reservation is still showing up in my online Hyatt GP account; hopefully it will work to just pay at check in.

I have recently written about how I achieved Hyatt Passport Gold Diamond status through the Elite Trial Offer.  My first order of business as a Diamond member was to use one of my Diamond Suite Upgrades (DSU) for a trip I have reserved (and pre-paid) at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Orlando in June.  Little did I know I would be charged a large fee for Hyatt Diamond Suite Upgrade.

I initially made the reservation through a Best Rate Guarantee claim that was approved.

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Best Credit Cards for Single Travelers

I should put a couple of big asterisks after the title: Best Credit Cards for Single Travelers*****  These are actually just the credit cards that are currently in my wallet.  And they work for me, some better than others.  Please take these with a grain of salt, I am not a financial expert.  I do not get paid if you get one of these — no referral links here.  You’ll have to just google them if you want to sign up.  And of course, if you don’t have good financial history or you don’t trust yourself with a credit card, then don’t get these.

With that said, here is what is currently in my wallet and why I find them useful.

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Mileage Run Beijing in Business Class

I was alerted to an amazing business class fare from Washington DC to Beijing by OneMileataTime.  In the rule of travel hobbyists, I booked immediately and knew I could sort out details later.  I couldn’t pass by a mileage run in business class.

I am glad that I booked quickly because the fare was gone in less than an hour.  Read more to find out additional details.

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Daily Getaways Valuation

The US Travel Association is once again running its Daily Getaways promotion.  Beginning March 23 there will be a different offer for a limited time each day.  An interesting change this: there is NO added discount for using an Amex card.  You can find discounts on rental cars, hotels, and theme parks.  Only the first three weeks’ offers have been posted as of this post.

Likely the most popular offers will be for the hotel stays that, for the most part, come in the form of loyalty points.  Below I have created a grid that shows the cost per point for each of the hotel point offers.

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Mileage Run Istanbul

Mileage run Istanbul…via Houston and Paris.

Last night I couldn’t sleep and was checking out some of my favorite people I follow on Twitter.  I came across this tweet:

I was intrigued so I booked.  Here is why:

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HBO for $12

HBO is the best content provider out there, although Netflix is gaining on it with original content like House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Orange is the New Black.  HBO has the best original content; past series like The Wire, The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, and new series like Game of Thrones, Veep, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and True Detective.  Until today you had to have a cable subscription (read: sell your soul to the evil empire) in order to get HBO.  But today that changed.

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Gilt Warehouse Sale

Gilt is a website that presents daily deals of fashionable, designer clothing at discounted prices.  While I am not a fashionista, I have browsed Gilt from time to time as I am a sucker for a good deal.

While planning my recent trip to Vegas, I came across a notice of an upcoming Gilt Warehouse Sale that was going to be in town the same dates I was.  REI has a similar Garage Sale a few times a year that I have been known to camp overnight so I can be one of the first ones in.  So I thought why not check out this sale.  However, I couldn’t find any details about what this sale really was or reports from anyone who had been.  I just had a the dates, times, and location of the sale.

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Alaska Airlines Price Guarantee

Never heard of the Alaska Airlines Price Guarantee?  Here is what you need to know.

If you read this website with any regularity, you know that Alaska Airlines is my airline of choice.  Partially this is by default (I live in Seattle and SEA is their hub), but also my experience is that Alaska Airlines is the best domestic carrier out there.  Their crews are always professional and friendly, their loyalty program is top notch, and their customer service is wonderful.  But, they are NOT always the cheapest option.

However, I utilize a tool that has saved me hundreds of dollars over the past couple of years.  

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Daily Getaways promotion

If you haven’t checked out the US Travel Association‘s Daily Getaways promotion in the past, it is a great chance to score some amazing deals on hotel stays, car rentals, and loyalty points at deep discounts.  This year the deal is even earlier; starting Monday, March 23, 2015 and running … Read more

Hyatt Credit Card through Chase Bank

And the winner is… ME!

Today I received my brand spanking new Hyatt Chase Visa Card.  My Hyatt credit card was hand delivered this afternoon by a lovely UPS woman in a package that reminded me of an awards show envelope.  I had been considering the Hyatt credit card for the past few months, and finally decided to apply after reading about the 20% points back promotion.  I have a couple of trips coming up where I will be staying at Hyatt properties (The Pike Long Beach, Grand Hyatt San Diego, Regency Vancouver) and one stay at Aria Las Vegas (an Mlife partner) that made the credit card seem like a no brainer.  Plus there are some amazing sign up bonuses right now that are rumored to be disappearing in the future.

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Moral Travel: What does your dollar support?

I recently watched a horrifying yet compelling documentary, Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia (available on HBO).  It chronicles the rising tide of assaults on LGBTQ people by both fellow Russians and the government.

Copyright HBO, Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia

While I would love to see Russia, I do not think I could travel there at this time in good conscience.  I do not want my money to go to a regime that openly discriminates and scape goats a minority population of its own citizens.  As consumers (which includes tourism), we vote with our dollars (or Euros, or Pounds or…) whether intentional or not.

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