The exciting news from the Credit Card world is the enchanced bonus on the Chase Ink or Bold Business card.
Direct link from Chase:
https://www.chase.com/online/business-credit-cards/ink-business-credit-cards.htm?CELL=63WS
This card is already mentioned in the best card section of this site. Normally they give 50,000 points which went up to 60,000 points in recent times. However, if you go in branch then the bank was giving 70,000 points. Now, for a limited time, this offer has moved online. So, anyone of you waiting for the right offer, this is the right time to jump. Most of the individuals in US can claim sole proprietership as their business if you have a valid SSN. You could rent your place to others or have some minor business activities and as long as you can justify the income, this should be a home run.
This card is one of the best out there and is Visa branded with Signature chip and good protection on rental cars among others. Best of all, you get the points in the form of Ultimate Rewards Portal which can be redeemed for cash at par value of 1 dollar per 100 points. You can get better value with car rentals and airlines bookings though. Basically, it gives you lot of options to consider and gives you more tools for your next journey.
A direct link is posted above as this blog is not affiliated with any programs where we get paid for Chase products ( or really any other products for that matter!).
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Anything new?
Probably nothing. Citi came up with a 2% card back but without bonus and a great rewards structure, it was not as if having this card is a must. Honey Badger would recommend to stay put as there could be more exciting options down the line.
The hotel points continue to be devalued and overall raise a question about whether it is even worth accumulating this on a long term basis rather than follow a "apply card-get points-burn them" strategy. Any other way to accumulate points would add and keep your points alive.
Its good in a way that there is no activity here so that we could go out and see what else is out there in the world :D
The hotel points continue to be devalued and overall raise a question about whether it is even worth accumulating this on a long term basis rather than follow a "apply card-get points-burn them" strategy. Any other way to accumulate points would add and keep your points alive.
Its good in a way that there is no activity here so that we could go out and see what else is out there in the world :D
Monday, September 8, 2014
Reload Cards Options
Quick round up on all the available reload cards or prepaid cards - which are the bread and butter of the spending strategies. This is the primary tool across all blogs and the main weapon in your arsenal to strategize your spend.
Vanilla Reload: This is what started it all for most folks. It is a very basic reload, prepaid card where the user pays cash or debit card to load money. There were few places such as CVS and 7-11 stores which used to load it via credit cards. But as of mid-2014 this option is pretty much gone.
MoneyPak: Another card that is being gradually phased out by end of 2014.
Paypal cash: Now this is a great card. So far many stores accept this card to be paid via credit card. Prominent among them is the 7-11 stores which accepts credit cards and most banks, except Amex, count them as gas purchases. Which means getting the 3%-5% category bonus. Chase ink and bold cards give upto 2% while the US Bank Flex Rewards program is known to give upto 4% cash back if it is redeemed for airlines. Though, US Bank does not have the best rewards program redemption when it comes to airlines travel choices. Hence, I would rather stick to the Chase ones - mainly Ink/Bold or the British Airways card. They all give back rewards on gas purchases from 7-11. Chances of some 7-11 accepting credit cards are quite high given that there are quite a few of them (about 25 in my area in 10 mile radius). There are restrictions such as just one $500 transaction per day per customer. These are not major league bad. I use them mostly during the weekend. The goal is to get the car fuel costs reimbursed. Even if I load 2 Paypal cards, worth about 1000 bucks, at $10 cost and $20 return from Chase, that is a $10 profit - enough for my weekend driving excursions/shopping and grocery finding around the town. 10 bucks gives you about 3 gallons at $3.33 per gallon, enough to net you about 3*30 = 90 miles or so. That is more than sufficient for a small trip. This card is also a go to card for many people. There is a limit of $4000 in this card per month. Not too shabby.
Just any other random cards:
Evolve paybucks : Stands out if you manage to find this card at some store and get the store to accept credit card at register. Most Netspends cards and other prepaid cards in that aisle fall under this category. It is hit and miss. And you do not want to be caught holding your money in this card where they have temporarily suspended it. So the best approach would be to stick to the brand names card.
Not really a direct load cards, but American Express Bluebird and Serve are well covered along with their less famous bertherns such as the Amex Target card.
If you find anything else, please leave it in the comment section.
Vanilla Reload: This is what started it all for most folks. It is a very basic reload, prepaid card where the user pays cash or debit card to load money. There were few places such as CVS and 7-11 stores which used to load it via credit cards. But as of mid-2014 this option is pretty much gone.
MoneyPak: Another card that is being gradually phased out by end of 2014.
Paypal cash: Now this is a great card. So far many stores accept this card to be paid via credit card. Prominent among them is the 7-11 stores which accepts credit cards and most banks, except Amex, count them as gas purchases. Which means getting the 3%-5% category bonus. Chase ink and bold cards give upto 2% while the US Bank Flex Rewards program is known to give upto 4% cash back if it is redeemed for airlines. Though, US Bank does not have the best rewards program redemption when it comes to airlines travel choices. Hence, I would rather stick to the Chase ones - mainly Ink/Bold or the British Airways card. They all give back rewards on gas purchases from 7-11. Chances of some 7-11 accepting credit cards are quite high given that there are quite a few of them (about 25 in my area in 10 mile radius). There are restrictions such as just one $500 transaction per day per customer. These are not major league bad. I use them mostly during the weekend. The goal is to get the car fuel costs reimbursed. Even if I load 2 Paypal cards, worth about 1000 bucks, at $10 cost and $20 return from Chase, that is a $10 profit - enough for my weekend driving excursions/shopping and grocery finding around the town. 10 bucks gives you about 3 gallons at $3.33 per gallon, enough to net you about 3*30 = 90 miles or so. That is more than sufficient for a small trip. This card is also a go to card for many people. There is a limit of $4000 in this card per month. Not too shabby.
Just any other random cards:
Evolve paybucks : Stands out if you manage to find this card at some store and get the store to accept credit card at register. Most Netspends cards and other prepaid cards in that aisle fall under this category. It is hit and miss. And you do not want to be caught holding your money in this card where they have temporarily suspended it. So the best approach would be to stick to the brand names card.
Not really a direct load cards, but American Express Bluebird and Serve are well covered along with their less famous bertherns such as the Amex Target card.
If you find anything else, please leave it in the comment section.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Debit Cards
Why debit cards? Because some of us still like it and are used to it - the simplicity of it is what started it all. It simply deducts the money from your checking account and prevents any over spending. The best debit card programs are the:
1. Bank of America Hawaii Debit card: This used to earn pretty good rewards which got devalued recently
2. Local Credit Unions: One such was Perkins which also devalued their programs. Still check your local credit unions. I found Fulton Bank and Citadel Credit Unions to be a good one when it comes to accumulating and redeeming points.
3. Suntrust Delta Debit card: Again a decent card once upon a time, it is fraught with statement credit issues, account opening issues and just so many issues that it is really not worth it.
For the brave and more enterprising, the BankAmex debit card offers American Airlines miles. So does BankDirect - an online bank based out of Texas. Most of these seem decent options but beware - the programs are known to get shut down quite arbitarily and the redemption options are really not that up to the mark.
Bottomline, I would check the local credit union and stick with one which earns you between 1 - 3 cents per dollar spent. Niche reward points are more than welcome. For instance, my local credit union has redemption options for local restaurants which are quite generous. Since I frequent those places anyways, it makes sense to accumulate those points.
Apples to apples, debit cards do not stand a chance against credit cards. Decidedly banks have moved more towards the credit card berthern in the recent past for obvious reasons. Since there are tools such as Serve which allows to load $1000 per month via automation, I find it easy to keep the points running in some small credit card. It might not count for much but maybe buy you a free dinner every few some months.
1. Bank of America Hawaii Debit card: This used to earn pretty good rewards which got devalued recently
2. Local Credit Unions: One such was Perkins which also devalued their programs. Still check your local credit unions. I found Fulton Bank and Citadel Credit Unions to be a good one when it comes to accumulating and redeeming points.
3. Suntrust Delta Debit card: Again a decent card once upon a time, it is fraught with statement credit issues, account opening issues and just so many issues that it is really not worth it.
For the brave and more enterprising, the BankAmex debit card offers American Airlines miles. So does BankDirect - an online bank based out of Texas. Most of these seem decent options but beware - the programs are known to get shut down quite arbitarily and the redemption options are really not that up to the mark.
Bottomline, I would check the local credit union and stick with one which earns you between 1 - 3 cents per dollar spent. Niche reward points are more than welcome. For instance, my local credit union has redemption options for local restaurants which are quite generous. Since I frequent those places anyways, it makes sense to accumulate those points.
Apples to apples, debit cards do not stand a chance against credit cards. Decidedly banks have moved more towards the credit card berthern in the recent past for obvious reasons. Since there are tools such as Serve which allows to load $1000 per month via automation, I find it easy to keep the points running in some small credit card. It might not count for much but maybe buy you a free dinner every few some months.
Online Trackers
To continue on the last post about online tools to manage rewards
Excel: There are good providers such as Zoho, Google, Microsoft Live docs among a multitude of free services which offer online Excel programs. There are also a few ways you could manage it if you are paranoid about sharing the documents with large companies. You could put the docs in Dropbox. Spideroak or any of the online backup companies and share the link with only yourself. You could also password protect it and/or share with only family members. With the availability of these tools in plentitude, this section hardly needs coverage.
RewardsWallet: This is a pretty nifty tools few years ago when most airlines participated. However, like Expedia and Orbitz among others, many of these sites have no access to major airlines loyalty programs who would rather the customers visit their website.
Excel: There are good providers such as Zoho, Google, Microsoft Live docs among a multitude of free services which offer online Excel programs. There are also a few ways you could manage it if you are paranoid about sharing the documents with large companies. You could put the docs in Dropbox. Spideroak or any of the online backup companies and share the link with only yourself. You could also password protect it and/or share with only family members. With the availability of these tools in plentitude, this section hardly needs coverage.
RewardsWallet: This is a pretty nifty tools few years ago when most airlines participated. However, like Expedia and Orbitz among others, many of these sites have no access to major airlines loyalty programs who would rather the customers visit their website.
Travel tools
I generally recommend home-grown tools such as Excel or Word or anything basic enough to manage your travel points. Honestly, even your notebook should suffice if you plan your trip well and want to keep it simple. There are a lot of online and offline programs which offer you free templates. It is easy to build one yourself as all you really need to enter in an online excel which is in the cloud is details about the program such as program name, expiration date and possibly a list of zip codes around which your travel is planned. Just plug-in the zip codes and check which hotels and airlines offer the best deals.
Most of the times, you would find the best deals online. Many major chains simply put them online and have the same info access to both you as well as their employees. I know that sounds counter intuitive as one may guess that employees or travel agents have the best deal. But really, these guys get the margin offers. As in, they get the deals based on volumes and hence work best if you are doing bulk bookings of corporate bookings. At which point, it makes sense to pick up the phone. For a normal traveler, single or with family, it hardly makes sense to try that hard. Though, certainly I am not discouraging you from pick up that phone and call to check about any ongoing specials in air or hotel.
Awardwallet.com is pretty good and so are a bunch of other sites. I like Reward programs sites that list down your points as well as earn you points on activities such as dining or using local business. I usually prefer going directly to the airline websites though. Most offer a multitude of tools that could be used to manage your travel.
To round-up, as indicated at the start, build your own, home-grown tools. It need not be something fancy but anything that is a combination of computer docs - online or offline that only you can access without the hassles of login/password OR simple index cards based tracker are really all that is needed. For scheduling, there are free calendars - again both online and offline.
The best tool that you have is planning ahead. Pick up two airlines and hotels and stick with them and accumulate crazy number of points and spend them during an off-season. Nothing really could beat it!
Most of the times, you would find the best deals online. Many major chains simply put them online and have the same info access to both you as well as their employees. I know that sounds counter intuitive as one may guess that employees or travel agents have the best deal. But really, these guys get the margin offers. As in, they get the deals based on volumes and hence work best if you are doing bulk bookings of corporate bookings. At which point, it makes sense to pick up the phone. For a normal traveler, single or with family, it hardly makes sense to try that hard. Though, certainly I am not discouraging you from pick up that phone and call to check about any ongoing specials in air or hotel.
Awardwallet.com is pretty good and so are a bunch of other sites. I like Reward programs sites that list down your points as well as earn you points on activities such as dining or using local business. I usually prefer going directly to the airline websites though. Most offer a multitude of tools that could be used to manage your travel.
To round-up, as indicated at the start, build your own, home-grown tools. It need not be something fancy but anything that is a combination of computer docs - online or offline that only you can access without the hassles of login/password OR simple index cards based tracker are really all that is needed. For scheduling, there are free calendars - again both online and offline.
The best tool that you have is planning ahead. Pick up two airlines and hotels and stick with them and accumulate crazy number of points and spend them during an off-season. Nothing really could beat it!
Best Hotels by Area
The hotel industry is ever evolving. What I do not get especially in the US is the fact that many of the mega Hotel chains such as IHG, Hilton, Starwood or Marriott sit on such huge amount of prime real estate and yet they would rather let their rooms empty rather than give you or me some free rooms :)
Anyhow, this industry had one of the worst loyalty programs which were revamped for the better in recent times, towards the end of the decade. I would not recommend accumulating any of the hotel chains points for long time. Few months would be a good exit point. There are some credit cards which partner with various hotels. But do not expect any gift card redemption option or sensible airline point conversion. The only exception to this rule is the Amex Starwood preferred card. Which is surprising, given that it is a hotel card at its core but seems to integrate well with airlines. The drawback is of course the hefty annual fee on this card. Another good option is the Wyndham credit card. I stick with Hilton or IHG (Holiday Inns) though I do go to Marriott at times along with other hotels depending on the deals.
So, credit card wise the best would be the Chase cards, Amex cards and the US Bank driven Wyndham cards. Hotel redemption wise, in the US, the best options are the Marriott and the IHG. Wyndham is decent and so is Hilton. Internationally, Hilton and Marriott have strong presence at multiple locations. Starwood is something that you could apply in a targeted fashion if your travel destination has significant presence of this chain.
In the Asia/Europe/Africa sector, you are bound to find a good amount of Hilton/Marriott properties. Australia is a different game while Canada has options very similar to the US. For South America, I would stick with known brands such as Marriott. There are lot of franchising and local corporate-run chains which tend to significantly dilute the service of other well known brands.
Finally, I think once in a while, one must experience very high end hotel stays. Westin is one such which is pretty much a good example of what a high end hotel has to offer. There is of course a lot of niche hotels which cater to the high heeled but in my opinion, it is better to not make an ass of yourself or come off as a cheapstake by bargaining about hotel points in the lobby of such big hotels. Usually, one is better off if a business sponsors you to the higher end of the hotel chains and get you reimbursed. The point redemption options here are not there or are simply not worth it. The business model of really top notch hotels depend on service and margin and is really not loyalty focused. You would pretty much find yourself in needless arithmetic when you enter this zone.
Anyhow, this industry had one of the worst loyalty programs which were revamped for the better in recent times, towards the end of the decade. I would not recommend accumulating any of the hotel chains points for long time. Few months would be a good exit point. There are some credit cards which partner with various hotels. But do not expect any gift card redemption option or sensible airline point conversion. The only exception to this rule is the Amex Starwood preferred card. Which is surprising, given that it is a hotel card at its core but seems to integrate well with airlines. The drawback is of course the hefty annual fee on this card. Another good option is the Wyndham credit card. I stick with Hilton or IHG (Holiday Inns) though I do go to Marriott at times along with other hotels depending on the deals.
So, credit card wise the best would be the Chase cards, Amex cards and the US Bank driven Wyndham cards. Hotel redemption wise, in the US, the best options are the Marriott and the IHG. Wyndham is decent and so is Hilton. Internationally, Hilton and Marriott have strong presence at multiple locations. Starwood is something that you could apply in a targeted fashion if your travel destination has significant presence of this chain.
In the Asia/Europe/Africa sector, you are bound to find a good amount of Hilton/Marriott properties. Australia is a different game while Canada has options very similar to the US. For South America, I would stick with known brands such as Marriott. There are lot of franchising and local corporate-run chains which tend to significantly dilute the service of other well known brands.
Finally, I think once in a while, one must experience very high end hotel stays. Westin is one such which is pretty much a good example of what a high end hotel has to offer. There is of course a lot of niche hotels which cater to the high heeled but in my opinion, it is better to not make an ass of yourself or come off as a cheapstake by bargaining about hotel points in the lobby of such big hotels. Usually, one is better off if a business sponsors you to the higher end of the hotel chains and get you reimbursed. The point redemption options here are not there or are simply not worth it. The business model of really top notch hotels depend on service and margin and is really not loyalty focused. You would pretty much find yourself in needless arithmetic when you enter this zone.
Best Airlines by Travel Segments
I will keep this short and sweet :)
If you are in the US, right now the best airfares are with Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. Not only these two airlines offer superior service compared to legacy ones, they are way better when it comes to performance, incentives, rewards flights and connectivity to major points.
If you are near smaller airports, check out Frontier, Spirit or similar regional airlines.
Legacy airlines: I stick with United given their redemption options and the fact that they have hubs at major cities. They run specials fairly often and seem to be better compared to the other airlines. If you have American Airlines miles, likely they would not be used well if you go thru the aa.com website. However, the trick is to accumulate British Airways Avios. That can be easily done using the Chase British Airways card. Since British Airways and American Airlines are partners, in the US, you can use Avios for travel in American Airlines. The real fun and an open industry secret is to use the Avios for short leg flights in American Airlines.
Often times, I have found 4500 points - 10,000 points as the baseline for many short-haul flights. Booking is fairly easy in either of the sites. And with BA, you pay less fees while with AA, you would end up paying $80 if you book within 21 days of travel. I would also check out other state specific airlines such as Alaska Air or Hawaiian Airlines among others.
Last but not the least, avoid Delta. The miles usually come from Amex (same as Jetblue) but the redemption options, for lack of a better word, sucks. You simply will be spending way too much money to get back a decent flight. Better option would be pay money upfront with a cheaper flight alternative.
International travel: I stick mostly with United/Continental and country specific airlines such as Lufthansa, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or Thai Airways. Most of these airlines are connected thru Star Alliance or other mega partnership. They are roughly same and I do not recommend redeeming full-scale on long haul flights. Though, generally the airlines mentioned here have decent programs. With the coming merger of US Air and American Airlines, it would likely add more travel options internationally but do compare apples to apples when making decision between domestic vs international redemption.
Space Travel: There are no miles here but it would be nice if they offer some. That would net you some decent miles. So far only Virgin is the travel option. Speaking of which, I hear Virgin America as a good option while travelling domestically in US. There are few other companies who may want to carry you to outer space for a few coin.
If you are in the US, right now the best airfares are with Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. Not only these two airlines offer superior service compared to legacy ones, they are way better when it comes to performance, incentives, rewards flights and connectivity to major points.
If you are near smaller airports, check out Frontier, Spirit or similar regional airlines.
Legacy airlines: I stick with United given their redemption options and the fact that they have hubs at major cities. They run specials fairly often and seem to be better compared to the other airlines. If you have American Airlines miles, likely they would not be used well if you go thru the aa.com website. However, the trick is to accumulate British Airways Avios. That can be easily done using the Chase British Airways card. Since British Airways and American Airlines are partners, in the US, you can use Avios for travel in American Airlines. The real fun and an open industry secret is to use the Avios for short leg flights in American Airlines.
Often times, I have found 4500 points - 10,000 points as the baseline for many short-haul flights. Booking is fairly easy in either of the sites. And with BA, you pay less fees while with AA, you would end up paying $80 if you book within 21 days of travel. I would also check out other state specific airlines such as Alaska Air or Hawaiian Airlines among others.
Last but not the least, avoid Delta. The miles usually come from Amex (same as Jetblue) but the redemption options, for lack of a better word, sucks. You simply will be spending way too much money to get back a decent flight. Better option would be pay money upfront with a cheaper flight alternative.
International travel: I stick mostly with United/Continental and country specific airlines such as Lufthansa, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or Thai Airways. Most of these airlines are connected thru Star Alliance or other mega partnership. They are roughly same and I do not recommend redeeming full-scale on long haul flights. Though, generally the airlines mentioned here have decent programs. With the coming merger of US Air and American Airlines, it would likely add more travel options internationally but do compare apples to apples when making decision between domestic vs international redemption.
Space Travel: There are no miles here but it would be nice if they offer some. That would net you some decent miles. So far only Virgin is the travel option. Speaking of which, I hear Virgin America as a good option while travelling domestically in US. There are few other companies who may want to carry you to outer space for a few coin.
Recent updates in credit card land
Well, given the drought of quality posts across many sites, it is quite obvious that the credit card space has been still and quite for some time now. No new big offers came by. This site was among the first to know and tweet about the the Citi 2% cash back card - a new card that was launched with some good design and has an advantage for those folks who just want to get 2% cash back no matter where they shop. This card is pretty good if you are the big fish who just looks at big sign up bonuses and do not want to second guess which card to use or make decisions at run time about whether there is a better alternative than to buy directly with a credit card at hand.
To be sure, there is nothing innovative about this new card as Fidelity has been already doing it with two flavors - Amex and Visa. There are other cards such as Capital One and Barclays which also give you 2% on all purchases. In the days of 5%, somehow the lower category feels inadequate. With 5% category cards and some targeted strategic spending - the kind that is outlined in this site, it is quite possible to jump ahead of the rest. After all, there is limit to number of new cards with big sign on bonuses and the number of times that you are going to get approved with a credit card. Also, you may want to save your credit profile for a bigger card down the line.
On and off, some offers came but none worth posting or meriting your attention.
Keep churning!
To be sure, there is nothing innovative about this new card as Fidelity has been already doing it with two flavors - Amex and Visa. There are other cards such as Capital One and Barclays which also give you 2% on all purchases. In the days of 5%, somehow the lower category feels inadequate. With 5% category cards and some targeted strategic spending - the kind that is outlined in this site, it is quite possible to jump ahead of the rest. After all, there is limit to number of new cards with big sign on bonuses and the number of times that you are going to get approved with a credit card. Also, you may want to save your credit profile for a bigger card down the line.
On and off, some offers came but none worth posting or meriting your attention.
Keep churning!
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