Last night, Marriott announced a significant devaluation to their awards program: over 1,300 hotels have moved up a category (i.e. now require more points for each award night), and only 46 have moved down a category. And just for good measure, a new category (nine!) was added to the award chart, and that category […]
Huge Kickbacks On Flowers For Valentine’s Day
February 12, 2013 By 3 Comments
I have a [completely unsubstantiated, but certainly logical] theory that the profit margins in a given industry can be assessed by reference to the size of the kickbacks available on goods in that industry. And if this theory holds any water, the margins on flowers are astronomical. To that end – and I hope that […]
Is There Any Better Checking Account Than The One Offered By Ally Bank?
February 10, 2013 By 1 Comment
Different people look for different things in checking accounts, but my primary objectives are to: (1) never pay monthly maintenance fees; (2) never pay ATM fees; and (3) earn a non-negligible rate of interest. With those goals in mind, I use Ally Bank as my primary checking account (in combination with an Ally savings account, […]
Just As I Was Becoming Less Cynical About The World, I Discovered The “Travelocity Guarantee.” Back To Square One.
February 7, 2013 By 8 Comments
I’ve been using Travelocity to book flights quite a bit lately because Travelocity bookings earn two extra points per dollar through the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall. So in addition to the two points per dollar I’d normally earn on travel purchases with my Sapphire Preferred card, I earn an additional two points per dollar by […]
Aren’t All Of Those Credit Card Applications Killing Your Credit Score?
February 6, 2013 By 5 Comments
I apply for approximately 4-6 credit cards per year, which seems crazy, or at least very irresponsible, to most people. I keep some of the cards for long-term use, but apply for others for the sole purpose of obtaining a hefty signup bonus. For this latter category, I meet the minimum spend threshold required to […]
Why (And How) You Should Be Earning A Kickback Of At Least 2% On All Of Your Credit Card Purchases
February 4, 2013 By 3 Comments
Credit card rewards come in many forms — including cash, points, miles, and statement credits — but if you have a good credit score and your rewards are not worth at least 2 cents on the dollar, you’re leaving money on the table on every single purchase. The 2% Minimum Where does that baseline rebate […]