Discover is offering their credit card and banking customers another free service called Online Privacy Protection (press release). Essentially, it automatically submits opt-out requests at 10 selected “people search sites”. These are creepy websites that scrape your personal information from many different publicly-available databases and then makes money by selling access. I wrote about these invasive sites previously and you may be surprised at how much information about you is floating around out there – age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, and the names of your parents, siblings, children, cousins, and in-laws. Once catch is that you must access this feature via the Discover app. They are still rolling it out, so it may not be available to everyone yet. I used the … [Read More...]

Update April 2022: Just a quick update that this has been a useful, additional free identity theft protection service. Today, I electronically signed some “power of attorney”-type papers through Docusign and they had me answer some identity verification questions like “which address have you been associated with?” that pulled from my credit reports and driver’s license data. Immediately, I got the following alert from Mastercard Identity Protection that even included the exact questions asked: Previously, this service has also alerted me that my personal information like name/email have been found in data breaches from random websites like autoexpresscars.com and drivesure.com. These are all events that did not trigger any alerts from my other credit bureau-based monitoring services. Therefore, I … [Read More...]

New limited-time offer boost. The Chase IHG Rewards Club Traveler card is the IHG hotel card that includes special IHG perks but with no annual fee. Right now, there is a limited-time 120k offer that is much larger than the previous 60k and 80k point bonuses. Here are the highlights: 120,000 bonus IHG points after $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Earn 15X points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel. Earn 2X points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. No foreign transaction fees. Fourth Reward Night Free when you redeem points for any 4+ night stay. No annual fee. Note the following: This product is not available to either (i) current … [Read More...]

New deal March 17th, 2022. The US Mint regularly releases limited-edition coins to collectors. The coin sets are often limited to one per household, but end up with a market value greater than the initial cost. PFS Buyers Club is a website broker that recruits regular folks to buy their allotted coin set with a set markup amount, with the agreement that they will sell only to PFS Buyers Club. For example, you might pay $300 for a coin and they’ll agree to pay you $350 for it – a fixed profit of $50. On Thursday, March 17th at 12:00 pm Noon Eastern Time, there is a new guaranteed profit opportunity. A limited edition American Eagle Four-Coin Set will be released then, with a purchase limit… [Read More...]

Updated March 2022. Do you have small business income or work as an independent contractor? Freelance, Uber/Lyft, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Airbnb? A small business credit card separates your personal and business expenses and can build up your business credit profile. If you are not a corporation or LLC, you can apply as a sole proprietorship, with your name as the business name and your Social Security number as the Tax ID number. These are the top 10 credit card offers that I would personally apply for right now (or have already). Recent changes: Added Delta 75k, Southwest 80k, JetBlue 70k, CapOne $3,000, Hilton 130k+Free Night, Amex Blue Cash $500, Amex Platinum 120k. Removed Wyndham 90k, AA 80k. This is a companion post to my Top 10 Best Credit Card … [Read More...]

Updated with improved offers. Delta Airlines American Express cards offer various special perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and the ability to earn Delta Skymiles with card purchases. As you can only get the welcome offers once on each of these cards per person per lifetime (each card is considered different), I recommend waiting until a limited-time offer to maximize your benefit. Here are the current offers: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Plus, earn up to $50 back in statement credits for eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants with your card within the first 3 months of membership. $100 Delta flight credit after $10,000 in purchases on your card in … [Read More...]

Updated January 2022. Do you have small business income or work as an independent contractor? Freelance, Uber/Lyft, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Airbnb? A small business credit card separates your personal and business expenses and can build up your business credit profile. If you are not a corporation or LLC, you can apply as a sole proprietorship, with your name as the business name and your Social Security number as the Tax ID number. These are the top 10 credit card offers that I would personally apply for right now (or have already). Recent changes: Added United Biz 150k, Amex Blue Cash $500, Amex Platinum 120k. Removed JetBlue 70k, Wyndham 90k, AA 80k. This is a companion post to my Top 10 Best Credit Card Bonus Offers for personal cards. Notice … [Read More...]

2021 end-of-year update. I have an informal goal each year of earning the equivalent of the maximum annual IRA contribution limit of $6,000 using the profits from various promotions alone. If you had put $6,000 into your IRA every year for the last 10 years (2011-2020) and invested in a simple Target Date retirement fund, you would have turned small deals into a $100,000+ nest egg. Example. I was recently approved for the new Capital One Venture X card, and I was hoping the $1,000+ value would put me over the $6,000 threshold. I’m very confident that I’ll get at least $1,000 out of this card, as (1) we have multiple upcoming trips planned, (2) are renewing Global Entry for… [Read More...]

$500 referral offer. The American Express Blue Business Cash Card is a small business rewards card that earns a solid cash back rate with no complicated categories. Right now, you can earn an increased $500 welcome offer using my referral link, which is great for a “keeper” business card. Here the highlights: New welcome offer worth up to $500 total. Earn a $250 Statement Credit after you spend $5,000 in qualifying purchases on your Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn an additional $250 statement credit after you spend an additional $10,000 or more in qualifying purchases on your Card within the first year of Card Membership. 2% flat cash back on the first $50,000 in purchases each year. 1X Points on purchases… [Read More...]

It’s been a while since I’ve redeemed any airline miles or hotel points, so I’m excited to start doing so again. We still had thousands of dollars in airline credit balances from early 2020, and I just booked a flight and two hotel nights in Vancouver, Canada. This also gave me an opportunity to check out the current value of some of my currency. I have to work around school schedules so it’s hard to fully maximize the value of every point. The cash price for a junior suite during Spring Break at the Hilton Vancouver Airport for our family of 5 was CAD $343, which is US $$277 per night. The same room with the same cancellation policy costs 50,000 Hilton Honors points per night… [Read More...]

(Update: This card has been updated with new statement credits, an improved welcome offer, and the announcement that the annual fee will increase to $595 to $695 for applications received on or after 1/13/2022. Consider applying for this card while the annual fee is $100 less but the new perks are already in place.) The Business Platinum® Card from American Express is the ultra-premium AmEx business card with a very long list of new perks and statement credits. You also get the best airline lounge access program (Delta Sky Club + their own Centurion lounges) and an improved welcome offer. I’ve tried to keep it brief, but there is a lot to cover: 120,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your… [Read More...]

New limited-time offer. The Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card is the co-branded business credit card of the Marriott Bonvoy program (formed after the merger of Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest). This card offers unique perks for Marriott customers. Right now, there is a new limited-time offer: Here are the highlights: Limited Time Offer: Earn 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points & 2 bonus Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months. Each bonus Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50K points. Certain hotels have resort fees. Offer ends 11/3/2021. 6X points at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy(TM) program. 4X points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, U.S. purchases… [Read More...]

Another new coin deal on Monday, September 13th, 2021. PFS Buyers Club has another coin deal on a limited-edition American Eagle 2021 One Ounce Silver Reverse Proof Two-Coin Set Designer Edition. They will pay you a guaranteed fixed profit of $100.05 plus any credit card rewards. See details below. On September 13th – at 12:00PM ET the US Mint will release the limited edition American Eagle 2021 One Ounce Silver Reverse Proof Two-Coin Set Designer Edition. There is a purchase limit of 1 Set per household, so you’re able to buy 1 Set. The cost of each American Silver Eagle Two-Coin Set is $175.00. After including the $4.95 shipping charge, each order’s total will be $179.95 You will have the box shipped to your own house or… [Read More...]

If you have collected a nice stash of Membership Rewards (MR) points from American Express, you may want to log into your account and check out the many new transfer bonuses available to their airline and hotel partners. Waiting for one of these limited-time transfer promotions is a good way to maximize the value of your AmEx MR points. Note that these transfers are not reversible. Some offers expire September 30th, while others are marked October 31st. Airlines British Airways: 40% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 1,400 Avios. Hawaiian Airlines: 25% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 1,300 Virgin points. Aer Lingus: 40% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 1,400 Avios. Iberia: 40% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 1,400 Avios. Air Canada: 20% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 1,200 Aeroplan points. Aeromexico: 25% Bonus. 1,000 MR points = 2,000 Premier… [Read More...]