When applying for a credit card, you’ll usually see a place to add authorized users. The banks will phrase it like “ADD UP TO FIVE PEOPLE TO YOUR ACCOUNT FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE!” If you do this, the bank will send credit cards to everyone. Great, right? Maybe, maybe not. Here’s a quick rundown of what an authorized user is and why it may be a good or a bad idea to add one to your account.
Continue reading “What Are Authorized Users On A Credit Card And Should You Add Them?”
Every once in a while, I like to go over which cards Sharon and I are carrying in our wallets. Doing so gives you a look behind the scenes of how to put a plan of earning points and miles in practice. We each have a different approach to earning miles and points. I try to earn the maximum points for each transaction without too much effort, and her desire to exert the least amount of thought into the process (Note from Sharon: Hell yeah! LOLOL!), the cards we carry are different.
There’s a method to my madness, as I manage to balance the two approaches and come to a plan where we maximize earning while minimizing effort (and still keep our marriage together). (Note from Sharon: Again. Hell yeah!)
Writing this post also forces me to evaluate if I’m actually doing what I say I’m going to do or seeing that I’ve gotten a little lazy (which I had). After some shuffling, here are the cards that now reside in our wallets.
Continue reading “What Credit Cards Are In Our Wallets (September 2019)”
And in the blink of an eye, we’re already well into the first week of September. Time goes by so quickly! Anyway, here are our most popular posts for August 2019. Some of them were actually written before August (heads up that rules and offers change and we can’t guarantee that those older posts are still accurate), so take a look to make sure you didn’t miss any of the good stuff:
As of September 1, 2019, American Express is only allowing cardholders to transfer Membership Rewards to partner accounts of authorized users and those authorized users need to have been added at least 90 days ago. What does this mean?
You still are not allowed to transfer (or pool) Membership Rewards between accounts, even with your spouse, family member or authorized user(s). This rule is more restrictive than Chase and Citi, which both do let you send points between accounts.
What you can currently do is transfer Membership Rewards points to the partner accounts of people who are authorized users on one of your American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards. For example, I can transfer Sharon’s Membership Rewards to my Delta SkyMiles account. I can also send my Membership Rewards to my dad’s ANA Mileage Club account, which is exactly what I did to help them have enough miles to book their trip to Bali and Thailand. When I did this, I added him as an authorized user to my account and a day later I could transfer the points. That’s no longer possible due to the 90-day hold period before you can make transfers to new authorized users.
If you spend a lot of money each month filling your car with gas, it makes sense to maximize your return on those expenses. Many credit cards offer bonuses on gas purchases. It’s a smart business choice because using a card for gas means that card will always be in your wallet or purse and you’re more likely to use that card for other purchases besides when you go to fill up the tank.
Which card is the BEST? It depends on what type of reward you want to earn (cash or points), if you want to pay an annual fee and if you want an all-around card or a card that’s just for gas purchases. This is one of the instances where Your Mileage May Vary. Here are some of the cards available, with an above-average return on gas purchases.
Continue reading “What’s The Best Credit Card To Maximize Earnings For Gas Purchases?”
