Tag: AMEX Platinum

Are Credit Card Concierge Services Worth Anything?

Many credit cards offer access to a concierge. “So What?” you might ask (I know that’s what Sharon would say) (Note from Sharon: Yup!). Well, a concierge may be able to help with your vacation plans or get tickets for shows or concerts you couldn’t get yourself. Being an obsessive planner, I never found much value added by talking to a concierge. They’ve often just cut and and pasted lists from Yelp! or TripAdvisor for me and that’s something I can do myself. But if you’re the type that’s too busy to look up good restaurants in San Francisco near your hotel, this might be a great service for you.

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Credit Cards That Pay The Global Entry Application Fee

Global Entry is a program of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States. In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer decision for any frequent traveler to sign up for this program. The $100 non-refundable application fee is a small price to pay in order to blow past the long immigration lines when returning to the United States. Your Global Entry status is then good for five years. So that’s $20 a year. Where else can you buy VIP treatment for twenty bucks?

What makes this an even better deal is that when you’re approved for Global Entry, you also get a Known Traveler Number (KTN) that gives you access to TSA Pre✓® lanes at domestic airports. This program charges an $85 membership fee if you apply for it separately, so it only costs an extra $15 to get expedited entry when entering the U.S. on international flights (and also some cruise ports and land crossings).

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Have Your Credit Card Travel Credits Reset For The New Year? Maybe, Maybe Not

January 1st is a day that most frequent travelers hate to see. It’s when all the airline miles flown and hotel nights stayed over the past year reset to zero and they have to start all over again to try to reach status for the next year. Since I don’t worry about status, the start of the new year means that my travel credits have reset and I have some money to spend. Or do I?

If you have a premium travel credit card (or five of them), hopefully you’re aware of the travel credits offered by these cards. Travel credits, ranging anywhere from $100 to $325, help to offset the lofty annual fees these cards charge. The trick is that you have to use the credits or they expire. To make things more difficult, the charges that are eligible for reimbursement and the procedures to get the credits are different for every card. Another difference between these cards is if the credits go by your membership year or the calendar year.

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What’s The Big Deal About Metal Credit Cards?

I just don’t get the metal credit card trend. Maybe it’s because I’m not out to impress anyone with what credit card I’m using. A credit card is something I use so that I can earn miles or points to use for my travel. I couldn’t care if the cashier is impressed about the weight of the card I handed to him/her to make my purchase.

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How We Ended Up Going To The Wrong Airport Lounge in Las Vegas

During our most recent travels, we needed to get from Las Vegas to Orange County, California. I found a pair of award seats on Delta for 5,500 miles each, so we decided to fly instead of drive there. I put very little thought into our time at the airport as we were flying out in the morning and were planning to get to the airport just ahead of our flight time. I forgot that we were checking bags and would need to get the airport early. When I checked us in for our flights using Delta’s app, it automatically checked us in for our flight, I had no idea how to add our luggage fee so I’d have to pay at the airport. Fearing a long line, we left extra early for our flight.

This meant that after checking in (a quick process thanks to the helpful Delta agents at LAS) we were through TSA Pre✓® and at the D Concourse of Terminal 1 with 45 minutes before our flight would board. Plenty of time to stop in a lounge and relax.
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Our Weekly Recap: 8/27/17 – 9/2/17

Hi y’all and if you’re reading this in the United States, happy Labor Day weekend! Here’s a quick recap of our posts from the past week:

Joe wrote about:

Sharon wrote about:

Like this post? We have plenty more just like it and would love if you decided to hang around and clicked the button on the top of this page to follow our blog and get emailed notifications of when we post (it’s usually just once or twice a day). Whether you’ve read our posts before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!