Happy Sunday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.
Tag: Dining
Check Your AMEX Accounts For These Restaurant Offers
I’ll admit it, I’ve been bad about checking our AMEX Offers recently. Besides the one I used earlier this year to save on a Marriott hotel stay in New York, I haven’t enrolled for any other offer. I guess I was less interested in them since AMEX shut down the ability to sign up multiple cards. That’s no excuse to leave free money on the table so I went and looked at the offers, and boy, there were a bunch of them.
I was particularly happy to see so many restaurant offers since Orlando’s Magical Dining Month is approaching and I’ll be able to stack some of these offers with the special pricing available at restaurants we usually don’t visit.
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Arrrrrgh – A Hacked Credit Card Cost Me Points!!
Whether you’re a points and miles person, a cash back type or even if you only use a debit card, getting your card hacked eventually happens to everyone. Since I have a good amount of cards, I keep a close tab on my accounts looking for any unfamiliar charges. It makes it pretty hard for Sharon to surprise me with any presents, ’cause I see the charge before I get the gift, but that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.
Back in November, I saw two separate $300 Ticketmaster charges for Orlando Magic tickets on my Sapphire Reserve. We’re not sportsing people and the charges weren’t ours, but since we live in Orlando, Chase’s systems didn’t flag them as fraudulent charges. I went online, filled out the form saying I didn’t make these charges (yay for no direct human contact) and was informed the charges would be removed. They canceled my card, sent me a replacement and a mailer to send back the indestructible metal card. I thought that was the end of the story, and it was, until now.
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The Pre-Trip Wallet Shuffle
Before going on a trip, there’s a ritual I go through involving our wallets. I need to go through them, remove cards we won’t need when traveling and replace them with the cards we will or might need when we’re out of town. Unlike packing, where I have a list I’ve perfected over the last 20 years, when it comes to our wallets, I have to wing it and make choices for each trip because every time is different.
Here are some of the questions I ask. Did I use a certain card to book something during the trip and need the card for confirmation? Are we flying on an airline where using the card for onboard purchases will give me a discount? Do I need a specific card to get into an airline lounge? Will we be buying groceries during the trip or will we be eating out all the time? Will we be renting a car? If so, I’ll need to bring a card that has primary LDW coverage as well as one that earns a good return on gas purchases.
While I’ve read about making a dedicated travel wallet so you don’t forget to bring any of the cards you only need when traveling, I’m more afraid I’d forget to put something in the travel wallet like my drivers license or my insurance card. I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of it if that happened (Note from Sharon: No. No, you wouldn’t BWAHAHAHA!). As usual, I take two approaches to making our wallets because while I will bring a different card for each category, Sharon will only allow me to give her one to two cards at the most for her to use, hereby named the card in the front of the wallet she’ll use for everything and the card behind it for if the first one doesn’t work somewhere.
Save Money On Every Fill Up With Fuel Rewards
Fuel Rewards is a program that provides discounts at Shell gas stations. It’s free to sign up and everyone who joins automatically gets some type of savings. You can save more by taking certain actions (i.e. using a shopping portal or dining program) or by having a card belonging to one of their partners.
Let’s first talk about signing up for Fuel Rewards.
If you’re not already a member, you can get 25 cents off per gallon on your first fill up after joining. We have a referral link where we’ll also get a credit for for new signups. You want to support YMMV, don’t you?
Once a member, you have automatic gold status for 6 months. The ongoing membership process is a little more difficult to follow:
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