Ultimate Rewards Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

What Credit Cards Are In Our Wallets? (September, 2018)

It’s been almost a year since I’ve gone over which cards Sharon and I are carrying in our wallets. Since we each have a different approach to earning miles and points, mine being obsessive about earning the maximum points for each transaction, 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 minimize effort (and still keep our marriage together). (Note from Sharon: Again. Hell yeah!)

Continue reading “What Credit Cards Are In Our Wallets? (September, 2018)”

Update to Staying at WDW With Reward Points, What’s Wrong With B.A., Halloween at Theme Parks & More

Happy Sunday, everyone! Here are some articles we’ve read this week from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.

For a while, we’ve heard about difficulties using Chase Ultimate Rewards to book stays at Walt Disney World. Fortunately, you could use a work around to purchase Disney World travel packages by calling Chase’s Travel & Cruise desk. Doctor of Credit reports that’s no longer possible and only Chase Freedom cardholders can buy Disney tickets though the Chase portal.
Steph from One Mile At A Time was stuck overnight at Chicago’s O’Hare airport due to a flight cancellation. Here’s the details of her filing a claim under her credit card’s trip delay coverage.
John from Loyalty Lobby shared an article from The Telegraph where Richard Quest asks “What’s wrong with British Airways?”

Halloween is approaching and Erin from Million Mile Secrets put together a list of her favorite Halloween theme park celebrations. I don’t know about you, but I’m skeptical of any list that doesn’t include the Golden Ticket winning Halloween Horror Nights at Universal.
Gary writes on View From The Wing about his need to cancel an award ticket due to a family emergency. One airline stepped up and showed they are able to be compassionate and act like human beings instead of being bound by company policies.

Many people are tempted by low cost fares on trans-Atlantic flights. The World According To Dev shared a tale of a flight on WOW Air that didn’t end up as planned. It’s an interesting read because the passenger involved works for another airline and is able to describe events better than most others could.
Mark on Miles to Memories reminds us that it’s always a good idea to have the airline apps loaded onto your phone before traveling. I fully agree and include them as part of my travel apps you need to have.
Ed from Pizza in Motion was looking for hotel rooms around Disney World and stumbled upon this hidden use for Wyndham Rewards points. I never even knew this resort existed but if you’re traveling with a large group, it looks like a great option.
Lastly, there has been a lot of frayed nerves over the Marriott/Ritz Carlton/SPG loyalty merger. Some things are working, others are not and there’s no ETA on when everything will be fixed. However, in instances like this you’re occasionally able to find a hidden value if you know where to look. Nick from Frequent Miler managed to snag a 5 night stay at the St. Regis in Bora Bora for 48,000 Marriott points a night. Not bad considering the Swan or Dolphin at Disney would cost 40,000 points per night for a 5 night stay. (Five night award stays at SPG/Marriott/Ritz hotels get the 5th night free)

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

Want A Business Credit Card, Here’s How To Prove You’re A Real Business

Signing up for credit cards and getting the sign up bonuses is one of the easiest ways to earn a nice stack of points and miles with very little effort. As long as you have good credit and can pay off your bills in full, this is a great place to start. You’ll soon see that besides all of the personal credit cards available there are almost as many business credit cards. You’ll have twice as many sign up bonuses to choose from. That is, if you have a business.

There’s no shortage of websites that tell you the many ways you can have a business. It all sounds so easy and apparently everyone has business and can apply for a business credit card. Here’s some examples I’ve seen:

Do you sell anything?
Do you provide any services you get paid for?
Do you rent a property?
Do you have a side job?
Do you run a lemonade stand?
Do you sell brownies at the local market?

Congratulations, you’re a business. Now go and sign up for a business card with this referral link!!!

Sometimes it might be that easy. However, other times it’s not. I recently had to prove to Chase bank that I do run a real business and it’s not as easy as it looks.

Continue reading “Want A Business Credit Card, Here’s How To Prove You’re A Real Business”

Starbucks Increases Sign Up Bonus To 4,500 Stars (Write To Chase If You Took The 2,500 Star Offer)

Wow, I’m more influential than I thought. Less than a month after I wrote my article, Sorry Starbucks, I Love You But I’m Not Going To Sign Up For Your Credit Card, the sign up bonus for the card has been substantially increased :-).

The sign up bonus for the card is now 4,500 stars after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months from your account opening, up from the initial offer of 2,500 stars.

How much does that increase mean in dollars? Here’s what I originally wrote about this offer: Continue reading “Starbucks Increases Sign Up Bonus To 4,500 Stars (Write To Chase If You Took The 2,500 Star Offer)”

The Honeymoon’s Over – My Sapphire Reserve Card Just Turned One Year Old

Sapphire Reserve. The one credit card I wanted to get more than any other I can remember. I didn’t apply for any other cards for months just so I’d be eligible to apply for one. One year has past and I just received the bill for the $450 annual fee. Is the honeymoon between us over or am I still infatuated with this metal beauty?

Continue reading “The Honeymoon’s Over – My Sapphire Reserve Card Just Turned One Year Old”