In case you missed it: A couple haps in the rewards week

Posted by Noob Master on Jun 17, 2013 in Deals, Miles, Promos, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Last week was crazy! Jordan and I got back in town from a quick trip and dove head first into packing and MOVING. Yeah, never fun, but at least it’s over now. So in case your week was crazy like ours, here’s a news recap from last week…

Citi AAdvantage Reduced Mileage Awards

I’ve written in the past about taking advantage of the quarterly Reduced Mileage (domestic) awards on American Airlines if you hold a Citi AAdvantage rewards card. Recently though, I’ve been using British Airways Avios (for short hauls on American Airlines) and my Southwest Companion Pass, so I haven’t been taking advantage of any of the Citi AAdvantage Reduced Mileage awards.

That may change. Citi and American airlines announced some recent changes to the Reduced Mileage awards. Participating cities now change monthly instead of quarterly, and you can now book one-way Reduced Mileage Awards! That’s as smooth as a Danny Green jump shot.

Citi AAdvantage Reduced Mileage Award

A Reduced Mileage Award in economy is 8,750 one-way or 17,500 round-trip. Not too shabby, depending on the routing. If it’s First Class you’re desiring, then it’s 21,500 one-way or 42,500 for a round-trip ticket.

The Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® currently has a sign-up bonus of 40,000, which is more than enough for two Reduced Mileage awards (and don’t forget that you will get 10% of your booking back).

To make a Reduced Mileage Award booking, you need to call American Airlines at 1-800-882-8880. Also, there’s a $35 fee to book over the phone, but you can always ask them to waive it. I have been lucky before by being polite during the phone call and then asking at the end for the fee to be waived since the award isn’t bookable online.

This is a good option for longer haul domestic award flights, especially now that you can book one-ways.

Increased Sign-up Bonus on the Ink Cards

If you missed it yesterday, and you may have since it was Father’s Day and a Sunday – Chase has increased the sign-up bonus to 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points on the Ink Bold® Business Card & Ink Plus® Business Card!

You must spend $5,000 in 3 months to receive the bonus and you must apply June 16th – June 22, 2013.

The standard 50,000 sign-up bonus on the Ink Plus and Bold was already one of the best deals around, so this makes me happy. I love my Ink business cards, and whenever I have a new venture, it’s the first card I apply for to separate spending for that business.

You don’t have to have an incorporated business to apply for a business card – I have found Chase to be willing to work with start-ups and sole proprietors. Here are a couple more of my helpful posts on the Ink business rewards cards.

Can I have multiple Ink cards?

Ink Bold vs. Ink Plus 

Austin MegaDo

We all know that I’m a proud Austinite, so I was pumped to see the registration for the Austin MegaDo go live. The event will be Feb. 20-23, 2014. There will be bbq, beer, and fellow rewards travel enthusiasts. What else is there in life?

I hope to see you here! I need to register myself…but the website seems to be temporarily down.

Free Virgin Atlantic Silver Status

View from the Wing wrote about how to get free Virgin Atlantic Silver Status. Could be good for future priority benefits on Delta, or to status match with another airline. Of course, there’s a chance the status won’t stick (ymmv).

50,000 Southwest and United offers

The 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards cards are back. They seem to always come around every couple of months. Those of you who were waiting, wait no more. You can see see the personal Plus offer here, and the business Plus offer here. Enjoy.

Amol, from Hack My Trip, writes a detailed post on how to see if you’re targeted for a 50,000 United Business card. Basically the same way you can for the personal Explorer that we’ve talked about many times before: log in to your United account, click through the United card ad, and then click on the top right corner where it says “are you a business owner?”.

There have also been reports of getting the same offers at a local Chase branch. May be worth a look.

Activate Q3 Freedom 5x Categories

You can now activate your Chase Freedom® Visa for quarter 3 5x categories. The categories for Q3 are gas stations (yes), theme parks, and Kohls.

Freedom 5x categories

Activate your Freedom here, and start earning 5% cash back or 5x Ultimate Rewards if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Ink Plus, or Ink Bold you can transfer your Freedom points to. Quarter 3 categories go live July 1 – September 30, 2013.

I think that about covers it. Be well and have a great start to your week!

(Disclaimer: I receive a referral credit for some of the cards mentioned in this post. Thanks for supporting the blog if you decide to apply!)

— Noob Master

Friday deal – BOGO Fandango Movie Ticket with Visa Signature card

Posted by Noob Master on May 31, 2013 in Deals, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Not a travel deal, but hey, still worth mentioning: Fandango is bringing back their buy one, get one free promo from last summer!

Fandango BOGO

I love watching movies and the summer is usually loaded with blockbusters to lure me even more. I took advantage of this deal many times last year at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, so I’m happy they’re bringing it back.

You do have to purchase the ticket on a Friday for a Friday showtime, and with a Visa Signature card. The Sapphire Preferred, Citi Hilton Reserve, and British Airways cards are all Visa signatures. You can check the bottom right corner of your card to see if it’s a signature Visa. You can only get one ticket per 30 day period per Visa Signature, so it’s nice that I have a stash of them to choose from.

The deal will run until August 2, 2013.

(hat tip Mommy Points)

— Noob Master

Free $35 for new Uber car service users

Posted by Noob Master on May 27, 2013 in Deals, Promos, Uber, Uncategorized | 1 comment

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day! Here’s a deal from the weekend if you missed it.

Uber is a car service alternative to a regular taxi cab. It’s a little more expensive, but you get the private car service, so it’s also a better experience. Once you download their app on your phone, tablet, etc., all you have to do is set up a pick up time and destination, and Boom! – they will pick you up. Baller style.

Free Uber Vouchers

You also don’t have to mess with cash, because they’ll use your credit card on file and a 20% tip will be included in the price. I’ve used Uber on several occasions when traveling and have never had a bad experience. Soooo much better than a taxi.

There’s usually a $10 discount code for enrolling in Uber, but Gilt city also has a $25 discout code going on right now. The $25 Gilt city offer ends on May 29th and must be used by August 22, 2013. 

To take advantage of the $25 and $10 codes, you must:

1. Get the free $25 deal through Gilt City 

You must be a new Uber client to receive the $25 voucher. Once you receive the voucher in your email (took about 15 minutes), you’ll need to sign up for your Uber account (but don’t click on the “create new account” through the voucher email, or you won’t receive the $10 coupon).

Here are the t&c’s from the deal’s website:

• Redeem by: Thursday, August 22, 2013
• Limit one voucher per member
• For new Uber clients only
• Credits do not expire but must be activated by August 22, 2013
• Offer is final sale and nonrefundable
• Use Uber with iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, or at m.uber.com
• After purchase, you will receive a voucher via email with a unique voucher number; please wait until you receive your official voucher to sign up at Uber.com

2. Sign up for a new Uber account and receive $10

You will receive $10 and I will receive $10 after your first ride, if you sign up through my referral link. After you sign up, please don’t hesitate to put your referral link down in the comments section. You can find it under “invite friends” in your Uber account. Nifty.

Tip of the cap to Deals We Like

— Noob Master