by Dave McCulloch

Earn double-plus points when shopping at Amazon, and more

If you’re anything like me, you use Amazon for a good number of purchases each year. It’s convenient, and with Amazon Prime ($79/year), two-day shipping is free (one-day shipping is only $3.99). Wouldn’t it be nice to earn even more points for shopping there anyways than you do already?

For instance, today, I needed to make a purchase on Amazon for roughly $120. Normally, I would’ve earned 120 points on my American Express Gold card, but by purchasing a gift card at a grocery store, I was able to earn 240 points. Same thing would happen if I purchased the gift card at a gas station, since that card gets me two times the point there, as well.

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in The Basics 0 comments
 by Dave McCulloch

Welcoming United’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner Back Into Service

On Sunday, I set out on a journey spanning one hotel, two days, three cities, four flights and 787 reasons why it was amazing.

On Monday, May 20 — coincidentally the same day that Charles Lindbergh also took flight nearly 100 years prior — United Airlines became the first US airline to bring the Boeing 787 Dreamliner back into the skies, and I was determined to be on that flight.

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in Trip Reports 2 comments
 by Dave McCulloch

Earning points from your mortgage, rent, car payment, and more

How can you earn points and miles by paying your rent, mortgage, or car loan?

There are millions of ways to get points each month, which can help you substantially when you’re trying to accrue points for your next trip – and they all often require spending something on a credit card. But when many people think about spending on credit cards, they think of restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and more. But what if there was a way to use your points-earning credit card to pay some of your biggest monthly bills — like your mortgage or rent — and score even more points?

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in Loyalty Programs / The Basics 12 comments
 by Dave McCulloch

Next time you’re not sure about booking a flight, cancel it with 24 hours for free

Not sure about whether a flight you want to take is going to work out, but scared that the flight might increase in price? Book it anyways – by law, you generally have 24 hours to cancel the flight after you book it for a full refund.

Many of us have all had some point in time where we want to book a flight, but we’re hesitant because we’re not sure about our travel plans, or because something might come up in the next day or two. Combined with playing the game of “will the price go up if I don’t book?”, a federal law — effective January 24, 2012 (last year) — gives you the protection to get a full refund if you need to change or cancel your flight within 24 hours of booking it.

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in The Basics / Travel Hacks 2 comments
 by Adam

Making the Most of Buddy Passes

If you’re fortunate enough to have friends or family in the airline industry, you may be familiar with the concept of “Buddy Passes” – virtual flight coupons airline employees can give to friends and family, and allow for travel on a standby basis, nearly free of charge. Often, the only cost to the passenger consists of the taxes and fees of the flight itself plus a service charge determined by the individual airlines. This means one-way flights could conceivably cost no more than what you have in your wallet right now. That said, it’s important to be prepared for your Buddy Pass travel by knowing what to do before you get to the airport.

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in The Basics 7 comments
 by Dave McCulloch

Two Tricks to Ensuring TSA PreCheck Works

If you’ve never used TSA PreCheck at one of the nearly 30 airports in the United States that has it, you haven’t lived. It’s the most amazing thing ever – you don’t have to take off your belt or shoes, you don’t have to take your laptop out of your bag, and you don’t have to take your liquids out of your carryon. But once you’ve enrolled (either as a frequent flier with an airline, or as a member of US CBP’s Global Entry program), there are a few tricks to making sure that you can continue to use it – or else you’ll find, like I did, suddenly it doesn’t work anymore.

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in Time Savers 23 comments