Get 30 bucks off $40 purchases for an Expedia Activity before the end of the year. No Disney or Universal, but this should work for a lot of other fun stuff – Sea World, amusement parks, tours, aquariums, museums, hikes, wine tastings, ziplining, indoor skydives, etc. Probably a good idea to book it before they decide to pull the offer.
Midweek Triple
- Like sands through the hourglass, these are the Southwest and Alaska sales.
- If you’re (for whatever reason) buying a gift card from Delta, you might as well pick up $25 from Airbnb.
- The Radisson card (formerly Club Carlson) was 85,000 for a long, long, long time. That bonus is up to 100,000 points now. Is it worth getting? Well, if US Bank likes you…yeah, why not. Assuming you value those points. Personally? I have slightly better odds of being drafted by the Lakers than being approved for a credit card at this point.
Tuesday Two
There are things I’d rather do than pay for status.
Y’know, things like…
- Go to an all-you-can-eat sardine buffet.
- Host an all-night Keeping Up With The Kardashians viewing party.
- Get in the ring with an angry Mike Tyson.
- Sit in a middle seat between the gassy couple on a flight.
Ok, so it’s not for me. But, for others, Delta’s Elevate Your Status offer might be worth looking at.
More personally useful is American’s latest Reduced Mileage Award list.
The Top 25 Credit Cards
(If you see any errors, please let me know. I try to keep a full list, but it’s a lot of information and I do make mistakes)
Significant Changes Since Last Month:
-Southwest cards back to 60,000.
-Capital One Venture up to 75,000.
-Increased bonuses on Capital One Spark Cash and Miles cards.
-Edited American Airlines links/offers.
-Citi Premier added to list.
-Some readers seeing 100,000-point American Express Platinum offer via CardMatch again. Others seeing 75,000 in incognito browsers.
-Barclays Arrival up to 70,000.
-New link for United card.
-Slight increase on BMO Harris cards.
-Chase Freedom $200 bonus.
-Decreased bonus on IHG.
-Removed Wyndham from the list.
Before Playing This Game:
-Find a new hobby until you can pay off all balances each month.
-Take a second to look at what you’re applying for and confirm a bonus is what you expect.
-Get a screenshot of the bonus description in case you have issues collecting it later.
-Take 2 minutes to read the small print before applying.
(Look for “once in a lifetime,” “no bonus for cardholders in last 24 months,” etc.)
-Keep everything very organized in a spreadsheet. You’ll thank me later.
Time for my monthly Top 25 Credit Cards. It’s called “Top 25” out of tradition, but you’ll get many more links than that below. Again, if you’re a rookie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. It’s a little outdated but many basic questions can still be answered there. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. Also, “churning” (getting the same card more than once) might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually. If you’re new, it might be wise to start with Chase cards because of the limitations they’ll place on you soon.
United Promo
It’s time, once again, to check in with United’s Mile Play promo and see what bonuses they’re offering.
Personally, I got nothing.
But it ranges from zero to “This is borderline garbage” to “I’m not offended” to “That’s pretty damn good.”
Also, I know I need to write something here. We’re on the doorstep of the last month of 2018 and tons of you have been asking end-of-MileNerd questions. Part of waiting was that I really wanted to get through the year here in a “business as usual” way. Another big part is…I’ve just had a ton to organize…a lot to think about…and so much that I want to say. So, here’s how I’d like to close out 2018…
I’ll finish the year as usual. Meaning, writing 5 posts a week until taking a few days off for the holidays. And then January 1st, I’ll come back and write those posts. Most likely over a couple of weeks…to talk about what it meant to do this for so many years, why anyone would spend those hours on a “job” with no paycheck, how this will be evolving, what I want to give you, the future outlook of this game, and all the rest of the stuff that is on my mind. Those will be longer, wide-ranging, fiery posts…the type of stuff a lot of you guys seem to like/want from me. There’s a ton to be said. And I promise I’ll be saying it. I’d just really like to finish out the year first. Have a great weekend, nerds!