100 Free Air Nippon Miles

  1. Enroll in ANA’s mileage program (if you haven’t already) here
  2. Load it into your AwardWallet
  3. Take this survey (16 quick questions) to collect 100 miles
Air Nippon is part of the Star Alliance, which makes this a very important 100 miles to have. By having miles in your ANA account, you get access to the very best search tool for Star Alliance flights (including Swiss Air and Thai Air, who have incredible first-class service).

Buh-Bye US Mint Coins

Easy come, easy go. This has been the easiest way to meet minimum spends on credit cards, and it looks like it’s gone for good. From the mint…

The United States Mint has eliminated the credit and debit card purchase of $1 Coins through its Direct Ship Program effective July 22, 2011. Customers who wish to purchase $1 coins through the Direct Ship Program can still do so by wire transfer, check, or money order. 


Big Change of Opinion on BankDirect

I have probably been the most outspoken fan of BankDirect as a great checking account. I’ve endorsed them daily as an awesome way to rack up miles.  I’ve posted often about how much I recommend them as a place to park your money. Unfortunately, I’ve had a big change of opinion.

I spoke with Toni Freitas, a Vice President at BankDirect, about my concerns. I’ve been so surprised with recent feedback. The bank has been changing…slowly enforcing rules that make our mileage lives more difficult. I noticed it too, and have tried to convince myself that it’s no big deal. Well, it has reached the point where I just don’t think it’s worth it anymore. Yes, you might want to open an account, collect the bonuses, and move on…but this is just not a long-term checking account worth having (in my opinion).

It’s a tough thing to say, seeing as I built an entire page on this blog to endorse them. That page is gone as of right now and I’ve got to be honest about my experience. Nothing illegal is going on, just some policies I disagree with. I’m sure I’ll write more about it later, but right now I want to apologize. This blog has grown in popularity and many people have opened checking accounts at BankDirect because of me. I apologize to the hundreds of people I’ve sent referrals to this year. I can no longer endorse BankDirect as a company I respect. They don’t value me as a customer the way I expect to be valued. I’m sorry for any inconvenience to those of you who’ve decided to close your accounts.

Finally Make Some Miles On Amazon

From now on, whenever you shop on Amazon.com, do it through one of the following shopping portals…

On Amazon.com purchases, you can:
Earn 2 Hawaiian Airline miles per $ spent through here, or
1 US Airways mile per dollar spent through here.

Citibank Thank You Rewards Card

This is not the card to apply for if you haven’t grabbed Citibank’s 75,000 mile American Airlines cards yet. If you’ve already cashed in on those, this is a solid offer to check out. The annual fee is $125 and not waived, the spend is $2000 in 3 months, and the reward is 50,000 ThankYou points. It’s enough to pay for $650 in airfare. Subtract the annual fee and you’re still looking at a free 500 bucks in flights. Click here for the application page.