In this update I will show you our points and miles activity for August, we’ll look at some awesome credit card deals currently available, and I’ll give a travel update.

Household Points and Miles Activity for July

• earned 104 hotel points
• earned 455 airline miles
• earned 6,122 Chase Ultimate Rewards

I was a little puzzled when I saw I had earned 455 American Airlines miles.  I didn’t remember using my Citi AAdvantage Bronze card last month.  Then it dawned on me: for the first leg of my trip to Europe I flew an American flight to Chicago.  It wasn’t an award booking, however.  I paid with a gift card I got for free with my Wells Fargo Propel card.  I am so used to earning points and miles with credit card bonuses and regular spending, I forgot the original way people earn miles: from flying!

Recent ValueTactics Blog Posts

– Swissair Business Class (Airbus A321) DUB – ZRH is my review of this wonderful little flight that capped off my trans-Atlantic itinerary this summer.  Swiss quality isn’t limited to watches, chocolates, and pocket knives. . . read the review to find out why!

Credit Card News

• The biggest news recently is that Chase has once again tightened the rules for getting approved for their best cards.  As of a few days ago, applications for new Sapphire line cards (Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve) will be denied if the applicant already has another Sapphire product.  Additionally, the Chase 24 month sign-up bonus timer is now shared among all Sapphire products.  This means you can’t get the bonus for both the Sapphire Preferred and the Reserve within a 2 year period.  I’ll write a full post about this change in the near future.
• The sign-up bonus on the Barclay Aviator Red has been increased to 60,000 American Airlines miles.  The minimum spend requirement is one purchase of any amount!  The card does come with a $95 annual fee NOT waived the first year.  If you have the Aviator Red that was transmuted from the old U.S. Airways card, you are still eligible for this bonus since it’s considered a different product.  For more details, check out MileValue’s report on the bonus increase here.
• In personal news:  In light of the recent Chase rule change and other changes in the past year, I decided I needed to reevaluate my current card strategy.  As the restrictions on new card applications pile up, and as terms and bonuses on popular cards change, it’s getting more and more complicated to maximize the value of credit card bonuses.  I won’t bore you with the details of our specific scenario, but soon I will write a post outlining some of the new challenges of making a card strategy / app schedule.

Free Travel Photo

Nicoleen and I have recently been discussing what to do with our 2 free Hyatt anniversary nights from our Chase Hyatt cards. Last spring we used them at the Andaz Papagayo Peninsula in Costa Rica. We were impressed when we saw that room service had taken the time to coil up our cords that were scattered around the desk!

Now you’re updated. Go employ some Value Tactics!

Here’s what’s in store for you in this update: Our household points and miles activity for July, a bit of travel news, some currently elevated credit card sign-up bonuses, and a new feature: free travel photo!

Household Points and Miles Activity for July

It was a busy month for points transfers and redemptions!  Here’s the breakdown:

• earned 10,778 hotel points
  
• earned 3,139 Chase Ultimate Rewards
• transferred 62,000 Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Rapid Rewards
  
• redeemed 62,015 Southwest Rapid Rewards for airfare worth $1,039.90
• redeemed 15,990 Citi Thank-You points for airfare worth $200.27
  
• redeemed 6,462 Sun Country miles for airfare worth $58.65
• redeemed 17,092 Chase Ultimate Rewards for airfare worth $256.40

Travel News

In case you couldn’t figure it our from our monthly points and miles activity, we’ve been busy planning our fall trip.  All of those transfers and redemptions were for airfare to and from Orlando for Nicoleen, me, and our three oldest kids.  (The kids don’t know yet, so SSSSHHH!!)  I tried to make a video of the booking process and the rationale, but I butchered several parts of it.  If I have time to edit it thoroughly enough, it may end up on YouTube eventually.

Credit Card News

There are a couple of elevated sign-up bonuses going on right now.

• The Citi AAdvantage Executive card is up to 75,000 miles on the sign-up bonus, but with an increased spending requirement of $7,500 in the first three months.  This is Citi’s ultra-premium American Airlines card and it comes with a hefty $450 annual fee.  The 75k sign-up bonus is unquestionably worth more than the annual fee, but $450 is a lot to stomach for most people, not to mention the higher spending requirement.  For an in-depth look at this card in light of the current promotion, check out MileValue’s post here.
• Another Citi ultra-premium card, the Citi Thank-You Prestige, recently underwent some changes.  One of these changes was an increase of the sign-up bonus from 50,000 to 75,000 Thank-You points.  This card also comes with a $450 annual fee but it has a suite of benefits that easily cover the fee (at least for the the first year).  The Prestige was a good card to begin with, but I think the recent changes make it a top contender for my next round of credit card applications.  Again with the deets, here’s MileValue’s post on the recent changes.

Free Travel Photo

Being the first ever Free Travel Photo, I figured I would start at the beginning. This is the breakfast that was waiting for me in Switzerland on the first morning of my first ever points redemption, in 2014. European breakfasts are still one of my favorite things to look forward to when traveling (for free) across the pond!

Recent ValueTactics Blog Posts

– Euro2017 – My Free Trip to Europe is the main page where you can find reviews and articles related to that awesome trip.  Links will become active once each article goes online.

Now you’re updated. Go employ some Value Tactics!

Boo hoo, I’m home again. 🙁  The vacation hangover is in full swing and it’s been a whirlwind few days.  The day after I returned home from my Euro2017 trip I hit the ground running at work and home.  I haven’t had much time to reflect on the trip, write for ValueTactics, or catch up on my regular blog or forum reading.  Accordingly, this will be a short update but I needed to get something going to knock the rust off the ol’ typewriter!

Travel News

I recently returned from my Euro2017 trip, which I describe as relaxing, fun, and enlightening.  It was a nice break from my regular daily duties at home and work, and I saw a nice variety of people and places.  The food was great, the weather was great, and the political discussions were way more interesting than the screaming match we call American politics!  Look for some blog posts about this trip in the coming days and weeks.

Sitting in front of the school I attended as an exchange student in 1998. Bad Nauheim, Germany.

Swiss goats are friendly and inquisitive. Selbstständige Ziege, Zürich-Oerlikon, Switzerland.

The majority of the planning for our fall vacation is finished.  I will be booking return flights in the next several days.  I plan on recording the process in real time so you can see how I look for award flights.  The video will end up on the yet-to-be-officially-launched YouTube channel.

Recent ValueTactics Blog Posts

– The Best Credit Card (Right Now) explains why the Chase Ink Preferred is the best single card out there.  This would be the card I would recommend to almost anyone in any scenario.  Read the article to find out why!
– Euro2017 Field Report: First Post From 38,000 Feet! is pretty self-explanatory.  This was the post I wrote from high above the North Atlantic, on my United Polaris Business Class flight to Dublin.

Credit Card News

I only have a bit of personal news to report.  Last night I updated my big spreadsheet and discovered I have completed the spend requirement for the second half of the bonus on my Amex SPG card.  That’s another 10k SPG points, bringing the total earning for that card to just over 40,000.  That’s worth an entire 3-5 night vacation somewhere awesome from just one card’s sign-up bonus!

Now you’re updated.  Go employ some Value Tactics!

In this update: our monthly points and miles activity, a YouTube update/excuse, some recent blog posts, and some minor travel news.

Household Points and Miles Activity for May

It was a pretty uneventful month for points earning/using.  Here’s how we did:

• earned 738 hotel points
• earned 2,941 Chase Ultimate Rewards
• redeemed 80,000 Marriott points for a $1,061 hotel stay

YouTube Update

I apologize for the delay in officially launching the ValueTactics YouTube channel.  All the standard excuses apply: lots of kids, busy at work, busy working on house, etc.  I also need to acquire a halfway-decent microphone, which I have been putting off.

I will do my best to have the channel launched by the next semi-monthly update.  I know some of you really are anxiously waiting for this thing to develop.  After all, who wants to expend all that effort reading when you could just zone out and stare at a video?

New ValueTactics Blog Posts

– Our Hawaiian Get-Away 2016 is the main page for the amazing, value-packed trip we took in September.  This post explains exactly how we planned the free nights and airfare, and how the plan all pieced together.  You can also find links to individual hotel reviews here.
– The Mistake that Cost me a $690 Hotel Room is the cautionary tale on how I *almost* booked a sweet free room to cap off our anniversary trip to Europe.  Free travel is a fickle thing, and deals can slip through your fingers if you’re not careful.  Read this post for some tips on how not to make the same mistake as I did!
– Hotel Review: Maui Seaside Hotel is my review (with lots of pictures) of the “burner” night we spent right after landing in Kahului on Maui.  This was the only hotel on the trip we didn’t use points to book.

Travel News

The blaster shower at Timberlake Lodge that drains entire lakes when all the shower heads are turned on.

I only have some tiny news to report on the travel front.  I’ll be traveling for business for a couple days in Grand Rapids, MN.  I look forward to this trip every year and I’m excited that I reserved my room early and had my choice of hotels.  I got into what is hands down the best hotel in town, the Timberlake Lodge.  This place is head and shoulders above the rest of the in-town options.  You can read my review of the Timberlake Lodge here.

Now you’re updated.  Go employ some Value Tactics!

In this update: An new elevated bonus on the Chase Marriott card, my recent card cancellations, our household monthly points and miles activity, and a teaser of some exciting website news!

Credit Card News

The Chase Marriott Premier card I recently reviewed now has an elevated sign-up bonus of 100k points!  The higher bonus comes with a steeper spending requirement; $5k in the first 3 months.  The $85 annual fee is not waived the first year.

Click here for the Flyertalk wiki containing links to the 100k offer.
Click here to read my review of this card.

In personal credit card news: In the past few days I have cancelled 2 out of 3 cards from my last app-o-rama.  Both cancellations were easy as pie.  I cancelled the Capital One Spark Business via automated phone system.  I also cancelled the Chase Marriott Premier over the phone, but I got a live rep.  She didn’t even hint at a retention offer and only asked once if the free annual night would make me want to keep the card.  The whole call was under 4:00.

Household Points and Miles Activity for March

I recently did my big monthly spreadsheet update.  Between Nicoleen and I, here are the earnings and redemptions we made in March:

• earned 5,358 hotel points
• earned 3,787 Chase Ultimate Rewards
• earned 466 Citi Thank-You points
• redeemed 21,000 hotel points for a $110.02 hotel stay

New ValueTactics Blog Posts

– My Easiest (and Quickest) Credit Card Cancellation shows just how easy and convenient some of these card-wrangling tasks can be!
– An Updated Look at Ultimate Rewards Versatility explains why I value these points so highly.  I show examples of the many trips I have taken which were made possible by these versatile transfer points.
– Chase Marriott Premier Bonus now at 100k looks at the latest bonus offer for this valuable credit card.  It might be a good time to get this card if you’ve been on the fence.  Read the post to explore the possibilities!

Website News

My readership growth has been steady but slow since I created this valuetactics.com.  Maintaining the site is a lot of work but I enjoy it.  With 5 kids and a full time job, I don’t have the time it would take to truly promote the site and gain greater readership.

However, I have been toying with the idea to expand to another medium. . . a medium that will take more of my time but has the potential to greatly expand my audience.  This isn’t an official announcement and I haven’t even fully decided to go that route, but some of you can probably guess what I’m talking about! 😉

Now you’re updated. Go employ some Value Tactics!