Category: Credit Cards

Posted on

5 Ways You Can Save More at Restaurants

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.

That restaurant ???? across the street might give you more value and #cashback than the restaurant next door because you can stack! Besides using a dining credit card for 3x-5x points, here’s  ⬇️how to stack and save more ???? at restaurants!

SAVE ????this post for a list of #creditcards that give 3x-5x for dining, and allow you to transfer to partners for airlines and hotels. Also what apps and programs to use to stack to save more at restaurants!

Feel free to DM ✍️or go my link in my bio if you want a referral link for credit cards or any apps below..

3x Dining
American Express Green
Chase Freedom Flex
Chase Freedom Unlimited
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Reserve

4x Dining
American Express Business Gold
American Express Gold

5x Dining
Citi Custom Cash

1) Book a walk in or reservation on the #Seated App. We booked separate walk ins as 1 person, and still got a table. Use my link below for an extra $20 reward on your first reservation.  

https://seated.app.link/26q6TBNMl1

2) Sign up for an airline or hotel program on the Neighborhood Nosh  network, such as American Airlines AAdvantage, Delta, or Hilton HHonors

3) Link you credit card to the Dosh App.

https://link.dosh.cash/ANGELT108

4) For Rakuten go to dining, and activate the restaurant you want to dine at. If you are new to Rakuten my referral link is $30 for your first purchase with the Rakuten portal. You can also convert Rakuten from cash back to Amex points

https://www.rakuten.com/r/TRINHA47

5) In the Yelp app check if there are any offers for you to check in at the restaurant

Use your credit card to pay. My favorite one to use is Amex Gold, since I get 4x at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $25,000) and 4x at Global Restaurants. Feel free to DM me or go to my link in bio if you are interested in Amex Gold. The sign up offer is 60,000-75,000 points if you spend $4,000 in 6 months. On  Amex Gold card ($250 annual fee) you also get $120 Uber/Uber Eats and $120 Seamless credits. These credits are split monthly for $10 Uber and $10 Seamless/Grubhub to use.

If you find this post helpful feel free to send to a ???? friend, so you can save on dining together. Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7064857586297933102?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Should I Pay for my Flight with Points or Cash?

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
Pay with Points or Cash
Should I pay with points or cash? Please see video below for more details on how to decide.

Should I pay for my ✈️ vacation with points or cash? Believe it or not, some award redemptions are better with points, and some are better with cash.

SAVE ????this post, so you can easily calculate if you should pay with points or cash for your flight. I am doing this example specifically for #ChaseSapphire Reserve, so my #ultimaterewards points are worth 1.5x in the Chase Portal/Pay Yourself Back vs 1.25 for Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Please feel free to DM me or go to this link to learn more about applying for credit cards.

1) Compare the Google Fights price, Chase Portal Price, and travel points price.

For example, a round trip flight from Cancun to Miami you might find the following.

Google Flights: $323 roundtrip on #AmericanAirlines for Basic Economy

Chase Portal Price: 21,518 points

British Airways #Avios Price: 15,000 Avios + $86.08 in taxes

2) Do the math for taxes & fees (Points = Cost/Rate) for the transfer partner

$86.08 is equivalent to 5,738 Chase Points

Cost / Rate = Points
5,738 points = $86.08/.015

15,000 Avios + 5,738 = 20,738 Chase Points for Transfer Partner. Please note, you do not have to wipe out your taxes and fees with Chase Pay Yourself Back, but I did this specifically to calculate the overall points cost.

3) Do the Google Flights cash comparison. (Points = Cost/Rate) $323/.015= 21,533 Google Flights price (points)

4) Compare the total points cost vs Chase portal vs transfer partner price. #BritishAirways is cheapest with total points cost 20,738 (15,000 Avios + 5,738 Chase points) vs 21,518 Chase portal points vs 21,533 Google Flights price (points)

5) Since British Airways is the cheapest you will transfer your Chase points to British Airways, and you can pay the taxes and fees on Chase Sapphire Reserve for 3x travel and trip cancellation and interruption insurance

6) If you want to make this trip entirely free with points, look at your most recent eligible purchases and use Chase Pay Yourself Back to offset the taxes and fees based on eligible purchases, such as dining, Away luggage, and Airbnb (until 3/31/22).You will receive a statement credit

Do you like this tip for figuring out if redemptions are better with cash or points? Feel free to send this to a friend if you find this helpful! Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7058000173066374447?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Award Flights Cheaper than a Carry On Bag Fee

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
Booking an award flight and paying only the taxes and fees can be cheaper than paying for a carry on. See video below for more details.

Who ????‍♀️else wears a bunch of clothes to avoid a carry-on fee? Even better, is that you do not have to do that anymore, and can instead book an award flight that is cheaper! A United award flight (booked with points) also has a #carryonbag included. Here ⬇️are more details.

Save ???? this post as an example of how booking a flight with points can easily save you money on things, such as a carry-on fee. Not only can the plane ticket be cheaper with points, but you can only save money on the $25 #carryonluggage.

On a recent trip to New York to Savannah, I booked my flight a few days before departure. The cash price for my flight was $199 + $25 ($224) if I had a carry on. The $199 was for a Basic Economy flight, which means you can only bring a personal item and that you would have to pay $25 for a carry-on bag.

Since I booked an award flight, my flight was only 7,500 points + $15.60 in taxes. I also had a free carry on because I booked an award flight, so I saved $25 for not paying the carry-on fee.

The reason why I booked an #Avianca flight instead of booking with United direct is because I can transfer my American Express points to Avianca 1:1 and pay less for the flight!

Both Avianca and United are on Star Alliance, so I can book any airline on the same alliance. Avianca tends to be cheaper than United for most award flights (award chart vs dynamic pricing).

Avianca is a transfer partner for Citi, Amex, and Capital One, so feel free to DM me or go to this link if you are interested in any travel cards. All of these banks have had transfer bonuses in the past with Avianca, so you can also save on points.

Please note, if you use the Chase/Amex/Capital One portal to book your flight with points, you may still need to pay the carry-on fee, since it is from a 3rd party. You must book from a #StarAlliance partner like #Unitedairlines, Avianca, and Turkish Miles & Smiles to make it an award booking. Feel free to share this post with a friend if you find it helpful!

Would you rather pay $199 for the flight and have only a personal item, $224 for a personal item and carry-on, or $15.60 for a personal item and carry-on? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7050247974458510639
Posted on

A 2 Percent Cash Back Credit Card Alone Will Not Get You Free Travel

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
A 2% Cash Back Credit Card Alone Will Not Get You Free Travel. See video below for more details.

If you are hoping that 2% cash back credit card will be your gateway to get free ????travel, you guessed wrong. Here’s ⬇️ why that 2% cash back credit card will not get you very far.

SAVE ????this post, as an example of why you might actually be paying more for travel with a 2% cash back credit card.

For example, if you spend $1,000 a month on groceries ????and takeout/dining at restaurants that is $12,000 a year. If you use a credit card, such as Amex Gold ($250 annual fee) that has 4x on these categories, (U.S. restaurants and restaurants) you will end up with 48,000 points in a year. You will also get credits that you can use for takeout. Thus, you will get a $120 credit for Uber/Eats, and $120 credit for Seamless, so the net cost of your credit card is $10 ($250 annual fee – $120 Uber – $120 Seamless).

Just for perspective Avianca (1:1 transfer partner on American Express) United domestic flights one way start at 7,500 points + taxes. Thus, you can essentially use your 48,000 points for 3 round trip flights, and pay for taxes. Amex is also known to have transfer bonuses on Avianca (such as, the current 15% transfer bonus), so you will actually be saving on points when you transfer them to Avianca. Taxes on Avianca usually start at $15.60 each way.

If you used a 2% credit card for your ????groceries, such as Citi Double Cash you will end up with 24,000 points in a year. If you do not have a travel credit card like Citi Premier or Citi Prestige, you cannot transfer your points to any travel transfer partners. Thus, this will be only in $240 in statement credit.

On a recent trip to New York to Savannah, I booked my flight a few days before departure. The cash price for the basic economy flight was $199 + $25 carry on fee ($224). Since I booked an award flight, my flight was only 7,500 points + $15.60 in taxes. I had a free carry on because I booked an award flight, so I saved $25.

Would you rather pay $15.60+ in taxes and have 3 round trip flights✈️ with points ? Or would you rather have only 1 free round trip flights with your credit card? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and feel free send this post to a friend if you find this helpful!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7055921575971015982?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Best and Worst Redemptions for Hotel Stays Points and Cash

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
Best and Worst Redemptions for Hotel Stays. Please see video below for more details.

You do not need to spend a lot of money ????or points to stay at hotels! Here ⬇️ are my 2 favorite hotel chains that I would use in regards to stacking (for cash stays) or for transferring points! I also list 1 hotel chain I usually try to avoid, since it is not the best for cash stays or points!

Save ????this post, so you have this as a friendly reminder for top value hotels for both cash and points.

Cash ????Stays: Best Western
I consistently see Offers on Best Western for both Chase and Amex. Here’s ⬇️the Best Western stack

1) Portal such as @topcashbackusa for 5%

2) Amex Offers – If you spend $100+, you get $20 back that expires 9/20/21 (this was on Amex Gold)

3) Chase Offer – If you spend $100+ you can get 10% back ($29 max) this expires on 10/25/21 and was on Chase Sapphire Reserve for 3x travel

4) Hotel Promo – If you stayed recently at a Best Western (this ended on 9/6/21) but was a $20 gift card for each night (5 max)

5) Corporate/AAA/AARP membership rates

6) If you want to make this free with points, use Chase Pay Yourself Back at 1.5x on CSR until 9/30/21 and cash out eligible purchases

Points ????Stays: Hyatt
Hyatt award stays start at 5,000 points per night! And there is currently a promo to earn 1,000 American Airlines ✈️ bonus miles per qualifying stay at over 130 hotels in 30+ countries across Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. This promo is for qualifying stays until 12/19/21. You can transfer your Chase points to Hyatt to find availability.

Avoid: ????Hilton
There is an Amex 30% transfer bonus on Hilton that ends 10/31/21, but I usually do not recommend it. Hilton tends to be more expensive than Hyatt for points and is usually not the best value when comparing hotels. Hilton does have a bigger foot print than Hyatt and Best Western though, so it is good value if you are going somewhere like ????????Asia.

Please feel free to go here to learn more about applying for credit cards.

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know ⬇️your thoughts in your comments! And feel free to send this post to a ???? friend, so you can travel together. Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7054286431056842030?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Save At Least 50 Dollars with the American Express Corporate Advantage Program

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
Save $50-$150 per card with the American Express Corporate Advantage Program. Please see the video below for more details.

Fact you might be missing out on at least $50 ???? in statement credits for your American Express cards! Here’s more details and how to get to Paris, France ???????? with Amex points ⬇️.

SAVE ???? this post as a friendly reminder to look into the American Express Corporate Advantage program because you can potentially get a $150 statement credit for having an Amex Corporate card through your workplace. This makes your cards an easy money maker!

Here ⬇️are the potential credits you can get with the Amex Corporate Advantage Program.

Message @pennywisetraveler if you are interested ✍️in any of these cards or go to this link to learn how to to apply.

American Express Platinum = $150
American Express Gold = $100
American Express Green = $75
American Express Blue Cash = $50

I received a $100 ????statement credit on my Amex Gold card, which helped make my Amex Gold card a money maker! I also received one for $150 for my Amex Plat card.

Message ✍️ @pennywisetraveler or go to this link if you are interested in the Amex Gold card. You will get 60,000- 75,000 points if you spend $4,000 in 6 months.

Amex Gold ???? Math

$120 dining (Grubhub, Seamless, Boxed, and some participating restaurants)
$120 Uber/Uber Eats
$100 Corporate Advantage Program
-$250 Annual fee
-$300 Amex Retention Offer (30,000 points)

$120 + $120 + $100 -$250 – $300= $390 money maker.

This is not including Amex Offers.

On Amex Gold you also get 4x U.S Supermarkets (up to $25,000) ???? and 4x Global Restaurants.

Fun fact for the $120 dining ????credit you will earn 4x on top of the credit. For example, if you spend $12 at Seamless you will get a $10 credit and 48 (12*4) Amex Membership Rewards points. With Amex points you can transfer your points to 17 airline and 3 hotel programs to travel for free.

For Paris ????????the cheapest redemption is to use your Amex points for 45,000 miles round-trip in economy (off-peak), 100,000 in business class with Etihad Guest to fly American Airlines. Air France KLM is also an option (but be careful of high fuel surcharges). Hotel wise Paris is a bit expensive, so I would consider Airbnb!

Feel free to SEND this post to a ???? friend because they can potentially get up to $150 for just having an American Express corporate card!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7054005297651862830?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Backpacker vs Travel Hacker Problems

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
backpacker vs travel hacker
Are you a backpacker or travel hacker? Please see video below for more details about the differences.

Are you a travel ✈️ hacker or are you a backpacker? Learn and tell me ⬇️ in the comments below.

Fun fact travel ????hackers and backpackers are more similar than you may think! Both want to save money when traveling! Feel free to save ????this post, so you can quickly reference the similarities and differences! Here are some common problems we face.

Backpacker: I don’t need food at the airport, it’s $$$!

Travel Hacker: What time does the airport lounge open? I’m hungry!

Backpacker: I found a cheap flight!

Travel Hacker: OMG 40% transfer bonus! I can save on points to travel!

Backpacker: Wow only $10 a night for this hostel!

Travel Hacker: There’s a Hyatt for 5,000 points! Is there availability?!

If you are looking for a credit card that has ✈️ airport lounge access and that you can transfer points to Hyatt, I would recommend Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Chase Sapphire Reserve ???? has a $550 annual fee and you can get 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $4,000 in 3 months. Feel free to DM me or go to this link if you would like a referral for this card!

Most recently, I received a retention ???? offer on my CSR card for $150, used the $300 travel credit on groceries, and received a $100 renewal credit. Essentially this offset the $550 annual fee I paid. I have also used Pay Yourself Back a few times to offset some of my travel costs at 1.5x.

Feel free to send this post to a friend ????if you also want to know if they are either a travel hacker or backpacker. Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7018714435283913990?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posted on

Pay Less to Fly First Class

This page uses affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy for more information.
Would you rather pay $62 for First Class or $395 for Economy? Please see video below for more details

Who wants to fly first class ✈️ instead of economy?! Even better is when flying first class is cheaper than economy.

Save this post as an example of how it can be cheaper ???? for you to fly first class than economy with points! I also have an example of how to offset the annual credit card fee, so you can save money and potentially make money off this card!

1) Go on the Delta website to check for availability

Economy was $395, first class was $712.38, and first class on points was 18,000 points and $61.68 for taxes

4 cents per dollar is a really good redemption

18,000 Delta points + 2,160 points for Amex Excise Tax = 20,160 points required

Cost/Points = Value

$712.38/20,160 = .04

2) Transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Delta. My favorite Amex Card to use is Amex Gold ($250 annual fee)

$250 annual fee – $120 Uber Credit – $120 Grubhub Credit = $10 fee after credits. You can offset the $10 if you spend $417 at U.S. Supermarkets/Dining, since you get 4x for these categories

$417 X 4 Category = 1,668 points. Amex lets you redeem .6 cents per point for the statement credit, so 1,668 points X .006 = $10

I prefer to use my points for transfer partners 1:1, but if redeeming your points to offset the $10 for statement credit gives you peace, that you offset the $250 annual fee with credits, so be it!

Amex is known to have targeted Amex Offers, which are essentially coupons on the card to let you save money & even make money off the card

Please note, Amex does charge an excise tax for U.S. Airlines (Delta, JetBlue, and Hawaiian) at .06 cents per point

18,000 X .0006 = $10.80 or you can pay 2,160 Amex points

Message @pennywisetraveler if you are interested in the Amex Gold card or go to this link to sign up. You will get up to 75,000 points if you spend $4,000 in 6 months

3) Delta will email you this award receipt with your flight details once you flight is booked and paid

Follow @pennywisetraveler on Instagram for more money/travel hacks

Do you like this travel tip for offsetting the annual credit card fee and paying less to fly first class than economy? If so, feel free to send this post to a friend, so you can travel together! Thanks!

https://www.tiktok.com/@pennywisetraveler/video/7004971435647077638?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Translate »