Miles to Memories Roundup & Updates
A few interesting posts came across my screen today. I thought I would share some of those with you along with a few quick topics that don’t warrant their own post. Enjoy!
Posts that Caught my Eye
American Express Changes: 250 Membership Reward Points = 200 British Airways / Iberia Avios and Plenti Transfers
A lot of blogs covered this news today, but Travel with Grant broke the story last night. This is really sad news following the recent Avios devaluation. It really isn’t surprising considering that the Chase British Airways card recently went from earning 1.25 Avios per dollar down to one. Hopefully American Express will have one last great transfer bonus before this goes into effect in October.
Gift Cards on eBay – Changes to Shopping Portal Cashback
Some interesting changes to cashback categories for eBay purchases. Most interestingly Ebates who was specifically paying 4% back for gift cards on eBay last week has now removed the category. According to the article there may still be hope though. This information fits well with my post earlier about stacking eBay deals.
A personal finance application cycle
Looking at 0% interest and no fee balance transfer offers as negative interest rate deals. This sort of approach takes ample discipline, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good strategy. With that said, for most people taking on debt in this manner is probably not a good idea, but the author isn’t “most people”.
Carnival launches new “social impact travel” brand, Fathom
This is quite interesting. Fathom will use a smaller ship transferred over from another brand to take cruisers to the Dominican Republic where they can volunteer during their time off of the ship. It certainly is an interesting idea and it is clear Carnival is trying to grow the customer base beyond who normally cruises now.
One Offs
- Citi & Hilton are sending out a targeted offer on their HHonors Reserve card. I know several people who received the offer (including my wife), so it seems to be widely available for cardholders. The offer gives a bonus 7,500 HHonors points after $750 in spending at Hilton hotels. The Reserve card already pays 10X at Hilton, so you would receive 15,000 points total for $750 in spending. Not bad if you already have Hilton stays planned. To register you must click the link in your email.
- As I mentioned in my earlier post, eBay gift cards are available at 5% off with another possible 5x if you use a Chase Ink card to pay. For me, purchasing these cards when they are on sale is a no-brainer since I always have use for them when great gift card deals come along. I broke down the deal a little more here.
Have a great night!
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I can confirm no ebates on gift cards I bought $195 staples gift card got back .16¢
Hi Shawn, I think your Changes to Ebay article is linking to a different article.
I’ve got to admit, I couldn’t fathom another cruise line from Carnival Corp… But apparently I was wrong.