๐ซ Travel, Points & Miles
๐ต Cash Back vs. Points: Are We Doing It All Wrong?
If you’re a long time subscriber, you might be surprised that I did an entire episode (โ#180โ) making a case for cash back as your credit card strategy. There have been so many recent changes in the points and miles world, so I wanted to do an in-depth analysis on how to think about cash back (and I think the results might surprise you).
๐ณ New & Improved Credit Card Optimizer Tool
After making the Points vs. Cash Back episode above, I spent dozens of hours building out a more robust version of my โcredit card optimizer toolโ, so you could maximize your earnings from credit cards. It's currently $10 off, but if you're a memberโ (or want to be), you’ll get free access to the tool and so much more!
๐ค Latest Deals
๐ด Hilton Double Points Summer Promo
Hilton Honors members can earn 2x points for stays at any Hilton Portfolio hotel or resort this summer between 5/2 and 9/2. There’s no limit on how many bonus points you can earn and there’s no minimum stay needed, but members are required to โregisterโ before checking in.
๐ซ $500 Southwest Gift Cards for $419.99 (16% off)
Sam's Club and Costco are both currently offering $500 Southwest Airlines gift cards for $419.99 (โSam's Club Linkโ and โCostco Linkโ), which works out to be 16% off. These Gift Cards don't expire, so they can be a great pickup if you regularly fly Southwest. Also, I've heard that Cash Back portal links for Sam's Club might work with these purchases, so take a look at all the options โhereโ.
๐ Current Transfer Bonuses
- Amex โก๏ธ AeroMexico: 20% (through 5/31)
- Amex โก๏ธ Virgin Atlantic: 30% (through 5/31)
- Citi โก๏ธ Qatar Airways: 30% (through 5/31)
Note: I don’t recommend speculative transfers, but if you’re planning a trip and can use one of the bonuses, it’d be an even better deal!
๐ต๏ธ Great Finds
๐ฉ Superhuman: The Fastest Email Experience Ever
I’ve saved so much time on email since switching to โSuperhumanโ. It works on top of Gmail or Outlook, is lightning fast, has keyboard shortcuts for everything and recently launched AI that will write entire emails in your own voice and tone. I’m leaving off a ton of features, so just go try it for a free month โhereโ with code ALLTHEHACKS.
๐ฐBest Big Spend Cards for Elite Status and Free Perks
I loved โthis Frequent Miler postโ that lays out every hotel and airline credit card that offers the ability to spend money to earn perks like elite status, free nights and companion tickets. Definitely worth a read if you’re chasing status or have some big spending coming up. And if you’re considering any of these cards and want to support us, please check out โour cards pageโ (as long as it has the best offer).
โฃ๏ธ Using Radical Candor to Strengthen Relationships
I loved reading Kim Scott’s โRadical Candorโ years ago and was thrilled to have her on last โweek’s episodeโ. She shared great tactics to overcome the discomfort of giving and receiving criticism to strengthen relationships at work and home. We also discuss how Radical Candor has evolved into โRadical Respectโ, a concept she explores in her new book coming out 5/7 (โpreorderโ now).
๐ Why Car Insurance Rates Are So High
Auto insurance rates have gone up more than 20%, and I enjoyed โthis article from Voxโ about how inflation, dangerous driving, and underlying costs are behind the price increases. Hopefully the author is right that they won’t keep going up like they have been!
๐คฉ Recommendations
๐ Mother’s Day Gift Ideas
With Mother’s Day around the corner, I thought I’d share some thoughtful gift ideas that my wife Amy highly recommended.
- โVuoriโ: Super comfortable performance apparel (โ20% offโ)
- โStoryworthโ: Capture stories/memories in a custom book (โ$10 offโ)
- โEmber Mugโ: Keeps coffee or tea warm all morning (โ20% offโ)
- โHatch Restoreโ: Sunrise alarm clock to improve sleep (โ$30 offโ)
- โCuyana Travel Case Setโ: Amazing travel set you can monogram
- โWaterproof Birkenstocksโ: Versatile, comfortable & easy to clean
- Breakfast in bed with no one demanding anything of them!
๐บ Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller
I’m about done binging every episode of Trafficked on YouTube and am so impressed with how deep the host (Mariana van Zeller) goes. It’s a docuseries that explores the often dangerous inner-workings of the global underworld - everything from drug cartels to black market organs to online romance scams. There are full length episodes on โYouTubeโ, โHuluโ and โNatGeoโ.
Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.