💰11 Lessons Investors Need to Know
Want to learn how to grow your wealth and build a resilient portfolio by making smarter decisions? Ben Carlson, a financial advisor with over 20 years of experience, shares 11 important lessons for investors at every stage—whether you're just beginning or a seasoned pro.
🛫 Travel, Points & Miles
💸 New 4% Cash Back Card from U.S. Bank [Waitlist]
The soon-to-launch U.S. Bank Smartly Card claims it will offer unlimited 2% cash back, which isn't that exciting, except that if you have ≥$100k in a US Bank Checking/Savings/Investment account, they'll bump up the rate to 4% cash back. This would easily be the best cash-back card in the market for anyone who has ≥$100k they could park at US Bank, but I'm skeptical that they'll be able to pull it off. That said, I joined the waitlist in case US Bank is really excited to give away money :)
🏨 Earn an Extra 2.5k Hilton Points Per Stay in Q4
Hilton Honors’ latest "Power Up Promotion” is offering members 2,500 bonus points per stay between 9/3/24 and 12/31/24. Register here.
🛫 Flying Blue Promo Rewards for September 2024
Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue September 2024 Promo Rewards is offering up to 25% off award flights between Europe and destinations including New York, Las Vegas, Washington and Montreal. Make sure to book your flight between 9/1/24 and 9/30/24 for travel until 2/2/25.
P.S. If you're having trouble finding availability, use Flying Blue's “secret” award calendar, and remember kids aged 2-12 get 25% off Flying Blue award tickets, including Promo Rewards.
🤑 Latest Deals
💸 5 New Bank Bonuses
Since sharing how to leverage bank bonuses in Ep #184, I’ve been keeping an eye out for bonuses and here are the latest ones:
- Up to $560 from U.S. Bank: Open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account with a $25 deposit and make at least 2 qualifying direct deposits totaling $2,000-$8,000 within 90 days to earn a $250-450 bonus. Offer expires 9/26. Also, Swagbucks should get you an additional 10,000 points (worth $100) and another $10 with this referral link if you're new to Swagbucks.
- $400 from Citi: Open a new checking account and deposit $10,000 within 45 days and maintain it for another 45 days. Offer expires 10/8.
- $300 from Citi: Open an eligible new checking account with enhanced direct deposits (EDD) and deposit at least 2 EDDs worth $1,500 or more to your account within 90 days. Offer expires 10/8.
- Up to $200 from Step: Open a new Step account and make a direct deposit within 30 days. Deposits between $150-$499 will be eligible for a $100 bonus and deposits of $500+ will be eligible for a $200 bonus. Offer expires 9/30.
- Up to $800 from U.S. Bank (Business Account): Open a new U.S. Bank Silver, Gold, or Platinum Business Checking account with promo code Q3AFL24 and earn up to $800. Deposit $5,000 within 30 days for a $300 bonus, or $30,000 for the full $800. Offer expires 9/30.
🍽️ Seated: Up to 30% Cash Back from Restaurants
Seated gives you up to 30% back when dining at restaurants in their network (which has some good spots). Even better, you can also stack these rewards with other airline and credit card dining programs to earn more. For an extra $10, you can use my referral code: chris13167.
🔁 Airline Transfer Bonuses
Here are 3 active transfer bonuses that might help you score a good deal for an upcoming trip.
- Capital One ➡️ Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 20% until 9/29
- Amex ➡️ Hilton Honors: 30% until 9/30
- Amex ➡️ BA Avios: 30% until 9/30
💰 Points & Miles on Sale
I wouldn't speculatively buy any of these points, but if you have a redemption in mind or are very familiar with the individual programs, these deals might come in handy! Expiration dates are in parentheses:
- Hilton Honors: 0.50¢ each with 100% bonus (9/24)
- Southwest Rapid Rewards: 1.8¢ each with 40% bonus (9/25)
- World Of Hyatt: 1.92¢ each with up to 20% bonus (10/8)
- Qatar Airways Avios: 1.53¢ each with 50% bonus (9/8)
🕵️ Great Finds
⏰ How to Save 50+ Hours a Week with an Assistant
Austin Rief (CEO of Morning Brew) and I are hosting a free webinar on 9/17 at 12pm PT to share how we’ve upgraded our work/life by working with an assistant. We’ll cover everything you need to know, including the hiring process, costs involved, tips for training and delegation and how to avoid common mistakes. We'll also do a live Q&A at the end!
🔤 Teaching Kids to Read (App Sale + Free Sounds Book)
I recently found Mentava, which is an accelerated reading program for 3.5-4 year olds. It's not free, but way less than a daily tutor and in the first month we tried it, I was blown away by how quickly our daughter was reading 3- and 4-letter words. While they have a 7-day trial, the CEO told me that their Product Hunt launch on Thursday will come with a big discount. So keep an eye out on their blog or follow the CEO on X. Also, if you want to spend less, the CEO highly recommended this book.
However, if your child isn't ready to start reading yet, they just released a free phonics-based Alphabet Sounds Book that I really want to get printed for our youngest daughter.
Note: Mentava is not a sponsor and isn't paying me to share this, but I was so impressed that we invested in the company. They also set up code ALLTHEHACKS for $50 off (but Thursday's deal is better).
🤝🏻 Rethinking Negotiation: Don't Take the Last Dollar
I enjoyed this article by Nick Maggiulli about why we shouldn’t think of negotiation as a zero-sum game, where one person's gain is another's loss. Instead, we should approach it as an “infinite game” where there are ongoing interactions, considering both long-term implications and prioritizing relationships over maximizing immediate gains.
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.
