Author: Kyle Burbank
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Cutting Your Loses: My Brokerage Battle and How I Finally Fixed It
Late last year, word came down that the app Bumped — which allowed customers to earn stock in the companies they made purchases from — was shutting down. As bummed as I was at the time, it turns out that this announcement would only be the start of my troubles. Let me explain. After learning…
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Travel Tuesday: Understanding Chase’s New Sapphire Lounge
When Chase announced that it was opening a number of airport lounges in partnership with The Club, there were several questions I and others had. At the top of the list, with The Club being a staple of Priority Pass membership, it seemed fair to assume that those with Priority Pass — including those who gained…
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TD Bank Has a Pretty Dumb New Idea for a Credit Card Product
Doing what I do, I’ve seen several new credit card products come down the pike in recent years. Some of these are fairly boring (like 2% flat rate cards — they have a use but they’re not exciting), others as more interesting but not for me (see: Ness Card), and yet others just sound downright…
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Buying a MacBook Pro in 2023: The Challenges and Tips for Saving
In 2004, I began my freshman year of college. During my first week, I realized that I needed a laptop that I could use to take notes in class, do homework on, and make dorm life more bearable in between. When I went to the school bookstore, I learned that all they sold were Apple…
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Bask Bank Has Once Again Raised Its Mileage Earning Rate
In hindsight, Bask Bank either launched at the best or worst time ever: January 2020. On the one hand, debuting an account emphasizing travel just before the world shuts down can’t be good for branding. But, on the other hand, one could argue that the account allowed people to build up their frequent flier accounts…
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Travel Tuesday: Home2 Suites Chicago McCormick Place Hotel Review
Last month, for the fourth year in a row, my wife and I headed up to the Windy City to attend C2E2. As you may recall, after previously staying downtown and shuttling or driving in to the convention center, we decided to try staying at McCormick Place itself. Having tried the Hyatt Regency last time,…
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Facebook Probably Owes You Money (But You May Not Get Much)
As the headline says, Facebook probably owes you money. Or, to put it in television commercial terms, “If you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24th, 2007 and December 22nd, 2022, you may be entitled to compensation.” That’s because Meta (Facebook’s parent company) has agreed to pay $725 million to settle…
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Bilt Continues to Expand Its Platform with Bilt Dining, Bilt Wallet
Remember when I joked that I basically write about Bilt on a monthly basis? Well, in actuality, it seems to be about every three weeks now. But it’s not my fault! The company continues to do interesting things — including launching a new program that not only allows customers to earn bonus points but also…
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Travel Tuesday: Hyatt Introduces Hyatt Studios Brand for Extended Stay
When you’re traveling and looking for a place to stay, you’ll likely see several different brand names pop up in your searches. Yet, in reality, many of these brands really fall under the banner of a few key companies such as Marriott, Hilton, IHG, or Wyndham. The idea is that each of these sub-brands is…
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T-Mobile Money is Offering an Extended Free Trial of Greenlight
For years, T-Mobile has offered a number of “on Us” promotions. To my memory, this started with Netflix on Us (which would eventually be followed by additional streaming services) but has continued to pop up in other ways, such as new cell phone model upgrade deals. Well, now, it looks as though T-Mobile Money is…
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Spirit is Offering a Status Match Opportunity to Other Brands’ Elites
Here’s a fun fact about me: I’ve never flown Spirit Airlines. This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t ever fly Spirit — but I’ve never had an opportunity to and don’t exactly feel a need to find one. Despite this, I found myself taking a sudden interest in the airline this week as I came…
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Travel Tuesday: Curb App Review — Trying the Cab Service in Chicago
When I was in New York last year, it was the first time in a long time that I remember being in a taxi (as opposed to a rideshare like Uber or Lyft). During that ride, I saw an advertisement for an app called Arro, which I then used to hail a cab later in…
