Category: Quick Tips

Every Friday I post a new Quick Tip covering a wide range of topics, including ways to save money, travel tips, personal products/services I find interesting, and more.

TD Clear Visa Card
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...
shadow of a plane above a tropical beach
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...
Facebook screenshot
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...
Introducing Bilt Dining
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...
Greenlight + T-Mobile
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...
Spirit airplane
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...
sunset at a Hyatt hotel
Bilt is Offering a Hyatt Status Trial/Challenge for Rent Day
It's almost the first of the month and you know what that means: time for me to write about Bilt again. If you're new, since October of last year, Bilt Rewards and the Bilt Mastercard have featured special promotions and perks on Rent Day each month. In addition to standing offers such as double points...
DirecTV Satellite logo
I Just Returned My DirecTV Equipment and It Wasn't Horrible!
Last month, a most unpleasant email reached my inbox. It was from our apartment complex informing us that they'd no longer be supplying us with complimentary DirecTV and that our service would be canceled on March 1st. Not to worry though - the message noted that they were making this move to give us more...
Starbucks bag of coffee
I Confirmed What May Be Starbucks Rewards' Best Deal
At the very end of last year, news broke that Starbucks was devaluing its Rewards program. For example, redeeming Stars for a latte would now cost you 200 Stars instead of 150 while redeeming for a bakery item would double from 50 Stars to 100. Naturally, like most, I was immediately disappointed with this change...
woman relaxing in a car
Bilt Mastercard Customers Can Now Earn Up to 5x on Lyft Rides
It feels as though, every few weeks, I find myself writing about Bilt again. In my defense, that's simply because the company continues to do interesting things. That brings us to this week when it was announced that Bilt and Lyft had entered into a partnership that will now see Bilt Rewards Mastercard customers earn...
Robinhood Wallet icon
Robinhood's Wallet App is Now Available — And Offering a Bonus
Last fall, Robinhood debuted its non-custodial crypto wallet to a select number of users. Now, the standalone app is available to all iOS users, with an Android version coming "later this year." In the meantime, those who download and try this new application may be able to earn themselves a bonus in the process. Currently,...
Enhance Speech
Adobe's Audio Enhance Tool Could be a Gamechanger for Creators
When it comes to YouTube videos, I've heard it said that audio quality is actually more important than video quality. I happen to agree as, if I can't hear the person speaking clearly, I'll turn of a video whereas I'm more forgiving if the picture isn't great. And while this doesn't mean that the audio...
Featured Articles
How Utilization Impacts Your Credit Scores: My Real-Life Example
You may already know that Credit Utilization is the second-largest factor FICO considers when determining your credit score. Specifically, it makes up 30% of your score, topped only by Payment History at 35%. But what does that look like in practice? Well, I recently got the "opportunity" to see firsthand. In April, I elected to...
Travel Tuesday: Allbirds Weatherproof Hightops - How They Compare to Mizzles
As I've mentioned more than a few times before, after purchasing a pair of water-resistant Allbirds Runner-Up Mizzles a few years back, they quickly became my go-to travel shoe. That's because they're not only comfortable but also help protect my feet from wet weather while on the road (there are few things I hate more...
This New Hardshell Carry-On Luggage Option Has My Attention
Welcome back to another Quick Tip — and the latest edition of our occasional, unofficial series Things Kyle Wants to Buy. When I returned from my most recent trip, for some reason, I had hardshell luggage on my mind. That's strange because my current soft-sided luggage has served me well and, moreover, I've traditionally not...
Would it Be Wrong to Try This Potential Free Checked Bag Trick?
I don't remember the last time I paid for a checked bag on a plane. Granted. I've paid for carry-ons while flying Allegiant — but, in the cases where I have elected to check a bag in recent years, it's been a free gate check since I occasionally volunteer to part with my bag early...