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.

Wyndham Road Trip Planner app
Wyndham's App Has a Helpful Road Trip Planning & Booking Tool
This weekend, my wife and I are attending the 2022 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California — representing Laughing Place, the Disney fan site we write for. Seeing as we live in Springfield, Missouri (which is very much not near California), we'd likely fly to the event if we were normal people. Alas, we are not...
Sams Club storefront
Sam's Club is Raising Its Membership Prices This October
It's now been nearly three years since I first became a Sam's Club member. In that time, I've gone from wondering if warehouse club shopping made sense for a couple to relying on the store (as well as EveryPlate) for the majority of our meals. Plus, the store was a lifesaver during the early days...
British Airways plane
Bilt Rewards is Adding More Airline Transfer Partners and Offering a Bonus
About a month ago, I added another new credit card to my wallet: the Bilt Mastercard. What makes this option unique — and what attracted me to it — is that customers can not only earn 1x points when paying rent but can also use their card on rent portals without paying any fees thanks...
Walmart+ and Paramount+ logos
Paramount+ is Coming to Walmart+ — Which is Great News for Amex Platinum Members
This week, American Express Platinum cardmembers gained a new benefit — well, sort of. While there is now another perk to the card, it's not one being directly offered by Amex. Instead, the Walmart+ benefit that the card added in 2021 has suddenly become more valuable as it will soon come bundled with the Paramount+...
Fold and Amazon shopping
How I Save 5.25%+ on All of My Amazon Orders
[UPDATE: Days after I posted this, Fold changed up its offering, removing the Amazon benefit from the free Spin card. It does still offer 5% back (up to $500 in purchases per month) on Amazon gift cards for those with the Spin+ card — which now has an annual fee of $100. In other words,...
Southwest airplane
Southwest Has Eliminated Expiration Dates for Flight Credits
I'll admit that, historically, I've not been a huge fan of flying Southwest. This distaste stems pretty much exclusively from their boarding system and the fact that you don't have an assigned seat ahead of time. As someone who's grown accustomed to reserving a seat at the movies for years, the thought of boarding an...
PointCard Neon
PointCard is Killing Off its "Neon" Debit Card Ahead of "Titan" Launch
Boy, I sure can pick 'em. At the beginning of the year, I named my top five FinTechs to watch in 2022. While one of those five seems headed toward big things after being acquired by Walmart, two of my selections are now dead. Well, technically, PointCard the company is seemingly sticking around although they...
3 Instacard Chase Mastercards
Instacart Now Has Its Own Credit Card — It's Not Terrible
In the years that I've been covering personal finance, credit cards have easily become one of my favorite things to write about. Specifically, it's always fun when a new or revamped card is announced. Good or bad, I love pouring over the details and assessing the pros/cons of a card. And while co-branded cards from...
putting money in a piggy bank
High-Yield Savings Accounts are Starting to Live Up to Their Name Again
In case you hadn't heard, the Federal Reserve has been hiking interest rates pretty aggressively as of late. And while that's bad news for those with credit card debt or who planned on getting a mortgage, it is potentially good news for your savings accounts — provided that you have the right one, that is....
Grubhub + Amazon Prime burger delivery
Amazon Prime Customers Can Now Get a Free Year of Grubhub+
In case you haven't seen the incessant Jon Batiste commercials or online ads, Prime Day is coming up on July 12th and 13th. Ahead of that, Amazon has announced some new offerings for Prime members. Among them is a deal that could save users money on their Grubhub orders. Now, Prime members (in the United...
Tesla Model 3 giveaway
Personal Capital is Giving Away a Tesla In a Promotion for New Users
Has there ever been a better time to own an electric vehicle? Even as someone who doesn't drive around town too much, seeing the gas prices as of late has made me very thankful to at least have a hybrid — and even more thankful that I'm not in California. If you're like me, you...
T-Mobile AAA promotion
T-Mobile's Latest Promotion Offers a Free Year of AAA Membership
If you're headed out on a summer road trip, you may be looking for some peace of mind in regards to what happens should you find yourself stranded on the highway. Enter T-Mobile with its latest "On Us" perk. While the telecom has previously provided customers with access to streaming services such as Netflix and...
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...