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.
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How I Made My Amex CLEAR Credit Go Twice as Far
I know it’s now been more than a week since American Express announced a litany of changes to its Platinum card — but I’m honestly still digesting all of them and taking action in a bid to make the most of them. Since the new credits were announced, I’ve been doing my research on places…
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My Thoughts on the American Express Platinum Card Changes
After months of various rumors, American Express has made it official: the Platinum card membership cost is now $695/year. That’s a pretty significant hike from the already substantial $550 annual fee it previously charged. So what do you get for that extra $145 a year? Depending on who you ask, a ton of valuable credits…
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Lyft is Killing Off a Reward “Double Dipping” Opportunity
What’s better than earning rewards for your various purchases? Earning even more rewards for those purchases! That’s why I’ve loved discovering “double-dip” opportunities, such as redeeming offers from two different apps/platforms at once or combining coupons. However, these lucrative loopholes typically don’t last forever — as evidenced by Lyft’s latest move. Since 2017, Lyft customers…
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American Express Just Made an Awesome Update to Its Amex Offers Interface
If you’ve spent much time on this site at all, you’ve likely seen me mention Amex Offers. But, just in case, let me refresh you: Amex Offers are special deals that American Express card customers can opt into. While some of these offers are widely circulated, others are more targeted — and occasionally quite lucrative.…
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Hotels.com’s Rewards Visa is a Bit Confusing But Intriguing — Especially With the Current Enhanced Offer
A few months back, Hotel.com unveiled a new rewards card being issued by Wells Fargo named the Hotels.com Rewards Visa. Although I had never and still have never actually used the site, as a growing credit card enthusiast, I was interested in seeing what it had to offer. Yet, what I initially found as I…
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Custom Category Credit Cards Rewards May Be the Future — But There’s a Catch
As someone who’s taken a strong interest in the world of credit card rewards in recent years, it’s definitely been an exciting few months. Things started heating up last year when several travel-focused credit cards began upping their offers and introducing limited-time perks in order to keep customers rolling in amid the halt in travel.…
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Ally Has Announced the End of Overdraft Fees
If you ask anyone who’s had a negative experience with banks what in particular was so bad about them, I suspect that “overdraft fees” would be an overwhelmingly popular response. After all, the very idea of overdraft fees sounds like a stand-up comedy premise: “You don’t have any money so we’re going to take more…
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Double Check Websites When Shopping Online: My Funny But Frightening Tale
I like to fashion myself a fairly savvy online consumer. Not only am I able to quickly discern poor phishing attempts but have even foiled a few of the more convincing variety. On top of that, I know a few different things to check when it comes to sniffing out a scam site. That’s why…
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Robinhood is Rolling Out IPO Access to Users
If you’ve ever happened to keep an eye on a company that was going public and then tried to buy shares for yourself once they did, you may have been in for a surprise. That’s because, while you may see reports about a company’s target price, that might not be the amount you actually pay…
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Two Big Ways in Which Investing and Gambling Overlap
This week calls for a bit of celebration. Seeing as my wife and I are now both fully vaccinated, we decided to travel to Las Vegas and meet up with a couple of friends. In addition to resort hopping and gathering material for future Travel Tuesday reviews, I’ve also taken to playing a bit as…
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You Can Now Link Your Uber Account to Postmates (For Better or Worse)
If there’s any industry that’s grown during the pandemic, it has to be delivery services. Anecdotally, last year marked the first time I began ordering delivery with any real frequency — especially relying on them in March and April when leaving the house felt like a major chore. Since then, I’ve moved mostly to the…
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Checking My ChexSystems Report for the First Time (and How You Can Too)
As I’ve shared numerous times before, part of my personal finance origin story involves me checking my credit for the first time. Since then, I’ve written plenty of times about ways to obtain your credit reports from the three major bureaus as well as reviewed various platforms that provide an educational look at your credit…
