What to Do With Leftover Points When Closing a Platinum Card

This week I helped my dad decide what to do with his Platinum Card® from American Express.

Locking in the Business Platinum at $450 for 2019 (+ beginning of 2020)

The Business Platinum from American Express' benefits package will undergo some large changes come February of 2019, at the expense of an increased annual fee that will jump from $450 a year to $595 a year. For the extra $145, cardholders will get:

A year of complimentary Platinum Global Access at WeWork, a large co-working space chain with locations all over the world. Amex states that the value of this membership is $2,700.

Deciding What to Do With an Arrival Plus Card One Year In

I opened a Barclaycard Arrival Plus Card a little over a year ago, which meant that I was recently faced with the decision everyone should consider a year into holding a card that charges an annual fee: Is is worth keeping another year?

Leaving annual fee cards open year on end without considering if they're worth it is a mistake that will suck all the value out of your rewards fast. Don't let that happen to you.

New Chase Rule: Only One Sapphire Bonus Per 48 Months

Yesterday Chase made it harder to get repeat bonuses on the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card by changing the terms and conditions of the card offers. Previously, you were only eligible to earn the bonus on a Sapphire family card 24 months after you earned the bonus on a previous one.

You now have to wait four years instead of two between Sapphire cards to get a new member bonus.

Why Hotel Hustle Will Make Your Life Easier

Your current situation: You heard that there are some cards with lucrative limited time welcome offers. Pretty awesome.

Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards.

But you haven't redeemed many hotel rewards before and are a little intimidated about where to begin.

The Cheapest Ways to Get to Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to visit, and judging by the number of inquiries I get about booking awards to Hawaii, it's clear that many people agree. There are a number of cheap ways to get there that I'll list in order.

1. Korean Miles Award: 25,000 Korean Miles and $11 Roundtrip, First Class 45,000 Korean Miles Roundtrip

Korean miles can book a roundtrip in Delta economy from anywhere in the United States to any of the four major Hawaiian islands for 25,000 Korean miles.

A Change to My Advice on Applying for Credit Cards

The landscape for credit card approvals, and more importantly, getting cards' bonuses has changed during years I've been in the game.

The One Killer Message to Get Big Discounts on Airbnb

I spend a lot of my time in Airbnb apartments, so saving money on each rentals adds up for me. I've discussed tips to save money on Airbnb before including:

Right now, if you sign up for Airbnb through my referral link, you’ll get $27 off your first stay, and I’ll get $27 off my next stay.

What is an Open Jaw? How Can an Itinerary Have Two Open Jaws?

When I say that United awards can have one stopover and two open jaws, it elicits a lot of confusion. Some people don't know what an open jaw is while others can handle one conceptually, but not two open jaws. Hopefully I can clear it up.

A roundtrip United award is made up of two oneway segments.

An open jaw happens when the origin of one of those two oneways does not match up with the destination of the other.

For example, consider a roundtrip United award with the two oneway segments LAX -> JFK and JFK -> LAX.