Amex offer:Spend $300 or more at select Radisson Blu and Cambria Hotels, get $100 back-Possible stacking

 Here is the list of available properties.

The offer is good for various properties in the US, Canada, Chile and Aruba.

This might also stack with the $20 back on $300 for just using your Amex, but I can’t guarantee that yet.

Expires 12/31/24.

Happy Travels!

New 10% Back on Rover Chase Offer-Stacks with T-Mobile $30 and Amex $5 Back on Rover-Stacks with T-Mobile Offer

 All three of my Chase cards have the offer, so please check yours.

The offers are good until 10/31.  This absolutely stacks with the T-Mobile offer good until 10/22.

My Amex Green card has a $5 back on $25 at Rover. This should also stack with the T-Mobile offer.

Happy travels!

Viator 10% Cask Back at Rakuten 9/22/24-Stack with Amex Offers

 Today, 9/22/24, Rakuten is offering 10% cashback at Viator.

This should stack nicely with Amex offers.  I have on our Delta card a $20 back on $200.

Either savings is nice.  Both combined are really pretty sweet.

Happy travels!

Wyndham Credit Card Enhanced Sign-Up Offers and Various Other Wyndham Promotions

 Wyndham has enhanced SUBs for their credit cards as I write this. While they are not the best ever bonus, they are an increase over their standard rates.

If you regularly stay at Wyndham, one of their credit cards might make a lot of sense.  It allows you to get a higher level of rewards when you book directly.

As for which credit card, the Earner+ at a $75 annual fee probably offers the best value. For the $75, it gives you 30K extra points which could be worth hundreds of dollars and certainly more than $75.

Aside from the credit card bonuses, there are other ways to save.

My Amex Green has $100 back on $500 on select Wyndham properties.

As for other discounts, here are my thoughts:

When you go to the Wyndham home page to book for the first time, you should get a pop-up for a first time booking discount.  I have been seeing this at a 10% discount.  That of itself is at least a decent discount.  You do have to sign up for text messages. But it might be possible to stack this with the Amex discount and get some really solid savings.

You might also be able to stack a 10% discount from the text sign-up with their credit card. If you can stack this with a purchase on the Wyndham credit card that again would provide a lot of return.

I personally don’t have a Wyndham card or participate in Wyndham Rewards but that is because their particular line-up of hotels does not match our spending and travel habits.  I also can’t vouch for the stacking, only for the individual savings.

But with over 9000 properties, there is no doubt that they do fit a lot of people’s needs and preferences.

Happy travels!

Capital One Venture Card-75K Points plus $250 Sign Up Bonus Review-Sign up Bonus Promotion Ends 9/9/24!!!

 We are going to Egypt in 2027 to see the Total Solar Eclipse and are planning on paying for the flight using points.  The 75K point SUB has always been appealing but the $250 travel credit made this an offer we had to take. (Please use this referral link for me please. Thank you!) As for the value of the points, this trip is going to be about $10K for the airfare but points is only about 312K so 75K points are worth about $2300!

But what about the card benefits outside of the awesome SUB?  The card has a number of benefits:

• TSA Precheck or Global Entry Credit up to $100
• Doubles warranties up to 24 months on items with a manufacturer’s warranty of 24 months or less
• Purchase protection for lost or stolen items up to $1000/$25000 per year
• Car rental coverage - this is secondary coverage that kicks in after your primary coverage 
• Lost/delayed luggage coverage
• Various trip trip cancellation / interruption / accident coverage 
• 5 points per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars purchased through their portal
• 2 points per dollar on everything else
• Various perks for hotels in their Lifestyle collection that include $50 experience credit per stay and upgrades and late checkout when available 

This card has an incredible appeal with its SUB, but is it worth keeping?  That is a very personal question.  

I personally feel that being in at least two, if not more of the various travel credit card ecosystems of American Express, Chase, Capital One and Citi is a smart move.  All of them have different strengths and weaknesses and having a diverse field of cards to drawn on is very powerful and versatile.

I also believe that having a card that gives 2 points per dollar or 2% dollar cash back on all purchases outside of special categories like travel or groceries is a must have.

So this card ticks those two boxes.  And in our particular case, the high return on points for our Egypt flight means we will keep the card at least until that flight is paid for and booked.

But of there are other travel cards out there.The Chase Sapphire Preferred  has the same fee and various travel perks.  IMHO its greatest strength over the Venture Card is that it offers primary rental car coverage.  That is, the coverage kicks in before your own auto coverage.  That is definitely a respectable perk.  The $50 stay credit every year for travel booked through their portal is also nice.  Plus redeeming points through their portal gives a 25% bonus and it allows you to use accumulated points from a Freedom card through their point transfer partners.  And I would say for most people in the US, Chase has a better variety of transfer partners.

But the Chase has some weaknesses.  Outside of travel and dining, you only get 1 point per dollar.  Also, no TSA Precheck or Global Entry credit. Plus if you book multiple hotel stays in Capital One’s Lifestyle collection, you can get the $50 credit and other benefits repeatedly.  Depending on your travel habits, that could really add up. We generally stay at IHG properties in Chicago but we are planning on trying at least one if not a couple of the hotels in the Lifestyle collection. With the great return on points and the various perks it really seems like a fun thing to do!

In the end, everyone has to make their own choices on their own preferences and needs. There is no doubt the Capital One Venture card has a great deal of appeal if for no other reason than a great sign-up bonus that has been made even better with the $250 travel credit! Plus you can also have both the Venture and Venture X card if you want.

Good luck and happy travels!

Welcome to Cheapskate Travel Tips

My lovely wife and I enjoy both travel and a comfortable middle class lifestyle.  But we have some ambitions for travel and to help reach those ambitions we have worked hard at maximizing our value.

This means buying points on sale to reduce our costs, being members of organizations that offer discounts for travel and taking advantage of promotions and sales.  Credit cards are also important. They give points/cashback, upgraded status with perks, free luggage on flights, free anniversary nights at hotels, sign up bonuses (SUBs) and more.

We also shop for the best value in luggage and accessories and we strive to learn how to pack better and make the most of our vacation time.

I plan on using real world examples of how we succeed and hopefully some of our readers will give us tips now and then.

We certainly don’t know everything but we always strive to learn and improve ourselves.