Chase Sapphire Preferred Review and Extra $300 Sign Up Bonus-Extra SUB Expires 11/14/24

 We are very happy with our new Sapphire Preferred Card. (My sign-up referral link.). Aside from the generous signup bonus (SUB) that we got in branch offer of 70K points in six months with a $6K spend, it has a number of really good features including:

• Primary rental car insurance
• A variety of other travel insurance benefits such as baggage delay insurance, travel accident insurance and more
• $50 annual credit for hotel stays booked through the Chase travel portal
• Ability to consolidate Ultimate Rewards points from Freedom cards and then redeem or transfer
• An excellent lineup transfer partners 
• 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Chase portal
• 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online grocery 
• 2 points per dollar on travel not booked through Chase
• Complimentary DoorDash membership until12/31/27 and $10 off per month on a non-restaurant Door Dash delivery
• Access to a wider range of Chase offers
• 1.25 cents per point value when redeeming through the Chase travel portals 
• Extended warranty coverage 
• Purchase protection 

I mentioned primary rental car coverage because this is one of the lowest fee cards that have that benefit.  It allows you to file a claim first with Chase versus with your own auto insurance.  That is a very powerful tool.

And if you take advantage of the $50 annual hotel credit, the net cost of the card is $45 per year, which is very reasonable.

It also has a pretty wide range of other travel benefits that could be of use.  

This card has a similar fee to the CapitalOne Venture Card that I have previously written about.  So how do they compare?

Both have a variety of travel benefits and a range of transfer partners.  The Sapphire Preferred definitely has edges in the area of better travel insurance benefits and it has United Airlines as a points transfer partner which might be of particular benefit depending on your air travel habits.  The Chase card also offers a 1.25 cent per point redemption value when using their own travel portal.  

The Capital One card does offer a TSA Precheck benefit, 2X Points on all purchases and access to the Capital One Lifestyle  collection of hotels.   The Lifestyle Collection includes a $50 experience credit per stay(such as at the restaurant) and when available, room upgrades, late checkout and early check in.  You can use this for multiple bookings, so theoretically the $50 in credits and other perks could really add up. Just two stays at a Lifestyle Collection hotels pay for the annual fee just in experience credits.

Personally , I think the cards compliment each other quite nicely and as I have previously written, being in multiple credit card reward ecosystems is a good idea.

I hope this has been helpful and 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!

T-Mobile Tuesday Offer-$30 off Rover.com Services-Good until 10/22

 For T-Mobile users, this Tuesday 9/24 there is a $30 off savings available for booking Rover.com services.

You have until 10/22 to use it so that definitely makes it more usable.   This should definitely be stackable with the various Chase offers out there.

This is a great opportunity to save money on taking care of your fur baby while away.

Happy travels!

Check Your Chase Offers: 10% back at Rover.com up to $25 and $20 back on a Costco Membership

 We use Rover for pet sitting our dog, so this is an easy $25 in our pockets.  

We already have a Costco membership. But if you don’t Costco has all sorts of great travel oriented deals through Costco Travel and buying things like gas, luggage, gift cards and more.

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.