Dumb Post

As many of you pointed out to me over the last 2 days, I am dumb. Southwest cards are actually very valuable for one big reason – The Companion Pass. This bad boy lets you bring a companion with you anytime you’re on a Southwest flight…and the companion flies for free!

The Companion Pass is earned when you reach 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year. The pass lasts until the end of the following year, so it’s a good time to start now for early 2013. Get your spends done quick, earn your points, and you’re set through the end of 2014.

After you get a personal card, a business card, and meet the minimum spends, you’ll only need 6,000 more points to get the Companion Pass.

I was informed that I’m also dumb because AirTran credits transfer to Southwest and can be very useful. So, yeah, my post from 2 days ago was not one of my best efforts.

Wednesday 4-Pack

  • Get up to 100% bonus miles on hotels and cars from US Airways here.
  • Get $100 off a US Airways club membership, plus 5,000 miles with code 5KPQM here.
  • 500 miles for every $250 you spend at the United mall here.
  • Earn 30 United miles per dollar spent at FTD here.

For My Domestic Mile People

I know some of you like to use miles for domestic flights. I’m sure some of you will be happy to see the new AirTran credit card offer here. Between that and the Southwest cards (personal and business), you can get plenty of free domestic flights. I think there’s about 15 better Chase cards, but to each their own.

I think I’ve been very calm, so don’t mind me when I say GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!! Domestic coach flights go for maybe $700 round-trip. International first-class flights go for the price of a compact German car. DON”T YOU UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF THIS GAME?? Ok, that is all. I hope you enjoy your AirTran card. 

Bye Office Depot

On Thursday, I talked about how Vanilla Reload cards were getting weird at Office Depots near me. On Friday, I shared reader comments about how I was paranoid. This weekend, Office Depot took Vanilla Reload cards out of their stores. The lesson? MileNerd knows all.

Here are other things we know:

  • Vanilla Reloads are still available (CVS, Walgreens, 7-11, Dollar General, Family Dollar, and other stores). Just go out and search a little bit and you’ll find them.
  • You only get 5 times the points when you buy Vanilla Reload cards from office stores with an Ink card.
  • You can still buy regular gift cards at office stores (including Office Depot) to meet your minimum spend. You can use an Ink card for 5 times the points.
  • Summary…the worst-case scenario is you don’t have an Ink card, you still have to get a Bluebird, and you need to search for a store that carries Vanilla Reload cards near you. That means with a little bit of effort, you don’t have to worry about meeting minimum spends anymore. That’s the worst-case scenario. You’re in good shape.

4 To End The Week

  1. Lots of email about my Vanilla Reload post yesterday. The consensus was, “Chill out MileNerd!” Apparently, showing ID at Office Depot is no big deal. I also got an email from Sean, who spotted Vanilla Reload cards at his local CVS. He’s a happy nerd paying his rent, student loans, and credit cards with his Bluebird. .
  2. If you want to take maximum advantage of Bluebird, you really need to get an Ink card and shop at Office Depot. 5 times the miles on Vanilla Reload is huge. An Ink should definitely be the next Chase card for many of you. And the minimum spend for Ink cards has been cut in half to $5,000 here and here.
  3. Get 250 Delta miles for every $125 spent at the Delta mall here. Earn 2,500 miles max.
  4. I got a postcard for Citibank’s latest checking account offer. A pain if you ask me. Up to 30,000 American Airlines miles here with code CYSP. Some people don’t have a big amount to deposit and are ok paying a $30 monthly fee for some miles. If so, make your minimum spend, do a direct deposit for 2 straight months, and close the account as soon as the miles arrive.
    1. Spend $750 with a Citigold account for 30,000 miles
    2. Spend $375 with a Citibank account for 15,000 miles
    3. Spend $125 with a Basic Banking account for 5,000 miles