Hamilton Puerto Rico Contest

Thanks to reader Jay for sending this one. I know there are a bunch of Hamilton geeks out there…but to be perfectly honest, I should admit that I really don’t know much about it. You could sing me any song from the show and I’d just stare at you with a confused, slightly annoyed look on my face. That said, this charity contest is probably pretty interesting to some of you so I do need to pass it on. For a $10 donation, you get entered to win a trip to Puerto Rico for opening night to meet the Lin Miranda Lambert guy and see his return to the show. Have a great weekend, nerds!

Delta Award Sale

Delta’s latest deal is here. Domestic, Shanghai/Beijing/Peking, and Latin America flights are all in there. Yes, the pricing is awesome (as usual). But who’s raving about Delta? Not this guy. It’s getting too weird being a SkyDong cheerleader. So I’ve decided to take the day off and silently/nonsensically pout instead.

Ah yes, much better.

Sale Stuff

The anything-but-rare Southwest and Alaska sales are available.

An any-airline-but-this-one sale is also available from Frontier.

Also, here’s a bunch of other current deals on hotels and car rentals. Thanks to reader Doug for sending it over.

Tuesday Triple

  • Return of Reduced Mileage Awards. Always worth a look if you have an American Airlines credit card.
  • The good? Possible 5% back at CVS. The bad? Always some risk they take it back with something like this.
  • Fans of slow-moving games that involving spitting can see playoff baseball with Starwood/Marriott points.

The Top 25 Credit Cards

(If you see any errors, please let me know. I try to keep a full list, but it’s a lot of information and I do make mistakes)

 

Significant Changes Since Last Month:
-Cathay Pacific up from 35,000 to 40,000.
-Added new Starwood American Express links.
-Added Hawaiian Business card worth 50,000.
-Slightly increased Alaska Business offer.
-More readers seeing the 75,000-mile United Business offer.
-Barclays JetBlue Business bonus up to 50,000.
-My last-on-the-list card (Choice Hotel) just doubled their bonus to 64,000.
-There is a Delta Reserve increased bonus (Personal or Business) but I didn’t like it enough to put it on the list.

 

 

Before Playing This Game:
-Find a new hobby until you can pay off all balances each month.
-Take a second to look at what you’re applying for and confirm a bonus is what you expect.
-Get a screenshot of the bonus description in case you have issues collecting it later.
-Take 2 minutes to read the small print before applying.
(Look for “once in a lifetime,” “no bonus for cardholders in last 24 months,” etc.)
-Keep everything very organized in a spreadsheet. You’ll thank me later.

 

Time for my monthly Top 25 Credit Cards. It’s called “Top 25” out of tradition, but you’ll get many more links than that below. Again, if you’re a rookie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. It’s a little outdated but many basic questions can still be answered there. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. Also, “churning” (getting the same card more than once) might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually. If you’re new, it might be wise to start with Chase cards because of the limitations they’ll place on you soon.

Miles and points are far from an equal currency. 50,000 Delta SkyMiles are worth less to me than that amount from Alaska Airlines. 25,000 Hyatt points mean way more than the same number from Hilton. And so on. These links work right now (October 1st at midnight). If you read this later, many of the offers will have changed. Things move fast so read offer details and terms before applying. Especially all that small print when you’re trying to get bonuses more than once on the same card. Ok, enough chatter…here we go! My “Top 25” current credit cards are below.

Read More