Monthly Archives: August 2015

Free IHG Reward Points for Joining e-Rewards

Posted on August 22, 2015 by 2btravel

I recently received an email from IHG Rewards Club announcing that they’d award me 600 IHG points when I joined e-Rewards and completed two surveys within three months.  As it turns out, I’ve been an e-Rewards member for a long time so I’m not eligible for this promotion.

2015-08-22 IHG e-Rewards Promo

If you’re not familiar with e-Rewards, it’s an organization that sends out surveys and awards you currency for taking those surveys.  You can then use that currency to “buy” hotel points, airline miles or gift certificates.  For example, $25 in e-Rewards currency can be used to “purchase” 500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, 1000 Club Carlson Gold Points or a gift certificate to Best Buy.  Once you’ve accumulated $25 in e-Rewards currency you can choose to spend your currency at one of 33 merchants (including a few charities).

Some partners have a straight redemption value.  For example, when redeeming e-Rewards currency for American Airlines miles, it’s $25 = 500 miles, $50 = 1000 miles and $100 = 2000 miles, so the redemption value is the same.  On the other hand, Club Carlson will give you a bonus for redeeming more currency. $25 in e-Rewards currency nets you 1000 Gold Points but $50 will bring 2500 points and with a $100 redemption you get 4500 Gold Points.  So you need to keep an eye on what currency is useful to you to know when it’s best to redeem.  Note that you are often limited to one redemption for a particular merchant within a certain time period so if you’re close to the next-higher-level award, it may make sense to wait to redeem.

You’ll be sent survey links and even if you don’t qualify for the survey, you’ll get a token amount of e-Rewards currency.  There are surveys that will award you $5 or more in currency but they are usually quite involved and take a fair amount of time.  I prefer the shorter surveys to fill in the time between doing other things at work.  The currency adds up before you realize it and soon enough you’ve got 500 frequent flyer miles ready to transfer to your account.  Note that the transfer sometimes takes a few days, so plan accordingly.

So if you’re an IHG Rewards Club member, check your email for a similar offer and your personalized link.

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Bonus When Buying AAdvantage Miles

Posted on August 12, 2015 by 2btravel

From now through September 3rd, American Airlines is offering a bonus when you buy or gift miles.

Since these purchases are processed directly by the airline, if you use one of the Citibank AA credit cards or one of the Barclays AA cards they’ll count as airline purchases and you’ll earn additional miles for your purchase.  You could also use the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card or Citi Prestige Card where you’d earn 3 Membership Rewards or Thank You Points per dollar spent and if you haven’t used your airline credit for the year,  it should apply as well!

Here is this discount chart:

2015-08-11 AA Buy Miles PromoIs it a good deal?  Not particularly.  Unsurprisingly the best deal is if you buy the most miles.  But if you haven’t used your airline credit for the year and have no plans to do so, why not buy the miles and get a $100 (Amex Gold) or $250 (Citi Prestige) discount?!

 

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Limited Time Sign-Up Bonus for Starwood Amex

Posted on August 11, 2015 by 2btravel

SPG AmexAbout once a year the SPG Amex offers an increased sign-up bonus of 30,000 points, which is 5,000 more points than normal.    This year the time is now through September 14, 2015.  Note that you must be approved by September 14th to receive the bonus, not just apply by that date.

If you’ll allow me to refer you for a personal card, I’ll get a 5,000 point bonus as well, once you’re approved.  Just send an email to 2btraveling@gmail.com.  All I need is your first name and the email address where you’d like the invitation sent.

Starwood points are extremely valuable, not only as hotel points but also because of their value in transferring to a whole host of airlines.  In fact most airlines transfer at a 1:1 basis and when you transfer 20,000 points at a time, you receive a 5,000 point bonus so that you end up with 25,000 points in your airline’s frequent flyer account!

And Starwood has recently given the card a make-over, changing it from the familiar maroon to a snazzy purple design that includes chip + signature technology.

Categories: American Express, Credit Cards, SPG Amex | Tags: | Leave a comment

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