credit cards

Discover’s Money Messenger Service Being Discontinued October 10th

Most people probably don’t care about this announcement since Discover’s cards aren’t particularly interesting from a frequent flyer perspective, but Discover’s peer-to-peer payments service called Money Messenger is being discontinued starting October 10th, 2013. This service, powered by Paypal, was slightly interesting in that there were no fees for sending money, but you still earned…

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Why You Shouldn’t Necessarily Trust Credit Card Links on Blogs

The big dirty non-secret amongst popular travel blogs is that many of these bloggers make their money off of credit card affiliate links. So when you click on one of their credit card links, apply for the credit card, and get approved, the blogger makes money. I have no idea how much, but I’m guessing…

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Why You Shouldn’t Consolidate Credit Lines When Canceling a Credit Card

Conventional wisdom amongst travel blogs says that when you call to cancel a credit card, you should consolidate your credit lines (i.e. add the credit line of the card you’re canceling to one you already have) so you don’t lose the credit. The primary justification is so you can then use that credit as a…

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Diminishing Value of Sign-Up Bonuses Due to High Spend Requirements

As I plan my next round of credit card applications, I’m always cognizant of how much spend I’m signing myself up for. While there are still some credit cards out there with minimal spend requirements (e.g. the Barclays US Airways Mastercard, which I love), many credit cards require that you spend a certain amount on…

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Why I Buy Most of My Flights Through Travelocity

Continuing on the theme of online shopping portals, I almost always buy my flights through Travelocity, specifically because of the Ultimate Rewards portal, using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 2 points per dollar spent on travel. You can also use the Ultimate Rewards portal to book travel directly for 3 points…