Why You Might Want To Cash In Some Points

Hopefully, you were able to get your points/miles refunded back into your account if your flights were canceled due to Covid-19. Or maybe you were about to book a trip and are now sitting on a pile of points/miles.

Most points/miles are only worth something if you use them to book a hotel room or flight with that particular company, but some points can be traded in for cashback.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are one of my favorites due to the flexibility to transfer them to a variety of hotels and airlines plus using them as currency in the travel portal.
But another benefit is that you can trade them in for cashback.
Right now, that could be more valuable than travel.

If you already have a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, FREEDOM, FREEDOM Unlimited or Ink Business Preferred, you are earning Ultimate Reward Points on every purchase. Depending on the card and the category, you earn at different rates.
But you can trade them in at 1:1 just by logging into your Chase.com account and clicking on Ultimate Rewards. 

You will see your rewards balance and how much those points will net you in cash back. You can choose how many points you want to cash in, which could equal a nice chunk of change. Now, you can get better than 1:1 redemption if you use them to book flights, hotels and, car rentals through the travel portal or if you transfer them to an airline.
But if you need the cash or you don't see yourself traveling anytime soon, this might be a good idea.
If you don't have any points, but you are looking for cash. You could apply for one of these cards, spend the minimum, get the bonus and cash in the points. 
The Chase FREEDOM Unlimited has a bonus $500 cash back right now for new card holders, the Preferred is offering 60,000 bonus points and the Reserve is offering 50,000 bonus points. At 1:1, these bonuses are worth $500-$600 cash back. 
If you do not have one of these cards yet, please use my referral link and help support this blog.
If cash back and travel are not your thing right now, you can use the points to shop at the Apple store and other retailers, but this is not the best value.

How To Use Your FREE Door Dash Pass

If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred credit card, then you get a FREE Door Dash Pass as a perk. Since everyone is staying at home, this could be a huge savings for you. The Pass gives you FREE delivery from hundreds of restaurants if your order is more than $12. Plus if you have the Sapphire Reserve, you also get $60 credit in 2020 and another $60 credit in 2021. Who doesn't want $60 of FREE food right now?

So how do you access this benefit?

1. Create a Door Dash account

2. Enter you Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred credit card information in the payment section 

3. Pop up will ask if you would like to activate your pass

The pass is good for one year so mark the expiration date on your calendar. You will see a credit on your Chase account after you make your purchase. The $60 can be spread out over multiple transactions. If you use my referral link, you will get $15 off ($5 off each of your first 3 orders). 

Rack Up Miles Fast By Shopping Online

Hopefully, you are not running around to all the stores like we used to right now to find the items you need. Instead, you are discovering the joys of online shopping. You can peruse the aisles of the store from the comfort of your home and slippers. Use coupons. Just push the button and a few days later, your purchase arrives on your doorstep. Amazing! 

Rack Up Miles Fast By Shopping Online 

Now, in case you are new to online shopping or even if you are a seasoned internet shopper, there are some ways to maximize your savings. The most important is to use a shopping portal when you shop online. Why? You ask. Because you want to squeeze every last mile/point or cashback you could be getting with each purchase. It's like going to a store and not using a coupon. Yikes! 

One day, travel will go back to the way it was and you want to be ready with lots of points/miles. 

Let's run down the list of available shopping portals to choose from depending on your goals. A good habit is to check cashbackmonitor.com before you purchase online. You just enter a retailer and this website will show you which portals it is listed on and how much each one is offering in points/miles or cash back. There can be a huge variation between online portals so don't skip this step unless you are loyal to one airline. 

All the major airlines have online shopping portals; United, Southwest, American, Delta, and Jet Blue. Plus Wyndham Hotels and Chase Ultimate Rewards offer portals. And then there are the cashback portals from companies like Rakuten. If you use my referral link, you will get $10 FREE cash back on your first purchase. 

Rack Up Miles Fast By Shopping Online 

It's easy to use a portal. Login to the portal using your airline, hotel or regular information, then find the store you want to shop at and click shop now. You will be shown a cashback percentage or points/miles awarded per dollar spent and then be taken to the retailer website. Shop just like you normally would and the portal will keep track of how much you spend. It takes about 6-8 weeks for the points/miles or cash back to post to your account. You can even double dip and use a credit card that gives you miles/points or cashback too. 

Look for bonus points/miles offers from the portals as well. 

This a good way to top off an airline loyalty account or keep those points/miles from expiring. 

Earn Bonus American Airlines Miles By Donating To The Red Cross

American Airlines announced this morning that any donation you make to the American Red Cross will earn you bonus miles on American Airlines. 

Many airlines partner with the American Red Cross, but American Airlines appears to be the first and only one to offer bonus miles for donations. 

American Airlines has done this before. Just a few months back, the company offered 10x miles for donations earmarked for the victims of the Nashville tornadoes. 

Not a huge surprise that the airline is once again offering 10x miles for any donation over $25 to help with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Make sure you use your Advantage account information when you donate. 

Bonus miles post in 6-8 weeks. 

Hurry, Delta Bonus Credit Card Offers End April 1st

I know it pains me too to look at an airplane right now. Our family should have been at a condo overlooking the beach in Chile this weekend. But, instead of being down and having a pity party, let's collect those points/miles so that when we can travel again, we are ready. 

Delta Bonus Credit Card Offers

Right now, Delta American Express is offering giant mega bonus of 60-100,000 miles for bonus offers on a variety of their cards. All the offers end on April 1st so if you are in a position to apply now is the time. We don't know what the next offer will be, but this is one of the highest offers we have seen. 

All the cards award you 60-80,000 miles when you meet the minimum spend about $2,000 to $3,000 depending on the card you choose and the rest of the miles on your first anniversary. You can only apply for these cards once per lifetime, but there are several to choose from. The annual fees range from $95-$550 and are not waived. Some include a credit on Delta, Global Entry credit, FREE lounge access, FREE checked bags, priority boarding and more. You can compare benefits here and see what works best for your travel plans. 

Why I like Delta

The great thing about Delta miles is that they never expire. Even though Delta is shrinking during the COVID-19, it tends to offer some spectacular deals on flights with award flights starting at just 10,000 miles. 

How To Extend FREE Hotel Night Certificates

Just a few weeks ago, I was in Sedona, AZ looking at the beautiful red rocks. Amazing how the world has changed in just a few weeks. I stayed at the Best Western Sedona Arroyo Roble in order to take advantage of the stay 2 nights, get 1 FREE promotion. It worked and within a few weeks, Best Western sent me a certificate for a FREE night at any Best Western. 

I had planned to use it to visit colleges in April. But as we all know everything has changed. 

Don't figure that your hotel certificates will just go unused. 

I called Best Western and bam, they agreed to extend the certificate. They actually asked me to call back after it expires and said they will extend it at that point. 

I also had to move some flights around and Delta charged me a change fee. Now that you can reach someone at the airlines, I called back and bam, they waived the fee and refunded me. 

Marriott is next on my list. I have a certificate that expires in May. 

Use Your Chase FREEDOM card to buy groceries

Since travel is very limited right now due to the Corona Virus, the best thing you can do is figure out how to stockpile points for later. One of the best ways is to utilize the rotating categories on your Chase FREEDOM card. This no-fee card earns 5x points in rotating quarterly categories. 

The categories can include gas stations, supermarkets, Amazon, streaming services and more. 

Registration is now open for 2nd quarter, categories include grocery stores, fitness clubs and gyms. FYI, the 5x is not good at Target or Walmart.  

You register here. If you don't have this card yet, you can use this link to apply. This is one of my go-to cards because there is no annual fee and you earn 1% back on everything. Right now, if you spend $500 in the first 3 months, you will get $200 cashback. Pretty sweet! If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, then you can use the Ultimate Rewards points for travel. If you don't you can use them for cashback.