Flying for Fitness

Last month, United Airlines lead the way and surprised us all by permanently eliminating change fees on domestic flights.  All the other U.S. legacy carriers followed suit, with American Airlines surprisingly offering the best policy which allowed you to retain the fare difference for a future flight if your changed flight is cheaper than the one originally booked.  Delta had just stated that they were eliminating change fees for domestic flights with little to no detail on the terms.  But Delta has just clarified their policy , and it's good news: Keep the fare difference as future travel credit if your changed flights are cheaper Elimination of the redeposit fee of $150.00 to cancel an award ticket for all SkyMiles members. Elimination of the reissue fee of $150.00 to change an award ticket for all SkyMiles members. Allowing changes and cancellations on award tickets prior to departure for all SkyMiles members, as changes and cancellations which occur within 72 hours ...

Office Depot/Max is currently selling $300 Visa gift cards for $285 online via Gift Card Mall.  Normally, $300 Visa gift cards carry purchasing fees of $6.95+, so this is good deal as not only is the purchasing fee waived, but you get a $15 discount, which equates to 5%. Link to the offer Terms and conditions: Offer valid from 09/25/2020 to 10/01/2020 Maximum discount allowed is subject to a maximum sum of $15 per customer Although this offer is good through October 1, 2020, I suspect that it will end much sooner.  Visa gift cards can be used online and in-store at anywhere that accepts Visa debit cards, including Costco.  Another great way to redeem Visa gift cards is with Amazon debit card reloads , which generate an additional 2% bonus. Quick thoughts This deal is essentially $15 of free money, so be quick as I don't expect it to last long.  Since the purchase is processed by Gift Card Mall and not Office Depot/Max, you won't be earning 5x Ultimate Rewards with a ...

What is Fluz? Fluz has dubbed itself as the free app with "cash back that keeps coming back".  Like MileagePlusX, Fluz allows you to buy discounted gift cards (that never expire) for instantaneous or later redemption at hundreds of retailers through their app.  Currently, they're offering a sign-up bonus of 35% cashback on up to 3 gift cards, including the likes of Chipotle, Domino's, Spotify, Grubhub, Starbucks, CVS, and more. Which credit card(s) to use with Fluz? Amex has listed Fluz as a small business, so gift card purchases via Fluz are eligible for the Amex Small Biz offer that gets you $5 off a $10+ purchase (ending on September 20, 2020)!   Fluz also accepts PayPal, so you can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards (UR) on all gift cards from October 1 through December 31, 2020 if you pay with your old Chase Freedom and/or new Chase Freedom Flex cards .  They're also one of the only online retailers that sells Amazon gift cards for instantaneous redemption, while als...

On the heels of the release of their coveted no annual fee Freedom Flex card , Chase has increased the sign-up bonus for their Chase Sapphire Preferred card to 80,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months!  This represents their best ever public offer for the Sapphire, and a 20k increase over the standard sign-up offer of 60k.  The Sapphire card has a $95 annual fee which is not waived for the first year, but comes with the following benefits: 2x on all dining and travel purchases 5x on Lyft rides through March 2022 1x on all other purchases Primary car rental insurance Redeem UR for 1.25 cents each towards grocery, dining, home improvement purchases, and travel purchases via the UR travel portal DoorDash Dashpass membership for at least one full year, which gets you reduced service fees and free delivery on $12+ Application link (non-affiliate) How much are Chase UR worth? Chase UR are one of the most valuable currencies out there as t...

9/15/2020 CORRECTION: The Q4 5% cashback category for the Chase Freedom cards includes purchases at PayPal AND Walmart, and not just PayPal transactions at Walmart. Chase has released its rotating 5% cashback category for the 4th quarter (Q4) for both the new Freedom Flex and Old Freedom (discontinued) cards: PayPal and Walmart purchases.  This is one of the more mediocre categories we've seen, although you should still be able to max out on the $1,500 quarterly limit as PayPal is accepted at thousands of online merchants.  Q4 runs from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, and you can register here . New Chase Freedom Flex now open for applications My referral link for the Chase Freedom Flex Chase's new Freedom Flex card , which now sets the industry standard for no annual fee cards, is now open for applications.  If you have the existing Old Freedom card, you can either apply for the Freedom Flex card and retain both cards, or call Chase to covert your existing Old...

On the heels of United , American, Delta , and Alaska Airlines , Hawaiian Airlines has decided to match and permanently eliminate change fees on all non-Basic Economy fares within their route network.  The nice aspect of Hawaiian's new policy is that like Alaska Air, it covers all routes that they fly to.  Hawaiian has a much more extensive international network than Alaska Air as they have long-haul flights to Asia and Oceania as well as a slew of inter-island and flights to the contiguous U.S. Change your Hawaiian Airlines flight to Osaka, Japan without a fee What's unclear at this point is if you'll be able to retain the fare difference if your changed flight is cheaper, and if Hawaiian will offer same-day standby like the other carriers have.  As it stands, AA and Alaska Air allow you to keep the fare difference, United does not, and Delta and Hawaiian haven't made it clear.  I would expect the latter two carriers to clarify their policies, though I don't see t...

For the month of September 2020, Alaska Airlines is increasing the sign-up bonus for their Bank of America co-branded card to 65,000 miles !!  The 65k bonus is 2-tiered as you earn 40k miles and Alaska Air's Companion Fare after spending $2,000 within the first 3 months, and another 25k after spending $8,000 total ($6,000 in addition to the $2,000) in the first 6 months.  This represents the best ever sign-up bonus, and far eclipses the normal offer of 40k miles.  The card comes also features the following benefits: Annual Companion Fare, which allows you to add a companion to your paid flight to anywhere Alaska Air flies for just $99 plus taxes and fees from $22 Free checked bag on Alaska flights for you and up to six other guests on the same reservation Get 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases when you use your card Receive 50% off Alaska Lounge day passes when you use your card No foreign exchange transaction fees Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible A...

It's been a great past couple of days for the U.S. airline industry, as we have seen the 3 major carriers permanently eliminate change fees on flights within the U.S.  United Airlines was the first one through the wall, and  American Airlines surprisingly took their policy the farthest by including many North America destinations including Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean.  Today, Alaska Airlines announced that they're jumping onto the bandwagon, eliminating change fees on ALL flights within their network, including international destinations.  Like the other carriers, the one exception is Saver fares, which is Alaska Air's term for Basic Economy.  Alaska's Saver fares, however, can still be changed without a fee through December 31, 2020 as part of the COVID-19 pandemic travel waiver.  Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison issued the following statement: “COVID has taught us that flexibility in travel is key. As we evolve our approach to travel to ...