Flying for Fitness

Chase has announced that their Reserve and Sapphire Preferred cards will be earning bonus Ultimate Rewards (UR) for the 3rd quarter (Q3), which runs from July 1-September 30.  The flagship Reserve will be getting the following: 5x  on Instacart on up to $3,000 in spending Up to $50 in statement credits toward Instacart Express annual ($99/yr) or monthly ($9.99/mo) membership 5x  at gas stations on up to $1500 in spending 10x  on select streaming like Netflix and Spotify on up to $1500 in spending The lower annual fee Sapphire Preferred will also be getting similar albeit somewhat abbreviated benefits for Q3: 3x  on Instacart on up to $3,000 in spending Up to $50 in statement credits toward Instacart Express annual ($99/yr) or monthly ($9.99/mo) membership 3x  at gas stations on up to $1500 in spending 5x  on select streaming like Netflix and Spotify on up to $1500 in spending Instacart Express is essentially Instacart's premium membership program that gets you free delivery for a

American Express just widely released an Amex Offer that gets you $5 back whenever you spend $10+ at Shop Small merchants both in-store and online.  This offer can be used up to 10 times through 9/20/2020, but you must enroll with your Amex account online by 7/26/2020.  This offer should be pretty easy for many of us to max out on as there are tons of Shop Small merchants as identified on Amex's dedicated Shop Small website for both in-store and online purchases. The Shop Small website has a nifty tool that allows your to search for eligible merchants with your location or by name.  If you're looking for a specific merchant like Orenchi's legendary ramen in the Bay Area, the search engine will auto-populate the name once you start typing, and the locations will all show up. You can also search by inputting cities and addresses.  Since there are so many Shop Small merchants that will overwhelm the map if you do a general city search, it's best to type a specific addre

After a prolonged bitter dispite, the U.S. and China recently came to an agreement to allow for four weekly flights between the countries for their carriers.  With the agreement, Delta resumed flying to Shanghai (PVG) yesterday from Seattle via Seoul, and plans to fly from Detroit to PVG also via Seoul.  And United just announced that starting July 8, they will resume 2x weekly flights for their SFO-PVG route, which has been dubbed the "Apple Shuttle".  The flights will be on United's flagship B777-300ER, which features United's Polaris seats in business class. Flight Depart Day Time Arrive Time UA 857 San Francisco Weds., Sat. 11:00 a.m. Shanghai 5:45 p.m. +1 day UA 858 Shanghai Thurs., Sun. 9:40 p.m. San Francisco 8:55 p.m. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple was United's largest corporate customer, with annual proceeds coming in at $150 million.  Unsurprisingly, the bulk of that was out of SFO as it's close to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.  And si

Amex and Amazon have partnered to offer a great deal where you get a $20 promotional credit after making a single purchase of $50+ with your Amex consumer card.  This offer is different from previous Amex deals where you typically get a certain percentage off your purchase when you redeem Membership Rewards points. Link to the offer The $50+ single purchase needs be made by your Amex consumer credit card on items sold and shipped by Amazon.com or Amazon Digital Services LLC by July 22, 2020.  The $20 promotional credit will then be e-mailed to you, and must be redeemed by August 22, 2020 on items offered through their Moments Store , which is a collection of thousands of Amazon items rated 4+ stars. Under the terms and conditions, Amazon gift cards are excluded for the $50+ purchase.  However, 3rd party gift card  purchases should work.  This can actually be combined with the current Amex Offer of 5x MR points that also ends on July 22, 2020. To qualify: Add products that are shipped

The Amex Gold card is hands down the best card for anyone who eats (aka everyone) as the card earns 4x Membership Rewards (MR) at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants worldwide.  MR can really add up, and the card also comes with an annual $100 incidental airline credit and $120 for dining at select establishments that help offset the hefty $250 annual fee.  As my annual fee was charged near the of May, I decided to call Amex customer service to see if I could get a retention offer. Amex retention offers background Amex allows you to cancel your card for a full refund of the annual fee provided that you cancel within 30 days of the annual fee being charged.  Previously, if you canceled the card mid-year, Amex would give you a pro-rated refund of the annual fee.  For example, if you canceled 6 months after the $250 annual fee was charged, you'd get a $125 refund.  But now, Amex no longer offers pro-rated annual fee refunds.  So if you cancel after 30 days of the annual fee charge, you&

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) have been locked in a bitter dispute over allowing flights between the two countries.  Due to a clause in the CAAC's policy, U.S. carriers weren't allowed to fly to China period, whereas Chinese carriers were allowed 4 weekly flights to the U.S.  The DOT appealed the rule but the CAAC wouldn't budge, so the DOT returned fire and threatened to block all Chinese carriers from flying to the U.S. starting this week.  But now, both parties have reached a truce as the CAAC will allow for 4 weekly flights between the countries for U.S. carriers.  The DOT's statement : The U.S. Department of Transportation was notified that U.S. carriers have been approved to fly 4 weekly flights to China. The affected U.S. airlines have confirmed this. We welcome this action by the Chinese government, as an important first step to fully restore air travel. Consequently, the Department is amending its

Well, that was quick.  After re-opening a number of their gyms throughout Texas, Florida, and Hawaii ( as well as California next week ), 24 Hour Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection .  The privately-owned fitness chain is $1.3 billion in debt and plans to close 100 of their 400 gyms permanently as part of their re-structuring process. Like many fitness chains including Gold's Gym, which also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past May, 24 Hour Fitness has suffered tremendously from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Growth has been in the negative with new member sign-ups essentially halted along with the excessive membership cancellations.  In an effort to get members to return, 24 Hour Fitness has been offering goodwill promos  like 1-year free buddy passes and reassuring that their gyms are sanitary and safe.  However, the 3-month closure has already taken its toll, and there's no doubt that the second largest fitness chain in the U.S. will be a signifi

The Chase Freedom has revealed its 3rd quarter (Q3) categories for purchases that earn 5x Ultimate Rewards (UR): Amazon.com and Whole Foods.  Q3 runs from July 1 through September 30, 2020, and you can now register through September 14. Registration link It's unusual for the Chase Freedom to essentially have 5x for only one merchant, as Amazon owns Whole Foods.  But I would presume that Chase has seen the most spending at Amazon since the COVID-19 pandemic begin, so they may be adapting to the times.  Having said that, it shouldn't be too difficult for many of us to max out the Q3 5x limit of $1,500 in spending as there's always plenty of shopping to do on Amazon, and they also sell a vast array of useful  3rd party gift cards  like Uber, iTunes, Starbucks, Best Buy, Lowe's and more.  And you can always max out on Amazon gift cards, which can be used to purchase 3rd party gift cards, as well if you're still short near the end of Q3. Quick thoughts The Chase Freedom

I've written in the past on how ANA Mileage Club is one of the best currencies for international business class travel , particularly to Asia.  One of the shortcomings of their program was the hefty carrier imposed surcharges for award flights, which could be hundreds of dollars per flight.  So even if you could book a roundtrip business class flight to Asia for 95,000 miles, you'd have to pay over $200 in taxes and fees.  However, ANA has just slashed their surcharges to just $1 per flight! One of many sweet spots on ANA's award chart is roundtrip business class travel on their metal from North America to Japan for only 85k miles.  Before, you'd have to pay well over $200 in fees, but as you can see above, that number has been dropped to just $58.  And since this $1 surcharge is also consistent when booking ANA metal through their partners like United, Air Canada, and Virgin Atlantic, you would still only pay $1 in surcharges for an ANA award flight no matter which ave

Last week, California Governor Newsom announced Phase 3 opening for the state, allowing bars, salons, movie theaters, and fitness centers to open as early as June 12th with extensive cleaning and precautionary measures.  In response, 24 Hour Fitness, which has recently opened many of their facilities throughout Texas, Florida, and Hawaii, will be re-opening most of their gyms in California on June 22nd! As with their other opened facilities in select states, 24 Hour Fitness will be requiring reservations for workouts via their 24GO app .  Each member is allowed one reservation per day of up to 1 hour, and members can currently reserve for any gym regardless of their membership level (e.g. Active members can reserve and access Super Sport clubs).  After each 1 hour reservation slot, all members will be asked to leave as the gym performs a full comprehensive cleaning for 30 minutes before the next 1-hour reservation slot is granted access.  Governor Newsom has called for significant cap

The travel industry is slowly getting back on its feet (or knees?) after the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In fact, this past Sunday was the busiest day for air travel since the pandemic began in mid-March, though passenger numbers were still a far-cry compared to figures from the previous year.  If you are like some of the few who are itching to get back onto a plane again in the foreseeable future, then there's a nifty tool that you may be interested in which shows you which countries you're currently allowed to enter. Developed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the tool, named  Timatic , displays an interactive global map with color-coded countries.  The color coding is all in shades of blue, with the lightest being non-restrictive, medium as partially restrictive, and the darkest signifying total restriction.  When you click on a country, further details of travel restrictions appear along with the publication date. Although IATA cannot gua

As the airline industry slowly begins their ascent to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, American Airlines is offering 2X miles for summer flights in an effort to get people to fly again.  All flights booked by June 30 and flown by September 30, 2020 are all eligible for double award miles.  The flights need to be marketed and operated by AA, so partner, codeshare, and Oneworld flights won't qualify.  You also need to first register for the promo before booking. AA's current  COVID-19 travel waiver applies to all flights booked by June 30 for travel through September 30, 2020, so all flights booked as a part of this promo can be changed or cancelled without a penalty.  AA is "continuing to limit the number of customers on" their flights, which includes reassigning "seats to create more space between customers or to accommodate families who need to be seated together."  However, flights can still be full as they're not plain outright capping the number

What is purchase protection? Purchase protection typically covers accidental damage and theft of your purchase with your eligible credit card.  For Amex, this coverage extends for 90 days from the date of purchase, and 90 or 120 days for Citi depending on the card, and 120 days for Chase.  Coverage limits can be anywhere from $500 for no and lower annual fee cards like the Chase Freedom to up to $10,000 for premium cards like the Chase Reserve and Amex Platinum .  The following documentation is usually required to file a claim: Itemized receipt of your purchase Credit card billing statement reflecting the purchase Photos of the damaged item(s) Repair or replacement estimate Police or incident report (theft claims) Purchase protection is usually underwritten by a third party insurance company.  For example, Chase is covered by Indemnity Insurance Company, Citi by Virginia Surety Company, and Amex by AMEX Assurance Company.  Most purchases are covered, with the following common exceptio

A few months ago, Citi announced that their Premier card would start earning 3x ThankYou Points (TYP) at both grocery stores and restaurants starting August 23, 2020.  But it looks Citi has decided to join the bonus cashback party early as all grocery store and restaurant purchases from June 2, 2020 now qualify for the 3x TYP!  So through August 23, the bonus cashback categories for the Premier card will be the following: 3x on dining 3x at grocery stores 3x on all travel 3x on gas 2x on entertainment That is probably the best and most comprehensive bonus points afforded to any card on the market.  Though effective August 23, the bonus cashback categories will be modified to the following: 3x on dining 3x at grocery stores 3x on airfare and hotels 3x on gas Initiating the 3x at dining and grocery stores early is a smart move as spending for most people have shifted to grocery stores, takeout, and food delivery since the COVID-19 pandemic began.  A few months ago, Chase also added temp

Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that they would be banning all Chinese carriers from flying to the U.S. effective June 16, 2020.  The DOT's move, which was first conveyed on May 22, is in response to a Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) policy that had prevented U.S. carriers to operate between the two countries. Background On March 26, 2020, the CAAC implemented a policy restricting each airline to operate only a single international passenger route to/from each foreign country per week.  Whereas U.S. carriers would have been able to work under this strict rule, the second important clause of the policy is that it was only granted to carriers that were operating international flights to China as of March 12, 2020.  By that time, all U.S. carriers had suspended all flights to China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  So none of the U.S. carriers were even eligible for the "one flight per week rule", and thus they couldn't fly to China per