Flying for Fitness

Apple has announced today that iTunes gift cards can now be used towards Apple products!  In the past, iTunes gift cards could only be used towards digital purchases in the iTunes store like music, movies, apps, subscriptions etc.  But now, they can also be used towards any hardware that Apple sells, which previously only Apple Store gift cards could do.  So if you're one of the few (or many?) who have accumulated iTunes gift cards over the years collecting dust, you now have the opportunity to redeem them for Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, etc.  This is part of Apple's endeavor to consolidate gift card currencies as they have just released their unified "Apple Gift Card" . This is a huge positive change as it essentially elevates the value of iTunes gift cards, which often go on sale for 10-20% under face value at merchants like Costco, Sam's Club, grocery stores, Best Buy, and more.  But as apps and music usually sell for a dollar, many of us have found it

Doordash has released their Summer of DashPass promo , kicking off $15 off any order from 7/27-8/2 for DashPass members.  The Summer of DashPass will consist of the following weekly promos: 7/27-8/2: $15 off any order 8/3-8/9: Free slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory when you order $12+ 8/10-8/16: Buy 1 get 1 free Chipotle entree 8/17-8/23: $20 off pickup order 8/24-8/30: $15 off convenience order 8/31-9/6: $15 off pizza orders As you can see, these are valuable weekly promos where you can get food for pretty much free if you're a DashPass member.  DashPass is Doordash's premium paid membership that offers $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on orders $12+.  Typically, Doordash offers a 1-month free trial for DashPass.  However, you can get free extended DashPass memberships with any of the following Chase credit cards : Chase Reserve : free for at least one year, $60 credit in 2020 and $60 credit in 2021 Chase Sapphire Preferred: free for at least one year Ch

Both the Chase Freedom and the Unlimited cards have upped their sign-up bonuses to $200 (20,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $500 in the first 3 months and tagged on 5% cashback on grocery store purchases for the first 12 months of card membership!  This is an excellent sign-up bonus for these no annual fee cards: the Chase Freedom which earns 5% on quarterly rotating categories and the Chase Unlimited which earns 1.5% on all purchases.  The 5% cashback applies on grocery store purchases is capped at $12,000 for the 12 months, and is for the new cardholders only.  Let's take a look at the two cards. Chase Freedom $200 (20k UR) after spending $500 in the first 3 months of card membership 5% cashback on quarterly rotating categories, up to $1,500 in purchases For Q3 (July-September), 5% cashback on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases 5% cashback on all grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart) for the first 12 months of card membership, up to $12,000 in

On the heels of last week's $20 off $50 promo offer , Amazon is now offering many Amex Membership Rewards (MR) cardholders another $20 off $50 on ready for school items, electronics, and more if they use just 1 MR point.  Ready for school items include school supplies, backpacks and accessories, electronics, boys and girls clothing, and cleaning and essentials, so you should be able to find something to max out on this offer. Link to promo To see if you are eligible for this widely targeted offer, go to the promo page and click on "Activate now".  Remember that your Amex MR card must be linked to your Amazon account and you must have enabled paying with points .  This promo ends on the earlier of (a) 11:59 PT on 8/30/2020, or (b) the time at which 100,000 customers have redeemed the offer, so don't delay. How to maximize the offer Since 1 Amex MR can only be redeemed for 0.7 cents towards Amazon purchases, it's best to use only 1 MR towards your $50+ purchase. 

Amazon and Amex currently have a widely targeted promo which gets you $20 off a single $50+ purchase as long as you redeem just 1 MR!  This represents a 40% discount, and can be used towards all products sold and shipped by Amazon excluding Amazon gift cards. Click to see if you are targeted This promo ends on the earlier of 11:59 PST on 9/30/2020, or the time at which 50,000 customers have redeemed the offer, so don't delay if you were targeted.  Although Amazon gift cards are excluded from this offer, 3rd party gift cards such as Uber Eats, Lowe's, Best Buy, Safeway, etc. are eligible, so it should be really easy for you to max out on this offer. Get $20 off a $50 3rd party gift card like Safeway How to maximize the promo Since 1 Amex MR can only be redeemed for 0.7 cents towards Amazon purchases, it's best to use only 1 MR towards your $50+ purchase.  There's also an Amex Offer that gets you +5x MR on Amazon purchases that expires on July 22, 2020 that can be combin

Fitness centers in the Santa Clara County, otherwise known as the center of the Silicon Valley, have been given the green light to re-open on July 13, 2020 by the State of California.  These gyms have been closed since the State's shelter-in-place mandate imposed in March.  In response, 24 Hour Fitness, the second largest gym chain in the U.S., announced that they would be re-opening their Santa Clara County gyms on July 13 while closing the following amenities as directed by the County: • Indoor cardio & aerobic exercise • Water fountains • Vending machines • Seating, waiting, and lounge areas • Locker rooms and showers • Indoor pools, spas, saunas and steam rooms To see which and when your gym will be re-opening, visit their constantly updated  club list . Mandatory reservation system Santa Clara County has also mandated a reservation system for gym usage, meaning that you can't just walk in and work out but need an actual reservation as part of capacity controls.  24 Hou

SiriusXM is currently offering a great deal where you can get 3 months of service and a Amazon Echo Dot for just $1!!  The SiriusXM Essential streaming plan normally costs $8 per month, and the Echo Dot retails for $50, so this amounts to $74 value for just $1.  After the 3 months of service, your account with automatically renew at the standard rate of $8 per month, so be sure to cancel before the renewal date to ensure that you aren't charged. Even though it's only a $1 charge, the best credit card to use for this offer would be the Chase Reserve or Sapphire Preferred card, which earn 10x and 5x this quarter , respectively, on streaming subscription services including SiriusXM.  In addition, you may also be eligible for cashback at portals such as Rakuten , which is currently offering $15 cashback for new subscriptions. Terms and conditions: Over 300 Channels ( Full lineup ), SiriusXM video and access On Demand content on the app and connected devices. Offer good only for n

A few weeks ago, Chase announced that their Reserve and Sapphire Preferred cards, which normally just earn 3x and 2x on travel and dining purchases, respectively, will be earning bonus Ultimate Rewards (UR) for the 3rd quarter (Q3) for Instacart, gas station, and streaming subscription services.  This is a welcome addition as typically, only the Chase Freedom earns quarterly bonus UR.  And new datapoints are now showing that the Chase Reserve and Sapphire Preferred are now also earning 5x and 3x, respectively, on all dining purchases. As you can see from the screenshot above (credit: Traveling for Miles), dining purchases before July 1 earned the standard 3x for the Reserve.  But a similar dining purchase after July 1 earned 5x.  Since this is an unannounced bonus, it's unclear as to how long it's good for and what the cap is.  But more likely than not, it'll be good for all of Q3 as datapoints suggested that dining began earning extra UR effective July 1. So in summary fo

The historical Minneapolis Athletic Club is being re-branded into the latest Hyatt Centric Downtown Minneapolis !  The Athletic Club, which has been formerly branded as the Grand Hotel Minneapolis, will now be available for award bookings as a World of Hyatt category 4 hotel for 15,000 points per night.  In addition, the property will be eligible to be booked with the free Category 1-4 award certificate from the World of Hyatt card or Milestone award after 30 nights.  But more importantly, the new Hyatt Centric will be home to one of the best and largest hotel gyms: The hotel features contemporary design, upscale guestroom and hotel amenities such as Drybar Buttercup salon-quality blow-dryers in each room, a state-of-the-art 7,000-square-foot fitness center with an indoor running track, a lobby bar and restaurant featuring American cuisine and private event facilities that can host up to 200 guests. Located in the city center of Minneapolis with direct access to an 11-mile, temperature

SoFi Money has announced that their debit card will be earning 10% cashback on select grocery store and streaming entertainment purchases.  The earnings period is from July 1 through September 30, 2020, otherwise known as Q3 (3rd quarter).  You can earn up to $50 cashback for the following grocery stores and $50 for the following select streaming services ($100 total): Grocery:  Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Instacart Subscriptions : Netflix, Disney+, Spotify In other words, the 10% cashback is capped at spending of up to $500 in groceries and spending of up to $500 in streaming subscriptions.  SoFi has stated that the 10% cashback categories is based on the feedback they received over their Facebook Members Group . An important condition for this cashback offer is that if your SoFi Money account was opened on or after June 9, 2020, then you must deposit at least $500 every month into your SoFi Money account to be eligible .  Existing accounts before June 9 do not seem to be bound by thi