March 26, 2009
I’m steaming over the loss of the entire post that should have gone up yesterday, but didn’t. Instead, I tried to post it from my phone’s web browser, had to edit the title, and somehow lost the entire post!
Oh well. Y’all probably didn’t need the long version anyway. Here’s the summary:
Professional
1. Attended another (wait listed) class for my Certificate program this week. Would have missed this opportunity if I hadn’t called and asked for it; you’re supposed to sit and wait for them to contact you when there are openings but I couldn’t afford to be passive. (Never mind I was late thanks to the take-many-detours shuttle driver. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE being late?)
2. Requested permission to “crash” another course two weeks ago. We’re down to the wire here, so I absolutely have to hit every class if I want to take my Certificates of Supervision and Management before the layoff. This means my assertiveness is getting a major workout.
Financial
1. +40: check received from the Airborne class action settlement.
2. +10: my first payout from MySurvey.com
3. +226: this is really a refund, not a plus sign. My dad peeved me because he had over 30 days to return the Dish Network equipment but didn’t so they charged my card. Now I have to wait for them to acknowledge and process receipt of the equipment, process a manual return, and then request a manual refund from the credit card. Bleh.
4. +153: Still waiting for the credit card to send a check from the second insurance refund. Meh.
Fun/Consumerism
1. LOVED MoneyFunk’s latest project: a turtle Amigurumi! I’m a total sucker for cute turtles.
2. Have plans for a $22 prix fixe dinner with a friend next week; a treat is usually a $4 cheeseburger or a couple of chicken soft tacos, but occasionally I have a hankerin’. And it’s at a restaurant I can’t ever afford, normally.
June 11, 2008
While exploring my points hoards further, I made the discovery that, by golly, Starpoints are actually quite nice! I wish there were a faster way to earn points than the standard 1 point per dollar on regular purchases, and 2 points per dollar for stays and SPG-related purchases.
The key (not the standard free hotel stays) awards that caught my fancy:
1. Nordstrom GC: 14,000 points for $150/9,500 points for $100/5,000 for $50
2. Banana Republic GC: 9,500 points for $100/5,000 points for $50/2,800 points for $50
3. For BD, Starbucks: 9,500 points for $100/5,000 points for $50/2,800 points for $50
4. Westin at home (if you want a Heavenly Bed): 14,000 points for $150/9,500 points for $100/5,000 for $50
5. 50% off rack rates (if you can’t get a deal at your popular destination): 1,000 points for 50% off rack rates for up to five nights. Good for up to Category 6 (read: most luxurious) hotels.
6. Nights and flights: 60,000 Starpoints for 50,000 airline miles and five free nights at a Category 3
7. Amtrak Guest Rewards: convert your points into train miles.
This makes me want to re-evaluate my credit cards portfolio and figure out where I can shoehorn in the Starwood card again. I’m content with my current mix, but I may want the flexibility of such rewards in the future.
June 6, 2008
I’d forgotten about this little random perk. Citi sent me a promotion for 3,000 bonus points for a single purchase between March 1st through 31st. They didn’t specify a minimum purchase which was great because I normally I don’t use the card they were running the promotion on. It only gives me 1% back, and I want at least 2% on all my purchases. Fortuitously for me, less so for them, I had to make a trip to the post office the night before the postage prices went up. As it was a Sunday, I hadto use the electronic postage machine to purchase make-up stamps. That helped cut my guilt factor for using a credit card to purchase a single 3 cent stamp; I did need it to make up the postage on an old 39 cent stamp I’d dug up.
The statement came in today, and apparently my piddly little purchase qualified as a single purchase. Cha-ching 3000 points!
October 25, 2007
SavingDiva reminded me that I’ve been hoarding points, and so I thought I’d check on a few of my points pots like the 5100 AMEX Membership Rewards points, and the Hilton HHonors points.
My Hilton HHonors card has been giving me 5 points per dollar spent on cell phone bills and restaurants for about 3 or 4 years now, and I’ve accumulated nearly 50,000 points. Hilton phased out their airline ticket redemption and points-to-miles transfer programs sometime last year, so the only options that I’d consider are hotel stays, and possibly gift cards.
With Christmas coming up and a history of never actually staying at a Hilton Hotel for leisure, it seemed like a good idea to check out the gift card options.
Would you believe that they offer $100 gift cards for 50,000 points?? That’s ridiculous! If I just save those points up for a couple-few days’ hotel stays, I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth more than a single $100 gift card. So much for that.
As for the AMEX points, I don’t plan to use the AMEX card much … or at all, really, so I’m going to cash out those points. I was on the fence about what to get, but the conversation over at Gilded Butterfly’s motivated me to think of a gift card that would do double duty as funding for stuff I need and as funding for Christmas gifts. Too bad I can’t redeem it for Amazon.com or Target!
I can do Linens ‘n’ Things, Barnes & Noble (completely not a necessity), or Banana Republic. Everything else is too frivolously high-end, like Bloomingdale’s, Talbots, L’Occitane, and Brooks Brothers.
May 7, 2007
Though I spent a goodly amount on a pair of jeans Saturday, ’til death do us part, I did not buy any of the pieces I was trying on from Banana Republic as alternative options for my Nordstrom business suit (in case I can’t creatively fund it.) I found that they DO carry a size that fits me, and a dress that I love for its pockets:
Jacket: 168, regular
Skirt: 68, regular
Dress: 85, sale
I’d say that all these prices are hands-down NOT deals, but it fulfills the other requirements of fitting perfectly, thus negating the need for tailoring (unlike most of my clothing), and being available at a store where creative financing is possible. A call to the Thank You Redemptions center revealed that I have a crapload of points, hostage points notwithstanding, and though they don’t offer the $100 gift card for Banana Republic anymore, I can request larger denominations for that and other stores through Your Wish Fulfilled. The catch is that the special rewards are more than likely at a premium so I still probably won’t get my 1 for 1 ratio of points to dollars like I want, but I have the option of accepting or declining the quote that the representative offers.
I asked for a quote on the $100 and $200 denominations of Banana Republic and Nordstrom. One, I can compare the quotes for the most favorable exchange rate. Two, I prefer to have options with regards to the stores, I don’t want to be limited to having money for one store and wanting to buy from the other, after all.
As I’ve said, I don’t like paying premium prices for clothing but as my options in the business-dress department are so limited, I have to save in other ways like not spending actual cash. And as with most things, that takes time and patience. Keep your fingers crossed!
April 26, 2007
I’d been eagerly awaiting the infusion of Citi Thank You Flight points from the Vietnam trip: a little over 30,000 points! Except I completely forgot that they will only release Flight Points up the number of regular Thank You points that have been transferred from that card to your Thank You account. You have to earn the equivalent number of Spend points to get your Flight points.
Since I earned approximately 3000 regular points buying the flights to Vietnam, and got a bonus 15,000 points with my first purchase, PremierPass only liberated 17000 Flight points. Curses! And I’ve already charged my insurance to my regular use card, so that’s one fewer big-ticket item I can use to emancipate those remaining points.
Though I generally use credit cards to pay as many bills as possible and can switch to this card (insurance, cell phones, internet, cable) it still doesn’t add up to spending $14,000, and certainly not in the next 8 months (because I’m not keeping this card w/ a $75 annual feel)! Hm, any ideas?
