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When to Buy Airline Miles

It can be really difficult to know when you should buy airline miles. Often, you will see people who tell you not to buy airline miles, but there are actually a few times that you want to actively buy airline miles – and not just when you are planning a trip. There are time when it will be to your benefit to buy airline miles.

To Get a Certain Reward

If you are near a specific tier or you want a specific award, it might be smart to buy airline miles. You might be short for a flight that you really want to take, or you might be really close to getting business class instead of economy, in that case it will make sense to purchase a few more to get to that reward.

You also might be near a specific tier that gets you perks while you are on your flight. If this is the case, you will have to weigh the amount of money that you spend to get the miles and the perks – usually the perks are worth it.

To Stop Miles from Expiring

If you have a lot of miles stockpiled up, you might be worried about them expiring. Many people will save up miles and miles for a specific event, but the miles will expire before that event happens.

Airline rewards points or miles do expire, but buying new miles will keep them up to date, not matter how old they are or how many you have. Sometimes there will be limits to how many you have to buy, but it will be worth it before losing so many miles.

For Premium Experiences

If you are looking for a better experience, you might want to purchase miles so that you can get it. Whether you want to upgrade from one class to another or you want to have a better experience in the airport, you can do either when you buy miles. Make sure to do your research, as experiences that are available one weekend or day might not be available the next.

Buying airline miles is a good idea in many cases, especially if you are looking for a way to keep your miles active or a way to better your experience either in the airport or on the plane itself. Make sure to do your research and see what methods will work for you.

Tips for Using Airline Miles and Reward Points for your Honeymoon

With all of the money you spend on your wedding, spending even more money on your honeymoon might seem absolutely silly – yet it is tradition and something most couples want to do. So how you can you make it work on a budget? Well, one of the best ways to do it is to use airline miles and rewards points to help you afford it.

How?

Here are a few tips for using them:

Start Planning As Soon As You Can

The earlier you plan, the better. Sometimes there are only a few dates available for a specific time, so you want to start your search as soon as possible. You will be able to have more leniency, and you can even plan them together, if possible, so that you can pick your honeymoon dates before your wedding dates.

Be Lenient on Location

Don’t really have your heart set on one specific place to go for your honeymoon? That’s great when it comes to using your points. If you can be lenient on the location of your honeymoon, you will be able to pick something quite easily.

Focus on Air Travel First

If you have the airline miles, try to focus on picking the airline first. You will want to do this because it is easier to find a hotel in most locations than it will be to find a flight that is worth your time.

Purchase Points

Don’t have enough points to get what you want? Consider purchasing points instead of forgetting about using points altogether. It is a great way to only pay a smaller amount of your honeymoon. An even better idea? Many people will give you money for your wedding or at a bridal shower, so you can use that to cover get yourself some more miles or points to use.

Splurge on Hotel, Not Flights

You will not be spending much time on your flight, but you will be spending a lot of time in your hotel room – probably more than you think. You want to spend your time and money on picking a great hotel rather than getting the best seats on the flight. You’ll be in such a love cocoon that you won’t even notice the flight.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and honeymoon! If you want to really go all out for your ceremony that you are afraid you won’t have much left for the honeymoon, consider the above tips to help make it a reality.

Simple Ways to Keep your United Mileage Plus Miles From Expiring

There are few things worse in this world than miles expiring, especially if they are United Mileage Plus Miles. You don’t have to just accept that your miles are gone and you won’t get them back – there are some things you can do, even things at the last minute, that will help you to keep your miles active.

Buy Miles

At the very last minute, one of the quickest and easiest things you can do to keep your United Mileage Plus Miles from expiring is to simply buy more miles. This is one of the easiest ways to end your stress because by buying miles, you are getting more and saving up for a future trip.

E-Miles

E-miles is a program that allows you to complete surveys and get miles in return. You get 400 miles deposited into your account if you complete 5 of more offers. Once those miles go into your account, you will have a later expiration date.

Use Your Credit Card

Many airlines have a credit card company that they partner with, which not only makes this a great way to keep your miles active, it is an easy way to keep a steady stream of miles going into your account.

Anytime you charge a purchase, you will get miles and reset the expiration date of your account.

Donate

If you have a bunch of miles that are about to expire, you may want to do some good. You can donate your miles, in increments of 500 or more miles, and that will automatically reset your expiration date. Of course, you will be paying 500 miles to do it, but you can choose what charity to donate your miles to, which means will you be able to feel fulfilled as well.

Go Out to Eat

Most people eat out at restaurants fairly regularly. Why not put it to work for you? Sign up for United’s MileagePlus dining program and when you do go out to eat (at participating restaurants), you will earn miles and reset your clock.

Use Miles

Your best bet is to just use your miles regularly – that will keep them active and ensure that they will never go to waste.

No matter what you do, allowing your miles to expire is a bad idea. With so many other options out there, it just seems like throwing money away.

Planning a Disney Vacation? Ways to Save and How to Use Your Points and Miles for It

Going is Disney is always going to be one of the best vacations that you will go on, no matter what age you are. There is just something really special about Disney and if you can, you want to make it the best it can be. This means that you want to save money where you can – so you can splurge where you want.

Here are a few ways to use miles and points for your Disney vacation – and save some money in the process.

Use the Right Card

If you plan on using a Disney credit card, you want to pick one that will give you rewards and points where you need them. Make sure to do some research before you sign up for any card – certain ones will help you with hotels, others for food, and some might even come with some great introductory options.

Use Points and Miles for Hotels

Different hotels in Disney have partnerships with other hotel chains that you might have rewards points for already. You will be able to use these points for one of the most expensive parts of a Disney trip (and the part you will use the lease) – the hotel.

If you don’t have enough points or miles for your hotel stay one option is to buy your miles for your Disney trip. Buying your miles can not only help you to save money on your flights to and from Disney or to upgrade your trip to make it all that much better, but you can also use them to save on your hotel stay. This is a relatively simply process that you can do through different credit card rewards programs or airline rewards programs.

Consider Going During “Non-Peak” Times

Your points and rewards are going to go further during times when other people aren’t fighting you for all of the deals. Going during months when there isn’t as much competition, and staying away from any major holidays will help your money to go even further.

When planning your trip, you do have to remember to be careful about spending money – there is a tendency to go too far when you are planning a trip. Try creating a budget going into your trip and finding creative ways to stay on budget when you need to do so. You don’t have to follow your plan exactly, but you want to go in with an idea of what you will need to spend.

Tips for Buying Back Expired Airline Miles

If you have airline miles that have expired, you are probably thinking about the different ways to prevent it from happening again – but there is something else that you can do: buy your expired miles back.

When to Buy Back Your Miles

Many people just think that once their miles expire, it is all over. However, if you have a lot of miles, you might be better off buying them back. You want to think about what you will use them for, like it you want to get a premium cabin for international travel or something else special. You have to compare the price of your miles and how much what you want would actually cost you.

Since most airlines are fairly cheap to buy the airline miles back, it is a good deal.

Each airline has its own policy, so there really isn’t a “one size fits all” aspect to this. Sometimes you pay per mile, other times you will pay a flat fee. It really depends on the airline – some don’t allow you to buy them back at all.

Sometimes you will have to find out the terms and then take the time to do the math – don’t avoid this. You will have to do it eventually to make sure this is a good idea at all.

When you do buy them back, make sure that you read all of the requirements so that you spend them before they expire again.

If you have only missed the expiration date by a few days, you may be able to talk your way out of it.

Prevent Them From Expiring

After you buy back your miles, you should know when, where, and how all of your miles are stored so that you can keep them up to date. There are ways to keep your miles active, so learn them.

At the end of the day, if your miles have expired, it is not the end of the world. However, there are going to be experiences that could have been better if you had used your miles. The best thing to do is keep your miles active from the start, but buying back expired airline miles is always an option. There are plenty of ways to keep your miles active, especially if you have everything organized in a way that is effective.

Tips for Keeping your Miles from Expiring

If you plan to keep a lot of miles in your repertoire, you know that you are going to have some problems with keeping them current and keeping them from expiring. Many people don’t know that their miles expire and that they expire far more quickly than you expect. Using up your miles before they expire is always an option, but there are plenty more options that you might want to consider as well, especially if you are trying to save them.

Keep Track of Your Expiration Dates

Knowing the expiration dates of your miles will help you to keep track of them. Put all of the information that you can into a spreadsheet or at least make a reminder for yourself. Most programs have miles that expire after a year and a half of dormancy. Dormancy means that you have earned or spent any miles.

Know Where To Spend Your Money

If you are using a credit card to earn miles, you have to regularly spend money to earn your points. If you are trying to save money, it only takes a few dollars to keep your points active.

Learn which hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, or stores will earn you miles so that you can earn the quickly and easily and don’t have to risk losing your miles.

Be Smart About Choosing a Card in the First Place

If you are smart about choosing a card, you won’t have to worry about expiring points quite as much. If a card works with you, you will be able to get all that you want out of the card without having to worry about accruing debt. The best cards will actually save you money in the long run.

Buy Miles or Points

If you are really at the end of the road and you aren’t sure what to do, you can always buy more miles or points. This might be one of the easier ways to keep your points and miles active as it is easy to do. If you are interested in buying miles, learn more about how we offer a simple and safe way to do so.

Note that there will be a minimum purchase requirement for those miles and points as well.

When making a decision to sign up for a card, you want to read all you can and do enough research so that you feel confident keep your miles active.

If you pay attention to your account, make smart purchases, and research you card before you sign up for it, you will have great success keeping your miles from expiring.

Tips for Booking Your Vacation in 2018

Planning to take a trip in 2018? It is a great year to do so! There is a ton going on around the world and it is the perfect time to make memories. However, you do have to be smart about when, where, and how you book your vacations. If you are smart, you will be able to take better trips to create even more memories – or you may able to get another vacation out of the year.

Here are some of our favorite tips for booking your vacations in 2018:

Plan in Advance

Planning as far in advance as you can will help you to go at your ideal time, if you absolutely have to plan it all out. Certain destinations will book around the more popular times of the year, so if you dream about spending New Year’s in NYC or going to Disney in June, you want to plan as far in advance as you can.

Or Be Spontaneous

If you have more flexibility, you can consider going somewhere at the last minute. This often will get you the best deals on hotels, and you won’t have to worry about “overplanning” anything.

Think About Packages

One thing you might want to do is purchase a package deal. Getting a hotel and a flight packaged together will save you money in many instances. Sometimes, you’ll get the flight free if you book with a certain hotel. These aren’t always the best option, so you will have to do quite a bit of research on your own to crunch the numbers.

Buy Airline Miles

Another great option? Use the miles that you have with your credit card. With your credit card rewards program, you will get access to some of the best rates available. If you don’t have enough miles, you can always buy miles and use them – which will still often be less than buying an airline ticket outright.

Look Off the Beaten Path

If you want to go somewhere that a celebrity recently traveled, you probably will have to pay more than if you are going somewhere a little bit left of center. The most popular locations will always have high price tags because there will always be people who are willing to pay it. Going one town over or looking on the outskirts of town will help you to save some money, and maybe experience something more authentic.

The most important thing to do is relax and not stress out of your vacation bookings. When you do this, there is a chance that you will make a mistake.

Best reward credit cards for 2018

All credit cards are not created equally, especially when it comes to credit cards rewards programs. In 2018, there are a few that stand out amongst the crowd and really make it worthwhile to invest in applying and using the credit card for rewards.

Best for Travel: Barclaycard Arrival Plus

If you like to travel, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard is the best for you to use to earn rewards on everything you buy. Then, you can use it for travel expenses in the form of cashback or use it for points toward travel. You get a 2.1% rewards rate on all of your spending.

Even better, however, is that you get 40,000 miles as a new cardholder if you spend $3,000 on purchases within 90 days after getting the card. After the first year, there is an annual fee of $89, so you want to charge more than $1,500 per month to it to make it worthwhile.

New Cashback? Try the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

Want more cash back? The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express earns you at supermarkets 6% cashback capping at $6,000 each year, at gas stations and certain department stores you can get 3%, and 1% on all other purchases. You can get statement credit when you spend a certain amount of money, and a 0% APR for the first year.

If you want all of the above without an annual fee, consider the Blue Cash Everyday Card by American Express – this one has a $150 intro bonus and similar savings to the above American Express card.

For Those in Business: Ink Business Cash Credit Card

If you do a lot of business spending on your card, the best card to invest in is the Ink Business Cash Credit Card. You get a $300 cash bonus when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. THen, you’ll get 5% cash back on cell phones, internet, cable TV, and office supply stores, 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, and 1% on all other purchases. There is no annual fee and 0% APR for the first twelve months.

The type of credit card that works best for you will vary depending on what you will use the card for, how often you plan on using the credit card, and where you want to use the card. You might have to do some research into your own spending to see what will work the best for you.

How Do Rewards Credit Cards Work?

Many people (falsely) believe that they understand how credit card rewards work, but they really don’t. In fact, many credit card companies rely on the fact that people don’t really look into how their credit cards work. Instead, they do what they think that they are supposed to do, and they end up not getting enough rewards.

So how do they really work? Let’s break it down:

Types of Rewards

There are three different types of rewards: cash, points, and miles.Cash isn’t always actual cash, but rather a type of credit that takes away from your credit card bills. Sometimes it will be automatic, but on other cards you will have to wait until you get a certain amount of “rewards” before you can turn it into cash.

Points can sometimes be used as cash, they can also be points that are used to shop in some sort of portal. Or, you can get miles that you can turn into airfare.

Those are pretty self explanatory. However, there are a few other categories that each of those categories fit into:

Fixed Value: You know what you will get when you spend money using this card.

Transferable: You can use your points through programs directly related to the card and with some other companies as well through a transfer.

Co-Branded: You can’t transfer, but you get special perks and privileges with the card’s rewards.

Tiered Rewards or Flat Rewards? What is Better?

When looking at how a rewards credit card works, another thing you may want to look at is how you earn rewards. You may earn a set number of rewards for every dollar you spend. At times, this will change with where you shop or at what type of establishment that you shop. Tiered rewards have you earning more and more rewards as you continue to spend more money.

What to Look Out For with Credit Card Rewards

While some programs are better than others, there are a few things that multiple programs do that you should be on the lookout for when finding the right program for you. The best rewards programs are only available to those who have good credit scores. Or they have strict limits about who can actually get a credit card with those rewards. Make sure to always read the fine print.

Most importantly, pay attention to how things change over time as you use your card more frequently.

Unique ways to earn airline miles and credit card rewards in 2018

Are you looking to earn more airline miles and credit card rewards in 2018? As many of us plan our financial futures and some of our “2018 bucket list” items, it seems apparent that the two aren’t always in sync with each other. However, there are some unique ways you can tackle both – by earning airline miles and credit card rewards at the same time. Here are a few new ways to work into your daily spending:

Change Someone’s Life

One of the most unique ways to earn airline miles or credit card rewards for a small fee. Kiva.org is an international lender where you can loan money to a pre-screened applicant from countries in need. The borrower pays you back over time and while Kiva does take a low rate, you are still doing good with your money, earning points, and getting it all back in the end. Make sure to read the fine print because it isn’t 100% guaranteed, so you want to do some soul searching and see if this is an option for you.

Enjoy Some Culture

Audience Rewards is a fantastic website that allows you to earn and win miles when booking tickets to some of the most popular shows on Broadway right now. Audience Rewards is a great source for people who see many Broadway shows because you can shop with those points or use them toward other tickets – so it is definitely something to consider.

Utilize Things You’ll Use Anyway

Even if you are trying to save money, it is likely that you will be purchasing food, hiring a babysitter, or using a contractor that you’d traditionally pay with cash. Instead, ask if you can pay them using a credit card, through Venmo or Paypal, or some other form of online payment. You can connect these accounts to your credit card and reap the rewards.

Search Before Buying

Everything from purchasing flowers to ordering take-out to watching television can earn you additional points. Before making any purchase, make sure to do a search to see if you can get a better deal or a deal that will earn you points.

Need points or credit card rewards? While it might seem like extra work now, eventually doing these things will become second nature and you will be able to do it automatically without seemingly any extra work.