Milenomics ² Podcast - No Annual Fee Edition

We're back with a packed No Annual Fee episode of the podcast. Let's get right into it... 0:22 2021 Amex Perks/Offers (Summary from Amex) Personal$30 PayPal Credit Per Month (no activation required)[Targeted] $50 back on $50 at Best Buy (use twice, activation required)[Targeted] $50 back on $50 at Home Depot (use twice, activation required)BusinessAdditional 4x on Gas, Office Supply, Wireless, Advertising, Shipping (capped at $20,000 in spend through 6/31/2021, activation required)OtherHints of 20% discount on airfare through MayHints of co-branded card enhancementsNever has so much thought been put into limited time enhancements to credit cards. They’re keeping busy over there.All About Amex in 10 Minutes 14:22 Virgin Atlantic Devalues for Delta Award Redemptions (Thrifty Traveler) Used to be a nice way to pay for Delta First on domestic routesEx: Was 22,500 now 40,000Similarly negative for Delta international premium cabins 18:45 Things to do in the New Year Q1 2020 5x CategoriesChase FreedomWholesale ClubsInternet, Cable, & Phone ServicesSelect Streaming ServicesCiti DividendAmazonStreamingDiscoverGroceryWalgreens, CVSDon't Compare Your Earn Rate to OthersGet to work on 5x categories and BofA Cash RewardsAir IncidentalsAmex Credits If you like the No Annual Fee show you'll love a subsiption to the Milenomics Podcast Network. Patreon accepts PayPal so you can use the $30/mo Amex Personal Platinum PayPal benefit discussed in this show towards a subscription to the full Milenomics Podcast Network (including Slack access and more): patreon.com/milenomics

On today's podcast I chat with Bram Berkowitz to discuss investing in mutual savings banks. I first became familiar with the topic from an excellent article he wrote: See: How The Average Person Can Make A Lot Of Money Investing In Mutual Savings Banks 0:00 Background and intro 2:10 The basic pattern of mutual banks offering pre-IPO shares to account holders, a potential run up and second bump 3 years later Recent example: $EBC 10:10 How to identify future candidate banks? 12:45 Is this opportunity nationwide? Or more prevalent in MA? Links mentioned: FDIC Mutual InstitutionsAmerica's Mutual BanksBankInvestor.comThe Zen of Thrift Conversions: How To Turn Hidden Bank Stocks Into Big Gains You can find Bram's work on The Motley Fool and follow Bram on Twitter @BramBerko My thanks to Bram for appearing on the show

On this week's "No Annual Fee" podcast we discuss... 0:25 Amex Personal Gold/Platinum Offers through Resy (HT DDG) Direct Link to offersPersonal Gold has standard characteristics (60k welcome bonus, $4k min spend, $250 fee) plus20% back at restaurants first year up to $250 backPersonal Platinum has standard characteristics (75k welcome bonus, $5k min spend, $550 fee) plus20% back at restaurants first year up to $300 back10x on Gas and Supermarkets up to $15,000 spend for 6 monthsOffers do contain lifetime languagePlatinum offer is even better than even a 25k referral, right?But maybe not as good as a +3x referralWorth a shot to see if you get the pop-up?See also: Episode 44 All About Amex 4:25 Chase Ink 75,000 Ultimate Reward Offers Ink Cash 5x at office supply capped at $25k/yr (HT DoC)Ink Unlimited 1.5x everywhere (HT DoC)$7,500 min spend in 4 months$0 AF cards 6:10 Chase United MileagePlus Explorer 70,000 Offer Direct Link60,000 for $3,000 in first 3 months+10,000 for for additional $6,000 within first 6 months$95 AF waived first year 7:45 Chase UR: 30% Transfer Bonus to Avios Expires 12/9/2020HT MilesTalkIs this enough to give you pause over cashing out at 1.5 cpp? 9:45 Stop & Shop: $25 Grocery Voucher for $150+ 3rd Party GC Purchase Works for Best Buy, probably anything that’s not a VGC/MCGCPurchase 11/6-11/26/2020Coupons expire 12/2/2020Limit 1 $25 voucher per transaction (both on the purchase and the redemption)Sometimes these are capped at 10 uses per S&S account, other times not cappedAt sister store Giant, it’s 5x on 3rd party GCs (which I think I’d actually like more since the rewards are easier to use) 12:10 New Annual Subscription Option 10% off for a new yearly subscriptionGood option for those currently subscribed at $14.95Visit patreon.com/milenomics and select the "or save 10% if you pay annually" option If you like these free shows, we think you'll love the paid shows. They're longer and much more in-depth. We recently released Episode 100 where we discuss the origin story of Milenomics the blog, our Shop Talk series, and the Milenomics Podcast Network. This week on the paid show we'll be discussing: Good news/bad news for gener

Earlier this year we launched a podcast network, adding the Manifesto hosted by Gideon the Free-quent Flyer to the Patreon Feed. In this episode Gideon sits down with Kelly de Schaun, Chief Executive Officer of the Galveston Park Board. Enjoy this special episode, and if you're interested in even more great podcast content, check us out on Patreon. -- [0:00] Intro Original Galveston post: https://freequentflyerbook.com/blog/2015/6/14/galveston-tx-is-a-weird-place-to-take-a-vacationGalveston Park Board: https://www.galvestonparkboard.org/Beach and Park Operations: https://www.galvestonparkboard.org/157/Beach-and-Park-OperationsGalveston Island Convention Center: https://www.galvestonislandconventioncenter.com/ [2:37] Beach nourishment and replenishment Galveston Island geographyBeach recreational opportunities and economicsRelationship with Army Corps of EngineersDredging of Galveston ChannelHurricanes! [8:07] VisitGalveston.com  [9:07] Galveston’s history Indigenous populationPirates!Pelican Island Immigration Station (https://www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/history/galvestons-immigration-station)African American history (https://www.galvestonhistorycenter.org/research/african-american-history)The 1900 Storm (https://www.1900storm.com/)Natural and economic historyBootlegging and bordellosCruise port [18:37] Tourism breakdown Summer is high seasonSecond homesExtended stays (work from home, remote schooling)Dune bashing and tailgatingPublic alcohol consumption (no glass!)Special eventsLone Star Rally: https://lonestarrally.com/Mardi Gras: https://www.galveston.com/calendarofevents/mardi-gras-2021/ [23:37] Status of AirBNB/VRBO Registration requirementsLocal contact (noise complaints)Compliance program [26:37] Seasons Make summer reservations earlyHaunted Mayfield Manor: https://www.galveston.com/whattodo/attractions/thrill/mayfieldmanor/ Pier 21:

Today we're doing 10 minutes on the podcast All About Amex. This post is a companion piece to that audio. The goal here is to describe the "quirks and features" (as Doug DeMuro would say) of American Express credit cards and their Membership Rewards program. Amex may not be as straightforward to interact with as Chase but if you take time to familiarize yourself with Amex it can prove to be a very valuable relationship. Card Limits Amex limits the number of active cards we can have with them. The number has changed over the years, but the current limits are: 4 credit10 charge Charge cards are the green, gold, platinum and plum cards (of which there are many varieties) that need to be paid off each month and have "no pre-set spending limit." Everything else is a credit card. This includes personal and business cards, but does not include authorized user cards. It's possible to have more than these limits if the cards were opened when limits were higher. Universal Referral Amex has the most generous referral program in the credit card space. See: All About Amex Referrals If you have an active Amex card you can refer friends and family for Amex cards. You'll earn a bonus for the referral if your friend is approved, and your friend can also get a welcome bonus for the card. To start the process visit: americanexpress.com/referYou can even refer friends for Amex cards you yourself don't have.The referral bonus depends on the card you're referring from. The welcome bonus your friend gets depends on the card they apply for. This creates some interesting opportunities since you can get a lucrative referral credit even if your friend applies for a lowly no annual fee card.Referral offers can sometimes be inferior to public or affiliate offers so be sure to verify you're referring for the best possible option.Through 10/28/2020 Amex is running an amazing promotion whereby qualifying referrals will get not only the referral bonus, but will earn an additional 3 points for spend on the card they refer from for three months: Three For All Promo Offers Vary Amex is known to display different welcome offers depending on location, cookies, whether you're on mobile or desktop, or whether you're browsing incognito. We call this the Amex Random Number Generator. As with referral offers, you'll want to make sure you're catching a welcome bonus that's the best currently available so if you don't see what others are reporting - keep trying until you do. Transfer Partners Amex Membership Rewards transfer 1:1 to a variety of airlines and hotel partners, most notably: AeroplanDelta SkyMilesANAAsia MilesAviaca LifeMilesSingapore KrisFlyerQantasBritish Airways AviosEtihadVirgin AtlanticHilton Chase's Ultimate Rewards program is perhaps more user-friendly with familiar US transfer partners like Southwest, United, and Hyatt. But Amex's partners can be quite valuable both for domestic travel and international premium cabins. Notable Redemptions Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards can not be cashed out directly for a penny a piece. You can use points to "Cover Your Card Charges" for 0.6 cents a piece (a very bad value). You can redeem

0:25 Stop & Shop Rewards can now be used for Groceries (Milenomics Slack) 1 point per dollar earned Redeem 100 points for $1 (1 cpp value)2,000 max per transaction (ie, max $20 off)Fuel Rewards is 100 points for $0.10/gallon up to 20 gallons (Up to 2 cpp of value if you can fill a 20 gallon tank)But how much gas can you realistically use?You need to log in to your account (on desktop or app) and opt in to GO Rewards. You can’t opt to go back into the old program, but the new program still allows you to redeem for gas so I don’t see a downside in opting in.Also check out Saverocity Observation Deck Ep 141 for more about Fuel RewardsAnd MSP Ep 7 on Kroger’s program specifically 4:10 Amex Offer: 10% Off Staples up to $40 Back (Milenomics Slack) Only on my account (business card) 5:20 iTunes GCs Can Now Be Used to Buy Apple Products (MacRumors) What effect does this have on resale prices? 7:40 Targeted Amex Personal Platinum $100 Back on $100 at Dell Great way to capture this is a buyers group 9:50 Park Hyatt Mallorca De-flagged (Milenomics Slack) Hotel isn’t set to re-open due to Covid until 2021The build quality is really incredible here, such a shame to see it wasn’t a financial success (perhaps even before Covid).Would you still seek this property out, once it’s an independent hotel?Less loyalty leverage, concerns about food & beverage quality (was so high before), and overall experience.Could rates and packages make this even more compelling as an independent hotel?Sweet Spots: The Most Seasonally Miscategorized Hyatt Hotels 16:30 7-Eleven to Acquire Speedway Stations (CNN) Sam: My bad!MSP Ep 6 on Speedway 19:50 Fee-free VGCs at Staples 8/2-8/8 (FM) Limit 5YMMV Want more podcast content? Head over to our Patreon page. There, you can subscribe and get a special link to listen to all three shows in the Milenomics Podcast Network in your preferred mobile podcast app. In Episode 87 of the Milenomics² Podcast we discuss: Heightened credit card welcome offersTightening approval standardsThe utility of Amex authorized users

Today we're back with a standard No Annual Fee episode.  We do the news, and then talk Personal Finance and Amex Small Business Credits. 0:30 GiftCards.com joins giftcardmall with $2k monthly portal cap Rakuten lasted until 7/7 at $60k/mo Showing $2k cap as of 7/8 1:50 [Targeted?] Chase Marriott/Ritz cards: 10x on Gas + Dining (DoC) 7/15-9/15 $3,500 cap Must register: Link 3:15 Discover 20% off Amazon when Using 1 point (DoC) Just wanted to mention it’s smart to keep some Discover rewards clanging around rather than draining the rewards to be able to take advantage of these promos Discover is 5x on PayPal Q3 2020 so a good time to use Discover cards in general 5:00 Stop & Shop/Giant: 3X Fuel Rewards for VGCs 7/10-7/16 5:30 Hyatt 15-25% Point Rebate on Award Stays + Free Parking (Direct Link) Register by 9/1/2020 Stay from 7/8/2020 - 10/8/2020 15% back for all, 25% back for Chase Hyatt cardholders Stacks with a promo for 2,500 for those with elite status + Chase card (Dans Deals) Example: 30k Hyatt is 22.5k after 25% back, potential 20k after 2,500 back promo  8:55 Chase Sapphire Reserve Only Earned 5x at Restaurants 7/1-7/5 (DoC) Still, 3x + Pay Yourself Back is pretty great Still getting 5x on Gas through the end of September So Random  11:25 Flexible Spending Account Covid Changes (Wirecutter) FSA Healthcare You can increase, decrease, or stop your health-care FSA contributions altogether. You have more time to spend your health-care savings from 2019. In the past, you had a two-and-a-half-month grace period after your plan period ended in which to spend your remaining balance, but your employer can now opt to extend the grace period through December 31, 2020. You can roll over up to $550 into your 2021 health-care FSA, a $50 increase over the previous $500 limit. FSA Dependant Care You can increase, decrease, or stop your dependent-care FSA contributions altogether. You now have until December 31, 2020, to spend your dependent-care savings from 2019 (rather than the usual two-and-a-half-month grace period). The same weird scenario from above applies. If you think you’ve lost your unused DCFSA contributions from 2019, contact your

A couple months ago we launched the Milenomics Podcast Network which now includes three shows: Milenomics² Podcast with Sam Simon and Robert DwyerMilenomics Second Podcast hosted by Garth GrawburgThe Manifesto with Gideon The Free-quent Flyer Subscribers gain access to these shows as well as a thriving Slack community, the ability to attend meetups, and more. Today we're releasing a free preview of recent episode of the Milenomics Second Podcast where Garth and I talk about wine. Pursuing points & miles tends to coincide with being a bit of a deal hound, and here we'll apply that to navigating online wine deals... 0:00 Intro with Sam and Robert 4:15 Where/how do you buy wine? 6:45 The importance of wine storage 11:00 Determining which wines to buy 12:55 Tools Delectable AppCellarTracker 15:15 Deals Amex OffersWine.comCashback portal (Ex: Wine.com on Cashback Monitor)Promo codesWine AccessFirst BottleBenchmark Wine 27:30 Flash Sale Sites WTSO.comLast BottleWine SpectatorWine-searcher.com 31:00 Winery direct opportunities Cakebread Cellars restaurant/retail mixWinery direct offer 36:45 Wine travel Napa (Cabernet)Sonoma (Pinot Noir)Italy Robert’s Wine Blog Wellesley Wine Press Want more podcast content? Head over to our Patreon page. There, you can subscribe and get a special link to listen to our podcasts in your preferred mobile podcast app. We're up to Episode 83 where we discuss: Terrible ideasBanging on Bank of AmericaCruising after Covid

We're back with a bit of a stretch for our 'short cut' topic.  Robert and I sat down to have a quick chat about our upcoming summer travel plans, both of which revolve around vacation rentals. Along the way, as we tend to do, we took a bit of a deep dive into price variances between booking channels, how does the current Chase 1.5 cpp cash out method play into paying for vacation rentals, and the importance of flexible cancellation policies. 0:15 Summer Travel Plans: Robert: Newport, RI road trip Sam: Lake Tahoe (almost certainly flying) 2:59 Preference for private homes vs hotels with Covid 6:52 Chase 1.5 cashout as an enabler (Ep 79) 8:56 Price fluctuation depending on dates, fees, duration of stay. 16:10 Puzzler of staying longer costing less per night, but how long do you really want to stay, and how many really nice properties are available for say month-long rentals in peak season at this point?  17:17 Comparing prices on same/similar unit across multiple platforms Lack of granularity in viable options Internet sleuthing for precise location, comparable units in same building/area (often same host), even Zillow estimate as an arbiter of relative value 20: 17Any angles to reduce prices? Portals? BofA Offers? British Airways / Delta https://www.deltaairbnb.com/ https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/executive-club/collecting-avios/hotels/airbnb Split payments either by guests or over time to double dip on BofA/Chase offers. 23:52 Importance of cancellation terms 28:09 Mental block/puzzler over laying out cash vs funny-money-points 31:30 Is a point and miles lifestyle compatible with owning a vacation home? (Ep 82) Want more podcast content? Check out our Patreon Page where we discuss topics more fully: Earning From HomeFailures and Successes in this spaceThe Above Mentioned Vacation Home Discussion Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts: Or on Google Play Music: And NOW also on Spotify:

Update: Here's link to the Instagram Live video Last week Emirates greatly reduced taxes + fees on awards on their metal using their Skywards miles. That's great for those who want to fly Emirates metal, especially since we can transfer bank points to Skywards 1:1 across so many programs. But the place a lot of us immediately went with this was to wonder... Did Emirates also reduce fuel surcharges on partner awards? That curiosity led to more questions... Can partner awards (like Japan Airlines) be booked online? (looks like "no")Can taxes + fees be accurately estimated online? (also "no")The Emirates chart for travel on JAL from North America to Japan is pretty favorable. 125,000 pp roundtrip in Business, 185,000 pp roundtrip in First. Can partner awards be booked as a one-way for half the miles of a roundtrip? ("no")Partners like JAL open their schedule at 360 days. How far out can you book an Emirates partner award? (330 days)How good is Emirates call center? I called Emirates a couple times last week and got conflicting answers. The first rep said their systems were down and she couldn't estimate taxes + fees for partner awards. Call back tomorrow. I called right back a moment later and a second rep said he could estimate taxes + fees on JAL parner awards, but said it wasn't possible to use Emirates miles on North America to Japan routes. I pointed out that their site has a table for the route and he came back and agreed it was possible after all. And that the cost of a roundtrip flight from Boston to Tokyo on JAL in Business Class would be 125,000 pp roundtrip + just $60 in taxes and fees. That's pretty tremendous, if true, because when Spencer Howard checked it in September 2019 it was $360 in taxes + fees. What happened? Did JAL decrease the fuel surcharges? Did Emirates reduce the amount of fuel surcharges they collect on partner awards? Was the rep I spoke to mistaken? I frequently come across articles Spencer has written when researching foreign carrier frequent flyer program awards so I thought it would be informative and interesting to discuss this and more. Instagram Live I'm planning to appear on Instagram Live with Spencer to discuss this, award travel, and more. Where: Instagram Live https://www.instagram.com/straighttothepoints/ When: Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020, 7:30p eastern In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this snippet from our paid show here on the No Annual Fee version of our podcast. The Emirates topic is just 5 minutes out of an hour and twenty minute show this week. The breaking news we discuss is a Chase 1.5 cent per point cashout opportunity, along with a dozen other topics. If you'd like to hear more of the show head over to Patron and subscribe... Listen: Milenomics² Episode 79 on Patreon