News and notes from around the interweb: Get 1000 Starwood Starpoints for referring LinkedIn connections to SPG if they make a stay by May 15. If you’re a resident of India. My LinkedIn connections are far less. Season 24 of The Amazing Race has premiered. Here’s how you can do it yourself (Conde’ Nast coverage of my award booking partner’s ‘other’ project.) TSA searches a man looking for his bitcoin. Fly and Dine really likes the tip to take the Parking Spot – Sepulveda bus over to In ‘n Out during an LAX layover. I think the burgers are ‘ok’ but the view of arriving aircraft is fantastic. “American Airlines to Phase out Complimentary Cabin Pressurization” (from The Onion) HT: Sean O. on Facebook Earn Etihad Guest points for posting hotel reviews. You can join…
About Gary Leff
Ok, But What’s the WORST Credit Card?
Yesterday I wrote about the best all-around credit card. It has great features and benefits. But what’s the other side of the coin? Via pfdigest we learn about the First Premier MasterCard from First Premier Bank. I won’t even include a link to the card. Standard credit limit is $300 36% APR $75 first-year annual fee, $45 thereafter $6.25 monthly fee $95 application fee (if approved, it’s treated as a security deposit) 25% of every credit line increase is charged as a credit line increase fee This actually exists. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals.…
The Best All-Around Credit Card is Chase Sapphire Preferred
Key Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Veterans already know this, although the very experienced will find that they can earn the most bonus points with the Ink Plus® Business Card because it earns 5 points per dollar on telecommunications (cell phone, internet, satellite/cable tv) and at office supply stores (with all the myriad things you can buy there, including online through the Chase Ultimate Rewards mall for even more bonus points). Plus it has a signup bonus of 50,000 points after $5000 spend within 3 months and a $0 fee the first year ($95 thereafter). But for someone looking for just one card, wanting to know which one is best, I recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred. I have this conversation on a daily basis, and at events it’s probably the question I’m most asked. I start by…
Frequent Flyer Geekfest on the Ground: Watching Die Hard 2 and Sending Snarky Texts to the Screen
I was only down for the Austin MegaDO briefly, but it was a great gathering. I attended the Sheraton reception, the private dinner at Franklin Barbecue, and the morning ‘Hecklevision’ showing of Die Hard 2 at the Alamo Ritz Drafthouse. On the walk over in the morning from the Hyatt Place, I passed this place which struck me as fascinating, I wished it was open in the a.m. because I imagined it as something out of the 3rd installment of Mad Max. And what could be cooler — inside the tiny world that thinks mileage and aviation enthusiasts are the height of cool, of course — than having brunch inside a movie theatre, watching the campy second installment of the Die Hard series (Die Hard at the airport!), and getting to display your wit in…
The Best Barbecue Restaurant With Sit Down Service and Online Reservations
The best barbecue is bus your own tray. That’s almost a universal across barbecue styles, and true for my favorite (Central Texas). There’s one exception that I’ve found, though, and so it’s one for the repertoire. Lamberts in downtown Austin. You can reserve it on Opentable. It’ s an actual sit-down restaurant with table service. It’s a full bar, they’ve got live music. In other words, it’s a real restaurant with local character where the food served just happens to be really top notch barbecue. The meat isn’t up to par with Franklin or Black’s, but it’s a Texas Monthly top 100 spot, so this is regarded as real good barbecue. It’s also derided as ‘fancy’ barbecue because of the service that some would consider extraneous, and because of the prices (you’re paying sit down…
The Digital Camera I Use is Now Selling for Half What I Paid for It
I got a chuckle the other evening, I pulled out my camera. You use a camera? Yeah, I have a smartphone and it’s fine but a real camera takes much better pictures. I suspect most people are happy nowadays with their smartphone, maybe taking a camera on vacation with them. I carry mine around with me in my laptop bag. Goodness knows I’m not a great photographer, which is very much the reason why. I’m a point and shoot kinda guy and I’ve never taken a class or been shown how to take great pictures. But the photos I take with my Canon s110 are more than decent, certainly good enough for blogging. Last year I bought the camera for ~ $325. The new normal price seems to be $299. But the camera, with case,…
Hyatt Place Austin Downtown: Is It “the Best Hyatt Place” As They Claim?
I spent Friday night at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown for the Austin MegaDO frequent flyer event. I stayed there because it was walking distance from Saturday morning’s event, I could leave my car parked, head back and check out. And because on a one night stay I could use my Hyatt Visa free night. The Hyatt Visa offers a great value with a free night at any Hyatt hotel up to redemption category 4. But the night doesn’t count towards elite status, and it can’t be upgraded to a suite. So I find I push back using it, and it was going to expire at the end of April. Since this hotel is category 4, and it was going for ~ $275++ per night for the one night’s stay, it seemed like a great…
How I Made $12 on My Audi Car Rental, And How You Can Too!
Earlier in the month I write about my upcoming $9 Audi car rental. I’ve just rented from Silvercar for the first time (and it did cost me $9+tax, or $13 all-in for the rental day, plus a referral credit so I’ll make $12 net) and thought I’d share the experience. Short answer, it was fantastic. Silvercar rents silver Audis (hence, silver car). Although it is possible right now to get very cheap rentals from them, rent on the weekend when they’re cheaper and use promotion codes, the idea is anything but cheap. This isn’t your bargain basement leisure rental company, it’s a business travel alternative in a limited number of markets. When airport Avis, Hertz, etc. are pricing at $80 a day Silvercar is a good option because you’re going to pay those sorts of…
Is Austin’s Franklin Barbecue the Best in the World?
I’m a big fan of Texas barbecue, but had never been to its Mecca. A year and a half ago I made Franklin Barbecue the first stop on my barbecue pilgrimage. I showed up long before opening, but the lines on a Saturday morning were already so long that I’d have to wait a couple of hours and the staff wouldn’t guarantee that there’d even be brisket left by the time I reached the front of the line. I was skeptical, given the party atmosphere in line, that the barbecue could be worth the wait — attractive young people tailgating couldn’t possible be there for the food as much as the experience, right? But I’ve heard nothing since except that Franklin is the best in the world (technically, the best in Texas, but those two…
Get Bonus Miles for Buying Miles, Get Kicked Out of a Hotel, and Have United Charge You for Your Carry-on (Bits ‘n Pieces for February 22, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: United is going into enforcement mode to make sure you don’t bring on oversized carry ons. Man gets banned from a Hilton hotel because of his trouser snake. There’s a new tool that will let you pay by credit card using your phone instead of the card itself. You have to carry a dongle in your pocket, though. (I swear this item is unrelated to the item above). HT: @aheeger Virgin America has purchased mile bonuses almost as often as US Airways. They’re back with a bonus of up to 60%. Here’s my analysis of the January 50% bonus offer. HT: James F. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail…
