Alex Merrick

Citi’s Credit Card dispute ability saved me from my missing chicken sandwich

I love a good chicken sandwich. In fact, I actually love almost all chicken sandwiches. Sometimes you have a craving and you move on it. That’s exactly what I did this past month, but in my ordering I made a mistake. The merchant wasn’t helpful, but the credit card “dispute” functionality was. I left the […]

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Card pre-approval provides certainty without adverse impact of a hard inquiry

This week I shared a post about my slew of card applications whose sign-up bonuses will be supporting a slew of fun and exciting activities over the coming year. Two of those applications took advantage of a widespread type of application known as preapproval. These effectively let you go from window-shopping the manakin’s outfit to

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Capital One Lounge Changes — nerfed access for non-primary cardholders

There’s lots of reasons for me to be loyal to Capital One, but really high up there is how much I love the Capital One lounges. I’ve now graced Dulles, Denver, and Dallas lounges. Each of these is markedly better than the mediocre Priority Pass quality, or the good but not amazing American Express lounges.

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The Credit Card Gods were good to me — three new card approvals (Truist Business Cash, Bilt Palladium, and JetBlue Plus)

There’s almost nothing that brings a smile to my face quite like going 3-for-3 on new card applications. The truth is, I took advantage of prequalification tools to have high confidence in two of the three. Still exciting to see the approvals roll in, one by one. Almost as exciting as the big bonuses that

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A Bicycle Story — Purchase Protection Benefit (Visa) — Part Three

There exists an amazing suite benefits that come along with using a credit card. This ranges from supplementary rental auto insurance to bag protection to roadside assistance to extended warranties to purchase protection. That big, bulky book of details that comes when you get a new card? There’s actually some helpful benefits that are worth

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Even I have an occasional bust. OKX’s “Earn up to $50 in BTC with a Buy Streak”

I love a deal. I ABSOLUTELY love freebies. Sometimes something comes up that feels like a sure thing, and then it doesn’t quite work out. Occasionally the wild speculatory market known as “the crypto market” drops off a cliff with impeccably bad timing. And yet, somehow, I’m still likely going to break even. Also another

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A Bicycle Story — Post-Crash Homeowners Insurance Claim (USAA) — Part Two

While typically you’ll hear stories of the big, bad, evil insurance companies denying claims (which I have no doubt is true) this is about the opposite end of the spectrum. Insurance can and does offer some marvelous protection, occasionally in ways wholly unexpected and highly favorable to the insured. Cue my bike crash in August

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