General Schemes

Occasionally there’s a gem in the late night phone doom scrolling. This popped up as I was headed to bed, and actually made me lose sleep because I felt the need to look into it further. I’m a fan of the “free” element of matching. I’m particularly a fan when the restrictions about that mean

Kathy’s favorite quote is “you choose how much you suffer.” When I’m presented an opportunity for a pile of free points, generally I’m willing to choose the suffering option for some free travel. Sometimes (but often not) that turns out even better than expected, like last week’s New York Hilton Grand Vacations “owners update.” TLDR

When I saw the statement credits for this promotion last week after two months, a big smile came across my face and I chuckled audibly. There was a part of me that wasn’t expecting US Bank to fulfill correctly. And while that’s partly true (I’m missing $10 of credits for 5 transactions), it looks like

I’m a sucker for a good deal, and the only thing I like more than ONE good deal is TWO good deals stacked on top of each other. Ultimately these me helped score a mega discount on a big, special purchase. Stacked together, these make a really big difference in the cost, reducing the total

DisclaimerI’ll start by saying explicitly this is not an endorsement of legitimacy or the upstanding business of OKX. That’s been a bit of a rocky road for OKX, having been shut down by US regulators due to loose identity verification procedures (hard to believe in the crypto world, right?) This post also absolutely does not

It goes without saying, but I love my rewards. What I love ALMOST as much as enjoying the freebies and perks and benefits is looking back and seeing all that I was able to do on the big bank and airline dime. Another blockbuster year, 2025, at $13,378. Topping last year’s haul by a few

Portal? What does that even mean? There are a range of web “portals” which track purchases and credit back some of the bounty/fees to consumers. Particularly for larger purchases, there’s no sense in leaving money on the table for one or two extra clicks. Also these stacking with other credit card rewards, discounts, and loyalty

OK, OK, “Free” is slightly overstated. Two round-trip tickets for $418.86 doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but “a screaming deal” regardless. We’ve got not one, but two trips to Italy next year. Somehow the stars aligned for points bookings, and both trips have desirable flights in preferred airports! While I love upgrades

It is with immense excitement that I am kicking off this blog fresh in the Fall of 2025. There may always be too much to do and too little time to do it, but that’s no excuse not to prioritize things that bring you joy. Little brings me more joy than sharing the outrageous deals,