Hope you all had a great week and were able to get on some deals and promotions. As you are well aware by now, at the end of every week I do a weekly recap post to ensure that you do not miss out on anything from the past 7 days.

The following pages also serve as your one-stop-shop to keep up to date on all the deals and promotions available. You do not want to miss any of this!

• Promotions - The most up to date credit card, hotel, airline, and car rental promotions
• Credit Cards - A list of my top credit cards for free travel
• Free Money - Compiled list of the American Express sync promotions where you will receive a statement credit at many merchants

Weekly Reminder:

• For those that have yet to sign up for Uber car service, get $35 for free! No strings attached, seriously…
• Other Uber promotions include:
• Sync your American Express card with Uber and get $10 back as a statement credit with a $30+ Uber purchase. While the $30 must be used in a single ride, you can purchase an Uber gift card for $50 and this will trigger the statement credit. 
• Get a $25 credit for ONE trip to or from SeaTac airport. Use promotion code SEAUBERTRAVEL. Expires May 31, 2013.
• Get a free trip trip from the Chicago Suburbs (up to $40). Use promotion code CHIBurbs. Expires May 31, 2013.
• Sync your American Express card and get a $50 statement credit with a $200+ Travelocity purchase. If you have multiple Amex cards, you can sync and register all cards and book separate reservations to maximize your savings!
• JetBlue has recently added many double point promotions, so make sure to take a look at this list to register.
• Through May 29th, get 10% off any Jetsetter hotel reservation in Italy.
• Many folks received a targeted email from Southwest were they could earn more points by having their friends sign up for the Rapid Rewards program, make sure to check your email!
• Many people thoroughly loved my post this week on the best credit card to use to purchase Vanilla Reloads, make sure to check it out!
• Join JetBlue, fly by June 19, 2013 and earn 7,500 bonus points!
• There is still time to order your American Express Bluebird checks – the deadline for the free checks got extended until August.
• You can get double AirTran A+ reward credits for all flights to/from Atlanta.
• You can get $5 off a $15 LivingSocial purchase with coupon code SHARE5 – this is valid through May 31, 2013.

Ways to keep up with Deals We Like alerts and posts:

• Deal Alert text messages: Once in awhile amazing fares come available that you do not want to miss. These are typically, “Act Now” fares or one day only sales. Let’s hope for some more great deals! You can read this prior post to learn how to sign up.
• Social Media: You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. For those that already follow me, you are probably aware that I am much more active on Twitter, but I am trying to have more of a presence on Facebook as well.  This will help you communicate with me, ask me questions, and find out on the latest blog posts, deal alerts, etc.
• Daily Emails: Subscribe to this site to receive 1 email around 8-9pm EST of all posts from the day. On the right-hand column of the site, you can enter your email address to subscribe. You will then have to verify your subscription through an automated email.

Enjoy the weekend and safe travels!

By this point, I probably sound like a broken record, but, Uber is an “On-demand car service that allows everyone to have a private driver experience through iPhone, SMS, and web based requests.” It is less expensive than a car service, but slightly more expensive than a yellow cab. Your credit card is stored in your account so there is no exchange of money at the end of the ride. A 20% gratuity is automatically added as well. Cars are extremely new/clean and the company will even text you with the drivers name for extra security.

Deal details:

• $25 in credits for FREE
• Redeem by: Thursday, August 22, 2013
• Limit one voucher per member
• For new Uber clients only
• Credits do not expire but must be activated by August 22, 2013
• Offer is final sale and nonrefundable

How to get this free deal (and make sure to pay attention as it is two-fold):

• Via Gilt City purchase the $25 credit. As mentioned, this is is for new Uber customers only or those that create a new account. Do not be surprised if it takes about 20 minutes to receive the voucher email. (If you are new to Gilt City and sign up through a referral link you’ll receive 25% off your first purchase of $30 or more; the referrer will also receive a code that gives them 25% off to be used within 2 weeks – by no means a great referral program! But feel free to use my referral link or post your own in the comments section)
• Now, for new Uber members, which you all must be to jump on the first deal, you can get a free $10 in credit just by signing up! This sign up must come from an existing member (the referrer receives a $10 credit as well after you take your first Uber trip). (Once again, feel free to use my Uber referral link, or get a friend to refer you, or if you are an existing member leave your link in the comments of this post – just do not miss out on the free credit money).

To ensure you are able to get credits from a referral and the Gilt City free promotion I went through this process myself with another email address and it worked. To do this you must FIRST sign up for Uber using the referral link and then enter the Gilt City voucher code you receive in the “Promotions” box after signing into your Uber account. DO NOT click the Uber sign up link that is given in the voucher email from Gilt City.

Here are some more Uber offers as well:

• Free Uber in NYC and LA until end of day today. This is a promotion run by Equinox gyms. Use promotion code EQUINOX, but read more about this promotion here.
• Sync your American Express card with Uber and get $10 back as a statement credit with a $30+ Uber purchase. While the $30 must be used in a single ride, you can purchase an Uber gift card for $50 and this will trigger the statement credit. Read more about this promotion here.
• Get a $25 credit for ONE trip to or from SeaTac airport. Use promotion code SEAUBERTRAVEL. Expires May 31, 2013.
• Get a free trip trip from the Chicago Suburbs (up to $40). Use promotion code CHIBurbs. Expires May 31, 2013.

These promotions apply to anyone, not limited to new members. Make sure to add the new user promotion first (the one you receive from Gilt City) before any of the other promotions I’ve listed.

Currently, I only see this promotion valid with Twitter and not through any of the other Amex Sync avenues (Facebook, AmericanExpress.com). So you MUST have your American Express credit card synced with Twitter and register for this promotion. To register, you must tweet “#AmexTravelocityOffer”. You must book your hotel by July 31, 2013 to qualify. Others have confirmed they are able to see it via Facebook and their American Express “Offers” tab, but it wasn’t appearing for my accounts.

Remember, this is not a coupon, but instead an automatic statement credit you will receive. If you have multiple Amex cards, you can register all of them via different accounts – for example, three different Twitter accounts and book your hotel reservation as single night stays if they are more than $200+ a night.

You can also get 10% off “Top Secret” hotels with Travelocity by using coupon code TS10HTL. There is also a Memorial Day coupon where you can get $25 off when spending $200 (coupon code MEMORIAL25) and $50 when spending $300 (coupon code MEMORIAL50). While you can only use one coupon code per booking, the coupon can be combined with the American Express sync promotion. You just need to ensure that the final cost of your hotel is more than $200 with the coupon code applied.

To learn more about these American Express Sync promotions, read this prior blog post.

Here is a list of the current promos for you all as well:

• Earn 3x TrueBlue points on JetBlue flights between San Francisco and Austin, TX or Fort Lauderdale, FL. Book by September 2 for travel May 21 through September 2, 2013. Register here.
• Earn 3x TrueBlue points when you fly from Seattle or Long Beach, CA to Anchorage, AK this summer. Book by October 15 for travel May 16 through October 15, 2013. Register here.
• Earn 2x TrueBlue points when you fly from San Juan, PR to Punta Cana (PUJ) or Santiago (STI). Book a JetBlue flight (one-way or roundtrip) between now and May 31, 2013 from San Juan, PR to Santiago, DR or Punta Cana, DR. (Travel must originate in Puerto Rico). Register here.
• Earn double TrueBlue points on flights between Houston-Hobby (HOU) and JFK. Book a JetBlue flight (one-way or roundtrip) between HOU and JFK by June 30 for travel between May 20 and June 30, 2013. Fly by June 30, 2013. Register here.

Remember, you MUST register for the promotions to get the bonus points. Enjoy!

Jetsetter can sometimes be a great deal, while other times extremely expensive, but if you already have any plans to Italy, it might be worth taking a look.  As with any “deal” site, make sure to still do your research to ensure you are getting the best price for the hotel you are looking to stay at.

• Earn 2,500 Hilton Points. Book a Hilton hotel stay between May 23rd and September 30th by 10:59am EST May 24th and earn 2,500 bonus points for your hotel stay – register via this Facebook page. This is limited to the first 4,000 Hilton members to book their stay. Thanks to Point Me to the Plane for sharing!
• Foreign Transaction Fees Waived for Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card. Starting June 1, the United MileagePlus Explorer credit card with no longer have foreign transaction fees – typically these fees run 3% when making purchases outside of the US.
• Booking Available for the StarMegaDO5. There is still an opportunity to book a seat for the StarMegaDO5. While seats went on sale this past Monday, there was a technology glitch and the booking engine opened back up yesterday. You can read more about the StarMegaDO5 in this prior blog post.
• Double JetBlue points from Houston to JFK. Through June 30th you can get double JetBlue TrueBlue points on all flights you take from Houston Hobby to JFK. You must register in advance though!
• Giveaway from National Car Rental. You have until tomorrow to enter View from the Wing’s prize pack sponsored by National Car Rental. Two winners will receive a prize package including an Apple iPod touch, a gift card, and some national-branded swag.

Enjoy!

This is a very generous offer by Southwest as 2,000 points is worth a fixed $33.33 on a Southwest “Wanna Getaway” fare. Everyone who received this offer should have no issue at all earning these points. Unfortunately though it is a targeted offer and a unique code was included in the email.

Additionally, when I was on FlyerTalk yesterday, I noticed that there is another targeted offer being passed along as well to select Southwest members. Some were receiving emails where if they refer just one friend and the friend signs up and flies a roundtrip flight on Southwest  by July 20, 2013 they will receive 2,500 bonus points! The friend will also receive the same 2,500 bonus points which is great. With this promotion, the referrer is able to refer up to four friends for a total of 10,000 points which is worth $166.67 towards a future Southwest “Wanna Getaway” fare. The 2,500 points the referee receives is worth $41.67 towards a “Wanna Getaway” fare.

If you are not currently enrolled in the Southwest program (which I doubt is many) and you are flying by July 20, 2013 and would like someone to refer you to the program, feel free to comment below. If you were targeted and would like to refer someone, go ahead! Hopefully some readers can earn some points out of this!

Now, purchasing Vanilla Reload cards is not free nor very easy for some. In some cities, reloads are impossible to find and some stores will restrict the amount you can purchase using a credit card. Even if there is no limit that the store places on you, I do not recommend purchasing more than $1,000 in a day as you want no reason for a credit card to put a fraud alert on you or risk a financial review (with American Express specifically).

So now the question, and the real purpose of this blog post is, “What credit card to use to purchase your Vanilla Reload card?” Reload cards cost $3.95 per card, regardless if you put $1 or $500 on the card, so clearly you want to put on the the maximum. You can load up to $,000 a month of Vanilla Reloads onto your card (up to $10,000 month from multiple sources) and you can only pay $5,000 worth from your account if the merchant is not a payee already set up in the Bluebird system. For the purpose of this post, I’ll assume purchasing $5,000 a month. Remember, you can pay your rent, mortgage, credit card bills, a friend, car payments, etc. The cost to purchase $5,000 worth of Vanilla Reloads will cost you $39.50.

What will this $5,000 get you in points per credit card type (plus the $39.50 in fees you pay for the 10 $500 loaded cards):

Hotels:

• Starwood American Express = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = Earn SPG Gold status after spending $30,000 on the card in the calendar year
• Marriott Visa = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = 1 elite credit for every $3,000 spent on the card (this can help you earn the desired status)
• Hilton American Express = 15,119 points
• Extra perks = With both the Surpass and annual year free card earn Gold status if you spend $20,00 annually, with the Surpass card only you’ll earn Diamond status if you spend $40,000 annually
• Citi Hilton Reserve = 15,119 points
• Extra perks = If you spend $40k in a calendar year get diamond status + if you pend $10k  in your cardmembership year you get 1 free Hilton weekend night
• Hyatt Visa = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = If you spend $20k a year you get 2 stays/5 nights towards status or if you spend $40k a year on the card you get 3 stays/5 nights towards status
• Chase Fairmont = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = If you spend $12,000 in your cardmembership year, earn 1 free night stay

• Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature or Business Rewards Visa = 25,198
• Extra perks = None

Airlines:

• American Airlines Visa/Amex/Mastercard = 5,040 miles
• Extra perks = With the Citi Executive card (this is the $450 annual fee card) you’ll earn 10,000 EQMs after spending $40,000 in a calendar year
• British Airways = 6,299 points
• Extra perks = If you spend $30,000 in a calendar year you will earn a Travel Together ticket (one time use ticket where you travel for free with a companion who is on a British Airways award reservation – you still pay taxes and must be a BA operated flight only)
• Chase United Explorer = 5,040 miles
• Extra perks = Earn 10,000 miles when you spend $25,000 within the calendar year
• Chase United Club = 7,559 miles
• Extra perks = None
• Delta Airlines = 5,040 miles
• Extra perks = With the Delta Platinum Skymiles card earn up to 20,000 MQMs yearly (10k MQMs after you spend $25k a year and an additional 10k MQMs after you spend $50k in the same calendar year); With the Delta Reserve card earn up to 30,000 MQMs and 30,000 redeemable miles yearly (15k MQMs/15k redeemable miles after you spend $30k a year and an additional 15k MQMs/15k redeemable miles after you spend $60k in the same calendar year)
• Southwest Airlines = 5,040 points (which equals a flat $84 towards a Wanna Getaway fare), so you are making a fixed 0.89% return
• Extra perks = Credit card spend counts towards the Southwest companion pass – $1 = $1 point and you need 110,000 points for the companion pass; Additionally, you get 1,500 Tier Qualifying Points towards status for every $10,000 spent up 15,000 TQPs
• US Airways = 5,040 miles
• Extra perks = Earn 10,000 elite qualifying miles after you spend $25,000 within the calendar year

Flexible Programs:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred = 5,392 points
• Extra perks = None
• Chase Ink Bold/Plus = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = None
• American Express Platinum = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = None
• American Express Premier Rewards Gold = 5,040 points
• Extra perks = Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $30,000 in a calendar year

Fixed Redemption Programs:

• Capital One Venture = 10,079 points (which equals a flat $101 towards any travel), so you are making a fixed 1.2% return
• Extra perks = None
• US Bank Cash Plus = 10,079 points (which equals $101 cash back), so you are making a fixed 1.2% return (this is assuming you select Drug Stores as your 2% cash back category)
• Extra perks = None
• Barclaycard Arrival = 10,079 miles (which equals $101, but if redeeming for travel get 10% miles back, so really equals $111), so you are making a fixed 1.4% return
• Extra perks = None
• Chase Freedom = 5,040 points (which equals $50 cash back), so you are making a fixed .21% return; however, if drug stores are part of the rotating category again (like they had in Q1 of 2013), you will earn 7,500 on your first $1,500 of Vanilla Reloads
• Extra perks = None (although you can transfer to a better Ultimate Rewards account if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Bold/Plus)

So which card is best?

This really depends on the person and what they are looking for. For the past few months, my husband and I have personally been purchasing Vanilla Reloads to meet our minimum spend requirements on new credit cards we applied for. In this scenario, we didn’t care which card earned up the biggest bang for our buck, we had different priorities.

You then need to consider if you are more interested in maximize your miles or the perks of spending $X in a year. For example, using your Southwest credit card clearly will not get you the most point value, however, if you are looking to earn that companion pass, this additional spend could be a great way to get their and outweigh the points earned on a different card where you might get a better value. Another example is getting a free Hilton weekend night just by spending $10,000 on your reserve card. While Hilton has really devalued their points recently and I’d prefer earning a third of the points in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, a free night certificate could be well worth it. If you are slightly shy of your desired airline status, you can spend the required amount to earn those miles towards status.

If the perks are not part of your decision making factor and you are interested in earning airline miles, hotel points, or points in a flexible program where you can redeem at hotels/airlines, I’d personally suggest using the Starwood American Express, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or British Airways. Or, if you received any special offers such as double American Airline miles on all purchases, etc. If you are looking for a no frills program with a fixed redemption or cash back, then I’d suggest the Barclaycard Arrival – although it is only slightly better than the other ones listed and the annual fee is much more expensive.

The chart above can also be used in any application, not just Vanilla Reload spend, but for anyone who has high credit card spend for whatever reason. Although keep in mind that they do not take into consideration bonus spend, for example, many cards give double points at hotels, travel, dining, etc.

If you want to learn more about this specifics of many of the cards listed above, along with the sign up bonus and other perks, take a look at the Promotions and Credit Card page. Let me know if you have any questions!

Which card do you use to purchase Vanilla Reloads?

The one caveat is that you must fly a roundtrip flight by this date, one ways will not qualify. Additionally, the terms state that you must enroll and register for this promotion prior to booking your flight. This is also only valid on paid tickets, not flights booked on an award ticket.

7,500 points is pretty fair and that can get you a free one-way flight, possibly. While one-way flights start at 5,000 points they do not have a fixed redemption program and depends on the cost of the flight, although there is no exact science to the amount of points required based on the price of the flight.

You can join the TrueBlue program and register for this promotion here.

So the good news is there is still time to 1) Get your free 100 Bluebird Checks; 2) Order a Bluebird card (which is free) if you were planning on doing so and still getting the free checks.

To read more about the American Express Bluebird card and how the paper checks work, you can read this prior post. Stay tuned for a post this afternoon on which card is the best to use when purchasing your Vanilla Reload cards.