Amex Second Dip of Three

In a previous post I wrote about my triple dip using the American Express Premier Gold card (read here) I explained how to receive $300 worth of airlines credit on a carrier of your choosing by owning this card for one year before canceling prior to the annual fee of $195 comes due.

I detailed how I received a $100 worth of gift cards from Southwest  Airlines and needed to wait until the calendar turned to 2018 for the second "dip" to claim another $100 Southwest gift card. 

Last week I purchased two more Southwest gift cards from the airline's web site.  One card for $45 and another for $55, both gift cards were received immediately and my Amex was charged accordingly.  Now, after about 7 days I received my credit for the purchase from American Express.  I have $200 worth a Southwest gift cards for a future trip currently credited to me.  The third and last part of the "triple dip" can't be exercised until January 1, 2019 after which I will have successfully received $300 in Southwest gift cards without ever having to pay an annual fee for the card.  Shortly after that credit is issued I will cancel the card.     

2017 Points Review

I hope everyone had a warm and fulfilling holiday.  I just noticed that many of the television shows and newspapers were doing their "Year in Review" segments and I thought I should recap what my points earning efforts attained for me in 2017.

While I purposely didn't go on a major trip because of my upcoming sojourn to Africa, I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit of airline and hotel awards for my efforts.  2017 began with my booking two roundtrip tickets to South Africa for myself and a travel companion valued at $3,600.  March, provided an opportunity to stay at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, thanks to my annual IHG free night award; approximate value, $350.  April, had me on an overnight stay at the Plaza in NYC  (read here) - thanks to the now defunct Fairmont rewards Visa card; value -$750.  In August, I spent two free nights in Pittsburgh: one at the Hyatt Place North Side, close enough to the stadium to walk to a Pirates' baseball game and the other at the Fairmont - value: $390 total.

My daughter must have sensed I had a boat load of points just sitting waiting to book so in September it came as no surprize when she declared she wanted to go on a humanitarian trip to Africa in the Summer of 2018 and could I help her with acquiring a ticket.  One roundtrip ticket later, I had her booked on United for less than $100 in taxes and fees for an award valued at $1,950.  In November,  I booked a future trip to Costa Rica to include a week at the luxurious Hyatt Andaz Papagayo along with roundtrip flights for two on Southwest valued at $2,250. Peppered throughout the year the majority of the hotels I'll be staying at on my upcoming trip to Africa were booked paying entirely with my points stockpile.  I estimate those nights to be worth about $1150. Only 3 nights on the entire trip remain unbooked since we wanted the flexibility to be without a schedule and for those stays we will be frequenting Air B&B's.

All in all for what I would call an off year I managed to secure about $10,540 worth of award nights and airfare.  Hardly any of this I would have been able to afford outright.  I ended 2017 by applying for the American Express Premier Gold card and have my $100 Southwest gift card for future travel as part one of a three part travel credit (read here).  And I couldn't help myself so I applied for one last credit card yesterday: the Citi American Airlines  Platinum MasterCard.  That card will earn me 60,000 American Airlines reward points for a trip I have my eye on for 2018 (more on that in a future post).

And for you doubters and naysayers I checked my credit score yesterday, it fluctuated between 804 and 807, down from 812 because I applied for the American Express card.  It will go down to 799 in January because of the credit checks for the two new card applications, then back up into the low 800s for February.  

I hope by reading this post you can see the value in what I do to travel the world in a way I never would deem possible.  Yes, there is effort and discipline involved, but in the end when I review what I earned in 2017 why would one not make the most of what these credit card sign up bonuses could potentially offer?

Financial Affairs and Travel

Today's pre trip preparations include financial matters.  On a broad scope everyone should have their financial world in order because as we well know things can change in an instant.  Leaving for an extended trip to an exotic locale is all the more reason to update wills, trusts and talk to loved ones.  Fortunately, I took the time years ago to get everything organized. Lately, I have been educating those not joining me on this trip exactly what to do if life takes a turn in the wrong direction with me involved.  And now that that unpleasant but necessary discussion has taken place I turn my attention to daily life issues like paying bills, credit cards needed and other incidentals.  I'll be gone almost 3 weeks, so I took the time to set all my bills to autopay, that way I won't need to worry about being in a place with accessible wi-fi or waking up in the middle of the night trying to remember if its Thursday or Friday and if the electric bill is due.   I then sat and reviewed the benefits of my many credit cards to determine which will accompany me on the trip.

I decided on two Chase Sapphire Reserve and American Express Premier Gold.  Neither have foreign transaction fees and Chase Sapphire Reserve offers primary car insurance (I'm renting a car in South Africa) -  bell goes off in head...I forgot to check if I needed an international drivers license (whew, I don't).  This is why I start thinking about my trip two/three weeks before departure.

Back to the car rental insurance...if my rental is involved in a collision or is involved in a theft I'm covered for up to $75k without needing to go thru my private auto insurance carrier first.  Both myself as the cardholder and my additional driver are covered.  This is a huge benefit.  I printed the section on the Collision Damage Waiver to take with me.

My Reserve card also comes with a $300 travel credit (I did a double dip with this card, still kicking myself that I missed out on the triple dip) meaning up to $300 in travel expenses will be reimbursed in the form of a statement credit.  I used the first $300 credit when I signed up for the card to pay for  airline fees on booking my award tickets.  When I return from Africa the $450 credit card fee is due, so I'll just cancel the card.  My $600 in travel credits more than covered the annual fee.

The Reserve card will also allow me and my travel companion to enter Priority Pass lounges for free in the varies cities we will be flying in and out of.  Several credit cards come with Priority Pass membership, but very few allow a guest to accompany the card holder without a fee.  I have a list of all the airport lounges added to my important paper pile.  I applied for this card specifically with this trip in mind since so many benefits were available.  I'll also be covered for trip cancellation insurance and baggage loss if necessary.

With regards to cash, in Zimbabwe only American dollars can be used for currency.  The local currency is worthless and the acceptance of credit cards is almost unheard of so I'll need to have cash in small denominations. Withdrawing from an ATM is not ideal.  Fortunately, cash is only needed for small incidentals since everything has been prepaid.  Once I'm out of Zimbabwe I'll switch back to using credit cards for activities and food.  Everything else was previously paid ahead of time.

I have made copies of my passport, drivers license, medical card and credit cards, one copy goes with me another stays at home.  This way if anything is stolen I'll have access to telephone numbers, my passport number etc.  Copies of our itinerary have been produced and given to loved ones not traveling - these itineraries contain very detailed information so they can track our whereabouts in the event we cannot communicate with regularity.  Lastly, the trip has been registered with STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) thru the State Department web site.  This information is provided to the US Embassies of Harare, Johannesburg and Cape Town so they know our whereabouts.  It's an exhaustive process but makes for a much smother time away.

Wait...What?..Rabies?

I'm in final preparations for a trip involving a safari in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls adventures and South African cities of interest - its been almost a year in the planning and booking. Now with a few weeks before departure -it's time to start getting ready for departure. Don't worry, this post has nothing to do with packing (its been covered relentlessly in thousands of other blog entries) we are going to focus on travel medications.  Approximately 5 years ago, I went to Thailand.  I detailed in this blog about having to receive 8 inoculations and a variety of oral medications.  Some of those inoculations are still protecting me today and some need boosters.  A month ago...I went to my regular doctor to review what was needed for this trip. The list included yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, tetanus and RABIES!!  I also requested a prescription for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.

Wait...did I just write rabies?  I pride myself on reading the fine print. After all, if I didn't read the fine print I'd hardly be able to travel the world for practically nothing, so how did I miss this? From my inoculation list I was still covered for yellow fever, all the hepatitis (A,B &C) and tetanus.  Typhoid was borderline so I chose to have it prescribed as an oral medication (I hate shots).  Malaria is also oral.  As for the rabies - I declined.  That involves a series of painful shots I just didn't want to endure.  I was also confused as to why it was needed.  Apparently, because of monkeys.

Monkeys are everywhere in Victory Falls and very bothersome.  If a monkey bites me I'm gonna wish I had those rabies shots!  If I do get bit then not only will I have to endure my worst nightmare (shots),  I'll have to have them administered in a third world country - more worry!!!  So after the initial oh how cute you look Mr. Monkey, I'll be over it and outta there real quick.  Advisories are posted not to have food in your bag or food scented items like lipgloss as they will attack your bag.  Don't think I haven't thought about an old hunters trick to disguise human scent; dousing oneself in deer urine (I found it in my dads hunting bag) to keep monkeys at bay.  Note to self: check if monkeys like deer meat first.

The Triple Dip.....

Every now and again in the points world we are rewarded with a triple dip.

I love triple dips.  I especially love them when they put money in my pocket.  American Express recently sent me a targeted credit card promotion to sign up for their Premier Rewards Gold Card.  This card typically comes with $195 annual fee, but the fee is waived for the first year.  I was also targeted to receive 50,000 membership rewards points after only a $2,000 spend in three months.  That's a relatively easy spend threshold for me to meet, but I really wasn't in the mood for a new credit card.  However, as I reviewed the promotion material more closely,  I noticed that the card offered a $100 Airline Fee Credit that was renewable on a calendar year basis... that's when the light bulb went off.

Due to the timing of the card's promotion I was able to sign up, be approved and have the card arrive in less than a week.  I was approved on the 15th and the card arrived on the 18th of December.  You are required to designate an airline from a list provided by American Express.  I easily chose Southwest.  American Express fine print clearly states that the purchase of gift cards are excluded from the $100 reimbursement credit, however and this is a huge however, there are blogs that detail how airlines code their charges and that my friends is where the magic happens- in the coding.

Southwest and American Airlines code their gift cards like other miscellenous travel expenses such as upgrades and baggage charges therefore, it is easily seen by Amex as a reimbursable expense.  This does not work for all airlines on the list.  I have upcoming plans to visit Nashville and with Southwest servicing that area the choice of airline was a no brainer for me.  The day the new card arrived I immediately linked it to my existing online Amex account and selected Southwest as my airline of choice.  The next day I ordered two Southwest e-gift cards; one for $68 and one for $32 therefore, utilizing all of my $100 airline credit for 2017.  Today, Amex credited my account for $68 and $32 respectively.  As soon as the calendar changes to January 1, 2018, I will essentially do the same thing with different numbers totaling $100.  Then on January 1, 2019 I will do this for a third and final time and if all goes as planned I will have amassed $300 in Southwest gift cards before the $195 Amex fee comes due.

When I am billed for the annual fee I will promptly cancel the card and walk away with a substantial Southwest credit plus 50,000 membership rewards that I'll eventually turn into something fabulous to write about here.   This is why triple dips are so cool.