by PointsGuru | Mar 9, 2018 | Marriott Rewards
An easy way to earn Elite Status with Marriott Rewards is through credit cards. Normally speaking, you can obtain your status immediately as you open your credit card, or you can also obtain your status after spending a certain amount of money.
Two kinds of credit cards are launched by Marriott and Chase together:
You get 15 eligible nights every year when you open the Chase Marriott or the Chase Business Marriott. As the requirement of Silver card amounts to 10nights, your card will become Silver card automatically every year. Beyond that, ever $3,000 in spend gets you one qualifying night.
In the first year of the Ritz Carlton card, you get gold status for free. After that, spending $10K/yr will keep Gold status and spending $75k/yr will get you Platinum status. When it comes to the annual fee of 395 dollars, few people may hold the latter for a long period. Remember that the Amex Platinum has a higher fee ($550) but really a $150 net fee after benefits, and this auto grants you Marriott Gold via SPG Gold status.
American Express has your ticket to Gold!
One of the best ways for me was to get the Platinum Card from American Express and get Gold Status automatically. The only bad thing is paying the $550 or $450 annual fee for either the personal or business versions of the card.
Another card is the Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express which may not be around too much longer so it’s best to get it while you still can with a bonus of around 35,000 points. This card gets you into the Starwood lounges and automatic Starwood Gold which translates to Marriott Gold.
In addition, you may find that achieving United Premier status could also win you Marriott elite so you could get one of the United Mileage Plus credit cards from Chase. See here for more fast-track to Marriott elite ideas.
by PointsGuru | Mar 8, 2018 | Chase Cards, Gas Savings
Shell Fuel Rewards offers $0.35 Off per Gallon on your next Fill-up when you First use Chase Pay and fill-up at least 5-Gallons to activate the offer (follow the instructions below).
Just add your Shell Fuel Rewards loyalty card to your Chase Pay app, then fill-up at least 5 gallons, then you’ll get $.35 off per gallon on your second fill-up. The maximum benefit from this deal is $7 if you fill-up a full 20 gallons. Some people use Shell with Fuel Rewards regularly for the $.15 grocery bonus or Giant/SS/Kroger/Martins earnings.
Furthermore, you can get $.05 off per gallon with Gold status for new sign-ups or as a Chase Freedom and Sapphire cardholder instantly. Chase Freedom Card also has a 5% back on gas and Chase Pay purchases this quarter. You can also stack this offer with T-mobile Tuesdays.
Instructions:
- Sign-up for Fuel Rewards from Shell if you have not already.
- Download the Chase Pay App and Log in to your Chase Account
- From the home screen, tap the “Wallet” icon and select the “Loyalty cards” tab
- Now press “+”, then select Shell from the merchant list.
- Enter your Shell Fuel Reward loyalty card number or Alt ID
- Tap the “Add card” button – This will link your Fuel Reward Account with Chase Pay
- Now you may start using the Chase Pay app at a participating Shell Station.
- Open the Chase Pay App and tap the “Pay” button, then tap “At the pump.”
- Enter the pump number and approve the transaction.
- Enter your unique code at the pump and start fueling up.
- Must make an initial fill-up of at least 5-Gallons using Chase Pay to activate the offer
- You will then receive a $0.35 off per gallon offer to use on your next fill-up w/ Chase Pay
by PointsGuru | Mar 8, 2018 | Gas Savings, Mileage Plan
BP and United Airlines are offering BP Driver Rewards and United MileagePlus members the option of earning and using miles on fuel purchases at participating BP U.S. retail locations. You must register for this program to earn or redeem the miles.
You can Earn 200 bonus award miles after joining and making your first fuel purchase with a linked debit or credit card. Members can multiply their earnings through the following options:
- One award mile for every gallon of fuel purchased
- Two award miles for every gallon of fuel purchased with a linked debit or credit card
- Three award miles for every gallon of premium-grade fuel purchased with a linked debit or credit card
In addition, BP Driver Rewards and MileagePlus members will be able to use 60 MileagePlus award miles per gallon for $0.50 off per gallon on a maximum of 20 gallons (for a maximum of $10 off) per fuel purchase. To be eligible to use miles at participating BP stations, you must have an eligible form of payment linked to your Driver Rewards account and have at least 1,200 miles in your MileagePlus account at the time of purchase.
We tried to sign-up for the program and had no problems with the driver rewards but then tried to connect United Airlines and it kept giving us errors telling me to call an 800 number. I don’t have enough BP stations for the need to do that but if I plan on a big road trip this summer I will call and make sure it’s connected first to earn the miles on gas.
This program compares to that of Shell’s Fuel Rewards which has been very lucrative for me especially as a T-mobile customer.
For more information and to register for the program head over to mybpstation.com.
If you’re not a United MileagePlus member, join for free here.
by PointsGuru | Mar 2, 2018 | 3% Cash Back, Cash Back Apps, Taxi Rideshare & Rentals, Travel
We know it says $2 in the photo above but stay tuned we’ll show you $3. Shop Your Way (SYW) and Uber have teamed up to give SYW members the opportunity to earn SYW points for their Uber rides. Shop Your Way is a points currency where you can redeemed at Sears, Kmart and/or at shopyourway.com. You cannot redeem SYW points as payment for an Uber ride. You can redeem your rewards at Sears, Kmart, Lands’ End, or online for clothing, electronics, entertainment and much more.
Not only can you earn cash back from UBER rides with Shop Your Way but you can also connect the Ibotta app for an extra dollar per ride! This gets you three dollars per ride. You’d be amazed at the thousands of points I’ve redeemed since November last year on ShopYourWay on things such as a George Foreman Grill and kitchen utensils paying no shipping and not even connecting a credit card.
Here’s how to get up to $3 per UBER Ride:
Step 1: Sign-Up here for Shop Your Way.
Step 2: Connect Shop Your Way with the UBER App. This automatically earns you $2 per ride.
Step 3: To earn the $1 extra cash back, download Ibotta (YOU GET $10 to start you off with Referral Code UNCVEUI). Here are more details on Ibotta. You must open the Ibotta app before booking the UBER ride and it stacks with with Shop Your Way promo.
Bonus: Earn 10 points per $1 (1%) with the Drop app. This also stacks on top of the $3 per ride you’re earning above. This really doesn’t take much time to all set-up and then you are banking on each UBER ride! You can also get the same points per ride on Lyft with this app.
ShopYourWay and Uber Points Work When You Least Expect It
A few things we discovered with the $2 per ride cash back from ShopYourWay is that not only do you get it for U.S. rides but it has worked for Europe and Australia and other destinations when traveling. We’ve also discovered that you can earn points on Uber Eats transactions which is a huge deal if you order on-demand often. Another plus is that it works using points such as Membership Rewards from AMEX and gift cards and credits — so basically any transaction out of the Uber or Uber Eats app will earn you SYW points.
I’ve earned over $300 in SYW points since I connected the shopping portal to Uber just a few months ago. This is mainly because they had a $4 bonus a few times per Uber ride so I’ve been extremely happy with this new found earning treasure chest because it’s FREE MONEY.
Earn 3 Additional Points Per Dollar on Uber Rides
We’ve discussed the amazing Uber Credit Card which is one of our favorite rewards cards out on the market now from any bank. You can read a full review here for the Uber Visa. We have also discussed maximizing the Altitude Visa and Citi Thank You Cards for 3x on Uber Rides which count as Travel.
by PointsGuru | Mar 1, 2018 | Utility Payments
Recently Reliant Energy sent out some questionnaires with incentives that asked how interested we would be in some new rewards-based programs. Some of the rewards required consumers to pay an extra $5 to $10 per month. Another plan on the survey included a roommate plan where you could split the bill.
It seems Reliant electric is looking for new ways to keep existing customers and gain new ones in a highly competitive energy sector. Read our review of Reliant Energy here and the best credit card to use for Utility payments this month here..
Power Perks Plan
Now you can earn valuable points by paying your electricity bill. Your points can be used to purchase gift cards, energy efficiency products for your home, and consumer electronics.
Sign up on the Power Perks plan from Reliant and receive the following benefits:
-Welcome bonus points just for signing up!
-Earn points for signing up for account services, renewing with Reliant, and paying your bill before the due date.
-24/7 customer service and support, online or by phone (more…)
