by PointsGuru | Feb 18, 2015 | Virgin America Elevate
Virgin America announced a New Route from Dallas to Austin with fares from $39 each way. Book by February and Fly by June 6. Travel begins to Austin, TX the home of SXSW starting April 28. With Virgin America you get those nice mood-lit flights between Dallas (DAL) and Austin (AUS) and nonstop service to Austin five times a day.
I will have to consider flying to Austin now instead of driving since it takes almost 4 hours to drive and this will cut down some time and not too much out of my pocketbook while earning Elevate points. My favorite airline now is Virgin America hands down in the US. I am glad to see them grow and grow and grow. I had hoped they had bought out American Airlines when they went bankrupt but instead the horrific merger with US Air took place. Glad to see Virgin America grow even if it is taking forever to do so. Hopefully they will pick up Orlando, Tampa, New Orleans, and grow to more US Cities out of Love Field (DAL) in Dallas, TX.
If you would like free WiFi on Virgin America check out this post.
by PointsGuru | Feb 17, 2015 | Business
It seems every day we are posting another hot offer from American Express. This time for their business line of cards. If you have an eligible American Express OPEN or Corporate card you may qualify for free access to Gogo Inflight Wifi throughout the year.
This offer is available to the Business Centurion Card and Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN as well as the Corporate Centurion Card, Corporate Platinum Card, Corporate Gold Card, and Executive Gold Corporate Card from American Express. This is not available for Simply Cash members (believe me I checked).
Centurion members are eligible for unlimited passes, Platinum Card members are eligible for 10 passes per year, and Gold Card members are eligible for five passes per year. Each pass is good for one Gogo WiFi flight segment.
You just have to register your card number here to get started. To use a pass while in flight, log into your Gogo account and select to use the AMEX Internet Pass.
This is a great offer for those who currently have American Express business cards or plan on applying for one. Combine this with all the Membership Rewards points you can get bonuses on and you can do lots your spending strategy with AMEX. hopefully some day we will not have to search for promo codes or discounts for in-flight Wifi and it will be included for free.
These Wifi Passes are valid for use on Gogo equipped flights operating between destinations within the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where network coverage is available. Gogo is available on Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, United, US Airways, and Virgin America. Not available on Southwest or Jet Blue.
by PointsGuru | Feb 17, 2015 | American Express
American Express is pulling out the promotions this year like no other. They may be loosing Costco as a partner but who cares they have so many great “statement credit” deals that it’s a new surprise each week. AMEX card members can get a $50 statement credit back when you spend $250 or more at participating Los Angeles hotels through April 15, 2015.
Just Register any eligible American Express card for this offer. Does not include Bluebird or Serve cards. You will need to use your registered card to make a purchase of $250 or more on charges to your room, including your room rate.
The catch is that there’s a limited list of Participating Hotels:
Four Points by Sheraton LAX
Hilton Garden Inn Hollywood
The Hotel Of Hollywood
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Hotel Angeleno
Hotel Normandie LA
Intercontinental Los Angeles/Century City
L’Ermitage Beverly Hills
Mondrian
Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel
Shore Hotel
The BLVD Hotel & Spa
The Garland
The Line Hotel
The Standard Downtown LA
W Los Angeles Westwood
You may register here for this offer and make sure that you use this same site to book the reservation. If they are made through third party websites or travel agencies you will not get your $50 credit. The credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after April 15, 2015.
I’ve been planning to get to LA in March but do not see my regular hotels on the list. Too bad it is not open to more participating hotels. I have the same issue with the Hilton promotion where I normally stay in every hotel owned by Hilton. If you are not set on staying at a certain place and open to trying out a new hotel this deal is for you.
by PointsGuru | Feb 14, 2015 | Points
Swagbucks, the popular online rewards site has a new card with a sign-up bonus and you know we are always looking for those over $50. If you aren’t familiar with how Swagbucks work you can read about it here.
You’ll receive 1,000 Swag Bucks points just for using your card within the first 3 billing cycles after your account is opened, which is good for a $10 gift card to a variety of merchants including Whole Foods and Amazon. You can then earn 2,500 points when you spend $1,000 within the first 6 billing cycles after account opening, which is redeemable for another $25 worth of gift cards.
This new rewards card also offers 1.25 Swag Bucks points per $1 on all of your purchases. So after you meet all the minimum spending of $1,000, you get a total of 4,750 points from bonuses and spending. This gives you enough for 10 Amazon cards at $5 each totaling $50. You would have 250 remaining Swag Bucks leftover.
$1,000 minimum spending requirement = 4,750 or more Swag Bucks points
The Bucks add up to a $50 Gift Card and points left over:
1,000 first purchase bonus points
2,500 bonus points after $1,000 in purchases
1,250 points from the actual $1,000 in purchases (1.25x points per $1).
by PointsGuru | Feb 14, 2015 | Gift Cards
The number one trusted gift card app, Gyft, is offering a is offering a Free $5 Gift Card when you sign up for a new account. You can use this card at over 200 Retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Sephora, Starbucks, iTunes, Whole Foods just to mention a few of many retailers.
Make sure to validate your account by email to reveal $5 Gyft code for you to use on gift cards. The promotional code emailed will expire 24 hours from when it is issued. Do not be like me and forget to use the code within 24 hours or it will be lost.
How this works:
1. Sign up for a Gyft account.
2. Validate your email address to reveal the $5 Gyft Card code.
3. Choose the gift card you’d like to purchase (must be $15 or more).
4. Add the Gyft Card code to your order and click the validate button.
5. Complete your order by paying with credit card, PayPal or Buy with Google.
6. Enjoy your new gift card!
This virtual account is great for uploading, buying, and redeeming gift cards in stores or online. I currently use Gyft to also keep track of gift card balances or hold cards such as the ones that Passbook do not work. Whole Foods is one of those cards. I add it to my Gyft account and it works flawlessly at their registers because it comes up in Passbook after its added. I also love sending out birthday gift cards via Facebook and the Gyft app.
