A Lull in the Action

March 22, 2012 - Rick

Over the last couple weeks I have received a few comments about the increase in trip reports and lack of new deals. Fair enough, let’s talk about it, and hopefully some of our old-timers will chime in as well.For months now there has been very little of significance in the world of great deals and promos. We are in a big time lull in my opinion. We haven’t seen a big time credit card offer in months (I think the Cap One deal was a let down to most of us small time personal spenders). We are all coming off a tremendous high from last year’s mega offers. As of this writing I have only one 50K approval for the year.

I can’t (and won’t) rave with excitement about the latest hotel promos as they just are not all that exciting to me. Come on back Hyatt and FFN.

When was the last rental car deal where we saw 5,000 to 10,000 miles for a one day rental? It was two years ago.

Some are making a case for the Ultimate Rewards Mall bonus category offers, but I don’t see anybody reporting tens of thousands of miles earned that way by any one individual. They are just too darn time consuming for an extra 4-6 points per dollar to amass large numbers of miles. I’m not a big spender on consumer goods so if I can’t easily liquidate my position, I won’t play the game. As you’ll note, many of the deals restrict the purchase of gift cards to increase the spend. The last deal of any significance was 36 Avios points for purchases at Nordstroms. The post count on FlyerTalk indicated the lukewarm reception to that one as well.

And if you look at the forums for a terrific mistake fare????? Very few to be found. Many have gone underground I’m sure.

Plainly and simply, I think we are in a lull. I got a $200 credit from my new Mercedes Benz card. Whoopee and one 50K approval.

Now old-timers, please chime in here. Are you feeling the same way I am?

We have been here before and will come out of the doldrums when we least expect it. Frequent Miler will find us the Perpetual Mileage Machine. A rookie will discover a mistake fare we can’t pass on, and it will stay up over an entire weekend. Or a card issuer will offer a monster offer. I’m hoping talking about it will break the ice.

Until then, we’ll just keep doin’ what we’re doin’. We’ll post the Deal of the Day every weekday with the deals you and I find, but we won’t get excited over 500 miles or 10% off..

I’m waiting just like you are.

Deal of the Day

For today’s Deal of the Day I’m giving away Two United RCC passes for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post (with your First Name, Last Initial, and 3 letter airport code) or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post to be eligible to win.

KL

Hi Rick,
When I look over the details of the new Mercedes Benz card, I don’t see any mention of the $200 credit. Is the the same card benifit that the regular Platinum card has, offering $200 per year in Airline incidentals? And if so, where can I find it in the Card Benefits?

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/ Frugal Travel Guy

KL, When I called to choose my airline of record for the reimbursement, they knew exactly what I meant and added AA as my airline of choice

rick I

Mpohl

I am here w/ KL. Don’t see it. But somehow have a vague memory of having seen it!

bitachu@gmail.com

Michael, S (HNL) Not exactly a new deal but transferring 17k Membership Rewards(for Amex 50% bonus) to British Airways will get you a roundtrip HNL to/fr West coast Mainland flight on American Airlines & Alaska Air. That means ANC, SEA, PDX, LAX, SAN, BLI and soon to be OAK and SJC(coming in 4/10/12)
Jhastin1990

I just saw this interesting new site by american express. Nextpedition.com

You uncover your Travel Sign We build you a mystery tripWe reveal your itinerary day by dayYou have an amazing adventure

Looks interesting and could be fun.

Jim H. IND
Jake

Amen Rick. I’ve been worried by 1) the lull in monster offers and 2) the changes in this site since you got bought out. Your post is comforting knowing the trustworthy Rick is still there and not getting lost in all these new “features”. Thanks for sticking with it.
http://twitter.com/jamucsb Jamison

what happened to the 50+ comments on here??

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/ Frugal Travel Guy

They are still migrating over from Blogger to WordPress. All are being considered as possible contest winners

Rick I

Mpohl

I don’t think there is a lack of opportunities. Maybe of 100k opportunities! But there are still too many, on the 50k (and equivalent!) level, to pursue them all.

My focus has now turned to cash-back cards. Very decent sign-up bonuses, e.g. Citi Div for $200 (aka 20,000mi.) after just a $500 spent. Also look at Discover, Chase Freedom. Plus if you manage the quarterly categories effectively, you’ll be lowering your cost of living by 5%. Or, looking at it another way: you are giving yourself a 5% raise!

If gas is on-sale for 5% off, I’ll just buy $500 in GC from the lowest outfit around! Bingo, $25 for me!! If super-markets are the category, I’ll stock up on any gift cards that they carry and that I would use in the normal course of life!

Citi Div has health care expenses as a 5% category thru March 31. Guess who is seeing the dentist? The rug rats! $30 bucks saved!

P.S.: Of course, all of this assumes that you do not carry balances month-to-month. But pay of in full.
RakSiam

Are the big offers now just targeted instead of open to all? I just got the 80K points PC visa offer. Even the regular 60K offer is open to all. Maybe not as great as airline miles, but still potentially quie useful.

I guess we need more new products since so many cards aren’t churnable anymore.

A Lull in the Action

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