How to Book Award Tickets to China During Peak Season? (Star Alliance Edition)
When browsing forums—especially ones with lots of beginners—you often run into the argument that “miles are useless.” The logic usually goes like this: during peak season, cash far...
U.S. Credit Card Application Q&A
We previously published a series of articles on credit card application tips, along with several beginner guides to applying for credit cards. This article mainly ties those relate...
Credit Card Application Talk — Sign-Up Bonuses
There are two main ways to evaluate whether a credit card is good: its long-term holding value and its sign-up bonus value. So for most applicants, the motivation for applying usua...
Credit Card Application Talk: App-O-Rama (AOR)
Before introducing this method, readers should note that it is not as suitable for everyone as Reconsider. If your credit history is less than one year or your credit score is belo...
Credit Card Application Talk — Applying Without an SSN
In the U.S., credit cards are practically essential, and if you use them well, the rewards can be substantial. But for students who have just arrived in the U.S.—especially undergr...
One-Month Blog Recap — ymlulu’s Section
Introduction: Although this blog was launched a month ago, a lot of the content had actually been on my mind for quite a while—I’ve wanted to write it down and share it with everyo...
An Urgent Award Booking Story: How I Booked a $3,000 Flight for $225
Today I want to share one of my flight award redemption experiences from last year. It was truly a last-minute, high-pressure situation. Would I get my passport back in time? Would...
Points Systems 101 (3): The Three Major Credit Card Points Ecosystems in the U.S.
In the previous article, we explained what airline miles and hotel points are. So how do you actually earn miles and points? The most direct way is by flying and staying at hotels....
Points 101 (2): What Are Airline Miles and Hotel Points?
A lot of people do not know how to get started with points and miles. They feel that points and miles are too abstract, and that cash back is more straightforward. Over the past fe...
If 10 of These Apply to You, You’re Officially Obsessed with Points :)
(1) Staples is definitely not where you go to buy office supplies. You’ve never bought medicine at CVS, and Target certainly isn’t where you shop for household essentials. Customer...
IHG Hotel Redemption Tier Changes: Bad News Everywhere
Each hotel group adjusts its redemption levels each year based on the revenue performance of its properties. IHG is no different, and today the dealswelike blogger revealed IHG’s 2...
