Tentmaking Tips

Well, we decided to try something that we haven’t done before & we weren’t sure if it would even work.

Here’s a little backstory:

• When the big Chase Ink welcome bonus first came out, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get it. Why, you might ask? Because I was already at 5/24. Technically, Chase shouldn’t approve me for any more of their cards until I drop back down under 5/24.

• I thought I would try anyway since the bonus was so great, and to my surprise, I was instantly approved! What?!? It’s not common that they’ll violate their 5/24 rule, but I’ve read online that sometimes they may still let you nab a business card. It’s rare, though.

• Once I hit the minimum spend, we immediately had my wife apply for the same card. We applied under the same exact business name, but she wa
...

One concern people often have with a card like this is, “How do I meet the high minimum spend?”

The minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus on this card is $8,000 in 3 months.

That’s a lot.

You may not be sure how you could spend enough to hit it.

Not to worry.

There are other ways to generate this spend.

I’ll share one of my favorites today.

Funding bank accounts.

Some banks allow you to fund accounts using a credit card.

That’s what I did this past week.

We needed some extra spend to hit the $8,000 for our 2nd Chase Ink Business Preferred card.

US Bank is known to allow credit card funding of new business accounts up to $3,000.

I opened up a new account for one of our businesses & used the credit card to fund $3,000 into the accoun

My wife chose the Cayman Islands where we went this summer & loved it.

My oldest daughter chose to go back to Beaver Creek to ski this Christmas & it’s already booked nearly free with points.

My youngest daughter wanted to go to Las Vegas over Spring Break to see some shows & visit a famous donut shop that she’s seen on YouTube.

We decided to try to book the Bellagio based on family recommendations from people who had been before.

Here’s how we booked 3 free nights with points:

I have the Capital One Venture X credit card which includes a $300 yearly travel credit when booking travel through their portal. I booked the first night using this travel credit combined with points I had in my Capital One account.

I booked the next two nights with Marriott points that we had earned in 2019 from a welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card from Chase. We had earned 100

And the most sought after business class seat on Qatar is called the Qsuite.

It’s literally a small suite in the sky. Check out this video to see it.

Our family has been planning to go to Thailand next summer to see our extended family. We’ve hosted multiple exchange students from Thailand and they’ve become like family to us. We’ve been wanting to take a trip to see them before my oldest daughter graduates from high school.

I knew getting all 4 of us in Qsuites with points would be extremely difficult, but I was up for the challenge. The reason it’s so difficult is because they don’t release many award bookings for Qsuites per flight & they sell out quickly. Many travel enthusiasts are competing to book these seats right when they release them.

I needed to book each leg separately because if I waited for the round trip booking, the first leg would’ve already sold out.

I was told

And, who wouldn’t?

They are offering $325 if you open a new Everyday Checking account (at this link) by August 20, 2024. You can also open the account in-branch and give them the code that you get at the same link.

To earn the bonus, you need at least $1,000 in qualifying electronic deposits (think direct deposit of your paycheck) within 90 days of the account opening.

That should be pretty easy for most people.

And the good news is, you can do it twice. Once for you and once for your spouse (if you’re married).

That’s $650 in just a few months by direct depositing at least $1,000 into the two accounts you open.

Wells Fargo is also offering a $2,500 bonus (at this link) if you’re willing to do something a bit more complicated with significantly more money.

They’re giving a $2,500 bonus (in branch) if you’ll open a Premier Checking Account and deposit $250,000 i

I calculated the other day that between all of the cash in our business accounts & personal accounts, I was losing about $300/mo in interest I could be earning if that cash was invested with my other short-term monies.

But if I transferred it all out, I’d need it right back again for the various activities that happen inside my personal/business checking accounts.

Ugh.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a checking account equivalent that returned ~5% on your sitting cash like the money market accounts are doing right now?

Welcome to Fidelity Cash Management Accounts.

I was listening to a podcast recently where the host was transferring most of his “bank account cash” over to

I sent my Dad a video the other day of a Toyota Tundra that made it to 999,999 miles on the odometer before the owner finally decided to get a new one. I told him that was my goal too! 😂

These Toyotas can go forever!

My previous car was a Toyota Camry. And before that, I had a Toyota 4Runner.

All bought used, with cash, with quite a few miles already on them.

Only reason I didn’t drive them forever is because someone hit me in the 4Runner and totaled it & we sold the Camry so my daughter would have a larger car to drive for her first car.

I learned early on in our financial journey that cars are a terrible investment & can crush all of your financial dreams if you buy them the wrong way. LOL! 😂

Dave Ramsey has joked that driving cars, especially new cars, is like driving around with your window rolled down & throwing hundred dollars bills out of it.

And, while most people probably know cars aren’t g

Many of the travel hackers I follow are sending out red hot alerts about this new card bonus.

And they aren’t exaggerating.

It really is amazing!

It’s the highest welcome bonus ever for this card.

120,000 points for $8,000 in spend over 3 months with a $95 annual fee.

It’s the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.

Now, don’t immediately write it off because it’s a business card.

Hang with me for a second.

You may be thinking, “But I don’t have a business, are you sure this applies to me?”

Are you sure you don't have a business?

Do you know how these card companies define a business?

Do you make any money on the side? If so, you have a business.

Do you plan to make money on the side & you’re just getting started? If so, you have a business.

The definition of “business” for these credit card companies is quite expansive.

You don’t have to have an LLC or be incorporated.

It can be a sole proprietorship using your social se

Well, if you’ve been watching the news, you’ve probably heard about Hurricane Beryl.

The hurricane developed in the eastern Caribbean a few days after we arrived in the Caymans.

As each day passed, the hurricane grew in strength and the locals expressed to us great concern that it could be like the devastating Hurricane Ivan that flattened the Caymans in 2004.

We knew we needed to make plans to leave early, especially before the last minute panic that would likely ensue if we waited until the hurricane got much closer.

I was so thankful for travel rewards!

Our plan was to book an additional flight the day before our scheduled departure flight. Then we would watch the weather and determine if we should leave a day early or keep our original flight.

I had originally booked with American (via British Airways) but I couldn’t book another flight the day before because it had pretty much booked up.

Often, when people spend quite a bit of money on a trip, they’ll purchase travel insurance in case something comes up that interrupts the trip.

Travel Insurance will typically include medical insurance which covers you if you’re traveling to an area where your health insurance wouldn’t cover medical costs. But it can come at a high cost.

When you book with points, you’re not as concerned about comprehensive travel insurance because you didn’t pay much money for the trip to begin with. And, often, you can get your points back if you cancel ahead of time.

But, what about medical costs? What if there’s an emergency and your medical insurance won’t cover it? That could set you back thousands of dollars. And if they need to evacuate you to a place where there’s better medical care, that could be tens of thousands of dollars.

Enter GeoBlue Travel Insurance.

With GeoBlue, you can bypass the