Sesame Street and How the Grinch Stole Christmas Preferred Seating From Chase

By: Mr Credit Card

10/12/2012

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Chase card members can get preferred seating and discounts to many shows and musicals that are happening during the holiday season. In the email that I just received yesterday, Sesame Street and How the Grinch Stole Christmas have preferred seating available. Here are the details.

Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas – This musical is held at the Madison Square Gardens in New York City and tickets are available from 13th to 30th December 2012. To check the availability of preferred seating, you need to enter the first six digits of your Chase credit card. The musical includes their hit songs “Your’re a mean one , Mr Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas”. Here is the link

Sesame Street Live – Elmo’s Super Heroes – Preferred seating tickets are also available for the Sesame Street Live show featuring Elmo’s Super Heroes. The venue is once again Madison Square Gardens and dates are from 7th to 18th February 2013. Once again, you have to use the first six digits of you chase card number in the promo code box to see available preferred tickets.

Along with the tickets, there are also a couple of interesting perks that come with your ticket. For example, Play Zone is now open before the show begins. If you come early, your kids can hang out in the play zone with their favorite Sesame Street character. You can hang out in Big Bird’s nest, Oscar’s trash can etc. Entry to the play zone is free with your ticket.

There is also a Sunny Seat package where you have to come 90 minutes before the show for a meet and greet opportunity with two Sesame Street Live friends and character. You can use your own camera for photo and picture taking.

Here is the link.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular Tickets Through Chase

By: Mr Credit Card

Mrs Credit Card and myself just got another email yesterday from Chase about a few events where preferred tickets are available through them. One of them is the Radio City Spectacular.

Radio City Spectacular Show – The dates available for booking are from 9th November to 30th December 2012. The tickets available through Chase range from $49 to $299. What is more interesting is the packages that are available for Chase card members.

For example, you can purchase a VIP experience. With this package, you and up to three guest will have a special private VIP entrance to the Radio City Hall and you will be given a tour of the venue. You will also have group pictures taken and also get a pop corn and drinks voucher.

There is also a Elite Moments package where you have to arrive early through a private entrance. There will be a concierge team that will escort you to a Roxy Suite where for a pre-show holiday season reception. There will be a buffet, open bar and a visit from Santa and two Rockettes!

The VIP Experience and Elite Moments require that you use your Ultimate Reward points to redeem for them. You can log into your UR account directly and you actually have to bid on an auction for these two experiences. The number of points required, date availability and your actual seats are all spelled out clearly. Below is a screenshot.

Preferred Seating is also now available (while they last). To verify that you are a Chase card member, you will have to enter your first six digits of your card number under the promo code box on the website.

30% discounts are also available. The promo code is CHASE.

Demonstration of how to book – I’ll now take you to the actual screenshots and explain how you should book your tickets. The screen below shows how the page will look like when you select a date that you are interested in seeing. Notice that on the top left there is a promo code box. You have to either enter the first six digits of your credit card number to see the preferred seating availability or the promo code CHASE to get the discounted tickets. In this example below, I entered my first six digits of my Chase Freedom Visa&#174. You could also use any other Chase cards you have like the Chase Sapphire Preferred(SM) Card. It will tell you that your code is valid and you will be taken to a screen that shows you available tickets. As you can see below, most of the Orchestra Seats are available (as of now!).

If either preferred seating or advanced/discount tickets are not available for that particular time and date, then you will not informed of the situation and not be able to proceed to buy any tickets under that promotion code.

I have been to the Radio City Spectacular with my family and it is simply a great show. Back then, Chase was not offering any preferred seating of any sort. If I were to go this year, you bet that that I will be using my Chase card to get the discounts or preferred seating. Here is t the link to this offering page.

Advanced FUN and 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tickets For Chase Cardmembers

By: Mr Credit Card

10/08/2012

Starting from today (8th October 2012) at 10:00am EST until 11th October 2012 10:00pm EST (Thursday), card members of Chase credit cards will be able to book advanced tickets for FUN and the 13th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show before the pubic can even get their hands on them.

I got of this in the morning when I checked my email and because I am a Chase Freedom card holder, I got the notification in my ibox. Here is the screen shot.

The date for the FUN music show at the Radio City Hall is for the 2nd February 2013 at 8pm. The tickets are available on a pre sale basis from Ticketmaster. To ensure that only Chase card holders book these advanced tickets, you will need to provide the first six digits of your Chase card in the offer code box during the purchase process. Here is the link to the booking page.

The 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show will be held over a two day period from 11th to 12th February 2013 at Madison Square Gardens in New York City. The show times are at 8:00pm and 7:30pm respectively for the two days. This is a favorite show of mine and Mrs Credit Card (because we own a standard red poodle!) and we like to see who the winner is in different categories every year. Last year, a Pekingese won the overall show and it’s been a while since the standard poodle has won! We are awaiting that day! (BTW – our is not groomed like those in dog shows!).

We have been watching this on TV for many years. I’ve always wanted to bring my family to this show. But since it falls on a Monday and Tuesday, we’ll probably give this a skip and just watch it on TV.

Like the FUN musical, the tickets are made available through TicketMaster and you need to use the first six numbers of your credit card to verify that you are a Chase card member. Here is the screen shot of the booking page.

Starwood's Better Tomorrow 40% Discount, Better By The Night And AAA/CAA Promotions

By: Mr Credit Card

10/02/2012

Better Tomorrow Promotions – Starwood Preferred Guest is now having a “Better Tomorrow” promotion whereby you can get 40% discount for the second day if you pay regular rates for the first night’s stay. So if you stay at a SPG hotel for 2 nights and you pay the regular rate for the first night, the second night is 40% off the regular rate. If you stay for 4 nights, you will receive 40% discounts the 2nd and 4th nights. This promotion is valid until 31st December 2012 and is good only for non restrict room rates. Here is the link to the promotion page.

Better By the Night Promotions

Here is a quick recap on the Better by the night promotions by Starwood. Starting 1st October 2012 (yesterday) until the end of the year, you can earn double Starpoints if you stay for one or two nights at their hotels. If you stay three nights or more, you could earn triple Starpoints. You do have to register by 15th November here to earn the extra points.

But SPG is also offering more ways to earn points. For example, if you book your stays through their iPhone app, you earn 500 extra points. If you book through their website (spg.com), you get 250 points (they are telling you to book direct and bypass online booking sites!). And if you check in via FourSquares, you earn 250 points. This requires linking your SPG account with FourSquares. I’m a little weary about checking in this way because when we check into hotels, we always like to ask for better room, or to make sure our room request is honored. So “e-check-ins” do not really appeal to me.

20% Discount for AAA/CAA members – If you are a member of AAA, Starwood is offering a up to a 20% discounts, breakfast for two or $100 credits depending on the hotels that you choose. This promotion is good until the end of the year and is valid in only select hotels. The website says that there some minimum stay requirements though I am having problems finding it! You can check out the details here

More changes coming to Marriott Rewards credit cards

By: Mr Credit Card

09/22/2012

Chase is about to update their Marriott Rewards credit cards again. Their present features will still be available until this coming Monday.

What I’m watching closely is what will happen to the sign up bonus. The last time Chase updated the cards, they kept the 50,000 sign up bonus for the premier version but reduced the bonus for the regular card from 50,000 to 25,000 points. At this moment, the 50,000 sign up bonus is achieved just after the first purchase on the card. If they keep the sign up bonus the same, my fear is that they impose some form of spending requirements.

As far as features goes, my feeling is that they will more or less remain the same. If it does change, it will probably be for the better. Chase and Hyatt recently upgrade the Hyatt credit card with new features and if anything, any changes would be positive and retroactive.

If you have always wanted to get a Marriott card, perhaps this is the time to get the premier version with the 50,000 sign up bonus since they is some chance that the sign up bonus may be reduced.

US Airways 250,000 Miles Sweeptake 30th September 2012

By: Mr Credit Card

09/18/2012

US Airways is now having a sweepstake. You have to enter and register by 30th September 2012. This is a little more than 2 weeks left. Here is how it goes. The winner gets 100,000 miles. Runner up gets 50,000 miles. And there would be 4 prizes of 25,000 miles each. Click here to enter

This promotion ties in with their double miles purchases promotion happening right now. To recap, if you buy miles from US Airways now (for up to 50,000 miles), you will get double miles. That means that you could deposit 100,000 miles in your Dividend account if you purchase 50,000 miles today. You obviously have to plan to use the miles quickly and efficiently to make the purchase worthwhile. But 30th September is the deadline again.

Who knows, someone may get lucky and get 200,000 miles in their account by the end of this month!

On another note, US Airways is also giving away 25,000 mile if you get a Lasik procedure done through a referral from their site! I think I’d rather research who I’ll be going to for the procedure rather than search for an online referral just to get 25,000 miles. But you never know, the extra miles might be just be more important to you! It appears that the provider is LasikPlus. But, my eyesight is good and I’m really not familiar with this. So here is the link. Please read the fine prints!

Exclusive Jason Mraz Concert Tickets Through Chase Credit Cards

By: Mr Credit Card

09/17/2012

For those of you in the loop, you would know by now that Jason Mraz is having a concert in Madison Square Garden on 11th December 2012.

Being a Chase Freedom card member, I just got an email from them telling me that I can book tickets starting from today 17th September (at 10am EST until 22nd September 10pm EST). The tickets are not available to the public yet. So if you hurry, you can get some great seats.

After tweeting about this post, Chase has informed me that all Chase cardholders (including debit cardholders) can book these tickets now. So for all you Chase credit or debit account holders, check your emails or go to https://madisonsquaregarden.chase.com/ to see concerts supported by Chase.

Love the Journey Concert by Citi and American Airlines

By: Mr Credit Card

09/14/2012

I just got an email from Citi’s PR folks that Citi and American Airlines have announced The Citi® / AAdvantage® Card Love the Journey Concert Series. This concert will take place in New York and Los Angeles this October. The main attraction is performances by Alicia Keys and Maroon 5.

These 2 concerts are to celebrate 25 year partnership or “journey” between Citi and American Airlines. And they will be held exclusively for Citi / AAdvantage credit card customers and will include the artist’s personal stories from their journey to stardom. Wow, 25 years of partnership! I’d say that is great and I might cheekily add that many of AA planes are just as old!

So here are the venues:

• Alicia Keys: Monday, October 15 at Avery Fisher Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center
• Maroon 5: Friday, October 19, 2012 at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles

Only Citi AAdvantage Card holders can purchases tickets at www.citi.com/concertseries. They go on sale September 18, 2012 and are limited to two per Citi / AAdvantage cardmember on a first-come, first-serve basis. Many folks have churned and hold a couple of AA cards. So I’m just wondering if that means you can get more than 2 tickets?

Anyhow, if you live in NY or LA and are interested in this concert, this looks at quite an “exclusive” event for Citi AA card members. If you have always been thinking of getting this card, perhaps this is the right time as well!

AskMrCreditCard.com Daily Recap 09/13/2012

By: Mr Credit Card

09/13/2012

From our site

Hyatt Credit Card Review Updated
Hyatt has just announced a couple of new changes to their affinity cards which will take place after 1st October 2012 (more on that below). As a result of this, we have updated our reviews to reflect the upcoming changes. We find the changes positive and have increased our rating for the card.

2 Free Nights Promotion Explanation and Value
While rewriting the Hyatt review, I looked into the 2 free nights sign up bonus more closely and found out that the definition of 2 free nights depended on your Hyatt Gold Passport elite status. The higher the status, the better the sign up bonus.

From around the web

Hyatt 65,000 points promotion through 30th November 2012
Guess it is all about Hyatt today. They are running a promotion now until the end of November. You have to register by end of October to participate. Between 1st September 2012 and 30th November 2012, you can earn 5,000 bonus points for 5 nights of stay, and 10,000 points for every 5 nights after that up to 65,000 bonus points. That means, you have to be staying at a Hyatt hotel for 35 days to earn this extra bonus (worth a suite for a night). To be honest, it is quite impossible for us mortals, but any extra bonus you earn is always good.

Hyatt announces enhancements to their affinity card
Hyatt yesterday announced some enhancements to their affinity card. Firstly, you can earn double points for restaurants, airline tickets booked directly with airlines, as well as with car rentals. Very few affinity cards have this feature, so kudos to Hyatt. Existing card members will also be automatically be platinum elite members.

Furthermore, they have also added nights and stays as bonus based on spending levels. Spend $20,000 and you get 2 stays/5 nights. If your spending goes up to $40,000, then you will get an additional 3 stays/5 nights. For those pursuing diamond level, this card will now be even more valuable.

US Airways 25,000 Bonus Miles Promotion with Star Alliance Network
This promotion is good until 15th December 2012. “Travel on 3 partner carriers to get 2,500 bonus miles, 4 to get 5,000 and 5 to get 15,000. Fly on 6 or more and you’ll earn 25,000 miles.” Guess this only applies to the hard core US Airways flyer.

Starwood and Aeroplan promotion
Between 10th September and 9th December 2012, you can earn extra Aeroplan miles for staying at Starwood Hotels. Stay 3 nights are earn 3,000 aeroplan miles. Stay 5 nights at earn 5,000 miles. Stay at a Canadian Starwood chain and earn an extra 3,000 miles. Registration is required.

SouthWest double miles promotion
From now until 15th November, you can earn double miles flying with Southwest. For example, according to SouthWest site: “You’ll receive 24 points (instead of the standard 12 points) per dollar spent on Business Select® Fares, 20 points (instead of ten points) per dollar spent on Anytime Fares, and 12 points (instead of six points) per dollar spent on Wanna Get Away?®”. Registration is required.

AskMrCreditCard.com Daily Recap: 11th September 2012

By: Mr Credit Card

09/11/2012

I sent my Macbook Pro to the Apple Store a couple of weeks ago to fix some issues and I ended up having to be without it for close to 10 days. It’s great to have it back. So here again are some highlights from the site and from around the web.

From our site

1. 50,000 Bonus Points From American Express.
Last week, Amex bumped up their sign up bonus for the business version of their gold card to 50,000 MR points. You would need to spend $5,000 within three months to get it. But this appears to be their annual ritual of giving huge sign up bonuses for a limited time. It is good until 25th November 2012. The only bummer is that this promotion is starting at a time when Membership Rewards is having airline miles transfer bonuses (and some of them end soon). For example, you can now get 40% bonus when you transfer MR points to BA Avios (ends 27th September 2012). And you can also get a 35% bonus for transferring points to Flying Blue miles. But it ends on 16th September 2012 (so no time to get the card and spend $5k so soon!).

But nevertheless, this sign up bonus is rather generous by Amex standard and you should take advantage of this.

2. The definition of Costco Gas Stations.
When it comes to earning gas cash back on regular creditc cards that earn cash back, many folks assume you can earn those rebates from all gas stations. It turns out that not all gas stations are equal. Some are considered to be “standalone”. Examples would include Sunnoco, BP, Shell etc. Costco, on the hand, is classified as a discount warehouse and so their gas stations are not considered “standalone”. That means no extra cash back from other gas cards. Only a Costco affinity would allow you to earn 3% cash back! So if you fill up at Costco, make sure you use their card to pay!

3. Update review of Macy’s Store Card
I just found out that one of our writers, Christina, actually has the Macys’s store card. So I asked her to update the review accordingly!

From Around the Web

Starwood Better By The Night Promotion Open For Registration
Starwood will have a “better by the night” promotion from 1st October to 20th December. When you book for one or two nights at eligible hotels, you can earn double points. If you book for three nights or more, you can earn triple points. So if you intend to stay at a Starwood Hotel, you should sign up now.

MR to BA 40% Bonus
Deadline is 27th September. Transfer MR points to BA Avios and get 40% extra bonus. If you sign up for the business version of the gold card (review here, you can get 50,000 bonus points if you spend $5k in a hurry. If you can convert them to BA Avois by the deadline, that would be sweet as well.

MR to Flying Blue (KLM and Air France) – 35% Bonus
The second MR promotion going on now involves Flying BLue miles (KLM and Air France). This ones ends on 16 September. Transfer MR points to Flying Blue and get 35% bonus. Here is a great post on ways to make use of FLying Blue miles.

Part 1: Introduction to ITA Fare Matrix
Part of a 3 part series by Hack My Trip. Great read for frequent flyers and also for FF beginners. After reading this series, you will probably take a jump to the intermediate status. Part 2 appears here

You can no longer check your skymiles at award wallet and many folks are pissed
Delta has joined American Airlines and SouthWest by not allowing award wallet to show consumers the status of their Delta Skymiles. Many frequent flyers are absolutely livid about this. And there are more than enough post today ranting about the topic. Here is a contrarian view