Why everyone should have a business credit card

Points aren't just for the beach we have used points for travel to hit the slopes. 

Everyone loves making money.  Many of the people I know make additional money outside of their main profession.  They hustle their way to some extra cash.  For those of you that fit this description, personal credit cards are only one half of the rewards pie.

We used Chase Points for flights to Chicago

Business owners can apply for additional lucrative credit cards.  These cards come with additional earning categories and big bonuses.  The additional earning categories are usually phone, internet, cable, and advertising such as social media marketing.  My current business card, Chase Ink Bold, gives me 5 points per dollar spent at office supply stores, or on cable, internet, and phone.  Those bonus points add up quickly.  A family with four cell phones, cable tv, and high speed internet can easily receive 1500 to 2000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points each month.  Over a year that adds up to free flights, hotels, or gift cards.  Unfortunately, Chase does not allow people to apply for the Chase Ink Bold anymore.  Later on in this post I will go over my favorite business credit card.  For now let's see who qualifies for a business card.

We used Chase points for a free hotel night in Newport, KY.  The Aquarium was fun!

To qualify for a business credit card you do not need to have employees, a website, or a brick and mortar location.  You also don't need an EIN (Also known as Federal Tax ID Number).  Instead of entering an EIN you can simply enter your social security number.  Do you sell things on Ebay and Amazon?  Do you coach sports or tutor students?  Basically anything you do to make money and is not a hobby will most likely be considered a business.   Here is a list of a few examples:
- Etsy sellers
- Ticket resellers
- Coaching
- Tutors
- Direct Marketing - Scentsy, 31, Beachbody, Avon etc..
- Garage sale flippers
- Ebay & Amazon sellers

Just be honest when filling out the applications regarding revenue.  Most of these business credit cards will now itemize you purchases for the year which makes it easier to keep your business expenses organized come tax time.

Another difference between personal and business credit cards is that some business cards are charge cards.  Charge cards do not have interest charges because you are required to pay the balance in full each month.  Late fees are charged in lieu of interest charges.  American Express is the biggest charge card issuer and these cards usually require great credit history.  Chase's small business cards are not charge cards they are credit cards.  As I have mentioned before, you should not apply for credits cards unless you can pay of the balance each and every month!

We currently have two business cards open.  Kim has the American Express Business Platinum and as I mentioned before I have the Chase Business Ink Bold credit card.

Every Summer we use Chase points on our trip to Ocean City

My favorite card:

In my opinion the best current business card available is the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.  It comes with a huge bonus - 80,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points.  Since this card allows you to book travel with a 25% bonus through the Chase travel website this 80,000 points is worth $1,000!!

Some additional benefits:
- This card does not count against the Chase 5/24 rule.  See this post where I explain this rule.
- The 80,000 point bonus is applied after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months after opening the card.
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- No foreign transaction fees when purchasing items outside of the United States.
- $95 annual fee not waived the first year.

Chase points can be used to book free flights to Tampa, FL. 

As with all the other Chase Credit Cards, these points can be transferred to loyalty partners.

Here are some options to spend your bonus:

Skiing:  Park City, Utah -
15,000 points per night
Most likely the 80k points can get you two flights and 3 nights hotel if you plan right.

Hit the slopes for cheap 

Sun:  San Diego, California -HYATT REGENCY MISSION BAY SPA AND MARINA 
15,000 points per night

Relax on the water

South Beach Miami, Florida - Hyatt Centric South Beach Miami
25,000 points per night

Sip a mojito in Miami

This post has additional transfer redemption ideas.   This card has an awesome sign up bonus and great points earning options for everyday spend.  The 3x points on phone, cable, and internet is worth keeping the card open in my opinion.  If you are interested in signing up for this card please use the link below(it is the same as the public offer however, I may get a few points if you sign up here):
Click here to apply


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Why SeaWorld Orlando is Awesome for Adults and Kids! ….Our Favorite Spot

Still happy after a long day of fun!

I didn’t realize until we were at animals on safari at the Columbus Zoo that my at the time 2 year old son could sit still!! It was amazing he sat there for the entire show, fixated on the animals and all the tricks. We probably see that show at the zoo five times a year and it never gets old. Which is one of the main reasons we love SeaWorld.

      1.      They have tons of great shows!! We have probably seen every show they offer twice. We have been three times, twice so far with the kids. They have their own form of animals on safari, a dolphin show, the Shamu show, and the sea lion show to name a few of our favorites. My son fell in love with whales after our first trip and no lie one of his first words was shamu! He still to this day sleeps with his stuffed whale and we watch free willie on a regular basis. The other nice thing about these shows is you don’t have to wait in lines! I don’t know about your kids but mine hate waiting and hate standing still. So shows are great, you walk up find and a seat and the show begins shortly after. All shows are reasonable in length and we’ve never had an issue making it through one. They are also nice because they are usually shady and if it’s hot there is a soak zone up front where you can get splashed and cooled off. They also have holiday themed shows around Christmas time.

Dolphin Show

      2.      The the little kids area. They have a large climbing area where kids can burn off some energy and again no lines! I will warn you though this has lots of entrances and exits we lost Lincoln once for a bit and found him in the gift shop. This was pretty scary! They also have tons of rides in this area geared for kids.  They have fun things to take pictures with and games all in the same area.

Hands up!

      3.      The fun touch and feed areas. You can feed sting rays, sea lions and sharks. They have a package you can purchase a card to feed all 3 for $10. The kids love all the hands on stuff.

Feeding Time

      4.      The most memorable reason was what we discovered during our last trip to SeaWorld, dinner with Shamu. This was one of the coolest experiences we have had and plan on doing it again. Each ticket came with an all you can eat buffet and unlimited drinks including alcohol. There were a bunch of long tables all running perpendicular to a glassed off tank. We got to eat dinner while watching a private training season to two whales. The trainers were interactive and had the kids helping train the whales to do different tricks. The whales even goofed and splashed us all over the glass. They said it was an accident but it was hilarious either way. The kids and adults loved the up close encounter with the whales.

Adult Tickets $29  Kids (3-9) Ticket $15

Highlight of the trip

Our personal trainer

Diner with Shamu video

As for adult rides, I will say that Mako, their new coaster, may be the best roller coaster I have ever been on. Our last trip to sea world was when our youngest was nine weeks old, and thankfully we had pop pop with us. As soon as the park opened we all headed straight for Mako. We did rider swap so two of us rode while one played games with the big kids near the ride exit. Then we swapped passes and two more rode. It was awesome!! We rode it as many times as we could before the line showed up. Then we scouted our day based on show times and were able to rider swap other roller coasters throughout the day.

So how we got half off tickets?  Every year the U.S. Travel Association sponsors a promotion called Daily Getaways.  From the website:

Save up to 60 percent on loyalty points, park tickets, rental cars, vacation packages and more from America's top travel brands.


For two years in a row we have purchased SeaWorld tickets for $50 each.   The tickets are emailed to you for easy use at the park.  Keep an eye out next year for these deals.  I will be sure to let everyone know when the spring 2018 deals come out.  

SeaWorld has touched our kids lives so much that they both want to be animal trainers when they grow up (as of now anyway). We were even a SeaWorld family for Halloween. Two whales, a penguin and our awesome trainer!

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Trip Report #3 - Marriott's Harbour Lake Resort - Orlando, Fl (January 2017)

Excited to be on our way to Orlando!

We booked this trip in January 2017 because we wanted one more getaway before Kim went back to work from maternity leave. Since the baby was only 9 weeks old we decided against a beach trip. We had a five night Marriott certificate to use and after some research we decided on Marriott's Harbour Lake Resort. This is one of their Vacation Club Resorts owned by their timeshare business. All of the Marriott Vacation Club Resorts can be booked through Marriott.com contingent upon availability. Popular resorts may not have any booking windows especially in prime vacation times.  We received the 5 night certificate as part of the Southwest Companion Pass/Marriott travel package deal that is no longer available.  Stay tuned for a future post on my experience executing that credit card deal.

Beautiful resort grounds

Planning:
Believe it or not 5 nights is not a long time in Orlando. There are so many things to do. After researching and remembering that we had a 9 week old with us we decided to do 3 main activities on this trip. Those activities were Disney's Magic Kingdom, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Seaworld. We had so much fun at each of these places. We are going to cover Disney and Seaworld in posts that will be coming out very soon. In those posts we will cover how we got half off Seaworld tickets and how we used credit card promotions and warehouse clubs to save over 25% on Disney gift cards. Make sure you subscribe here so you won't miss out on these great tips!

Seaworld

Macie's first big Coaster - Animal Kingdom

Flights:
Once again we flew Southwest to Orlando.  We love their nonstop service from Columbus.  I purchased my flight using a southwest gift card.  The Thursday to Tuesday round trip flight was $157.  We used the companion pass for Kim's ticket and the two older kids tickets cost 11,000 points each.

Car:
We used the Capital One Venture reward portal to book our rental Mini-van.  The reward portal is the webpage where you can redeem points when your signed into your credit card account.  The six day rental cost us $189 total.  For some reason Capital One has changed their rental car vendor since this trip.  Since the change, I have not booked through Capital One because the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal has had better deals.

Hotel:
Sometimes staying at a resort off Disney property can provide a break away from all the magic. This past trip, taken in January 2017, we stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club Harbour Lake Resort. This is a big resort really close to Seaworld with lots of amenities and perfect for families. It has two awesome pools, tons of scheduled kids activities, and a daily sundae bar.  You can buy a souvenir cup and get it refilled all week for free.

Yum, Ice Cream 

One benefit you lose from staying off Disney property is the transportation to the parks. This resort does not have busing. We rented a minivan and drove to the parks and paid the parking.

Room:
We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa which comes with a full kitchen and two full baths. As you maybe aware Kim hates staying in normal hotel rooms with 3 kids. At a minimum we try to get a suite. The 2 bedroom 2 bathroom villa is ideal for us. Each kid can be put down in a separate room and the baby can be put in a pack and play in one of the bathrooms. Once the baby gets older we will have to come up with a new game plan.

Kids enjoying the living room

To save money and calories we always utilize the full kitchen - another thing you won't find when you stay on property unless you stay in a Disney time share property. After check in I go straight to the grocery store. There is a Publix within a couple miles of the resort. We try to eat breakfast and lunch in the room, or at the pools, on days we aren't at the parks. The savings add up quickly with a family of 5.

All the furniture and appliances were in great shape and the beds were very comfortable. Another feature of the villa was our own stacked washer and dryer. It's nice not to have to walk to the community laundry area. There is also a screened in balcony with plenty of room and seating. The balcony is a great place to enjoy a drink or two or ten after a long day at the parks.

Dining:
There is a restaurant/bar connected to the lobby and next to the pirate ship pool. It serves bar type foods and very good drinks. We ate and drank there multiple times. They also have a daily happy hour. We were there during the NFL playoffs and a projector screen was set up to view the games. It was awesome to be able to drink a beer, watch the games, and be able to keep an eye on the kids in the pool all at the same time. This area is also where Bingo and some other family activities take place.

Happy Hour

Pools:
This is what we believe sets this resort apart from others. There are two pools both with features geared towards families. One pool is anchored by a pirate ship with slides, water cannons, and other splash features. This is the one we spent most of our time at. The other has a big water slide and splash park.

Pirate Pool

Awesome pools

Other Activities:
The Marriott Harbour Lake Resort also has a mini golf course and dry play ground. We did not have time to try the mini golf but other families were enjoying it.  There were also plenty of scheduled kids and family activities throughout the day, some were free and some were not.

Playground 

Pirate Dinner Show:
I found a Pirate Ship show on Groupon - Pirate's Dinner Adventure. This was a fun interactive dinner show about 20 minutes from our resort. I believe the cost came for our family was about $120 total.  I was surprised at the quality of the food and a beer or two was actually included in the price! The kids really enjoyed it and we brought along their pirate gear to wear during the show. Towards the end, the kids were allowed on board and were initiated into the crew. I would recommend this activity to families if they want to do something other than Disney one evening.

The stage

Macie being initiated into the crew!

ARRRRRRR

As you can tell we enjoyed Orlando and loved this resort! We have already booked another 5 night stay at this resort during spring break 2018. The kids can't wait to get back. When we booked our upcoming trip this spring they were running a special -$250 per night with a $50 food and beverage credit per night. I thought this was a great deal so we jumped on it.  What's really nice about booking directly through Marriott.com is that you can book refundable rates.  If something comes up we can always cancel with no penalty.  Are you going anywhere for Spring Break 2018?

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My favorite rewards credit card with no annual fee

Belize in 2007 (before I learned to travel with points)

In a previous post I talked about the first cash back card I opened in 2010 which I still use today.  You can read about it here.  In this post I will review the other cash back card I carry in my wallet.  It is the Chase Freedom Visa credit card.  I have had this card since 2013.  It is a very basic, easy to understand card.  It does two things, it either gets you 1% cash back or 5% cash back.

Here are the benefits:

1. $150 sign up bonus after you spend $500 within 3 months of opening the account.  This is a good bonus for low spend in my opinion.                                                                                         
2. 5% cash back when you spend money on items in the quarterly bonus category.  The bonus points will be applied to the first $1500 spent in each quarter’s category.  So the maximum 5% cash back for each quarter is $75 (1500*.05).  After hitting $1500 your cash back bonus will revert back to 1%. Here are the categories for 2017:                                                                      
                             
3. 1% cash back on all other non-quarterly bonus purchases.                                                                    
4. No annual fee.                                                                                                                                   
5. Earn a $25 bonus after you add your first authorized user and make your first purchase within this same 3 month period.  I usually use Kim as my authorized user but I have used my kids in the past 😄.                                                                                                                                    

   

   Use points or cash back to go to Jamaica (2009)

                                        
6. The cash back earned can be transferred to your other chase ultimate rewards card accounts as points instead of cash back.  In other words, the $150 bonus can be changed into 15,000 points and transferred to your other Chase Ultimate Rewards if you have either of these cards open - Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Preferred.  I transfer any points I earn on my freedom to these cards.  You can see why I do this to gain more value in this post.                                                                                                                                                     
7. Cash back can be redeemed for gift cards, travel, statement credits, or you can shop on amazon.

   

   Use cash back for gift cards to Lowe's and Home Depot for home improvement projects

            

My family of 5 easily spends $500 a month on groceries so that quarter is an easy extra $75.  Gas stations are a little tougher since we don’t drive that much.  Some people have had luck buying gift cards at gas stations to get the entire bonus.  Restaurant spending is another category that is tough for us to maximize since we don’t eat out very often.  One way to get more spend in this category is to put the check on your card if you are out with a group of friends.  Your friends could always pay you in cash.  The fourth quarter bonus is usually department stores, wholesale Clubs (Sam’s, Costco), and drug stores.  We can usually max out this quarter because of Christmas shopping.

5% back is about the best you can do in the points game.  I definitely try to get as many points out of the quarterly bonuses as I can. However, it is important to remember that spending money you normally would not spend just to get the points is obviously a bad idea.  

My strategy for this card is to only pull it out of my wallet for the 5% bonus category spending.  For most other everyday spending I use the Capital One Venture Card.  I think it is a no brainer to keep the Chase Freedom credit card open year after year since there is no annual fee.  It also helps my credit score since it continues to create a nice long credit history.

This card does fall Under the 5/24 Chase credit card rule.  I mentioned this rule here.

Want to sign up for the Chase Freedom credit card?  Use this link  to sign up and I may get a few points for the referral.

Make sure to subscribe below if you want to get the latest posts.  We have some awesome stuff coming including some great guest posts.

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Let's Head to the Beach! Fun tips to help you relax when taking babies and kids to the beach.

Fun in the sun

We LOVE going to the beach. We have taken all of our kids at the age of 3 months and up. Our beach trips involve flying and driving. I used to not look forward to the flying beach trips because I felt like I couldn’t be prepared, making it harder to entertain and take care of the kids. Our first couple of trips we bought Styrofoam coolers to try and carry food and drinks (aka beers) to the beach. These coolers are a pain to carry and inevitably break before the end of the trip. We also used to buy sand toys and little rafts that sometimes made it home, if I had room in my bag, but usually got left at the resort. All of which added additional cost to the trip. Sometimes rental places will have sand toys in a little closet but they were usually well loved and or broken. One place we often visited was a rental condo in Ft. Myers. A risk you run with rentals like is that you may not be able to request baby stuff like high chairs. I have heard about companies you can rent things through and they’ll have baby and kid items waiting for you. We however have not tried these companies. Instead I decided I just needed to be a better packer and bring all these things with me!

So now on any flying beach trip I pack and check a bag of things just for the beach. I bring our beach blanket, sand toys, water wings, baby float, towels, my 31 beach bag that I love and our beach cooler that both fold flat and take up hardly any space.

Plenty of room for toys and adult beverages in these bags

This is the beach bag we use.  I put all this stuff in its own bag so I don’t have to worry about mixing sandy wet things in with our clothes. It’s also nice to call ahead to where you are heading to see what they provide. Some hotels provide beach and pool towels which is nice and one less thing to pack. I also always check on the beach umbrella status. Does the hotel provide one? Can we rent one from a vendor on the beach or hotel? If we are driving we usually bring our own. If we are flying I like to get the cost ahead of time so we can bring cash for the beach vendors.

 Other awesome travel friendly items I take to help optimize beach trips:

 1. Chicco portable high chair.

For plane rides I take apart and fit in my beach checked bag. For car trips I just toss it in the van. Perfect for eating more meals in the room, saving money and avoiding too many stressful, kids running everywhere meals at restaurants. This seat is also nice for the baby who can’t really sit alone, or wants to roll everywhere, help keep them contained with a safe place to play!  You can check it out here.

2. Summer infant play yard and sunshade.

The shade is a life saver

Plenty of space 

It folds up nice and compact 

This is awesome for the baby on the beach. Helps keep them in one spot and from rolling right into the sand. Having a slightly mobile child can make a beach vacation even more exhausting. This item seriously increases relaxation! When flying I fit this in my big blue south west bag with all 3 car seats and is still under the 50lb weight limit. Super easy to set up too!  Check out the play yard here and the sunshade here.

3. A shower curtain.

Simple way to keep them entertained

Yes you read right. This I get from any store really for a few bucks. Depending on how rough the ocean is or how young your kids are this is fun to bring. Just dig a big hole, line it with your curtain and fill with water. Now you have a shallow pool right by your spot perfect for little kids!

4. Mini battery operated fan that clips to stroller and or car seat.

Royal treatment 

I always bring this with me to warm places. My babies always seems to like to fall asleep in the car seat or stroller and get so hot! This is nice to have to provide a little breeze while they nap and let you enjoy the beach.  Check out the fan here.

What are your beach essentials?  Answer below in the comments and make sure to subscribe to ensure you don't miss out on our future posts.

Trip Report #2 – Scottsdale, Arizona – Free first class flights, hotels, and massages!

Frozen Concoction poolside

This trip took place in May of 2016 and was sans kids. We chose Arizona for the consistent, sunny, and hot weather.  More importantly, we chose Arizona over beaches because this was during the Zika scare and Kim was pregnant.  I did a lot of planning for this trip and it paid off well. 

Flights:

When I heard that American Airlines was acquiring U.S. Air I signed both of us up for the Barlcay’s U.S. Air credit card in 2015.  I wanted to sign up before the rewards program merger was complete because I knew that the U.S. Air bonus was going away.  These two sign ups gave us a total of 100,000 U.S. Air points (50k each and free checked bags). 

I booked the flights after the merger was complete, U.S. Air points were simply transferred 1:1 to American Airlines.  Our one way American Airlines first class flights from Columbus to Phoenix cost 25,000 points each.  We knew that this flight was not non-stop when we booked so we chose to fly through Dallas (DFW).  We chose DFW because Kim’s American Express Business Platinum gives us free lounge access.  DFW has an awesome Centurion Lounge with free food, free drinks, and free spa services.  Kim got her nails done and I got a free massage.    

Free Spa Treatments 

You can spend your time here for free with the Amex Platinum Card

For the return flight we used Southwest points to book a non-stop flight from PHX to Columbus.  This flight would have cost us 12,234 points per person but I have a Southwest Companion Pass (valid all of 2016 and 2017) which has allowed Kim to fly free anywhere I fly on Southwest.   We only had to pay the $5.60 taxes on her ticket.  I plan to sign up for only two credit cards to get this companion pass again for 2018 and 2019.  I will be posting my plan and will be challenging others to get the pass as well.  Make sure you subscribe to the blog so you won’t miss out on those posts.

Car:

I found a rental car from Dollar Rent a Car for $61 for three days.  I used the Capital One Venture travel portal to book the car. 

Hotel:

Main Fairmont Pool 

I spent a lot of time researching hotels on Tripadvisor.com.  The one that looked the best was Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.  I especially liked it because their branded credit card was talked a lot about in the credit card points forums.  Once Kim was onboard with the hotel I signed up for the Chase Fairmont Credit Card (no longer available).   This card came with 2 free nights in a standard room, $100 food or spa vouchers, suite upgrade certificate, and a 3^rd night free certificate.  We were able to use the upgrade certificate with the two free nights and were upgraded to a Casita Suite.  Fairmont also runs two promotions a year where you can buy gift cards with a 20% bonus.  We bought some of these to pay for the spa and restaurant visits. 

The entire point of this trip was to relax since the kids weren’t with us. 
Staff: We arrived before 9am, The bell hop stand was quick to assist us in storing our luggage - they even put my beer and water in a fridge. They temporarily valeted, for free, our car until we knew where our room would be located. The front desk was quick to find us a room however the current occupants had yet to checkout. We were give pool area keys and directions to the changing rooms. Overall the staff was great. Any question I had was quickly answered. The housekeeping staff always asked if we needed anything. 

Spa- Kim had two appointments at the wonderful Spa. She enjoyed both treatments. I tagged along one day and purchased a spa pass which gave me access to the gym, pools, saunas etc. The Spa gym, much nicer than the regular hotel gym, had adequate weight machines, free weights and newer cardio equipment. I'm not much of a spa guy but the steam room, plunge pools, and saunas were wonderful. In the morning I had the place to myself. We also enjoyed the adults only pool - especially the large pillow like rafts for floating. The food at the spa was healthy and excellent. I recommend the salads. 

Relex at the adult pool 

Another view of adult pool 

Waterfall at the Spa

Room - As a fairmont presidents club member I redeemed an upgrade to a Casita suite. Our room was right on the golf course with awesome views; the room and bathroom were large. The bed was very comfortable. 

Casita suite

Pools - We mostly used the main pool near the bar - food and drinks are a bit pricey but wonderful. I only wish they provided some rafts at the main pool. On our last day we used the casita pool which was much smaller and more private. This pool had awesome loungers and couches. 

Out lounge spot at the pool 

Restaurants - We ate dinner at La Hacienda and bourbon steak and had breakfast each day at Ironwood American kitchen. We thought every meal was great. 

Yum Yum

Overall it was a wonderful resort. We definitely plan to come back and bring the kids especially given the new pool that has been opened. It has a sand area.  This resort also has special Easter activities for the kids over the Easter weekend.  This is definitely on my travel bucket list to accomplish. 

One note – some of these cards do come with annual fees which is a true cost.  I do not mind paying the annual fees because I believe the value received from having the card is much greater. 

Have you been to PHX area?  Where did you stay?