“Barclaycard Arrival” Targeted Credit Card Offer — $450 in Free Travel, or Not?

Free money
© Andres Rodriguez | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Spoiler Alert:  The best rewards credit card offers are not hyped in the blogosphere.

This is the story of how I learned to sit back and wait for the superior targeted credit card offers to roll in.

In a typical week, my husband and I receive a dozen offers in the mail for new credit cards.  The banks even try to induce our kid to apply for credit cards on a regular basis.  My usual habit is to toss out these envelopes without opening them.

That is, until I learned how lucrative sign up bonuses could be.

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Consumer Survey: Priceline Consistently Offers Lowest Rates

A multi-city survey by Washington Consumers’ Checkbook finds that hotel rates on Priceline are 40 percent lower than on other online booking services.

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The nonprofit organization compared prices for a specific 4 or 5 star hotel in seven cities, and the Priceline rate was consistently the lowest.

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How to Get Two Rooms for the Price of One

When traveling with family or friends, do you ever wish you could afford to book two adjoining rooms?  You can, and for the same price you would pay for a single hotel room!

Sandy Utah View
View of the Wasatch Mountains from Sandy, Utah
Photo by Scott Catron

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we arranged a rendezvous with my sister in the Utah Valley.  We were treating her to a holiday visit — and room prices were high because of the holiday weekend.  As we walked out of the lobby of the newly renovated Hampton Inn in Sandy, Utah, I looked at her and asked, “Do you think all of these people know about Priceline, or are they paying full price?”

A light bulb went off in my head.  A lot of people are afraid to use Priceline because they don’t know how or are afraid they won’t get a nice hotel.  Or they may think, I need a room with two beds.

I am known in my family as the Priceline Queen because of my knack of finding cheap rooms at nice hotels.  I should start a blog to share my money-saving tricks!

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Angling for Last Minute Rental Cars on Priceline

In January, I found myself stranded in the Salt Lake City (SLC) airport.  My flight was massively delayed, and I had free time on a snowy day.    I wanted to get up to the mountains, so a four wheel drive rental car was in order.

I have often snagged great last-minute hotel deals bidding on Priceline, but had never tried for a car at the last minute.  With “name your own price” hotel rooms, you can bid up until 11:59 pm on the night you want to stay.  I have literally placed late night bids from the parking lot of a hotel and even from the business center in the lobby.

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