MasterCard Contest: Win a Trip to London to See Justin Timberlake in Concert

MasterCard Contest to See Justin Timberlake Every time you swipe your MasterCard, you are entered into a contest to win a trip to London!

MasterCard is running a contest as part of their Priceless Surprises campaign to win a chance to see Justin Timberlake live in London on The 20/20 Experience World Tour.

They launched the campaign with an amusing video with JT that aired during the Grammys.

Every time you use your MasterCard you are automatically entered into this contest (just like the Visa contest to win at trip to the winter Olympics.)

If you want to increase your chances of winning, TWEET or INSTAGRAM using the hashtag #PricelessSurprises.  The more you tweet and post, the more chances you have.

The grand prize is a 5-day/4-night trip for winner and a guest to attend a 2014 Justin Timberlake concert in Europe as part of his 20/20 Experience World Tour. The trip includes round-trip coach air transportation, hotel, ground transportation, concert tickets, and a city tour.  The grand prize also includes $6,000 that may be used to help offset taxes.

 The value of this “priceless” prize:  approximately $19,500.

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This Week Only: KIND Bars on Sale at Staples

KIND Bars on Sale at Staples
This Week: $13 for a Box of 12

I have some business travel to North Carolina scheduled later this month.

Whenever I travel, even on a short trip, I like to bring an assortment of KIND fruit and nut bars with me, just in case.

They have just the right combination of sweet and salty, and they are loaded with protein, fiber and antioxidants to get me through the day.

These snacks can be expensive, so I was happily surprised to find them on sale at Staples.com this week.

This Week Only:  KIND Bars on Sale at Staples

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Sharing the LUV: Southwest Airlines Drink Coupon Giveaway

Southwest Airlines Drink Coupon GiveawaySouthwest Airlines Drink Coupon GiveawaySouthwest Airlines Drink Coupon Giveaway
Southwest Airlines Drink Coupon Giveaway

I have been blogging just over a year now, and to celebrate, I am sharing the LUV with my readers!

Eight lucky readers will receive a Southwest Airlines free drink coupon!

The coupons are good for one free beer, wine, liquor, or vitamin water, and expire October 31, 2014 or December 31, 2014.

If travel on Southwest Airlines is in your future, just comment below to win a coupon for a free drink.

I love to fly Southwest for many reasons and think it offers some of the value  for budget domestic travelers:

  • credit card sign-up bonuses of 50K points every few months
  • easy to redeem Rapid Rewards points for flights
  • no fee for changes to reservations
  • free checked baggage
  • wifi on most flights
  • a bit of extra legroom
  • they still serve peanuts
  • friendly and entertaining flight attendants

Where do I get all these free drink coupons, anyway?  Southwest sends them to me periodically — most recently for Valentine’s day.

Southwest Airlines Drink Coupon Giveaway

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Beware Free Shipping by MasterCard!

Free Shipping from Major Retailers with MasterCard

MasterCard offers a nice little perk to cardholders to pick up the tab on shipping charges from five popular online retailers.

The Free Shipping by MasterCard offer provides rebates of up to $20 on two-day shipping charges for purchases from Macy’s, Best Buy, QVC, Kohl’s, and Walmart.  

You can get up to $500 in rebates over a six month period.

To be eligible for a rebate you must:

  • register your MasterCard with the free shipping program
  • begin your purchase from the Free Shipping by MasterCard shopping website
  • choose the retailer’s two-day shipping option at check-out
  • pay for the entire purchase, including two-day shipping, using the registered credit card
  • Email the order confirmation to MasterCard within 30 days of the original purchase date

If you follow these steps, a rebate of up to $20 will be credited to your account and appear on your billing statement in one to two billing cycles.

A variety of MasterCards are eligible for the program, such as the popular Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®,  the Barclaycard Arrival™ World MasterCard® and the The US Airways Premier World MasterCard®, among others.

Beware the Jabberwock, My Son!

Sound good?  Tread carefully.  Like the Amex ShopRunner program that also offers free shipping, participation in this MasterCard rebate program means that you will forgo any cash back or points payouts that you could have earned by going through an online shopping portal like FatWallet, Ebates, or the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall.

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Deal Alert: Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door 2014 Edition

Rick Steves Europe Through the Back DoorYesterday, after I featured two new Lonely Planet travel guides available for free from iTunes and Amazon, The Deal Mommy alerted me to an even better deal!
Amazon has discounted the 2014 Kindle edition of Rick Steve’s travel skills handbook:  Europe Through the Back Door.
The ebook retails for $24.99, but for the month of March, it is on sale for just $1.99.
I snapped up a “copy” right away!
Rick Steves, of public television fame, shares his favorite off-the-beaten-path towns, trails, and natural wonders.
The 856 page book tells everything you need to know when traveling through Europe, including how to:

  • Plan your itinerary
  • Pack light
  • Find value hotels and restaurants
  • Travel by train, bus, car, and plane
  • Avoid crowds and tourist scams
  • Hurdle the language barrier
  • Connect with locals
  • Save money

While you’re at it, you can pick up a Kindle today only for just $49!

This post contains affiliate links.  Thanks if you choose to use them!

I Bet You Never Heard of This Travel Discount Program for VISA Cardholders

Visa Special Offers Discount Program
Hotel Discounts

Well I’ll be darned if there isn’t another well-hidden discount program for people who hold Visa credit cards.

Introducing the Visa Offers Program

The Visa Offers program offers 70 distinct deals for holders of the Visa personal credit cards.

There are cash discounts and/or upgrades offered on shopping, dining, car rentals, hotels and entertainment.

You just need to go to the Visa Offers webpage to peruse the offers and see the special terms.  Many of the offers require you to click through to the merchant’s site and use a special promo code.

The Visa Offers program is for people with personal credit cards, in contrast to the Visa Savings Edge program for small business cardholders.

Special Savings for Visa Cardholders

Any Visa-branded personal credit card can be used with this deal.   Examples include the United MileagePlus Explorer card, the Chase Freedom card, the Southwest Rapid Rewards card, the The Priceline Rewards™ Visa® Card,  The WyndhamRewards® Visa Signature® Card, The Choice Privileges® Visa® Card, and many others.

Here are some examples of the savings you will find.

Hotel Deals

There are discounts available for hotels in New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco, Hawaii, Paris, and other top destinations when you use your Visa card to book and pay for a stay.

  • Stay 3 nights or longer in an ocean view or oceanfront room at the  Royal Lahaina Resort on Kaanapali Beach on Maui or the Royal Kona Resort on Hawaii’s big island and get a $25 daily food and beverage credit per room.
  • Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels in the U.K. (including the May Fair Hotel) offer up to 20 percent off stays and a complimentary room upgrade.
  • Upscale Raffles Hotels & Resorts in Singapore, Cambodia, the Philippines, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles and Paris offer daily breakfast for two, room upgrades, and late check-out.
  • Select Hilton Worldwide hotels in New York City offer 15 percent off the best available rate.
  • Save 10 percent off the best available rate plus breakfast for two at over 150 participating Preferred Hotel Group properties around the world.
  • Book a Premier View Category room at the Parc 55 Wyndham in San Francisco and receive 20 percent off your room rate.
  • Swissôtel Chicago offers a complimentary room upgrade, late check-out, and  a free ride from Uber car service.

Discounts on Legoland

Use your Visa card and receive 20% off single-day tickets to LEGOLAND® in Florida and California, as well as LEGOLAND® Discovery Centers in Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta, Westchester, New York and Toronto.

Discounts on Car Rentals and SuperShuttle

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Two New Free Lonely Planet Travel Guides for Your Kindle or iPad

Free Lonely Planet Guide to Top 10 Warm Weather Getaways
Free for Kindle or iBooks

With another snowstorm headed to the East Coast, you may be dreaming about your next tropical getaway.

Just in time, from Lonely Planet:  Warm Weather Escapes: A travel guide for finding the perfect winter getaway.  

This ebook, published in February 2014, is available free for Kindle from Amazon, or for iBooks from iTunes.

I love to peruse these free Lonely Planet guides when I have a long wait or commute.

Turquoise seas, white-sand beaches, palm trees and fruity drinks – all the ingredients for a dreamy, tropical getaway.  So – how to choose?
Inside Top 1o Warm Water Getways:  

  • World map and comparison chart to help you decide on your destination
  • Preview of selected favorites – Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, Hawaii, Los Angeles & Southern California, Florida, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica
  • Highlights – the top activities and recommendations
  • ‘Best for…’ snapshot featuring what’s great about each location
  • Spectacular images to inspire
Lonely Planet's  Travel Resolutions: 52 New Ways to Experience Planet Earth.
Free for Kindle or iBooks

Need some more inspiration?  How about Lonely Planet’s Travel Resolutions: 52 New Ways to Experience Planet Earth.

This ebook, published in November 2013, introduces 52 travel experiences to whet your travel appetite.
Paraglide in South Africa; rock climb in China; sleep in a tree-house on Canada’s Vancouver Island; take a cooking course in Jordan or a flower-arranging course in Kyoto; go clubbing in Berlin; and much more. 
Inside Travel Resolutions: 52 New Ways to Experience Planet Earth:

  • Get inspired  highlights, expert suggestions, and gorgeous photos help you choose your ideal trip
  • Insider insights  hidden gems that most guidebooks miss will lead you to a richer and more rewarding travel experience
  • Discover more  actively engage with the world via a wide variety of suggested activities, including swimming around the Greek Islands, practicing yoga in India, learning Spanish in Argentina, rafting or kayaking in New Zealand, detoxing in Brazil, studying Tibetan culture in China, witnessing the Northern Lights in Alaska, scuba diving in Belize, falling in love all over again in Venice, and hunting Dracula in Transylvania

Japan Dreaming? Stop By New York’s Grand Central Terminal March 6-8

Japan Week 2014 Grand Central Terminal

If you are dreaming of a trip to Japan, like I am, you may want to stop by Grand Central Terminal in New York City for the annual Japan Week events March 6th through 8th, 2014.

The theme this year is “Discover the Past and Future in the Present,” a celebration of Old and New Japan.  

Japan Week is a public-private partnership organized by the Japan Tourism Agency and Japan National Tourism Organization, supported by the General Consulate of Japan in New York.

The festival will take place at Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall from March 6 – 8, 2014.  Half of Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal will transform into early 20th century Japan, and the other half will represent Japan’s present and future.

The event aims to introduce people to the unique features of Japan via cultural events, technology, art and music exhibits, food and beverages.

There will be a virtual reality theatre to guide visitors through Japan’s culture heritage, and a special appearance by a master of amezaiku, who transforms candy into marvelous sugar sculptures, and who is one of only a few people left in Japan who still perform this art.

There is also sweepstakes for free roundtrip tickets to Japan from JFK to Narita, sponsored by Delta Airlines, that you can enter online.

The only aspect of the festival that requires tickets is the Pop Up Bar, a replica of a 100-year café with servers dressed in Taisho era costumes, featuring exclusive sake from regions throughout Japan.

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Club Carlson Visa Bonus Offer on Dining (Targeted)

Club Carlson Visa Bonus OfferOn the heels of the massive Club Carlson devaluation last week, I was surprised to receive a a special offer in the mail to earn an extra 5  bonus points on restaurant purchases made with my Club Carlson Visa between March 1st and April 30th, 2014.

10x Points on Restaurant Spending with Club Carlson Visa

The Club Carlson credit card normally pays 5x points on all purchases, so with this offer, I could earn 10x points on restaurant spending.  The maximum bonus I can receive is 5,000 points.  I’m unlikely to spend $1,000 at restaurants over a 2 month period, but at 10x points, I’ll take what I can get!  

The offer requires preregistration online at clubcarlsonvisaoffers.com with a targeted code provided in the offer letter.

2x Bonus Points on Grocery Purchases with US Air Credit Card

Credit card companies sometimes offer special bonuses like this to get you in the habit of using their card for everyday spending.

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