Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

From overbooked flights and endless delays to cramped airplane seats and lost luggage, traveling can sometimes leave you feeling like everyone in the industry is out to get you. Fortunately, that’s not so. Travelers United, a non-profit membership organization with a five-star rating from GreatNonprofits.org, has your back.

RewardExpert recently spoke with Charles Leocha, the organization’s president and co-founder, about the inspiration behind Travelers United, their accomplishments and current initiatives, and the launch of a new paid membership option.

The good news is that you don’t need a Social Security number to get a credit card. The bad news is that you’ll probably have to establish a credit history in the United States before applying.

Understanding finances can be a challenge for some, which is why companies like Bills.com exist.

One of the Freedom Financial Network companies, it describes itself as providing innovative solutions that empower individuals to live healthier financial lives. This includes making better financial decisions — whether it’s homeowners understanding loan options and making smarter mortgage decisions, or learning about and getting transparent around debt solutions.

Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM. They share it with some partners: Kenya Airways, Tarom, Aircalin, and Transavia. It is one of Europe’s major frequent flyer programs, along with Executive Club (British Airways) and Miles&More (Lufthansa group).

In today’s world, credit is essential. Whether you need to rent an apartment or car, purchase a mobile phone service plan, or want to earn cashback or rewards towards a dream vacation, you need a credit card to make it happen. Unfortunately, establishing credit has traditionally been difficult for some segments of the population, including students from other countries.

Lendio is a company that matches thousands of small businesses with the financing needed to grow, recharge and thrive. It is an online marketplace, akin to Kayak, AirBnb or Yelp, but for small business loans. It’s as simple as owners filling out an application and receiving access to more than 75 lenders on the company’s platform.

Until recently, earning Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles hasn’t been easy for anyone living in the United States. The only ways to do so has been to credit Star Alliance flights to your Turkish Airlines Smiles & Miles account or through Marriott Hotel + Air packages. Now we have another way.

Anybody can be a travel agent. Even you.

The world of travel is wrought with twists, turns and surprises along the way, and it’s often better to be prepared for them. Earning commissions on those bookings? Even better. A company called TRVL does just that, and more.

Do you want to start your own business, but are worried about the cost of expensive office management software? Do you already have a successful company, but are looking to save money and also boost productivity and efficiency? ONLYOFFICE could be the solution for you. ONLYOFFICE offers a complete productivity suite for growing businesses and individuals, complete with document management, project management, calendars, email and other features. It is already used by more than two million people around the globe, and everyday more than 100 teams deploy it on their private network. The company’s mission is to bring the most innovative web office apps to everyone.

Step into many major cities of the world, and chances are there will be a river at its heart. Think about the Hudson in New York, the Thames in London, the Danube in Vienna, the Nile in Cairo, the Han in Seoul and so on. But rivers are not just important to big cities. Healthy, vibrant rivers are also critical to rural communities, and many of these smaller rivers particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, are endangered.

That’s where International Rivers comes in. The Berkeley, California-based organization works to preserve and protect the world’s rivers from overdevelopment, misuse and destructive projects. It is also dedicated to giving local citizens the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

Chase continues to make it more difficult to get approved for new credit cards and earns large sums of points with sign up bonuses. By now, many are familiar with the 5/24 rule, in which Chase will automatically reject applications for most of their cards if you have opened five or more new credit card accounts with any bank within the last 24 months.

Now, Chase has come out with a new rule, targeted at the Sapphire family of cards. There are three cards in the Sapphire family: the no annual fee Sapphire card, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve. Here are the new rules per a memo sent to Chase bankers:

From free checked bags to free seat upgrades, and free wi-fi to free continental breakfast, ‘free’ is many travelers’ favorite four-letter word. If you’re among them, you’ll love TheFreeSite.com. Created as a catalog of the Web’s best freebies, the site will help you score free samples and services you can use at home or on the road.

After more than 80 years in business and over 300,000 members, Bellco is more than just your run-of-the-mill credit union.  It is a place to save for the future and an organization dedicated to serving its local communities and building relationships with its members.  Jim Johnston, senior marketing manager of Bellco, spoke with RewardExpert about what sets Bellco apart from the competition and how the credit union looks to help customers manage their personal finances in the best way possible.

It’s hard to believe it has already been a year since Chase announced the release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This card and its promotional 100,000-point sign-up bonus sent shockwaves around the travel blogosphere.

For those who signed up for the card or are thinking about getting it, you may be wondering if it’s worth the hefty $450 annual fee. Let’s take a look.

Often referred to as Canada’s Downtown, Toronto and its surrounding suburbs are home to approximately 6 million people. A culturally diverse metropolitan area—51 percent of Torontonians were born outside of Canada—it attracted 42.2 million tourists in 2016.

Have you ever found yourself looking for that perfect gift but stressing out over all the options available online?  Don’t have the time to browse hundreds of websites that don’t have what you’re looking for?  Heading out on an extended trip and need to find something quickly?  A company called Gadget Flow has a solution to wasting unnecessary time on sites that aren’t helpful.  They provide a one-stop-shop for the busy individual who wants to find the best product fast.

Hurricane Harvey has done unimaginable damage to Houston and the surrounding areas. It’s the wettest tropical storm ever recorded in the contiguous United States, dumping more than 40 inches of rain in just four days. Storm damages are estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

Think real estate investing is too complicated? Don’t have enough cash to get started? Confused about mortgages, interest rates and how to properly renovate a home? Fear not, thanks to a company called BiggerPockets. The aim of BiggerPockets is to put you and your family on the road to financial freedom through real estate investing. The company’s website offers a treasure trove of tips, tricks and advice to help you do just that. After all, “Life isn’t meant to be lived in a cubicle,” as BiggerPockets says on its homepage.

Malaysia Airlines made a pretty big announcement in late July regarding the 10 Boeing 737 MAX 10 it ordered during the last Paris Air Show. The aircraft, due to be delivered in 2021, even though it is a narrow-body medium-haul plane, will feature lie-flat seats with direct aisle access in business class, replacing Malaysia’s traditional recliner seats and making it a great new business class product to try out!

In today’s economy, a university education is anything but inexpensive. In fact, according to The College Board, a not-for-profit organization, average tuition and fees for full-time in-state students enrolled at public four-year universities and colleges were $9,650 for the 2016-2017 school year. Tuition and fees for students choosing out-of-state colleges were more than twice that—an average $24,930.