You’ve been warned.
If you’re a Mom who just likes deals and reads this blog to learn a bit about travel, next Thanksgiving you’ll be spouting off open-jaw rules over the cranberry sauce. And if you’re a points junkie who just wants to save a few bucks on groceries, next year you’ll get two turkeys for free: one to cook and for your chest freezer.
Because over the last two years, something that I never expected has happened: The Deal Mommy has become a Gateway Blog into the Frequent Flyer Community for Deal lovers, and a Gateway Blog for Frequent Flyers into the world of the Deal Lovers.
I’ve been surprised to find that about half of the miles junkies I’ve met appear NOT to be deal hunters in their everyday lives, and I’ve been SHOCKED at how little crossover there is in the Mommy Deal community into Frequent Flyer land!
It’s the reason I take it slow. For instance, I always recommend either Chase Ultimate Rewards or AMEX Membership Rewards Gold or Platinum as a first points earning card: the points are easy to use.
Same reason I default to ebates (invite link) almost every single time I mention a shopping portal. The answer is simple: it’s the easiest to use. Ebates has “push” payments with no min., so no one has to wonder if they’re going to get paid: it just shows up. Payouts might not always be the highest on every single transaction, but when you’re trying to change a behavior, you need to make it easy on people!
But I’ve seen success stories over time. Let a gun shy mom get a Chase UR card under her belt and she’s off for a weekend in New York on Amtrak points. Then it’s a week in Orlando on Southwest.
Then I get an email: “Deal Mommy, what’s a good 2nd card?”…
Gateway Blog.
Frequent Flyers, you’ve got things to learn from the Deal Mommies, too. But I need to take it slow.
If I started by telling you to put glue on your nose, you’d think I was nuts. (BTW, I’d think I was nuts, too. I’m The Deal Mommy, not the walk around with craft project on my face mommy).
But how bout this one: before you leave to manufacture your spend in whatever way you see fit, spend 5 minutes comparing the weekly ads to coupons.com. Print out any that match and you’ll average about $20 in savings per week.
Gateway Blog.
Original publish date: Dec. 1, 2013
