Tom's Top 3: August 20, 2024
Swiper, No Swiping 💳
Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s installment of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays, where I highlight three pieces of content (Podcasts/Shows/Songs/Articles/etc.) that I found interesting or noteworthy from the prior week.
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Let’s get into it:
[YouTube] Starr Carter - How to Freeze All 3 Credit Reports
You ever live with roommates that steal your salmon? And then you notice that when you put it in the freezer your roommates stopped stealing it? So now you preemptively put your salmon in the freezer to protect yourself against salmon theft?
Me neither.
But that’s kind of what a credit freeze is like. Identity theft is on the rise, largely driven by the recent advancements in AI and cybercrime. In 2023 alone, the FTC received 5.7 million identity theft and fraud reports. This year has already seen an AT&T Data Breach, Disney Slack Hack, and Microsoft Email Attack. On that last one, turns out Russian hackers targeted Microsoft cybersecurity researchers who were investigating that Russian group’s activities (baller).
If Microsoft cybersecurity experts can’t even protect themselves, you might be wondering if there is any way to protect your own private data.
Freezing your credit is one way you can fight back against those “bad actors” by preventing anyone from accessing your credit information. This video walks you through freezing your credit, its benefits, and how to initiate the freeze with all three credit agencies. It might be more of a hassle than freezing your salmon, but it’s worth it to prevent phishing. 🥁
[Credit Card Tip] Marriott 🤝 Uber
This one’ll be quick. Marriott and Uber just announced a new partnership, where you can earn Marriott Bonvoy points by using Uber and Uber Eats. Just link your accounts in the Uber app (directions in article) and you will earn 6 points per dollar on Uber Eats deliveries to Marriott properties, 2 points per dollar on all other Uber Eats orders ($40+), and 3 points per dollar on Uber XL, Comfort, Black, and Black SUV rides.
Doesn’t significantly move the needle, but it’s essentially free money.
[Credit Card Mistake to Avoid] Application Sequencing
In keeping with this credit card themed edition of the newsletter, let’s round it out by highlighting a $1,000 mistake that I made this week.
Last week I was excited to be approved for the American Express Gold card. This card has been on my wish list for a while now, and Amex ran a limited-time elevated welcome offer as part of their refresh of the Gold card. I jumped on the opportunity and was able to secure a 90,000 point welcome offer with additional benefits, worth over $1,800.
So where’s the mistake?
Playing the credit card game requires tracking various rules and guidelines to maximize the amount of points you can earn. Amex itself has a number of rules, such as the 5 Amex credit card limit and the one welcome bonus per card per lifetime rule.
Amex created a new rule in 2024 that prevents you from getting a welcome bonus on a card if you have had a card higher up on its family hierarchy. For example, if you have or previously have had the Amex Platinum card, you are ineligible for a welcome offer on the Gold card, as it is a “lower tier” card. This I knew.
What I didn’t think about was that the Amex Green card is in the same family as the Gold and Platinum. I didn’t see Green card as a part of my long-term strategy, so I completely overlooked this when applying for the Gold card. But by doing so, I made myself forever ineligible for the 40,000-60,000 welcome offer that is typically seen on the Green card.
It’s not the end of the world, but missing out on $1,000 worth of points was definitely a bummer. :(
That wraps up this edition of Tom’s Top 3 Tuesdays. If you know anyone who would like this newsletter, please consider sharing. I’ll be back next week. ✌️