Last weekend, I took a quick trip to Ann Arbor to see some friends and have dinner with the Ann Arbor bloggers.
TravelBloggerBuzz showed up. I didn’t follow his blog before, but I like the idea of what he does: He tries to keep bloggers honest by drawing attention to bad blogging practices. One of the things that irks him most is when bloggers promote ONLY the credit cards for which they have affiliate links. I’ve actually stopped following a few blogs for this reason. Incidentally, I should add another plug for the US Bank Cash+ Visa card. This card is a fantastic card, offering 5% unlimited cash back on several categories for the business traveler. Unfortunately, few people know about it because US Bank isn’t paying bloggers to promote this card.
Point Princess, who recently started blogging, was also there. I met her a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C. I’d say that her blog is one of the best up-and-coming blogs in the travel points space; within a few weeks of starting her blog, she got a space on first2board. She recently had a post on using a business card holder to hold your credit cards. It’s a great idea and one that I’ve been using for quite some time. Kudos to her for thinking to share this.
We also talked about the ethics of using credit cards for the miles and enjoyed the excellent food of Ann Arbor. A shout out to my friends Joy and Rakesh, who also happened to walk by during our dinner.
Finally, there may have been a trip or two to CVS and/or an office supply store for some Vanilla Reload cards.
The Flying Consultant 
You should update your post about the Cash+ card. You’re now limited to $2,000 in purchases per quarter that earn 5% cash back, airlines are no longer a 5% category, the bonus rewards for US Bank checking customers are going away in August, and the $25 bonus for redeeming $100 is now limited to once per year. It still might be a great card for a lot of people, but it’s not the amazing deal for business travelers that it once was.
Thanks for the comment, Eric. I will make a note and do the update.
There is also a Pentagon Federal Credit Union credit card that doesn’t get covered because there is no affiliate program –it pays 5 times on airline purchases and there is a generous signup bonus worth $200. No annual fee; must be a member of PFCU.
Thanks for the heads up! Where did you find this card? Most of the cards I find that aren’t being plugged by every blogger with a referral link, I find on FatWallet.
I am a PenFed member. Any one can be a member by joint some association on their website.
I am a member of PenFed Credit Union so I sometimes get promotional mailings. The Motley Fool has a new cobranded card with PenFed but it does not have as generous a sign-up bonus as the PenFed travel card.
Nice meeting you too Aaron, I enjoyed it! I added your blog to my loooooong RSS feed list!
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