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The Lab
Frameworks
Hotel Programs
Expat Logistics
MGM Rewards
Hotel Reviews
16 Hours in Singapore
Amsterdam in August
East, Central & West Berlin
A Miami Stopover
Oslo in May
Prague in January
A Week in Melbourne
Q3 2026
Q2 2026
Q1 2026
Credit card economics
Rideshare
+4
Aug 30, 2026
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3 min read
With $60 left and an early-morning ride to catch, this looked like an unusually good opportunity to use it.
Amex Platinum
+5
Jul 27, 2026
Building a clearer picture of what triggers the Hilton credit.
Jul 9, 2026
2 min read
Testing whether a targeted voucher can finally unlock full value from Citi’s Blacklane credit.
+6
Jun 22, 2026
7 min read
Merchants may value Platinum credits as much as cardholders do.
IHG
Jun 8, 2026
4 min read
What happens when a card is worth keeping but not worth using?
May 14, 2026
Pricing the 36,000-point Virgin Atlantic bonus through an expat lens
+7
May 5, 2026
Why the UK debit card behaves differently from the credit card, and how it changes your starting position
Hilton Aspire
Apr 18, 2026
A one-night stop built around credits, not the room
Apr 15, 2026
The real cost of switching from points to cash on Marriott and IHG stays
Loyalty program design
Apr 8, 2026
5 min read
The hidden pricing shift and new card restrictions behind the 25K top-up
Mar 30, 2026
Testing how payments are processed across hotel bars and restaurants
Mar 29, 2026
Why a seemingly perfect stack of credits produced less value than expected
Mar 10, 2026
The final stage of a Capital One Offers experiment from abroad
Program Mechanics
Feb 16, 2026
A Fixed-Value Travel Currency With Optional Airline Upside
Feb 10, 2026
Capital One Offers, tested from abroad
Jan 30, 2026
A real-time experiment using Capital One Offers outside the US
Jan 27, 2026
How Marriott’s post-2020 mechanics turned an elite status into a default outcome
+3
Jan 13, 2026
The first year is mostly cash. The second year is where the cost actually drops.
+8
Jan 4, 2026
A case study in redirecting an expiring retail credit abroad
Hilton
Dec 27, 2025
How I actually use statement credits, certificates, and Diamond status
hotel strategy
Dec 26, 2025
9 min read
How our US and UK Marriott cards deliver elite nights, hotel certificates and recurring value.
