A Round Up of Points, Miles, and Deals

Wow, so it looks like things are finally starting to perk up in the world of points and miles, and I’m just catching up now. Here’s a summary of current deals to enjoy:

• 1,000 Free Club Carlson Points: You can get 1,000 free points deposited in your Club Carlson account simply by “liking” them on Facebook and filling out a short form. Don’t have a Club Carlson account yet? Join today and receive an extra 2,000 free points if you complete a stay within the next 90 days.
• 300 Free La Quinta Points: I haven’t actually had a chance to redeem any of my La Quinta points in the past, but 300 easy and free points will help keep your account balance active.
• 500 Virgin America Elevate Points: Similar to the above mention of the free Club Carlson points, you can receive 500 free Virgin America Elevate points simply by “liking” Virgin America on Facebook. You’ll also be entered into a contest to win 2 free tickets to Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Seoul on Singapore Airlines. (HT: New Girl in the Air).
• 2013 Starwood Category Changes go into effect tomorrow, March 5. Be sure to make your bookings tonight as a way to preserve the old rates. Dan’s Deals has the complete run down here.
• Frequent Miler put out a brilliant post yesterday about a way to get free points, meet minimum spend, and even earn some money in the process via Free After Rebate offers at Staples.com. I spent a few minutes of my time yesterday racing with the clock to get my order in. Unfortunately it looks like the deal has died.
• On a similar note, TopCashBack is advertising 20% cash back on purchases in certain categories at Nordstrom.com.
• Free $5 at Starbucks: Starbucks will be offering a $5 credit when you register a card for the first time on a new Starbucks Rewards account. The promotion is set to run from February 28 through March 14, 2013. Additionally, you can download the Starbucks app for your smart phone and request a digital card, where you will see a $5 credit automatically loaded onto it (that’s what I decided to do).
• Free Tea at Teavana: On the topic of free hot beverages, here’s a printable coupon for a free 16 oz. cup of their featured tea. Offer is valid until 3/31/13.
• Staples Gift Card Deal: Page 11 of this week’s Staples flyer shows a $15 Visa prepaid card for buying $150 or more in Visa prepaid cards. I personally have went and purchased a $200 Visa gift card yesterday at my local Staples store using my Chase Ink Plus to earn 5 points per dollar. Even though the $200 card is subject to a $6.95 fee, you still can profit $8.05 after the $15 rebate and earn 1,000 valuable Ultimate Rewards points in the process.