Miles in a Minute: Category Changes, Annual Fees, An Easy Way to Make a Grand, and More

It’s been a busy week in points and miles, mostly with category changes being announced (aka a Marriott devaluation in disguise),

• None of the new IHG PointBreaks locations really excite me.
• Starwood has announced their 2015 category changes for Starpoints redemptions.
• Marriott also followed suit and announced their 2015 category changes too. Out of the 35-page PDF, the first 9 pages display the hotel properties that are decreasing in categories, and the rest are hotels moving up a category. With the majority of the properties increasing a category, it’s making me less attracted to collecting Marriott points, and I’m ready to burn what I have.
• Club Carlson adds a new benefit for Concierge elite members: 20% discount on food and beverages purchased at participating Carlson Rezidor in–hotel restaurants worldwide.
• Thanks to Frequent Miler’s QuickDeals, I have registered my US Airways MasterCard to earn 1.5 miles per dollar for purchases made March 1 – June 30, 2015.
• I linked my Uber account with my Starwood Preferred guest account so that I could start earning Starpoints when riding Uber. If you haven’t jumped on the Uber bandwagon yet, you can get $20 credit to start using my referral link.
• You can get $1,000 for signing up to be a Lyft driver and completing ONE ride.
• My $450 (!) annual fee on my Citi Executive World Elite AAdvantage card hit, so I immediately called and canceled the card without further thought.
• My $450 annual fee on my AmEx Platinum has also hit, but I have no problem paying that one (detailed post coming soon).
• Lastly, I have a handful of free 6-month AwardWallet coupon codes to pass along. They are valid for one-time use only, so leave a comment below letting others know which one you’ve used (don’t be greedy). Enjoy!

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