This tool could get you an elevated sign-up bonus

Happy Friday, my fierce travel friends! Mike is exploring the dizzying city of Shanghai today, so I’ll be carrying you all into the weekend 🙋🏻‍♀️

Here’s what we’ve got for this final Friday in August:

• 💳 How to find out if you’re eligible for an elevated sign-up bonus

• 🛳️ Cruise news: Be a hero, sail for free(ish)

• 🤣 Cheeky travel meme

💳 How to find out if you’re eligible for an elevated sign-up bonus

Word on the street is that some people are getting targeted, elevated sign-up bonuses on travel credit cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example.

And I’m talking about six-figure sign-up bonuses 🤯 that even make a pro travel hacker like me super jelly.

I often find myself lying in bed at night wondering, “Why not me? How can I become one of those lucky ducks?”

Fortunately, there actually is a way to help increase your odds of knowing if you are eligible to receive one of these coveted sign-up bonuses… 🤔

You might have never heard of CardMatch^TM but it’s a super powerful tool you should consider using before you apply for ANY new card.

CardMatch is a secure survey that takes less than 60 seconds to complete, and it does two really valuable things:

1. Notifies you if you’re pre-approved for a certain card.

2. Shows if you’ve been selected to receive an elevated offer.

Okay, whoa. That’s amazing!

However, it’s not super obvious if you’ve received an elevated offer. 

CardMatch doesn’t go the extra mile to slash out the public offer, highlight your elevated offer, and put a bunch of red alert emojis around it 🚨

Instead, it’ll look something like this 👇

A bit more subdued, per se, but that little blue banner is what you want to look for.

And better yet, you won’t have a hard credit pull for going through CardMatch.

So it won’t affect your credit score whatsoever, but you’ll still get to see if you are pre-qualified for a card AND if you are eligible for an elevated sign-up bonus 🎉

If you want to know more about how this tool works, what makes you more likely to get a targeted offer, and how to actually go through the process yourself (which you totally should!), we’ve got a more in-depth resource that’ll give you all the deets.

🛳️ Cruise news: Be a hero, sail for free(ish)

If you’re a teacher, and the thought of school being back in session has you wishing for a margarita… we’ve got something better🍹

This cool cruise line, Margaritaville at Sea, is offering educators and other public service heroes (U.S. military, police, and first responders) an affordable way for you and a guest to enjoy one last taste of summer… if you book by August 28th ☀️

If you fall into one of those categories, and you’re craving a quick getaway to the Caribbean… this could be an awesome deal 😎

Margaritaville at Sea launched its “Heroes Sail Free” program last year, which allows individuals in the aforementioned groups to literally sail free(ish) once a year, as long as they have a paying guest in the same cabin.

That guest would normally have to pay full price to join, but right now, they’re running a special “$49 Heroes Cruise” promo which is actually a promo for the accompanying guest!

That promo fare is good for an interior stateroom on the cruise line’s Paradise ship with sailings through November 15th 👇

And that particular itinerary is for a two-night cruise that sails roundtrip from Palm Beach, Florida, to Grand Bahama Island—so again, a quick getaway, but a cheap getaway nonetheless 👌

It’s also important to note that the $49 fare is for cruises departing Sunday-Wednesday, and if you’re hoping to depart Thursday-Saturday, it’ll cost you $99, which still isn’t too shabby.

Here are some additional terms and conditions to be aware of:

• Again, you have until August 28th to book

• You must verify your status as a hero through the GovX ID or ShopVCS platform

• You can upgrade to an Ocean View cabin for an additional rate

• Taxes, fees, and port charges are not included in the price ( according to their site, could be around $100 pp.)

Even if you and your travel partner factor in the notorious cruise fees, I still think this is a pretty solid deal, and just a cool promotion overall being offered to those in these valued professions.

So if there are any public service heroes out there that need a guest to foot the $49… I’m super available from now until November 15th 💁🏻‍♀️😉

🤣 Cheeky travel meme

Okay, so… Uber it is? 😬

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Alas, another week of fabulous travel hacks, news, and inspo has flown by. Before you get your weekend started, tell me… 👇

Ciao for now ❤️