back to school with Amex.

This post is sponsored by American Express.

Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool. I sing that at least a few times (a day) when the first day of school is approaching. (Billy Madison was my favorite back in the day.) And then I get the organizing into gear, take stock of who’s grown out of their shoes, needs new notebooks (the number of half-filled notebooks we have in our home, however, drives me crazy!), a binder or two, some nice new pens of every color, a couple new pairs of pants, a few new shirts, a fresh haircut, and we’re well on our way. If I can avoid purchasing another one of those really expensive
calculators, things are looking good. Back to school, man. It’s definitely a process, and sometimes an expensive one with more than one kid.

It’s always nice to get rewarded for all this spending though. I mean, yes, you’re still spending, but with the Amex EveryDay Card, if you make 20 or more purchases with your Card in one billing period (too easy when school preparations are underway!), you can earn 20% extra Membership Rewards points on those purchases* (terms apply). You can also earn 1x points for every eligible dollar you spend*. It just makes the whole thing a bit less painful.

I sometimes remind William and Lindsey—both of whom now have debit cards—that it’s not monopoly money! It’s all too easy, especially for new credit card users, to forget that every swipe is actually dollars and cents. When dealing with cash and only cash, it’s impossible to forget. But, cards are, of course, a major life lesson, just like managing them appropriately is. Things like staying up-to-date with payments and maintaining a good credit score are all a part of having one. American Express MyCredit Guide makes it pretty simple to manage such things with its online tools. With access to your VantageScore^® credit score by TransUnion^®, and your TransUnion credit report, MyCredit Guide offers great tools to help you keep check on your credit card. Worth noting: it’s free, using it won’t hurt your credit score, and it’s available to you whether or not you’re an American Express Card Member.

Visit AmericanExpress.com/MyCreditGuide for terms and to learn more.

We are finally at a point where we are starting to beautify our backyard. It’s truly a major extension of our (fairly small) first floor for several months of the year, and those months are finally upon us! We spend almost as much time out back as we do inside in the spring and summer (and fall, too). It’s a bit of a blank canvas, but we’ve never quite had the energy to begin tackling it until now. We just built a fire pit the other day, and now we’re thinking about adding some color to the place. I’ve been using my Amex EveryDay Card for these purchases, so I can really maximize my points! And get this–when you make 20 or more purchases in a billing period, you’ll earn 20% extra points on those purchases*, so points can add up even faster. Maybe even just in time for a late summer vacation!!
And we’ve started looking into ways we can redeem these points we’re quickly accruing, such as: 

• Redeeming points for retail, restaurants, entertainment experiences or American Express gift cards*
• Applying points to eligible charges on our statements*
• Or, my favorite: using points for some or all of your eligible travel at amextravel.com*

(explore more about Membership Rewards here!)

More next time… thanks for reading!

Spring? You out there? We’re well into the season, or so they say, but the only spring I see are these flowers I just got from Trader Joe’s. Nevertheless, as spring rolls around, so does my need to open windows, adopt new habits, and get rid of the accumulation that winter may have created – not limited to actually putting the winter gear away, though definitely that too – maybe get a few new things for spring, or, my personal favorite, plan and execute a summer trip. With the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, there are more than a few ways to earn points. Credit card points are golden, and really are, to me at least, one of the main perks of having one in the first place. If you’re going to spend the money, why not get rewarded for it in some way?

In addition to the welcome offers I’m featuring below, here are some of my other favorite benefits that come with the Amex EveryDay Credit Card:

(1) 2X points at AmexTravel.com.* You can get double Membership Rewards® points on every dollar of eligible travel purchases—such as prepaid hotel stays, vacation packages and cruises—when you use your Card to book your trip through AmexTravel.com. Terms and limitations apply.

(2) 2X points at US Supermarkets.* On up to $6,000 per year in purchases!

And a way to use those accrued points for instance? Let points take you places. Membership Rewards® Pay with Points lets you use points when you book with American Express Travel – without worrying about blackout dates or seat restrictions. Reserve flights on any airline and use points for all or part of your flight, hotel booked and paid in advance (prepaid hotel) vacation or cruise booking.

See? So much to love! More to come in next month’s update…

This post is sponsored by American Express.

Alright everybody, today’s post is a little out of my English-major-stay-away-from-me-math-why-do-we-need-money-anyway? comfort zone. Not to mention, in our home, Steve handles most of the finances and bills (of course, he would say he’s more of a humanities kind of guy too and that’s why he’ll (and therefore we’ll) never be able to retire and all, but it is what it is; how does it work in your home?). All that said, if I can figure this out, believe me, so can you. But I digress…I recently opened an Amex EveryDay Credit Card and will be partnering with them for the next few months to share some of the tips I’m finding useful along the way. Layman’s terms only! Laywoman’s terms too!Steve and I are credit card users. We’ve put large things (air travel + tvs) and small things (donuts + coffee, as exhibited) on our credit card in an effort to amass points almost exclusively for things like travel (remember the post about how we planned and saved for 3+ months in Europe back in 2015?), so a credit card that values those efforts is huge. We almost never use cash for this reason—we like to save points! And a no-fuss credit card that simplifies my life and finances is also huge.

Today I’m highlighting three current offers that make the Amex EveryDay Credit Card stand out a bit from the others:

(1) This credit card offers a $0 balance transfer fee** for balance transfer in the first 60 days of opening a Card. This is pretty great! And there’s no sense paying balance transfer fees if you don’t have to.

(2) Add to that, there’s a 0% intro APR** for 15 months (then a variable rate of 14.49-25.49%) on purchases and balance transfers. This could be just what’s needed to pay that balance down faster!

And finally, (3) new Card Members may earn a bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points* after making $1,000 in purchases on the Card for the first three months. A perfect way to kick start your points balance!

*Read about the offer and benefit terms      

**Note that rates and fees may apply

Be sure to check back in the coming months as I update with new tips and learnings from my adventures with my Amex EveryDay Card!