Orphan: Making Money on the Internet

Before last Monday I was overly excited about the upcoming WWE championship match between the title-holder, John Cena, and challenger, CM Punk.

From a storyline perspective, it had the stakes of a major showdown.

If CM Punk won the championship, then he would leave with the company's belt and possibly defend it on other shows. Of course, this would never happen unless CM Punk's departure was a ruse and a cross-promotional deal with another company had been made.

The WWE had been having a hard time making me care about the upcoming PPVs and their respective championship bouts—each was merely one of a series of matches that would happen over the year.

Now—for the first time in a while—the WWE has managed to capture a sense of urgency in its main-event picture.

Cena is not just defending the championship against another challenger; CM Punk is not just the next in a line of wrestlers waiting for their shots.

Until last Monday the storyline had me absorbed. It wasn't just another story, but the future of the WWE Championship, and despite CM Punk's supposed planned departure, the match could have easily gone either way.

If Cena had won, it would have been just another notch on his long list of victories. If Punk had won then, it would have been the opening for a really interesting story in which the company's top belt would be no longer available for the men who see the championship as their ultimate goal.

Surprisingly enough, AmEx’s 20% rebate is actually a good deal. They offer competitive rates on airfare and hotel booking, and allow you to pay entirely or partially with points.

Numbers, crunched

American Express points, when used through the Pay with Points program, are valued at one cent per point, so you could redeem 97,600 points for that $976 flight to Heathrow from San Francisco. After the 20% bonus is credited to your account (it happens after the fact, and takes 10-12 weeks, according to the Pay with Points website), you’ll have spent 78,000 points, or $780. That’s $185 saved over booking with Kayak or Travelocity, enough that only one-third of your England trip will be spent lamenting the weakness of the American dollar.

American Express Platinum is steadily earning our respect

We’re generally happy with American Express as a card for international travelers, especially since the Platinum and Centurion joined the ranks of credit cards with no foreign transaction fee. Now that you can redeem your points through American Express Travel and get 20% of those points back, we’re even happier.

The American Express Platinum is one of the best-known premium credit cards, and offers a number of perks for international (or domestic) travelers. There’s a 50,000-point signing bonus (worth $500), a base rewards rate of 1% and an annual fee of $450. And based on the numbers we ran above, it only takes a couple of international flights to make up for most of that hefty fee.

Skipping customs and sipping champagne: the joys of premium credit cards

Beyond the numbers, however, the true value of the AmEx Platinum (and, really, for all premium credit cards) lies in the lovely perks. The Platinum shells out $200 in refunds for travel-related expenses like baggage fees and in-flight meals, and a free Priority Pass membership that gives access to over 600 airport lounges worldwide. A special boon for international travelers is the $100 credit towards the government Global Entry program, which allows you to skip customs lines coming back to the US (after, of course, an extensive background check). You also receive one companion ticket a year, which allows someone to fly with you, round trip, in the same class, as long as you book a business or first class ticket.

Orphan

Monday, August 1, 2011

Making Money on the Internet

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