A Day Out Using My Credit Card Benefits

One of the joys I get with credit cards and credit card rewards is getting to try out experiences that I otherwise probably wouldn’t be willing to spend real money on. Most of these experiences come because of credit cards I have that offer various statement credits for certain activities. That’s not to say these are completely free experiences – most of these statement credits come from cards that charge high annual membership fees, so in essence, I’m prepaying for a lot of these things. But when I do some creative math, I feel like it’s “free.”

Recently, my brother and a friend of mine had a nice day out while using a lot of the credits from our American Express Business Platinum cards and our Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. Both of these are premium cards with high annual fees, but to help recoup the fee, they come with various credits.

Here’s how a recent fun, “free” day went courtesy of these cards.

Free Football Game Using Chase Sapphire Reserve Stubhub Credits

To start, the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with an $150 worth of Stubhub credits every 6 months (or $300 total per year). These credits go by calendar year, so the first $150 of Stubhub credits can be used January-June, and the second $150 of Stubhub credits can be used July-December. These credits don’t roll over between periods, so you have to use the credits in the 6-month period that you have them. Note that the credits can be used for events in the future, so you don’t necessarily need to go to an event that occurs in that 6-month period – you just have to spend the credit in that time.

To use my Stubhub credit, I looked at a football game between the Vikings and the Commanders. I’m from Washington DC but live in Minnesota now, so I try to go to sports games when DC teams are in town. The Commanders don’t typically play the Vikings most years, so when I saw that they were on the schedule this year, I knew that it’d be a perfect way to use my Stubhub credit.

What made this even better was that, because both teams haven’t been particularly good this year, I was able to get very good seats with my $150 Stubhub credit. We ended up in the 12th row, giving us a great view of the action. Had we paid for this game on our own, we definitely wouldn’t have spent that much and would have sat in the upper deck.

Free Drinks at the Bar Using American Express Hilton Credits

In addition to a free football game, we also got free drinks using our Hilton credits from our American Express Business Platinum cards. This is an interesting credit, as it offers $50 per quarter for “eligible purchases” made at Hilton properties. On its face, it doesn’t sound all that useful, but it becomes more useful if you think of it as a dining credit, rather than a hotel credit. Here’s how it works.

Many restaurants and bars located inside a Hilton hotel will code as a Hilton property purchase, and thus, trigger the Hilton credit. Not every restaurant or bar in a Hilton hotel will work, however, so you have to do your research to make sure the location you go to will trigger the Hilton credit. Fortunately, there is a spreadsheet that is maintained by the Churning/Travel Hacking community where people provide datapoints about which locations trigger the Hilton credit (you can find that spreadsheet at this link). Before using this credit, I always reference this spreadsheet to make sure it’ll work.

In this case, the restaurant in the Hilton hotel next to US Bank Stadium is where I usually go to use this credit. This worked out perfectly to get pre-game and post-game drinks. And since everyone in my group had the American Express Business Platinum, we were all able to get at least $50 worth of free drinks each.

More Free Food and Drinks With Secret Shopping

To finish off the day, we ended up going to another nearby restaurant/bar where I had scheduled a secret shop. As regular readers of this blog might know, I’ve been doing secret shopping for years now, primarily doing it at restaurants. The general idea is that I get reimbursed for a free meal at certain restaurants in exchange for filling out a report about my experience. This has allowed me to get thousands of dollars’ worth of free food every year.

In this case, I grabbed this secret shop through a website called Customer Optix. This shop reimbursed $73, and since the bar was only a few blocks from the stadium, it made for a good stop to get some food and drinks after a fun day out.

There’s a lot that goes into secret shopping, so if you’re interested in learning more about how it works, you can check out this post: Restaurant Secret Shopper Jobs – A Strategy To Eat For Free And Hack Your Food Expenses.

Final Thoughts

In the end, our day watching football and drinking at nearby bars worked out well. Our football tickets cost $157, but after the $150 Stubhub credit, we ended up just $7 out of pocket. At the bars, we spent around $50 each, which was covered by our Hilton credits. And then we also got some additional free food and drink ($73 worth) from a nearby secret shop that I grabbed to coincide with the game.

And this is what makes credit cards so fun beyond just the points and miles. Some of these credits can be annoying to use, but if you pay attention to how you can use these credits, it’s possible to get some great experiences that, while not technically free, can feel free. Plus, if you’re paying high annual fees for some of these premium cards, you need to do all you can to recoup those annual fee costs.

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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($75) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($400/$1200) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $400/$1200 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.