Monday, March 31, 2014

Steele In The USA Today


While the vast majority of my work appears online, I still love reading print outlets such as books, newspapers, and magazines. It's easy to read long content, and I just enjoy the tactile feel of the written page.

That is why I was excited to be quoted in the USA Today newspaper, which is the most widely circulated print newspaper in the United States.
The article is about why business travelers should use credit cards for their purchases, and you can read the entire, online version here.


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Steele In Time

I had an interesting correspondence with a reporter from Time magazine's online edition yesterday, and I ended up being quoted in this story, "These Credit Cards Are Desperate to Give You $400".

Personally, I think the story is even bigger than that. For example, my wife and I both signed up for the American Airlines AAdvantage Executive card from Citi  that offers 100,000 miles. We are planning to use the miles for business class tickets to Italy this summer, worth $5,000 or more. Just yesterday, she also received a targeted offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points from the American Airlines, again, enough for 4 domestic round trips in economy, 2 in first, or one business class ticket to Europe.

Either way, it is nice to be an expert source in such a mainstream outlet, especially considering the distinguished colleagues of mine who were also quoted.

Monday, March 3, 2014

What Bloggers Are Missing About American Express EveryDay





American Express just released some new products, Amex EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred. These are interesting products and they have received some good coverage throughout the travel blogosphere.

Nevertheless, there are few interesting details everyone seems to have left out.

1. The standard EveryDay card is the first no-fee Amex to earn real Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to airline miles. In fact, it is the only no-fee card on the market that offers flexible point transfers. This makes it a great place to park your points if you have a nice balance, but are unable to justify paying an annual fee.

2. These are the first Amex cards to offer an EMV smart chip from day one. In addition, Amex informed me that all of their cards can be ordered with an EMV chip by mid-summer. This feature provides greater security and is compatible with the next generation of card readers being used already in Canada, Europe, and elsewhere.

3. This is a cool looking card. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a clear, see-through card with a hologram in the middle. I don't know yet if it was made by my friends over at CPI Card Group, but it wouldn't surprise me.

You can read my coverage over at Yahoo! Finance