Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with points

airline mileage points deleted

tangyraspberry — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:15:30 -0800

Do I have any recourse if an airline deletes my mileage points? My wife and I have been collecting mileage points on American Airlines waiting for that special trip to come along With more than 350,000 miles saved we finally tried to redeem them only to discover that they'd all been canceled out as of June 29th, 2009! We had no idea there was a time limit. I there anything that we can do? Help!!

Current currencies

Soliloquy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:56:50 -0800

Was there a recent book comparing scrip and local currencies to e-cash/online points systems, or am I imagining it? I could have sworn I heard about a book that compared systems of scrip to website based points systems like Linden Dollars, but I'm having trouble finding such a book. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Help me earn 200 miles!

j1950 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:29:31 -0800

How can I earn 200 Delta SkyMiles quickly? I'd like to earn 200 Delta SkyMiles pretty quickly so I can subscribe to the Wall Street Journal (I'm 200 short). I am not planning any travel soon. Is there a way to quickly earn 200 miles (preferably without spending any money)?

Good Weight Watchers App for My iPhone?

lunasol — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:04:37 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good iPhone App for tracking Weight Watchers points? I realize that Weight Watchers, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't have an iPhone app and aggressively goes after anyone who tries to put one up on the App Store. But there seem to be a few that have slipped through the cracks, and I'm trying to find the best of the bunch. There are a few that seem to simply allow tracking points as one option among several, and I'm fine with using one of those.

What I'm looking for:

- The ability to use it offline. WW E-tools has a fine iPhone interface but it takes a while to load on Safari. I'd like to be able to access my info when I don't have a great connection (I have a first-gen iPhone)

- A reasonably good database of foods. Many of the apps I've found will let you record your daily points but don't have a database.

- Some sort of feature that allows me to keep track of flex points and activity points.

- The ability to track fruit and veggie servings, water, dairy, etc.

- Flexibility to change my points and food goals from time to time. ie, if I decided to try Core for a while, the ability to start tracking my core flex points.

Obviously this is a big list, and I know I'll only get a few of these things in any one app. But even a few of these things, plus the ability to track points on my iphone, would be a huge boon.

Satan(?) in Reformed Theology

snap_dragon — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:13:01 -0800

In Reformed Theology, what is the role of Satan? There is talk of foreordination and foreknowledge and absolute sovereignty of God so I don't understand Satan's creation and necessity in this theological framework. Can anybody explain the view or John Calvin's view?

I've never had a ticket before, and now I'm Evel Knevel!

aristan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:15:33 -0800

Last night I was stopped for "Reckless Driving" in Charlotte, NC. The officer stated that I was going 55 in a 35, that I was weaving, and that I hit the curb when she pulled me over. She had me take a breathalyzer test, which I passed. I know you're not my lawyer, but I've never even had a speeding ticket before! What do I need to do? I don't believe I was going 55 in a 35, as the traffic around me was moving faster than I was on a very narrow street. The officer had extremely bright headlights and a spotlight on her car, and they were shining directly in my mirror. I had a hard time seeing the road, and eventually flipped my rearview mirror up so that the lights weren't shining in my eyes. This is when she stopped me. I hit the curb because the area has absolutely no street lights and I simply couldn't see the curb.

She wrote the ticket for 'reckless driving: Driving without due caution in a manner so as to endanger other people or property' but did not include information about the speed, weaving, or anything of that nature. I have to appear in court in June. The officer said that I could talk to the DA and he would discuss getting it dismissed and/or going to traffic school.

Now, I will note that the officer, after giving me the ticket, said that she was -sure- that I had drove while drunk before, and even though she didn't catch me this time, she was going to give me the reckless driving charge to 'teach' me a lesson.

I'd rather not have 4 points on my license! I could have gone over 55MPH in a school zone and only gotten 3 points! Any advice?

Microsoft Points blues

howiamdifferent — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:45:09 -0800

Xbox 360 PAL + MS Points for US + UK Live account + non-UK location? How can I work this out? So I have a PAL Xbox 360 (Elite version), and live somewhere that's considered as part of the PAL regions, that is neither Europe nor Australia. I set up my Live account to go with my hotmail account whose location I've changed to UK because for some reason Live is still not officially released in my country (and Microsoft, which I hate with passion, hasn't publicized any plans to when/if it is going to do so).

I want to download some Live titles so bad, but sadly, no official PAL MS points cards are sold here. And for some mysterious reason, US MS points cards are everywhere. I ended up buying one of those (4000 MS points card), and surprise surprise, it didn't work.

So what should I do? is it feasible to change my hotmail location to US? will I lose anything by doing so (gamer score, save data, ..etc)?
I am really trying to avoid using the visa card option cause that too will require some verification with Zip addresses and stuff.

Thanks in advance.

Help me redeem my World Points for flights.

uvaleg — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:24:32 -0800

What's the best way to get a flight for the minimum number of points using my BofA (formerly MBNA) World Points? We want to go somewhere besides the US, the Caribbean or Mexico. I have almost 85K World Points I'd like to "cash in" for a free flight (or two). For those not familiar, this is Bank of America's answer to frequent flier miles or whatever... you can use them for a multitude of things, but we want to travel, so plane tickets it is. We have traveled a couple of times with my husband's miles through US Airways, and their site to redeem your points makes life so easy--they suggest times and places where you can get flights for the minimum points advertised. BofA, not so much. The redemption site is geared towards someone who has specific dates and places in time, and I really don't care when or where--just as long as I get the most bang for my points.

I did call the World Points Hotline and learned that the minimum point value is based on flight cost (ie, 35000 points to Caribbean = maximum $600 flight, 85000 points to Asia = maximum $1150 flight). This seemed helpful--I can easily plug random dates into Orbitz or Expedia and use the flexible date feature to find places I can go for these amounts and the ideal dates. The problem is, it doesn't always work. For example, flights to Bangkok through all of the major travel sites for early June were right around $1000 from our local airport, but when I went back to BofA's redemption site, the points required to "buy" a ticket for that time period equaled twice the minimum.

I had some luck with places like Mexico, the Caribbean and even Costa Rica (which we are considering), but we really wanted to go somewhere like Thailand or Australia or... somewhere "bigger!" (We live in Virginia, ready to start a family so this could be our last big vacation before entering Babyland.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for working the system? Or for that matter, suggestions of places in Asia, Africa, Australia or anywhere in the Pacific that are notoriously cheap to fly to during the summer?

Residuals for the working man

zerobyproxy — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:09:58 -0800

If Steve Guttenburg never, ever worked again, how much money would he earn yearly? This is not a dis of Steve Guttenburg. Flipping past HBO and I saw that they were showing Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment. I realized that I had not seen anything with him in it for a while. So I took a look at IMDB. There, I found that he has many film acting credits, some of which were very successful (Three Men and a Baby, Diner). I have absolutely no idea how much an actor of his experience earns in residuals so, any of you MeFites who know, give me a clue? Are we talking $1,000 or $100,000 a month? Can you explain how it is determined (structured)? I always have wondered which actors, who I would never guess, are set for life because of well negotiated contracts coupled with high grossing films (or well received television shows).

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

What does a credit approval today say about my formerly-bad credit?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:32:37 -0800

What does it indicate about my formerly-bad credit that I could be accepted today for a regular contract by a cell phone company? How can I tell when it's the right time to apply for a credit card again? I've been repairing my credit for a while now, so this is the first time I've applied for a credit-check-based account in a couple of years. I was approved and I'm excited about that, but I'm wondering what it indicates about how my credit is now. Could cell phone companies be called less picky, more picky or about as picky as other places that check credit, like a credit card company or a landlord? Or is that so much of a generalization that I really can't predict anything?

If it matters, my new phone is with T-Mobile and they said my credit indicates I could have up to three phone lines with them (don't know if that's average, low, or high number for them).

I have a few months before I can request any of my free annual credit reports again, so other than those, what other ways could I check up on my credit?

I know it would be useful to hold a credit card, charging only things I can repay immediately, to further establish good credit. (Last credit card I had was 9 years ago, in college, and I flunked on that one; its balance turned into a chargeoff.) If I should apply now for a credit card, can I pick any kind? I was thinking about one with a points system that rewards something I naturally do (one example is the Amazon card which rewards Amazon buying most).

Forget the Chinese Water Torture

tdischino — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:40:41 -0800

Is this some sort of Japanese Torture Device? What is this? I found it boxed up carefully in the garage of the house I bought. The previous owner did have some Asian furniture, and I'm fairly certain they spent some time in Asia (both are deceased so I cant ask). There is a sticker on the bottom that says Japan. From the top, the design obviously looks like it is of Asian origin, but the attachments are what I can't figure out. There are four sharp pointed spikes coming up from the base, and the parallel attachment has about 6 sharp points of varying length facing down. Since the perpendicular arm is adjustable (up/down) and can be tightened, I'm thinking it is intended to hold something securely to the board, but am not sure what. Other than a hunk of meat, what else would you secure to a board like this.

If it is a cutting/carving board, What is up with the design? Is this just a nice carving platter? Or is there some significance to it? Do I have something of value or collectors interest on my hands?

Reward me for shopping!

kidsleepy — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 12:06:04 -0800

Which credit cards have the best rewards? I have looked at
This question, but it is over two years old, and I'm hoping for some updates.

The cards I have considered are Amazon, some type of gas card, or possibly one of those Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic cards.

Which cards give you your favorite types of benefits? Cash back, discounts, air miles, gas points? On the flip side, which cards are too good to be true, and not worth the hassle?

American Express Reward Points

curiousleo — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 13:39:03 -0800

American Express Reward Point... Any Tax implications? Our family has gathered a lot of AMX Reward Points over the years. I know we can buy items or services with them.

Are there any tax implications with using the points to purchase ... say business computer or personal equipments? Does it matter who in the family is using the points?

What if I buys some home depot gift cards and resell them on ebay...? What are the tax implications with the cash procede? Is there any?

I would like to know the technical/law view of this.

thanks for any help...

Generating Bézier curves from discrete point sets

ijoshua — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 13:56:26 -0800

What is a good algorithm for generating smooth curves from discrete points? For example, I have a set of time series data. I can easily draw a jagged line by plotting each point and connecting with straight lines. However, I'd like to make a pretty graph with smooth, interpolated lines using cubic or quadratic Bézier curves.

I’ve looked over the Dojo Charting Engine, which does pretty much what I want, simply calculating the delta along the X-axis, and multiplying by a constant “tension” factor to determine the position of the control points.

Can you point me to any other, similar algorithms?

Finding part of the DC Municipal Regs?

delfuego — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 16:15:49 -0800

Does anyone happen to know how to find an electronic version of Title 18 Chapter 3 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations? Damn that DC, only certain titles of the DCMR have been made available online (apparently for the simple reason that DC can't muster the staff to put them all online, bleah). I'm hunting for the actual law that establishes DC's driving infraction point system, something that's apparently codified in said Title 18 Chapter 3, and would love to get a version of the law that I can keep archived on my computer! (Apparently, the entirety of the DCMR is available on Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw, but non-law peons like myself don't get the benefit of this. Double bleah.)

American Express Reward Points

curiousleo — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 07:30:53 -0800

What is average value of American Express Reward Points? I have a lot of American Express Reward points....Enough to buy serveral computers, plane tickets, etc...

What is best use of the points? I guess I can keep saving the points until I figure out what I want.. but I feel unsafe to keep these points so long.

Getting actual cash out of those points will make my day but.. I gotta feeling the conversion will not be as valueable as buying something with the reward points.

I want to get some Dell products or southwest airline tickets...

What will be the best use of these reward points?

Is that a speeding ticket or a murder charge?

symphonik — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:45:08 -0800

California Driving Record: How the heck do I read it? I got my driving record from CA DMV as a way to edu-ma-cate myself about what's on my record before I go insurance hunting. I have one violation on the record, but I have no idea what it means. The line looks a little like this:



         VIOL/TT     CONV/DT     SEC/VIOL    DTKT/NO          DISP     COURT

         01-01-05    01-05-05    XX                                    COLO

So I can infer that the first two fields are the violation date and the conviction date. The third field (SEC/VIOL) must be the violation code itself (XX is actually two integers, forgive the obscuration), and COURT refers to the court I was convicted in (this was in my former residency of Colorado)...

But how do I know what the hell the conviction was? To be honest, I can't remember what happened on that date, if it was a speeding ticket or something else... and if it was a speeding ticket, what "grade" it was (5 over, 30 over)... how do I look up the code? Does California translate the offense to their code-numbering system, or should I be looking in the Colorado books for it?

Cashing out Airmiles?

burhan — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 21:35:05 -0800

Does anyone know of a way to convert my Airmiles to Aeroplan points? Or to convert Airmiles to cash? I want to convert my Airmiles to either cash or to Aeroplan points so that I can redeem the combination of the two points for a Canon Rebel XT. I know a similar question has been asked about merging points from different star-alliance loyalty programs, but that doesn't help me out.. I've read vague posts in online forums about converting points from points plan a to points plan b, and then to point plan c, (etc.) - this I guess is also called 'points laundering', but haven't gotten any clear guidance on how to do this.