TRAVEL: Points, Miles, Discounts, Tips, Advice & Questions

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2740]

I am the employer.

[AustinMT 952]

35 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I am the employer.

Then Stick it to the Man!!

[52-80 19274]

On 2/5/2019 at 9:56 PM, 52-80 said:

Anybody wanna trade 150K Chase Ultimate Rewards for 150K Amex MR?

Basically I need 150k into a united awards.  Have 150k amex that goes 1:1 into Aeroplan, Delta, British, etihad, virgin atlantic, whatever...

Found good availability with Turkish.  Transferred Amex -> MarriottSPG -> Turkish. 

500 EUR in taxes/fees for a pair of One-Way awards but worth every penny - im taking parents on their first post-retirement trip and they've never been in the front cabin.

Also decided I'm gonna start putting much more spending on Chase rather than Amex.  Their points are more useful to me.  Particularly the United compatibility.

While UA stink as a carrier, their redemption is easy, transparent, low in fees...and i dont have the patience to go through the maze of the other programs, esp for star alliance

 

[wild_turkey 3187]

I have the following cards currently:

CSR - primary card for most expenses

Cap One Venture - rarely use but it's an old line of credit I didn't want to cancel

AA Citi - annual fee worth it for free checked bags alone

Hyatt (Chase) - annual fee worth it for free night

 

I recently got an offer for the Amex Platinum that includes 100,000 points with $5,000 spending. It has a $550 annual fee and it says it includes $200 annual Uber credits (which I use Uber fairly often), $200 airline fee credit (which can be used on in-flight meals and ?booze?), Centurion lounge access, $100 Saks credit (not sure if I'll use it but whatever), and some other small perks like hotel upgrades and early check-in. 

I'm sure this card is common knowledge to some of you, but I'm curious if i't something I should be applying for. I assume the 100,000 points alone are probably worth the first year fee, just depending on how easy they are to redeem.

[thunderlounge 7979]

There are many out there that have the AMEX Plat and CSR. Both can offset most, if not all, of the annual fee. Where the root of the issue lies is in how much you can actually offset, and if those credits are useful to you. Taking the Saks credit out of the picture, are the "perks" of the Plat worth $150/yr to you?

Obvious difference is the Plat is a charge card, which might be an issue or uncomfortable for some.

 

Looking at what you have right now, I would suggest maybe getting a Freedom Unlimited. I say this over the Freedom because you mention that the CSR is your primary card for most expenses. To me that means you're getting 1x on a lot of non-travel/dining purchases. That being the case, getting 1.5x for those by using the Freedom Unlimited would be better.

There is the Freedom, but they cap you at $1500 in bonus categories per quarter. So while it's 5x in the rotating categories, those bonus points are capped at 30k/yr. I would add that after the CFU. If you're at 3/24 or better, then I would add the Freedom Unlimited, 35 days later add the Freedom. Both Freedom and Freedom Unlimited have a "$150" bonus offer right now, which is typical. The catch is that isn't added to your account as cash, but 15k UR points. (Which at 1¢/point, can be used for $150 in cash back.) The sweet part, is you can move those to your CSR UR balance.

Have you considered a business card? The Chase Ink Business Preferred ($95 AF) will give you 3x on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and online advertising. Also has an 80k welcome bonus. If you apply for that one first, while you must be under 5/24 to get it, it won't count against your 5/24 count for other cards. If that interests you, do that one, then 45 days later do the Freedom Unlimited, then 60 days after that, try the Freedom. (Chase seems to be limiting cards to only 1 in a 30 day period, 2 within a 90 day period, so that's why the longer wait times were suggested.)

I say all that because of the 5/24 rule. Amex doesn't really give a shit about that. What Amex cares about is whether or not you've had a particular card before (they call it lifetime language, but many data points out there suggest it's about a 7yr history) and what you do with your current Amex cards. On that second point, they seem to want you to:
a) keep using the card some after you get a bonus. (Not a ton, but some use.)
b) don't cancel the card within the first 13 months of having it. (No trying to avoid annual fee games.)

Where they start to be dicks about it is they will deny you a bonus on any card if you haven't been a "good" customer in the past. At least they're nice enough to put a pop-up warning before they actually do a credit pull, giving you the opportunity to stop without the hard pull.

 

Overall, it depends what points hold value to you. Obviously you're doing pretty well with UR at the moment, so I would double/triple down on those to start, simply because of the 5/24 rule with Chase. Not knowing where you're at with 5/24, I'm assuming you're at 3/24 or better. If not, well, the above needs rethought. However, if you're close to opening up 5/24 slots, I wouldn't blow that by adding non-Chase cards just yet.

Remember that to calculate your 5/24 count, Chase counts any card that shows on your credit report and was opened within the last 24 months. Doesn't matter if you opened a card 18 months ago, then closed it 5 months ago. That still counts, even if it's closed. Store cards, whatever. Any card counts. That Lowes or Home Depot card you opened last summer just for the 24 months of no interest? Yep, that counts.

One thing I will say though, Amex is slow to report your new card. Might be 45-60 days, sometimes pushing 90 days. Along with that, if you already have a relationship with Amex and have always been in good standing, they may not even do a hard pull for a new application. No shit Chet, no shit. If you've been good to them and paid your bills, used your card(s), and kept balances down or none, they'll take that over a hard pull. I must say that's it's pretty nice of them to do that. What I'm getting at with that is if that applies to someone, they can grab an Amex card and because of the no hard pull they can then turn around and grab a card from Chase. Chase is then unaware that you've just got a new Amex, and won't know until it hits your credit report a couple months later. (My last 2 Amex cards both didn't show up on my report until the 3rd and 2nd statements closed, respectively. The first one had a short statement period of about 12 days though.) So if you're keeping tabs, that gives you time to get 2 Chase cards before that Amex shows up on your 5/24 count. (Always use one of the free soft-pull sites like Credit Karma, etc. to check cards being reported, and try to time your weekly update to the day you want to apply.)

 

Lotta info, I know, but I hope it helps you and/or someone else as well.

 

[thunderlounge 7979]

2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Also decided I'm gonna start putting much more spending on Chase rather than Amex.  Their points are more useful to me.  Particularly the United compatibility.

 

I agree for the most part, although MR/UR both have the transfer partners that interest me.

The biggest downside I see now is that the CSR, while a big swinging dick when launched 3 years ago, it's now being outdone by several cards. 3x travel/dining for a $450 AF is now pretty much the low end of the high end cards. I don't know if they will do much about it, but they could if they really wanted or needed to do so.

 

[BTW 370]

Well I done messed up.

I went ahead and got a CSR card, it came in the mail over the weekend.  Sounds like I should have gone amex first, then immediately gotten the CSR card.  I guess I can get the amex on the back end of the 5/24 period and it will accomplish the same thing.  Like apply for the amex right before I apply for my last Chase card? 

Here's my background, I've carried and heavily used the Southwest Business chase card for damn near a decade, earning a companion pass with it for each of the last 5 years.  Last year though, I earned my 2019 companion pass in July of 2018 and continued to use the southwest card for the rest of the year.  If I had been thinking, I could have earned points for another system for the last 5 months of the year.  I also carry an Amex Hilton card (used to be citi before the switch).  I only use that card when I need to hide a purchase form the wife or if we stay in a Hilton though.  

I'm working on a Europe trip for June of 2020 and am trying to rack up points to hopefully get us both there and back on Business Class.  I have a couple of business entities, so I should be able to grab up a couple of business cards to go with the Sapphire card I just got and maybe the Amex Platinum that I plan to get.

Do you savvy points travelers think I have a chance of getting enough points to make my wish come true next year?  Any range on what I should expect to earn points-wise in order to make it happen?

[midtown 3348]

The best way IMO would be to get the AMEX Plat and then add the Delta Plat.  Unfortunately its only 35k right now vs 70k last year.   You could then transfer all your AMEX to Delta.  Or you could take out both the Citi AA card and the Barclay AA card if you want to go on AA.

[4th and 5 4924]

@BTW

I found AA saver awards to Europe in 1st/business from AUS to Europe for 57,500/person in July.

The best I could do transferring to UA was about 100k, and I had to fly, in part, on some Polish airline, and the trip took forever.

I read your post and wondered what I could do with my Chase points via the UR portal on my CSR. For the same travel date, the best I could find was 198,000 UR points.

While booking AA award travel can be maddening, the deals are out there. I got a family of four done for 30+30 (kids in coach) + 57.5+57.5 (us in 1st/biz) there and 4x57.5 (everyone biz/1st) back for a total of 405,000 AA miles

[52-80 19274]

I haven't messed with too many different FFPs, but AA and UA (and formerly CO) have been the easiest to book. 

British, Delta, Canada, etc...bad.

LOT flies a ton of 787s so would be a nice departure from the usual 330s, 777s, etc.  On long haul I prefer a longer segment because after some eating and entertainment there's usually only time enough for 2-4 hours of sleep.  A solid 5-7 would be great.

[Spankytoes 1743]

I have two (2) personal trips this year of merit:

Wife and I went to Ocho Rios January 16 – 21. We flew on AA, in Business, JFK-MIA-MBJ. Total cost for our tickets was $99.20 in taxes on the departure. We had free AAdmiral’s Club access with our tickets but elected to use the Centurion Lounge instead through my AMEX Platinum. Our Uber to the airport was $33.35. We flew JetBlue on the return and were upgraded to Even More Space seats for MBJ-JFK. Our cost on the return was $172.30 in taxes. I have the Priority Pass Lounge Pass complimentary with my Chase Ink, so we hung out in Club Mobay before our flight for food and drinks. Our Uber from the airport to the house was $36.25.

We stayed at the Jewel Dunn’s River Beach Resort & Spa, which is an adults only all-inclusive hotel. (All drinks, food and gratuities) We were afforded complimentary roundtrip shuttle transfers to/from MBJ. I used 240,000 HHonors points for our stay, which represents four (4) nights at 60,000 points per night for a Standard Room. As a HHonors member, I get my 5^th night for free when using points. As a Diamond member, I was upgraded to a Premium ocean view room with a balcony for free.

We booked a few excursions through Viator using Citi Thank You points. This took care of trips to Jewel Dunn Falls, the Blue Hole, river tubing and a booze cruise to the Luminous Lagoon at night. My total cost was 29,753 Citi TY points.

The total cost of my trip, including an ill-fated trip to Margaritaville to check it out, was a little over $425.00 for both of us, or $212.50 each. Had I booked the traditional way for our dates, the cost would have been over $6,250.00. So we ended up with a 99% savings for the trip.

 

In September-October, I am heading to Munich for Oktoberfest, Amsterdam and Brussels with a friend of mine from Dallas. Our flights cost me 35,700 Citi TY points for JFK-LIS-MUC on TAP Portugal due to a sale. (Flying in Coach) I booked a flight from DFW-JFK for my friend on AA the day before our departure for $5.60. I will pick him up from the airport and he’ll crash in one of our guest rooms. It will cost about $40.00 for a LIRR ticket and subway fare to show him NYC and take the AirTrain to JFK. On the return, I booked BRU-LHR-JFK and BRU-LHR-JFK on BA/AA for $209.26. (Again, in Coach) Because I have Platinum status with AA, we will at least get Main Economy the entire way with an outside shot at Business/J Class. We fly BRU-LHR together and then divert for our flights home.

We’ll get the MUC-Rosenheimer Platz S8 train, which runs beneath our hotel, for $30.00 roundtrip. We are staying four (4) nights at the Hilton Munich City Center in an Executive Twin Room. (280,000 Hhonors points) With Hilton Diamond status, we’ll get Executive Lounge access for free food/drinks to pre-game and complimentary buffet breakfast each morning. We’ll need two (2) additional days of a metro pass for $40.00. We are renting a Porsche Boxter from Sixt, which is located at the hotel, for $130.00 with fuel to drive to Neuchwanstein and Innsbruck as a day excursion.

I booked our flight from MUC-AMS on Lufthansa using 16,000 United miles + $85.00. We are staying at the Intercontinental Amstel for 180,000 IHG points in a Twin Executive City View room for three (3) nights. Because I am a Spire Elite, we will be upgraded to the next room category. I have Intercontinental lounge access, so we’ll have free food/drinks throughout our stay, including breakfast. Getting from AMS to our hotel roundtrip will be $12.00 on the train from Centraal. We are ideally located, so we’ll prett much be walking everywhere.

We are taking a train from Amsterdam Centraal to Bruxelles Central. It’s too early to book, but I will use 12,500 City AMEX points to cover the cost for Business Class seats.

We are staying at the Hilton Grand Palace for one (1) night at a rate of 60,000 HHonor points. All the aforementioned Hilton Diamond status perks will apply. Our roundtrip transport to Bruxelles Central will be $20.00, which we will also use to get to the airport to catch our flight home.

My Uber from JFK to my house will be around $36.00. My buddy will be picked up by his wife.

So, for all transport, 5-star hotels, food and breakfast for 2 people, our final cost is less than $600.00, or $300.00 each. Obviously beer, additional meals and other “substances” will add to the total. So the final total will be closer to $1,200.00, or $600.00 per person. 

Most of this was covered by churning cards and through strategic spending on a few key cards I hold on to. Though, I admit, I did get a little boost on Hilton points through business travel. The point is that it can be done, and done well, with a little effort. So maybe you have to stay at a Hampton Inn instead. WGAS? Have fun!

[4th and 5 4924]

^^^this guy fucks

[midtown 3348]

Stole this from the points guy but seems pertinent.

 

 

[BrazilHorn 6638]

One other perk of Amex plat for guy questioning getting it above is free delta club membership. 

Then delta once you get some status gives you break on clear for faster screening etc

Delta is getting ready to add a club in atx. Will be great. 

[midtown 3348]

1 hour ago, BrazilHorn said:

One other perk of Amex plat for guy questioning getting it above is free delta club membership. 

Just remember its only when you are flying Delta and its only for the cardholder.  $29 for a guest which really isnt bad considering two people could easily spend $29 on a few beers and some food in an airport.

1 hour ago, BrazilHorn said:

Then delta once you get some status gives you break on clear for faster screening etc

True but if you carry the Delta AMEX Plat your annual Clear is only $79.  The only time I've felt CLEAR was really helpful was in Vegas.   At JFK my Precheck buddy actually beat me through security.  In SA it makes about a 5 min difference in Terminal 1 and in 2 pretty much none. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by midtown

[Longhorn94 2458]

My oldest son is studying abroad in Paris this semester. I was able to book him on Delta in main cabin from AUS=>JFK=>CDG for 36k miles. We are going over on our anniversary and his birthday in March was able to book Delta One from AUS=>ATL=>CDG for 96k. I used my Delta miles for all the flights. We are staying at Hotel Saint James for the first 2 days we are there, traveling out to Reims for champagne tours staying in an AirBnB and then back to Paris at Le Dokhan Hotel for the next 5 nights. I used AMEX points for Hotel Saint James and SPG points for Le Dokhan. So far, we have spent about $100 on the trips in taxes and fees. We are excited. Its our first trip to Paris.

[midtown 3348]

3 hours ago, Longhorn94 said:

I used AMEX points for Hotel Saint James

I've tried to use AMEX Pts for hotels every time I travel and only once has it seems like a decent deal.  Id be interested in hearing how many points and approximate conversion you did on this

Edited February 13, 2019 by midtown

[Longhorn94 2458]

4 minutes ago, midtown said:

I've tried to use AMEX Pts for hotels every time I travel and only once has it seems like a decent deal.  Id be interested in hearing how many points and approximate conversion you did on this

I was able to book the hotel for 40k points per night. I think the total if I paid cash was a little over $1k. It was by far the best deal for one of the Fine Hotels Collection properties which includes an upgrade, breakfast for two, and $100 for the spa.

I booked Le Dokhan hotel through SPG for 35k points per night and then got one night free for a total of 5 nights at 140k points. 

[wild_turkey 3187]

11 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

One other perk of Amex plat for guy questioning getting it above is free delta club membership. 

Then delta once you get some status gives you break on clear for faster screening etc

Delta is getting ready to add a club in atx. Will be great. 

I maybe use Delta once every 5 years so their perks are meaningless to me.

I also rarely use airport lounges/clubs. I've had the Priority Pass lounge access for 2 years since the CSR came out and I've used it once. I occasionally get passes for the Admiral's Club or United Club and they typically expire before I use them. For one thing, I try my hardest to book nonstop flights or flights with short layovers. Short layover rarely leave time to go across the airport to another terminal where the one lounge I could use is located. Had a long (3 hours or so) layover at O'Hare and tried to use the Priority Pass lounge, only to find out they are both in terminal 5 which requires leaving security and going back through TSA in the clusterfuck they consider an international terminal. F that. It just never works out in my favor, except that I guess that means I'm typically spending less time in the airport and more time on the actual trip.

[midtown 3348]

I maybe use Delta once every 5 years so their perks are meaningless to me.
I also rarely use airport lounges/clubs. I've had the Priority Pass lounge access for 2 years since the CSR came out and I've used it once. I occasionally get passes for the Admiral's Club or United Club and they typically expire before I use them. For one thing, I try my hardest to book nonstop flights or flights with short layovers. Short layover rarely leave time to go across the airport to another terminal where the one lounge I could use is located. Had a long (3 hours or so) layover at O'Hare and tried to use the Priority Pass lounge, only to find out they are both in terminal 5 which requires leaving security and going back through TSA in the clusterfuck they consider an international terminal. F that. It just never works out in my favor, except that I guess that means I'm typically spending less time in the airport and more time on the actual trip.

We definitely travel differently. I purposely give myself layovers because I love travel from beginning to end. The idea of getting off one flight and immediately onto another one is not enjoyable for me. Id much rather have an hour or so of downtime.

Priority pass is a joke.

Amex plat pays for itself. The longue access is just a little bonus.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Sam Lin 3564]

7 hours ago, midtown said:

We definitely travel differently. I purposely give myself layovers because I love travel from beginning to end. The idea of getting off one flight and immediately onto another one is not enjoyable for me. Id much rather have an hour or so of downtime.

Priority pass is a joke.

Amex plat pays for itself. The longue access is just a little bonus.
 

I think part of your differences is the airports and countries you transit. If I'm on a domestic connecting flight within the US at some podunk airport, I don't want much layover time at all to explore the one awful restaurant. But most of my flights are international, so:

I've taken to booking long layovers wherever possible; at a minimum I go take a shower in the lounge and walk around the terminals, and if time allows I'll exit the airport and go browse the city, or at least have some locally-recommended food. Your hour of downtime (+ an hour to accomplish the actual transit, get through security again, etc, so 2hr total) is about the minimum desired layover for me.

Priority Pass is weak within the US, but internationally, especially Asia, it's very strong. Some airports I prefer the PP lounge over the actual airline lounges! And the new trend for PP of contracting with restaurants to give you $xx in credit instead of having an actual partner "lounge" in some airports is something I really like.

[AustinMT 952]

11 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

I maybe use Delta once every 5 years so their perks are meaningless to me.

I also rarely use airport lounges/clubs. I've had the Priority Pass lounge access for 2 years since the CSR came out and I've used it once. I occasionally get passes for the Admiral's Club or United Club and they typically expire before I use them. For one thing, I try my hardest to book nonstop flights or flights with short layovers. Short layover rarely leave time to go across the airport to another terminal where the one lounge I could use is located. Had a long (3 hours or so) layover at O'Hare and tried to use the Priority Pass lounge, only to find out they are both in terminal 5 which requires leaving security and going back through TSA in the clusterfuck they consider an international terminal. F that. It just never works out in my favor, except that I guess that means I'm typically spending less time in the airport and more time on the actual trip.

Centurion lounges are the exception (and worth walking to) and quite a bit different than Admiral’s, Delta Sky or United lounges.  Problem is there aren’t enough of them.  Been to the ones in Houston, Dallas, San Fran, Miami and Philadelphia.  All have real food and a full bar (all free).  The one in San Fran has a wine dispensing system with decent wines.  All have different menus developed by local chefs.

[midtown 3348]

4 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

If I'm on a domestic connecting flight within the US at some podunk airport,

What airlines have hubs in a podunk airport?   The major hubs in the US are SFO, SEA, LAX, DEN, PHX, SLC, IAH, DFW, ORD, IAD, EWR, JFK, MIA, CLT, PHL, MSP, DTW, BOS, LGA.   I guess SWA and Jet Blue has some podunk hubs but generally even domestically you are going through a fairly major airport. 

[52-80 19274]

laguardia is podunk

[SurlyORama 164]

And the new trend for PP of contracting with restaurants to give you $xx in credit instead of having an actual partner "lounge" in some airports is something I really like.

I guess I disagree here, but it may depend on the airport. I don’t like it when I have time to get a quick drink and/or snack, but it’s at one of the airports with the “$xx at a restaurant” deal, most of the time. Many times the place is crowded, so you’re waiting to be seated. The staff doesn’t really seem to relish the PP when it’s trotted out. And, since you can’t apply any of the credit to a top, you have to go out of pocket unless you are ok not tipping at all.

It’s certainly better than nothing, but I prefer a regular lounge. Gift horses and all, I guess, since I get this for free with the CSR card.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ZB'Tejas 594]

On 1/31/2019 at 8:53 PM, midtown said:

MIA has an expanded Centurion Lounge with a hot and cold buffet...blouses

If going Intl the Flagship lounge in MIA is nicer than Centurion. 

I think centurion in MIA is closed for remodeling right now anyway.

[ZB'Tejas 594]

On 2/6/2019 at 1:30 PM, mycox said:

Has anyone done the "throwaway ticket"?

I'm trying to get to Malta using miles with only one connection. I can go to Amsterdam, Milan, and Munich for the 30k miles but there is a connection in Frankfurt. Direct flights to Frankfurt and Amsterdam are 60k miles

Has anyone been penalized for skipping a leg when using miles? I can get to Frankfurt for 30k miles and buy a ticket to Malta for $160 (skipping Amsterdam, Milan, or Munich). This would be a one way ticket and no checked bags.

Are you flying Lufthansa?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-airline-sued-a-passenger-for-skipping-his-flight-why-we-should-all-take-note-2019-02-13

[midtown 3348]

If going Intl the Flagship lounge in MIA is nicer than Centurion. 
I think centurion in MIA is closed for remodeling right now anyway.

It's open again

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[BTW 370]

Just got an email offer to upgrade my Hilton Honors Ascend Amex to the Hilton Honors Aspire Amex card.

The annual fee for the upgrade is $450 whereas the card I have now is $95.  The upgrade includes a free weekend night cert plus 150,000 points if I spend $4,000K on the card in the first 3 months.  Also it gets me Diamond Status at Hilton properties as well as "Priority Pass Select" airport lounge membership.  Does anyone know what that is? Is it worth a damn? Should I do this?  I've never paid an annual fee of this size on a card before but the perks seem pretty legit, also there are some airline fee credits($250/year) and statement credits for charges at Hilton properties ($250)  being offered. 

[mycox 582]

I have been to three Priority Pass lounges and they all sucked.

[DFWTexEx 278]

5 minutes ago, mycox said:

I have been to three Priority Pass lounges and they all sucked.

The ones in the US are not that great, but most are still better than being in the public areas.  The ones abroad, particularly Asia, are better.  Some include perks like nap rooms, massages, etc.

[midtown 3348]

Agreed that priority pass isn't the best.  The only one I've been to is at MCO and it was average but they have some food and drinks and they had a UT game on so no complaints. 

[mycox 582]

The Tokyo one was horrible. Trash left everywhere and was disgusting.

[thunderlounge 7979]

6 hours ago, BTW said:

Just got an email offer to upgrade my Hilton Honors Ascend Amex to the Hilton Honors Aspire Amex card.

The annual fee for the upgrade is $450 whereas the card I have now is $95.  The upgrade includes a free weekend night cert plus 150,000 points if I spend $4,000K on the card in the first 3 months.  Also it gets me Diamond Status at Hilton properties as well as "Priority Pass Select" airport lounge membership.  Does anyone know what that is? Is it worth a damn? Should I do this?  I've never paid an annual fee of this size on a card before but the perks seem pretty legit, also there are some airline fee credits($250/year) and statement credits for charges at Hilton properties ($250)  being offered. 

 

 Be careful between the ascend and aspire. If you don’t stay at Hilton Resorts, it really won’t offset the fee enough to make it worth it. Plus you lose the gas/grocery category, if that’s of use for you. 

[52-80 19274]

On 2/19/2019 at 7:33 PM, mycox said:

The Tokyo one was horrible. Trash left everywhere and was disgusting.

Damn gwailos

[texhorn 351]

Anyone renewed their global entry lately? I’m two months in, still waiting for a decision. I have a clean background, some overseas travel (all on behalf of the US gov). Shutdown probably didn’t help, but damn...

[AustinMT 952]

2 hours ago, texhorn said:

Anyone renewed their global entry lately? I’m two months in, still waiting for a decision. I have a clean background, some overseas travel (all on behalf of the US gov). Shutdown probably didn’t help, but damn...

They seem to be backlogged.  I did my app DURING the shutdown and was approved in a little over a week.  My wife did hers right after the shutdown lifted and she is still waiting...

[ROFL BOX 6649]

10 pages... hard search.

When we went to Virginia 2 years ago, someone from Shag gave me an assist for Enterprise Rent a Car... I can't find that info (thought I might have saved it on my computer, no bueno).  Did a search on the old site & I  mostly came up with the thread where all the Hertz users bragged about 5* gold status or whatever.

 

Who's got the code hookup?  Shoot me a PM.  Will be in DC the 1st week of April.

[hornbri 1427]

On 2/19/2019 at 10:33 AM, BTW said:

Just got an email offer to upgrade my Hilton Honors Ascend Amex to the Hilton Honors Aspire Amex card.

The annual fee for the upgrade is $450 whereas the card I have now is $95.  The upgrade includes a free weekend night cert plus 150,000 points if I spend $4,000K on the card in the first 3 months.  Also it gets me Diamond Status at Hilton properties as well as "Priority Pass Select" airport lounge membership.  Does anyone know what that is? Is it worth a damn? Should I do this?  I've never paid an annual fee of this size on a card before but the perks seem pretty legit, also there are some airline fee credits($250/year) and statement credits for charges at Hilton properties ($250)  being offered. 

I have the Aspire, but I stay at a ton of Hilton properties so I am able to easily offset the $450 fee. 

[Spankytoes 1743]

2 hours ago, hornbri said:

I have the Aspire, but I stay at a ton of Hilton properties so I am able to easily offset the $450 fee. 

I'm not following your logic. How are you able to offset the fee enough to justify the cost? I stay at Hilton properties 50+ nights per year and I wouldn't touch the Aspire card with a 10 foot pole considering the annual fee. If I'm paying $450.00, I want actual benefits instead of a couple more points on the base rate. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Spankytoes

[Gil Bang 26069]

10 pages... hard search.
When we went to Virginia 2 years ago, someone from Shag gave me an assist for Enterprise Rent a Car... I can't find that info (thought I might have saved it on my computer, no bueno).  Did a search on the old site & I  mostly came up with the thread where all the Hertz users bragged about 5* gold status or whatever.
 
Who's got the code hookup?  Shoot me a PM.  Will be in DC the 1st week of April.

Have you tried Costco? Their cars are an incredibly good value

[hornbri 1427]

2 hours ago, Spankytoes said:

I'm not following your logic. How are you able to offset the fee enough to justify the cost? I stay at Hilton properties 50+ nights per year and I wouldn't touch the Aspire card with a 10 foot pole considering the annual fee. If I'm paying $450.00, I want actual benefits instead of a couple more points on the base rate. 

Well TPG values Hilton points are valued at about .5 cents a point, so if I can earn 70,000 points it is equal to about $350 dollars (The delta between ascend and aspire cards). The card earns 14 points per dollar spent at Hilton properties as opposed to 12 times for the ascend card. So to get those 70,000 points I need to spend $35k at Hilton properties in a year. Which is right around why my hotel expenses land. 

Then when you add in the $250 Airline credit and $250 resort credit (that you get for the Aspire card but not the ascend) that is just extra. 

 

There may be better ways that earn me more for that 35k but, I am not as good at how to maximize my points as most of you. 

[thunderlounge 7979]

5 hours ago, hornbri said:

I have the Aspire, but I stay at a ton of Hilton properties so I am able to easily offset the $450 fee. 

 

2 hours ago, Spankytoes said:

I'm not following your logic. How are you able to offset the fee enough to justify the cost? I stay at Hilton properties 50+ nights per year and I wouldn't touch the Aspire card with a 10 foot pole considering the annual fee. If I'm paying $450.00, I want actual benefits instead of a couple more points on the base rate. 

 

7 minutes ago, hornbri said:

Well TPG values Hilton points are valued at about .5 cents a point, so if I can earn 70,000 points it is equal to about $350 dollars (The delta between ascend and aspire cards). The card earns 14 points per dollar spent at Hilton properties as opposed to 12 times for the ascend card. So to get those 70,000 points I need to spend $35k at Hilton properties in a year. Which is right around why my hotel expenses land. 

Then when you add in the $250 Airline credit and $250 resort credit (that you get for the Aspire card but not the ascend) that is just extra. 

 

There may be better ways that earn me more for that 35k but, I am not as good at how to maximize my points as most of you. 

 

The resort fee is the big killer for me as most years I won’t use it. The airline credit is for incidentals, which I don’t have many of those, and the GC route for credit on that is flaky at best.

Add in losing the gas/grocery category, and that keeps me on the ascend. Others may have better value, but it just doesn’t work for me.

I do like the ascend though. I also like the aspire, but it’s not for me. 

[Nonbryan 173]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

 

Have you tried Costco? Their cars are an incredibly good value

 

This

[Telegraph_it 3360]

On 2/10/2019 at 8:32 PM, thunderlounge said:

The biggest downside I see now is that the CSR, while a big swinging dick when launched 3 years ago, it's now being outdone by several cards. 3x travel/dining for a $450 AF

I’d have to disagree. First off you get $300 travel credit every year so card is only $150 AF. Second the CSR needs to be coupled with freedom and freedom unlimited to increase point redemption. Both of those cards have no AF. You get access to priority pass and pays for global entry or pre check as other perks. Overall still a very good value. 

If your work corporate card is Amex then Amex plat is another obvious one to get. $200 Uber credit and $200 airline almost pays for the card and then you get free booze at the lounge. The $200 can be redeemed when booking award travel and you have to pay fuel surcharge or taxes. 

[benson32 7]

1 hour ago, Telegraph_it said:

If your work corporate card is Amex then Amex plat is another obvious one to get.

Go on. Can I transfer points from Green corporate even if it's not eligible to earn MR?

[Telegraph_it 3360]

3 minutes ago, benson32 said:

Go on. Can I transfer points from Green corporate even if it's not eligible to earn MR?

Yes. Add your green card to your Amex profile and off you go. I think they want $95 for the privilege but you can talk that down if you call. 

There is a chance your company can prevent this but mine didn’t. 

[thunderlounge 7979]

20 hours ago, Telegraph_it said:

I’d have to disagree. First off you get $300 travel credit every year so card is only $150 AF. Second the CSR needs to be coupled with freedom and freedom unlimited to increase point redemption. Both of those cards have no AF. You get access to priority pass and pays for global entry or pre check as other perks. Overall still a very good value.  

If your work corporate card is Amex then Amex plat is another obvious one to get. $200 Uber credit and $200 airline almost pays for the card and then you get free booze at the lounge. The $200 can be redeemed when booking award travel and you have to pay fuel surcharge or taxes. 

Yes, there are perks with it, but that wasn't what I was referring to. You can offset the fee to effectively $125/yr, if you count the global entry credit, and you renew early in year 4. All I was getting at is that cards coming out now do better with the points. And you forgot the Ink business preferred in your list, if you want the full UR suite to take advantage of.

So sure there is value. $125 a year (net) for the rest of the benefits is fine. But they now have some pretty stiff competition, and while they're cutting benefits, others are adding them.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

On 3/8/2019 at 11:26 AM, Gil Bang said:

 

Have you tried Costco? Their cars are an incredibly good value

We aren't members.  Not convenient for us given our location 30 min. W of Oak Hill.  I would assume we have to be Costco members, yeah?

[Gil Bang 26069]

Yeah