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

Spankytoes

By Spankytoes
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25961

Posted
Posted
I found the old code; had entered a contact in my phone from the last go (who woulda thunk to look up "Budget" in my address book?).
The old code still worked & the cost was $ 23.++ less than the code listed in your post above.
I had issues with their website, however - wouldn't process the transaction.  I called customer service & after 22+ minutes of holding & back & forth ("Max", customer service guy: "We hab issues where our com-uters are updating, so I will set up payment for the rental counter and reduce the price by $ 20 for your inconvenience.").

"Jetta or similar" for $ 252.21 after all deductions, fees, etc. on a rental pickup 02 April @ 2300 with the return on 07 Apr @ 1530.
The internment is on Thursday 04 April & we are supposed to be @ Arlington National by 1415; reception @ Fort Meyer afterwards.  There will be a Caisson & I am curious if this will be The Old Guard or an Air Force Honor Guard.  I think I may walk behind the Caisson with my son & see if Mrs. Rox will drive the rental (cars cannot be left anywhere on route).
 
Thanks for your assistance on this; same to you, [mention=177]Spankytoes[/mention].

Where are you picking up that car? Tomorrow I will check Costco rates to compare. I know you aren’t a Costco member but it may be interesting anyway
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25961

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

I found the old code; had entered a contact in my phone from the last go (who woulda thunk to look up "Budget" in my address book?).

The old code still worked & the cost was $ 23.++ less than the code listed in your post above.

I had issues with their website, however - wouldn't process the transaction.  I called customer service & after 22+ minutes of holding & back & forth ("Max", customer service guy: "We hab issues where our com-uters are updating, so I will set up payment for the rental counter and reduce the price by $ 20 for your inconvenience.").

"Jetta or similar" for $ 252.21 after all deductions, fees, etc. on a rental pickup 02 April @ 2300 with the return on 07 Apr @ 1530.

The internment is on Thursday 04 April & we are supposed to be @ Arlington National by 1415; reception @ Fort Meyer afterwards.  There will be a Caisson & I am curious if this will be The Old Guard or an Air Force Honor Guard.  I think I may walk behind the Caisson with my son & see if Mrs. Rox will drive the rental (cars cannot be left anywhere on route).

 

Thanks for your assistance on this; same to you, @Spankytoes.

I checked Costco.  At your times, and assuming IAD airport, "standard" car (Jetta or similar) is $228.40 all in through Budget

 

Costco's the way to go, car rental peeps. 

Edited by Gil Bang
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midtown

midtown 3346

Posted
Posted

Ok Gurus.    Who can help with this scenario.  

I have 100k Amex pts.   I am going to do 10 days in Laos, Cambodia and end up in Sai Gon and fly home from there.   I was hoping to fly all the way to Luang Prabang but it might be easier to just fly into HAN, BKK, SGN and take a separate flight.   ie Delta says "itinerary not available"  Delta wants 77k for a economy seat i have 20k with them so just another 50kish.   Anyone have a suggestion on the easiest and cheapest way to fly this route using one of the airlines below?   ANA or Singapore seem like the most logical but maybe Air Canada?    Am I simply going to have to go to each award site?   Other AMEX airline partners are:

 

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Grimas

Grimas 669

Posted
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Pissed at United and waiting to see how it all ends...  Best friends of ours live in Melbourne, AU and the husband (bastard for raising the bar of what’s to be expected by the wives but that’s another discussion...) says he wants to fly my wife down to spend a week with his wife as a surprise for her 50th.  Cost for a last minute business class ticket was about $7k so I said let me book an economy ticket for $1800 and then use my miles to upgrade to business class (60k round trip and additional $1000 copay (that he would cover)). As a fallback position, I paid an additional 250 each way to get her in Economy Extra in case she didn’t get the business upgrade. She got upgraded to business from IAH to LAX but not the LAX to MEL leg where she went Econmy extra. I now have to see what United will charge me as I really didn’t care about the upgrade from IAH to LAX (Extra would have been ok) but wanted the upgrade to MEL... she still has a chance for the return flight but I’m not sure how United will charge me for the miles and upgrade to Extra for the way home...  I’m not out of pocket as i’ll Get paid back for the cost but it’s the miles I spent that I don’t want to waste...

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Grimas

Grimas 669

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23 minutes ago, Grimas said:

Pissed at United and waiting to see how it all ends...  Best friends of ours live in Melbourne, AU and the husband (bastard for raising the bar of what’s to be expected by the wives but that’s another discussion...) says he wants to fly my wife down to spend a week with his wife as a surprise for her 50th.  Cost for a last minute business class ticket was about $7k so I said let me book an economy ticket for $1800 and then use my miles to upgrade to business class (60k round trip and additional $1000 copay (that he would cover)). As a fallback position, I paid an additional 250 each way to get her in Economy Extra in case she didn’t get the business upgrade. She got upgraded to business from IAH to LAX but not the LAX to MEL leg where she went Econmy extra. I now have to see what United will charge me as I really didn’t care about the upgrade from IAH to LAX (Extra would have been ok) but wanted the upgrade to MEL... she still has a chance for the return flight but I’m not sure how United will charge me for the miles and upgrade to Extra for the way home...  I’m not out of pocket as i’ll Get paid back for the cost but it’s the miles I spent that I don’t want to waste...

Just off the phone with United and it appears the upgrade from IAH to LAX is a “free be” in terms of miles since the full trip wasn’t upgraded so I also get the full $500 back for the trip down there. The payment for the upgrade to Extra still applies.  Looks like no business class seats available for the legs home so get those miles and copay refunded as well (but still charged for the upgrade to Extra)...  not so pissed anymore...  :)

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SurlyORama

SurlyORama 164

Posted
Posted
Just an update. Ended up booking Premium Economy, leaving on a Thursday, return on a Tuesday. Then called up Exec Plat desk, and surprisingly, got confirmed upgrade on the return trip from Madrid->DFW (still economy DFW->AUS, but exit row, etc., so fine, and I often get upgraded on that leg anyway just due to status.) I was really surprised, because NOTHING I could find (AA website OR ExpertFlyer.com) showed any availability, and I check every day. Waitlisted on AUS->LHR, hopefully it comes through, the rep seemed to indicate it wasn't hopeless.
So, although at this point I'm still in Premium Economy going east, I did get an upgrade to business coming back west, which is the longest flight of the whole trip (11 hrs).
Bonus: when I called and she confirmed the availability, I got her to change my original reservation from Premium Economy to regular-old economy, then apply the upgrade (still gets you to business.) Saved a quick $300 just for asking, which I thought was cool.
On the last question, I had enough miles to book 2 RT in business, but only with MileSaaver fares, which limit your options. All of them involved BA flights and terrible schedules, and additionally they would have cost me something like $1300 in fees to book my "free" flights. That, the crappy times, and having to use all those miles, I just couldn't see my way to doing that.


Final update: ended up getting upgraded both AUS->JFK and JFK->LHR. We were #2 and #3 on both upgrade lists. First flight I put my wife in first and took coach, then got pulled up when the #1 (Concierge Key) didn’t board even after checking in. Then got put into business as soon as we got to the gate in DFW.

Already upgraded for Madrid flight to DFW, so all-in-all, best I could have hoped for I think (DFW->AUS) would be icing, but a thin layer in comparison.


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RiceOwl

RiceOwl 74

Posted
Posted

Hit the lottery and found J sAAver availability two months out on DFW-JFK-LHR-MXP. 57.5k miles and $29 in taxes... Plus the DFW-JFK leg is on a 757 so lie flat seats to start the trip off...

Now, I may be flying LEVEL to AA in Y on MXP-BCN-BOS-DFW on the way back... But damn are one way fares from Europe-US expensive on legacy carriers. 

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AustinMT

AustinMT 952

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, RiceOwl said:

The lottery has prizes in multiple sizes. ;) 

I was just surprised I found sAAver availability this close in during peak season. 

We are leaving Wednesday DFW to CDG for 112,500 rountrip per person nonstop, business class Air France. Converted AMEX to Air France 1:1.  $8000+  value for $2500 monetary value of Amex points.

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midtown

midtown 3346

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Posted

Just a tip for those who are traveling anywhere that has contactless payments like the London underground.    Call your credit card company and ask if they have contactless cards and if so to send you one.   I just had AMEX reissue my Plat with contactless and will call Chase to today to have my CSR re-issued as well. 

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Spankytoes

Spankytoes 1742

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2 hours ago, midtown said:

Just a tip for those who are traveling anywhere that has contactless payments like the London underground.    Call your credit card company and ask if they have contactless cards and if so to send you one.   I just had AMEX reissue my Plat with contactless and will call Chase to today to have my CSR re-issued as well. 

Don't you still have to buy an Oyster card?

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midtown

midtown 3346

Posted
Posted (edited)
52 minutes ago, Spankytoes said:

I always lose my traveler card between trips and it’s a PITA to reorder one and preload. 

I found out the hard way.  I went to a pub near my hotel and the tube station.  End up having a pint with another Spurs fan from Czech and we were going to train out to Wembley together and drinks some pints before the game so we headed to the tube and he puts his credit card up and goes through I put in my traveler card and nothing.  it was expired.  I tried all my cc's and nothing.  I had to go get in line and buy another card.   took me 10 extra mins.

 

Ironically I bumped back into him right as we were coming out of Wembley Park station

Edited by midtown
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Grimas

Grimas 669

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Posted
On 4/10/2019 at 10:38 AM, deft said:

Says the guy who isn’t riding economy across the pacific.

I was able to monitor the flight, change her seats and she had an empty seat next to her on 2 of the 3 legs (she got business upgrade on the 4th). She's 5'3" and had enough room on the 15 hour flight... (At 6'1, it's hell no, I won't go if I can't get business class...) Only real error i made was moving her into the front row of economy extra which means the TV is in the armrest and you can't move the armrest to take advantage of the empty seat next to her...

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25961

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Posted

fuck Budget Car Rental in the goatass.

So, I flew to PBI.  Rented a car from budget though Costco.  I decided to stay an extra day.  In order to change my flight, I had to leave from FLL I call budget.  They want a $300 fee to drop the car at FLL.  I check costco and make a new reservation, pickup at PBI, return the next day at FLL.   $39 bucks.  I call them and say how about I give you another $39  and keep this car and return it to FLL.   Nope.  I speak to a supervisor, he pretty much tells me to fuck off.  So, I had to take an hour out of my day to return a camry to budget at PBI, only to immediately re-rent a camry with a pre-arranged drop at FLL.

I wasted my time, I wasted the dipshit counter guy at budget's time, and budget had to wash an extra car. 

Fuck those guys. 

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Spankytoes

Spankytoes 1742

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12 hours ago, SurlyORama said:

Depending on airline

This is key. If you booked a flight from DFW-LHR on AA, it would cost $150.00 to get your miles back for the first passenger. You would get refunded your taxes of about $6. If you booked the same flight on BA, you would get everything back minus your taxes. But, BA has a hefty fuel surcharge for TA flights, so it’s actually cheaper with AA. But, if you canceled a domestic flight booked with BA, there is no fuel surcharge. So you would only be out the $6 in taxes. AA’s fees would be the same $150.00 - taxes. I book flights with BA all the time because I can gamble with $6 if I have to cancel. It’s more important to grab the seat. (That’s what I did for the Sugar Bowl a few weeks before the Big 12 CCG)

If you book on Southwest, you can cancel for free and hold the funds for your taxes for a future trip up to one (1) year later.

You’ll need to look at your specific airline restrictions.

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SurlyORama

SurlyORama 164

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Posted
This is key. If you booked a flight from DFW-LHR on AA, it would cost $150.00 to get your miles back for the first passenger. 

Unless you are Exec Platinum, in which case the charge is waived. Other airlines may have similar.


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thunderlounge

thunderlounge 7861

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38 minutes ago, Spankytoes said:

This is key. If you booked a flight from DFW-LHR on AA, it would cost $150.00 to get your miles back for the first passenger. You would get refunded your taxes of about $6. If you booked the same flight on BA, you would get everything back minus your taxes. But, BA has a hefty fuel surcharge for TA flights, so it’s actually cheaper with AA. But, if you canceled a domestic flight booked with BA, there is no fuel surcharge. So you would only be out the $6 in taxes. AA’s fees would be the same $150.00 - taxes. I book flights with BA all the time because I can gamble with $6 if I have to cancel. It’s more important to grab the seat. (That’s what I did for the Sugar Bowl a few weeks before the Big 12 CCG)

If you book on Southwest, you can cancel for free and hold the funds for your taxes for a future trip up to one (1) year later.

You’ll need to look at your specific airline restrictions.

 

Yet another reason my primary airline account is BAEC.

 

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thunderlounge

thunderlounge 7861

Posted
Posted (edited)

Chase Ink Business Preferred if you something other than AMEX.

Warning on business cards, some banks will put your business card on your personal report (cap1, for example) and it will count against your 5/24.

AMEX and Chase for sure don’t report to your personal file (unless you fuck up.) of course that seems odd as Chase would know if you just got a business card with them, but they still don’t count it against you. But to get a business card you still have to be under 5/24, which is why when some are loading back up it is recommended to get the Chase business cards first. This way you’re under 5/24, and those accounts won’t count against you when you start apps for personal cards. 

Edited by thunderlounge
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Spankytoes

Spankytoes 1742

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On 5/16/2019 at 6:43 PM, SurlyORama said:


Unless you are Exec Platinum, in which case the charge is waived. Other airlines may have similar.


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Well...yeah. But I’d assume that if you were EP you wouldn’t be asking this question.

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elfenix

elfenix 34271

Posted
Posted
On 5/17/2019 at 7:21 AM, thunderlounge said:

Don’t move points until you’re ready to spend and have verified award availability. Would suck to transfer them just to find out there aren’t any redemptions.

SQ is good, and typically has a good program. Don’t rule out other alliances though.

problem is i'm going to start incurring annual fees on a card i don't use (big sign up bonus).  i suppose i could just travel more. 

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thunderlounge

thunderlounge 7861

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42 minutes ago, elfenix said:

problem is i'm going to start incurring annual fees on a card i don't use (big sign up bonus).  i suppose i could just travel more.  

 

Which card it is? Depending on issuer, it may be bad, bad juju to cancel to avoid the fee. AMEX in particular has been tightening down on such things. And it won't just affect getting a particular card again, it will affect any AMEX card. Get a card for the bonus, meet the spend, and put it in a drawer? They'll deny bonuses on other cards. Cancel a card to avoid the AF? They'll deny bonuses on other cards.

Chase is also starting to reign in the bonus qualifications too, but AMEX is ahead of them in that respect. At least with Chase you can usually downgrade when an AF hits, and they don't seem to hold it against you (yet.)

 

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elfenix

elfenix 34271

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

 

Which card it is? Depending on issuer, it may be bad, bad juju to cancel to avoid the fee. AMEX in particular has been tightening down on such things. And it won't just affect getting a particular card again, it will affect any AMEX card. Get a card for the bonus, meet the spend, and put it in a drawer? They'll deny bonuses on other cards. Cancel a card to avoid the AF? They'll deny bonuses on other cards.

Chase is also starting to reign in the bonus qualifications too, but AMEX is ahead of them in that respect. At least with Chase you can usually downgrade when an AF hits, and they don't seem to hold it against you (yet.)

 

citi premier.  it's my only citi card.  i usually use my chase sapphire and freedom cards, discover for whatever is on 5%, and occasionally a boa card since you can get 3% on online purchases on it now.  between those cards there really isn't much that isn't covered.  also keep a united card because it makes basic economy a tolerable product.

Edited by elfenix
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midtown

midtown 3346

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Posted

Can anyone tell me why kids airline tickets are more expensive?   I was looking at taking my kids to Belize.  I put everything into google flights and it came back with $805.  ONce I add my sons birth date, ktn, etc  All of a sudden I get a notice that due to passenger data the flights are now $1000 today.  So almost $200?  How is that legal?   Whats the rational?  If anything kids should be cheaper since they weigh less and burn less fuel.

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