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

[kopp0e 1135]

If you happen to travel to Russia, this woman tells of the cost for foods at the local grocery..!

 

[Spankytoes 1739]

If you happen to travel to Russia, this woman tells of the cost for foods at the local grocery..!
 

I went to the grocery store to buy vodka and candy for the Mrs. Then I solved the food problem on my own...

[thunderlounge 7813]

Chase Sapphire (either one) just went from a 24 month wait between bonuses, to 48 months.

 

[deft 6832]

No shit??! That sucks.

[bluto 4912]

seems more and more like the golden days of racking up credit card signup bonuses are behind us

[thunderlounge 7813]

On the really good cards, yep.  Amex is “lifetime” on their bonuses. 

[Spankytoes 1739]

11 hours ago, bluto said:

seems more and more like the golden days of racking up credit card signup bonuses are behind us

Dey gone.

In truth, they were too generous for far too long. Anyone that churns cards is paying off their monthly balance or else they wouldn't be able to churn. There's zero incentive for banks to reward that type of behavior. They are after the dummies that don't realize that they are paying more for their airline ticket by keeping a balance than if they would have just purchased it outright. There's plenty of those types out there and they won't be able to re-qualify for the same card anyway. The only people benefiting are us free-loaders who could not give a shit what financial institution provided a targeted offer. That's not a good business model.

Just 5 years ago you were able to get a high value card with a $10,000 spending threshold and knock it out for less than the cost of dinner for 2. Now manufactured spending is a multi-step process that really questions the value you put on your time. I happened to get lucky. I book my own hotels for travel as well as those attending a project with me, all of whom could not give less of a shit about the mileage/points game. So I book them a Hilton-branded property under my Diamond Status account, at a double-points rate charged to my employer, stacked with a current promo, using my personal Hilton Ascend AMEX and reap the rewards. The only thing I really do with credit cards now is airline miles since most of my travel is within the Northeast and doesn't benefit me greatly. Even then, it's usually a Chase Ink or Citi Thank You so I'm not tied to a specific airline.

Also gone are the generous hotel promos associated with branded cards. Back then, if you wanted a really nice European vacation, you would:

-Open up a Hyatt card, meet the spend and book 2 nights at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome and an additional night on points earned through the card (Annual fee waived)

-Open up a Hilton card to get 2 weekend certs to be used at the Waldorf Cavaleiri in Rome and book an additional night on points earned through the card (Annual fee waived)

-Open up a Fairmont card to get 2 nights at the Fairmont London. (Annual fee waived) Use your free Hyatt Category 5 offering from the Hyatt card to book your last night at the Hyatt Place London Heathrow for the last night

Boom, 9 free nights staying at 5 star properties for free. Mix in miles on AA and BA and you are only paying for taxes on flights, possibly in an upgraded cabin.

Now the game has turned into an uber coupon instead of the set it and forget it exercise it once was. You can get a free night with IHG but now it's capped to properties booked for 40,000 or less points instead of any property worldwide. The incentive isn't there anymore as a high yield of points would be a better haul for a mid-tier vacation. I'd rather grab 2 nights in Berlin at a Hotel Indigo near Ku'damm instead of a HIX in London in the Zone 3 section of the tube map. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

^^ that. 

Not to mention the crackdown on manufactured spending. 

With the number of points required on the rise, the value of points decreasing, the companies specifying limits on bonus eligibility, and more, it is a mere shadow of what it used to be.

Now you’re better off finding where you spend money, picking cards that match thise spending habits, and aligning your points towards a limited brand selection. 

IE: a specific hotel and airline, like hilton and BA, or whatever. Or ihg, hilton, and an airline. Whatever. 

 

[thunderlounge 7813]

Speaking of which, trying to figure out a basic cashback card. 

Stuck between the chase freedom unlimited, and the amex cash magnet. Both offer 1.5% back (same as my quicksilver I’ve had for a few years), both have a welcome rate of 0% for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, but the amex has a lower FTF and balance transfer fee (2.7% and 3%, vs FU at 3% and 5%.)

Not that I would worry about the FTF, as I have cards that have no FTF’s.

 

Guess one positive of the FU is I could turn that cash back into UR points. Both have a $150 bonus on $1k spend, amex gives another $100 on $6k in the first year.

 

Hmmmm. 

[midtown 3345]

It will pair off for a while but my guess is that when people continue to move away from credit cards as a general currency, credit card companies will have to start fighting for business. 

[Zone Read 299]

For me, the only really good deal left is getting the personal and business Chase Southwest cards at the beginning of the year to qualify for 2 years of the Companion pass.  Then try to rack up Chase points using the Sapphire preferred and Freedom and transfer to Southwest to get an effective rate of between 3x and 10x. Got it beginning of 2018 for my wife.  By end of 2019 I should be below 5/24 and I'll get it for myself.

[52-80 19142]

United airlines, cheapest domestic economy fare only allows personal bag aboard, correct?  Even a standard sized carry-on requires status for exemption, otherwise it's for-pay?

What about award domestic economy tickets - does it have check-in baggage allowance?  And exemption for Star Gold (non UA)?

 

[shakahorn 1645]

4 hours ago, 52-80 said:

United airlines, cheapest domestic economy fare only allows personal bag aboard, correct?  Even a standard sized carry-on requires status for exemption, otherwise it's for-pay?

What about award domestic economy tickets - does it have check-in baggage allowance?  And exemption for Star Gold (non UA)?

 

Correct, Basic Economy only one personal item, unless you have status or one of their credit cards.

Award ticket, if you have * Gold you can check it at least one bag 50 lbs or less.  If you are UA Premier Gold, then it's 2 bags up to 70 lbs.

[VABuckeye 2472]

On 8/17/2018 at 4:02 PM, G650 said:

I have no idea the answer to this, but I have been meaning to tell you I couldn't get BA to accept the Avios transfer to your account. Are there any Avios in there at the moment? Apparently it cant be zero.

That is correct.  To transfer Avios the receiving account must have Avios in it.  When I transferred from BA Avios to Iberia Avios I had to purchase 100 Iberia Avios for the transfer to work.

BTW, Iberia business class from Madrid to JFK was 34000 Avios in off peak time.  A fantastic redemption.

[52-80 19142]

im half aghast at the air fares offered going new york to texas in late november....considering it across 3 cities with huge airports/hubs

looked at all permutations of roundtrip, multi-jaw substituting dallas/houston, flexible across multiple days and stay duration...

...and its all like 500-600 USD per person for the bottom scraping fare class with no miles accumulation, no food, and even no carry-on for main street flyers. 

 

 

 

[midtown 3345]

1 hour ago, 52-80 said:

im half aghast at the air fares offered going new york to texas in late november...

I'm seeing $270 on AA from SA and a Delta non-stop for $316.  Both of those are basic economy but even if I switch them both to economy its only $370.  Surprised it would be so expensive going the other way

Edited September 7, 2018 by midtown

[gecko 1104]

The randomness of it all.....

Have been trolling United for a number of months looking for a business saver option from Sydney, AU back to Houston in March.  Last Sunday, on a whim, I checked and scored two United business class seats SYD to IAH, via 4 hr lay over at LAX for 160k miles (80k a piece).  I am one satisfied United flyer right now.

Edited September 7, 2018 by gecko

[Longhorn94 2448]

Ok Spanky, any tips for a Delta miles holder to book RT tickets to Paris in March '18 other than booking directly through Delta's site? Thanks!

 

 

[Longhorn94 2448]

Ok Spanky, any tips for a Delta miles holder to book RT tickets to Paris in March '18 other than booking directly through Delta's site? Thanks!

 

 

[Longhorn94 2448]

1 minute ago, Longhorn94 said:

Ok Spanky, any tips for a Delta miles holder to book RT tickets to Paris in March '18 other than booking directly through Delta's site? Thanks!

 

 

Why isnt this thread showing up in the Forum?

[Longhorn94 2448]

is this thread archived or something? i cant find it in the travel forum. 

[RD3 64]

On 7/19/2018 at 9:33 AM, RD3 said:

Just as I was saying... Southwest is rolling out a newer higher end credit card.  $150 instead of $99 but you get more benefits just like I was pitching.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chase-and-southwest-have-a-new-travel-credit-card-but-is-it-a-good-deal-2018-07-19

Gives you some upgrading boarding, discount on drinks and wifi,...

We upgraded to the Visa Signature Southwest card. It is looking promising that we will be getting the Companion Pass for next year as well and the bump in points for this bonus helped. I also subscribed to Motley Fool for $99 for the year for stock tips and I got a bonus of 5400 points. I have been listening to their podcast for a couple of years and they convinced me on their "War on Cash" bundle and ended up buying Visa, Square, Paypal back in March and those have been on a tear...  BUT to be honest the 5400 point bonus was the reason I sucked up and pulled the trigger. Behind their paywall, they had some other stock tips that I bought with.

I also got the Rapid Rewards Shopping button for Chrome to get more points as I shop online.

[thunderlounge 7813]

Heads up: Lufthansa begins service between Austin (AUS) and Frankfurt (FRA) on May 3rd next year.

Lufthansa Press Release

Edited September 29, 2018 by thunderlounge

[gecko 1104]

New spend minimums to get to 1K on United ($15k). Also, Gold elite now board in group 1. 1k gets called to board after global svcs.

[midtown 3345]

Anyone seeing any great sign up bonus cards?  I just passed the 5/24 for Chase.   I'm also clear on anything from Citi except the AA card.

Currently carrying:

CSR

AMEX Plat

Amex Delta Plat

Barclay AA Red

[thunderlounge 7813]

125k/150k for amex hilton ascend/aspire.

Some 50k MR point offers floating around for the refreshed amex gold.

Chase was offering 100k on the new IHG card, but that may have just ended  

 

Already having a plat, the gold won’t do much more for you. I would still take a look and match it up to your spending patterns. 4x MR on dining/groceries. $250 AF, but can be compensated for with $100 airline and $120 dining* credits.

* restrictions apply, not any dining, max credit is

$10/mo (for $120 total per year.)

 

Amex is becoming very anti-churning. If you have held a card previously (more like the past 7-8 years) then no bonus. If you close accounts to avoid the AF, no bonus. If you meet the spend, then don’t use the card anymore, no bonus. So anyone looking at getting an amex, plan ahead to have it for at least 2 years, and to put a little spend on it regularly.

The way their structuring their bonus earnings, it shouldn’t be too difficult to put a little spend on any amex worth having. Hilton Ascend gets 6x hilton honors points at grocery stores and gas stations, so that isn’t too bad and easy to put a little spend towards.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I need like 4k EQM's or 5 EQS's from November to Dec 31st to get my AA Gold. Any good mileage runs that give me 4k domestically so I can book a QBR or something.

Edited October 10, 2018 by Guest

[Spankytoes 1739]

1 hour ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

I need like 4k EQM's or 5 EQS's from November to Dec 31st to get my AA Gold. Any good mileage runs that give me 4k domestically so I can book a QBR or something.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mileage-run-deals-372/

[midtown 3345]

Not sure if we have a plane fanatic but travel related. Anyone know what this livery is?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Not sure if we have a plane fanatic but travel related. Anyone know what this livery is?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

PSA

[Reagan1k 3024]

Question - 

Elderly Family member has a ton of Delta Sky Miles but doesn't fly anywhere that is convenient to use Delta anymore. 

Her travel is limited to/from a couple of cities these days, and both are United hubs where they have plenty of non-stops....she can't/won't do connecting flights.

She'd prefer to fly using United for the direct flights but all her United miles expired a couple of years ago due to non-activity.

What's the easiest way to get Sky Miles out of a Delta account  and into another reward card or program where the miles/points can be used to book travel with United?

Even if there is a haircut involved, she'd still be better off than letting the sky miles sit idle.  Is there some card-shuffle that can accomplish this?

[thunderlounge 7813]

In short, no. 

There may be a hotel program she could transfer them to, and then from there to united, but if so she’ll lose so may points in the process it wouldn’t be worth it at all. I’m not even sure such a path exists between DL and UA. 

You certainly could go from a DL account to a card, and then to UA.

She’s better off using them, or gifting them to someone. 

[midtown 3345]

Anyone know if and how the Capital One venture cards affects your 5/24?

[thunderlounge 7813]

5/24: What Chase judges you by for any card you've opened in the past 24 months.

There are a few exceptions with some business cards that do not show up on your personal credit report. The short of it all is that if you have 5 or more cards showing on your credit report which were opened within the last 24 months, you're fucked in getting a card from Chase. Store card, Citi, Cap1, AMEX, whatever.

There were a couple Chase cards that were not being subjected to 5/24 (some of the co-branded ones), but it appears that in the last 10 days or so that those cards have now changed and applications for those are now also subject to the applicant being eligible under 5/24.

 

 

[PantsTent 2002]

Wife and I have had Hyatt card a little over a year now so each have a free night up to Category 4.  Any tips on maximizing value on these or just use as needed.  New Orleans for Sugar Bowl doesn't seem like a bad way to use them...

 

[PantsTent 2002]

Well the award night idea was a bit optimistic for NOLA on New Year's.  I transferred UR points to Hyatt.  Am I crazy that Hyatt points have a lot better value than other hotel brands?  15K points for a $400 room.  Depends on dates of course. This weekend it's 15K points for a $150 room.

[midtown 3345]

What's the best use of miles vs companion pass in this situation.   As a Delta Plat AMEX card holder I get an annual domestic companion pass.  I also have 85,000 Delta miles from that card.  I used 40k to book a RT trip to Costa Rica so I have 45k left.

I am taking my good friend to NYC as a 60th bday gift.  He's never been.  

What is a better use of cash/pass/points.

$290 RT and he flies free or

use 35,000 of my points to fly us both.  

Using $$$ both RT are direct to and from JFK from SA

Using points we'd have a 1 hr layover in ATL on the way but the same direct back.

Generally I use my miles for INTL travel because you get a lot more for the miles.  Was thinking it would be better to save that companion pass for when I am getting a more expensive flight for free. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

16 hours ago, midtown said:

Generally I use my miles for INTL travel because you get a lot more for the miles.  Was thinking it would be better to save that companion pass for when I am getting a more expensive flight for free. 

 

There is your answer. I wouldn’t blow a companion on a $290 fare unless it was going to go wasted from expiration. 

[bluto 4912]

Have a BoA visa that gave me $500 cash or travel or w/e if I spent $5k in 3mos, can my choice of redemption method bite me with taxes? It's up to $900 now sitting there and I don't wanna get hit with a 1099 from BoA if I do cash but not if I do travel purchase or statement credit. 

[ztejas 43411]

On 8/28/2018 at 12:39 PM, thunderlounge said:

Now you’re better off finding where you spend money, picking cards that match thise spending habits, and aligning your points towards a limited brand selection. 

WF Propel jumped out at me for this reason. I spend so much on food, lyft/uber, plus they give 3X on spotify/hulu and then obviously any airfare or hotel. 

On 8/14/2018 at 12:39 PM, HRSchenker said:

Any thoughts on the new Wells Fargo Propel card? Richard Kerr is saying that those points are more valuable than Chase UR points but I really really don't want to associate myself with Wells Fargo.

I went with it because I've been with WF forever so it took all of 5 minutes to apply online and I was instantly approved for 1/10th of my gross yearly income (actually a bit more than that). 

The signup bonus is decent - spend $3k total in the first 3 months and get 30k points. 

Can't speak to it if you don't already have an account with WF. Personally I think every bank is a bunch of moneygrubbing outlaws so I see it as a pick your poison scenario. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

3 hours ago, bluto said:

Have a BoA visa that gave me $500 cash or travel or w/e if I spent $5k in 3mos, can my choice of redemption method bite me with taxes? It's up to $900 now sitting there and I don't wanna get hit with a 1099 from BoA if I do cash but not if I do travel purchase or statement credit. 

 

Tax? 1099?

Um, unless there is something special about that specific bonus then it should be treated like a rebate. 

[midtown 3345]

So this past September I was released from Chase's 2/24 jail so I'm looking for a card.  Anything really good right now?

I currently carry:  Barclays AA Aviator, CSR, AMEX Plat, and AMEX Delta Plat

Chase has the UNITED card.  This will put me back in the 2/24 until March of next year.

Earn up to 65,000 bonus miles: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open plus, earn an additional 25,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $10,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months after your account is open

Edited December 19, 2018 by midtown

[PantsTent 2002]

I think you can still get SWA business and personal cards by doing business first but don't take that as fact. I only mention as a way of getting a companion pass for about 21 months.

[Buzzrock 14901]

I think I’m gonna bail on my SPG card in 2019 as we just don’t stay in hotels much in the Airbnb era. I think I’d rather have airline miles and get where I’m going for free and then stay where I want. Living in Atlanta Delta is pretty much the only game in town (SWA is here but their flight schedules aren’t great and I fly Delta for work). Is there a better deal for Skymiles than just the Delta AMEX assortment?

[happyfunball 481]

On 12/6/2018 at 8:58 AM, bluto said:

Have a BoA visa that gave me $500 cash or travel or w/e if I spent $5k in 3mos, can my choice of redemption method bite me with taxes? It's up to $900 now sitting there and I don't wanna get hit with a 1099 from BoA if I do cash but not if I do travel purchase or statement credit. 

I am way over on $1k for statement credit for my BoA travel rewards card. Am I going to be hit with a 1099?

[kopp0e 1135]

I did not know that Burger King in Australia is known as Hungry Jack's:

 

[4th and 5 4914]

On 12/19/2018 at 1:08 PM, PantsTent said:

I think you can still get SWA business and personal cards by doing business first but don't take that as fact. I only mention as a way of getting a companion pass for about 21 months.

Yep. It’s the best game in town and I play it every 2 years.

[kopp0e 1135]

 

[RiceOwl 74]

Redeemed 27,000 (15k each way minus the 10% rebate with credit card) AA miles today for an economy redemption on DFW-SEA-ANC-PDX-DFW. Combination of AA and AS flights. It pains me to use mikes on domestic flights (in economy nonetheless) but they asking 970 roundtrip for the same routing.

This is for February (going skiing in the Chugach). A quick look at summer time and it seemed that there were hardly any sAAver awards to ANC.

[LonghornJones 837]

Since it's a new calendar year (if that matters), is now a good time to look in to the SW Companion Pass? Other cards that run on a calendar year schedule?