tonrob

I don't post these often - not because they're not there, but just because I'm busy. So keep a look out.

Amywhere here are a few good ones that have passed across my field of vision in the last few days:

Chase United 50K and $50 statement credit after spending $3k in 3 months.

Chase Southwest 50K after spending $2k in 3 months.

Citi Thank You Premier 50K after spending $3k in 3 months.

Possible improved offers for Chase INK business cards (that earn valuable Ultimate Rewards points).

These links are all to travel blogs that explain a bit more about the cards and have links to application pages.

sir_eccles

Seems the best place to ask this.

Previously I had a US Airways Premier World Mastercard and an AAdvantage Platinum Visa.

Following the merger both my US Airways and AA miles accounts have been merged into one and my US Airways card is no more. Instead I now have an AAdvantage Aviator Red Mastercard and an AAdvantage Platinum Visa.

Is either one a better card? I don't really want to kill off the Aviator one as the account is older and has a larger limit.

I recall reading that they got rid of the companion certificates which I had used a few times.

tonrob

According to this analysis, it's better to keep the Barclays card and ditch the Citi.

Reasons:

Once you ditch the Barclays one there's no way to get another one
The Citi one can be applied for again (with new bonus) about 18-24 months after your cancelation of the current one
No foreign transaction fees on the Barclays card
$100 airline credit if you spend $30K on the card (offsets annual fee). Although I'd only be spending $30K on this card if I knew I had a lot more to spend on more deserving cards!

The other bennies seem quite similar between both Barclays and Citi cards, at least as I read them at first glance. I've had a few Barclays US Airways cards over the years but didn't hold one at the very end when they were being converted, so can't comment from personal experience.

tonrob

I wrote recently how I'd recently discovered the joys of Alaska miles and how I'd used them to book a first class one-way from JFK to Dusseldorf.... with a stop-over in Dubai!!!



This morning I happened across a great article that shows how this works, and a lot of other great info on booking using Alaska miles explained very clearly, that can be used to great effect both within the US and beyond.

petitefrancaise

Chris Guillebeau - who runs Travel hack Cartel and visited every country on the planet using airmiles - is currently running a free class on how to do this stuff on creative live. If you manage to catch it live then, it's free.
https://www.creativelive.com/

sir_eccles

Cheers. No foreign transaction fees is a good spot.

GeoffM

Thanks - having problems getting into AppleWorld because I haven't used it for so long. But that's my fault.

tonrob

20K after 1st purchase and then 30K after spending $5K in 3 months.

LH miles can be used to book on other Star Alliance carriers, and also LH provides additional first class award availability to their own members (LH first class is fantastic).

Bear in mind that LH miles are unusual in that they expire 36 months after earning, regardless of activity on the account.

The offer is normally much lower, but does rise to 50K temporarily from time to time. Mrs tonrob and I jumped on this last time the increased offer came around. You can have multiples of this card, but Barclays typically only tolerates 1-2 applications per year.

Link to article with details.

tonrob

Good news:

Etihad has opened up lots of award availability in their new apartment suites from NYC to Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi to Sydney. Act fast - not likely to last long. Bookable with AA miles.

Link to article.

Link to video of Dannii Minogue reviewing the suites. I do not believe she is included in the deal however.

Bad news:

More Club Carlson devaluation. After recent news that the free night benefit using the card was going away, now they announce that a shitload of properties are going up in points-price for booking after 1st June.

Link to article.

So basically my 4-night stay in Copenhagen in September with Mrs tonrob that will cost us 100,000 points (using the credit card free nights benefit) would cost 280,000 if booked after 1st June.

tonrob

Dan's Deals has just published one of the most comprehensive guide to BA Avios that I've ever read. Even if you think you know it all it's still a great refresher:

DansDeals.com » Blog Archive » Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About British Airways Avios: Tips, Tricks, And Advice You Need To Know To Maximize Your Avios

toopie28

Good post - thank you.

However the one thing I have found is when you call British airways and click 2 for avios - it cuts you off every time.

tonrob

A merciful release in some ways. BA's call centre operations are shite to put it mildly. Waits of 30-60 minutes are not uncommon, as well as not even being able to join the queue because all the lines are occupied. This has been going on for a couple of years now. Sometimes it helps to call offices in other countries. I often try the UK line and sometimes other countries in Europe.

DexterBerkeley

I thought it might be worth mentioning something new I learned about United this week. It turns out having a "Confirmed Upgrade" and seat doesn't mean you're flying up front. I had to go BOS to LHR for work and so choose to connect at EWR so I could upgrade to BusinessFirst with miles. United is my regular airline and I should make their 100k tier this year, made Gold last year. So I got my ticket booked a few weeks ago, they did the upgrade right after which was confirmed and I selected a seat. 20,000miles plus a co-pay.

When I got the gate at EWR they wouldn't let me board, went to the desk and it turns out BusinessFirst was overbooked and I was getting downgraded. First I learned of this was at boarding. And not even to a economy plus seat!

They will refund the miles and co-pay (I'll update if that doesn't happen). Also they did give me a voucher for $750, but still I was a little pissed off given that I knew on landing I had to head into a 12 hour day and could use sleeping.

So I put this up as a warning. I didn't know if you had a confirmed seat they could do that, but it turns out they can.

tonrob

For years a staunch BA supporter, currently sat it Virgin's Heathrow Clubhouse pondering all the ways they beat BA. They certainly don't in a few key departments, but one way that they win hands down is the flexibility in upgrading using miles:

Cheaper than BA: for London <> East Coast it's 10K on VS vs. 20-30K on BA. Fee uplift was GBP55 which is much less than BA.

Ability to upgrade in the airport, even as late as being the lounge. BA stops this T-24. Virgin website showed no availability to upgrade from Premium Economy to Upper Class online (been checking twice a day since I booked), but miraculously avaialBilit opened up when I asked at bag-drop. I'm on the 20:05 LHR-JFK and won't get home until 7am UK time so the ability to sleep comfortably on the plane (and therefore minimize weekend jet-lag) is worth it's weight in gold.

General availability seems better on VS compared to BA, at least on North East routes I use.

I've as good as re qualified for BA Gold for 2016, but Virgin's flexibility and price for upgrading with miles makes me ponder my future airline of choice. I won't go into the pros and cons from a hard and soft product comparison as this isn't the thread for that.

tonrob

Points Guy article on finding the best US gateway cities for award tickets to various destinations around the world.