tonrob

What he said. Always phone the reconsideration line a few days after submitting your app. At least then you get a chance to plead your case - and I haven't yet got through to anyone who wasn't prepared to listen.

tonrob

Are you talking about using the Chase INK Bold/Plus? If so then you get 5x points per dollar whenever you spend at an office supply store, whether it be online or in person. It's amazing how much I spend on rubber bands and paper clips these days...

GeoffM

Do you mean phone them before the decision has been made? Both are pending for the moment, with one asking for the copy of the SSN and proof of address. I think it was about 10 days ago I did all three applications.

tonrob

Yes. Makes everything much quicker and gives a better chance of a good result in my experience.

tonrob

The Points Guy covers here.

This lightning offer seems to be happening every few months - last time Mrs tonrob jumped on it. 75,000 equals the highest bonus I've seen for this card. The minimum spend's a bit high ($10,000 in 4 months) but there are creative ways to deal with this.

AMEX Membership Rewards transfer 1:1 to a number of different airlines, including BA, Virgin Atlantic and Delta, and they also have periodic bonuses (e.g. 30-50% when transferring to BA, 67% to Delta) so you can actually get quite a tidy sum of miles out of this.

You don't really need to have a business of your own in order to get a card - I happen to buy and sell stuff on eBay occasionally, and this is what I told them my business was when they asked.

toopie28

So I have points that are going to expire and going to use them for a Hotel in London for next year. 2 nights in London.

I have 2 options - Worldpoints or Avios.

Worldpoints seems a lot better:

With Worldpoints: Sheraton Park Lane (5 Stars!) - 58,292 points OR Hotel Verta (also 5 star) 45, 180 points.

Avios points: Cadogan - 4 stars - 78,000 points OR The Kengsington 4.5 stars at 75,950 points (more stars - less points?)

Do you know why Avios is so much more? It's almost a too good to be true thing with the worldpoints.

Want to make sure I'm not missing anything here before I book it.

All nice areas by the by.

tonrob

Hi toopie

I don't have any experience at all with Worldpoints, and I have never used Avios to book anything other than flights, so my advice on your situation may be limited, but your question did stir a few random thoughts so I might as well share those in case they help in any way:

Think of points or miles in different programmes as being different currencies - just as one Pound is not worth the same as one Euro or one Dollar, similarly one Avios point is not worth the same as one Worldpoint - so the value you can get from each when trying to buy a particular things will vary.

You said one of the reasons you were thinking of using your points is that they were due to expire. I don't know about Worldpoints, but in general there's no reason for anyone to let airline or hotel points expire - as with most of the programmes, any activity in the account will 're-set' the clock. Many programmes have either shopping portals, dining portals, or both where activity will qualify. At BA's eStore, the cheapest thing I could find to buy was an iTunes song for a dollar. Buy this and you'll prevent your BA miles from expiring for another three years.

My final thought was one of opportunity cost when I saw how many Avios you'd spend on your hotel. Only you can decide whether this is worth it - I didn't look at the hotel itself all, but my mind did go to the BA award chart for flights, where 75,000 Avios gets you 3 coach class returns within "Zone 4" (that's anywhere in the lower 48 on BA-partner American Airlines to you), an even greater number of short-hop tickets (for example anywhere AA serves a little closer to where you live), or even a first class single to London on BA (regular cash price $12,000 for a random day I plugged in next March) - note that taxes and fees will apply here of course but are minimal if you fly domestically on AA.

At the end of the day - the decision is yours, and in my mind the miles have zero realized value until you actually come to use them, so if nothing I've said even remotely appeals then spending your Avios on a hotel is probably the right move.

toopie28

Tonrob,

Thanks for all that information - makes a lot of sense.

I save my points for years then when I decide to spend them... wish I'd seen this post years ago.

For example - I have about 145,000 avios points. When I tried to book my flights back home - no points flights available. Couldn't even pay partially with points. The problem is the time of year I go (either Christmas OR New Year) and the fact that I don't know until 2 months before the dates I can go. Now even tho I'm flexible a few days here and there, Avios only had flights a week after or before the date.

I've decided to use them for our river cruise flights next year.

With Worldpoints - I cancelled the card. So the points run out a year after the fact. It kills me when I think it's the equiv of about 58K a night!

Thanks again!

tonrob

Often when trying to use miles for long-distance flights, you get the best results either 11 months out or 11 days out (not exactly, but you get what I'm saying) - and the busier the time of year the less liklihood of scoring the result you need.

I'm lucky in that I have a lot of flexibility as to when I travel, and I also have miles in various programmes so I can potentially fly on (almost) any airline that happens to have availability for the dates I want to travel.

If you get the Chase BA card and spend $30,000 in a calendar year you get a 2-for-1 voucher (single-use, but valid for two years) - which means that you'd end up with more than enough Avios for two first class returns to the UK. You often find that the 'higher' the cabin, the better the award availability - so you may get lucky on that front too.

coastieexpat

Used the reconsideration line for the Chase Hyatt card and was accepted

2 free nights in Paris next year I think.

tonrob

Nice work!

I'm applying for a Chase INK Plus, two Citi Hiltons (the basic, free ones) and a Bank of America Hawaiian Airlines one tomorrow!

coastieexpat

Nice one !! What are the bonuses on those cards ?

tonrob

INK Plus - 50,000 Ultimate Rewards for spending $10,000 in 4 months (fee-free 1st year)
Hilton (x2) - 50,000 Hilton Honors points each when spending $1,500 in 3 months (fee free)
Hawaiian Airlines - 35,000 Hawaiian Miles for spending $1,000 in 3 months ($79 annual fee)

The Hawaiian miles transfer to Hilton at a ratio of 1:2.

coastieexpat

Just so you know, it's pretty cheap to cancel or change a reward booking on BA, around $25 I think, that way you could snag the days you wanted as they became available or cancel the whole booking if needs be. Bit of a hassle though !

One thing I have noticed though is a lot of availability in Europe. This is where Avios shines Imo.

E.g. 4,500 Avios ( + $40 ), Manchester to Paris with a stopover in London is a great deal.

Enjoy your trip

coastieexpat

I am just re-posting this for anybody who has just joined this thread, or like me ,didn't quite absorb this great advice.....