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Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Old Feb 14th 2013, 7:31 pm
  #256  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by gatsbygirl8
Thanks so much for your help!

Some questions:
1.Do any of you have any mileage programme accounts at the moment (with any existing balances?) I don't think so. We used to have accounts with AA and United, but all our old miles are gone now. I did sign up for BA just before we flew to the USA, but our miles never showed up on my account. I figured I must not have signed up correctly. So, no miles with anyone right now.
2.Which airports would you consider flying from and to? (And do you already know which carrier(s) your choices are effectively limited to?) Our ideal airport would be BHX, but we're flying from St. Louis and don't want more than one connection with two little kids. We're open to Manchester or Heathrow if necessary. We will be renting a car for our trip, so driving from the airport isn't a problem.
3.What type of tickets will you be buying for the July flight? (e.g. discounted economy, fully flexible economy, business class etc.) Cheapest possible, so probably discounted economy. However, I would love to use this trip as a starting point to accumulate miles/points so that we can start to use upgrades in the future.
4.You say that you don't travel for business so have no need of miles that could be useful for domestic US travel. Is that correct? No chances of any family holidays within the US? We might go to Chicago once or twice a year, but that's about it. With our finances so tight right now, regular holidays really aren't an option for us.
5.You say "earn miles to help with future flights to Europe". Do you mean just the UK, or did you have other countries/cities in mind? (And will those trips likely be with the whole family or just you and your husband?) Just the UK for now. We would like to visit Europe more (we have family in Austria), but I figured we would either drive from the UK or book something with easyjet separately. I assumed that would be easier and cheaper.
6.You mentioned credit ratings - I assume you are open to apply for credit card(s) to earn miles to supplement those you earn via the July flights - is that right? We are, but probably just 1-2 each. I remember your recommendation about a 50,000 mile intro offer if you put $3,000 on the card in the first few months. I thought since we'll have the money for the tickets up front, that could be a good way to get miles and immediately pay off the card.
Thanks for the extra info. Now - I'm no expert in all of this, so please feel free to Google anything I'm saying to find out more or just check for yourself.

Firstly, a quick Kayak search for St Louis to London shows options on United/Air Canada via Toronto, US Airways via Charlotte or BA via Chicago. Maybe there are others (wasn't an exhaustive search) but it shows that you could either join one of the Star Alliance programmes (and credit the miles to it if you flew via Toronto or Charlotte) or a One World programme (if you took the BA itinerary via Chicago).

You therefore want to work our which of the programmes in either alliance will give you the most benefit for future travel to Europe.

You can find out which member airlines belong to Star Alliance and One World alliance, and while there are many, the ones that would likely be those to choose between for you would be:

Star Alliance: United, Air Canada, US Airways*

One World: British Airways, American Airlines

*US Airways programme will go away sometime in the next year or so through the merger with AA, and all miles likely transferred to AA's programme in One World when this happens.

I'd base my decision on which programme to focus on based on the following:
  • What the programme's award chart looks like - i.e. how many miles you need to redeem to fly where you want to go.
  • How much in taxes and fees you'll need to pay on an award ticket.
  • What credit card options there are to supplement your balance.
  • What other perks or advantages the programme might have (e.g. ability to use miles to upgrade etc.)

I haven't got time to go into massive depth on each of the 5 programmes I mentioned above (United, Air Canada, US Airways, BA, AA) and the relative pros and cons compared to one another, but hopefully what I've written gives you an indication what to Google and what to watch out for. (Blogs like View From The Wing, Points Guy and One Mile at a Time often do useful pieces summarizing and comparing different aspects of the airline's programmes). If you have any specific questions about anything you read then please come back here and ask.

Many on here are seduced by BA's programme and the associated Chase credit card, but if you decide to go this route then make sure you're fully aware of the high level of fuel surcharges that go along with making award bookings, to the point that many consider it only worthwhile when redeeming for business class and higher. AA charges similar fees too for trans-Atlantic travel. Multiple seats in business class for your family might be anywhere from hard to impossible to get - in terms of seat availability or number of miles required.

My initial gut feel would be to go for United's programme. I like United miles for the following reasons:
  • No fuel surcharges for many award bookings (compared to BA/AA) - so good value redeeming in economy
  • Allow one-way bookings, open jaws and stopovers (Lufthansa and Austrain airlines are also Star Alliance so opens up possibilities to include your side-trip into your itinerary).
  • Multiple credit card options to earn miles (Chase United card and also any of the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards).

From the credit card standpoint I'd say get the Chase United card (check for the best deal when you're ready to apply but by current standards you should be looking for 50,000 miles) and also from the Ultimate Rewards card pack I'd go for one of the business cards (INK Bold or INK Plus) - which have 50,000 sign-up bonuses and also earn 5 points per dollar at office supply stores. If you live near a Staples, Office Depot or Office Max then they usually sell handy gift cards such as Amazon etc. - so you can basically earn 5 United miles per $ spent at Amazon and anywhere else they have gift cards for.

Caveat: There is a reason that I asked about the possibility of you wanting to travel domestically. You indicated that this wouldn't happen often, but when it did then trips to Chicago would feature. I see that AA flies to Chicago from St Louis. AA is a One World partner, and so can also be booked using BA miles. While BA award travel can be extortionately expensive for trans-Atlantic bookings (especially in economy), one of BA's programme quirks is that it's distance-based award chart means that you need far fewer miles to do short domestic hops in the US than you would require for any other programme, and taxes/fees amount to just a few dollars. STL-ORD is just 258 miles, so well within a BA "Zone 1" redemption requiring just 4,500 BA miles each way, whereas American's own programme (and many others) would charge you 12,500 for a similar journey. As you are unlikely to earn many miles at all flying your family to the UK is deeply discounted economy, work out whether your best return for your money might be to get free flights to Chicago now and again rather than trying to reduce travel costs on future trans-Atlantic journeys, where award seat availability for a group of 3-4 on a multiple-segment itinerary might require quite a bit of flexibility on travel dates to say the least.
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Old Feb 14th 2013, 7:51 pm
  #257  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by Mallory
Gosh TonRob, you've helped me no end! I enjoy playing around with the cards, and have had some good deals. Which card do you think is the giving the most bonus miles (for not spending thousands of dollars)? I saw you mention Chase Sapphire, is that one good to go after?
Current Chase Sapphire Preferred spend requirement is $3,000 in 3 months. I know it's important to be able to hit the spend requirement, but the usefulness (to you) of the points/miles themselves is just as important when considering which card to go for, which is why I don't focus on whatever the highest figure is among the sign-up bonuses.

That said, I think the Sapphire Preferred is a great card. Mrs tonrob got apporved for one just the other day, and I held one for a year but relinquished it a number of months ago (when the annual fee became due), transferring the credit limit in order to get another Chase application approved. Ultimate Rewards points are very flexible, and can be transferred 1:1 to (among other programmes) United (for Star Alliance award bookings), Hyatt (for nice up-market hotel stays) and Amtrak.

There are ways and means for hitting minimum spend, so if you encounter an offer that's a bit of a stretch for you but really want the card then feel free to PM me for info (some stuff doesn't belong on public, searchable forums).
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Old Feb 14th 2013, 8:18 pm
  #258  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Tonrob, whats the best way to cancel my Chase Ink Bold, the fee just came up and I already have the sapphire ?

Should I apply for the Ink plus ? before or after cancellation ?

Cheers.
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Old Feb 15th 2013, 10:35 am
  #259  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by coastieexpat
Tonrob, whats the best way to cancel my Chase Ink Bold, the fee just came up and I already have the sapphire ?

Should I apply for the Ink plus ? before or after cancellation ?

Cheers.
I always apply for the new card before I cancel the old one. The day after I apply I call the reconsideration line and ask for an update on my application. If necessary, I "offer" to give up the card I don't want any more in order to get the new one approved.

If you get the new card approved while leaving the old one intact, then I just send Chase a secure message to ask to cancel the card I don't want. I do this for any bank - it beats having to have the awkward conversation where they try to persuade you to keep it. The only exception is if you think you have a realistic chance of them making you some kind of (worthwhile) offer in order to make you keep the card. I usually try to read up on Flyertalk to see if there are any decent "retention offers" being made.
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Old Feb 15th 2013, 4:52 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Thanks ! Do you think the Ink Plus is a good choice ? Or perhaps the Freedom card ?
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Old Feb 15th 2013, 7:18 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by coastieexpat
Thanks ! Do you think the Ink Plus is a good choice ? Or perhaps the Freedom card ?
The sign-up bonus for the Freedom's been crap for a while, so I'd do the INK Plus first.
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Old Feb 15th 2013, 10:00 pm
  #262  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Thanks for all the advice tonrob! You've given us lots to think about. I was leaning toward booking with BA, but now we're giving United another look. Much appreciated!
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 5:54 am
  #263  
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Default AMEX Premier Rewards Gold back to 50K

But for how long? And available (AFAIK) only via the link discussed by Mommy Points here.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/mommyp...opportunities/

I applied a few hours ago and was instantly approved. This move will allow me to cancel my Mercedes Benz Platinum card (and get a pro-rated refund of the annual fee) while keeping my Membership Rewards points alive.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 12:22 pm
  #264  
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Default Bad news across hotel chains

Many of the leading hotel chains have announced devaluations of their points programmes over recent weeks, some of them outrageously so.

Latest - and worst - is Hilton, but it's only the latest in a line of bad news.

Details:

Hilton
Starwood
Marriott
Priority Club

In some cases it's possible to still make bookings at the old rates, so a bit of forward planning can save you a load of points. (Points bookings are usually cancelable too - but check the rate terms for bookings before making them).

It's bad enough for me, but I typically acquire points in large quantities for little or no cost. I feel really sorry for people who have earned their points the hard way, by being loyal to a brand by making lots of paid stays - people who typically save up their points for a particular trip and now find that (in some cases) their stash is only worth half of what it was before.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 12:25 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by coastieexpat
Thanks ! Do you think the Ink Plus is a good choice ? Or perhaps the Freedom card ?
Just found out that it's possible to have the Sapphire card downgraded to Freedom (with no credit pull). You can therefore get the Sapphire sign-up bonus, downgrade to Freedom (as soon as you've got the sign-up bonus or at latest before your first annual fee is due) and then enjoy the Freedom quarterly bonuses. It then paves the way to applying for the Mastercard version of the Sapphire so you can get that sign up bonus all over again!

Nice.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 2:07 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Okay, I think we're going with United. Here's what I've found:
Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card is offering 30,000 bonus miles after $1,000 spend in the first 3 months. $0 intro annual fee for the first year and $95 after that.

Tell me if you think this sounds like a decent deal:
I apply for the Chase United Explorer card. Upon approval, we book our plane tickets (about $3,800) to the U.K. using the card. This takes care of the $1,000 minimum spend.

Then, before the year is up, we cancel the card. Do I have that right?

Also, would it be more beneficial to apply for 2 cards (one for me, one for the husband) and book our tickets separately? I know we'll get more bonus miles that way, but I'm worried we'll get stuck on different sides of the plane or worse, different flights.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 7:02 pm
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by gatsbygirl8
Okay, I think we're going with United. Here's what I've found:
Chase United MileagePlus Explorer card is offering 30,000 bonus miles after $1,000 spend in the first 3 months. $0 intro annual fee for the first year and $95 after that.

Tell me if you think this sounds like a decent deal:
I apply for the Chase United Explorer card. Upon approval, we book our plane tickets (about $3,800) to the U.K. using the card. This takes care of the $1,000 minimum spend.

Then, before the year is up, we cancel the card. Do I have that right?

Also, would it be more beneficial to apply for 2 cards (one for me, one for the husband) and book our tickets separately? I know we'll get more bonus miles that way, but I'm worried we'll get stuck on different sides of the plane or worse, different flights.
Try logging into United Mileage plus program and you may get the 50,000 points offer (same $1000 spend in the first three months requirement). I received an email offer for this and signed up last Friday.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 10:25 pm
  #268  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

I'm traveling at the minute so don't have time to check more, but in general you should be looking for a 50,000 United bonus. Check some of the bloggers I've linked to in previous posts.
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Old Feb 21st 2013, 10:35 pm
  #269  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by gatsbygirl8
Tell me if you think this sounds like a decent deal:
I apply for the Chase United Explorer card. Upon approval, we book our plane tickets (about $3,800) to the U.K. using the card. This takes care of the $1,000 minimum spend.
Depends what initial credit limit they give you!
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Old Feb 22nd 2013, 5:41 am
  #270  
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Default Re: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Originally Posted by sir_eccles
Depends what initial credit limit they give you!
Many of the Chase cards have a minimum credit limit of $5,000 - I think that the United card is one of them.
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