g1ant

RIP Bluebird.... sad day.

tonrob

Points Guy reviews sudden influx of Delta award seats on European flights. Won't last so act quickly if you're interested.

Linky.

tonrob

Just in case it's relevant for anyone.

tonrob

Quick share in case of use to anyone.


http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/aa-business-class-award-availability-to-london-summer-2016/

tonrob

Linky.

tonrob

Includes a new top-end category that costs 60,000 points.

Linky.

g1ant

Hong Kong goes up - Houston goes down. Deal.... NOT.

ddsrph

Tonrob
My wife and I are going to be changing banks and will be getting new credit cards. We always pay them off in full every month so interest rates don't matter but I am interested is something that offers airline miles with no annual fee. What would you recommend considering it will be our one and only credit cards.
Are the capital one cards a good possibility?

Thanks
JM

tonrob

I'd go for something that offers points that can be transferred into a number of different airline programs in order to maintain maximum flexibility.

My go-to cards are ones that either earn Chase Ultimate Rewards or Citi Thank You Points. There are several cards that earn in each programme (you can get more than one). Different cards give bonus points depending on the category you're spending in. I've mentioned a few in the thread so far, but feel free to have a Google. Top get a good view of latest offers look here.

P.S. I've never found anything interesting enough in Capital One's portfolio to warrant an application.

tonrob

Sorry there's not been many updates for a while. I travel a crazy amount with work these days and so less quality time for BE. Flown close to 40,000 miles this year already...

Thought'd I'd post a bit of a round-up of what I've been reading on the internet recently.

First, here's a nice story about a couple who flew first class to Dubai then the Maldives, staying in an overwater bungalow, all funded by miles and points earned from credit card sign-ups. In my opinion this required planning and a bit of time investment, but definitely do-able for a couple. It's a bit of an advert for the particular blogger who featured the story, but in fairness all the info required was presented there.

A reminder about dining programs (1,000 free United miles to begin with in this case).

A list of which airlines Starwood points transfer to, along with details of the highest-ever AMEX Starwood sign-up offer (valid until 30th March), including a refer-a-friend offer. Get into Starwood while you can, as it's very uncertain what will happen to the programme after the merger with Marriott if executed.

'Public' credit card offers (the ones you just stumble upon when growing the web) are often not the best offers available. Here's a good article regarding how to get yourself targeted for personalized offers from AMEX. I never used to receive these at all, but a couple of months ago I signed in and simply updated my personal information, and since then I've received 3 offers that are double what's offered if you just browse on AMEX's site.

Similarly, how to get the best Chase sign-up offers. Chase is tightening the screw now on approvals (they will decline you if you have had too many recent approvals for any credit cards, Chase or not), so it's even more important to make sure you're going for the best possible offer when you apply.

Best credit card offers for March as assessed by the Points Guy, along with a few words on approvals.

Citi Thank You Points 25% bonus when transferring to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and whether this is a good use of points or not.

News of a new Chase Freedom Unlimited card that's coming. I've written lots about the benefits of Chase's Ultimate Rewards programme over the years, so this is good news.

Hope some of this is helpful to you. Happy to engage in conversation about any of this, or anything else in the miles or points world. The depth of my answers may depend on where you catch me in my travel schedule, but there are also others on here who can help.

tonrob

And whether you should take it...
3 Reasons to Focus on the Marriott 80,000 Point Signup Bonus Now - View from the Wing

tonrob

The AMEX Hilton cards currently have the biggest ever bonuses for new applicants. Mommy Points (blogger) covers here:

Highest Hilton Credit Card Bonus Ever: 100,000 Points! - Mommy Points

tonrob

Article on improved availability (up to 4 seats) on certain ex-US routes - may be helpful to families:

Good Summer & Winter Award Space for 4 Passengers to Europe in Business Class With United and American - View from the Wing

manekeniko

I have a system of maximizing my spending using a system I call cycling my money. Recently, a major new cycle made it possible for me to hoard many more points than previously. I trade my points for gift cards, cash and airline tickets.

I use a good all-around rewards credit card, the Fidelity Investments-branded Amex, for purchases. It pays 2 Worldpoints per $1 spent.

I use Swagbucks, which pays for activities such as searches, and have installed their toolbar. Recently, they added a gift card purchase site which pays Swagbucks for every purchase. It's called My Gift Card Plus. This site frequently pays 100 point bonuses for making purchases.

Buying a gift card using a points cc is two cycles.

Next, I take a gift code and use it at the AAdvantage website for airline miles, or sometimes the Swagbucks toolbar has a better points offer.

That's 3 cycles.

Some sites have a rewards program, such as eBay. The site is giving rewards for purchases now.

That's 4 cycles.

I'm on my way to receiving my latest Swagbucks reward, a $25 Home Depot gift card. They've paid me hundreds' worth of gift cards over the years. I will spend it at a site that pays me more points or miles.

That's 5 cycles.

Around and around we go. That's cycling, full max for the money.

What do you think of this system, and can it be improved? Maybe our points-hoarding oracle, Tonrob, can chime in. I think some of this may work only in the US and Canada. You'd have to check it.

Matt Sabre

Does anybody know of a way of using 200,000 AMEX points at any Belize hotels, ideally on Ambergris Key?