Flying Home

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Oct 5th 2018, 1:55 pm

JuniorJ194

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Flying Home

Hi guys,

ive been here 6 months and I’m possible looking to fly home for a week in December to see my family. I’ve been looking at flights online and realized if I’m going to be flying home a lot I should invest in some sort of points credit and pay through that. I’ve been looking at deals but I just wanted to know if anyone knew of any good airlines to go with as far as awards and stuff go?

Thanks!

Oct 5th 2018, 3:48 pm

BenK91

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Location: Denver, CO.

Posts: 1,523

Re: Flying Home

I travel a lot with work so I always make sure the travel department book my flight with American Airlines as their points go towards BA which I can then use to travel back to England with.

There are a few decent credit cards to help with those things but I just haven't bothered applying for any. Credit Karma (or a similar app) can help you find a good air miles/points card and will show your approval odds etc.

Oct 5th 2018, 5:27 pm

lansbury

Joined: Apr 2005

Location: Milwaukie, Oregon

Posts: 9,965

Re: Flying Home

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuniorJ194

First off work out what airline you would prefer to use from where you are, and see what card(s) earn points with them.

Then look a Chase Sapphire Reserve. You earn points on the card which can be transferred one to one to a couple of airlines or used on Amazon. Also Chase have their own online travel agency tied to the card. The points have a value of 1 cent each, but if you use them direct with Chase for travel, they are worth 1.5 cents each. When I've booked flights generally I've found Chase's prices competitive to what others were charging, and Chase are given an effective 50% discount. Also with Chase you can put the value of the points you have towards the ticket, and pay cash for the balance.

Last edited by lansbury; Oct 5th 2018 at 5:30 pm.

Oct 5th 2018, 9:52 pm

JuniorJ194

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Re: Flying Home

Thanks for the suggestions! I was looking at a delta card but the Chase card sounds like a lot better option!

Oct 5th 2018, 11:03 pm

rpjs

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Location: Sleepy Hollow, New York

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Re: Flying Home

American Airlines is currently promoting a new card with Barclays (Aviator card) which gives you 60,000 AAdvantage miles once you've paid the $95 annual fee and use the card to make make a single purchase with no minimum amount. That's a pretty good deal.

Oct 5th 2018, 11:50 pm

LouisB

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Re: Flying Home

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpjs

thats pretty good!

i use another Barclays card, worldwide premier elite+ I think it’s called, racks up airmiles quickly and redeemable against flight purchases.

Oct 6th 2018, 5:54 pm

Muna_93

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Joined: Aug 2018

Location: London, United Kingdom

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Re: Flying Home

Have a read of this if you haven't already, lots of good tips on accumulating miles and points: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

Oct 6th 2018, 9:50 pm

lansbury

Joined: Apr 2005

Location: Milwaukie, Oregon

Posts: 9,965

Re: Flying Home

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muna_93

Have a read of this if you haven't already, lots of good tips on accumulating miles and points: Traveling cheaply and well using miles and points

That thread is a bit old now and some of the information is dated. As an example I made the last post over a year ago and commented in it Chase tend to inflate their prices. For the past year that hasn't been so, plus for 2018 most major airlines made changes to their frequently fly schemes. The information in that thread might still be useful but should be checked to be sure.