Sometime on December 13th Delta and Groupon are going to offer pairs of RTW tickets for $10,000 in Economy and $20,000 in Business.

In a Nutshell

Monumental journey around the world for two with up to 10 stopovers in North America, Europe & Asia (taxes, fees, restrictions apply)

The Fine Print

Expires in 1 year
Book by 12/12/12. Travel must begin in US city serviced by participating airlines & completed by 11/8/13. Limit 1/person. See other conditions that apply. Non-refundable & issued to buyer or gift recipient only. Tickets non-transferable. Passengers responsible for all int’l travel docs. If difficulty collecting payment, Grouponcierge will call number provided & must resolve within 24hrs of purchase or tickets will be released. Clicking ‘Buy’ does not guarantee purchase.
See the rules that apply to all deals.

This morning at CLT I was the only one in line so of course that meant the floating talker tried to strike up a conversation.

TSO: “Good morning”

Me: “‘Morning”

TSO: “So, where are you off to today”

Me: (in an overwhelmed/distressed tone) “Oh, I don’t even know, it’s too early”

TSO: Tried to give me some words of wisdom, but luckily didn’t push the issue further since I just wanted to get through and get to Starbucks.

In the past I’ve tried the (matter of fact tone) “I’m not telling you” or “It’s right here on my boarding pass” or just made up a city, but that usually sours them and they come back with more questions.

Since 2007 I’ve been able to maintain Premier Executive on United and Gold Medallion on Delta, but this year I had initially avoided any west coast clients and opted for more local clients.  I also had a few clients with odd restrictions leading me to drive hours and fly Southwest instead of my usual carriers.

Ultimately I find myself with 9 segments (or 17,000 miles) remaining to requalify for Gold on Delta with 3 pending being credited and 4 upcoming next week leaving just 2 total…definitely something I can swing out of pocket.  Since I’m so far off mileage-wise that is why I chose the extra 2 months for the Sky Club.

United, on the other hand, has me needing 12,354 EQM or 18.5 EQS.  I’m picking up 4 EQS/4,000EQM this week, but that leaves me with 8,000+ EQM.

Since I currently have a contract pending on a house with several months before the short-sale will close I can’t pick up any credit cards for the EQM bonus, plus I just got the JP Morgan card from Chase so I need to wait a bit before applying with them again anyway, but my lender told me they don’t want me to open any new lines before closing so I will hang tight until that’s all settled.

I guess I need to play around with a few routings.  I did a 7,000 mile run last year so 8,000 isn’t too bad, but I just have to decide what matters more: money for unexpected purchases with this house or maintaining 1P.  I’m leaning towards 1P, but if I can get 8,000 EQM under $300 I won’t object!

I did manage to maintain my Hilton Diamond status and Marriott Silver status so hotels are fine, but qualifying by miles instead of segments is much easier so I’m suffering this year.

I decided to stick with the Delta Sky Club.  It doesn’t hurt that right after my query Delta decided to post this:

Join now to get two extra months free or 1,500 Medallion Qualification Miles.

ShareThis

Hello Fly Gracefully, There’s still time to get an exclusive holiday gift from the Delta Sky Club, but you have to purchase or renew your membership by December 31, 2011.Just use one of the special promotion codes below to receive your choice of one of two exciting holiday gifts: Two free additional months of membership (use promo code HP2MF) 1,500 Medallion® Qualification Miles (use promo code HPMQM) And, if you’re purchasing a new membership, we’ll also waive the initiation fee (a $50 savings). At the Delta Sky Club, you can relax, unwind or do business in stylish, comfortable surroundings at more than 50 airport Clubs and 35 partner lounges worldwide. Our award-winning Club’s exceptional amenities include: Fully stocked bars with complimentary beer, wine, and cocktails, and our new Luxury Bar in select locations A variety of tasty and healthy snacks served all day Free Wi-Fi, satellite TV and wireless printers Clean, private restrooms (and showers in some locations) Remember, just use one of the two promotion codes above when you purchase a one- or three-year membership by December 31, 2011, to receive your gift. We look forward to welcoming you at the Club soon. Happy Holidays!

The MQM were tempting, but this year I’ll re-qualify on segments so I decided to go for the extra 2 months instead.

I don’t know why I’ve been missing the boat for so long, but I love the *$s app.  A lot of flyertalkers talk about using Starbucks gift cards and I thought they just like carrying around several pieces of plastic.  I live right across the street from a Starbucks so I decided to check out the app, plus sales people at my company seem contractually obligated to visit Starbucks every morning so I figured it’s probably a good thing to get.

It locates starbucks which I expected, but when I tried to sign in for the rewards program I learned I needed a starbucks card.  I didn’t want a card because that’s another card in my already full wallet.  Then I learned about how the app can be used to pay so I don’t need to carry around the card (except not all places are equipped to handle the phones like ORD so those places just suck). I’m not too sure what I actually get for these rewards besides a free coffee on my birthday, but it’s still fun to have another program.

This means I can trek across the street with just my keys and my phone and grab some breakfast.  I can look up the nutrition information right on the app and pay with my phone.

They also have Android and Blackberry apps.

I think I might actually finally buy a house and I thought many programs used to have bonus miles for getting a mortgage on Lending Tree.

When I check out Delta’s Financial partners I don’t see anything about mortgages.

Chase does have a program with United, but I’d be just a couple thousand under the threshold to move up to 25,000 miles and it’s not worth a couple thousand to bump up and Chase doesn’t have a good enough rate to justify 12,500 miles.

I don’t do a lot with American, but I do see that Wells Fargo offers American Miles, but it mentions closing online.  I did apply online, but my application was sent to a retail branch so I wonder if meeting with that lady will disqualify me.  Also, I didn’t check into American before I applied so according to the WF terms I would not be eligible for miles (and they may not have passed me onto the retail branch).  I’m most likely doing a short sale so I think it will be easier if I have someone local who can close I’m not the one holding it up at all.

Is there a program I’m missing that does FHA loans?  I’m starting to think that a mortgage is like Lasik…you shouldn’t choose a provider based on who gives miles, but who meets your needs the most.

I am glad I was raised with American Express because I will stick by them through and through and this is how they repay me.

Stealing from Mommy Points

Here’s how it works:

1. Register your American Express card.  Unless you are making over 10 purchases at the eligible retailers, I don’t really see a huge need to register every single Amex you can find in your sock drawer, but do keep in mind you can only get 10 “gifts” per card.
2. Then, use that card to spend $25 or more at a participating online store between November 28 and December 21, 2011, and you could get a surprise gift.  Eligible retailers include: J. Crew, Pottery Barn, Toys R Us, Walmart, YoYo, Dell, REI, American Eagle Outfitters, Zappos, Blue Nile, Bed Bath and Beyond, the Nike Store, Game Stop, and more…  Yes, you can still go through a shopping portal, and yes you can buy gift certificates to meet the $25 spending requirement.  You get the idea……
3. After you make your purchase of at least $25 with an eligible retailer, you may receive a gift from Amex!  I am a little bit confused on whether every purchase gets a gift until the gifts are gone, or whether it is a bit random.  I did two Walmart purchases yesterday and both received gifts.  The first received a year of ShopRunner free, and that email came within minutes of the purchase.  The second purchase received a $5 Amex statement credit if I make another minimum $5 purchase at Walmart between now and February 29, 2012.  That email came about 18 hours after the purchase was made.  I plan to make a few more purchases at eligible retailers, so we will see what I get!

It’s that simple.  Register, spend $25 on something you needed anyway at one of the eligible retailers, and get a prize.  Some examples of available gifts are: $10 Walmart gift card, $500 American Express gift cards for you and three of your Facebook friends (psst, I’ll be your friend!), $300 Dell gift card, $25 Toys R Us gift card, statement credits, and Membership Reward points.

Are you already a part of the gift chain?  I learned through Twitter that chiefmbh bought $225 in Walmart gift cards and received statement credits and more gift cards.  Way to go!  (If you want to have fun with me on Twitter you can follow me @Mommy_Points)  What did you get from the gift chain?

 

Judging by the comments on her blog, most people seem to be getting Shoprunner memberships.

This is my annual reminder that if you are going to be shopping online, remember to check your favorite miles/points providers for extra points.  Check a few because Lucky and others here on Boarding Area have posted some bonuses for certain places only on specific days.

Check your airline, hotel, and credit card programs.  Also, don’t forget to check out sites such as Fat Wallet or Mr Rebates since they offer cash rebates.

I was hoping to get better scans of this up, but I guess I’ll just post what I have and scan the book on my flatbed when I get home…whenever that may be.  I used it in Canada this week for the first time, but only at the hotel and they just swiped my card.  I did educate my coworkers about chip technology, but ultimately they had to pick up the check so my card stayed in my wallet.

I’ve been a Delta Sky Club member for 3 years now.  My membership expired last month and I’m waiting to settle into my new position before requesting lounge membership.

My logic is that even though Charlotte only has 2 US Airways clubs and no other clubs, I use the club most often on layovers.  My layovers are usually either Atlanta or Terminal 2 of ORD.  Both of those locations have Delta Sky Clubs.  Also, Delta has had free alcohol for years while US always had cash bars.  Now US does have some free (except in PA) beer and wine so the value is coming up a bit.

I used to have United Red Carpet Club which gave me access to the US Airways clubs when flying US, but not other times.  I believe this has changed so maybe I investigate rejoining the RCC since I have status with United, but in Atlanta that leaves my lounge prospects very limited.

I do have the pay-per-use Priority Pass that comes with the Hilton Surpass card, but I can’t bill that back to my company.  They will pay annual membership for 1 lounge, but not a per-visit fee.  They also won’t reimburse credit card annual fees such as the AMEX Platinum charge card or else that would be quite tempting.  I will be evaluating my travel plans over the next few weeks and figure out what meets my needs the most in terms of access and amenities.