I found out late last night that I would need to travel to Raleigh (RDU) today. I priced various airline options and found fares ranging from $700 to $900 dollars roundtrip. I might pay that to fly somewhere, but certainly not for a 50 minute flight on an RJ from Washington, DC (DCA) to Raleigh. Yes, I have miles, but I just couldn’t bring myself to consider using miles for a 50 minute flight. I settled on Amtrak for $100 bucks, and booked the ticket this morning before 6am. I packed and dropped by my office to pick up my work laptop and tie up a few loose ends. While there, the thought of a 5 hour plus train ride began to weigh on me. Yes, I could spend that time getting some work done, but it really seemed to defeat the purpose of a last minute trip. I really needed to get to NC sooner rather than later.

I took a look at AA.com and sure enough, they had seats at the 12,500 mile one-way level for a flight leaving in 2 hours. Great! I immediately cancelled my train ticket, and started booking a mileage award ticket. I could figure out the return later. $2.50 and 12,500 miles and I was done. And then it hit me. What the heck was I thinking?!?!?! I could have transferred some Ultimate Rewards points earned through my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to my British Airways Avios account and booked an award on AA that way!!! Ugh! Oh well, life goes on, and things have turned out so well in NC that I can now think about making plans to get back home to DC.

This time, I searched for availability using ba.com. I found 2 flights that would work for me with award availability. 4,500 Avios and $2.50. You can’t shake a stick at that!! Heck, I could buy 5,000 Avios for under $200 dollars. Could it be that the real beauty of Avios and the British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase is using it on short-haul flights in the USA? I know I’ve had readers comment to that affect, and read similar thoughts from other bloggers. This experience has made a believer out of me. Now, I’d probably still prefer to use Avios on a long-haul premium class trip, even with their fuel surcharges, but Avios may be an ideal solution to short-haul flights that are priced way to high. This settles the “do I get the Avios Visa or not” question for me.

Chase Sapphire Preferred℠ Card

British Airways Visa Signature Card®

Disclosure: If you apply for and receive a credit card through the links provided here, I will receive a referral bonus. I appreciate your readership whether you apply for a card through my links or not.

Gary has a fascinating post on today’s American Airlines media event announcing its forthcoming enhancements to their business class seats in the 777-200 and 767-300 fleets. As has been suspected in some circles, American will be eliminating the First Class cabin from the 777-200 fleet and installing full flat business seats. These are very nice seats, all of which will offer direct access to the aisle as opposed to American’s current configuration, which even features a center seat in Business Class on the 777 and being trapped on the window in the 767. In short, a guarantee that if you are in one of the window seats or the dreaded center seat on the 777, you will need a jar of vaseline and a parachute to have any hope of successfully extracting yourself from your seat for a trip to the restroom or to simply stretch your legs. Here’s a shot of the proposed new business seats courtesy of AA.com:

Pretty snazzy looking, especially compared to what they have now. While American is eliminating the First Class cabin from its 777-200s, the new 777-300s that begin arriving later this year will feature First Class cabins and updated seats like those depicted here, again courtesy of AA.com.

In other news, AA will complete the installation of wi-fi for its domestic narrowbody fleet by next summer. That’s longer than I would have hoped for, but it is nice to know that a firm date is in mind. As I’m sure you know, I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for American. It is good to see the airline making long overdue investments in its product. You can read American’s press information on the topic of its fleet enhancements here.

Well, this morning’s news about deals in the works between US Airways and the unions representing the majority of employees of American Airlines surely turned a lazy Friday on its head. I don’t comment on the viability of mergers, airline business plans, or anything else semi-controversial as a matter of practice. Not that I can’t, just that I don’t…and I have my reasons. That said, watch this one closely. I’ve predicted it for at least 3 years in private conversations. Could a three-way deal between US, BA and the money people known as TPG be in the offing, only time will tell. And no, I don’t know anything. Just speculating.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think a business combination between US and AA is the end of the world as we know it. In fact, I’ve often wondered what a bunch of outside the box thinkers might be able to accomplish with just such a franchise. I think I’ll pour myself another glass of cab, light a cigar, and watch with great interest. This could be an enlightening adventure for all of us.

OK…. It’s time. If you’ve got a little money to spend, and are interested in flying premium classes of service across the pond or even getting 4 American Airlines domestic coach class tickets for free, it’s time to apply for the Chase British Airways Visa. I’ve told my wife, my mother, my in-laws, my cousins, my friends, and anyone else I come across to get this card!!!! I previously posted about what a fabulous deal I think this is. And I haven’t even talked about the benefits of pooling your Avios together in a household account.

• You will get 50,000 bonus Avios after your first purchase
• 25,000 bonus Avios after you make $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
• Plus an additional 25,000 bonus Avios after you make an additional $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
• That’s enough Avios for one roundtrip business class reward ticket
• New: Smart Chip Technology allows you to use your card for chip based purchases in Europe & beyond, while still giving you the ability to use your card as you do today at home.
• Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad
• In addition to the bonus, you will also get 2.5 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1.25 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years

Apply here for this great offer.

BA does charge some hefty fuel surcharges for its awards, but their above average (at least when I’ve searched for it) premium class award availability combined with the fact that you can use their miles on Oneworld partners like Cathay, Qantas, and yes, even American, really make this card a compelling product for your travel wallet. That said, I must acknowledge that prior offers have been more generous than this as $20,000 dollars in spend is required to get the full bonus. On the other hand, I’m not sure how many miles or points we can reasonably expect to be given away. No matter what, this is a decent deal. It’s so decent that I’m going to do something no one else will do. Don’t trust me, or my affiliate links? Go here and apply for the same offer (not my affiliate link) directly with Chase. Yes, I’m that serious about your taking advantage of this opportunity.

Disclosure: If you apply for and receive a card through the links I’ve provided, I do receive a referral bonus except as noted as not my affiliate link. Of course, I’m very appreciative if you use my link to apply, but that’s by no means required. I appreciate your readership no matter what.

Yesterday’s news that Citi and American are finally getting their act together with their credit card game was welcome news indeed. The other card companies and their airline partners have long left Citi AAdvantage in the dust with superior benefits like waived baggage charges, priority boarding, and bonus miles for purchasing air travel with the airline or sometimes partners. Citi AAdvantage has been a stand out in not evolving with the times, but those days appear to be over. Take a look at the new card product’s benefits.

• First checked bag free for cardmembers and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after April 2, 2012. For example, a family traveling in the main cabin from JFK to LAX roundtrip with four checked bags could save $200.
• Priority boarding for cardmembers and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after April 2, 2012.
• Cardmembers earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount that can be used to book any available qualifying flight on AA.com for each year following which they spend $30,000 in purchases and renew their Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® card.
• 25 percent savings on in-flight purchases of food, beverages and headsets when purchases are made with the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® card or any other Citi® / AAdvantage® card.
• Ten percent miles back on AAdvantage miles redeemed by cardmembers, up to 10,000 miles per calendar year. For example, if the cardmember uses AAdvantage miles to book a 50,000 mile roundtrip flight, they will receive 5,000 AAdvantage miles back in their AAdvantage account approximately 6-8 weeks after booking.
• Double miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• No annual limit or cap on how many AAdvantage miles cardmembers can earn with card purchases.

If you are interested in applying for one of these cards, check out this offer. (Hat Tip to Mommypoints)

I’m happy to see American catching up in the credit card department, but this is also a key datapoint on why a lot of people feel that the value of entry-level elite status is declining. While I’m not quite ready to say that I’d trade in any level of elite status for one of these cards, I think it’s a legitimate point of discussion. Other than the potential of a First Class upgrade, the differences between entry level status at most airlines and the benefits offered by their card products are minimal. One outlier in all this, US Airways’ MasterCard offers priority boarding and check in, but no waiver of any kind for checked baggage fees. Wonder if they’ll be looking at this in the near future?

Just a quick word with a more thoughtful post to follow this evening. Good news from Citi and AAdvantage today as they are adding some significant new benefits to the Citi AAdvantage Card products that finally make them competitive with other offerings from Delta/Amex and United/Chase. The following is quoted directly from the joint press release announcing the new product:

“A full description of the new Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® cardmember benefits, designed to make the travel experience easier from booking to boarding and beyond, is below.

 The ability to earn more AAdvantage miles faster.

• Ten percent miles back on AAdvantage miles redeemed by cardmembers, up to 10,000 miles per calendar year. For example, if the cardmember uses AAdvantage miles to book a 50,000 mile roundtrip flight, they will receive 5,000 AAdvantage miles back in their AAdvantage account approximately 6-8 weeks after booking.
• Double miles on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• No annual limit or cap on how many AAdvantage miles cardmembers can earn with card purchases.

 More ways to save time and money when booking, boarding and beyond.

• First checked bag free for cardmembers and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after April 2, 2012. For example, a family traveling in the main cabin from JFK to LAX roundtrip with four checked bags could save $200.
• Priority boarding for cardmembers and up to four companions traveling on the same reservation for travel booked and ticketed on or after April 2, 2012.
• Cardmembers earn a $100 American Airlines Flight Discount that can be used to book any available qualifying flight on AA.com for each year following which they spend $30,000 in purchases and renew their Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® card.
• 25 percent savings on in-flight purchases of food, beverages and headsets when purchases are made with the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® card or any other Citi® / AAdvantage® card.

An annual fee of $95 applies. For new cardmembers, the annual fee is currently waived for the first 12 months. Starting today, existing cardmembers who have the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® Visa Signature, Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard, Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World Elite MasterCard and Citi® Select® / AAdvantage® American Express can enjoy the new benefits immediately, and will see the $95 fee on their next anniversary date after July 2012.”

All good news as far as I can tell, and as promised, I will have more to say on this development later this evening.

You may have heard me say that I was flipping Citi AAdvantage cards before I knew card flipping had a name. I’ve earned at least 250,000 miles from playing the card game, and if I’d had sense enough to start learning the miles game before I did, I’m sure that number would be 1 million miles. That said, I’ve had some fun and earned a few miles in my time before Citi shut down the real flipping game. A year or so back I applied for a couple of Citi cards and was turned down because I’d had a Citi AAdvantage card before.

Now that it’s been a couple years since I had an account, AND more importantly, because my AAdvantage balance is downright puny now, I decided to give Citi a try again. I applied for the Citi AAdvantage Visa and was immediately approved. $3,000 dollars in charges in 4 months and then I’ll have 50,000 miles in my account. A little 2-browser action could net you 100,000 miles if you apply for another Citi AAdvantage card, but I admit, I didn’t go for that this time.

In the interest of broadening our points base, I’m working on getting MrsMJonTravel (and the rest of my family that will listen to me) onboard with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa. I’ve been carrying the Sapphire card for a few months now, and it really is my go-to card. 2 points per dollar on travel expenses (including things like taxis and SuperShuttle) as well as dining expenses really make this an attractive card. Better yet, there are no foreign transaction fees. I just wish Chase would add a real “Chip and PIN” option for foreign travel!!! With widespread evidence that the great 50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points offer may now be going away, it may be the time to make a move on this card if you are interested in acquiring it. While a 40,000 bonus point offer has appeared on the Chase website, you can still earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 dollars in the first 90 days if you apply through my affiliate link.

Disclosure: If you apply for and receive the Chase Sapphire Preferred card through my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. I do not receive a commission for the AAdvantage card. Apply for the card you need most. I appreciate your readership no matter what!

Just catching up on a few things. As the absolute last person on earth to blog about AA Elite Rewards 2012, AA’s Double EQM offer for folks from certain states, and who knows what else, I thought a “catch up” post was in order. Hat tip to Gary and MommyPoints.

As Gary notes, AA’s Elite Rewards 2012 has been announced. It’s nice that they announced early this year as opposed to late summer last year. Note that the rewards are based on elite qualifying points (EQPs), and not miles. If you can fly this much, the rewards are quite nice, especially for Executive Platinums who can choose 2 rewards ranging from 35,000 bonus miles, 2 EVIP certificates (systemwide upgrades), Admirals Club membership, or gifting Gold status to a friend. Notice I said you can choose 2….so you could theoretically get 4 EVIP certs for hitting the rewards threshold which in the case of Executive Platinums is 125,000 EQPs. Of course, 70,000 miles might be more valuable to you in some cases…… but I really like those 4 EVIP certs….. too bad I can only day dream of being Executive Platinum for the time being. Click here, and then register with code ELTA2.

MommyPoints shares good news on double elite qualifying miles (EQMs) from American for residents in certain states. American had previously announced a promotion for residents of California, Illinois, and Texas to earn double EQMs for flights between Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO). Better yet, flights between ORD and Orange County, CA (SNA) have now been added to the promotion. From Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), flights to LAX and SFO qualify. Click here to register.

As for me, I’m off to Atlanta tomorrow morning for a quick 2-night business trip. The whole world knows I prefer any of the three Atlanta area W Hotels to most anything else, but unfortunately, none of them are within walking distance of my job site in the A-T-L. And this week, that trumps everything since I’m packing a week’s worth of work into 2.5 days. So it’s back to my old standby, the Embassy Suites. Hey, at least I’ll be collecting triple Dividend Miles. My Delta Medallion upgrade has cleared, and life is good.

American is finally starting to get its hard product act together. It’s no secret that I am a fan of American, AAdvantage, and AA’s Admirals Club lounges (their great staff more than the actual facilities), but I’m also honest in that I’ve long recognized that American was falling behind even its domestic competitors in the quality of its onboard product. Yesterday’s news that they would be adding a Main Cabin Extra (MCE) product in the coach cabin is welcome news for American’s highest revenue customers, and I can’t help but think that the benefits of that will flow to the bottom line. American cannot attract high revenue corporate customers without a competitive onboard product, and MCE, if implemented appropriately, will go a long way in making American competitive with the new United, and now Delta who is rolling out its own Economy Comfort product systemwide.

One might ask why this will work now when More Room Throughout Coach (MRTC) did not? It’s a fair question, but let’s look at then vs. now. MRTC spread seats out across the entire cabin. Certainly that made for a more comfortable flight for all coach passengers, but were they willing to pay for it? The answer to that was no. MRTC resulted in higher costs per seat and no increase in revenue. With MCE, fewer seats will be removed, and there is a differentiator…or a benefit to buying up to this product. Not only do you get more legroom, you also get priority boarding. There’s a difference in the main cabin and the MCE product, and I think the industry’s experience with unbundling and upselling in the last few years has proven that people will pay slightly more for what they perceive to be an improved product or service. MCE meets my definition for that.

MCE is just one of several product improvement initiatives underway at American. With the delivery of new B777-300′s this spring, American will finally begin to rollout a competitive business class product. You can see a picture of the new cabin here (link courtesy of AA). That cabin is competitive with almost any in the marketplace. These are all great things. Now, on to the soft product….. and that’s a blog post for another day or maybe even another blogger.

American Airlines announced this morning that they will be adding a “premium economy” section to their aircraft. These seats will be known as Main Cabin Extra and will be available for sale for a fee ranging from $8 to $108 dollars depending on the length of the flight. These seats will be available to Platinum and Executive Platinum members of the AAdvantage program and those who purchase a full-fare economy ticket for free. Additionally, Gold members will receive complimentary access through the end of December 2013. I assume they’ll have to pay the standard upcharge after that point.

In addition to an extra 4 to 6 inches of legroom, Main Cabin Extra customers will receive priority boarding. These seats will be available on American’s new B777-300 aircraft this spring, and will be introduced to the rest of the fleet within 18 months. You can read American’s press release on the new product here. Personally, I think this is a positive development for American, and one that I expect had to happen with the new United and now Delta offering similar products. Will US Airways do something like this? Hmmm.

I made it home late tonight, but in my mailbox was the thing that all those that fly wait for, my elite credentials for 2012. I’m a 1 million miler AAdvantage Gold elite, and while I think the value of elite status at the lower tier is declining overall, I can’t deny that I still appreciate my Gold status with American. Early boarding, First Class check in (or Business Class when there are separate biz and FC counters) waived baggage fees, and an not so unrespectable upgrade rate either, all things considered. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but hey…my elite card for 2012 got here in time.