I returned from Frequent Traveler University Sunday afternoon. I regret I could not stay for the entire program on Sunday, but I needed get back to DC. Next time, I will plan better and ensure I can stay for the entire 2 days! If I came away with anything this weekend I would summarize it in 3 items:

1. What a great group of people.
2. What a great group of people.
3. What a great group of people.

Any questions? Seriously, it was nice meeting so many people with like minds on travel. It was especially gratifying to meet readers of this blog. I hope I said this to every reader that I spoke to personally, but just in case I flubbed, please accept my sincere thanks for reading MJ on Travel. It was a joy to speak to some readers personally, and my time with you will help me make the blog better. As for other lessons learned from the weekend, some of the information was a great refresher, and as always, I learned some new things. I’ll endeavor to leverage those lessons in producing content for this blog that helps you travel well for an affordable price. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.

MommyPoints covers the credit card showdown which I missed. Turns out that the SPG Amex card is the best card in the galaxy!!

The Wandering Aramean offers an excellent summary of the session with United Airlines.

Also, mark your calendars for the west coast edition of Frequent Traveler University coming to Los Angeles December 7-9, 2012. Yes, I’m planning on attending. Monitor this Milepoint thread for details as they are released.

Disclosure: If you apply for and receive a credit card through the link provided in this post, I will receive a referral bonus. 

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

It’s a really quiet Sunday afternoon at the US Airways B/C Club in Philadelphia. I’m sure things are busier over at the A terminal with the upcoming wave of international outbounds, but wow, it’s almost serene here. I arrived at Newark Liberty (EWR) a little earlier than I’d planned. Wandered through security and down to my gate. Found the earlier flight to Philadelphia (PHL) boarding and figured what the heck. I just asked if I could take the earlier flight, and sure enough, the agent moved me right onto the flight.

I arrived in PHL in time to take an earlier flight to Washington (DCA), but I decided to camp out here, relax, and explore the US Club. Not to mention, my choice was taking an earlier CRJ flight, or waiting for my A319 flight where I have exit row seating. The Airbus won! After a quick stop at Vino Volo, my favorite airport hangout , I wandered up to the B/C club. Life is good. I also had a chance to check out US Airways version of “heartier” snacks in the afternoon for the European departures, a change they’ve put in place in Charlotte and Philadelphia. I didn’t bother with the fire roasted vegetable soup (which looked great), but did go for the olives, chips & salsa, cheese, and crackers. Here’s an example of my domestic airline lounge smorgasbord!

I’m a fan of olives, what can I say? And no, the Mi-Fi was not included. A fitting wind down to a fantastic Frequent Traveler University weekend. I’ll have a few words about this weekend’s FTU event coming up early this week. Stay tuned.

Reader J. writes:

We currently have a lot of UR points and AA points. Probably using as much of them as we can for travel to China. We are planning on cruising the beginning of 2013. I have cruised 4 times on Norwegian and am a Latitudes member so I would like to stick with them. They currently have a Bank of America Card with a 10,000 point bonus. Do you know if any of my other rewards could be used or of any other better offers. Any suggestions are appreciated.

MJ responds:

I think NCL’s credit card issued by BofA is quite similar to the Royal Caribbean card, also issued by BofA, that I recently wrote a post about. It’s OK for a fee-free backup credit card, but in most instances, you would usually be better off concentrating on one of the other points cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold card. You can cash in 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points for a $200 dollar gift card on Royal Caribbean or Carnival. In your case of desiring to cruise NCL, you could simply cash out 20,000 points and Chase will give you a $200 dollar statement credit or send you a check for $200 dollars.

With the NCL card, you get a 10,000 point first purchase bonus, which equals $100 dollars in onboard spending money. After that, you’re earning 1 point per dollar for all of your non NCL purchases and 2 points per dollar with NCL. That $100 dollars is free money, but in your day to day spending is where the Sapphire or Ink Bold really shine. Sapphire = 2 points per dollar on on dining and travel and the Ink Bold could net you 5 points per dollar in categories like cell phone expenses, landline phone, internet access, and cable tv; 2 points per dollar at gas stations and hotels; and 1 point elsewhere. In other words, you could be earning more points per dollar that are more valuable than those offered by the NCL card and offer better bottom line cash benefits to you that you can use on your cruises. I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back with any questions or comments.

Anything I missed on this? One thing I can already think of (and that I learned more about at FT University) is possibly adding the Chase Freedom card to the mix. Since the reader already has at least one Ultimate Rewards card, they may be limited in what they can add. Any thoughts from other readers?

US Airways Vacations is giving away a cool 1 million miles and a vacation too. If you purchase a US Airways Vacation, you’ll be automatically entered into the contest, but no purchase is necessary. Contest runs through June 4, 2012. And you can enter up to once per day. The vacation looks pretty great if you’re into Disney.

• 4 First Class tickets to Orlando (from within the U.S.)
• Four (4) nights accommodations in one (1) standard room at a Disney Value Resort, Disney Moderate Resort or Disney Deluxe Resort hotel of your choice at the Walt Disney World® Resort
• Four (4) 4-Day Magic Your Way Tickets with Park Hopper® Option
• Four (4) Walt Disney World® VIP tours (each tour length is a maximum of 4 hours; no more than one tour per day and no more than one tour per theme park)
• A $500 Disney Gift Card

As always, please review the complete contest terms and conditions. You can enter by clicking here.

Hat tip to TPG.

I’m excited to return to the NYC area this year for Frequent Traveler University. It’s a big weekend for frequent traveler news and events with tonight’s Freddie Awards ceremony, and tomorrow’s Randy Petersen Travel Executive Summit. Unfortunately, I won’t make it to those events, but I will be boarding Amtrak’s Acela tomorrow evening to take in the great Frequent Traveler University seminars this weekend. If you’re attending the seminar be sure to say hello. Find me on @Twitter.

Look, I like US Airways. Yes, I realize that places me a little behind everyone else, but they really are running a reasonably reliable airline. They also sent me an email tonight that details something useful they are offering to some flyers. US Airways is calling it PreferredAccess. Here’s the scoop according to them.

Soon we will extend the PreferredAccess program to allow non-Preferred customers to add priority check-in, security and boarding to their trip during Web Check-in for a fee. This new program will not change your Preferred benefits. You’ll still enjoy complimentary priority check-in and security as you do now. In addition, you and your traveling companions will still board with the same priority – right after First Class and Envoy passengers. Customers who pay for PreferredAccess will board after you. And, you’ll continue to enjoy all the rewards of being a Preferred member, including unlimited complimentary upgrades, waived baggage fees, Preferred seating and more.

This is nothing that the other airlines aren’t doing. Offering certain “preferred” services in exchange for a fee. One thing I will say. This adds fuel to the fire of those who say that entry level elite status is no longer worth pursuing. I mean seriously, most of the airlines are offering the benefits of entry level status to all flyers, either through a credit card or these fee-added offers. Yes, I still get an upgrade to first class from time to time that these benefits don’t offer, but I have to acknowledge that most of the benefits of entry level elite status are now matched by carrying a particular credit card of your preferred airline or by paying a small fee. What do you think?

This weekend’s New York Times article on travel agents really caught my eye. The title of the article, “Are Travel Agents Back?” suggests that the travel agent was near extinction. I would opine that the kind of travel agent that is successful today has been there through all of the bad times and is now more successful than ever. To be sure, the days of agents making a living booking airline tickets are long gone. But if you are the kind of agent that can help a client create a travel experience to remember, then business appears to be good.

I have been using the services of a Virtuoso affiliated travel agent for 4 years, and greatly value the services of a good agent. While I’d never use an agent to book an airline ticket, I book all of my cruises with my agent. Can I book a cruise on my own? You bet I can. Can I put together an enriching tour of historical sites complete with transportation and an experienced guide? Well…maybe, but I don’t have the time. I enjoy a certain amount of researching in advance of a trip and really don’t mind running the logistics of booking flights and sometimes hotels. Most of my flights for vacation are booked with miles so I handle those on my own, but arranging for tours of foreign locales is something I like to sometimes use a professional.

I can buy a book and meander around London just fine on my own, but when I’m working on limited time and visiting historical sites like Ephesus, portions of Rome, Iceland (I wish I’d been blogging in 2004!!) or any number of other spots around our world a professional travel agent can truly help you create an experience you won’t forget.

Got a minute? Good. Let’s chat. I told myself I wasn’t going to apply for the new 100,000 Avios British Airways Visa from Chase, but it’s starting to taunt me. I am not a prolific credit card “flipper” like a lot of my more motivated blogging brethren, but 100,000 Avios is 100,000 Avios. Actually, it’s 125,000 Avios since you earn 1.25 per dollar spent and you have to spend $20,000 dollars to get the full bonus. Of course, BA charges hefty fuel surcharges on its awards, but when you figure the price of a premium cabin ticket vs paying the fuel surcharge, it makes me feel a little better.

What is it about the card that is calling my name? It’s not so much the 100,000 Avios as it is the possibility of 250,000 (or more) Avios IF MrsMJonTravel and I both procured the card. Since there are 2 of us, we can pool our Avios in a household account, and given MrsMJonTravel’s penchant for shoes and my spendthrift habits, there’s a good chance we can not only hit the minimum spend for the 100,000 Avios each, but one of us might even be able to hit $30,000 and receive a companion ticket that the card offers as well. However, that would require our dedicating all spending to this card…..and that’s the only thing holding me back right now….. but maybe not for long.

LINK: The British Airways Visa with Up to 100,000 Avios Bonus

Disclosure: If you apply for and receive the BA Visa through the link I provided, I will receive a referral bonus. I appreciate your readership whether you apply through my link or not.

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.

Yes, it’s come to this. During my 10-day adventure on a special project at work I’m blogging about the arrival of my Starwood Preferred Guest Gold membership card. I picked the Le Meridien Bora Bora for the “design your own card” choice. Now I have to go there. In addition to the card, I received 4 “You Made my Stay” certificates to give to employees for exceptional service, and a brief guide describing the program’s benefits. I really believe that SPG’s entry level status may be among the best of the major hotel loyalty programs with their recent addition of perks like a choice of internet access, a complimentary cocktail, or bonus Starpoints.

Tuesday was a big day at work for more reasons than a special project too. As you probably know, NASA delivered the retired Shuttle Discovery to Washington Dulles for display at the National Air & Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. On the way to Dulles, the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, an ex American Airlines 747-123 made several passes around DC. I expected one pass around town, but there must’ve been 3 or 4. Imagine my surprise when I looked outside the office window to see the Shuttle and her 747 carrier heading directly over. A colleague was able to snap some decent photos.

I’m trying to round up a few more shots. I still remember the first launch of Shuttle Columbia. It was big news, and it makes me just a tiny bit sad that we currently do not have a manned space flight program we can call our own.