June 17
Reader Bryant from Hong Kong shares a list from BuzzFeed which includes “16 simple hacks to make flying suck less”. Now, if you’re a frequent flier and BoardingArea reader, I’d say most of these are pretty amateur. Additionally, I wouldn’t actually call any of these hacks…though I do like #2, #6 (very true), #11, and #13. Meanwhile, #16 isn’t even allowed on most carriers…
Check out the full list here.
PS – Flying never sucks when traveling on a first or business class award!
April 29
Via a special targeted link, Delta is offering “preferred partners” up to a Platinum status match, no challenge required.
Now, the offer is intended for new and existing corporate partners, but unfortunately I don’t know exactly which ones. You may want to google the largest companies in ATL, NYC, MSP, DTW, etc. The promotion is surely intended to attract corporate customer business, and it would make sense that potential targets would include the largest companies in Delta’s hub cities. From what I’ve heard, despite the T&Cs stating otherwise, you can send the request from any email account (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). You only need to list the company you “work for”. Once your request is received along with you credentials, your SkyMiles account will be updated within ten business days. Successful readers, feel free to share the companies you used in the comments section.
Too much work? Delta’s standard status match allows for matches up to Gold status. All you need to do is fax/email a copy of your current elite statement or elite card to the Delta Skymiles Service Center with “Attention: Elite Status Match”. That fax number is 404-773-1945 or email - SMSCEliteFaxes.Delta@delta.com. Unfortunately, more than not lately, Delta has been rejecting these requests and instead asking you to register for a status challenge (up to Platinum). See more details on the challenge here.
Remember, with any of the above methods, if you match (method 1/2) or register and complete the flight requirements (method 3) prior to June 30, 2013, your Medallion status will only be maintained until February 28, 2014. If you match or register for the offer on or after July 1, 2013 your Medallion status will be maintained until February 28, 2015. The longer you can wait the better, especially with word that Delta will be transitioning to a revenue based program after 2013.
T&Cs for the corporate match:
April 23
JetBlue has a unique promotion, offering savings (up to 40%) based on the number of family and friends you book on the same itinerary. The promotion expires today and valid flight dates are April 30th – June 19, 2013. Don’t worry, even if you are traveling alone, you still save 10%!
Flight Restrictions: Promo codes are valid 4/23/13 only (until 11:59 PM ET). Each code (case-sensitive) is good for the stated discount off the base fare of a roundtrip JetBlue flight (nonstop or connecting) originating from the United States (including Puerto Rico) for travel between 4/30/13 – 6/19/13 (Blackout Dates: 5/23/13 – 5/27/13). Roundtrip purchase required. Discount depends on number of customers per qualified roundtrip flight booking. Must select correct promo code in order for correct discount to appear; must select both outbound and return flights within the travel period in order to receive the discount. Each code (case-sensitive) is valid only for qualified roundtrip flights purchased on jetblue.com/promo; new bookings only; limit one code per booking. Changes/cancellations after 4/23/13 will result in the promo code discount being forfeited.
April 17
After December’s eight card 350K churn, I decided to go a little smaller this time around, only 5! Here are the cards I applied for, a description of why I signed up for each card, my results, and card details.
1)Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card - 50,000 Avios Offer
What & Why - I had heard rumblings that previous holders of this card were once again receiving the sign-up bonus if they met two requirements: 1)they were not current holders of the card and 2)they had last signed up for the card during the 100K promotions back in 2009 and 2010. Several members who signed up for the card in 2011 and were no longer holders were being approved but were NOT receiving the sign-up bonus. Well, I hadn’t had the card in well over a year and first signed up in 2010, meaning that I might get lucky and receive the bonus again. The 100K offer was over but the current 50k offer had a much simpler spending requirement of only $1000 within three months.
How - I applied online and was not automatically approved. I called Chase personal card reconsideration at 888-245-0625 and spoke to a nice representative. She noted that I had several cards currently with Chase and that they would be unable to extend me additional credit. I explained to her that I planned to be traveling much more often with British Airways and really needed the card. I asked if there was any way we could move credit from one of my other current cards. She asked me which card and I suggested my Chase Sapphire Preferred card which has a very high credit limit. Within a few minutes I was approved. I actually applied for this card out of sequence so that I could blog about whether the miles would post again. I’ve been waiting for them to post before writing this entry and they finally did yesterday! I used my current Avios number (the same that was on my profile before) and had no problem (interestingly enough, Chase still refers to the membership number in the application as your Executive Club account).
Card Details - BA offers amazing redemption opportunities on short-haul flights and points can be used for cheap awards on American Airlines award redemptions within North America, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. Additionally, BA allows household accounts where up to 7 members residing at the same address can combine and pool their points together. NYC Dining Credits – MY FAVORITE NON MILEAGE PERK OF THE CARD! If you are in the NYC area there is another great reason to get the card, the MICHELIN $100 back dining offer. The offer usually appears at least once per year but has been offered twice per year at times. The offer itself completely offsets the $95 annual fee for the card. You can also book your tables online at opentable.com to earn those points as well. The card also has no foreign transaction fees and chip with signature technology. The current offer is for 50,000 bonus Avios after you make $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
2)United Mileage Plus Explorer Card - Up to 30,000 miles
What & Why - I last got this card while United and Continental were still in the process of merging. I wanted to be able to receive sign up bonuses for both the Continental and the United cards prior to the programs merging. The current public offer is only for 30,000 miles after $1000 spend in the first 3 months and 5,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account and make a purchase with your card during the first 3 months, however you can up that offer to55,000 miles plus a potential additional 10,000 by following the link in this forum (refer to post 1654). The offers awards 50K after spending $1000 in 3 months, another 5K for adding an authorized user, and a final 10K for spending 25K on the card each year. I wanted to give the UA 55K trick a try and applied.
How - I really didn’t want to apply for any Chase cards on this churn and here I was applying for my second! I applied online using the detailed instructions provided in the links above, but I was not automatically approved. I called Chase personal card reconsideration at 888-245-0625 and spoke to another helpful representative. She noted that I had several cards currently with Chase and that I was just recently approved for a BA card. I explained once again that I planned to be traveling much more often on British Airways for my international travel but now also on United Airlines domestically and that I wanted the card to purchase those tickets and receive free checked bags. I asked if there was anyway we could move credit from one of my other current cards. Again, after a little adjusting of the credit limits, I was approved for the new card.
Card Details- There is no annual fee the first year, so the 55k miles are essentially free. The card also includes a free checked bag for each card members and a companion, priority boarding, warranty protection, and rental insurance.
2b) I had hoped to apply for my first Alaska Airlines card from Bank of America, however there were no special offers in all of Q1. In 2012, there was a 35K offer in February / March and then a 40K offer in June / July. I’ll keep waiting until a bigger offer than the standard 25K appears again…hopefully for the next churn.
3)Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express – 25,000 offer AGAIN
What & Why – For years, the T&Cs on AMEX product applications stated that you could not receive any new cardmember bonus if you had the same card within the previous 24 months. For me this meant I churned an SPG personal and business account in alternating years, receiving the full bonus for one of the cards each year and having each of the cards every two years. In addition, I maintained my original SPG personal card as it is one of my oldest accounts. Now, I say full bonus above because AMEX generally awards points/miles for new cards in two ways:1)Bonus first purchase points/miles and 2)Bonus points/miles for spend in x months. The 24 month limit seemed to apply only to the first purchase points as several churners reported success receiving the points for spend in x months regardless of the time since they last had the card. All this changed in late August when the following updated language was noted within the T&Cs “Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have had this product within the last 12 months.” I decided to break from my SPG alternating application year sequence and apply for another SPG card to test the new language. I was just shy of the 12 month mark but included the card in the churn so that at least some of my credit pulls could be combined and I wouldn’t waste a separate pull on a bonus I might not receive. Well it worked, at 11 months and 23 days after receiving the same SPG personal bonus, I received both the 10,000 bonus Starpoints after first purchase and the 15,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months.
How – I applied online and and did not receive automatic approval. It was late on a Sunday though and I was not able to connect with the reconsideration line. When I went to call on Monday, the card was still pending. Key takeaways:
Card Details- This new language is applicable for both the personal card and the business card. Both cards earn up to 25,000 bonus points: 10,000 after your first purchase and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership. To be safe, several recommend not already having the same identical card product. Also, you may want to wait until Labor Day as last year SPG upped the sign-up bonuses to 30K on both cards during that time. These are the current best personal and business SPG offers.
4) Barclays US Airways Premier World MasterCard® – Trying for a 3rd card!
What & Why – I wrote a post back in February titled My Experience with the Barclays US Churn – Not as Easy as Advertised…but still doable, well I think I’ll be editing it as things have actually gotten a lot tougher since then. Most speculated that Barclays would get easier with their approvals for this card as it became clear that Citibank would most likely become the issuer for the new American. In that post, I used my family as guinea pigs and wrote “The good – you can definitely get another card and bonus. The bad – timing plays a role but the waiting periods vary based on individual and are uncertain.” Specifically for myself, I noted that
I first applied for the card in December 2011. I decided to wait the full year and obtain my retention bonus of 10k miles, my annual US Airways club pass, and the $99 annual companion ticket prior to canceling my card. Once the annual fee posted, I called Barclays and canceled my card but kept all the annual goodies. I re-applied two weeks later in December 2012 and was instantly approved. The bonus miles have already posted and I’m currently waiting and hoping for the 15K offer. My strategy is now to hold the card for six months (June 2013) and then re-apply without canceling the current card. If that doesn’t work I’ll cancel the card, wait another month or so, and the re-apply again.
How – Well, a lot has changed since then. I received the awesome 15K offer on my current card and another 1000 via a separate offer with my paper statement today so perhaps I’ve gotten greedy. I wrote that I was going to wait six months to apply for another personal card but instead I pulled the trigger at the four month mark, which according to several readers was plenty long enough (over the 91 day mark). I applied online and received the dreaded application pending message. I called the Barclays reconsideration line at 866-408-4064 and spoke with Tom. He informed me that I had been denied as I already had a US Airways identical product type. I explained to him why I needed another (and it was a very good excuse) and although he understood, he said that they were not allowed to approve me for the same exact product that I already had. He mentioned that I was welcome to apply for the business card instead. I decided to call back again (and again and again) for a total of 5 tries. I can sadly confirm that it seems that Barclays is no longer approving those who already have the card and are trying for another identical card. However, here’s the good news, you can apply risk free as the system does NOT pull your credit report if they identify you as a current cardmember. I was told by each representative that no hard pull was triggered for the application. As such, in my next churn I will apply for the card again (at that time I will have fulfilled the requirements to receive my additional 15K bonus and I’ll have the old card canceled).
Card Details – There are multiple application links for the US Airways cards. The standard offer is for 30K points after your first purchase with an annual fee of $89 no waived. However, there are non public links waiving the fee as well. See this post for full details.
Well, I guess this wasn’t the most successful churn, I’m still happy with the points earned and the ability to share some new data points on the BA, SPG, and US Airways cards! Additionally, my Barclays application resulted in no credit pull, leaving my TransUnion score untouched. Remember, to get your free Experian score from Credit Sesame as well as your free TransUnion score from CreditKarma prior to any churn. Also, be sure to track your spending requirements, which I do using a simple Excel sheet…
Happy Churning All, I’m off to get some Vanilla Reloads to hit my minimum spend!
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.
October 5
Check out Conde Nast’s slideshow of the best business hotels in the 15 cities with the highest scoring business facilities, inclusive of: Sydney, Vancouver, Toronto, London, Hong Kong, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, Beverly Hills, and Seattle.
Courtesy Conde Nast
August 7
As per yesterday’s post, AMEX increased the sign-up offers to 30,000 on both the SPG Personal and SPG Business cards from August 7 – September 4, though they somehow messed something up on the backend, resulting in readers receiving the following message “This offer is no longer available. If you’d still like to apply for an American Express card, click here.” I just received word that this has been fixed and that the offers are both now live again. Click here to find out why these have been two of my favorite cards for the last ten years.
W Koh Samui - One of My Favorite SPG Properties
July 14
Just a reminder that this is the final weekend to score 94,000 Club Carlson points for stays at Radisson and Country Inn & Suites.
July 12
Can you imagine reaching any location on the planet in less than an hour? It may sound like something out of a science fiction novel but according to space.com the U.S. military hopes to have a hypersonic rocket jet with such capabilities in as little as four years. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) confirmed last Wednesday that they are working on the X-plane, a rocket plane that will be capable of flying at Mach 20 (20 times the speed of sound) or 13,000 mph!
For comparison sake, the Concorde was capable of flying at Mach 2.04 or 1,354 mph and had a range of about 4,500 miles. The average flight time between London and New York was just 3 hours and 20 minutes.
The timeline might be questionable considering that a test flight last August stayed afloat for only nine minutes after reaching Mach 20. I do think they’ll eventually figure it out in the next ten years but don’t get your hopes up on this technology transitioning to passenger service any time soon.
Writing this entry got me thinking about redeeming miles on the Concorde. Unfortunately, I had just gotten into the miles game as the Concorde was being retired from active service but wow that would have been the ultimate redemption (not that I’m not excited about my two recent Singapore First Class redemptions). Did you know you were able to redeem AA, Delta, Continental, and SPG miles and points amongst others for a trip? Considering these were considered first class seats the rates weren’t bad either, especially with the SPG Qantas trick -
125,000 AAdvantage Miles
100,000 SPG Points
200,000 OnePass Miles
160,000 SkyMiles
125,000 US Airways Miles
200,000 Membership Rewards Points
Westbound
BA173 LHR 0930 JFK 0829. Daily but not operated in August
AF001 CDG 1100 JFK 0845. Daily
BA171 LHR 1115 JFK 1014. Daily
Eastbound
BA172 JFK 1015 LHR 1900. Daily but not operated in August.
BA170 JFK 1215 LHR 2100. Daily
AF002 JFK 1300 CDG 2245. Daily
May 8
This is part two of a five part trip report from my travels to the UAE and Egypt. This report includes my review of the Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa, the business class flight from Dubai – Cairo, the Emirates Business Class lounge in Dubai, and the best of our activities in Dubai.
Arrival
Picking up where we left off, upon landing it was off to passport control and customs where Emirates had a special clearance section for both First and Business class passengers. I was the first to arrive and cleared passport control in under five minutes. I did have some trepidation as I had an Israeli entrance stamp in my passport from a year earlier. Most of the reports I had read seemed to indicate that this was fine with a US passport, though a few did reference some difficulties when trying to enter the UAE . I decided to chance it even though it was going to be hard to miss the stamp which was on one of only three blank pages left in my passport. As it turns out, my particular border guard could care less, in my passport there is peace in the Middle East, my UAE and Israeli entrance and exit stamps share the same page!
Our courtesy Emirates chauffeur was waiting for us upon exiting the Dubai terminal in a BMW 528i with two cold waters and a set of cool towels. It was March and it was nice to feel the heat after arriving from New York. We were heading for Dubai Marina where our friend was living after being transferred from the US only a few months earlier. As in New York, the ride included all tolls and gratuities and our driver went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and safety. Our friend lived in a new development within Dubai Marina and there weren’t many clear indications that we were at the right building, no street numbers or zip codes. Our driver insisted on waiting for us until I waved back at him to indicate that it was the right building. Not even five minutes later I received a call from Emirates to ensure that I had arrived safely. The level of service was really impressive and I couldn’t believe that I had only redeemed 150,000 miles for the entire trip (especially with the business class passenger in front of me spending just under $11k for his round-trip business flight).
Emirates Chauffeur Slip - Dubai
Dubai Marina
Exploring
I had no idea that Dubai was going to have such a tropical vacation feel to it. Prior to the trip I knew of Dubai’s location along the Persian Gulf coast, however I don’t think I realized just how many of the hotels and restaurants would be along the water. Sitting at dinner that first night in Dubai Marina, I almost felt as if I was back on one of our yearly family vacations in the Caribbean. Once dinner was done it was time to decide where to head out for the night. We decided on Boudoir which was located at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It is illegal in Dubai to serve or sell alcohol to Muslims and all others require a license to officially purchase alcohol. As such, alcohol is typically sold at restaurants, bars and nightclubs attached to hotels where you’ll find the tourists.
Boudoir
Boudoir felt like a typical New York club, though with great beach views outside and a large number of Australian based Emirates flight attendants inside. They were a fun crowd and were definitely making the most of their layovers. A vodka soda at the club was priced at $12, though gigantic Belvedere bottles seemed to be the way to go. We saw one table receive five of them at $1000 a piece. The DJs were internationally known and music was a mix of Top 40, R&B, and house music.
Belvedere anyone?
The next day we started with lunch at Anar, a Persian restaurant located at Souk Madinat Jumeirah. The food was excellent, though the prices made it feel a bit touristy. I still say it’s completely worth it with a view like this…
Lunch - View from Anar
Lunch @ Anar
Next it was off to see Burj Dubai Tower, the tallest building in the World @ 1,670 feet tall – 2 1/2 Empire State Buildings.
Dubai Tower
We then made our way to the gold and spice souks that weren’t all that impressive. They don’t come close to comparing to any of the souks I’ve been to in Morocco or Turkey and they are a decent taxi ride away from the majority of the other attractions. I thought they would be the “authentic” part of the Dubai trip but unfortunately they were more touristy than the malls! Remember to check the taxi rates before heading out, our driver was using a “special” meter that I picked up on right away.
Speaking of Malls…
Dubai Mall - One of the "Largest Malls" and one of the "Largest Aquarium Tanks"
Please Wear Respectful Clothing...next to a Forever 21, Mall of the Emirates
Ski Dubai - Mall of the Emirates
Snowball Fight - Ski Dubai - Mall of the Emirates
No Kissing or Overt Displays of Affection - Mall of the Emirates Courtesy Policy
Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa
The next day was all about relaxing and we decided we were in need of some beach time. There are some public beaches in Dubai, but as a Platinum SPG member I figured why not check out the Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa on Jumeirah Beach. The front desk staff were extremely gracious but still requested the standard $30 per person rate for use of the facilities for the day, inclusive of the beach, pool, and any non motorized water-sports. I went and spoke to the concierge who “in gratitude of my loyalty” allowed the three of us the same access for $30 total, including unlimited water bottles all day long. Not a bad deal. The property has expansive outdoor space with three pools, tennis courts, and most importantly a huge beach with enough loungers for guests (and visitors). The staff were extremely accommodating and came around constantly with water bottles, drinks, and cold snacks. The water temperature, both in the sea and in the pools was perfect and we were offered complimentary kayaks, banana boats, and snorkel gear.
While the grounds are amazing, we did talk to a few guests who had mixed thoughts on their rooms as well as the indoor common areas. The overall feeling seemed to be that the rooms were comfortable but still needed to be updated and modernized. However, they were all extremely pleased with the expansive and well kept grounds, beach-front access, and service levels. One important thing to note, the hotel does NOT award SPG points for stays, though they do provide a welcome gift and “preferred room allotment”.
Other Sightseeing Highlights
Cocktails at sunset overlooking the sea and the seven star Burj Al Arab Hotel
Burj Al Arab - Cocktails & Sunset
Medzo Mediterranean open air restaurant – Wafi Mall, reasonable and some of the best food we had in Dubai.
Medzo Mediterranean
Barasti Beach Bar – Located at the Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort on the Arabian Sea, is a much more laid back scene than Boudoir. Some people were dressed up while others were still in bathing suits, it truly felt like a beach bar on the night we were there. The music was a mix of top 40 and reggae. Again, it seemed like a majority of the people we met were Emirates flight attendants on layovers. They definitely know how to party in between their trips.
Our final activity in Dubai consisted of dune bashing on the Arabian sand dunes with some camel riding, belly dancing, and henna thrown in. We booked our trip with our pseduo hotel, the Le Méridien, who offered a lower price than the tour company’s website. What is dune bashing? As per Wikipedia, “Dune bashing, also known as desert safari, is a form of off-roading, using an off-road vehicle to explore sand dunes. Similar to auto-racing, experience and skill is required to maneuver the car and prevent accidents. Hence, in most cases, a professional driver accompanies the group.” Essentially, you are in a 4×4 vehicle riding up and then sliding down the dunes. Check out a video here.
Emirates Business Dubai – Cairo
Well, our time in Dubai was over but I was excited to get back to the airport to check out the Emirates Business Class Lounge. Check-in was easy as there were at least 15 business class check-in desks. We were checked in and through security in under 10 minutes. Unfortunately for us there was a fire alarm pulled and I was only briefly able to check out the business lounge and snap a few pictures. The hot dishes looked extremely similar to those we had at JFK, but the lounge was probably 5x the size. It was gigantic with plenty of seating for dining or relaxing.
The flight from Dubai to Cairo was about 3 hours and 45 minutes and included dinner service on board the Boeing 777-200. To be honest, it’s sort of hard to not be disappointed after flying on the A380 from JFK to Dubai. The 3 class 777-200 included only recliner seats in business and a relatively small tv. However, the service was still top notch, the food excellent (I had the mezze and mixed grill), and we were still provided with a full amenity kit.
The flight arrived 20 minutes early and the chaos in Egypt was about to begin. Until the next post…
