Archive for the ‘US Airways’ Category

After our vacation and Christmas weekend, I’m back at my old reliable Sheraton for my final (business) trip of 2011. My last day up in the air will be on the 29th when we head up to New York for New Year’s. I’ll finish the year up with 310,328 MQMs (Member Qualifying Miles) on Delta, needing only 64,672 MQM by December 31,  2013, to re-qualify for Diamond through February 28, 2015. Perhaps it is time to share my business with another airline. I dunno.

Starwood properties took care of me with 71 stays and 146 nights.Thank God for those comfortable beds. Add a few nights at other properties and I’ve spent over 40% of my time in hotels, away from home, working. I think predicting a travel schedule is probably like trying to predict the stock market. You plan for one thing, everything points in a certain direction, and the next thing you know your plans are all up in the air — literally!

Don’t forget to register for the SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) promo running through the first quarter: SPG Better by the Night. With every stay from January 9 through April 8, 2012, at over 750 participating hotels and resorts in North and Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East (Asia is NOT included), you’ll earn:

• Double Starpoints on two-night stays
• Triple Starpoints on stays of three nights or longer

Click here for properties that are NOT participating in the promotion.

This is a great way for SPG to stop people from hotel hopping. Because we never know what travel lies ahead, we business travelers usually want to re-qualify for our status as soon as possible. Mileage runs and mattress runs aren’t something to look forward to. My plan for January / February was to hop every night until I hit 25 stays and to then go back to the normal routine of checking in and out once per trip. That said, with this promo I’ve got to rethink my strategy. My normal Sheraton also participates in Make a Green Choice, which allows me to forgo a daily visit from housekeeping in exchange for a $5 food and beverage voucher or 500 points. Yeah, I take the points.

My 2012 Resolutions are pretty straightforward, and I’ve got three of them:

1. Diversify, diversify, diversify. I need to find a way to diversify my travel so I can achieve top tier status within two airline alliances, and two hotel loyalty programs.
2. Complete at least three successful churns. If I can’t complete resolution number one, this is a way I can at least travel in style with my leisure travel on almost any airline. You can bet I’ll be asking Rick for some advice and will carefully plan out a way to rack up at least 1,000,000 miles and points this year.
3. Spend more time helping my family and friends enjoying this amazing world through travel like all of us do.

I’d love to hear what your travel resolutions are. For everyone who posts a comment by next week’s “Not On My Dime” post, I’ll pick one random person to receive a $10 Starbucks gift card that I have leftover. It isn’t much, but a free coffee for you and someone else ain’t that bad. Let me know!

Travel Tip: Carry Cash

I go back and forth on cash. I don’t earn any points with it, and if I lose it I’m toast. That said, when I need a few bucks to tip someone, or if I’m at a local market, cash is king. I always have a few singles for the shuttle bus driver at my hotel when I’m at the office. On vacation, I’ve found $100 is my threshold for being able to be flexible with currency — even with USD, which is what I did this past week.

Packing Tip: If it fits, it ships

Last week I mentioned that you should pack a bag when you travel to carry necessities while out for your day trips. But what about for everything you buy?

Our trip to Hawai’i included purchasing several pounds of coffee that just wasn’t going to make it in our bags. Thankfully the USPS has flat rate shipping for boxes that coffee fits into quite well. $14.95 later, I’ve got 10 pounds of java on its way to me and out of our carry-on.

50,000 American Airline Miles!

You may be able to get free gold status with Hilton. You can also earn 40,000 bonus points if you stay at a Hilton four different times by May 31.

You can earn double TQPs on Southwest from now until Jan. 31.

Gary has a list of all of the Q1 bonuses from Priority Club.

TripAlertz is still offering a $5 bonus for every person you invite. You can use my link or use someone’s in the comments as well. Feel free to post yours.

30,000 Delta Miles No First Year Fee

Delta Skymiles 30,000 Point

Increase Delta Skymiles Bonus Now 30,000 Miles for $500 Minimum Spend

Update: The ABC Nightline piece shot at the Chicago Seminars this October is scheduled to run tonight at 11:30 PM. Check your local listings for time and channel.

by Howie

Rick did a double-take a few weeks ago when we sat down for coffee and I told him about a work trip I was taking to Europe the week before Thanksgiving.

I flew Savannah to Atlanta to LaGuardia to Minneapolis to London Heathrow. I could have, for the same price, flown to Atlanta and then non-stop to Heathrow, but I didn’t. I wanted to see my grandparents and International routing rules are more flexible, so I took advantage of it in many ways:

First, I added two segments and 2000 more Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM), and 4500 Redeemable Miles (RDM) thanks to my Delta Diamond Medallion status.  Sure, I don’t need the MQMs to re-qualify for my elite status, or the RDMs for an award right now. But the MQMs will roll over and the RDMs never expire!

Second, I avoided any regional jets and awkward airport transfers (as I would if I’d flown to LaGuardia non-stop from Savannah and then taken a cab to catch the flight to Heathrow from JFK).  I also had breakfast, Wi-Fi, and first class seats up to New York.

Third, and most importantly, I got to see my Nana and Poppie. I don’t see them enough and a seven-hour layover in New York was just what the doctor ordered. These are the same grandparents who told me where to go for my honeymoon — the same place we’re going next year for our five-year anniversary, St. Lucia. They’re cool cats. I love my time with them.

Pot Roast, Chicken, and a bunch of veggies

To my surprise, my mother and aunt were also in town. I hadn’t seen my mother for three months and my aunt for six! My grandfather and mother picked me up at LaGuardia and, thanks to that seven-hour layover, I had lunch and dinner with everyone. Pot roast, fried chicken, carrots, spinach, potatoes, and red cabbage … I can still smell it now.

My grandfather was born in 1926. That makes him 85. He spends at least one hour every day on the computer and frequently books last-minute vacation packages for him and my Nana. Their next trip is TBD. Planning more than a few weeks out just isn’t their style.

I say it’s all about family and the freedom they have to choose when they want. And what they want inspires me. What are your travel inspirations? Who gave you the “travel bug”?

Travel Tip: Use Calendar Appointments

It’s how I keep Sara, my wife, up to date when I’ll be wherever I am. She uses Gmail, so keeping my calendar up to date and her informed is as simple as adding her as a recipient to a meeting request for my travel information. Tripit and Kukunu are just two programs are out there that you can use to share such information. For us, Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar fit the bill.

Packing Tip: Neon on your suitcase

I tend to never check a bag, but when I do I’m thankful for having something to clearly identify it. I’m not a pink bag kinda guy, but my pink “Savannah airport” and neon blue “ITA Software” bag tags make it stand out. I ended up checking my bag a few weeks ago and when I saw others rummaging through bags to figure out which was theirs, I remembered why I have those colorful bag tags.

50,000 Thank You Points, $2,500 minimum spend !

The battle raged on last week between the practical and the absurd. Mommy Points and Darius defended the use of miles for domestic tickets and the other side insisted that International Premium Cabin provides the best return on investment. I’ll continue to take the middle road and, hopefully, the side of reason.

International First Class redemption is a waste of miles, in my mind. I am being held captive in an aluminum tube for eight to 14 hours and just want to get to my destination after sleeping as much as possible. A typical international flight for me consists of waiting too long for the pre-dinner drink (Diet Coke), waiting too long for the an airline meal, and then finally getting some sleep. A comfortable night’s sleep is what I’m after. I don’t know or care about meeting “Dom” or any of his fancy drinking buddies. Caviar taste like too fishy to me and the meal, no matter how you cut it, is still going to be just airline food.

Turning the ultimate left at the nose of the plane may make some people feel important, but the attendants certainly don’t think you are. They know you just spent a few extra miles, is all. An arrival airport first class lounge is a waste of time to me. I’m going to my hotel and get a shower. If I smell like I’ve been on a plane all night, yep, I have.

Business class international is good enough for me. With the new lay-flat seats, I need nothing more and just don’t see the sense in the extra miles expenditure to go first class.

Our last trip to China involved a redemption of 55K frequent flier miles for business over and 67.5K miles for first class on the return, as that was all that was available. That is the second time I booked a segment of international first class. The first time I did it was Sydney to Los Angeles and I did not see the added value. When we decided to come home early from China, we were thrilled that they found us seats back in business class. That was all we needed. We didn’t need to meet “Dom” and his buddies. Just get us home in comfort.

Let’s be honest here: Most of us can’t and won’t pay for first class seats with CASH. In all reality, most of us can’t and won’t pay CASH for business class international, either. It is just too expensive and makes no sense. But if you can get business class for miles (which is way out of our price range anyway), why pay the extra miles for first class?

As for using miles for domestic itineraries, Hell Yes I Do. I am accumulating miles on credit card sign-ups for under .2 cents each. That is less than one quarter of one cent each. If I can use 25K miles and fly from Savannah to Sioux Falls and save $600+ Hell Yes, count me in for redeeming for domestic coach. I’m not trying to impress anybody. Just get me from point A to point B. I didn’t buy a new car until I was 60 and the suntan I got on my used sailboat felt just a good as the guy’s with the new boat. I just didn’t have a boat payment. 

I love my wife, the Katybug. She has set some pretty reasonable guidelines for our travel. If the trip is over three hours, try for domestic first class and if international long haul, get business class redemptions. My guidelines for domestic paid tickets is to get at least two cents per mile and always leave enough miles in each airline account for at least one international business class award.

Hotel redemptions: I redeem for regular rooms and mostly at three or four star hotels. No suites for me unless I receive them for free based on my status with a hotel program. If I find curly hairs behind the bathroom door or toothpaste spit on the sink drain, I’m outta there. If it’s clean, quiet, and safe, I’m a happy camper. The St. Regis and Conrads make me feel like I need to wear shoes. I’m a flip flop and Waffle House kinda guy.

Here’s my summary of travel suggestions for the extreme ends of the scale:

If you are forcing your partner to endure coach travel for extended hours of time on international itineraries, consider moving up to business class. You are just using miles anyway.

And if you’re flying first class, consider backing down to business class and donating those extra miles to the DreamFoundation.org.

I think both sides of the argument will end up getting a better night’s sleep.

If you spend $200 or more on a Mastercard, you may be able to get a $20 gift card back from them. Million Mile Secrets has all the details for you.

It looks as if the 50,000 point Southwest CC is still available. If you meant to sign up, but never got around to it, here’s your chance!

The Points Guy posts about two 100% bonus opportunities from Delta. One of them is targeted so make sure to check your email to see if you received it. I got the worse of the two offers and won’t be buying them.

Finally, as many of bloggers have posted today is the last day of British Airway’s Executive Club. Tomorrow they will introduce their new Avios rewards program, which many think might raise redemption levels on some routes.

Rick,

I am finally taking the time to write and thank you for the credit card sign-up bonus info that you and your family so generously collect and post at your website.

I want you to know that I learned about the generous Capital One matching mileage bonus from your site some time ago, managed to get the card, and matched my almost 80,000 miles from one of my airlines, and used that $800 for an unforgettable five-day stay in Banff National Park in Canada last summer. This was particularly welcome as it was my chance for my two daughters and me to celebrate the end of my six-months of biweekly chemo sessions to treat my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Two days ago I received the news that my scan results are all clean and I can go back to living a normal life.  So, I simply want you to know that one of your readers out here in cyberspace is very grateful to you for drawing my attention to a promotion that ended up allowing me to revel in some of the most spectacular mountain scenery our continent has to offer. And who knows what role that mountain air and scenic hikes might have played in my recovery!

I also want to express my pleasure with the contributions from Andrew and Shannon.  I follow Andrew’s postings with awe. His commitments to health care in the developing world are an inspiration. And the photos that accompany his postings are works of art!

So anyway, thanks so much for the example you and your family are setting for the rest of us!

– Kirsten

Not Banff,  but I do find Mt Rainier pretty impressive as well. photo by Andrew

Thanks, Kristen, and so glad to hear about your recovery. As you get back on your feet, keep an eye on those credit scores and add a few more sign-up bonuses. Go slow until you can see the pattern in how they affect your credit score. – Rick

Another Sunday Success Story