Ask Me Any Travel Question and I’ll Try to Answer

by Gary Leff

One of the things I really enjoy doing is responding to reader questions. Here’s your chance. I will my best to cover many of your questions. Some I may answer right away, others that I answer will take me a few weeks.

Please leave requests in the comments section. Some I may answer there and some will be standalone posts if they seem like the answers would help many readers..

As my boss once wrote making a similar request on his blog, “The only promise is that of weak monotonicity, namely that your mention won’t lower the chance of the topic being covered.” In other words, I won’t promise to cover everything, though I’ll read and ponder everything that’s written here in the comments.

I’d love to hear from you!

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Is there a good way to do a calendar search for award flights to Europe that are ONLY on AA metal? If you go to aa.com and click non-stop, for a route like LHR-JFK it doesn’t help much since BA also does that route non-stop. Moreover, when you do something like CDG-JFK and click non-stop only, you get the Openskies flights to EWR, which are also no good. (I’m trying to avoid big fuel surcharges here.)

    Similarly, is there a good way to do a calendar search for award flights only on United metal? The partner awards cost more and I’m looking just for UA.

  2. I just checked the Delta website for June 30, 2017. SU 106 is available for 30k. Checking AirFrance.us, no Aeroflot service is listed. However, connections are available thru Rome, Amsterdam or Paris.

  3. @Matt when you go to do the award search, don’t search from the aa.com home page but actually navigate to award search. There you can specify “AA only” and then you will see AA metal only.

  5. @Jeff i think we could see more UA devaluation, it’s been 3 years since they’ve announced one (although they did just devalue stopovers). i think alaska airlines mileage plan has an award chart that’s too good relative to competitors especially for first class redemptions on airlines other than emirates.

  6. @Josh G – my points valuations are here, including for hotel programs:
    http://viewfromthewing.com/2016/01/19/value-of-miles/

    I tend to like higher-end hotels. But whether a given hotel is worthwhile on points vs cash on a given night depends on the cash price, Hilton charges a range of prices within a category and so is the closest to revenue-based on redemptions of the major hotel programs so you’ll get less great values. In general though hotels are placed in categories based on their average rates, but off season or certain days of week rates are low and redemptions don’t make sense but during high season or special events you get outsized value.

    I love Park Hyatt Maldives, I think there’s few properties that are better value than Park Hyatt Mendoza (although not every loves the hotel…), Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur just dropped in category. Park Hyatt Chennai is amazing value… I did love my stay at Starwood’s Al Maha this year, using the 35% off promo (but it’s still 39k points per night– all inclusive for a standalone villa with pool, and activities are included too).

  7. Not a question but a belated thank you. Your tip last year allowed us to book 3 award seats this summer in AA J LAX-LHR. Daughter’s 1st trip to Europe and going in style made it special.

  8. With Europe cash fares being heavily discounted in many instances for winter and sometimes early spring travel, do you foresee the carriers extending the sales to their point customers? For instance I remember that United recently reduced their European round trip flights for a short time to 45k or so. Do you think that we might see more of this?

  10. People have reported being able to renew Global Entry without another interview. Will Nexus also renew without an interview?

  11. I live in HNL, would like to travel to SIN, anywhere in Japan or Korea, and HKG; order doesn’t matter. What’s the best way to book award tickets? Is UA the best option?

  13. Any idea on what the point redemption rates for Hawaiian Air using Jet Blue points is? I have the 75,000 points for the Virgin match, and not sure what the best use is.

    Thanks!

  14. Question about JetBlue points:
    Now that I’ve got 75,000 of them from the Virgin America max, do you know what the redemptions are for Hawaiian Airlines? It looks like that’s the only other airline that you can use JetBlue points for.

    Thanks Gary!

  15. i am incredibly, ridiculously frugal. back in the days of amex serve, i could hit minimum spend requirements on cc’s. now, i can’t.

    i know of tactics like the staples gc deals and reselling stuff on eBay etc etc.

    but is there ANYthing currently out there similar to amex serve where i can sort of “spend” money on a cc while, really, just ultimately xfer’ing it back to my bank account?

    thanks for your site,

  16. How many aa elites will be culled by the recent changes? I don’t see much point in trying to get back to aa plat since I have lifetime gold, my company mandates cheap economy tickets, and I barely make gold if I fly next year like this year. It seems easier/better to go after some other program (for me, Alaska since I travel to Seattle) and churn credit cards instead of bothering with aa and the new rules.

  17. i am incredibly, ridiculously frugal. back in the days of amex serve, i could hit minimum spend requirements on cc’s. now, i can’t.

    i know of tactics like the staples gc deals and reselling stuff on eBay etc etc.

    but is there ANYthing currently out there similar to amex serve where i can sort of “spend” money on a cc while, really, just ultimately xfer’ing it back to my bank account?

    thanks for your site,

  18. Hello, I-m from chile and never made a conection in the US, so if you can help me with the MCT for a conection in houston from Lima to Toronto in bussines with united

  19. I have 4 one-ways DFW-LIH booked with AA. Still need return flights and have Chase UR and Citi Thank You. Dates aren’t flexible and need either 1/13 or 1/14 return. Flying Blue has no availability. My understanding is that Singapore doesn’t allow free one-ways anymore? Would love to build in a free one way to Europe or anywhere. Is United my only choice? Just want to know if I’m overlooking something? Want to get the best value for my points. Thanks!

  20. I almost always fly paid first domestically and use points for international business/first travel. A lot of the benefits for elites have to do with upgrades. What’s the best way for me to maximize both my free travel as well as my fringe benefits (lounge access, etc.)

  21. When was the last time you flew international economy? I don’t mean like IAD-LHR, but rather a 9 hour+ flight?

  22. FlyingBlue has an unusual expiration policy: unlike other airlines, where any account activity resets the expiration clock, with FB you actually have to fly to “save” your miles. A while back (2013-05-12) you explained FB’s expiration policy thusly: “Air France/KLM: Non-elites lose their miles after 20 months without a flight on a Flying Blue or Skyteam airline”. I suppose this include any paid flight on a partner airline (such as Delta or Aeroflot) where I have made sure to have FF miles credited to my FlyingBlue. What about award flights: if I use some of my FB miles for an award ticket for myself, and fly on that ticket, does it reset the expiration clock as well? What about using my FB miles to get an award ticket for someone else – I guess this won’t reset the clock?

  23. What is the best option to get a family of 4 to South Africa or Austailia from JFK with AA and BA points?

    Also SFO direct flight from NYC ?

  24. Have an 8 hour layover in IST via Turkish airlines (economy) that doesn’t qualify for accommodation not free your because of landing time. How does one pass all that time. I figured CIP lounge but there seems to be no way to access it for a fee. Any advice?

  26. I was recently treated very badly by a AA gate agent at PHL. To the point that they actually yelled at passengers in line for no apparent reason. I would like to formally complain to AA management about this situation as it also included the local supervisor. Who would be the most effective person or department to reach out to in this situation?

  27. I would like to maximize newly received (not by flying) Virgin and JetBlue status. Which airlines match status? Worth it??

  28. What are the expiration rules for Miles & More? It’s not after 3 years of earning the miles because I earned miles over 3 years ago and still have them in my account. I called LH M&M, and they said that the miles won’t expire for “at least” another year, but they couldn’t give me an exact expiration date.

  30. This might be a bit tricky but could you give us a comparison and help us understand how much premium should United Miles command over Avianca miles? Both are * Alliance and they have their quirks. But Avianca miles can be purchased for almost 30% less than UA miles. So, the $5000 question is: if one had the option of purchasing both miles, how much premium he/she should pay for UA over Avianca? If at 1.43 cents, Avianca miles are great value, should one even focus on getting UA miles through credit card spending?

  31. I’ve asked this question of you a number of times, maybe I’ll be lucky this time. Have you personally made a claim on the CSP for damage to a rental car? Do you know anybody who has? I’d like to hear real world experiences, especially with non-US rental companies. Ease of claim, speed of payment, docs required, completeness of payment, and especially circumstances of non-payment. Thanks.

  32. Ask you anything?
    1) Can you unify the theories of general and special relativity?
    I’ll stop there

  34. For USB Flexperks, and I assume some other bank rewards, there’s a “trick” to redeem for a Southwest ticket and then cancel the ticket and have the funds to use on Southwest. Do other airlines have tickets that can be cancelled and funds made available so this trick would work for them?

  35. Are there any protections on a business credit card that aren’t there on the personal version? For instance, I buy most of my company’s inventory on a mix of personal and business credit cards. Is there any business focused purchase protections (for instance protections covering inventory in a fire or something) on the business cards that make them worth using over the personal cards?

  37. I paid for two award tickets on BA to fly on Cathay, and I bought one actual ticket with real money on Cathay through Chase site. Would there be any mile gain in calling a Cathay Pacific person to combine my air tickets? Is there a way to combine the tickets? They do form a round trip, and are within the 23 hour layover rule. PVG-HKG-SGN, SGN-HKG-PVG. Also, is there any way to become a member of the Marco Polo club without paying a 100 fee?

  38. What is the easiest and most efficient way to book a 2 week vacation to Italy (flight and hotels) combining Amex, Chase, and Citi reward points?

  39. @Matt the only good hotel transfer partner is Hyatt, so if you want those points to cover hotels then transfer Chase to Hyatt and then you’ll want to use Citi and Amex points for air. You can transfer both to Singapore Airlines and book Star Alliance flights with fuel surcharges. You can transfer both to Air France and book with somewhat more modest fuel surcharges (and you can fly Alitalia). You can transfer to Etihad and if you fly Brussels Airlines there are no fuel surcharges. You can transfer Amex to Aeroplan and I’ve outlined the airlines where Aeroplan doesn’t add fuel surcharges.

  41. @Benji generally no although many business cards and very few personal cards offer primary collision coverage when renting cars, but often restricting this benefits to rentals for business purposes. Business cards don’t have the same legal protections for disputes and unauthorized charges that personal cards do though in practice card company procedures are often similar.

  42. @tassojunior – Citi ThankYou Rewards years ago used to give you greater value for premium cabin awards than for coach awards, so people would book a non-refundable premium cabin ticket then cancel (had to be non-refundable or ticket would get refunded to citi) to keep the flight credit. even before that citi would buy you tickets that met certain criteria regardless of cost, those were the days….

  45. @SH in SF – I haven’t ever damaged a rental car myself, I have helped my father in law submit a credit card claim for rental car damage. You just have to report it and do the paperwork and follow up in case there’s a discrepancy between what the rental agency wants (eg loss of use fees) and what the card’s insurer is willing to provide

  46. @jediwho – they have fairly simlar award charts. the difference is that United has better customer service and better ability to piece together itineraries by phone. I’d pay a 20% premium for United miles, but LifeMiles discounts more than that, so I buy LifeMiles but not United miles.

  48. Hi Gary,

    I have 2 questions. First, I have 4 family member accounts with flying blue each with 5k points. They are about to expire at the end of this month. I am trying to find a way to extend their life. The only option i see is to buy more thru points.com, do you know of a way to either consolidate them into 1 acct or extend their life?

    Second, I have a paid trip planned on AA. The flight schedule has changed already 3 times for a flight that is still 4 months away. I know that award tkts can be cancelled free because of a schedule change, is it the same for paid tkts ?

  49. @A – Lufthansa’s Miles & More miles expire at the end of the quarter 36 months after they’re earned, unless you’re an elite or have their co-brand credit card and make a purchase on it every month.

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