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.
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!
What’s the most efficient way (point wise) to get from SFO (JFK is ok too) to KEF? Iceland Air doesn’t seem to play point game?
Hey Gary planning a trip to the Maldives on Etihad with aa miles, currently booked on I, but want to fly in F. Do you know the trends where Etihad releases award space? Thanks!
I have a newbie question about Aeroplan. My husband and I want to fly LH in F…FRA>anycity>TPA. When I search on Aeroplan website, close-in FRA>ORD then LH F is available, but the minute I put TPA into the mix it only shows J available online (I’m willing to fly Y my last segment home to TPA). Do I have to call in? Do you have any other advice re: Aeroplan?
Hey Gary,
I’ve searched high and low for the answer for this but to no avail. What’s the best way to find deals on airfare (preferably international) at the VERY LAST MINUTE? Im talking leaving within a couple of days? My wanderlust has hit me and I just want to get a ticket and go! I know TheFlightDeal is a good resource but that’s generally for things a few weeks/months out. And please dont say Priceline!
Thanks!
Question here– I added the Amex Offer for Best buy and Dollar General to two different Amex cards( my husband is the primary acct holder). I am an authorized user on both of these cards. I made the required purchase with my authorized user card that is tied to that account. It has been about 1 week and the credits are not showing up on his acct. All other Amex Offer credits are credited pretty quick. Is it because I used my card instead of his? I hope my question isn’t too confusing. Thanks!
Gary, what do you see as a big risk to UA’s program going forward? They’ve made many redemptions pricey compared to peers, and earning much harder now. Gracias.
Hyatt is known for its generosity and very customer friendly service— what that said I have a question about Hyatt Gift Cards.
Since Hyatt Gift Cards are limited to being used in the U.S. and Caribbean, is Hyatt ever willing to exchange Hyatt Gift Cards in US Dollars for Hyatt Gift Cheques in US Dollars? [since Hyatt Gift Cheques are valid at many properties outside the U.S. and Caribbean]
This probably is more of a post request, but here it goes. Most of your analysis of hotel programs have to do this the high end hotels. I’m a family man, and usually burn my Hilton points on Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites. Of the big chains, which has the best low end point spend. I am still mourning the loss of the point stretcher awards at Hilton. I did a whole week near the beach for 35k points once.
What exactly is the deal with credit cards that provide primary auto insurance? United, Amex, etc?
What do they cover, what gets picked up by your insurance company (that they don’t cover. Are the primary coverages different domestically and internationally?
Thanks!
I’m trying to find saver space for 4 people from the East coast into Athens for next June, but see nothing without fuel surcharges. I have enough miles with American or Alaska, but just see no availability without the horrific fuel surcharges on BA. I’m not sure how far out saver space is released, so the problem may be that I’m just searching too far ahead. What would you suggest?
I just completed a trip to China using most of my AA miles to redeem for CX round trip in first and I paid for most hotels with Chase URs staying at Hyatt with occasional SPG stays. I’d like to start planning a trip to Japan and wonder which programs should I focus my spend on. I have 116k UR points, 44k Amex MR points and about 90k citi TY points coming in (thinking about picking up premier in addition to prestige I have now which could add another 50k ty points). The rest of my accounts are kinda light with 15k AA miles, roughly 20k united miles and several thousand spg miles. Ideally I’m looking to redeem for a first class ticket (or business if its a solid product) on whichever airline would be the best fit/experience.
Gary, I want to book ANA using Virgin Atlantic miles. I would like to know if stopover is allowed. Thanks.
I currently live in Brazil, but I am moving to US in October. I will travel frequently for work reasons to Africa and the preferred carriers at my job are Delta and United. I would like to accumulate miles to visit my family every year in Brazil. I currently am gold status with all Brazilian carriers (TAM, Gol and Avianca). My question is should I stick directing my miles to the Brazilian airlines or am I better off putting my points to the american carriers?
Gary,
Newbie question. I read of guys like you and Lucky with more credit cards than it seems you can count. It appears a lot of your guys’ miles are generated with credit card signup bonuses.
How do you get so many bonuses? Are some of these for the same card? Do you cancel a card and then sign up again, and does that yield another bonus? Say for SPG, once you get the bonus for the Amex card are you basically done for life? How does it work?
Gary, are there. Any online travel agency rebate sites with fixed dollar refunds — the only one that I still see is hotel wiz with topcash back or a competitor , but both fail to track most of the time and hotel wiz tends to be much more expensive than competitors and also do not know if hotelwiz has a best rate guarantee as my experience has been multiple transfers leading to a disconnect.
So I am looking for a competitor.m. Percentage refunds or around five dollars or so also do not work for me.
Thank you
Gary: you hold a full-time job, you travel, you do TV interviews, you post numerous times a day, you operate an award-booking service, you swing all sorts of transactions to generate revenue (I.e. open a checking account, close a credit card account, move funds on card A to card B)… do you have a supportive, organized, efficient spouse/partner who assists you in these endeavors? Please tell us your secret to finding time to do all these things!.
In the distant future when travel through space is common, do you think that there will be frequent flyer programs like we have now? Will one billion miles get you a free trip to Mars (two billiion for a lie-flat seat)?
I have to fly two people December 27 from SAT to FLL. The fares are insanely high. I want to fly SWA To make use of my companion pass. The fare is over 48K points. Do you see any way around this? I have plenty of miles on delta or American.
I booked a transatlantic award on AA for next spring, choosing a date that allowed making the trip with one change. I got an email saying that the domestic segment would not be operating that day, and we’d been rebooked with an overnight at DFW.
I understand that I could ask to be booked on any AA itinerary regardless of SAAver availability. I prefer to wait and see if the cancelled segment is reinstated; also I worry that, if I change now, there will be future changes requiring tight connections or a change of NYC airports. If we have to resign ourselves to a trip with two changes, would I still be able to express displeasure about the overnight and ask for a change two months before the trip, with the schedules less subject to change, or did I miss the chance when I didn’t respond when I got the email 10 months in advance? There’s nothing in the email giving a deadline. Overall it would be o.k. to have the DFW overnight at a Hyatt on points (presuming we’re on our own for lodging).
which, if any, credit card booking portals provide loyalty points (spg, Hyatt Hilton etc) for stays such as MasterCard travel, MasterCard luxury collection, Amex travel, Amex fhr, visa signature, chase travel portal etc.?
I am looking into $$$ flights from LAS – YYZ. I am finding that non-stop flights are pricey. It is much cheaper to book one way from LAS to YWG connecting in YYZ and just miss the connection. Is there a compelling reason not to do this? TIA
I’ve been looking at United.com for award space from USM [Koh Samui , Thailand] to BKK on Thai, and for the past 3 months this segment has not been bookable using MileagePlus miles for Business or Coach. However, there is no issue booking a HKT [Phuket] to BKK segment on Thai using MileagePlus miles on United.com
If I’m not mistaken— you’ve traveled to Koh Samui— any idea why a one-way segment from USM to BKK is not bookable using MileagePlus miles on United.com?
Trying to plan a trip to Queenstown and I believe Qantas flies to from SYD-ZQN but can’t find any availability on American’s website for Y or J over the span of 2 months, from what you know and booking awards for people, is this route one where finding award flights is nearly impossible?
Also, will be spending 4 days in Sydney, any tips on things to do and places to eat? I know you’re a big foodie, any go to’s?
Hi Gary,
Any advice on finding economy seats on United or AA for international flights, between either the US and Europe or US and Caribbean?
Gary,
Could you clear up a general question many newbies have about the credit card sign-up strategy. I love the idea of signing up for a card, getting the 50K miles or whatever, and then terminating the membership shortly thereafter. However, I’m always told that this will kill my credit score, I.e. opening and closing cards like this will negatively effect my credit. Any general sense of whether is is true or not, and if it is true, how big is the impact really? Thank you!
Before canceling a card, I need to transfer points to an airline program. Would you suggest Krisflyer,
(I am not a member) or is there a better program?
Traveling to Sydney tomorrow. Could you please tell me most efficient way to get from airport to Sydney CBD. I am staying at Sheraton. How much should can cost and does cab accept credit cards?
We are family of three (2 adults + 1 child) who love to travel. Lately we have travelled mostly in business but would like to try first too. Which airlines, you think, release 3 first class seats? I would like to try them for long haul flights. If I could chose, I would like to try some of the top names like Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, Singapore, ANA, Jal, Asiana, or Cathy. Any suggestions?
I’d like to know what award ticket options would work in building a stopover in Hawaii on an Asian or South Pacific itinerary in decent business seats. I mostly have UA, AA and Some Ultimate Reward Points.
It’s well known that transferring of Chase U.R. Points to a airline transfer partner is almost immediate but the transfer of American Express SPG points takes days. I was wondering why SPG transfer take days? Do you have any opinion why it is this way. My question would be is it Technology driven vs Just the way they do business? Thanks
I’m ticketed in First on LH using LH miles. Ideally, I’d like to switch and use Aeroplan miles when the same flight becomes available. Am I able to have two confirmed seats in my name for the short amount of time it will take me to cancel the LH award?
Thanks, Gary.
What credit card is best for the option of using points to purchase a ticket (not exchange for airline points)? I am trying to expand my ability to use cc points to buy the ticket, thus earning airline points for the flight. Is US Bank FlexPerks the best option?
@Candice, I looked/made a similar trip recently. Because of limited flights/seats operated by Thai on that route, they don’t have to release any seats. I spoke with Thai air as well about this. Best bet (and what I did) was to book the leg on Bangkok Airways, which actually owns the airport. It priced out better than Thai.
I’m curious as to how booking AA/US short haul award trips with avios works come check in time? Once booking through BA.com, do we get a AA/US record locator? Or is there another method for checking into an airport (ie reagan) where there is no BA desk?
What are your thoughts on airline schedules and “on time” performance? As a former DL flyer who often travelled between CLT and ATL, I noticed that DL normally schedules 70 – 80 minutes for that 35-minute flight. It should not be difficult for any airline to be on time when schedules are padded so much. Do all airlines pad their schedules equally? If not, how can we accurately measure the relative on-time performance of each carrier?
I’m sure part if not most of the schedule padding is due to expected ATC delays. If so, couldn’t the airlines save themselves and their passengers huge sums of money and millions of hours of time by investing in improvements to the ATC system rather than focusing, for example, on relatively minor things like eliminating AVOD to save weight?
Gary,
As a first time AA Executive Platinum, I would be very interested in knowing how you are using your system wide upgrades (SWUs) this year.
For the fall and winter travel I am considering (Asia, South America, Hawaii), AA does not seem to be opening up SWU availability in advance.
Thanks!
Dear Gary:
Thank uou for making yourself available for question!!
I am currently an AA Executive Platinum and I have been for 3 straight years. This year I will reach it again at the end of August. My question is: Since I will have the status earlier this year. Do you think it would be a good ideia to use another Oneworld Partner account to accumulate miles until the end of the year? Ex. BA or IB. Most of my flights are domestic and a will have a few flights to South America and Europe until the end of the year. I was thinking about using my BA account during my reservation to earn the miles on AA flights. Would you recommend a different Onewold Partner? Would I still be able to upgrade on AA with my EP Status if use the BA or else account?
Another thing. I would never consider Delta Airlines again to accumulate miles.
Thank you for your time
Allan
Gary,
Love your blog and continue to read it daily.
I have a fair amount of miles but I notice that when I am trying to plan a family trip, availability for a lot of saver award tickets can be pretty low (unless I get the anytime tickets). Which programs in general release a lot of business/ first class seats with a good amount of availability (although the mile redemption may not be the best). In my brief search, it seemed Korean Airlines released multiple seats in advance, but I wanted to know if there are other airlines that do as well?
I have a ton of American miles but am having difficulty finding easy availability on JAL, Cathay, etc.
Thank you!
@ Josh. IMO if you have a carry on and one suitcase or less, the most efficient way to get from SYD to the Sheraton is the Airport Link train. You catch it on the lower level in the international terminal. It takes less than 20 minutes to get to St. James station, which is on Elizabeth Street about one block from the hotel. The cost is 17.80 AUD and is more fun than a taxi or Uber.
I’d like to second Gina’s question about CC auto insurance in particular and other benefits (trip
cancellation and interruption, purchase protection, extended warranty etc) in general. Have you or any of your readers ever actually used any of these benefits? Is it easy to make a claim and how often are claims rejected and for what reasons? Are these real benefits with real value, or merely marketing hype? I’d hate to rely on CSP CDW and then have a claimed rejected on a technicality.
@John- I am basically taking the same route as you with a flight to SYD, staying there a couple of days and then flying over to Queenstown. I couldn’t find award availability on AA website either and although Qantas does have a flight from SYD-ZQN it’s technically on their subsidiary, Jetstar, and I think that’s why you can’t book an award ticket through AA. I ended up transferring Thankyou points to Qantas(14,400pts+$86 in fees) and got an econ seat for the 3 hour flight. I couldn’t find any other option for using point/miles in either econ, biz, or 1st class to book an award ticket. You can straight out buy a ticket in econ through the Jetstar website in econ for about $237 which includes a checked bag. I didn’t notice the price for premium seats. I hope this helps.
GogoInFlight pricing: Just completed a roundtrip on Delta and encountered pricing such as $29 for the day. I was shocked! (In the past I think I paid $14-$16 for the day.) IPad batteries were low, so I turned on my android phone, and noticed the pricing was $23 for the day. I was surprised there was a discrepancy between devices. On my final leg (8pm flight), I checked again and the daily pricing was unchanged. Ridiculous. So instead I chose 1-hr for $4.50 on my phone. Then I tried to view the wifi on iPad, but my purchased pass wasn’t allowed to be used. The 1-hr price for iPad was $5.50 instead of $4.50. Last year I used one pass and viewed it on both devices. Have all airlines implemented these substantial pricing increases, & altered pricing depending on your device? Or is it only Delta?
Hi Gary. Here goes…I booked the business air fare sale on Turkish airlines from oslo. I haven’t booked my flight to oslo from EWR as yet. I am a united gold so I would like to fly united as I am paying $ as opposed to miles and like to avail myself of the premium economy(and watch seating in case I get lucky with 3 seats to myself). The way United is routing me, the only flight to get me to oslo early enough connects through Munich and gives me 1 hr 15 min to connect with Turkish airlines in Oslo. Is that enough time? I’m connecting in ISTANBUL to Bangkok and I’m worried about connections. I’m only taking carryon with me.
Also on my return I have an overnight layover in Istanbul, will Turkish airlines pay for my hotel stay if I have this discounted business class fare?
I’m travelling mid October
As I’ve seen both Istanbul and Oslo I have no desire to stay additional time.
Thanks for any feedback you can give me.
Thanks to miles and points, my fiancé and I are doing an around-the-world honeymoon, with our last destination being French Polynesia after a stop in Australia. We primarily accrue Alaska miles, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a way to use AS miles for that leg (since there’s no award chart published between the regions). What are our best options for getting there economically/using other points? Paid flights are running about $550 pp. Thanks!
What is the best way to fly from East Coast to Hawaii? Redeeming Kris miles on United? Or AA off peak miles?
@DaninMCI – American doesn’t allow stopovers any more, while United does.
Is Iberia having a major lost luggage meltdown similar to BA terminal 5 disaster. In Spain waiting for 4 missing bags and Iberia seems to have no tracking system at all.Every call gets a different answer.
Hi,
Just received new AA World MC Advantage card in mail that replaced US Airways card. Have not activated or cancelled it yet..should I or wait for a good sign up bonus with this card? I have other AA cards to keep collecting miles…card has yearly fee of $95.00…
Thanks for your help!
Looking at booking United or Star Alliance from Auckland to Tuscon Feb 15. Business class fare one-way is $3344. Economy fare $806 is available to upgrade for $600 plus 30,000 miles. Total spent for upgraded economy would be $1406 versus $3344. Would you say the value to use miles for upgrade are worth it in this case?
Thanks to you I was able to grab cheap AA fares ($200) to SJD and PVR from CLE in JAN-FEB. As well as ORD-LIH ($550) in APR. I have no status with AA however have Gold Air Berlin due to a status match with Delta Gold. (also thanks to you). Do I credit these trips to AA or Air Berlin for “benefits”? Thanks…