I’m incredibly fortunate to have earned millions of miles with credit cards. The products and bank issuer policies — and best strategies — are constantly changing.
If you want to approach your credit card applications strategically — not just get the best cards, but in the right order, here are my suggestions.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
United admitted during their earnings call that dynamic award redemption is about their own financial bottom line – not customer benefit – and that it doesn’t actually help customers book more awards.
There are four credit cards in my wallet that I like the most for purchases. That’s out of a couple of dozen cards total. I want to earn miles as quickly as possible. I also want to jumpstart my elite status and have access to the best airport lounges.
So these are the four cards I’m playing with most right now.
Yesterday Notiflyr posted deals on Star Alliance member SAS from the US to Scandinavia starting at $318. These were are available January through mid-May and are not basic economy, so a checked bag and assigned seat is included.
Now Notiflyr has come out with something much bigger: SAS fares from around the U.S. to destinations across Europe starting at $307. This is the best sale in some time considering how broadly based it is. For instance trips from the West Coast (LAX) to several German cities start at $330 roundtrip, and it looks like SkyTeam and oneworld are now matching and I’m seeing prices as low as $272.
WOW Air CEO Skúli Mogensen pledged his home as $3 million of the collateral he used to obtain funds for fresh equity in the airline last year. Wow Air ceased operations in March, though a West Virginia heiress-turned-arms dealer bought the brand out of bankruptcy and has announced an unlikely scheme to fly again.
Now the home at Seltjarnarnes point, near Reykjavík, is for sale. The home is 6780 square feet over 3 stories and is listed at $2 million, so creditors are expected to take a significant loss.
With the continued blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE there are far fewer Qatar Airways short haul flights. That means fewer passengers with Al Safwa lounge access.
At the beginning of the year they started monetizing access to the lounge, upselling business class passengers initially for as little as $69 but more recently for $165. Now Qatar Airways has extended al Safwa lounge access to their Privilege Club Platinum members flying in business class.
Kevin Smith made headlines in 2010 over Southwest Airlines’ customer of size policy, vowing never to fly the airline again. He flew them again in 2011 and had another altercation over the policy. He boycotted the airline until 2016.
It turns out his confrontation with Southwest led to the making of the brand new Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
A group of 79 from the Ocean City High School boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams were flying from Philadelphia to Orlando on Thursday to compete in Saturday’s Disney Cross Country Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Their Frontier flight was cancelled, and Frontier said they wouldn’t be re-accommodated for six days (four days after the race was over). And no airline had enough seats for such a large group.
They thought the trip was off, but they tweeted at Delta — and two Delta agents met them as they were about to leave the airport: Delta would offer them a plane from Phiadelphia to Orlando.
Delta immediately turned the tables on US-Latin America flying by announcing plans to take a 20% stake in LATAM, South America’s largest airline. Delta is pulling them out of oneworld and out of a pending joint venture with American Airlines.
One side benefit that must have been sweet for Delta, though has gone largely unremarked upon, is the extra benefit that comes from sticking it to Qatar Airways. Now Qatar is trolling Delta back.
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 »
