My single favorite card for earning valuable rewards points has just gotten better with an offer of 50,000 points as a signup bonus. These points transfer to a variety of airline miles and hotel points.
There was a brief targeted test of 50,000 points with a higher annual fee two years ago. But otherwise we haven’t seen an offer like this for the card since March 2012.
Through November 30 at 5pm Pacific, Plastiq will let you make any one-time immediate payment (i.e. not prescheduled future payment) with a MasterCard for just a 1.5% fee rather than the usual 2.5% they charge (which is still less than Paypal).
That way you can earn miles for your bills, even from merchants who do not take credit cards.
American Airlines was Down Under promoting their new Sydney service which starts next month, their joint venture with Qantas (which has yet to receive US government approval), and announcing new service to Auckland, New Zealand as well.
American AAdvantage President Suzanne Rubin was there talking frequent flyer programs, and the Sydney Morning Herald reports on several possibilities for the program.
Three Chinese firms were supposedly seeking government permission to make a bid to buy Starwood Hotels. Hyatt was rumored to be the lead bidder. There had earlier been speculation about a Starwood-IHG (or Wyndham) merger. Wyndham hired away enough Starwood talent that it’s recently been referred to as Wynwood.
Starwood’s CEO, whom I interviewed on stage earlier this year, made clear he expected to sell by the end of the year. And it looks like he made good on that promise.
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.
Through November 30 American is selling miles for as little as 2 cent apiece. That’s cheaper than they usually sell miles.
On average I value American miles at 1.7 cents.
They’re worth more if they put you over the top for a specific award. And they’re worth more if you redeem them for something you’d be willing to pay full or close to full price for otherwise.
Earlier this week concourses at Miami’s airport were shut down, and 50 flights were delayed, because the TSA wanted a better look inside a dentist’s carry on.
They tracked down the passenger to an American Airlines flight to Barbados that had boarded — and armed police in riot gear were sent onto the aircraft. Passengers were ordered to place hands on their heads.
Reader Douglas S. shared his experiences with several lounges in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Since that’s the location of the newest American Airlines Admirals Club, I was interested in how it compares to other products in the airport that he was able to visit.
Instead of a Diamond or Platinum members being able to confirm 8 non-elite companions into extra legroom seats at time of booking, they’ll be able to get into extra legroom seats with just 1 companion only 24 hours prior to departure when traveling on the same reservation.
They say that’s because because “[a]s Delta continues to make investments in our most loyal customers, we want to continue to ensure availability of our premium products for these customers.”
American Airlines launches Sydney service next month, and this past week they just announced new service to Auckland, New Zealand which will begin in June.
We’re just now learning about some special elements of American’s Sydney service, and about Qantas’ plans for new U.S. routes as a result of their enhanced relationship with American.
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 »
