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Priority Pass Raising Lounge Per Visit Fee Effective October 1 For Some US Cards

by Gary Leff

priority pass select card
Aug 28 2018

Priority Pass is a card that gets you into lounges around the world. You don’t have to belong to an individual lounge program, this program works to have lounges in most of the places you go.

There are over 1000 airport lounges that a Priority Pass will gain you access to, most of those are spread throughout airports around the world. Around 60 options exist in the U.S. and that increasingly includes airport restaurants.

When you have a Priority Pass card it may come with visits for you as the cardholder, and it may come with complimentary visits for guests.

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The Paranoid, Cautious Approach to Transferring Points and Booking Awards

by Gary Leff

man in suit looking at computer screen
Aug 26 2018

Yesterday I helped someone with an Air China first class award. Air China certainly doesn’t have the best first class, and you might think it’s not worth the miles.

This is the story of an award booking that appeared to fail, but where perseverance got it ticketed. However there’s a better approach that takes some of the risk out of award booking.

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Again! 30% Bonus on Transfers from American Express to Virgin Atlantic

by Gary Leff

first class cabin
Aug 05 2018

American Express is running a 30% bonus on transfers from Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic through September 12. It only appears when logged into your American Express Membership Rewards account, so it’s possible that members with certain cards won’t have this bonus offer available.

There are some amazing award values even though Virgin Atlantic is a generally weak program, you can hold awards before even making your instant transfer to lock in success.

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Aeroplan Will Introduce Airline Transfer Partners and Only Devalue on 5% of Routes

by Gary Leff

air canada plane tarmac
Jul 19 2018

Aeroplan is an independent separately traded company. Air Canada spun it off to raise cash and at the time locked in a 15 year agreement for an exclusive partnership. Aeroplan expected to renew this deal on less favorable terms, and planned to squeeze customers as a result.

But Air Canada is launching a new frequent flyer program in 2020 instead, leaving Aeroplan in a pickle.

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What Happens to Your Bank Points When You Die (and How to Prepare Now)

by Gary Leff

credit cards
Jul 19 2018

In light of news that Anthony Boudrain had included his frequent flyer miles in his will, I wrote about how each of the major airline and hotel programs handle miles as part of an estate and what you need to do to make sure your points can be used by whomever you intend.

What I didn’t cover at the time was how transferrable bank points work when you pass away. And it turns out know this is even more important.

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