Tag Archives for chase.
ANA first class availability, booked far in advance, is outstanding right now. And it’s accessible using miles from a variety of programs — in the Star Alliance and through other airline partnerships as well. They offer one of the best and most consistent first class products in the world. It’s not as flashy as Emirates or Etihad, but the service and food are fantastic.
Business class awards on Cathay Pacific between New York JFK and Hong Kong are wide open starting in August and running through end of schedule. Space beyond Hong Kong is generally very nicely available.
Now’s the time to lock in those business class awards to Asia for later in the year.
Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, and Citibank. So Virgin Atlantic miles are really easy to get. In general I don’t value their miles as much as many other currencies but there are strategic uses like 120,000 miles roundtrip for first class from the East Coast on their partner ANA.
Another strategic use is when they discount their own flights. Virgin adds fuel surcharges to awards, but when the mileage cost is low enough even that makes sense.
There are many great ways to earn miles, and many of those are neglected by the average frequent flyer. While the greatest miles and points deals ever are long gone, that’s how these things work. The best deals don’t last. Which is why it pays to stay alert, and not leave miles on the table.
We often delve into the extreme detail and minutiae of rewards cards, there are tons of benefits and features and lots of details but it’s easy to lose the forest from the trees.
I thought I’d try to keep it simple, with just a single statement to encapsulate the key value proposition offered by several of the best rewards cards. See if you agree with my cutting to the chase on each.
outhwest Airlines filed its 2017 SEC 10-K and shared some details of its frequent flyer program that may not already be common knowledge.
For instance whereas in 2016 American Airlines filled 6.3% of its seats on awards, Southwest fills twice as many of its seats with customers redeeming their points — and that’s increasing, too.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 provides penalties for financial institutions who allow themselves to fund illegal online gambling activities. However fantasy sports, state lotteries, and horse racing are not clearly included activities in the law.
Most financial institutions have stayed well on the ‘safe side’ of the law and prohibited customer activity that isn’t actually illegal under the Act.
Dr. Malik Hasan paid $1 million for wine from Premier Cru Fine Wines in Berkeley, California. He charged the purchases to American Express and Chase credit cards. Premier Cru went out of business without shipping these purchases. Neither American Express nor Chase fully honored his charge back request, and he sued under the Fair Credit Billing Act.
The more I look at the Continental Presidential Plus MasterCard from Chase, the more interesting it looks — for a certain segment of frequent flyer. The $375 (gulp!) annual fee, though $300 in the first year, comes with Continental Presidents Club membership – which also gets you access to Northwest and Delta clubs. The similarly priced American Express Platinum card comes with this same lounge access plus access to American Airlines AAdmiral’s Clubs and other benefits (like the Fine Hotels and Resorts program and domestic companion airfare benefit) not matched by this card. However, for flyers seeking elite status on Continental, it offers the best credit card elite status perk I’ve seen with any airline: up to 28,000 elite qualifying miles per year through spending on the card, and best of all you can drop…
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 »
