Here’s your chance. I will my best to cover your questions. 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.
It may take me awhile to work through, goodness knows there are things I’m behind on (trip reports, cough, trip reports…).
But I’d love to hear from you!
Why does United sometimes offer me a layover longer than 4 hours on a domestic award ticket? And how do I induce it to do so, if I want to spend the day in my layover city.
Extended stays of 69-90 days in Europe, medical emergency or major illness, how to find coverage that is cost effective not to bust the vacation? Thank you
Hi Gary,
Do you think I should wait 6, 9 or 12 months to apply extensively on other credit cards to get in the bonus game after I open my first credit card with 100% payment every month in US?
Or there’s no strict rule at all?
Thanks.
Would you mind at least addressing all of the comments regarding the new format? I realize many people don’t like change, but perhaps reading your rationale behind the new format, new slogan etc would help to assuage some of the frustration. Still a great blog with great content, just seems much less user-friendly. And, as someone who constantly critiques how other organizations respond to and handle customer issues, you seem especially well-equipped to do so in this instance.
Are you still running your experiment for RSS feeds or have you officially decided to stick with the truncated posts?
What is your favorite transferable points currency and in what order would you rank these four?
AMEX Membership Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Citi ThankYou Points
We are arriving in Munich in early July & wonder which mode of transportation you recommend from MUC to Munich downtown. We are told the metro train stops at our hotel, but we don’t know how difficult it is to get to the train at MUC with luggage, etc. Thanks.
Sorry, I was originally going to include Starwood hence “four” options. But decided to ask just about the credit card programs.
Im planning a future European vacation. I would like to take Singapore airlines suite class from JFK to Frankfurt. My complication is trying to get from Phoenix to JFK smoothly using points. Since Singapore air won’t service a flight from my hub airport (PHX) to a connecting flight to JFK what stradegy and resources/tools would you recommend for flyers trying to piece together individual rewards flights for a single vacation with scenarios like these?
Gary! Can you finish up your trip report to Colombo and the Maldives?! I am going to both places soon and would love to hear about your most recent experiences in both places. Thanks!
What is the fastest land animal?
How do same day flight changes work on AA and US, particularly when there is international travel (Mexico) and a connection involved? Can you change carriers now that they’re all code shared? Do both flights need to be available to make a change or can you change the first one and then just wing it at the connection? Or just change the second one? What if the itinerary is mixed (US and AA) metal? I’m an EXP so I get that it’s free and I do it a lot on direct flights but I’m unclear on the mechanics of connecting flights and different carrier metal.
I recently booked Boston-London on Delta and paid ~$296 in taxes/fuel surcharges.
For another pax I had to book two one ways – Boston-London was $6. London-Boston was almost $600. Same flights. Taxes on the non round trip was outrageous!
Is there a way to link the two one way tickets together to save the ~$300 in fees?
It’s crazy that I’ve been reading Tyler’s blog long enough that I remember when he used to say that.
Anyway, I would like to know what European cities are best to visit during Christmas. I’m also wondering about where to eat when traveling in Europe on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
List all the LH F boomerangs left.
Don’t truncate the RSS feed please 🙂
Ok, here’s you’re chance to step up to the plate and show us what you’ve really got: when are AA & US going to become, operationally, one airline?
If you can get this right and also tell us anything — anything at all — about the reservations system migration, we’ll count it as a grand slam.
Hello,
Do you thing that would be possible for a non-american achieve this travel life style? And what would be the tips to get the good credit card that allow the good travels?
Thanks from Brazil.
Can you buy personalized Amex gift cards through top cash back and get the 1.5% cash back for them? I mean click on the link on the topcashback website for amex gift card, and then go to the personalized giftcards where you can put a name on it, or a message.
I am hoping to use my miles to go to the Olympics next year in Rio. I wanted to see whether you might have any advice regarding this (I am asking early, so that I have time to book seats when they become available and to earn miles if necessary). Is there any special trick for this type of event? Can regular anytime tickets go for regular rates on any airline? Any advice that you can provide would be helpful.
This is going to be a very specific regional question since I am planning a trip to Australia. What are some of the “cheapest” domestic Australian award tickets?
Of course BA Avios is good for single segment short hauls. What about when connection is required or its a further distance?
AA has domestic one-ways at 10k in economy and 17.5k in business on Qantas metal. With their current 60% bonus on purchased miles, at best thats $184 for economy and $323 for business if you wanted to buy the miles outright. That could be an amazing deal, especially for business. Are there other programs that offer a better redemption for Qantas using miles?
Kris flyer has domestic one-ways from 11k-20k in economy and 21k-40k in business on VA metal, depending on regions within Australia. This is much better than the Delta rates of 22.5k in economy and 40k in business. Are their other programs that offer good redemptions for VA using miles?
Are there other carriers that should be examined?
When booking a TATL award with positioning flights, how much time do include between segments to collect and recheck luggage and which airports are the best/worst to do this in a timely fashion?
what is the best mileage program to fly to europe from west coast in business class? The reason I want to fly business is I can’t take a lot of vacation at one time, if I fly coach then I’ll be so tired and lose an extra day each way.
Is there a program that you can use to plan in advance? AA doesn’t have many flights and UA doesn’t release award space in advance? Alaska charges too much on air france. Maybe collect delta?
Completely understand the concept of MS and how to acquire various assets to move, but the liquidation is the part that I don’t get. I’ve read on FT/various blogs about buying money orders, can you explain this process of liquidating the prepaid gift cards a bit better?
I sent Suzanne Rubin a supportive email congratulating her for trumping the competition by not taking away miles for economy and going full revenue based but instead adding more miles for premium seats. Likewise I sent an email asking why he’d let the competition get the Aadvantage like that and that he’d lost a 40 year customer after I got a confirmation email showing I was going to get half of the actual miles. I wanted him to know that this is taking away something major which motivates many customers’ flight choices.
So now I’m left with only AA and Alaska for full miles on my monthly economy flights. How long do you think they will hold out? Can AA really construct a model that gives more without taking away and not suffer at the bottom line such that stockholders force a change? Will you be an advocate for us on this and talk up AA for their smarts (and courage) here?
Thanks. The only airline blog I read every day.
I already have Global Entry (good for another three years) but my friend does not. I have several CCs that will cover a Global Entry or TSA Pre fee each year, but most seem to only cover reimbursement of the fee for the primary cardholder. Is there any CC I can use that has proven to cover the GE or TSA Pre fee if I pay for my friend to acquire one of those?
*to Jeff Smisek (easily available email online)
3 of us are planning a stay at the Park Hyatt Maldives but want to visit India first preferably in first class. We do not mind paying cash for the Ind-Maldives round trip but would like to use miles for the flights there. We will be flying out from the West Coast but want to return as close to Cincinnati as possible. The best combo we’ve found is the Singapore Suites from LAX-DEL and then back from DEL-SFO. This has about $900 in surcharges. Do you have a better suggestion for us? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Have the clickbaity headlines and removing full RSS feeds improved your site metrics as much as you hoped they would? Are you seeing more clickthrough into your credit card ads?
😀
Hi Gary,
I want to book a Singapore Airlines award but I don’t live in a city served by Singapore. How can I book an award out of my home city using my KrisFlyer miles?
one question, one comment. First, greatly prefer full posts on the RSS feed. Now, for my questions, we talk a lot on this blog, and , others, about air travel rewards and free hotel stays along with upgrades for both, but one thing we don’t spend much time on is cruises. My wife and I are thinking about taking a South American cruise this winter and I’m wondering if you have any recommendations on the best programs for cruise value among Chase, Amex and I suppose Citi, although personally I,grabbed,the 100,000 point American Air bonus from Citi so my Citi points are all in A Advantage program. We will most likely take a Celebrity cruise unless I can find a way to bump up to Crystal or Oceania through points.
Is there a way to learn about YQ dumps without spending a month reading all of FT threads on the subject (and leaving as confused as before)?
Let’s talk about your RSS feed.
How can I use my AVIOS to book a flight from Phoenix to St. Thomas USVI?
With no mortgage or car purchase on the horizon, is there any reason not to ALWAYS be working toward a sign up bonus/spending requirement?
If you had to use Chase UR points to get from South Africa to the east coast (one way) what is the best way to do so?
I have enough AA points to (theoretically) get my family of four from the US to Australia in business class. I can’t find any routings that actually seem to release 4 seats on the same flight (I’ve checked Quantas, Hawaiian, air Tahiti, Fiji, etc). Don’t have enough to route through Asia. Any suggestions?
Your truncated rss/email feed…
I thought it was a technical issue on my end when I couldn’t read the full post anymore in my feed reader. I understand now that truncated posts are a choice. Please bring back full posts in the RSS feed, as it’s the only way I can consume your content when disconnected during my commute.
How many cards should I apply to at once (stagger them, or do it in bunches)? Is it worth getting global entry on if one only takes 1-2 international trips a year, or similarly is it worth getting one of those big pricey credit cards that comes with the global entry credit for a year? Is there a best time of year to sign up for cards and to look for award space?
Thanks!
Where will see your answers to these questions?
Applied for Amex card using your link. 3 days after receiving my card got a mail offer for 100 K point sign up instead of 40k. I called and they initially said they would honour 100 K point offer, then Amex emailed me and said never mind. Am I S.O.L. on the 60K points?
@Bob – many will get their own posts, a few I’ll answer here in the comments
Great questions.. I have some of the same.. I will look for your answers.
Hi Gary. I would like to know how I can book a round trip flight from Miami to Reunion Island and Maldives on miles in business class. Thank you
As I mentioned on Twitter, I’ve appreciated and benefited from your blog for years (and used your booking service because of it), but I’m done clicking on teaser RSS summaries (“clickbait” being the rude but accurate term). Is there any chance you’ll return to a more substantive style that respects your readers’ intelligence and time, or is the new format too effective at increasing traffic and income to give up?
Gary,
What’s the best way to see Antarctica using points and miles (seriously!)? I know there are sea cruises out there, and environmental damage is an issue – but is it a realistic goal or should one stick to penguins at the local zoo ?
Thank you!
What is wrong with AA’s reservations site? It is always down. I checked with Is it Down.com and they pinged several times. Always down “technical difficulties”. You can get to the reservation and click select with a Locator #, but when you click select for the flight “technical difficulties”. I have been trying for 2 weeks to change seats and cannot get past the record locator being visible on line.
Often I shop on internet after getting a special offer via email. I check evreward, shop through points portal and then get a message – only deals/discounts found on site apply. So, enter code found in email and no portal points?
Can a business get a Target loadable red card with their tax is #?
You’ve gotten many comments about the new RSS / email digest format, “clickbait” headlines, etc. I might have missed it, but I haven’t seen you respond directly yet.
Please do. It’s clear that your regular readers don’t like the recent changes. We might understand if you offer an explanation — i.e., “this makes me a lot more money” or “I strive to emulate BuzzFeed” — but the silence is deafening.
Respectfully, I’m on the verge of unsubscribing because the changes bug me that much. As does your silence (again, unless I’ve missed a reply) on the matter despite many many comments about it.
I think you owe your readers a response. You’ve replied on matters far less weighty.
With sub $2500 us-Europe flights on Aer Lingus in biz this summer – i have actually put a crowbar in my wallet and have purchased flights.
Where should I deposit the Aer lingus butt in seat miles?
Hi Gary, I finally tried using the ANA site (I had become a member in order to do so) to find Star alliance business class awards for SFO to Rome or possibly another location in Europe. This was on Sunday, April 12. Of course, I got nowhere with it. I was not the only one as was evident from the April 13 “view from the wing” blog which appeared in my email. What, oh what shall I do? United, as we all know does not display all the available Star alliance awards. Please help!
Are you REALLY the head of Kwik E Mart?
Hi Gary,
Could you explain the ticketing? Class Y, E…? Is a standard? Does it depend on the airline? How does it relate to upgrades? How do airlines classify a seat like class E, for example? How can you know what you are buying?
Thanks!
I want to book Isb/Lon on Saudia airlines using Delta miles. Every time I call Delta they tell me nothing is available on any date. How can I book this award travel?
How bad will AA’s imminent devaluation be?
Why won’t you return the full RSS feed?
Asked this question on Flyertalk, but need an answer so I am taking this opportunity to ask you! Here goes:
I just tried to close my United Explorer and tried to move the rest of my credit line over to my Freedom. I have a $2000 credit line and there is a balance of $95 for the AF which posted. The rep said they can only transfer $905 because I have a balance of $95 for the AF and I have to leave $1000. Is this true? If yes, what is the reasoning behind it?
Also, is it still the case that since the United Explorer is a co-branded card, it is still possible to be transferred over to loyalty services? The rep so that was no longer possible.
Thanks in advance.
I want to know when you’re going to fix this truncated RSS issue from the website redesign that’s bumming everyone out.
are class action lawsuits possible against travel providers who do not honor their contracts and terms and conditions, even if the contract specifies that any disputes must be settled through arbitration or sometimes individual legal action in their home country ?
Has there been a recent somewhat successful class action lawsuit against a travel provider in the last five years?
For disputes with online travel agencies, what remedies exist other than shaming or sharing in social media and blogs (not to mention ignored complains to their customer service)?
Thank you
Feel like I got hosed by AA today. Bought a ticket last night and selected 8F as I am platinum. Got to airport to drop a bag off and got handed a paper ticket with no seat assignment and I asked about it and was told it was bc I was on standby and I thought it odd. After getting through security I went to see what my app was saying and it said 21B and my eyes shot open. No one was at the podium yet so I called AA desk and had them look into it, at which time they said I was still 8F. 10 before boarding and someone was at the podium so I went to get ticket with actual seat and was handed a 21B seat. I asked what the hell happened and they said sorry, no clue.
Ever heard of anything like this??
Would you please, please, please restore the full RSS feed? The truncated version is a huge pain; for example, it makes it impossible to catch up on blogs while flying, on the subway, etc.
Why are there so few true international flights arriving / departing from PHX? There is Mexico/Canada/Alaska/Hawaii, but those don’t count. Nothing all the way to Asia or Oceania. There is exactly one transatlantic flight – BA PHX-LHR, with $900 fuel surcharges.
Phoenix is the 6th largest US city with 1.5 million people. I saw they have a subsidy incentive for the airlines to launch new service. What gives?
What Mike said.
I am in between international flights, each flight has precisely zero internets. The new click bait, short RSS feed has been a major annoyance. Your feed went from “must read” to “click here for three reasons why I won’t / can’t read your feed”.
@afterbang – If airlines thought they could make money with international flights to PHX, they’d have more of them. I would surmise that the airlines, for whatever reason, don’t think they can make enough money with PHX.
Oh, and I’d suggest that if you ever go to Canada or Mexico that you not tell the people there that they don’t count as international flights. And Hawaii and Alaska are part of the US.
It seems hard to build in layovers in Hawaii. Any advice on that using miles?
Is visiting Brazil worth the pain and cost of the visa process for Americans?
Will Boeing release a new 757 neo type aircraft?
Is Chile worth visiting or would Peru be better choice using one world miles.avios?
I stupidly used reward miles on United for an upcoming trip and then paid for upgrades to business. Now I can’t get the 2nd leg of the trip to line up-and would be better off scraping the whole thing and just using my miles for the entire destination instead of piecemeal. How easy is it to undo reward miles AND get refunded for the seat upgrade?
Are there any clever ways to get through to airlines on the phone such as British Airways or airberlin, for a couple of instances, without being on hold for a very long time?
Which credit card gives me the best points value at supermarkets like Target, Kroeger, Smart & Final??
What experience do you and your readers have making claims for the insurance products provided by some credit cards, such as rental car coverage, trip cancellation, purchase protection, etc. These seem pretty useful on paper, but are they easy to make claims, and do they payout in full? In general, are these supplemental benefits reliable or just another marketing gimmick?
This is personal; so please feel free to ignore it.
How much revenue and profit do you generate from this blog? I would just like to know what a successful blogger makes in a year.
Thanks
Just another long time reader that is requesting you change your RSS back to how you had it, like almost everyone else. Or show us some respect by at least explaining your reasoning for why you are doing it this way. Love your blog, btw.
How do you find the time to be both a “thought leader” in travel *and* fight Batman from your underground penguin lair?
Just curious about the timing for getting another Chase Sapphire card and getting another bonus. There is a 24-month waiting period, but how is it measured? From being accepted the first time to being accepted the second? Or is the 24-month period measured by when bonus is awarded (ie, after meeting spend requirement)? Or is some combination of acceptance and bonus award?
Thanks! Scott
Please restore full posts in your RSS feed
When trying to book AA award flights USA to Asia why does it sometimes takes 10-20 half hour conversations with their reps to get a half decent saver award ticket…. But on UA its very easy to do online
I just got a 50K Amex gold business card offer for 5K in spend, is it worth it?
Gary, With travel (travel hacking – diy, miles and points which we all know well our way around). How would this result vs a traveller with a iata card and a traveller utilising Worldventures. Please give me the info why what we do is the best and un-contestable vs the 2 above.
Hello Gary, I read your blog for more than 1 year and learn a lot useful information, thanks a lot. I am enjoy the Sands hotel especially Singapore Marina Bay Sands hotel. Any way to get the points to redeem free night there? Thank in advance for your kindly answer.
American’s rollout of their refitted 777s seems terribly slow – I am looking at business seat maps from lhr over Christmas/New Year and they all show the old 7 abreast configuration. Do we know how many have been retrofitted to date and how many are being refitted each month – I was in HKG in March and saw 3 777s at the Haeco hangar as we taxied out for takeoff. Many thanks.
I’m going to book some flights from lax to hnl on British airways. (But I can’t right now because I don’t have enough miles). Right now they’re 12,500 each. I know they’re making changes as of April 30. Do you think these impending changes will affect the cost of these flights?
Please give us a tutorial on how to combine credit card points with airline miles to buy or upgrade air tickets. I have never collected credit card points until you introduced me to them, but I have them now!
Is there, somewhere, a good, step-wise description of how to search for reward flights? Covering when it’s recommended to use Chase vs Starwood points? Thanks.
Noticed that my Hertz Goldplus points disappeared while checking balances via awardwallet. Called up Hertz and was told that the 25 bonus points I earned in Janiary did not count towards “activity” in order to keep account points from expiring. The CSR said it had to be a rental or redemption. Can you confirm this? I thought any activity would count. I have not rented from Hertz in a while as Costco travel has been a much better source for rates.
Thanks
@Phil Atley
Hold times are never fun. http://www.lucyphone.com/ has a free product out there that will connect you to whoever, you get yourself to the right queue, hit ** and it will call you back once a person’s on the line.
I always use it when I need to call BA. Works wonderful!
How about a conversation on the use of others’ miles (spouse’s, family members, friends) in relation to ‘gifting’ awards and vise versa, as well as which programs allow ‘pooling’ and/or transfer of miles for consolidation.
Is it worth it ot do the buy up with AA. ? 1199.00 for platium level or 899.00 for gold.
With the Hyatt Diamond Challenge effectively dead, I’m considering doing a Starwood challenge. At what point in the year would the challenge count for both the current year and the following? Having the following year included would obviously add a lot of value.
can I move credit line from business to personal cc at Chase?
@HD – I just got a similar email. IMO, it comes down to 4 things: How often you fly, how important flying up front is to you, your base city, and the value of the money. If you fly a fair bit, that makes it a lot more worthwhile to drop the money. Is the space and comfort of an upgrade important enough to spend the money on improved status? Where are you flying from? If it’s DFW, for example, not a great chance on getting upgrades on desirable flights with all the Executive Platinums based there, whereas you’d do much better out of MSP. Finally, you have to put a dollar figure to what you want. A first class ticket to any destination not nearby will often set you back what you’re paying for the status, so viewed that way, one set of upgrades would pay for itself. While I’d personally decided not to accept the offer, since I don’t fly more than once or twice a year domestically, if I did, I would absolutely go with Platinum given the small price difference and better upgrade chances.
The current websites are a bit lacking on business class seat data. Examples: Delta’s new 76’s are very comfortable for daytime travel but miserable for sleep as seat descends into a metal, casket-like box too tight for feet and shoulders. Regarding Aer Lingus’ new business class, there is no info anywhere on seat width. Iberia’s J class on the A-340 shows an amazing seat width of 26” on the Guru website, but all the reviews claim it’s too narrow. Any ideas or even just the answers to the EI/IB questions? Thank you.
What are the chances of Qatar Airways starting flights into CLT?
They are adding flights to all other AA/USAirways hubs but I have not heard anything about CLT. This could be a great feeder airport for them and it may be better to be in Charlotte rather than IAD,PHL,JFK,BOS which are all competing for the same passengers.
What am I missing? Is AA going to dehub CLT? Is that something that Qatar knows and that is why they are not doing anything here?
Hi, Looking at business class award flights for the following route:
JAX -> IST , ATH -> JAX
My current search turns up award space for the international parts of the flights but no award space for the connection flights (one each way). Given space may open up at laters dates wanted to ask your suggestions on how you might handle a situation where award flights are available for partial segments I.e. the longest segments but none for the shorter segments.
Would it be worthwhile to secure awards for one or more segments with one alliance and if available secure award flights for the other segments with another alliance?
Thanks,
Jeff
A while back I asked you about the possibility of connecting Delta award tickets with revenue tickets. The concern being that a late arrival on a revenue ticket might make me miss my award flight, and Delta would not be responsible for getting me on the next flight. You were kind enough to reply (below-1). A recent article claimed it is possible to do this on United. (below-2). Do you know how to accomplish this linkage? Is there some action that must be taken on Oneworld carriers to link the tickets? I am looking for some type of confirmation? Thanks.
1) @Dan – this is a problem. Oneworld policy is to treat separate tickets on oneworld as though they were through tickets. But to answer your question about Delta, no I do not believe so. So give yourself plenty of time for error..
http://viewfromthewing.com/2012/12/28/top-eight-best-uses-of-delta-skymiles/#comments
2) Jason Steele at “The Points Guy” published the following regarding doing this on United. However, I did not get a response when I asked how to do so.
“One of the big problems I’ve had with United awards is a complete lack of saver space on domestic flights between hubs. Even though I live in Denver, a United hub, there seems to be very little award space between here and the other United hubs, despite a multitude of daily mainline flights. And when I do find space, those few seats are invariably in coach. On occasion I have had to purchase a domestic positioning leg if I want to find business or first class award space, but at least United checks my bags through and protects me in the case of a missed connection.”
http://thepointsguy.com/2015/04/how-to-book-awards-with-united-mileageplus-miles/#ixzz3Y9fVk53y
Have 120k miles on BA but I can never find biz class flights to europe, and coach makes no sense with fuel surcharge. You talk about using them for short haul US flights, but I don’t live near any BA city. What can I use these for?
@Cindi Huh? Short haul US flights don’t require living near a BA city.
Gary,
I have both the Citi Platinum AA Visa and Amex cards. Every time there is an annual fee due, I call and Citi gives me a credit for the annual fees. However, every time I apply for the Citi AA MC, I am denied. Should I cancel both cards, wait 18 months and then apply for the Citi AA MC? Then I should be able to get both the personal and business cards for a total of 100,000 miles (assuming they still have the offer). I’m not putting too much spend on both cards right now so it looks like I should cancel.
@Al Saito it seems to me that unless you’re using the flight benefits aggressively (priority boarding, checked bags, etc) that waiving the fee may not be a reason to keep the card, and certainly not more than one (which gets you the 10k bonus for redeeming 100k miles each year)
1) Do properties with “named” suites that list for $3k-10k/night just leave these empty most nights, or is something else going on? Particularly at Hyatt, where a DSU only gives you a base room — will I ever see the inside of the Diplomatic Suite or the Presidential Suite without being an sheikh or a Wall Street robber-baron? I always harbor a hope on a one-night stay, but it seems unlikely…
2) Last fall the blogosphere picked up on LH terminating F service on a bunch of routes effective April/May. I’m still able to book F on those routes so that”s clearly changed (which I’m thankful for as I think LH F is the best I’ve flown) — where can learn about service changes like this, and what’s the current plan?
Sometimes it can contribute greatly to the points strategy when we know techniques for how to get from one international destination to another instead of just from USA. For example I’m flying from JNB to LIM in October and have no idea how to make it an efficient route. I don’t want to link through LHR or DXB an I have no clue what my options are, but I could rattle off a large number of strategies for getting to LIM from the US.
Ok remember you said anything. I will be traveling to Maui on Sep 12 for wedding anniversary. Booked American f/c or business which ever they want to call it. Unfortunately the seating going there on window for my wife is bulkhead seating. The plane is a AA 767-300 but I cannot tell how much legroom is there on that aircraft…any ideas ?