Tuesday Triple

  • Wow, I’ve never seen an offer like this for the EXTREMELY valuable Southwest Companion Pass. Atlanta residents can fly 3 round-trip flights and just get it. Again…wow.
  • Don’t look now, but the card that’s always last on my list…well…it actually has has a decent offer. Gasp! Make a purchase, pay for a stay, and get 4 free nights.
  • Thanks Joe for letting me know that the Amex “pay over time” offer is still alive for some. This has been around for a long, long time. If it does work for you, that’s probably the easiest 5,000 points you’ll get this year.

Man, I got some incredibly kind emails yesterday. It’s crazy to hear nice words from strangers every morning. Day after day, all I get is love and that’s such a special thing. Friday’s freakshow was very, very rare. I have a low tolerance for crazy…fortunately, I can do a quick rant about it, people enjoy the spectacle, and then we all move on.  More deals tomorrow, my friends!

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The Crazy 5%

Many bloggers are shady. A few are scumbags. 

We know this.

But, man, some of you readers are worse.

I gave a recommendation for an award booking service on Friday. How did I come up with my choice?

  • They’re honest.
  • I respect how they do business.
  • They answer questions people have.
  • They do complicated bookings well.
  • I only get positive reviews about them from readers.

That’s it. I’m not an expert reviewer of every company on the internet. With other competitors, I’ve heard (from readers) things like the following:

  • No person you can talk to on the phone.
  • They didn’t respond to emails.
  • Complicated bookings were totally ignored.
  • Quoted prices were jacked up later.
  • Customer service was awkward or rude.
  • Some bloggers advertised “their” service, hired other people, and took the credit. I know this because their employees emailed me complaining about how little they were paid and how badly they were treated.

Guys, please understand…if you know of better choices, all you have to do is tell me about them. I would happily do a post about multiple good options. But, of all the emails I received from Friday’s post, most were negative. And not one included a name of a good competitor. Most of the time, I love reading emails. But this was a waste…a lot of incoherent whining.

I understand how blogging works. 90% of you really just show up to take something from here. Deals or entertainment. I get it. By definition, that could be considered a greedy perspective. But that’s how it works. I have no problem with it. I signed up for this and enjoy helping when I can. 5% of you are shockingly, incredibly generous human beings. I know if I ever asked for something here, you’d do your best to give it to me. That 5% completely blows my mind. And the remaining 5% of you are either crazy or totally illogical. You will literally complain at every possible opportunity. These complaints don’t even have to make sense. In fact, they rarely do. You hate bloggers, airlines, hotel chains, and mileage programs. I’m a person known for keeping it real, so you have a hard time whining about posts here. But, when given the opportunity, you jump all over me too. I don’t know how I can say this more clearly – I don’t know what’s wrong with this 5%. But I don’t like them. I don’t respect them. And they don’t have anything meaningful to say.

What would happen if I actually wanted something from you guys? I don’t think I’d even be able to keep up with the complaints. So instead of emailing the crazy 5% individually, I’d like to do it here this time…

 

Dear Crazy People:

I recommended Shrewd Travel because Andrew is honorable. Period. What other reasons for having an opinion are required in your crazy heads? You want more? Ok, every single bit of feedback I’ve received about them has been positive. On the other hand, I’ve gotten feedback for other award booking “companies” and the reviews suck. If that’s not good enough for you, do you actually have anything to add? Since I can only share information I know, how about giving me some other good options. Oh, right…you don’t actually have anything to say.

You don’t like the idea of paying a person to book flights for you? Well, neither do I. Personally, I’d never use an award booker myself. For me, it’s a waste of money. I’m not their ideal client. The internet is full of information and I prefer to learn stuff myself. But think of it like hiring a realtor. In a hot market, some sellers show effort and get educated about contracts, marketing, etc. They end up saving big money on commissions. Good for them. Others don’t have that kind of time, so they hire a dude to handle everything. That’s what an award booker like Shrewd Travel does. They book complicated itineraries for people who don’t have the time. It isn’t for everyone. Definitely not for me. Most of us would rather save money and figure it out for ourselves. But there are nice people out there who want to hire someone. They ask me for my recommendation. So tell me, what would you have me do? Not have an opinion?

You know what, forget I asked. Your answer will just lead us into another one of your nonsensical circles of craziness. Wow, I think you’ve finally done it. I’m done humoring you. Why not find another blogger to annoy? It shouldn’t be hard to find one of those. But when he tries to screw you over, just remember I was the guy who gave a shit.

Nah. Y’know what? I don’t need you to remember that. Please just leave.

Sincerely Happy To Be Done With The Crazy 5%,

MileNerd

 

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Booking Like An Expert

Literally every day, I get emails about booking flights. The blog is about earning, but these questions about burning miles come in all the time. The problem is, I just don’t have time to do some of these complicated bookings. Then again, I probably don’t have the brainpower either. There’s an art to it for sure…

Of all the choices out there, I always refer people to Shrewd Travel. It’s run by my friend Andrew. He has volunteered to pay me for people I send over, but instead, I asked him to charge less and give that money to you guys. I think it’s only fair…I wouldn’t want my recommendation to be influenced by any financial gain. He and I talked about him doing a guest post last year. Life is busy, so it’s just happening now. I wanted him to share an example of what someone like him does. The first of those posts is below. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. Love it or hate it, I’d love to hear those opinions. Ok, I’ll get out of his way now. Enjoy your weekend, nerds!

 

Hi, I’m Andrew, and I’m the President of Shrewd Travel LLC. Paul asked me to write a little bit about a recent award booking to show you how I think through a booking. If, after reading this you have any questions, feel free to let me know.

Over the weekend, a customer inquired about booking a trip to South America. She had a destination picked out and an array of miles but none of them were enough for two round-trip tickets in business class. Here’s what she had:

  • 127,000 American Airlines AAdvantage
  • 25,000 Starwood Preferred Guest
  • 147,000 United MileagePlus
  • 120,000 British Airways Avios

She wanted to go to Punta Arenas (PUQ) in Chile, departing from Chicago sometime between November 15th and February 15th. She wanted to spend 10 days out of the country.

With the average price between North America and South America in business class being approximately 100,000 miles per person, she clearly didn’t have enough to book 2 people on the same airline with her stash. However, she definitely had enough to book 4 one-ways in business class, which meant we would be able to book them together on the way down and back.

I knew the airport at her desired destination of Punta Arenas didn’t have much service. A quick look confirmed that only 3 airlines operate there and only one is bookable with miles (LAN). I went over to British Airways to search for availability on LAN between Santiago (major international airport in Chile) and PUQ. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a date with 2 seats open. That meant that she’d have to buy 2 tickets from SCL-PUQ-SCL. No big deal. I had warned her early on in the process this may be the case, and the prices weren’t too high.

Punta Arenas, Chile

Punta Arenas, Chile

So now it was time to pick the miles to use. It was clear we’d have to use Oneworld for at least one direction, so my first instinct was to look for LAN space to all of their US Destinations. I couldn’t find any dates that had 2 seats using the British Airways search engine so I moved on. Next, I tried to find American Airlines availability.

The client had specifically asked for a lie-flat seat for her trip so I had to look for availability in first class on an American 777-200. Why? Because they have angled seats in business on that plane and that’s the only aircraft they operate to Santiago. If they flew the 777-300ER, we would have been fine in business since it has flat-bed seats. Unfortunately, that isn’t true on the 777-200. FYI, within the next year or two, all of the 777-200s will be converted flat-beds in business class and they’ll eliminate the first class cabin entirely.

American Airlines 777-200 First Class

American Airlines 777-200 First Class

I was able to find first class availability on December 6th but it required a double connection (Miami and St. Louis). Fortunately, the connection in St. Louis was short and the entire trip was in first class. I put it on hold with American and then went to book the flights to Santiago with United. Why? I knew there would be good availability around Thanksgiving for international flights departing the United States (July 4th is another holiday with similar great availability exiting the US).

I first went to United’s website because it’s the easiest site to use. Also, because she was going to South America, I knew United would show all availability. If she was flying to any other continent I’d likely use United along with another search engine because United doesn’t show all partners. However, for trips between the US and South America it shows everything. All partners. I first looked to see if there was space from Houston (on United) or Toronto (on Air Canada). Both options were available so now I wanted to see which would provide the best connection. It turns out the United flight allowed for a much more efficient use of time thanks to the frequency of Chicago to Houston flights. Once I found the best connection option, I put the award on hold. I knew business class would be fine on United. Why? Because on all of their long-haul international destinations (operated by Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777, and 787 aircraft) United has flat-bed seats in business class.

United BusinessFirst Bed on Planes Without First Class

United BusinessFirst Bed on Planes Without First Class

After putting everything on hold, I went to search for flights that allowed a safe connection time above the 1.5 hour minimum connect time from international to domestic at Santiago. Once I picked flight times that offered the most direct choices (1-stop, no plane change) I included those in my email to the client.

The client confirmed the itinerary was exactly what she was looking for. I then sent her instructions for pay for the flights online and confirm them. In this case, neither she nor I had to call the airline (though this isn’t true in more complex booking situations).

Less than 3 days after she contacted me, she was booked in flat-beds between Chicago and Santiago, Chile. The times were within her availability, for her desired time period, at a total mileage cost of 235,000 miles (and just under $120 in taxes). When you include the ticket from Santiago to Punta Arenas, total flight cost is 235,000 miles and around $920 in taxes and final leg costs. Now when you include our fee and compare this to the cheapest revenue ticket available for those dates in a flat-bed business class product (Air Canada), the total savings was over $7000. That’s a lot of money and we’re glad to be a part of the savings equation.

Why was this booking so successful and why is the client so happy?

  • First, she contacted us with plenty of time before her desired travel time (almost a year in advance).
  • Second, she was flexible and understood that some places may be inaccessible with miles (and could require purchasing a revenue flight).
  • Third, she acted quickly and booked the flights. By acting quickly, she was able to grab the space while still on hold and not risk losing it.
  • Finally, her points were spread out which allowed for a variety of options in making the trip a reality.

Please remember that all readers of MileNerd get $50 off each person in their itinerary. Feel free to contact me today if you need help getting a trip booked. You can start the process by going to here.  For the discounted rates, please make sure to mention MileNerd sent you in the “Any other info you’d like us to know” field.

If you have any questions about this trip feel free to reach out by the form on the site or e-mail Paul and I’m sure he’ll forward it to me. Hope you enjoyed this first guest post. Happy miles burning!

The Top 25 Credit Cards

(If you see any errors or missing cards, please let me know. I try to keep a full list, but it’s a lot of information and I do make mistakes).

Time for the monthly edition of my Top 25 Credit Cards. Again, if you’re a newbie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. Many of your questions will be answered there. Basic things like not applying for 3 Chase cards at the same time should be known before you continue. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. I listed a few here but not many, so it might be worth exploring more Business cards. Also, “churning” might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually.

Miles and points aren’t an equal currency. 50,000 Delta Skymiles are worth less to me than 50,000 miles from pretty much any other airline. 25,000 Hyatt points are worth a ton more than 25,000 Hilton points. And so on. These links work right now (February 12th at midnight). If you read this later, many of the offers will have changed. Things move fast in this game so read the offer details before applying. Here we go! My Top 25 current credit cards in order are…

 

  • Business Gold Rewards (Amex)
    • Spend $5,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points.
    • This offer comes and goes all the time. Back for now.
    • Possibly 75,000 points? That’s why it’s #2.
    • A better 75,000-point method here?
  • Ink Plus (Chase)
    • Spend $5,000 in 3 months. Get 60,000 points.
    • Back to 50,000 in March.
    • The points transfer to United, Southwest, British, Hyatt, etc.
    • 5 times the points on purchases at office stores.
    • Worth seeing if you can still get a 70,000-point offer in your local branch.
  • Sapphire (Chase)
    • Spend $4,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 points.
    • Still very valuable points. See Ink cards above.
    • One of my favorite cards to use when I don’t have any spends to meet.
    • You might still be able to pick up 45,000 points here.
  • Starwood Preferred Guest aka SPG (American Express)
    • Spend $5,000 in 6 months. Get 25,000 points.
    • Incredible card. I really, really love cash + points for hotel stays.
    • I’m also a big fan of some of their 3,000-point properties.
    • Possible 30,000 points.
    • The Business version of the card is here.
  • Barclay Arrival (Barclays)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 miles.
    • One of the best cards for actual spending, as discussed here.
  • American Airlines cards (Citibank)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 miles.
    • Better public offers with lower spend and lounge passes here?
    • If that doesn’t work, try this one here.
  • US Airways (Barclays)
    • Spend $1. Get 50,000 miles.
    • Still a good time to grab your American and US Airways miles.
  • United Airlines (Chase)
    • Log in and see if you are targeted for the 50,000-mile offer.
    • This offer is also being pushed heavily in airports.
    • No luck? You can also try this link.
    • Here’s a 50,000-mile Business link.
    • When it dies, others may still work here or here.
  • Southwest (Chase)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points.
    • Getting late in the year if you’re going for a companion pass.
  • Mercedes Benz Platinum (American Express)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards points.
    • Big $475 fee but benefits like global entry credit and $200 credit.
    • A no-fee for the first year Platinum card is here.
    • Look for MUCH better targeted Amex offers in your mailbox or here.
  • Hilton Honors Reserve (Citibank)
    • Spend $2,500 in 4 months. Get 2 weekend nights. Best Hilton card.
    • Gold status while you have the card. Upgrades, breakfast, internet, etc.
  • British Airways (Chase)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 50,000 points.
    • If I were guessing, I’d say the 100,000-point offer will be back.
  • Club Carlson Premier (US Bank)
    • Spend $2,500 in 90 days. Get 85,000 points.
    • Great hotel card and not from the usual issuers.
  • InterContinental Hotel aka IHG aka Priority Club (Chase)
    • Spend $1,000. Get 80,000 points.
    • Another method to get that bonus is here.
    • One of the most underrated hotel cards out there.
    • If/when this goes away, there’s a 70,000-point offer too.
  • Hyatt (Chase)
    • Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 2 nights at any Hyatt.
    • Even more valuable after the point devaluation.
    • Offer with $50 statement credit may be available.
  • Marriott (Chase)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 70,000 points.
    • The standard Business card links are here.
    • Another offer here for 40,000 points and $100.
  • Fairmont Hotel (Chase)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 2 nights and breakfast at any Fairmont.
    • Again, many of these hotels are very expensive.
  • Alaska Airlines (Bank of America)
    • Spend $1. Get 25,000 miles.
    • Offer with statement credit here.
    • Bank of America cards can be MUCH more “churnable” than most.
  • Premier Gold (Amex)
    • Possible 50,000 points, rather than the usual 25,000.
    • A bit of a pain, but you can see if you’re targeted.
    • Some people are seeing 100,000-point offers.
    • Here’s another link for 50,000 points after spending $1,000.
  • Propel (Wells Fargo)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 points.
    • It’s always good to see cards from different banks.
    • A note on this one from reader Adam.
    • Here’s a decent Business card from Wells Fargo.
  • Hawaiian Airlines (Barclays)
    • Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 35,000 miles.
    • Business version is here.
  • FlexPerks (US Bank)
    • Spend $3,500. Get 20,000 points.
    • Many different card options for FlexPerks.
  • Venture (Capital One)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 40,000 miles.
    • Up from 20,000 miles.
  • Ritz Carlton (Chase)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get a free night.
    • Big $395 annual fee. But a travel credit of $300 makes that much better.
    • Way down from the 140,000-point offer. And way lower on the list now.
  • Frontier Airlines (Barclays)
    • Spend $500 in 3 months. Get 40,000 miles.
    • Frontier miles aren’t for everyone.
  • Thank You (Citibank)
    • Weird offer. 20,000 points for spending $2,000 in 3 months. Then 30,000 more points for spending $3,000 in first 3 months of 2nd year.
    • Bonuses on this card go up/down often.
    • Another version is here.
  • Korean (US Bank)
    • Spend $1. Get 15,000 miles.
    • Down from 30,000-mile offer.
    • Business card is here.
  • Hilton Honors (American Express)
    • Spend $750 in 3 months. Get 40,000 points.
    • Hilton points are definitely not what they used to be.
  • Hilton Honors Surpass (American Express)
    • Spend $3,000 in 3 months. Get 60,000 points.
    • Get the previous card, and you’ll get tons of offers to upgrade to this one.
    • Looks like an 80,000-point offer is here.
  • Hilton Honors (Citibank)
    • Spend $1,000 in 4 months. Get 40,000 points.
    • Between the 4 cards, you have LOTS of Hilton options.
  • Prestige (Citibank)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 30,000 points.
    • Nice benefits including $200 credit, but huge $450 annual fee.
    • There is also a 60,000-point offer possible if you go into your local branch.
    • A tool on Citibank’s site shows what cards you are prequalified for. You might get a 50,000-point offer there.
  • Diners Club Elite (BMO Harris Bank)
    • 3x points at gas station, grocery stores, and pharmacies.
    • Killer way to pick up Starwood points.
    • Big annual fee.
  • Aeroplan (TD Bank)
    • Spend $1,000 in 3 billing statements. Get 25,000 miles.
    • Not spectacular, but low spend and not the usual issuer.
  • Asiana (Bank of America)
    • Spend $2,500 in 90 days. Get 25,000 miles.
    • Meh.
  • Amtrak (Chase)
    • Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 18,000 points.
    • Good flexible currency to have.
  • Virgin America (Comenity)
    • 2 different card offers I discussed here.
    • Issued by Comenity Bank, which is the best thing about these cards.
  • Freedom (Chase)
    • Worth having in your collection for the 5% quarterly bonuses.
    • No reason to close this one.
    • Another semi-decent quarterly bonus cards is Discover It.
    • Here’s the old Amazon link for the Discover. This Slickdeals one might be a better offer.
  • LAN (US Bank)
    • 20,000 miles after first use. 25,000 before March 1.
    • Down from a 40,000-mile offer.
  • Expedia (Citibank)
    • Spend $2,000 in 3 months. Get 25,000 points.
    • Also a 15,000-point version with no annual fee.
  • Virgin Atlantic (Bank of America)
    • Skip this 25,000-mile offer and wait for 50,000 to return.
    • Again, Bank of America is more churnable than most.
    • Global Entry credit might still be working if you’re looking to save the TSA PreCheck fee.
    • Big 90,000 miles available here but a huge amount of spending needed.
  • Everyday (Amex)
    • Spend $1,000 in 3 months. Get 10,000 Membership Rewards points.
    • No annual fee. Preferred has a 15,000-point bonus with a $95 fee.
    • Free Amazon Prime for a year.
  • Sun Country (First National Bank of Omaha)
    • Spend $500 in 3 billing cycles. Get 40,000 points.
    • Not the most popular airline in the world.
  • Wyndham (Barclays)
    • Spend $1. Get 30,000 miles.
    • Offer goes up and down. We’re in a down time right now.
    • Thanks to Ofer, it looks like a 45,000-point offer is alive here.
  • NFL (Barclays)
    • Spend $500 in 90 days. Get $100 credit.
    • Offer has been higher in the past.
  • Choice Hotel (Barclays)
    • You’re truly running out of cards if you’re still reading this far.
    • I keep this as the last card mostly out of tradition.

Recently Dropped:

  • Business Platinum (Amex) – Was #1 on the list with old 100,000 point deal.
  • Delta (Amex) – Weak offers right now. Check if you’re targeted here or here.
  • Lufthansa (Barclays) – Just dropped from 50,000 again. Should be back soon.
  • LifeMiles (US Bank) – Dropped from 40,000 to 20,000 miles.
  • AirTran (Chase) – This one is gone for good.
  • Best Western (Barclays) – Again, who really cares?

Beyond this mile/point list, the following are some great cashback cards:

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Where To Get Chase Ink?

There’s s nice, new promo for the Ink Plus…60,000 points through the end of the month. The annual fee is $95. What’s wrong with this deal? Absolutely nothing. But…

If you have a Chase branch near you, try applying in person. The annual fee might be waived. Save $95 and pick up the same number of points. Good luck!

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