Avios Or Cash?

British Airways is paying out.

Many of you got emails about it in the last week. But if you redeemed Avios between November 2006 and April 2013 and didn’t hear anything, click here. There’s a phone number and email address at the link. Reach out if you never received your Unique ID.

For those who did get an email, you’re looking at somewhere between 12,500 and 35,000 points. The cash option seems to be a much bigger range. I’ve heard from some readers who were offered under 10 bucks while others were offered hundreds. My thoughts when choosing:

  • If you never use Avios points, take the cash as long as it’s a decent amount of money.
  • If you’re offered less than a hundred bucks…there isn’t really much of a choice. Take the points.
  • If you use Avios points but feel conflicted, they’re worth around 1.2 or 1.3 cents each. So it’s just a matter of doing a little math. For example, if you’re offered 35,000 points or $500…
    35,000 points x .013 = $455 value
    In that example, I’d take the $500. It’s worth more than the points. Totally your call, but that’s how I’d decide.

The Top 25 Credit Cards

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

 

Significant Changes Since Last Month:
-The American Airlines Business card from Citibank is up to 70,000.
-Sapphire Preferred is up to 80,000 for big spenders.
-Removed the 70,000-mile…er, Dong…Delta links.
-Removed Mercedes version of the Amex Platinum card.
-Amex Business Platinum is offering 100,000 points for big spenders.
-Updated Marriott links.
-Increased bonuses available on the Hilton cards.
-JetBlue Business card added.

 

Before Playing This Game:
-Find a new hobby until you can pay off all balances each month.
-Take a second to look at what you’re applying for and confirm a bonus is what you expect.
-Get a screenshot of the bonus description in case you have issues collecting it later.
-Take 2 minutes to read the small print before applying.
(Look for “once in a lifetime,” “no bonus for cardholders in last 24 months,” etc.)
-Keep everything very organized in a spreadsheet. You’ll thank me later.

 

Time for my monthly Top 25 Credit Cards. It’s called “Top 25” out of tradition, but you’ll get many more links than that below. Again, if you’re a rookie, make sure you read The Newbie Guide. It’s a little outdated but many basic questions can still be answered there. For people running out of cards, remember there’s often a Business card option. Also, “churning” (getting the same card more than once) might be an option. The dates here were a guideline but things always tend to vary individually. If you’re new, it might be wise to start with Chase cards because of the limitations they’ll place on you soon.

Miles and points are far from an equal currency. 50,000 Delta SkyMiles are worth less to me than that amount from Alaska Airlines. 25,000 Hyatt points mean way more than the same number from Hilton. And so on. These links work right now (June 1st at midnight). If you read this later, many of the offers will have changed. Things move fast so read offer details and terms before applying. Especially all that small print when you’re trying to get bonuses more than once on the same card. Ok, enough chatter…here we go! My “Top 25” current credit cards are below.

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Category 7 Opportunity

Been wanting to post this one for a month but it was the least time-urgent…yada, yada, yada…and it had to get in line behind other deals. For those with stacks of Starwood/Marriott points and expensive taste…

What?
You’re going to have favorable prices available for award stays.

Where?
In fancy schmancy category 7 SPG properties.

When?
From August through the end of the year.

Why?
Because of merger and chart changes.

How?
If you have enough points (and time), the best way to play it will be a 5-night stay. In August, when this becomes available, you’ll be looking at particularly nice numbers for 5 nights…

Category 7 SPG properties will work out to be 16,000 Starwood points per night (or 48,000 Marriott points). It’ll be a very good opportunity if you’re looking to stay somewhere nice during the last 5 months of the year.

 

Sale Stuff

There are rare events in the world…

Getting struck by lightning.

Going to McDonalds and declaring, “That was a truly spectacular meal.”

Watching Tiger Woods tell a beautiful woman, “I think we should just be friends.”

And then there are the events you can depend on…

Like sales from Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska.

(Here’s one from Accor hotels for good measure)

 

Avios Issues

I’ve heard from so many readers over the last month having issues using Avios points for American Airlines flights. Typically, you should be able to do it like this:

  1. Go to aa.com and find saver award availability.
  2. With that quick bit of research done, head to the British Airways website to see if the flights pop up there.
  3. If those flights aren’t showing up on the shit-tastic British Airways website…call and ask them to waive the phone booking fee. Why? Because their website sucks and isn’t showing what it’s supposed to show.

For the last month, things have sounded worse. Certain tricks have helped show availability, including:

  • Refreshing the website until you see flights pop up. This seems incredibly stupid (but it has worked).
  • Clicking on other dates and then clicking back on the original one. This also seems ridiculous. But, yes, it often brought up availability.
  • Sometimes attempting either/both of the above “tricks” 10 to 15 times. Sigh.

In the last week, we reached new lows:

  • Some readers were seeing a message from British Airways on the website:
    “Sorry, we can’t show you American Airlines flights at the moment. There is a technical problem with American Airlines’ reward flight availability which American Airlines is currently working to identify and resolve.”
  • Even when calling British Airways, many readers have been unable to book ANY flights on American Airlines with Avios points. Nothing shows up. Not on the website. Not even with the help of phone reps.
  • A couple of readers found Alaska Airlines availability BUT the wrong number of Avios points was deducted to book the flights. I can vouch for this because it happened to me 3 days ago.

The point? Recently, trying to use Avios points has been a complete mess. Attempt the tricks above, call to see if that makes a difference, and make sure they don’t take too many points out of your account.