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Airline Rewards Programs & Deals Thread

hmm, maybe Laura needs a card...lol
 
JB said:
Chase SW card has the 50k signup bonus again for a limited time.
Click to expand...

Using this card for all business is the easiest way to build up points
 
Earlier in the week I cancelled several cards that were opened up earlier this year to take advantage of mileage offers.

Now, I'm down to the BoA Travel Rewards card and the SW card. Been using the travel rewards card to help pay for the trip to Ireland in May 2015.

So....my question: apart from the special sign up offers that various cards provide, would there be a reason to use one of those instead of the Travel Rewards card that can be redeemed for any travel costs and also offers a 10% annual bonus if you have a BoA checking/savings account? Below are the general card benefits.....including no annual fee.

[h=3]A simpler way to earn with the flexibility to use your points for more than just flights with no restrictions[/h]
  • Earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on purchases and travel anywhere, any time with no blackout dates
  • No annual fee & no foreign transaction fees†
  • Online-exclusive 10,000 bonus points if you make at least $500 in purchases in the first 90 days - which can be redeemed for a $100 statement credit towards travel purchases
  • Redeem points to pay for flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, or baggage fees with no restrictions or blackouts
  • Book travel as you normally would and go online or call to redeem your points for a statement credit towards all or part of your travel purchases
  • There is no limit to the total number of points you can earn and points do not expire
 
One bit of additional info: looks like 10,000 points would be equal to $100 of travel credit. So I guess the question is then like against SW where 10,000 dollars spent would equal 10,000 miles which can vary in value depending on flight.
 
It is unfortunate that my company moved away from one of the point rewarding cards and took another perk of traveling for business away. On a personal note I have the AMEX Delta Gold card, which I need to get rid of and move to a more rewarding card. So many great offers out there right now.
 
#Cookie said:
Earlier in the week I cancelled several cards that were opened up earlier this year to take advantage of mileage offers.

Now, I'm down to the BoA Travel Rewards card and the SW card. Been using the travel rewards card to help pay for the trip to Ireland in May 2015.

So....my question: apart from the special sign up offers that various cards provide, would there be a reason to use one of those instead of the Travel Rewards card that can be redeemed for any travel costs and also offers a 10% annual bonus if you have a BoA checking/savings account? Below are the general card benefits.....including no annual fee.

A simpler way to earn with the flexibility to use your points for more than just flights with no restrictions


  • Earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on purchases and travel anywhere, any time with no blackout dates
  • No annual fee & no foreign transaction fees†
  • Online-exclusive 10,000 bonus points if you make at least $500 in purchases in the first 90 days - which can be redeemed for a $100 statement credit towards travel purchases
  • Redeem points to pay for flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars, or baggage fees with no restrictions or blackouts
  • Book travel as you normally would and go online or call to redeem your points for a statement credit towards all or part of your travel purchases
  • There is no limit to the total number of points you can earn and points do not expire
Click to expand...

Very dependent on the redemption of the BOA card. They say go and book and then get credit. That sounds easy enough for some. Low bonus is not even enough for a flight is part of it, and redemptions seem a bit high compared to branded cards.
 
IMO I guess it comes down to how many flights you can squeeze out of that 50k on SW. Again the lack of an annual fee is appealing as well.
#Cookie said:
One bit of additional info: looks like 10,000 points would be equal to $100 of travel credit. So I guess the question is then like against SW where 10,000 dollars spent would equal 10,000 miles which can vary in value depending on flight.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys....makes sense.

Just thinking out loud here:

$10k spent on the BoA card is 15k points which equals $150 of travel credit on anything. Not taking into account the 10% annual bonus.
$10k spent on the SW card is 10k miles is a single leg of a flight on average probably close to the $150 travel credit mentioned above. Plus annual fee and no bonus after initial offer expires.

I like the simplicity of the SW card but not the annual fee plus no priority boarding which you could get with other airline specific cards like AA or Delta.

I have 65k BoA points right now and haven't gotten the annual 10% bonus yet. Don't want to do the credit card game year after year so thinking I'll stick with the BoA card for now.
 
#Cookie said:
Thanks guys....makes sense.

Just thinking out loud here:

$10k spent on the BoA card is 15k points which equals $150 of travel credit on anything. Not taking into account the 10% annual bonus.
$10k spent on the SW card is 10k miles is a single leg of a flight on average probably close to the $150 travel credit mentioned above. Plus annual fee and no bonus after initial offer expires.

I like the simplicity of the SW card but not the annual fee plus no priority boarding which you could get with other airline specific cards like AA or Delta.

I have 65k BoA points right now and haven't gotten the annual 10% bonus yet. Don't want to do the credit card game year after year so thinking I'll stick with the BoA card for now.
Click to expand...

Another option is the Starwood Preferred card from Amex. It is a hotel card, but you can transfer 1:1 to most airlines and if you transfer 20k points, you get a rather hefty 5k bonus. So if you use the bonus wisely, you have a shot at a solid card for both hotel and airfare as well as status sharing for Delta and Starwood.
 
Thanks JB, I'll take a look and do some comparing.
 
Chase Sapphire preferred has 40K bonus (worth $500 in flights), wonder if they bump that to 50K at end of year
 
#Cookie said:
Thanks JB, I'll take a look and do some comparing.
Click to expand...

And of course to further confuse, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Barclays Arrival Card. Both are very flexible and solid solutions for those that want a single card option.
 
Airline Rewards Programs & Deals Thread

I'm a US Airways frequent flyer (b/c of proximity to Charlotte). Platinum Preferred for past 4 years. I've had their World Elite MasterCard since '11 and overall I'm happy with the perks it offers.

Still mind blowing to me that US Airways does not allow you to book one way Award Travel (you can book it but uses the same amount of miles as a roundtrip award ticket). Certainly that will change when integration into AA Advantage program is official in Q2 next year.

Any other US Airways flyers?


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I was but switched to AA. New program looks quite solid if you are on the AA side of things.
 
Yeah I'm US Air because of their hub in Philly. I've had their card since 2007 and am fine with it. I earn decent miles with it and the perks fit me just fine. I agree that the one way restriction is BS.

I was leaning towards a Starwood card, but I'm souring on them. There just aren't enough good hotels and then I find myself compromising with some mid level Sheraton 20 miles from where I'm supposed to be. I might be moving to Marriott or Hilton instead, we'll see.
 
mikedean441 said:
Chase Sapphire preferred has 40K bonus (worth $500 in flights), wonder if they bump that to 50K at end of year
Click to expand...

I know it was 50,000 when I signed up for mine in August.
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
Yeah I'm US Air because of their hub in Philly. I've had their card since 2007 and am fine with it. I earn decent miles with it and the perks fit me just fine. I agree that the one way restriction is BS.

I was leaning towards a Starwood card, but I'm souring on them. There just aren't enough good hotels and then I find myself compromising with some mid level Sheraton 20 miles from where I'm supposed to be. I might be moving to Marriott or Hilton instead, we'll see.
Click to expand...

We have a solid Hotel thread and I have both of those hotel cards as well as a few others if you need some comparison.
Rumor has it, that US Air card will be closed and card holders will be issued the regular Barclays travel card very soon.
 
ddec said:
I know it was 50,000 when I signed up for mine in August.
Click to expand...

Im gonna hold out, need me something as it appears I may fly a few times next year
 
I got an email from SW, promoting "Earn 40% more points" when I buy, gift, or transfer points to someone. I read the details and while is says the transaction is non-refundable and non-reversable, it says nothing about not being able to do this with another RR member to both reap the benefits. I wonder if I can transfer points to my dad, and him to me so we both see the 40% gains?
 
mikedean441 said:
Im gonna hold out, need me something as it appears I may fly a few times next year
Click to expand...

If you are going single card to cover travel, check out the usual suspects from Chase and Barclays and compare.
Also check out SPG if only for their bonus and I know you can stay at a Starwood a few times a year.

Marriott and United also have a deal in place now too.
 
JB said:
We have a solid Hotel thread and I have both of those hotel cards as well as a few others if you need some comparison.
Rumor has it, that US Air card will be closed and card holders will be issued the regular Barclays travel card very soon.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks. So is US Air issuing another option or will there just be an AA cc option?

I shudder to think how the US Air flight attendants will spend 20 minutes of each flight if they're not allowed to try and sign everyone on the plane up with a credit card. It's always amusing. Flight attendants that hate everyone turn into the most pleasant person imaginable when it comes to handing out the applications. Every. Single. Flight.
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
Ok thanks. So is US Air issuing another option or will there just be an AA cc option?

I shudder to think how the US Air flight attendants will spend 20 minutes of each flight if they're not allowed to try and sign everyone on the plane up with a credit card. It's always amusing. Flight attendants that hate everyone turn into the most pleasant person imaginable when it comes to handing out the applications. Every. Single. Flight.
Click to expand...

There will be no US Air card in the future, as frankly there will not be much of a US Air in the future and their rewards programs have been announced to roll into AA.
 
JB said:
There will be no US Air card in the future, as frankly there will not be much of a US Air in the future and their rewards programs have been announced to roll into AA.
Click to expand...

It looks like I will be signing up for an AA card then. Hopefully I can get some bonus miles for signing up and can keep earning miles for purchases like I'm doing with the Barclays card right now.
 
Philly Golf Guy said:
It looks like I will be signing up for an AA card then. Hopefully I can get some bonus miles for signing up and can keep earning miles for purchases like I'm doing with the Barclays card right now.
Click to expand...

Their Citi card is pretty solid. I use it now and their program is not only the innovator, but excellent across the board.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Heads up to the rest of you who took advantage of the 50k SWA card offer that the annual fee is just around the corner. I cancelled the card earlier this week to avoid it. You don't lose any remaining balance of points, but you can only use them for flights.
Click to expand...
JB said:
Chase SW card has the 50k signup bonus again for a limited time.
Click to expand...
FYI to others that I was able to sign up for the card again today, even though I cancelled it 3 weeks ago. 2K in spending over 3 months earns 50K in points, which is usually good for 2 flights.
 
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