Michigan to Hawaii $650+ Roundtrip Jan-May 2018

Michigan airports other than Detroit have cheap flights to Hawaii airports from $650 and up roundtrip.

Search on Google Flights.  First week of April - traditional spring break - is excluded from the fare sale.

• Cheap fare found from:  Grand Rapids (GRR), (Lansing) LAN, Traverse City (TVC), Flint (FNT), Kalamazoo (AZO)
• Cheap fares found to:  Honolulu (HNL), Kahului (OGG), Kona (KOA), Lihue (LIH)
• Some 1-stop flights from GRR via Denver on United
• Toronto to Hawaii flights as low as $424 roundtrip!  As is usually the case, Toronto (YYZ) flights are much cheaper than flights from Michigan

Very good price for Hawaii flights from Michigan!

Background Articles

Originally, this deal was from Detroit for lower price, but the Detroit fares are gone.  

http://faredealalert.com/2017/12/29/united-537-atlanta-kauai-hawaii-and-vice-versa-roundtrip-including-all-taxes/

Sample search - Jan 19-29.  DTW from $598, GRR from $678.  Book flights with confidence | Google Flights

Sample search - Feb 1-12.  DTW from $569, GRR from $650.  Book flights with confidence | Google Flights

Sample search - May 3-11 $670 and up. GRR/LAN/AZO/FNT/TVC Book flights with confidence | Google Flights

[DEAL GONE] Elite Status Mileage Run - U.S. to Lima Peru Business Class $513+ RT

{This airfare sale has expired.]

*UPDATE.  Fares as low as $513 round trip.  Original post was for $659 RT from LAX.  Other cities are even cheaper.  Chicago to Lima is under $600 RT.*

Prime example of an airfare that's a great way to earn toward elite status with Delta.

This airfare earns way more elite qualifying miles (MQMs) and elite qulaifying dollars (MQDs) with Delta than people realize is possible for $659

Aeromexico, along with Delta a SkyTeam member, has $659 round trip business class flights in 2018 from LAX to Lima Peru (LIM).

Also available is JFK or Orlando (MCO) to Santiago Chile from $1,012 on Aeromexico (1-stop via MEX) - with a chance to book the 787 with lie-flat business class seats.  12,350 mile roundtrip from JFK = almost 24,700 MQMs and 24,700 Sky Miles, and 4,940 MQDs

Basics

• 8,365 flown miles (Great Circle Mapper DETAILS - LAX-MEX-LIM)
• 16,730 elite qualifying miles (200% MQMs for this business class fare)
• $3,346 elite qualifying dollars (MQDs) - based on this fare class earning MQDs of 40% of the miles flown.  0.4 x 8,365 flight miles = 3,346

How Good is This Deal?

• Very good...
• Earning $3,200 MQDs for a $659 flight is excellent.  Partner flights earn MQDs based on a percentage of miles flown.  Delta's own flights (or Delta-marketed partner flights) earn 1 MQD per mile flown, but only on the main fare - not on the taxes & fees part.  If this was a Delta flight, you'd earn maybe $500-550 MQD.

Background Articles

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/12/15/amazing-fare-business-class-roundtrip-la-lima-peru-just-659/

https://www.theflightdeal.com/2017/12/15/business-class-aeromexico-1012-new-york-santiago-chile-roundtrip-including-all-taxes/

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2017/12/15/fare-alert-1091-business-class-roundtrip-new-york-santiago-chile/

Amex Delta Reserve Business (and Personal) Card - 40k SkyMiles + 10k MQM Sign-up Bonus

American Express is offering a 40,000 Delta SkyMile plus 10,000 MQMs for the Amex Delta Reserve personal or business credit card.  Requires $3,000 spend within first 3 months.

Card also provides free Delta SkyClub access for cardholder when traveling on same-day Delta flight and 

Although this offer has been around a few months, it is the first time so many SkyMiles  are included in the sign-up bonus for the Reserve cards.  Typically the bonus has been 10k SkyMiles, or as low as 5k SkyMiles, plus the 10k Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs, aka elite status qualifying miles).

Below is my referral URL for the Business version of the Amex Delta Reserve Card.

http://refer.amex.us/JASONWHjUT

If you apply, I'd appreciate you using my referral link as I'll earn some free SkyMiles.  The offer via referral is the same as the publicly available offer, so you don't lose anything by using the link.

The business version of the card is great because most business credit cards do NOT hit your personal credit report or affect your credit inquiries or credit score.  Anyone can apply for a business credit card; you do NOT need an incorporated business or a company Tax ID number to be approved for a business credit card.  All you need is a legitimate small business or side business with a history of decent amount of revenue and a good amount of expected expenses.

Annual fee on this card is $450, which is steep, but still cheaper than buying a Sky Club membership separately.  Delta Diamond members can choose free individual Sky Club membership (costs one of the member's three Choice Benefits) or an executive Sky Club membership (costs two Choice Benefits).  Diamond elites who have complimentary Sky Club access via credit card such as the Reserve personal or business card, also can choose a Delta Sky Club Guest Pass.  This costs one Choice Benefit and allows two guests to join the member in the Sky Club free.  This is a smarter way to go; pay $450 annual fee for the card, and in exchange you free up an additional Choice Benefit instead of using TWO Choice Benefits for the Executive Membership.

Personally, I'd rather choose the 4 global or 8 regional upgrade certificates, or gift Gold status to another person (or use all 3 Choice benefits to gift Gold status to 3 people), and pay for the Sky Club via the Reserve card annual fee instead rather than waste a Diamond Choice Benefit on Sky Club membership.

Basics

• Earn 40,000 Delta SkyMiles and 10,000 MQMs after $3,000 spend within first 3 months of card membership
• Must apply via referral link by April 24, 2019 to be eligible for sign-up bonus
• Earn 1 SkyMile per dollar on all purchases.  Earn 2x per dollar on Delta spending (in-flight purchases, airfare, etc)
• Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product before
• $450 annual fee

How Good is This Deal?

• Very good...
• 40k SkyMiles can be used for:
• Award flights (get $500-700 value depending on what/when you book); OR
• Revenue flights - cardholders receive the ability to use miles at 1 cent per mile toward paid/revenue flights - Delta calls this feature "Pay With Miles."  Bonus miles are worth $400 toward paid Delta travel - this basically offsets the annual fee in first year
• SkyClub individual membership alone is well worth the annual fee for the card.  Discounted rate for up to 2 guests per visit
• Earn up to 30k additional MQMs per year - Earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus SkyMiles after $30,000 spend on the card in a calendar year. Earn an additional 15,000 MQMs and an additional 15,000 bonus SkyMiles after $60,000 spend on the card in a calendar year.  So it is possible to earn 40k MQMs in the first year holding this card.
• If you spend right around $30k or $60k per year on the card, you will earn right around 1.5 SkyMiles per dollar
• MQMs with Delta are valuable particularly because any earned beyond a status level MQMs roll over to the following year
• Companion Certificate - main cabin or first class companion certificate each year on card renewal
• Cardmembership is one of the factors in determining the upgrade list on each flight, so holding this card slightly improves one's chances of first class upgrade on domestic flights.  Specifically, the Reserve card is the upgrade tiebreaker when two passengers have same Medallion status and booked in same fare class.

Other Card Benefits

• 24/7 Concierge
• 20% off in-flight Delta purchases paid with the card
• First checked bag free on every flight
• Priority boarding (Zone 1) on Delta flights
• Purchase protection, baggage protection, Global Assist hotline, premium roadside assistance, car rental loss and damage insurance, extended warranty - typical benefit suite for many higher-end credit cards

[MOSTLY GONE] Europe on Sale across the U.S. $400+ Round Trip Jan - March 2018

UPDATE 11/25/2017 most of the cheap fares have disappeared.  However, certain destination cities continus to pop up for early 2018 travel < $500 round trip.  Keep an eye out if you are still looking to book something.  And feel free to ask if you need help!

The past few days is one of these times when domestic airlines started having mini fare wars on Europe flights.  American and Delta in particular are going back and forth, although United also has gotten involved.  The result is lots of cities available for $400-500 round trip Jan/Feb/March 2018 and also some in May if you look.

I leave it to you to do your own flight searches at Google Flights or ITA Matrix (matrix.itasoftware.com) -- beware that no flight search engine or aggregator will show ALL the cheap flights; sometimes you'll see things on Matrix that aren't on Google Flights, or vice versa.

Detroit and Chicago are definitely available for many destination cities.

Grand Rapids is also available to many destination cities, at similar prices.

Background Articles:

http://faredealalert.com/2017/11/20/american-starting-at-401-united-states-europe-roundtrip-including-all-taxes/

https://www.theflightdeal.com/2017/11/20/delta-klm-royal-dutch-401-dallas-chicago-miami-philadelphia-phoenix-charlotte-d…

https://www.theflightdeal.com/2017/11/20/american-starting-430-united-states-milan-rome-venice-italy-roundtrip-including…

If you are more 'adventurous' with booking thru a third party online travel agency (OTA) rather than booking directly with the airline, you can save another $25-50 per person by searching at Momondo and then clicking thru and booking with whichever OTA has the cheapest price on your desired trip.  More info here:  http://www.secretflying.com/posts/sale-usa-europe-434-roundtrip/

Detroit Flights

Grand Rapids Flights

Book flights with confidence | Google Flights

March 3 - 11.  Zurich, Brussels, Munich, Rome, Milan $550 or less RT.  LINK

Jan 13 - 21.  Paris and Amsterdam $405-450 RT.  LINK

Feb 18-25.  Barcelona, Madrid, Frankfurt, Milan $417-510 RT.  LINK

Delta Amex Platinum Business Card - 70,000 SkyMiles Sign-up Bonus

Great offer for anyone interested in earning Delta SkyMiles or Delta elite status.  Public offer has expired; sign-up bonus is available only via referral.

Apply for the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card with this referral link:

http://refer.amex.us/MARYAW58fK?xl=cp01

Offer Details

• Must apply by Jan 31, 2018, using the link above or via a referral email
• 70,000 Delta SkyMiles when meeting minimum spend
• 10,000 Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) 
• Earn the sign-up bonus by spending $4,000 or more within the first 3 months
• $100 statement credit after Delta purchase on the card in first 3 months
• $195 annual fee (NOT waived the first year)

FYI:  This is the BUSINESS version of the card.  This means a couple of things:

• It is a separate product from the PERSONAL Delta Amex Platinum card.  You can get approved for, and earn the bonus on, the business version even if you hold or previously held the personal version.
• As a business card, this card does not hit one's personal credit report and therefore does not worsen one's situation with regard to Chase's 5/24 rule.

Good background article on HOW (and why) to apply for a business credit card:

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2015/09/13/how-to-qualify-for-a-small-business-credit-card-and-why-you-should-get-one/

Card Benefits / Details

• Earn an additional 10,000 SkyMiles AND 10,000 MQMs by spending $25,000 on the card in a calendar year.  Spend $50,000 and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs (20k MQMs in one calendar year with $50k spend)
• Priority Boarding (Zone 1) on Delta flights for cardmember and others on same reservation
• Card benefits - first checked bag free on every Delta flight.
• Earn 1 SkyMile per dollar spent.  Earn 2 SkyMiles per dollar on Delta purchases
• 20% off eligible in-flight purchases via statement credit (meals, food, alcoholic beverages, headsets; in-flight wi-fi and charitable donations excluded)
• Spend $25,000 or more on the card in a calendar year to waive Delta's revenue requirement component of elite status qualification.

Bottom Line
Great card, top-notch sign-up bonus.  Highly recommended.

• This offer usually pops up once or twice a year.  Last time, it required $5k spend; this time only $4k.
• The usual bonus on this card is about half this good - typically 35k SkyMiles and 5k MQMs.
• This card is a business card and will not show up on your personal credit report.  Nor will it count toward your Chase 5/24 limit.
• American Express has both Gold and Platinum Delta co-branded credit cards, each in a business and personal version (four cards total).

Big Europe Fare Sale Jan-May 2018 - $340+ RT from ORD/DTW, even GRR, LAN, & TVC!

Many U.S. cities are on sale to Europe - including Grand Rapids (GRR), Lansing (LAN), Kalamazoo (AZO), even Traverse City (TVC).

Do some searches for yourself thru approx May 2018.  Use Google Flights or Kayak or your favorite search engine.  Most of the cheapest flights are available thru March, but some are thru May.

Background Articles

• The Flight Deal - $400 and up to many cities Jan-Mar 2018
• Valid for travel from late January 2018 – mid March 2018.  A 7 day minimum stay is required. Availability is limited. Must purchase at least 50 days in advance of departure

• Spain on sale from many U.S. cities from the $400s - Fare Deal Alert

• Helsinki from most of the U.S. from $445 round trip - Fare Deal Alert
• Valid for travel from mid-January 2018 – mid-March 2018 for Thursday through Sunday departures and for Friday through Monday returns. A 7 day minimum stay is required. Must purchase at least 50 days in advance of departure.

Which Cities are On Sale?

• Cities showing flights available < $500 round trip include:
• Barcelona (BCN)
• Madrid (MAD)
• Rome (FCO)
• Milan (MXP)
• Zurich (ZRH)
• Amsterdam (AMS)
• Paris (CDG)
• Helsinki (HEL)
• Munich (MUC)
• Frankfurt (FRA)
• Geneva (GVA)

Deal Breakdown - $340 Round Trip Chicago to Geneva

• Chicago to Geneva (GVA) from $340 round trip

ORD>GVA Friday May 11 - Sunday May 20 - $340 and up RT

ORD>GVA Sun May 20 - Sat May 26 - $354 and up (includes Icelandair flight w/24 hr layover in Reykjavik)

• It is possible to book a routing with a long enough layover in Montreal, Brussels, or other connecting city to get out of the airport and explore the city.
• If you like the sound of a long layover, you'll probably want to use ITA Matrix for your search, and experiment with the connection times as a way to find these longer connections.
• Otherwise, Google Flights should work well enough.
• Once in Geneva, it's easy to get cheap intra-Europe flights if there are other places you'd like to visit.
• Minimum 7-day stay.
• More details at The Flight Deal

Sample Fare Searches on Google Flights

GRR/LAN/AZO/TVC/FNT to FRA, MUC, MXP, FCO, TXL Sat March 17- Sun March 25.  $450-500 round trip to Frankfurt, Munich, and Rome

GRR/LAN/AZO/TVC/FNT to AMS, CDG, BCN, MAD, BRU Sat March 3 - Sun March 11.  AMS from $425, MAD from $434, CDG from $441, BCN from $453

GRR/LAN/AZO/TVC/FNT to BCN, MUC Sun March 4 - Mon March 12.  BCN from $408, MUC from $462

ORD/MDW/DTW to Helsinki (HEL) Fri May 25 - Sun June 3.  $450+ RT

ORD/MDW/DTW to MAD, BCN, AMS, CDG, ZRH Sat Feb 3 - Mon Feb 12.  AMS from $348, CDG from $378, BCN from $404, ZRH from $423

Don't Forget About Toronto!

These aren't necessarily 'sale' prices, although they are very CHEAP prices.  Toronto offers a great alternative to Michigan-based travelers since it's only about 5 hours drive from Grand Rapids.  Lots of inexpensive Europe flights are available from Toronto (YYZ).

YYZ to Copenhagen (CPH), Dublin (DUB), Stockholm (ARN), Berlin (TXL), Paris (CDG) from $346 RT on Wow Air

Amex Surpass - 125,000 Hilton HHonors Points Sign-up Bonus

American Express is offering a 125,000 point bonus for the Amex Surpass personal credit card.  Requires $4,000 spend ($3k within first 3 months, $1k within first 6 months).  This is the highest public bonus offer ever offered on this card and matches the highest bonus offer ever (same 125k bonus was offered previously thru a targeted link).

Link to Offer (may need to sign in to your current Amex account before filling out the application) 

Basics

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after $3,000 spend within first 3 months of card membership
• Earn 25,000 additional bonus points after additional $1,000 spend within first 6 months
• Offer ends Jan 17, 2018
• $95 annual fee ($75 if application received before Jan 18, 2018)
• Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product before
• Earn 3x points for all eligible purchases, 6x at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations; 12x points at participating Hilton properties
• Complimentary Hilton Gold status as long as you are a cardholder.
• Diamond status thru the end of the next calendar after $40,000 spend in a calendar year
• 10 free Priority Pass lounge passes (lounges available at certain domestic and international airports)  (Doctor of Credit article mentions this benefit, but not stated on Amex application page)

How Good is This Deal?

• Good but not great...assuming some spend on restaurants/supermarkets/gas stations and none at Hilton properties, you'll have at least 140,000 points after making the $4k minimum spend and earning the sign-up bonus.  140k points are worth around $560 of hotel stays, but it is possible to get much more value than that.  One could get 5-7 free nights if booking properties at 20-30k points per night.
• Gold status provides free breakfast for two people per room, which is a great benefit.  Diamond status can provide frequent upgrades on top of the Gold benefits

250 Delta MQMs + 1 SkyMile per $1 for Every Two-Night Hilton Stay 11/1-12/31/2017

Earn 250 Delta MQMs + 1 Mile per $1 per 2-Night Hilton Stay 11/1-12/31

Nice way to earn extra elite qualifying miles with Delta by staying at Hilton properties.  Even if you can't make the next tier of Delta status, Delta rolls over from this year to next year, any MQMs earned above the minimum required for a Medallion status level (Silver, Gold, or Platinum).

How to Get the Deal

• Log into your Hilton HHonors account at www.hilton.com > My Account > My Profile > Preferences, select "Points and Miles" earning style, and select Delta Air Lines as your preferred Double Dip® Points & Miles Partner in your Hilton HHonors account profile.
• Register for the promotion at www.HHonors.com/DELTAMQM
• Complete a minimum 2‐night stay at a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio from November 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Check out must be on or before December 31, 2017If you allow me to send you a sign-up offer via email, I'll earn 5,000 Starpoints after you are approved for the card.  The bonus is the same - 35,000 Starpoints - whether you are referred or can sign up for the offer directly from Amex, so I'd definitely appreciate the chance to refer you!

What You Get

• 250 Delta elite status qualifying miles (aka Medallion Qualifying Miles, or MQMs) for each 2+ night stay at qualifying Hilton properties
• 1 bonus Delta SkyMile per dollar spent on the stay
• Before registering for the promotion, make sure your Hilton account is set for "Points and Miles" earning style, NOT "Points and Points"
• Register for the promotion BEFORE checking in for a stay

Fine Print

• Before registering for the promotion, make sure your Hilton account is set for "Points and Miles" earning style, NOT "Points and Points"
• Register for the promotion BEFORE checking in for a stay
• Checkout must be on or before Dec 31, 2017
• You can earn this bonus multiple times - once per stay of 2+ nights.  Maximum 7,500 Delta MQMs can be earned via this offer

[EXPIRED] Widespread Airfare Sale to Europe - $381+ RT from many US Cities

SkyTeam (Delta, etc) has matched cheap fares posted yesterday by OneWorld (American, etc) alliance airlines on many routes to Europe from dozens of U.S. cities.

European cities showing the cheap fares include:

• Amsterdam (AMS)
• Milan (MXP)
• Paris (CDG)
• Rome (FCO)
• Venice (VCE)
• Barcelona (BCN) – about $400
• Madrid (MAD) – about $400
• London (LHR) – closer to $500
• Helsinki (HEL) – mid $400s
• Manchester ([MAN – closer to $400
• Edinburgh (EDI)

The Flight Deal has good info in 2 separate posts HERE and HERE.

BOOK NOW, THINK LATER!  YOU ALWAYS HAVE 24 HOURS TO CANCEL AIRFARE AND GET A FULL REFUND, WITHOUT PENALTY OR FEE.

Search Google Flights.  www.google.com/flights

Many dates are available from now thru the end of the currently published fare schedules in early March 2018, although summer is excluded.

Numerous cities are available for less than $500 round trip, many around $400 and some as low as $381.

SPG Amex Credit Card - 35,000 Starpoint sign-up bonus after $5k spend; highest bonus ever

American Express is offering a 35,000 point bonus for the SPG Amex personal credit card.  This is the highest bonus offer ever offered on this card.

MUST APPLY BY APRIL 5.

Breakdown

• 35k Starpoints is the highest sign-up bonus ever offered on the SPG Amex personal card.  The same bonus level was offered almost a year ago, but typically the bonus on this card is 25k Starpoints.

How Good is This Deal?

• Very good...the 40,000 points you'd have after making the $5k minimum spend and earning the sign-up bonus are worth around $1,000 of hotel stays or $700-$1,000 or more of airfare
• It is feasible to get 8-12 free hotel nights from the 40k Starpoints
• How about TWO ROUNDTRIP TICKETS TO HAWAII?!  Yes, if you can find the cheap award flights you can fly Delta from anywhere in the U.S. to Hawaii, two people, for 50,000 miles total.  (You must transfer 40k Starpoints into 50k Korean Air miles, then use those miles to book the flights on a Delta plane; booking the same flight using Delta miles will cost you more miles because Korean Air has a cheaper award chart than Delta.  I'd be happy to explain this over a root beer sometime...)

What are Starpoints?

• Starpoints is the name of the hotel points currency for Starwood's loyalty program, which is called Starwood Preferred Guest, or SPG.
• Starwood properties include several brands such as St Regis, Westin, W, Sheraton, and Four Points by Sheraton.

What are Starpoints Good For?

• Free nights OR free flights
• Starpoints can be used to book free nights ('award nights') at Starwood hotels.  Free nights start as low as 2,000 points per night.  Many fairly nice properties cost only 5,000-7,000 points per night.  (In comparison, decent Hilton hotels cost 20,000-50,000 points per night.  1 Starpoint is easily worth 5x more than 1 Hilton point.)
• Free nights at Marriott hotels.  Marriott recently bought Starwood, and customers can freely and instantly transfer between Starpoints and Marriott points (you must set up an SPG and a Marriott account).  Transfer rate is 1 Starpoint :3 Marriott points
• Starpoints also can be transferred from the SPG program into airline miles with 30+ partner airlines such as Delta, American, British Airways, Flying Blue, and Korean Air
• Transfer rate to most airlines is 1:1
• 5,000 bonus miles for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred!  Transfer in 20k increments, get 25k miles for each 20k Starpoints, i.e. 1:1.25 ratio
• Point-for-point, Starpoints are one of the most valuable currencies in the miles and points world.

Get the Deal

• Send me an email if you are interested!
• If you allow me to send you a sign-up offer via email, I'll earn 5,000 Starpoints after you are approved for the card.  The bonus is the same - 35,000 Starpoints - whether you are referred or can sign up for the offer directly from Amex, so I'd definitely appreciate the chance to refer you!
• You cannot get this bonus if you have ever gotten a bonus on the SPG Amex personal card product.  Amex bonuses are once per person, lifetime, for each different card product they offer.

Details

• Apply by April 5, 2017
• 35,000 bonus Starpoints after $5,000 purchases in first 6 months:  Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints after making $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months plus 10,000 bonus Starpoints after an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months
• No annual fee first year, $95 per year thereafter
• There is a Business version of this card, which is a separate product so you could get the same 35k bonus twice - once on each card.  However, the SPG Amex Business card requires $8,000 spend to earn the bonus, vs. $5,000 for the Personal card

Is this Card Worth Keeping Long-term?

• It's worth considering.  The best way to look at this card is that it earns 1.25 airline miles per dollar on all spending.
• This can be a great card to use for any and all spending on which you aren't eligible for category bonuses.
• There are no category bonuses on SPG Amex card purchases, so you may want to use other cards for restaurant, gas, grocery, or other purchases where a different card gives you 2, 3, or more points per dollar.
• The $95 annual fee is somewhat steep, but the card has decent travel-related benefits.

[EXPIRED] American Airlines Bonus Miles on Hilton Stays thru March 27

American Airlines just announced a promotion for earning extra miles on stays at various Hilton brand properties.

Get the Deal

1. Register at this link using your Hilton HHonors account information. https://www.hiltonhhonors.com/ProcessLanding/ProcessLanding/?lp=aabonus
2. Select American Airlines as your preferred Double Dip Points & Miles partner in your Hilton HHonors profile.

Details

• Stay by March 27, 2017
• 500 AAdvantage miles per night at Hilton, Curio, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites, and Hilton Grand Vacations
• 500 AAdvantage miles per stay at Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton® Home2 Suites, and Homewood Suites

You can also earn an extra 2,000 points per night for staying at Hilton properties thru April 30, 2017.  Details in this POST

Hilton - Register for 2,000 Extra Points Per Night on Stays thru April 30, 2017

[EXPIRED] 2,000 Extra Points per Night at Hilton Properties Feb 1 - April 30, 2017

The Deal

Sign up to earn an extra 2,000 Hilton HHonors points per night at stays throughout the Hilton portfolio (Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton, etc).

Promotion Details

• Valid on paid stays booked thru Hiton.com
• Earn 2,000 points per night on award stays by charging something to the room!  (rules state bonus does not apply to incidental charges for award stays at Hampton, Home2 Suites or Homewood Suites)
• Register using your HHonors account information at this link:  PROMOTION LINK
• Register before the end of you stay to be eligible to earn points
• Promotion valid for stays  completed from Feb 1 to April 30, 2017
• No minimum stay requirement
• No limit on how many points you can earn through this promotion
• The 2,000 points per night bonus is on top of any other points earned from the stay
• Bonus can be earned only on 1 room per Hilton account, regardless of the number of rooms booked under a Hilton account.

Register

• Register using your HHonors account information at this link:  PROMOTION LINK

Register also for the 500 American Airlines bonus miles per night or per stay (depending on Hilton brand) for stays thru March 27 - details in this POST

[DEAL GONE] 70k Delta SkyMiles + $100 statement credit + 10k EQMs - Delta Amex Business card

2/2/2017 This deal has expired.

The 70,000 mile sign-up bonus offer available mid-2016 has expired, but it is still available thru Feb 1 via referral offer.

If anyone is interested in earning Delta SkyMiles, or interested in earning Delta elite flyer status vai earning Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs), this is an excellent offer for both of those purposes.  Please contact me offline or via the comments if you would like to receive this referral offer via email.


Offer Details

• Must apply by Feb 1, 2017, using the link in the referral email
• 70,000 Delta SkyMiles when meeting minimum spend
• 10,000 Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) 
• Earn the sign-up bonus by spending $5,000 or more within the first 3 months
• $100 statement credit after a $100+ Delta purchase on the card in first 3 months
• $195 annual fee (NOT waived the first year)

FYI:  This is the BUSINESS version of the card.  This means a couple of things:

• It is a separate product from the PERSONAL Delta Amex Platinum card.  You can get approved for, and earn the bonus on, the business version even if you hold or previously held the personal version.
• As a business card, this card does not hit one's personal credit report and therefore does not worsen one's situation with regard to Chase's 5/24 rule.

Good background article on HOW (and why) to apply for a business credit card:

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2015/09/13/how-to-qualify-for-a-small-business-credit-card-and-why-you-should-get-one/

Card Benefits / Details

• Earn an additional 10,000 SkyMiles AND 10,000 MQMs by spending $25,000 on the card in a calendar year.  Spend $50,000 and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs
• Priority Boarding (Zone 1) on Delta flights for cardmember and others on same reservation
• Card benefits - first checked bag free on every Delta flight.
• Earn 1 SkyMile per dollar spent.  Earn 2 SkyMiles per dollar on Delta purchases
• 20% off eligible in-flight purchases via statement credit (meals, food, alcoholic beverages, headsets; in-flight wi-fi and charitable donations excluded)
• Spend $25,000 or more on the card in a calendar year to waive Delta's revenue requirement component of elite status qualification.

Bottom Line
Great card, top-notch sign-up bonus.  Highly recommended.

• This is the highest offer I've ever seen on this card.
• The usual bonus on this card is about half this good - typically 35k SkyMiles and 5k MQMs.
• This card is a business card and will not show up on your personal credit report.  Nor will it count toward your Chase 5/24 limit.

Chicago to Mumbai from $622 round trip

Chicago (ORD) to Mumbai (BOM) from $622 round trip on Etihad!  May 2017 and other dates

Great price on roundtrip flights from the Midwest to India.

• Good routing - just one stop, in Abu Dhabi (AUH)
• Etihad flies the Boeing 777 ORD>AUH and Airbus A380 AUH>BOM
• Last departure date with $623 round trip pricing is May 11, 2017.
• Can return thru June and into early July at this low pricing.
• Search Google Flights for more information.  www.google.com/flights
• New Delhi (DEL) available from $666 round trip
• Numerous dates are available, but not every day during the date range.

Google Flights Sample Searches (roundtrip pricing)

• March 11 - April 3.  ORD>BOM  $623 per person.  LINK
• May 11 - June 5.  ORD>BOM 6 people for $3,738 total ($623 per person).  LINK
• March 9 - April 3.  ORD>DEL $666 per person LINK

Detroit to Mumbai India Roundtrip $807 and up thru May/June 2017

hat tip to Fare Deal Alert.

Flights on United and other Star Alliance partner airlines are as low as $807 roundtrip, Detroit (DTW) to Mumbai (BOM) now thru May 2017 or a bit later.

• Last departure date with sub-$900 round trip pricing is June 1, 2017.
• Can return thru June and into early July at this low pricing.
• Search on Google Flights for more information.
• Delta (SkyTeam Alliance) seems to have matched these sale fares.
• Numerous dates are available, but not every day during the date range.
• Some routings are 2-stop but some 1-stops are available - e.g. Detroit (DTW) to Newark (EWR) to Mumbai (BOM) on United Airlines.

Sample search on Google Flights June 1 depart, July 3 return $819 and up round trip.  

[DEAL GONE] Europe on sale again: Many U.S. Cities from $477 Roundtrip Now thru Early Dec 2017

UPDATE 1/10/2017 330PM.  This fare sale has expired.  Prices outlined in this post are no longer available.

The last widespread US > Europe fare sale lasted about a week.  This one lasted about 24 hours.  The upshot is, you never know how long a sale will last.  Book now and think later!  Make use of the 24-hour cancelation window.  Get ahold of friends and family members, and work on other arrangements (hotels, rental cars, rides to the airport, etc) AFTER you book.  Nothing bugs me more than hearing someone say, 'I didn't book it because I was waiting for so-and-so to get back to me, so I missed the deal' or 'I couldn't get my brother to commit right away and when I tried to book, the deal was over.'  Don't make this mistake!

This fare sale started yesterday.  Last night I booked a flight for a family of six friends from Detroit to London for $596 round trip during August 2017 -- summer travel to Europe for < $600 each roundtrip is very good.  This morning, I checked again and the same prices were available from Grand Rapids!  So I booked new flights from GRR and will cancel the flights from Detroit since there's always 24 hours to cancel flights (as long as the departure date is at least 7 days away).

This is a very widespread fare sale -- the prices look to be the same for most dates thru the end of the current airline schedules in early December 2017.

• Spring break?  Yes
• Summer?  Yes
• Any other time thru early December 2017?  Yes

Google Flights (google.com/flights) is the easiest way to search, then click thru to book directly with the airlines.

If you are somewhat of a risk taker, try searching on www.momondo.com which shows results from many various online travel agencies.  These OTAs often have cheaper airfares than what are offered directly by the airlines.

Amsterdam, Paris, London, Madrid -- all of these cities are showing availability for $477-$550 range roundtrip on MANY dates.

If you can't find what you are looking for from GRR, try Detroit (DTW) or Chicago (ORD or MDW) for more options.

Two days left to get $2,100+ in travel for a single $450 annual fee credit card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-up bonus is being reduced from 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to 50,000 points after January 11, 2017.

If you:

• have gotten fewer than 5 new credit cards from ANY credit card issuer in the past 24 months (business credit cards from most banks are not counted in this limit)
• have a solid credit score (mid 700s for sure, although low 700s may work)
• are interested in traveling for free

Then it's a no-brainer, for you and your significant other if applicable, to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card from Chase in the next couple days.

More background information about this deal is in my post from 9/22/2016:

Chase Sapphire Reserve article Sept 2016

Depending on your comfort level signing up for multiple new cards, you also may want to apply for the Chase Ink Preferred card first, then apply for the Sapphire Reserve after being approved for the Ink Preferred.

The Ink Preferred offers 80,000 point sign-up bonus.  Application link:  CLICK HERE

(The reason to apply first for the Ink Preferred card is that Chase does not count its own business credit cards toward the 5/24 card limit it uses to restrict people from being approved who have gotten 5+ new cards in the past 2 years.)

My blog does not have affiliate credit card links.  If you would like to apply, Google Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Ink Preferred.  Or you may consider visiting one of my favorite blogs, Ann Arbor-based Frequent Miler.  The Chase section of this page has a Chase Sapphire Reserve application link:  Frequent Miler best current credit card offers