Saturday, December 29, 2018

Best Cash Back Credit Cards - late Dec 2018

Cash back credit cards are a dime a dozen.  With so many out there, which one is best?  In response to a friend asking about the best cash back credit card for a small business, today I did some research and came up with what I think are the best cash back credit cards worth signing up for right now.

Referral Links
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is the only card in this post for which I have a referral link.  If you decide to apply for this card, please use my link, as I'll earn 20,000 Chase points when you are approved!  The signup bonus via referral is 80,000 points - same as the public offer on the Chase website.
General Comments
  • Personal credit cards can be used for business expenses, and vice versa
  • Business cards usually have larger signup bonuses than personal cards
  • Signup bonuses on cash back credit cards are generally smaller than the signup bonuses on travel points credit cards
  • Some cards allow their 'travel points' to be redeemed for cash back (usually at 1 cent per point)...these can be very flexible cards, but not ideal if you plan / want cash back as your rewards currency.  Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Ink Business Preferred are two great examples of this rare type of card that's flexible enough to provide the best of both worlds.
  • Category bonuses can make a significant difference in the amount of rewards earned via card spend.  Many cards offer 5% cash back in certain categories. If you have expenses that may fall in dining, travel, gasoline, office supply, utilities, grocery...these categories often have category bonuses from various cards.  Some category bonuses are capped on a fairly low amount of quarterly or annual spend.
  • How much annual spend do you anticipate?  Some cards have huge signup bonuses based on high initial spend requirements - e.g. Capital One Spark Cash.
  • 2% cash back is the best flat rate out there for all spend (regardless of category).  1.5% cash back cards are much more common.
  • More than 2% cash back overall is possible, by leveraging category bonuses (which rotate quarterly for some cards, vs. cardholder can choose desired categories for other cards) -- but the spend you'll have may not fit any of these categories.
  • Will you need numerous authorized user cards for employees, or just one main card or maybe a second one?  Many business cards offer free employee cards, but some charge for that.
Bottom-Line Advice
  • My personal strategy for anyone is to get a new card every year or two.
  • The signup bonus from a new cash back card can be as much or nearly as much as the cash back earnings from a year's worth of spend on a card.  E.g. spend $30k a year, earn $450-600 at 1.5%-2% cash back.  A few cash back cards have $400-600 signup bonuses.
  • Why not sign up for a new card every year or two, if this strategy could mean earning twice as much cash back as using the same card for several years?

Resources
Recommendations
These are in order, from best to least-best
  1. Capital One Spark Cash - 2% cash back on everything.  Huge signup bonus if you can do huge spend.  $500 cash back bonus after $5k in first 3 months.  Additional $1,500 bonus after additional $45k ($50k total) in first 6 months.  Total cash back will be $3k ($2k bonus plus 2% from normal cash back earnings on the $50k spend).  Note, the similar Capital One Spark Miles has similar signup bonus.  $59 annual fee, waived first year.  Capital One Spark Cash - Doctor of Credit    Capital One Spark Cash - Frequent Miler
  2. Chase Ink Business Preferred - huge $800 (80,000 Chase UR points, worth 1 cent each if cashed out) cash back sign-up bonus.  Flexibility to use rewards as Chase UR points.  $95 annual fee. Chase Ink Business Preferred - CardRatings.com
  3. Discover it cash back - 1% cash back plus 5% rotating quarterly cash back categories.  Cash back in first year is doubled, so 2+% depending whether one earns any cash back from 5% categories.  Only 1% cash back after first year, though.  No annual fee. Discover it cash back - Frequent Miler (Possible to get $50 signup bonus via referral - check this Doctor of Credit page here.)
  4. Citi Double Cash.  2% cash back on everything, no annual fee.  No signup bonus.  Good long term card due to flat 2% cash back and no annual fee, but compared with a card that has a $500+ signup bonus, it will take a while to 'break even' with this card instead. Citi Double Cash - Doctor of Credit
  5. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards - $500 signup bonus.  Only 1% cash back on most stuff, but 4% on dining and entertainment, 2% grocery.  $95 annual fee waived first year.  Decent card for the signup bonus, but not a great long term card unless spending quite a bit on dining & entertainment.  Savor Cash Rewards - Frequent Miler
  6. Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5% cash back.  No annual fee.  $200 signup bonus after $500 spend.  Best thing about this card is, if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus, or Reserve, you can use the earnings from Freedom Unlimited to convert into 1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spend.  Chase UR points are great, flexible travel points generally considered to be worth about 2 cents each. Chase Freedom Unlimited - Frequent Miler
  7. Capital One Spark Cash Select - no annual fee.  1.5% cash back on everything.  $200 cash back bonus after $3k spend in first 3 months.  Capital One Spark Cash Select - Frequent Miler
  8. U.S. Bank Cash+ card - interesting twist - cardholder can select the desired bonus categories.  No annual fee.  $150 signup bonus.  5% back on $2,000 worth of combined purchases in two categories that you select quarterly; 2% back in one "everyday" category you select quarterly, such as gas or groceries; 1% back on everything else.  U.S. Bank Cash+ card - Value Penguin
  9. U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express card - $150 cash back after $500 spend in first 90 days.  1.5% unlimited cash back on everything.  No annual fee.  Good first-year card, especially for lower spenders.  E.g. spend $10k in first year.  Total cash back $300, i.e. 3%. U.S. Bank Cash 365 Amex card

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

100,000 Point Signup Bonus for No Annual Fee Hilton Amex Card

The Deal

Earn 100,000 Hilton points after you spend $1,000 on the Hilton Honors American Express card within the first 3 months.  No annual fee.  (Apply via referral link:  http://refer.amex.us/JASONWjy0r?xl=cp15 )

Bottom Line

  • This is one of the better sign-up bonuses you will see for a card with no annual fee.  100,000 Hilton points can yield 2-4 nights at nicer Hilton properties, depending on when and where.  It is possible to find lower tier Hilton properties (Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, DoubleTree, etc) for 20,000 points per night in certain U.S. areas and thereby get as many as 5 free nights from the signup bonus.  Hilton properties in some overseas countries are as cheap as 7k-10k points per night.  Award Mapper is a useful site to view hotel locations by brand, and the points price per night, for properties all over the world.

To get the 100,000 point offer:

The 100,000 point offer is no longer available as a public offer; it is available only via referral link.  Click my Amex referral link to open in a web browser:  
http://refer.amex.us/JASONWjy0r?xl=cp15

then find the offer for the no annual fee Hilton Amex card:

  1. Click the View All Cards with a Referral Offer link near the top of the page
  2. Click the Looking for a Personal Card? link
  3. Click the Continue to Card Details blue button for the Hilton Honors Card (or the Aspire or Ascend care if interested in those other cards)
  4. Click Apply Now
  5. Complete the application page
(My referral link will show you a Delta Amex credit card first, but you can apply for any Amex card that has a referral offer.  I will get a referral bonus, and you will get the signup bonus listed.)

This post is focused on the no annual fee Hilton Honors credit card as a great 'starter card' for people who are newer to the points and miles hobby.

If you are interested in the other Hilton American Express cards, feel free to apply for one of those instead.  All four Hilton co-branded Amex cards are offering their best-ever signup bonuses (only via referral, as the public offers have been reduced) at this time:
  • Hilton Honors American Express Ascend - 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $3,000 spend in first 3 months.  $95 annual fee
  • Hilton Honors American Express Aspire - 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $3,000 spend in first 3 months.  $450 annual fee
  • Hilton Honors Business card - 125,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $3,000 spend in first 3 months.  $95 annual fee
  • Hilton Honors card - 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points after $1,000 spend in first 3 months.  No annual fee

Card Benefits

Many of these benefits are fairly common for credit cards, but this is a pretty solid benefit suite for a no annual fee card.
  • No Annual Fee and No Annual Fee for Additional Cards
  • Earn 7 Hilton Honors bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio.‡
  • Earn 5 Hilton Honors bonus points per dollar spent at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations in the USA
  • Earn 3 Hilton Honors bonus points per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee - Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad
  • Complimentary Silver Status - Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status with your Card.  Earn Gold status thru the end of the next calendar year after $20,000 spend on the card in a calendar year.  Silver status isn't worth much, but it's better than nothing.  Gold status is fairly useful (e.g. free continental breakfast for 2 people per room.)
  • Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance - Use the card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver at the rental car counter to be covered if the car is damaged or stolen. (Coverage not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. Coverage is secondary, not primary, and does not include liability coverage.)
  • Extended Manufacturer Warranty Coverage - Items purchased with the card may get up to two extra years added to original manufacturer's warranty.  (Applies to warranties of 5 years or less. Coverage varies depending on cardholder's location.)
  • Phone Damage and Theft Coverage - On eligible purchases, theft and accidental damage to cell phone can be covered by Purchase Protection up to 120 days and $1,000 per occurrence, $50,000 per calendar year.
  • 90-day Return Protection - Return Protection coverage may provide a refund within 90 days of eligible item purchase, even if the merchant will not accept the item for return. (Limited to $300 per item and $1,000 per calendar year. Purchases must be made in the U.S. and its territories.)
  • Shoprunner - Free 2-day shipping on eligible items at 140+ online stores with free ShopRunner enrollment. (Minimum purchase may be required.)
  • Travel Accident Insurance - This can provide coverage for accidental death and dismemberment while traveling on a Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when entire fare was charged to the card
  • Global Assist Hotline - 24/7 access to medical, legal, financial or other select emergency coordination and assistance services, including medical and legal referrals, assistance with cash wires, passport replacement, missing luggage and more. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers
  • Entertainment Access - Get exclusive access to ticket presales and Card Member-only events in nearby cities.  Broadway shows and concert tours, family and sporting events, and more
  • Pay It Plan It - Two different options to pay down balance. Pay It option - pay small purchase amounts or Plan It - split up large purchases with a fixed fee
  • Additional Cards - additional cards are free for anyone age 13+.  Points earnings at same rate and accrue to the primary cardmember's Hilton Honors account.  Adding a child as an authorized user can be a great way to start building positive credit history for a child.
  • Fraud Protection - No liability for fraudulent charges made with your American Express Card.  No deductible
  • Year-End Summary - Year-End Summary of charges for reviewing annual spending

Public Offer is Not as Good

The current public offer for the Hilton Honors American Express card is 75,000 point signup bonus after $1,000 spend in first 3 months.  LINK.  Use my referral link at top of this post to get the better 100k offer.

Monday, November 5, 2018

How Can I Travel For Free?

In response to a recent question on a blog post about a credit card offer, I decided to take a stab at writing up a very high-level introduction of how airline miles, hotel points, and bank points work as a way to fly, stay, or otherwise travel for free or almost free.

This post is essentially a stream-of-consciousness output, which I will try to refine and improve periodically.

About Credit Cards and Signup Bonuses

  • The fastest way to earn large quantities of airline miles, hotel points, or points in other points programs administered by various banks (Citi, Chase, Amex, etc) is by signing up for a credit card and spending the minimum amount required by the bank to earn a signup bonus for that particular card.
  • Hundreds of credit cards are available to U.S.-based customers, from several different issuers such as Amex, Citi, and Chase.
  • Many credit cards offer signup bonuses in the form of points or miles that are very lucrative -- often $500-600 and sometimes even $1,000 or more.  However, many cards offer mediocre (hello, $20 gift card or free turkey!) or even no signup bonus at all; buyer beware!
  • Some credit cards are marketed as personal credit cards and some are marketed as business credit cards.  Regular individuals qualify to apply for and use business credit cards; a business tax ID number is NOT required.  Personal cards are not better or worse than business cards; the existence of both types of cards simply provides more choices for people who are looking to earn more miles and points.  One characteristic of most business credit cards is that most do NOT show up on the person's personal credit report.  This means credit score is not impacted temporarily, as it would be for a personal credit card application.  It also means that other banks do not see the card account on the customer's personal credit report, which may allow the customer to sign up for more cards -- because certain banks restrict card approval based on how many cards a customer has opened recently from ANY card issuer.
  • Most credit card signup bonuses require somewhere from $1,000 to $5,000 in purchases during the first 3 or 4 months owning the card.  Some cards require just one purchase.  This varies by card and by offer (example:  one offer for the same card may require $5k spend, while another offer for the same card may require only $3k spend).
  • Different signup bonus offers may be available for the same credit card at any one time.  Also, signup bonuses vary over time for the same card.  For example, the Delta Reserve for Business Amex card has a 70,000 mile signup bonus as of a couple weeks ago.  For a few months prior, the signup bonus was 40,000 miles.  Earlier this year, the signup bonus was only 10,000 miles.  When signing up for a new credit card, make sure you are getting a historically good signup bonus!  If you aren't sure, please ask me and I can help!

About Frequent Flyer Miles and Other Travel Points Programs

  • Each airline runs its own frequent flyer program.  Instead of paying for a flight with dollars (by booking direct with the airline, or booking thru Expedia or other travel websites), people can 'pay for' flights using airline miles.
  • In the same manner, people can pay for hotel room stays using hotel points rather than dollars.  Each hotel chain (Hyatt, Marriott/Starwood, etc) runs its own points program
  • Bank points - such as Membership Rewards points from American Express, Ultimate Rewards from Chase, and ThankYou Points from Citi - also can be used to book travel using points instead of using dollars.
  • Bank points can be used by logging into the customer's account with the travel portal website that the bank operates.  There, the customer can search for flights, hotels, rental cars, etc - and can book a flight using the points instead of paying with dollars.  Bank points are generally worth 1.25 to 1.5 cents per point - so a $300 flight could be booked by using 20,000 to 24,000 points instead of $300.
  • Each airline's frequent flyer program (Delta SkyMiles, American AAdvantage, United Mileage Plus, etc) - and therefore its particular miles 'currency' - is separate.
  • Customers cannot transfer miles from one airline program to another.
  • Nor can they use miles from one program to book flights on another airline - unless the two airlines have a business arrangement to allow this.  These partnerships and/or alliances are common, but the domestic U.S. airlines do NOT have partnerships with one another.  So you cannot book a flight on an American Airlines plane and pay for it with Delta SkyMiles, for example.
  • All points and miles are NOT created equal.  One Delta mile is not worth the same as one Southwest mile.  Likewise, one Hilton point is not worth the same as one Marriott point.  Each company sets up its own pricing structure for how many points or miles it costs to book free flights or free hotel stays.  And there's also an element of personal preference as well; one person may value Delta miles much more highly than another person, if the person has elite status with Delta and lives near an airport where Delta is the most prominent carrier.

Slightly Advanced Topics

  • Bank points have another use, which can be confusing to newbies:  they can be converted into miles or hotel points in specific programs.  For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be converted into United Airlines miles.  Chase UR points also can be converted into Hyatt hotel points.  By doing this, the customer then can book free flights with United Airlines, or free rooms with Hyatt hotels, directly with those companies.  This is different than customers using the same bank points to book travel through the bank's travel website.  Having two entirely different ways of using these types of bank points makes these points some of the most flexible and valuable forms of travel currency in the market.
  • Reimbursable travel credit cards - Some credit cards that are 'travel rewards cards' work differently.  Examples of these cards are Capital One Venture card and Barclay Arrival Plus card.  The "points" that are earned by spending on these cards are NOT used to book free flights or stays up front; the points are used for reimbursement after the fact for travel that was booked using the credit card.  These cards provide reimbursable travel against travel-related charges (rental cars, flights, hotels, etc) made with the card.  Most cards like this earn "points" or "miles" that provide 2% value on charges.  Signup bonuses are frequently in the range of $500-750 worth of free, reimbursable travel.
  • Regarding airline alliances and booking flights with one airline using miles from a different airline's frequent flyer program:  Customers can book a flight operated by one airline using miles in another airline's program.  For example: book a flight on a Lufthansa plane and pay for it with United Airlines miles - because United, Lufthansa, and other airlines such as Air Canada and Singapore Air are part of an alliance - in this case, Star Alliance - that allows customers of one airline to use miles to book flights on flights flown by the other airlines' planes.  These types of alliances exist because it extends the reach of each airline in the alliance and makes the frequent flyer miles of each customer more useful and flexible, regardless of which airline the customer's miles are with.
  • Each airline sets its own price - expressed as the number of miles - for an award flight from point A to B.  Most airlines publish an award chart, so customers can get an idea of how many miles it will cost - depending on time of year, availability, and other factors - to fly from A to B, and whether the price they see is a good deal.  So the Lufthansa flight from New York to Munich might be bookable using Lufthansa miles for 30,000 miles each way, but United (a partner of Lufthansa's by virtue of both airlines' membership in Star Alliance) may be charging 40,000 miles each way for booking the same seat on the same Lufthansa flight.
  • Customers are free to accumulate and use airline miles in programs that are operated by non-U.S. based airlines.  For example, a customer who flies regularly on United planes in the U.S. may want to accumulate Singapore Air miles.  Singapore Air is a Star Alliance member, along with United, Lufthansa, and others.  Singapore Air miles can be used to book flights on United, Lufthansa, and other planes operated by airlines that are members of the Star Alliance.  And Singapore Air charges fewer miles on many routes than United charges for the same flights - whether on United planes or Lufthansa planes or others.
  • A great way to accumulate airline miles in non-U.S. based airline programs is by transferring bank points to the specific airline program.  For example, the Singapore Air  frequent flyer program accepts transfers of points from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and American Express Membership Rewards at a 1:1 ratio (sometimes, transfer bonuses are offered too!).  This means that it is very easy for someone who never flies on Singapore Air to earn many miles in that program by transferring bank points.

Category Bonuses

Category bonuses refers to the concept that different credit cards award more than the standard amount of cash back, miles, or points for a variety of reasons including:
  • Shopping in certain categories
  • Shopping at certain types of merchants
  • Shopping at specific merchants
  • Shopping during certain times of the year at certain merchants or merchant categories - aka rotating category bonuses.
Many credit cards earn just 1 mile or point per dollar on spending at grocery stores, while another card offers up to 4.5 points per dollar on the same grocery store spending.  It doesn't take a genius to realize one can accumulate points WAY faster by earning 4.5 points per dollar instead of 1 point per dollar.

Build a Credit Card Portfolio

There is no single credit card that is best for ALL types of spending.  See the Category Bonuses section above for more information.

The best way to get the most earnings from one's total credit card spend is by having a credit card portfolio to earn the most value out of each and every transaction.

An effective credit card portfolio can be as few as 2 cards.  For some folks, it might be 5-6 cards.

Here is an article from the Award Wallet Blog that does a good job of explaining this topic.  LINK.  
NOTE:  The article uses the example of a specific points program - Chase Ultimate Rewards - and having people gear all of their credit card spend earnings toward a single program.  It makes a lot of sense to consolidate reward earnings in one or a small number of programs, as it can be easier to redeem the points.  However, this is NOT required and is not necessary.  Many miles and points aficionados earn in dozens of different programs; in fact, it makes sense to have accounts in all major programs so that one can earn rewards in those programs whenever a stay, flight, or other activity pops up for that program.

Other Ways to Earn More Miles and Points

There are many, many ways to earn miles and points.  This section warrants a separate future post, but for now here's some basic information.

If one is willing to put in a little effort, it is possible to earn several thousand additional points or miles per year by leveraging things such as:
  • Dining rewards - earn additional miles by enrolling a credit card with an airline's dining rewards program
  • Shopping portals - earn miles or points, or substantial cash back, by starting your shopping session at a portal rather than going directly to the merchant's own website.
  • Promotions - hotel chains, rental car companies, airlines and other organizations run all sorts of promotions - either separately or in conjunction with other travel partner companies - to incentivize people to use their company's service.  Keeping tabs on, and registering for, these programs on a regular basis is an easy way to earn far more than the average Joe on flights, hotels, and rental car activities.

Friday, October 12, 2018

70k SkyMiles + 1 year Delta Sky Club access + 10k MQMs for $450

[This offer was previously 40,000 miles, and in the past has been as low as 10,000 miles, but is offered now at 70,000 miles which is by far the best offer ever on this card.]

American Express is offering a signup bonus of 70,000 Delta SkyMiles plus 10,000 MQMs on the Amex Delta Reserve business credit card.  Signup bonus requires $5,000 spend within first 3 months.

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

http://refer.amex.us/JASONWXtbm?XLINK=MYCP

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.  Referral offer on business version of the card ends on 11/07/2018.

Card also provides free Delta Sky Club access for cardholder when traveling on same-day Delta flight.

This is the first time so many SkyMiles  are included in the sign-up bonus for the Reserve card.  (The *personal* Reserve card signup bonus is still 40,000 SkyMiles.)  in the past, the bonus has fluctuated between 10k and 40k SkyMiles, plus the 10k Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs, aka Delta elite status qualifying miles).

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; get individual SkyClub access by paying $450 annual fee for the Reserve 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 70,000 Delta SkyMiles and 10,000 MQMs after $5,000 spend within first 3 months of card membership
  • Must apply via referral link by November 7, 2018, 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?

  • Outstanding...for $450, signing up for this card is an absolute no-brainer.
  • 70k SkyMiles can be used for:
    • Award flights (get $800-1,500 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."  The 70k bonus miles are worth $700 toward paid Delta travel - this easily offsets the $450 annual fee in first year
  • SkyClub individual membership alone is well worth the annual fee for the card.  Also provides a discounted rate for up to 2 guests per visit
  • 10k Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) after meeting the minimum initial spend
  • Earn up to 30k additional MQMs and 30k additional SkyMiles 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
    • This year, Delta offered a third MQM bonus spend threshold - another 15k MQMs after $90k annual spend
  • Companion Certificate - main cabin or first class companion certificate each year on card renewal
  • Upgrade tiebreaker - 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 the 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

    Saturday, August 18, 2018

    Unlimited WiFi on 36 Airlines for $11/mo? Yes please!

    Unlimited WiFi on 36 airlines for $11 a month?  Yes, you read that right.

    This is not the usual 'cheap airfare' post seen on this blog.  This may actually be a 'scoop' of sorts.  As far as I know, none of the numerous travel blogs I follow has done a post or article about this yet.  Read on...

    Lufthansa, the German airline, has an innovations team called Lufthansa Innovation Hub.

    They offer a verified mobile app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store called AirlineCheckins.  Website is www.airlinecheckins.com

    Lufthansa recently announced new features in its mobile app, including lounge access and in-flight WiFi.  Users can sign up for unlimited WiFi access on 36 airlines for just $11 a month.  These features were announced to app users via email on Weds Aug 15:  Good news: As of today the AirlineCheckins App is available with new services including inflight WiFi and lounge access!

    This looks like an excellent deal for people doing a lot of international travel, or travel within Europe or Asia; see below for the list of participating airlines.  It remains to be seen to what extent this service may work on domestic U.S. flights.

    Anyone who flies a lot and even occasionally uses internet access in-flight will realize $11 a month is a really low price for unlimited in-flight WiFi.

    Good news: As of today the AirlineCheckins App is available with new services including inflight WiFi and lounge access!


    How the App Works

    The main functionality of the AirlineCheckins app is to allow users to check in for their flights on any airline in the world that offers online check-in.  I cannot comment on how well the app works, as I've not used it.  However, a friend of mine has used it and seemed pleased with it so far.

    Interestingly, the brief description of the app on the (Apple) App Store is different than from the (Google) Play Store:  

    App StoreAs the first industry-wide solution of this kind, AirlineCheckins.com manages the check-in for all airlines in the world that offer an online check-in. The check-in is executed within seconds after the check-in window of the respective airline opens. Travelers are more likely to get their preferred seat and bypass the burden of needing to manually complete check-in forms for their flight. Travelers automatically receive their boarding pass by e-mail or SMS.

    Play Store:  AirlineCheckins.com is an automatic check-in service that checks travelers in for more than 220 airlines worldwide. Travelers can register at AirlineCheckins.com for free and store their travel documentation, personal information and seating preferences in their profile. Travelers are then automatically checked in for all flights which are booked using their personal AirlineCheckins.com e-mail address


    How Do I Sign Up?

    • Install the app on your mobile device and register for the service on the website.
    • Here's the registration page:  https://www.airlinecheckins.com/signup
    • The mobile app is free


    Caveats

    • The subscription can be used on only one device - the first device on which the app is installed.
    • This program does not look like a good fit for people doing a lot of domestic U.S. travel.  Most of the U.S.-based airlines - including Alaska, Delta, Jet Blue, Southwest, and United - are not covered by this service.
    • For Canadian travel, this may be a good option.  WestJet is included but Air Canada is not.
    • Availability looks to be VERY limited - the email announcement indicates that the Plus package, which included WiFi access, is limited to 2,222 registrants.
    • The WiFi access is valid on many, but NOT all airlines worldwide.  
    • American Airlines is included, but the free WiFi may not work on some/many of their domestic flights as AA is still using GoGo internet on many domestic flights.

    Here's the Three Service Levels.  The Plus is 30 Euro for 3 months.





    About the Technology

    • Airlinecheckins' WiFi partner is iPass.
    • It isn't completely clear yet whether this is compatible with Panasonic-powered in-flight WiFi, GoGo in-flight WiFi, both, or neither.
    • Lufthansa uses technology partner Inmarsat for in-flight WiFi.  Deutsche Telekom is the ISP for Lufthansa.  (LINK)
    • This service may be available only on planes that offer in-flight WiFi branded as Panasonic.  Panasonic has made inroads in the in-flight WiFi delivery space which, to my understanding, has been dominated for a long time by rival GoGo.

    Full List of Participating Airlines

    Here is the full list of airlines whose flights - but necessarily ALL of their flights - are covered by this Airlinecheckins WiFi subscription.

    Aer Lingus
    AeroMexico
    Air Austral
    Air Europa
    Air France
    Air Serbia
    Air Seychelles
    Alitalia
    All Nippon Airlines (ANA)
    American Airlines
    Asiana Airlines
    Cathay Pacific
    China Airlines
    EVA Air
    Etihad Airways
    Eurowings
    Garuda Indonesia
    Gulf Air
    Hong Kong Airlines
    INTERJET
    Iberia Airlines
    Japan Airlines (Domestic)
    KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
    Kuwait Airways
    Lufthansa
    Malaysia Airlines
    Malindo Air
    Qatar Airways
    Rwandair Express
    SWISS
    Scoot
    Singapore Airlines
    Thai Airways International
    Ukraine International Airlines
    Virgin Atlantic Airways
    WestJet

    Enrollment Confirmation

    This is what it looks like once subscribed.

    Friday, August 17, 2018

    Toronto/Chicago/Detroit to Europe - Sampling of sub-$500 round trip fares

    This post is a compilation of good airfare prices from airports within a 5 hour drive of Grand Rapids MI:  Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Detroit (DTW), Toronto (YYZ), Pittsburgh (PIT), Cleveland (CLE).

    This post shows how plentiful that sub-$500 roundtrip airfares to Europe are, at various times of the year.


    European cities with sub-$500 fares include:

    • Munich (MUC)
    • Dublin (DUB)
    • Frankfurt (FRA)
    • London Heathrow (LHR)
    • Amsterdam (AMS)
    • Lisbon (LIS)
    • Porto (OPO)
    • Faro (FAO)
    • Barcelona (BCN)
    • Madrid (MAD)
    • Rome (FCO)
    • Milan (MXP)
    • Reykjavik (KEF)
    • Oslo (OSL)
    • Paris (CDG)
    • Cork, Ireland (ORK)
    None of these current airfares are part of any advertised 'sale.'  Prices are just very competitive to Europe and these are just examples.

    Portugal:  TAP Portugal is a Portuguese airline that flies nonstop from Toronto (YYZ) to Lisbon (LIS) and 1-stop to Porto (OPO) and Faro (FAO).  TAP has very good prices to Portugal for many different times of year.

    Iceland:  Air Canada and Delta are offering very cheap fares to Reykjavik (KEF), in apparent response to WOW Air and Icelandair offering consistently cheap fares to KEF from DTW/ORD/PIT.


    Fall 2018:  Sun Oct 7 - Mon Oct 15.  Detroit to Barcelona $445+  1-stop
    Star Alliance airlines (United, Lufthansa, Air Canada, etc) (also $328 roundtrip Chicago to BCN on WOW Air)


    Late Fall 2018:  Sun Nov 11 - Tues Nov 20.  Various cities < $450
    Many of the cheapest flights here are on Icelandair or WOW Air, with 1-stop connections in KEF.

    • ORD-DUB $309 (WOW Air) $373 (Icelandair)
    • ORD-AMS $380 (WOW Air)
    • YYZ-AMS $406 (WOWAir)
    • ORD-MUC $407 (Icelandair) 
    • ORD-LHR $424 (Icelandair)
    • DTW-BCN $448 (Air Canada) $472 (Lufthansa)
    • DTW-DUB $450 (United) $480 (Lufthansa)
    • YYZ-CDG $406 (WOW Air) $411 (Icelandair)

    • ORD-CPH $332 (Icelandair) $439 (Swiss) $444 (United/Lufthansa) $453 (Austrian)
    • ORD-OSL $349 (Icelandair)
    • YYZ-AMS $383 (WOW Air)
    • ORD-HEL $357 (Icelandair)
    • ORD-AMS $361 (Icelandair)
    Year-end Fri Dec 7 - Sun Dec 16.  $356-$400 various cities
    YYZ-KEF $356 (Icelandair) nonstop $472 (Delta) 1-stop
    DTW-KEF $360 (WOW Air) nonstop
    PIT-KEF $399 (Delta) 1-stop
    ORD-CPH $412 (Icelandair) $466 (Swiss) $471 (Lufthansa)
    ORD-LHR $420 (Icelandair)

    Spring Break 2019:  Sat Mar 30 - Sun Apr 7. Nonstop Toronto to Lisbon $502. 1-stop Porto $501
    A couple of flights from Detroit in the $550 range sprinkled in here also

    Friday, August 10, 2018

    [FARE GONE] Toronto to Dublin Nonstop Sept-Dec 2018 from $219 on Aer Lingus

    This fare sale has expired.

    Aer Lingus flights between Toronto (YYZ) and Dublin (DUB) for Sept-Dec 2018 travel are showing up super-cheap - from CAD$288 - on certain online travel agency websites.

    See post below on Secret Flying, which links to a search on Sky Scanner's Canadian site.  These cheap prices are not showing up on Google Flights.

    Aer Lingus flies Airbus A330 between YYZ and DUB.  The 330 has a pleasant 2-4-2 layout, which is great for people traveling in group of 2 or 4.  Much better than 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 on the larger Boeing planes.


    Sample fare - Nov 17 - Nov 30.  From CAD$288  From here, you will need to select a certain online travel agency (OTA) through which to book the flight.  Flight Hub is the only OTA showing the cheap fare in this particular search.  This is a buyer beware situation, as I have no personal experience booking flights through these OTAs and it can be somewhat of a pain in the behind vs. booking direct with the airlines.

    Because this fare may be too good to be true, do NOT book lodging, car, or other arrangements for a few days until you are sure that Aer Lingus has issued your tickets!

    Thursday, July 26, 2018

    [FARE GONE]Detroit/Atlanta/Houston to Honolulu $364+ Roundtrip Ends Today

    This fare sale has expired.

    Sale ends today 7/26.

    Details


    • American Airlines has very low fares from Detroit/Atlanta/Houston (hub cities for Delta or United)
    • Travel mostly Mondays thru Thursdays
    • Found some cheap fares with weekend travel
    • Convenient 1-stop flights available with short layovers which is very nice
    • As low as $364 from Detroit
    • Late August thru early November 2018
    • Grand Rapids flights on United available on some of these same dates for $604

    Background


    Sample Flights

    DTW>HNL Labor Day trip Mon Aug 27 - Mon Sep 3 $364

    DTW>HNL Sun Oct 28 - Sun Nov 11 $404 (long layover on return flight)

    DTW>HNL Thurs Oct 25 - Sun Nov 4 $394

    DTW>HNL Sun Oct 21 - Weds Oct 31 $388

    Tuesday, June 26, 2018

    [FARE GONE] Detroit/Chicago to LA $120+ round trip on United/Alaska Sept 2018 - Feb 2019

    This deal has expired.

    Two separate fare sales posted today:

    United Airlines Detroit (DTW) to LA $120 round trip (basic econ) or $170 (reg econ)

    Late August to Feb 2019.  Cheap price NOT available around Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Years.  These are 1-stop flights from Detroit to a United hub such as Denver (DEN) Washington Dulles (IAD), Chicago (ORD), Newark (EWR).

    Sample Google Flights - Thurs Nov 29 - Mon Dec 3.  LINK

    Background article HERE lists fares as $134/184 (basic/regular economy), but these flights are pricing out cheaper than that on Google flights and United.com as of 12:50pm on 6/26/2018.


    Alaska Airlines Chicago (ORD) to LAX. Nonstop. $176+ RT. Sept - early Dec 2018
    Tues/Weds/Sat flights only.  Nonstop flights available from $217 for travel on other days of the week.  Sale ends today 6/26.  United has matched Alaska's pricing on this as well.  American has prices from $197.

    Background article HERE.

    Sample Google Flights - Tues Dec 4 - Sat Dec 8.  LINK.
    These are good, but not great, flight prices from the Midwest to LA.

    Friday, June 8, 2018

    [FARE GONE] Detroit/Seattle/Minneapolis/Atlanta to Madrid $395 Roundtrip Sept - Dec 2018

    6/9/2018 this fare sale has expired

    Quick deal post.  It is possible to book tickets around Thanksgiving or Christmas via this fare sale.

    Star Alliance airlines - Air Canada, Lufthansa, United, etc.

    Detroit to Madrid.  Late September to December 2018 flights.

    As low as $395 round trip.

    Connections thru Toronto (Air Canada), Newark (United), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), etc.

    Watch out for some United Airlines fares being a near-basic economy that does NOT include a free checked bag.

    Sample Google Searches for Detroit (DTW) to Madrid (MAD):

    Fri Oct 5 - Sat Oct 20 from $401 1-stop

    Fri Nov 16 - Mon Dec 3 from $395 1-stop

    Tues Dec 11 - Sun Dec 30 from $465 1-stop

    Background information here:  https://www.theflightdeal.com/2018/06/08/united-402-seattle-atlanta-detroit-minneapolis-madrid-spain-roundtrip-including-all-taxes/









    Friday, May 11, 2018

    Last Call - 70,000 Delta SkyMiles for $195

    This offer expires on May 16, 2018.

    The offer is still available via referral, but only thru 5/16/2018.  (The public offer has expired.)

    Here is my referral link for the personal version of the Delta Amex Platinum card:  http://refer.amex.us/JASONWoAVH?XLINK=MYCP

    Delta Amex Platinum personal & business - 70,000 SkyMiles + $100 statement credit

    • 70,000 Delta SkyMiles + 10,000 MQMs (elite status miles) after $3K spend in first 3 months
    • $100 statement credit after Delta purchase in first 3 months
    • $195 annual fee NOT waived in first year
    • 10k bonus miles and 10k bonus MQMs (towards elite status) after $25k spend and + second 10k bonus miles and 10k MQMs after $50k spend per calendar year
    • Free domestic economy companion certificate after first year.  (Yes, this certificate really works.  Once it is in your SkyMiles account, you can use it regardless of whether your Delta Amex Platinum credit card account is open.)
    • Priority boarding and free checked bags.
    • Offer expires 5/16/2018
    • TIP:  *Any* spend with Delta, such as a $2 headphone or $8 snack box during a flight, should trigger the entire statement credit; you do not need to spend $100 to get the $100 credit
    • The personal and business version are two cards with the same signup bonus and benefits.  A person can hold both cards at the same time
    • More info here:  http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2018/03/01/four-new-offers-70k-60k-skymiles  (note that these offers expired in April, unless you apply via a referral link from someone.)

    Wednesday, May 9, 2018

    [DEAL GONE] Earn 60 Miles per Dollar Spent on Flowers

    This deal has expired

    If you don't mind ordering flowers from a big national website - FTD, in this case - this is a great deal.

    How to Get the Deal

    1. If you don't already have a Delta SkyMiles account, sign up and create one at www.delta.com
    2. Register for Delta's promotion to earn 100% bonus with any new provider (from whom you did NOT earn miles in 2017) for any transactions between March 20 and May 31, 2018.  LINK HERE
    3. Go to Delta's SkyMiles Shopping site and log in (provide your SkyMiles number or email address; no password needed).  LINK HERE
    4. Search for "FTD" to find the link to the FTD website.  LINK HERE
    5. Click the SHOP NOW button to be redirected to the FTD.com website.  The banner at the top will confirm you are earning 30 SkyMiles per dollar.  (The extra 30 SkyMiles per dollar is a bonus payout from the promotion you registered for, so it will not say 60 SkyMiles per dollar on the FTD site.)

    How Good is the Deal?

    Very good.  This is the highest miles earning rate for flowers I've seen in several years. 

    15-30 miles per dollar is common on flowers when ordered online thru the appropriate airline shopping portal website.  All of the major domestic airlines offer these deals with FTD or 1-800-FLOWERS or other large flower companies.
    This particular deal is 30 Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent from FTD.com.  The deal gets doubly good if you did not earn Delta SkyMiles from FTD.com at all during 2017.

    Background Information

    Frequent Miler, one of my favorite miles and points blogs, has a good article on this deal - LINK HERE


    Miles are NOT earned on shipping, handling, and fees - so you earn 60 miles per dollar on the product(s) you order, but not 60 miles per dollar on every dollar you spend on the order

    Tuesday, March 27, 2018

    [Expired] Detroit to Europe $400+ Round Trip May/early June

    This fare sale has expired

    Excellent price on United and other Star Alliance carriers (e.g. Air Canada) from Detroit to Europe with departures in May thru early June.  As low as $400 per person round trip.


    NOTE:  fares are pricing out cheaper on Google Flights as of 4pm Eastern than reported on The Flight Deal's article (link above)

    Most of the cheap fares look to be to Amsterdam, but some availability to Paris and other cities is also sprinkled in.


    Sample searches on Google Flights: