[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.