Tag: airlines

New Credit Card Benefits

First we have new monthly dining credits and wireless credits for American Express cards Marriot, Hilton and Delta. Please use this link for more information.

For the month of February, Chase is giving you 5% back per dollar on gas with all freedom cards up to $150 in 5% back. This includes the Chase Freedom, Freedom Flex, and Freedom unlimited. Remember you can transfer these points to the Sapphire cards to use them as travel points. The only thing you need to do is to fill out your info on this link.

New Chase Freedom Flex 20,000 Points Or $200 Cash

Chase has discontinued the Chase Freedom for new customers and now has a card called the Chase Freedom Flex. You will have 5% cash back categories each quarter just like the old Chase Freedom, but they have added benefits to the new card. Please use my link to sign up if you are interested. The link also shows the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. Make sure you choose the Chase Freedom Flex.

You will receive 20,000 points after spending $500 in the first 3 months. Chase Freedom Flex does not have an annual fee. You are allowed to open this card even if you already have the Chase Freedom card. Always remember cash back is worth 1 cent per point. You can transfer points to Chase travel cards to make the points worth more. Chase travel points are worth on average 2 cents per point. This would make 20,000 points worth $400. There are three Chase cards where you can move the points to that would make them travel points. Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Preferred.

Benefits

  • Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target or Walmart purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
  • 5% Quarterly Bonus: Earn 5% on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in BONUS CATEGORIES each quarter you activate.
  • 5% on TRAVEL purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
  • 3% on DINING at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services.
  • 3% on DRUGSTORE purchases.
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases.
  • 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases.

If you currently have the Chase Freedom then you will have $3,000 to spend on quarterly bonuses by opening the Chase Freedom Flex instead of $1,500 each quarter.

  • Please do not open credit cards if you do not pay them off each month.
  • Try not to have more than 5 hard pulls on your credit every 2 years.
  • Do not close cards that do not have an annual fee. You want to keep your credit history long.
  • If you are having problems paying off credit cards then contact me and I will find the right card for you.

The Results of Canceling My Asia Trip

We had to cancel our trip to Japan and Thailand because of Covid-19. Last week we would have been in Japan and this week we would be in Thailand. Most of the trip was booked on points, taxes and fees. Canceling award nights at hotels is easy and you always get them back. I am not going to rate all hotels on how canceling went, because canceling reward nights is pretty simple. You always get your free night award certificates and points back, as long as it isn’t 48 hours before check in.

The companies That I Give An A

  1. Coming in at #1 is Idyllic Concept Resort in Koh Lipe Thailand. This was the only part of my trip that I really had to pay for. I don’t usually book an advanced booking rate for a hotel room because they are non-refundable. I booked it this time because I felt I was paying a lot for their best room. Five nights for around $1,500 US dollars is not that expensive to most people, but that is very expensive for Thailand (other than the Koh Samui part of Thailand). I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask them if there was anything they could do, even though they are not obligated to. They first responded that I could reschedule up until October 30th. That would not work because that was the rainy season and I knew Covid was going to be here for a long time. They emailed me a few weeks later, when Thailand was shutting down, and gave me a voucher that can be used until May 2021. I thought that was very nice of them. There is a good chance I still will not be able to use it. I think we will be lucky to have a vaccine by then.
  2. Hilton. I am unsure if it was them or American Express made Hilton do it. They extended my free night award certificates that I get from the American Express Hilton Aspire Card. I had two that were expiring in June, but are now extended until August 30, 2021 because of Covid-19. I was really looking forward to staying at the new Conrad Osaka for free.
  3. American Airlines. They are one of the best airlines when it comes to changed award flights that you booked with points. The reason I say that, is because it is free to change your flight, as long as you don’t change the itinerary. I believe all airlines would waive their cancelation fees at some point, so I waited to change the date of my flight. They ended up being the first airline on my trip that waived this fee. The points and taxes were credited to me very quickly, which was great! We missed out flying in first class on Japan Airlines for this part of the trip

Passing Grade

  1. Cathay Pacific Airlines. After they canceled my flights, it took a long time for my miles to come back to my Asia Miles account and the fees/taxes back to my credit card. I believe they said it could take up to 8 weeks but, came in at around 4-6 weeks. This was our first class trip home from Bangkok to Boston through Hong Kong.
  2. Singapore Airlines. I had been checking in on them for awhile now. At one point they canceled one leg of my trip and still wouldn’t let me cancel the other part for free. They then changed it to being able to cancel it for free, but I had a hard time getting through online. If your flight wasn’t within 7 days, they wanted you to fill out a form to cancel or change flights. They finally ended up canceling the second leg of my trip a couple weeks ago. They told me it will take up to 8 weeks before I get my miles and taxes back. This would have been in business class from Tokyo to Bangkok through Singapore.
  3. IHG. We were suppose to stay at the Intercontinental Tokyo Ana with these points and free night certificates. We obviously received the points back with no problem, but our free night award certificates expired at the end of April. IHG has now extended them through December 2020. That was nice of them, but I don’t see us using them by then because of the virus. Hopefully they extend them longer when December comes. Then they would get an A.

Failing Grade

  1. JetBlue Airways. We received our points back, but they did not give our taxes back. They put the money in our JetBlue account. I know this was illegal by the laws in the United States, but I didn’t really care to fight them on it. It was only $12 because the flight was just to JFK to catch our Japan Airlines flight. The reason it was illegal, was because they changed the time of our flight. When an airline does this, you may cancel for free and get all your money back.

This is first world problems, but I just wanted you to see how I did on canceling this trip. Please stay healthy and safe! Hopefully we have a cure and a vaccine soon.

Japan Airlines Giving Away 100,000 Seats To Foreigners On Domestic Travel

Japan Airlines is giving away 100,000 seats (50,000 round trip tickets) to foreigners on domestic travel inside of Japan. Here is how it works

Applications will open up in late February 2020 and are for travel from July 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020. If you are headed to the Olympics in Japan this summer then this could really help.

  • This is only available to people who live outside of Japan.
  • You must be a member of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
  • When you apply, they will then show you four possible destinations that you can fly to within Japan.
  • Roundtrip flights depart from Tokyo Haneda or Osaka.
  • You can apply for up to four people to fly.
  • You must already have your trip to Japan booked and provide the flight number and date with your application.