Long Haul Business Class for under $2K (Long Post)

[Laid Back Larry]

DIdn't read all the pages but I usually check out Finnair if you reside in Europe. Current pricing arround 1300 Euro, 1400 USD.  They often have very competitive prices

[Little Evil]

24 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

 

Yep - no more restaurant credits for AMEX PP


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Good thing I didn't order the $30 lobster roll then before checking. Imagine....sandwich, beer and a tip for $50+?!? Things I could do in LoS for 1,500 baht...lol

[bgtp]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

Huh...sitting in Stephanie's in Logan, terminal B, and the bartender just told me only Chase PP. She claims Amex already backed out. I didn't know there was a difference, unless she's wrong. Maybe there is something to redundant PP cards after all.

 

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Yep - no more restaurant credits for AMEX PP

 

I don’t have the AMEX, but that does suck. My CSR annual fee comes up next month and I decided to keep it and reevaluate again next year. Right now I’m almost (or barely) getting enough perks to offset the annual fee. Used to put all my dining on it at 3X UR points. But when BoA went to pick your own 3% category earlier this year and I combine that with my 75% preferred rewards bonus, I now get 5.25% cash back on dining with them. So now I’m only using CSR for the 3X on travel .

[ludwighigh]

Not sure if this the right thread, but curious about what you guys thought of the changes to United's mileage plus program announced yesterday.

[Luv2Phuket]

2 hours ago, ludwighigh said:

Not sure if this the right thread, but curious about what you guys thought of the changes to United's mileage plus program announced yesterday.

I think this thread has moved to a general discussion of the points/miles game, so sure!

I'm not a United flyer, so it didn't have a huge impact on me. 

That said, I'm pretty shocked that they seem to have completely take miles out of the equation, and I'm concerned as to how it will play out moving forward. 

I mentioned a current transfer bonus where 60,000 Marriott points will not get you more than 35,000 United miles (think it's like 37,500).  I was looking into that, but this announcement has me thinking that I do NOT want to park miles in my United account.  If they completely move to a system like Southwest or JetBlue (who also look only to what you spend; not how far you fly), it seems like it could result in another massive devaluation for International partner award travel.

[bgtp]

If you own a business, who’s the better customer; the guy who comes in 5x a year and spends $10K each time or the guy who comes in 50x, buys more items, but spends $100 per visit? Frequent flyers and travel hackers have been spoiled for a while now (myself included) and some sure feel self-entitled. I’ll ride this game for as long as it lasts, but airlines, or any business for that matter, deciding to reward customers based on spend seems perfectly logical to me. Also, note that customer satisfaction is higher with Southwest and Jet Blue than the big three. The only people bothered by this trend tend to be people like us who work the system for premium international travel.

[Luv2Phuket]

On 11/10/2019 at 14:04, Little Evil said:

Anyone know if/where there might be an Admiral's club? I still have $100 in AA Amex credit left. 
 

Just saw this review today of the better food options at the Admirals Club at LAX:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/admirals-new-food-options-taste-test/

Not great, but I'm now DEFINITELY planning to try to spend some of my remaining $100 AMEX fee credit there!

[ludwighigh]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think this thread has moved to a general discussion of the points/miles game, so sure!

I'm not a United flyer, so it didn't have a huge impact on me. 

That said, I'm pretty shocked that they seem to have completely take miles out of the equation, and I'm concerned as to how it will play out moving forward. 

I mentioned a current transfer bonus where 60,000 Marriott points will not get you more than 35,000 United miles (think it's like 37,500).  I was looking into that, but this announcement has me thinking that I do NOT want to park miles in my United account.  If they completely move to a system like Southwest or JetBlue (who also look only to what you spend; not how far you fly), it seems like it could result in another massive devaluation for International partner award travel.

I spent a few hours reading discussion on some forums like flyertalk.  It definitely shifts the priority away from people who flew economy on cheap tickets to accumulate miles, and used the credit card spend to meet the spend (at least through platinum). 

Getting to 1K and the global premier upgrades for long-haul travel (and their point equivalent starting on December 4) will be a lot harder - basically the spend requirement doubled in two years from $12K to $24K if you don't fly enough segments.

The only good news is that you can earn United premier qualifying points on other Star Alliance carriers based on mileage flown. I have been getting no credit for spend on EVA and Air China for the last several years. People were posting examples on flyertalk, etc. where you might be able to get more than one premier qualifying point per dollar spent (in other words, there is an advantage to flying on star alliance carriers other than United to earn premier qualifying points).  And if cheaper than United, that's another benefit.  

IMO, you could turn 60,000 marriott points into at least 5 nights (12,500 per night plus fifth night free).

[Little Evil]

Had to vent this somewhere, and I know y'all have some experience with this sort of stuff. 

So, had a "minor" delay on United coming back from SJO. First it was a notification of a mere 7 hour delay. This would have put me in EWR past all last flights out. I was assured that hotel vouchers would be issued. Got to the airport for the 7 hour later time only to get another 3 hour delay slapped on top. This "3 hour additional delay" turned into a 5 hour delay at the airport, to which United handed out meal vouchers FOR $10 DOLLARS for the over 12 hour total delay time. Most of the restaurants wouldn't even take them because they said there was some weirdness on taxes that United makes the restaurant pay them, so it wasn't in their interest to accept them. So you know what $10. got me at an airport? A Snapple and a pack of gum, to which you don't even get any change. 

Turned out the second and third delays were the captain making the call on flight worthiness of the jet. Said parts were coming from Houston. The final call was to order a new jet from EWR. However, given that it pretty much turned what would have been a short hotel voucher stay in EWR into SJO camping, I do wonder if United just made the decision to strand people instead of pass out vouchers. That EWR jet didn't come off schedule or anything. It was it's typical route time and had people on it. By the time I got to EWR, there was only 2 hours left before my next leg and they had me back in terminal B instead of C like on my original itinerary. That mean no AA or PP lounge use. And the final kicker--they had me returning today instead of yesterday, so I was basically airport straight to work. I did manage to get switched to the earliest flight so I could be at work on time, but nothing like back to back Y redeyes after a day in the airport to make one miserable. Didn't even get my paid assigned seat in Y on the short leg. Got the very last seat on the plane. 

[Luv2Phuket]

Man, that sucks!

You could ask for a refund of the paid seat assignment. They may tell you to fuck off, but maybe worth an email?


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[basket case]

That really does suck. I fly out of SFO, and I've basically given up on them. Was 1K for over a decade.

But hey, an email to 1K Voice might get you 5000 MileagePlus points! Whoopie!

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[Little Evil]

One take away for me was that while I used to be able to handle Y trips under 6 hours with relative ease, something has changed in me in recent years and I now know for certain that I just can't do anything longer than 3 hours max in Y anymore unless it is a must-do trip. Through some miracle, the 5 hour leg had me in an empty 3 seat row in the isle. We're about to take off when some shlub practically climbs over me to the window seat. He's somehow taking up both of the two empty seats and, no joke, has his hand down the front of his pants for a good portion of the trip, which I was reminded of by him tapping me on the shoulder to wake me up to use the bathroom. By that second and final leg of this god awful experience, I was rather comically giving the F pax the "you think you're better than me" stare when trudging through the front of the plane to my prison seat in steerage. 

United did just proactively email me a credit for $150., or about 41% of the original fare. There's like a page long disclaimer that acceptance of the fare absolves them of any wrongdoing or future claim. I'm wondering how many FCC rules they broke with how they handled this issue and if I should press further. I'm so bent over this issue that I can't see actually looking at their fares for a while to use that credit, which does expire in 1 year. 

[bgtp]

Sounds like an awful trip. Sorry you had to go thru that and I hope the venting helped. I always pay for an extra legroom seat when flying domestic Y if that's an option, but I'm starting to think if a not too outrageous F fare is available, it might be worth it. We'll see. Sounds like you paid for a seat with more room, but got screwed with the schedule change.

I have one trip I do each year that's 5 hours going west and 4 hours on the return going east. Only non-stop is on Southwest, so I just suck it up and live with the shorter pitch rather than have to connect somewhere. I do pay for Early Bird to insure an aisle seat. Still sucks though.

[basket case]

The worst part is they mailed a credit for $150, not cash. I'm guessing the last thing you want to do is book another United flight right now.

I would at least ask for a refund on the extra room seat that you lost.

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[Luv2Phuket]

I could be wrong, but I think the t/c for paid seat assignments say that they are nonrefundable.

I doubt it, but can you use the credit for taxes/fees on a United award ticket?

I'm currently sitting on a pretty hefty AA credit for a flight to Cancun that I canceled.  Since it was a "no refunds" ticket, I actually changed it to a flight to Austin on a later date to visit family, leaving me with the AA credit to (hopefully!) use on a future flight.

[Little Evil]

Targeted Amex offer. $1,000 spend on Air Canada = 20k MR's. Nice perk if you're already planning paid Star Alliance airfare. Must book through the Air Canada website. Good until 12/18/19 if you got it. 

[Luv2Phuket]

7 hours ago, Little Evil said:

Targeted Amex offer. $1,000 spend on Air Canada = 20k MR's. Nice perk if you're already planning paid Star Alliance airfare. Must book through the Air Canada website. Good until 12/18/19 if you got it. 

I got that one, but it doesn't do me a lot of good, since I have no immediate plans to fly Air Can't-Stand-Ya  (555)

(No offense intended for Canadian BMs -- a friend from Canada is the one who told me about that moniker)

[Little Evil]

14 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I got that one, but it doesn't do me a lot of good, since I have no immediate plans to fly Air Can't-Stand-Ya  (555)

(No offense intended for Canadian BMs -- a friend from Canada is the one who told me about that moniker)

I'll most likely not use it either, but added it just in case. Wouldn't that theoretically open up Eva, ANA, Asiana, Singapore, Thai, and United, to name a few, if booked through Air Canada's website?

[Luv2Phuket]

2 hours ago, Little Evil said:

I'll most likely not use it either, but added it just in case. Wouldn't that theoretically open up Eva, ANA, Asiana, Singapore, Thai, and United, to name a few, if booked through Air Canada's website?

Never thought of that!  I need to add all of these offers just in case

[Luv2Phuket]

Looks like AMEX is relaunching their traditional Green card:

https://viewfromthewing.com/american-express-green-card-relaunch-can-basic-green-beat-the-super-premium-cards/

$150 annual fee; 30,000 MR after $2,000 in spend in first 3 months; 3X MR at restaurants and travel; no foreign transaction fee.

Two quirks with this one:
 - $100 in statement credits for LoungeBuddy purchases; and
 - $100 statement credit per year for CLEAR membership

The LoungeBuddy option doesn't move the needle for me, as it seems like they largely overlap with Priority Pass (and I have multiple free Priority Pass accounts).

The annual CLEAR credit, however, really intrigues me!  That's a really good offer, given that the Global Entry credits are once every four year.  I have been debating getting CLEAR (friends love it, but they always get the airport late, while I am there early), so that $100 credit would really put a dent in the annual cost.  I think CLEAR is $179 per year, but Delta General Members get a preferential rate (like $129 or maybe even $99).

I haven't opened an account for a few months so I will be looking into this one a little more.....

[Luv2Phuket]

Anybody have a Fidelity Cash Back credit card?

I just got an email offer for it today, and it is interesting.

I'm normally NOT a "cash back card" guy, preferring to focus on miles/points, but Fidelity is doing 2% cash back, with15,000 bonus points (or $150 cash back, if deposited into a Fidelity account) after you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days, but the REAL kicker is that the card carries NO annual fee.

Wondering if anyone has it and your thoughts on it?

[Little Evil]

On 25/10/2019 at 17:25, Luv2Phuket said:

Anybody have a Fidelity Cash Back credit card?

I just got an email offer for it today, and it is interesting.

I'm normally NOT a "cash back card" guy, preferring to focus on miles/points, but Fidelity is doing 2% cash back, with15,000 bonus points (or $150 cash back, if deposited into a Fidelity account) after you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days, but the REAL kicker is that the card carries NO annual fee.

Wondering if anyone has it and your thoughts on it?

I'm locked into Merrill Lynch due to BoA, so I most likely won't be dipping my toe into those waters, but intriguing because of the low hanging fruit and no overhead. 

Card bonuses have been kind of low recently. Still waiting on next next 100k bonus before pulling any triggers. Did notice the Cap One Spark for biz has up to a 200k bonus now, but with a $55k spend in 6 months. For business, that's not super high of a bar, but it is kind of a mind game.

The first 50k come with a $5k spend. Typical, but not bad. The remaining 150k come with a $50k spend. Sounds ok at first Blush, but if you think about it, that's only 3 points per dollar spent. Many cards achieve that already before a "bonus". It really should be at least 5x to be considered a true sign up bonus. 

[Luv2Phuket]

On 24/10/2019 at 14:12, Luv2Phuket said:

Looks like AMEX is relaunching their traditional Green card:

https://viewfromthewing.com/american-express-green-card-relaunch-can-basic-green-beat-the-super-premium-cards/

$150 annual fee; 30,000 MR after $2,000 in spend in first 3 months; 3X MR at restaurants and travel; no foreign transaction fee.

Two quirks with this one:
 - $100 in statement credits for LoungeBuddy purchases; and
 - $100 statement credit per year for CLEAR membership

The LoungeBuddy option doesn't move the needle for me, as it seems like they largely overlap with Priority Pass (and I have multiple free Priority Pass accounts).

The annual CLEAR credit, however, really intrigues me!  That's a really good offer, given that the Global Entry credits are once every four year.  I have been debating getting CLEAR (friends love it, but they always get the airport late, while I am there early), so that $100 credit would really put a dent in the annual cost.  I think CLEAR is $179 per year, but Delta General Members get a preferential rate (like $129 or maybe even $99).

I haven't opened an account for a few months so I will be looking into this one a little more.....

I just pulled the trigger on this card.

As noted above, the CLEAR credit -- as well as a $100 credit at Away.com -- had me looking at it.  

I couldn't remember what the offer was, so I Googled it, and the link took me to an AMEX page offering 45,000 MR after $2,000 spend in first 3 months, up from the typical 30,000 offer.  

That pushed me into "get it!" territory, so I filled out the app and was immediately approved.

Away has some interesting carry-on bags in the $225 range, so this would knock it down to $125.  I need to see if the credit applies to other items, such as packing cubes or other accessories.  I don;t really need them, but free is free!  55555

EDIT:

Went back and checked, and here is what it has on the Away credit - 

You can earn up to $100 in statement credits on eligible purchases made directly at select Away stores in the U.S. and/or on AwayTravel.com using your Green from Amex within the first 3 months of Card Membership, starting from the date your account is approved . . . . Offer not valid on gift card purchases or Corporate Gifting purchases.

So it appears to cover any purchase(s) up to $100.

 

 

[Little Evil]

22 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I just pulled the trigger on this card.

As noted above, the CLEAR credit -- as well as a $100 credit at Away.com -- had me looking at it.  

I couldn't remember what the offer was, so I Googled it, and the link took me to an AMEX page offering 45,000 MR after $2,000 spend in first 3 months, up from the typical 30,000 offer.  

That pushed me into "get it!" territory, so I filled out the app and was immediately approved.

Away has some interesting carry-on bags in the $225 range, so this would knock it down to $125.  I need to see if the credit applies to other items, such as packing cubes or other accessories.  I don;t really need them, but free is free!  55555

EDIT:

Went back and checked, and here is what it has on the Away credit - 

You can earn up to $100 in statement credits on eligible purchases made directly at select Away stores in the U.S. and/or on AwayTravel.com using your Green from Amex within the first 3 months of Card Membership, starting from the date your account is approved . . . . Offer not valid on gift card purchases or Corporate Gifting purchases.

So it appears to cover any purchase(s) up to $100.

 

 

45K MR's?  Now I'm intrigued. Did they hard pull or just see your prior Amex experience and award the card? 

[Luv2Phuket]

1 hour ago, Little Evil said:

45K MR's?  Now I'm intrigued. Did they hard pull or just see your prior Amex experience and award the card? 

Don't know.  I assume a hard pull because I entered all of my info, rather than just log in to my AMEX account.