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Listen to Grant on the Miles to Memories Podcast (Again)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few days ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest / co-host on the Miles to Memories Podcast.  I spoke with Shawn Coomer (MtM Founder) while Joe Cheung took the day/night off. This was my second time on the Miles to Memories podcast (first time was back on September 24, 2020).  We talked about many different topics, ranging from the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card and accompanying Priority Pass membership; closing my American Express Business Platinum Card; upcoming Summer trip to Dublin, Helsinki, and Stockholm; and more.

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.  Please let me know what you think of the podcast episode by leaving a comment below.  Lastly, if you want to hear more of my lovely voice, check out my Podcasts & Interviews page.  Have a great day everyone.

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My Experience Cancelling 3 International Business Class Awards: Delta, Korean Air & Air France / KLM

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few weeks ago, I had to cancel a few international business class awards, so I wanted to share the various cancellation processes, timelines, and fees involved.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, you will know what to expect from the process.  In this post, I will cover Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM awards.  In a future post, I will cover the process for cancelling my Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines award tickets.

40,000 Delta SkyMiles for Korean Air Business Class (KUL-ICN-UBN): Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -> Seoul, South Korea -> Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

I cancelled the award ticket on Delta’s website on April 2 and received this refund confirmation email.

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My Preparation to Close American Express Business Platinum Card

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Updated 2:20pm PT on 4/24/2024: My $237.77 refund check from American Express arrived in the mail today, 5-6 days after requesting the refund check.

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well. A few days ago, I wrote Contact AMEX if Alaska Airlines Seat Assignment / Upgrade Purchases Do Not Trigger Airline Fee Reimbursement Credit.  That post was in preparation of closing my American Express Business Platinum Card after the $695 annual fee posted earlier this month.  I had already tried my luck at retention offers via AMEX Chat and calling, but the only offer I received was for 10,000 AMEX Membership Rewards Points after spending $5,000 in 3 months.  That retention offer wouldn’t have made a large enough dent toward the $695 annual fee, so I decided to close the card.

I still had a few weeks before the annual fee had to be paid or the card had to be closed, so I was determined to earn as many of the benefits before that date.  Through mid April, I was able to get 4 x $10 Wireless Credits, the $200 Dell Credit for the first half of the year, and the $200 Airline Incident Credit with Alaska Airlines (read the blog post at the top of this post for more details).

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5 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: Wyndham (40%), Air France / KLM (70%), Leading Hotels of the World (60%), United Airlines (100%) & Choice (30%)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 5 offers that end this month!  Always check the math to make sure that buying miles & points makes sense for you.  Do not buy miles & points speculatively unless you have a use in mind.  With that said, here are 5 offers that end soon.

Up first, Wyndham Hotels is offering up to a 40% bonus, depending on the number of Wyndham Rewards Points you purchase.  This offer expires on April 21.

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Contact AMEX if Alaska Airlines Seat Assignment / Upgrade Purchases Do Not Trigger Airline Fee Reimbursement Credit

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Recently, I noticed that my Alaska Airlines seat assignment purchases on my American Express Business Platinum Card were not triggering the $200 Airline Fee Reimbursement Credit.  I paid for 4 premium economy seat assignments on Alaska Airlines in January and the credits had not posted in the following 2 months.  I went to Frequent Miler’s Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements. What still works? post and scrolled down to the Alaska Airlines section.  There was a note that said:

“Since 2022, there have been many reports of Alaska charges not being reimbursed automatically. It seems that many have had success getting charges for premium seat selection and things that ordinarily should be included (like lounge access, onboard purchases, etc) manually credited via the chat function, but only after 2 weeks has passed since the transaction date. Historical Alaska data included below, but beware that you may need to chat and hope for a friendly agent. See more data in this Flyertalk thread.”

I decided to reach out to American Express for help.

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