Monthly Archives: July 2014

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How to Redeem US Bank FlexPoints for Airlines Tickets

I’ve talked about US Bank FlexPerks a few times in the past:

I *highly* recommend reading the post from May 11 that highlights my way of MSing FlexPerks.  The brief run down is:

  • 20,000 FlexPoints = up to $400 in travel
  • To earn 20,000 FlexPoints, you need to spend $10,000 in grocery stores (2x on all grocery store purchases)
  • $10,000 / $500 Gift Cards = 20 Gift Cards
  • 20 Gift Cards x $5 activation fee = $100 out of pocket expense
  • $400 in travel – $100 out of pocket expense = $300 “free travel money”

Some other interesting points of FlexPoints:

  • Get 3,500 FlexPoints each cardmember year you spend $24,000 in net purchases, which can be redeemed for your annual fee or towards other rewards of your choice.
  • Get up to a $25 airline allowance with every award travel ticket good towards baggage fees, in-flight treats and more. (Ohhh in-flight treats/food/drinks – After travel, just call Cardmember Services at 877-978-7446 to request a statement credit within 90 days of your award ticket travel flight.)
  • Earn frequent flyer miles on the airline you fly for your award travel flight.

With that said, here is how to redeem US Bank FlexPerks for airfare.  Find a flight you want that costs less than $400, but ideally as close to $400 as possible.  20,000 FlexPerks can be used on a $100 ticket, a $200 ticket, a $300 ticket, or a $399 ticket.  All those tickets cost the same number of FlexPerks, so find the best flight and don’t worry about the cost.  In the example below, I need to get from SFO to LAS for a bachelor party and need these specific flights.  Southwest Airlines and Virgin America have flights at the same time that are both more expensive than the flight shown below.

ITA Matrix SFO-LAS Flight $381

Log into your US Bank account and click on My Accounts and My Rewards.

US Bank My Rewards

Click Redeem Rewards under your Flexperks credit card.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Rewards

Click on Travel Rewards in the center of the screen.  You will be able to see your current Flexperks balance in the upper right corner.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Travel Rewards

Click on Explore Travel in the center of the screen.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Travel Rewards Explore Travel

Remember, these are the flights, times, and flight numbers of the flights I want to book.

ITA Matrix SFO-LAS Flight $381

Enter your search terms into the search box.  You can book round trips, one way trips, or multi-destination trips (great for 2 random one ways to maximize the value out of your Flexperks.  Then click Search Flights at the bottom.

US Bank Search For Flights

The Flexperks online portal is run by Orbitz, in case you were wondering.  The search results are grouped by airline and number of stops.  Click the box that corresponds with the flight you want to book.  As you can see, almost all the flight options shown are at the 20,000 Flexperks level (cost of airfare is $400 and below).

US Bank Flight Search Results Top

Find the outbound flight you want from the list of choices.

US Bank Flight Search Results SFO-LAS

Then find the return flight you want from the list of choices. Hint: avoid clicking on any flight that is not 20,000 FlexPerks (see the big red X?).

US Bank Flight Search Results LAS-SFO

This page shows a preview of your flights as well as the number of Flexperks you will redeem for the itinerary.  It is nice the FlexPerks pays for the whole flight including taxes and fees.

US Bank Flight Chosen Top

US Bank Flight Chosen Bottom

Enter the passenger’s personal information, frequent flyer account info (you can change/enter this info later), and click Continue.

US Bank Enter Passenger Details

Enter the passenger’s contact information and click Continue.

US Bank Enter Passenger Contact Information

Pick your outbound and return seats then click Continue.  If you have elite status with the airline, you may want to wait until after the flight is booked and make your seat selection from the airline’s website.

US Bank Seat Selection

Preview the price of the ticket one last time and click Complete Reservation.

US Bank Review Flight

Your reservation is complete and your Flexperks balance will show your new balance.  Click View Trip Details to view/print your itinerary.

US Bank Flight Purchased

Here is your flight itinerary.  Check your email for an email from FlexPerks.  You will find the reservation number for the airline that can be used to view/change your reservation online.

US Bank Flight Ticket Information

US Bank Flight Ticket Information Bottom

I can find my reservation on United.com just by entering my United Confirmation Number.  From here, you can change your seats, enter your TSA pre Check number, or change your frequent flyer account attached to the reservation.

United Confirmation and Reservation

Back in your US Bank Flexperks account, you can view your Points Summary and remaining Flexperks balance.

US Bank Manage Points

Also, you can transfer Flexperks to anyone with a Flexperks credit card account.  If you need to purchase FlexPerks, you can do so online in 1,000 point increments for $20 each.

US Bank Transfer Points

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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MSing for Hilton HHonors Points (4 Credit Card Comparison) and Reykjavik, Iceland Hotel Options

MSing (not to be confused with PMSing) is one of my specialties.  When I tell people that I have to spend $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000 on credit cards, they look at me funny.  “Wow, that is a lot of money, how are you going to do that?”  I do a quick calculation in my head; 4 stops at CVS, a quick trip to Albertson’s or Ralph’s, 2 visits to Walmart, carry the thousand, “I’ll be done with that later this week.”  I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks like that.  Since I do not have any real bills to pay (no mortgage, student loans, auto payments, etc.) I would say 95% of my spending is MS, and the other 5% comes from restaurants (I <3 food).

Anyway, enough about me.  My Hilton HHonors account has been dwindling as of late thanks to stays at the Hilton San Francisco Airport and Hilton Vienna in January, the Hilton Copenhagen Airport and the Hilton Seattle Airport in April, the Hilton Los Cabos Resort and the Hilton Portland next month, and my DoubleTree Scottsdale reservation for #westcoastdo in November.  Needless to say, it is time to replenish my stash of Hilton Honors Points.

Over the weekend, I compared the perks and category bonuses of my Citi® Hilton HHonors Reserve Card and my Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express.  After I finished analyzing those credit cards, I decided that I would also include the other 2 Hilton HHonors credit cards that have no annual fee.  It is unfortunate that the transfers from Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are no longer 1:2 (they are now 1:1.5).  That was a quick way to get a ton of easy Hilton HHonors Points.

With that said, here is the master chart (please let me know if you spot any mistakes and I will fix them right away).  The yellow boxes represent the information given on the credit card information pages.  The white boxes are inferred values based on the “Everything Else” category.  The red font represent the best deal(s) for each type of transaction.  For example, the best credit card to use for stays at a Hilton property depends on whether the hotel is in the United States or abroad.  Since only the Citi® Hilton HHonors Reserve Card has no foreign transaction (FOREX) fees, that is my go to card for international stays.  If I am staying in the United States, I use the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express.

MS Hilton HHonors Points Comparison Chart

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Transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Another Chase Ultimate Rewards Account

Chase-Ultimate-Rewards

Transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Another Chase Ultimate Rewards Account

In light of recent changes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and its 7% Annual Dividend (link and link), you might be more inclined on closing your Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card or downgrading to a Chase Sapphire Credit Card or Chase Freedom Credit Card.

But before you do anything drastic, think about your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

I’ve argued in the past that the more Chase credit cards you have, the less value you get from the Chase Sapphire Preferred.  For example, you can earn way more points with a Chase Ink Bold/Plus than a Chase Sapphire Preferred.  Several other Chase credit cards earn 2x on dining and travel, such as the Chase Hyatt Credit Card which earns 2x on restaurants, airfare, and rental cars.  Just ask yourself, what are you paying $95 each year for?

If you do decide to close or downgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred, you may want to transfer the Chase Ultimate Rewards Points out to a transfer partner (link) or to a different Chase Ultimate Rewards account.

According to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Terms and Conditions (link), you can combine points from different Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts:

Can I combine the points I earn from other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards?

Yes. You can combine points or rebates from any eligible credit or debit card with Ultimate Rewards.

Note: Once points are transferred, they cannot be credited back. Transfers may only be used to combine points belonging to the same individual or business in the program; or for the purpose of enabling spouses or domestic partners to combine points. Chase will not make the transfer if the credit card account(s) or checking account(s), as applicable, are in default at the time of the transfer.

To read the entire post, please click here.

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Transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Another Chase Account

According to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Terms and Conditions (link), you can combine points from different Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts:

Can I combine the points I earn from other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards?

Yes. You can combine points or rebates from any eligible credit or debit card with Ultimate Rewards.

Note: Once points are transferred, they cannot be credited back. Transfers may only be used to combine points belonging to the same individual or business in the program; or for the purpose of enabling spouses or domestic partners to combine points. Chase will not make the transfer if the credit card account(s) or checking account(s), as applicable, are in default at the time of the transfer.

All you need is 2 people with separate Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts (Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, Chase Ink Plus, Chase Ink Classic, Chase Corporate Flex, J.P. Morgan Palladium, and J.P. Morgan Select).

If you are planning on transferring the Chase Ultimate Reward Points to one of Chase’s transfer partners, you will need to have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, Chase Ink Plus, Chase Ink Classic, Chase Corporate Flex, J.P. Morgan Palladium, or J.P. Morgan Select credit card.  To learn more about that process, please read this page.

To transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, log into the account which has the Chase Ultimate Rewards Points that you want to transfer to another.  For example, my mom has 4,763 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points that she has earned with her Chase Freedom Credit Card.  After logging into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, go to the Rewards Activity tab on the far right side of the screen.

MT Chase Freedom UR Mall

From here, click on the Combine Ultimate Rewards Points link on the left hand side.

MT Chase Freedom Rewards Activity

This step is very important.  Make sure you select the right credit card you want to transfer points from (Chase Freedom Credit Card in this case) and select Other in the Transfer To section.  Then enter the Chase credit card account number where you want to transfer the points to.  In this case, my mom wants to transfer her points to my dad’s Chase Ultimate Rewards account.  Select the number of points you want to transfer and click the Next button.

Combine UR Points

Preview the transaction and verify all the information looks correct.  Then press the Submit button.

Preview UR Point Transfer

Congratulations, you just transferred your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to another account.

UR Point Transfer Complete

If you go back to the Rewards Activity page, you should see the latest transfer activity and your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points balance is updated instantly.

MT Chase Freedom Rewards Activity Updated

Log out of the first Chase Ultimate Rewards account and log into the second account.  You should see the transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards Points instantly in your account.

ST CSP UR Mall Balance Updated

As a final verification, you can refresh your Award Wallet balance and you will see transfer.

Chase UR Balance on Award Wallet

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.