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My Easy 2 Day & $100 Global Entry Renewal Process

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  On Wednesday, April 24, I logged into my Global Entry account to saw that my Global Entry / TSA PreCheck membership was set to expire this year in November 2024.  Side note: Do you know when your Global Entry / TSA PreCheck membership expires?  Once your membership is within 12 months of expiring, you can begin the renewal process.  In this post, I will walk you through the Global Entry renewal process and show you how long it took (spoiler alert: my renewal was approved in 2 days).  To get started, sign into your Global Entry account and click the Renew Membership button.

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My Experience Cancelling 2 International Business Class Awards: Avianca LifeMiles & Singapore Airlines

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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 due to a scheduling conflict, 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 my experience cancelling award tickets with Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines.  You can read about my experience cancelling award tickets with Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM.

90,000 Avianca LifeMiles for Air India Business Class (SFO-DEL): San Francisco, CA -> Delhi, India

I tried to cancel the award ticket on the Avianca LifeMiles website on April 2, but couldn’t find a cancellation page, so I called the LifeMiles customer service number (1-866-919-0081).  The rep informed me that there was a $200 cancellation fee.  Once that fee was paid, the 90,000 Avianca LifeMiles would be refunded within 72 hours and the taxes/fees would be refunded within 30 days.  Instead of paying with a credit card over the phone, Avianca sent me a link to pay with the subject line “Payment Instructions for your order” from the email address do-not-reply@worldpay.com.  I clicked the link and paid the $200 cancellation fee.

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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 due to a scheduling conflict, 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 my experience cancelling award tickets with Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM.  You can read about my experience cancelling award tickets with Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines.

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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