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My Oversold Delta Flight: $700 AMEX Gift Card, Hotel Voucher & Morning Flight

Good morning everyone.  Last week, I was flying back from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Oakland (OAK) on Delta.  The flight was oversold, so the gate agent was looking for a few volunteers to take a later flight (depart SLC at 10:30pm, land in OAK at 11:30pm) in exchange for a $700 gift card.  Since I didn’t need to get back to OAK right away, I asked the gate agent if I could take a morning flight into OAK (depart SLC at 8:30am, land in OAK at 9:30am – I would then take BART into SF for work) and I also asked for a hotel voucher for the night.  The gate agent said that was possible, so he added me to the volunteer list, and I waited near the gate for all passengers to board.  After all passengers boarded the flight, the gate agent called me up, changed my flight to the new morning flight, printed out a hotel voucher, and showed me the list of gift cards that I was eligible to claim.  I didn’t take a photo of the laminated sheet on the counter, but I believe these were the same gift cards that were offered.  I decided to go with an American Express gift card since that was basically cash to me.

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6 Buy Miles/Points Promos Ending Soon: Hilton (100%), American (40%), Etihad (20%), Spirit (60%), Southwest (50%) & United (75%)

Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found 6 offers ending in the next few days.  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 6 buy miles/points promos ending soon.  First up, Hilton Hotels is offering a 100% bonus, when you purchase at least 5,000 Hilton Honors Points.  This offer expires today – May 28.

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Success! Airbnb WORKS with US Bank FlexPerks Real-Time Rewards (Special Circumstance?)

Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend.  I had delicious clam chowder in Bodega Bay and then BBQ’d chicken and corn at home.  Last week, I got an email from Airbnb about paying for the second half of an upcoming Airbnb stay in Tahiti.  I don’t use Airbnb very often, but apparently you can split your Airbnb payments into 2 parts (pay half when you reserve your Airbnb and pay the other half a few weeks before you arrive at the Airbnb).  I had a stash of FlexPoints from my US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card and recently enrolled in Real-Time Rewards (for the 500 free FlexPoints).  I was hoping I could redeem my US Bank FlexPoints for 1.5 cents each with Real-Time Rewards to cover the Airbnb payment.  I clicked the Update Payment Details button at the bottom of the email and paid $804.69 with my US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card.

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Flight Review: XL Airways Economy (A330-300) from Paris (CDG) to New York (JFK)

Updated Sept 22nd, 2019: XL Airways is seeking a bailout from Air France (Simple Flying).

Updated Sept 19th, 2019: XL Airways is experiencing temporary financial difficulties and has ceased ticket sales (OMAATForbesAirline Geeks).


XL Airways is a solid, acceptable choice for crossing the ocean. They offer an experience approaching a full-service airline–including a checked bag and at least one hot meal–but often at LCC pricing.

A friend and I took a quick trip to Europe back in December before the holidays, and XL popped up as an option to get home. Sometimes I mix and match one-way long-haul tickets to fulfill an itinerary, and the rise of low-cost, long-haul carriers like Norwegian, Level, and WOW Air have made this sort of last-minute jaunt a lot more accessible.

I first heard of XL in Summer 2015 when I had a similar last-minute need to get home. At the time I took Norwegian instead, but was intrigued by XL. What was it?

XL Airways bills itself as a “French airline specializing in long-haul flights.” With just four aircraft (all A330 variants) and twenty-two destinations, they primarily operate from French cities to vacation destinations both via regularly scheduled service and charter operations for tour companies.

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XL Airways List of Destinations. Note: Many of these destinations are seasonal. NYC service for instance, IIRC is offered only in the warmer months and around the winter holidays.

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Keep, Cancel or Convert? Citi AT&T Access More Credit Card ($95 Annual Fee)

Good morning everyone.  As part of my “Keep, Cancel or Convert?” series, I like to evaluate and reevaluate credit cards to make sure they still deserve a spot in my wallet (or credit card drawer).  In today’s post, I will share my thoughts regarding my Citi AT&T Access More Credit Card.  I actually have 3 different Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards, but my decision to keep, cancel, or convert all 3 credit cards is the same.  A few weeks ago, the $95 annual fee posted to my account.  This credit card is no longer available for direct applications, but you can convert from other Citi credit cards to the Citi AT&T Access Credit Card (no annual fee) and then upgrade to the Citi AT&T Access More Credit Card ($95 annual fee).  I love these Citi AT&T Access More Credit Cards and I will show you why I keep these credit cards year after year.

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