Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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I Downgraded my JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton to Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ($450 AF to $95 AF)

Good afternoon everyone.  A few months ago, I upgraded my Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa Signature to JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Visa Infinite.  Fast forward to March 1 and the $450 annual fee posted to my Ritz Carlton credit card.  Over the last few weeks, I was trying to decide if I should keep this credit card and pay the $450 annual fee or downgrade to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card which only has a $95 annual fee (but comes with a 35K Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate).

The biggest reason for me to downgrade this credit card was the loss of the Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit which allowed me to save $100 on roundtrip domestic flights for 2 or more passengers.  I used that benefit a few times last year and was looking forward to using it a few times this year to offset the $450 annual fee.  Unfortunately, that benefit abruptly disappeared in early January 2020.

With that benefit gone, the remaining 2 benefits worthwhile to me were the $300 annual travel credit and the 50K Marriott Bonvoy free night certificate.  As of today, I already redeemed the free night certificate for a hotel in New York City in June and used ~$85 of the $300 annual travel credit.

I called the JPMorgan Chase customer service number to see if they could waive the annual fee, but that was not possible, so I suggested downgrading to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card.  After a few minutes, the downgrade process was completed.  I will receive the new credit cards in the next week and the $450 annual fee would be refunded back to my account in the next few days ($450 annual fee was refunded the following day).  Here is what my Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card looks like in my Chase online account.

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My Travel Philosophy for Redeeming Miles vs. Paying Cash for Flights (w/ Account Balances as of March 2020)

Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I just finished listening to the Miles to Memories podcast (latest episode) and enjoyed listening to them talk about Disney when they redeem miles vs. pay cash for flights.  I don’t have a hard and fast rule that I live by, so I thought it would be fun to share my travel philosophy of when I redeem miles vs. pay cash for flights.  I specifically mention flights because I plan to write a similar article about hotels and didn’t want to make this article too long.  Lastly, when I use the word cash, that could mean paying for the flight with a credit card, or paying with an airline gift card, or using credit card rewards to pay for the flight – basically anything other than booking an award ticket with airline miles.

I also think it is important to share how many credit card reward points I have, since my thinking would be much different if I had 1,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points vs. 1 million Chase Ultimate Reward Points.  With that said, here are my transferable points balances, as of March 2020, from smallest to largest:

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Alaska Airlines 3 Day Hawaii Sale (Fares Starting at $99 One Way)

Good morning everyone.  I just received an email from Alaska Airlines regarding their 3 day fare sale to Hawaii (fare sale runs now through 11:59pm PT on 3/5), with travel between April 21 and May 20.  Looks like this sale is only for California cities and here are a few sample fares:

  • Los Angeles – Maui: Starting at $99 one-way
  • San Diego – Kauai/Kona: Starting at $99 one-way
  • San Jose – Kona/Honolulu/Maui/Kauai: Starting at $99 one-way

I looked at sample flights from San Jose (SJC) and there are deals to these 4 Hawaiian cities:

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Alaska Airlines Buy One, Get One Free Promo (Must Attend San Jose Sharks NHL Game on 2-27-2020)

Good morning everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I love going to hockey games and cheering on my local San Jose Sharks hockey team.  If you live in the Bay Area and are a hockey and Alaska Airlines fan, here is a deal for you.  If you go to the New Jersey Devils at San Jose Sharks hockey game on Thursday February 27 at 7:30pm at SAP Center, you will receive a Buy One, Get One Free voucher for an Alaska Airlines flight – you just need to pay the taxes and fees on the second ticket.  According to StubHub, tickets to the game are currently selling for less than $20, but I usually buy my tickets a few minutes before the game starts for a few dollars cheaper.  This is pretty similar to the yearly San Francisco Giants & Alaska Airlines deal for BOGO tickets.

If you are not a local, I recommend staying at the AC Hotel by Marriott San Jose Downtown (category 4, 20k-30k points / night) or the Hyatt Place San Jose/Downtown (12k points / night).  Both hotels are a short walk away from the SAP Center and there are several good restaurants in the area.

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Image source: https://www.alaskaair.com/ondemanddiscount/ssl/discountcodeclaim.aspx?campaignid=ec6588

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4 Buy Miles / Points Promos Ending Soon: JetBlue (40%), Southwest (30%), British Airways (30%) & United (75%)

Good afternoon everyone.  I was working on my Buy Miles & Points Page and found a few offers ending soon.  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 4 offers that end this month.  Up first, JetBlue is offering up to a 40% discount, depending on the number of JetBlue TrueBlue Points you purchase.  This offer expires tomorrow – January 23.

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