Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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Retention Offers for Bank of America Alaska Airlines and US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Cards

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your Labor Day Weekend is going well.  I have 2 data points to share regarding retention offers on my Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card and US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card.  When you pay the $75 annual fee on the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card every year, you get a $99 Alaska Airlines companion pass that is good for a future Alaska Airlines flight.  My annual fee posted in early August and I already received the $99 Alaska Airlines companion pass, but I wanted to see if I could get the $75 annual fee waived too.  After a long talk with the Bank of America retention department, I was only able to get a 2,500 Alaska Airlines miles retention offer – no annual fee waiver or statement credit.  The 2,500 Alaska Airlines miles posted a few weeks after my call and I just called Bank of America to close the credit card, so I wouldn’t have to pay the $75 annual fee.  The agent didn’t want me to close the credit card, so she convinced me to convert it to a no annual fee Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card instead.

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Alaska Airlines Companion Pass Code Posted 16 Days after Annual Fee is Billed

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Good morning everyone.  Yesterday, I wrote August 2016: Which Annual Fees did I Pay & which Credit Cards did I Close?  In that post, I shared my thoughts on the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card and what to do when the $75 annual fee posted to my account.  When I saw the $75 annual fee post to my account, I had to make a decision whether or not to keep the credit card and pay the $75 annual fee or to call Bank of America and close the credit card to avoid paying the $75 annual fee.  To complicate my thought process, I knew that the Alaska Airlines companion pass code would post to my Alaska Airlines account shortly after the $75 annual fee billed to my credit card (that is the best perk of the card, in my opinion).  For those who are unfamiliar with the Alaska Airlines companion pass code, it allows you to buy any paid Alaska Airlines operated flight and bring a companion for as little as $120 (taxes and fees may vary, depending on your destination).

I was hopeful that the companion pass code would post soon, that way I could keep the companion pass code and still close the credit card without paying the $75 annual fee.  So the question is, “How long does the Alaska Airlines companion pass code take to post to my Alaska Airlines account after the annual fee is billed?”  Let’s find out below…

Bank of America Alaska Airlines Home

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August 2016: Which Annual Fees did I Pay & which Credit Cards did I Close?

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Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.   I quickly wanted to thank everyone who joined me at my Mountain View meetup yesterday – it was great speaking with you all and I will set up another Mountain View meetup soon.  Last August, I wrote July App-O-Rama Update: Several Reconsideration Calls Required to be Approved for 6 New Credit Cards.  In that post, I shared my successes and failures of applying for the following 7 credit cards:

July App-O-Rama Final List

I was eventually approved for the following 6 credit cards:

  • AMEX Everyday – 10,000 AMEX Membership Reward points
  • Citi American Airlines Business – 50,000 American Airlines miles
  • US Bank Cash+ – $100 cash back
  • Bank of America Alaska Airlines – 25,000 Alaska Airlines miles
  • Bank of America Spirit Airlines – 15,000 Spirit Airlines miles
  • Ebates Cash Back – $10 cash back

Of the above credit cards, 3 have annual fees that just posted recently:

  • Citi American Airlines Business – $95
  • Bank of America Alaska Airlines – $75
  • Bank of America Spirit Airlines – $59

I also have a US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card that just posted a $60 annual fee (originally opened in July 2014).  Of the 4 credit cards with annual fees, which ones are worth keeping and paying the annual fee?  Which credit cards did I decide to close?  Continue reading →

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Poll Question: Meet Minimum Spend or Redeem Citi Thank You Points?

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Good morning everyone, happy Fourth of July!  I have this really weird habit where I book a new trip while currently on a trip.  For example, I am currently in Orange County hanging out with my family this weekend, but I just made plans to visit Portland at the end of July with my brother.  I spent a few minutes searching on Google Flights and found the perfect flight: San Francisco (SFO) to Portland (PDX) on Alaska Airlines.  When I use the OnTheFly app (basically ITA Matrix in an app), I see that American Airlines has a codeshare flight for the SFO-PDX Alaska Airlines flight.  (I took a bunch of screenshots on my iPhone while I was in the car, so please excuse the lame images.)

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My June 2016 App-O-Rama Results: 155,000 Miles/Points and $650 AT&T Phone Credit

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Good morning everyone, TGI Friday!  Earlier this week, I wrote My Upcoming App-O-Rama Credit Card Strategy – I need your Feedback!  I really appreciate all the great feedback you guys gave me and I did my best to incorporate that advice into my App-O-Rama strategy.  Last week, my “good” “friend” Julian (aka Devil’s Advocate) over at Travel Codex wrote this post: A New and Better Way To App-O-Rama.  In that post, he describes his “Elongated App-O-Rama” strategy where he applies for several cards over a period of days, instead of applying for several cards within minutes of each other (like any sane person would do).  Like any good friend, I listened to his advice and did exactly what he said I adamantly disagreed with his thought process and continued with my App-O-Rama strategy as before.

The one piece of advice that was super helpful to me was knowing which credit card company pulls from which credit bureau.  Luckily, my friend Emery has credit monitoring services from all 3 credit bureaus and he told me which credit bureau each credit card company pulled from.  Depending on your state, the information will differ, but since we are both in California, the data is reliable:

  • US Bank – TransUnion
  • Barclays – TransUnion
  • Citi – Experian
  • Bank of America – Experian
  • Comenity – ?

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