Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

Travel with Grant Meet Up Next Saturday Night (March 29) at In-N-Out (Tustin District)

In-N-Out Logo

Travel with Grant Meet Up Next Saturday Night (March 29) at In-N-Out (Tustin District)

For those of you free next Saturday night (and located in Orange County / LA County / San Diego County), come join me and a few of my travel-hacking friends for a “meat meet and eat” at In-N-Out.  Myself and Travel Summary hosted our first meet up at this In-N-Out a few months ago (link) and I have been getting requests for another one ever since.  I haven’t talked to Travel Summary about this, but I was planning on meeting there from 6-8pm, but the last one lasted until close to 10pm since we had so much to talk about.

In-N-Out Address

If you are interested in attending, please leave a comment below so I can see how many people are interested. Continue reading →

a woman with blonde hair and a green shirt

5 Credit Card Applications, 4 Approvals, 3 Reconsideration Calls, 2 Business Cards, and 1 Pending Application

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I did a 5 card app-o-rama early Thursday morning and here are my thoughts, suggestions, tips, tricks, and ways to improve your reconsideration calls.

Always have a plan and stick to your plan.  You don’t have to sign up for credit cards the first day or week to get the sign up bonus.  Most bonuses last a few weeks or months and often come back a few times throughout the year.  I always recommend waiting at least 3 months since your last credit card application (or app-o-rama in my case) before your next app-o-rama.  My last app-o-rama was on November 18 (link) and I got the following 6 cards:

  • US Bank Club Carlson Personal Credit Card
  • Bank of American Alaska Airlines Personal Credit Card
  • American Express Platinum Mercedes Benz Personal Credit Card
  • Citi Dividend Cash Back Credit Card (converted old Citi AA Card)
  • Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card
  • Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express (upgraded from American Express Hilton HHonors Credit Card)

Since my last app-o-rama, there have been a few new cards on my radar.  When planning your app-o-rama, make a list of all the cards you want to get.  Then organize them in the order in which you want to get them.  Ask yourself, “If I could only get 1 card, which card would it be?” For me, that was an easy question.  I am going for the Citi American Airlines Executive Credit Card with 100,000 American Airlines miles after spending $10,000 in 3 months.  Continue reading →

My 2014 Resolution: Travel Somewhere Every Month!

Happy New Years 2014

My 2014 Resolution: Travel Somewhere Every Month!

Good morning 2014!  I hope you all had a fun and safe New Years Eve, from wherever you are.  It’s January 1st and time to make your New Year’s resolution.  This should be something fun and exciting, not something boring like losing weight or cleaning out the garage.  Which is why (for the second year in a row), I have decided my 2014 New Years Resolution is to travel somewhere every month.  Here is how I did in 2013:

  • January – 2 weeks in Europe (Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Paris, Munich, Cologne, and Brussels).
  • February – Albuquerque, New Mexico for 4 days by myself, such a strange city.
  • March – Honolulu for a week (First Class via IcelandAir/Alaska Airlines deal) for my brother’s Spring Break (you’re welcome Davis!).
  • April – Delaware to visit a friend and drove to FTU DC / Tyson’s Corner.
  • May – nothing :(, well, I started Travel with Grant on May 1.
  • June – nothing :(
  • July – Vancouver and Whistler for 2 weeks with my parents and brother.
  • August – nothing :(
  • September – FTU Tampa for the weekend with my friend Jim.
  • October – Galápagos Islands for a week with Jim (great deal from Miami for $380 round trip).
  • November – Las Vegas Hilton Timeshare for the weekend and Carmel / Monterrey Bay for Thanksgiving week.
  • December – Does driving to Six Flags Magic Mountain count?  I got a season pass!

This  photo should sum up my travel for 2013.  Any questions?

GC Map for 2013

What is your New Years resolution for 2014?

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

2014 New Years

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

Happy holidays everyone!  As 2014 quickly approaches, I wanted to share my predictions for 2014, regarding airlines, hotels, and credit card rewards.  Feel free to agree, disagree, or share your own comments below.

Airlines:

  • British Airways – I think the 4,500 and 7,500 (maybe even 10,000) Avios award prices will go away or the entire award chart will be revamped.  The current prices are just too good.
  • Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines – since there has been a lot of fighting over routes to/from SEA and SLC, I think Alaska will no longer allow you to earn or redeem miles with Delta.
  • American Airlines and US Airways – after the merger, we will see some new “enhancements” (aka devaluations) to the new award chart.  Maybe off-peak awards will be changed or removed.
  • Southwest Airlines and AirTran – hopefully the merger goes through smoothly and quickly.  I look forward to using Southwest Rapid Reward Points for flights to Hawaii, Mexico City, and other tropical destinations south of the border.  I also think the 50,000 Southwest Rapid Reward sign up bonus will no longer count for companion pass status, it is just too easy to get Companion Pass.
  • Hawaiian Airlines – merge with another airline, maybe JetBlue or Alaska Airlines.
  • Lufthansa  – revamp their award chart after everyone signs up for their credit card.
  • Virgin Atlantic – miles will be transferable 1:1 with Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

Hotels:

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Travel with Grant at CES Las Vegas (January 9-10) and FTU in Seattle (April 25-27)

CES 2014

Travel with Grant at CES Las Vegas (January 9-10) and FTU in Seattle (April 25-27)

Good evening everyone, sorry for missing so many days of blogging, I’ve been very busy with work lately and went to see Anchorman 2 last night and got home late.  Now that I finally have a few minutes to blog, here’s whats new.

I will be at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday (January 9-10) – will anyone else be there?  It is my first time and I have always wanted to go, so I am really excited.

Secondly, it’s time for another FTU (Frequent Traveler University) aka travel-blogging conference.  If you read the big blogs on Boarding Area, Million Mile Secrets, The Points Guy, etc and want to meet the bloggers in person, this is the event for you.

Ticket Options:

Tickets to the event, held Friday-Sunday April 25-27 at the Seattle Airport Marriott are $100 and include alcoholic drinks on Friday night, as well as lunch on Saturday and Sunday.  You can purchase tickets here (tickets will sell out quickly since only ~400 tickets will be available).

FTU SEA Ticket 2

Continue reading →