Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

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

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Some Other Non App-O-Rama Credit Card News

CCs

Some Other Non App-O-Rama Credit Card News

I had my dad apply for the Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit card last week.  Well the card hasn’t arrived yet, but the miles did.  30,000 Alaska Airlines miles on credit card approval!  I love this offer so much, I took advantage of it in my recent App-O-Rama.

Dad Alaska Miles Post

This morning I received an email from American Express alerting me that me $20 Walmart statement credit had posted to my account.  Read my original post $20 off Walmart (American Express Offer) and 2,500 American Airlines Miles.

$20 AMEX Walmart

I bought a $200 Visa Gift Card and a $50 Southwest Gift Card.  Total with shipping and processing came to $256.88 – $20 = $236.88.  Profit of $13.12 plus 257 SPG points.   Continue reading

App-O-Rama Updates: Day 1

Which Credit Card

App-O-Rama Updates: Day 1

5:30AM my alarm goes off.  It’s App-O-Rama day!

I turn on my computer and know exactly which cards I am going to apply for and in which order I am going to apply.  In case you didn’t read yesterday’s post, here is my strategy list:

  1. Club Carlson Personal (US Bank) – instant approval!  I guess my ARS and IDA credit report freezes might have worked.  Learn more here.
  2. US Airways Personal (Barclays) – denied!  Why do you hate my Barclays?  I didn’t both calling the reconsideration line, they will tell me that I have too many recent inquires and I have no leverage with them since I have no Barclays credit cards.  Good bye US Airways Card.  Good bye Arrival Card.  Good bye every other Barclays card.
  3. Alaska Airlines Personal (Bank of America) – pending decision.  After a short reconsideration call, I was approved after “sacrificing” my Virgin Atlantic card that had an annual fee coming in a few weeks.
  4. Platinum Mercedes Benz (AMEX) – pending decision.  Called AMEX and was told there was no way to reconsider the app at this time.  I would have to wait 2-3 business days for a response.  My gut feeling is a denial since I already have 4 personal credit cards, but want to sacrifice my Delta or Hilton HHonors card.  Will post an update soon.
  5. Citi Dividend (Citi equivalent of Chase Freedom and Discover It cash back card) – downgraded.  I decided to save a credit inquiry and call Citi and ask them to downgrade/switch my Citi AA AMEX to this card.  The rep told me it could take up to 51 days for the switch to take place.  WTF?!?  Citi, please send me that card soon so I can get the 5% cash back for 4Q 2013.
  6. IHG Hotel Personal (Chase) – pending decision.  I called the Chase reconsideration department, was placed on hold for a few minutes and approved with a low $2,000 credit line.  After moving credit from my Marriott Card, I got my credit line up to $5,000. 
  7. Hilton HH Surpass (AMEX) – skipped.  I am waiting to see what happens to my Platinum Mercedes Benz application before I do anything with this card.  I can always upgrade my AMEX Hilton HHonors to the AMEX Hilton HHonors Surpass card for free online (no credit inquiry).

Side note, I was trying to convert my Chase Sapphire card to a Chase Freedom card this morning but the representative was unable to do so over the phone.  I believe it was because I had a $585 current balance on the card, even though she told me that shouldn’t be the reason.  Later today it turns out that the Chase Freedom card has increased its sign up bonus from 10,000 Ultimate Reward Points to 20,000 Ultimate Reward Points.  I wonder if Chase was updating their servers which is why I couldn’t upgrade.  It is a mystery…

A friend of mine was able to show me a sign up bonus (through Chase’s site) for the 50,000 Ultimate Reward Points for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.  I told him to go for it since the sign up bonus hasn’t been that high in a very long time.  Apparently you can get 5,000 bonus Ultimate Reward Points for adding 1 authorized user to your CSP card too.

All in all, I am pretty happy with my results and love how easy it is to work with Chase.  I look forward to getting my IHG card soon.

IHG Approved

Easy to move credit line from Marriott to IHG card.

Marriott CL Decrease

I will post an update if anything happens to my US Airways card, Platinum Mercedes Benz card, and which year I get my Citi Dividend card.  If you have any app-o-rama questions, let me know.