Tag Archives: American Airlines

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Why I Converted Citi Prestige to Citi Dividend & Closed Citigold Checking Account

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Good afternoon everyone.  A few days ago, my Citi Prestige Credit Card statement closed and I confirmed that I did redeem all $250 of my airline travel credit for 2017 (I previously confirmed that Flights Booked with Citi Thank You Points + Cash do not Trigger Citi Prestige $250 Airline Travel Credit).  My statement also said that I would be billed the $350 Citi Prestige annual fee on my next statement.  I only pay $350 for the annual fee because I have a linked Citigold Checking account.  Without that checking account, I would have to pay the $450 annual fee.  Considering that I never took advantage of the 3 free rounds of golf, 4th night free on hotel stays, or needed an extra Priority Pass membership, I saw no reason to keep the credit card another year.  The only feature that I really liked about having my Citi Prestige Credit Card was the ability to redeem Citi Thank You Points for 1.6 CPP on American Airlines and AA codeshare flights, but that feature is going away in a few months too.

Citi Prestige $250 Airline Credit Posted Annual Fee Posting Next Month

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Should I Use Citi Thank You Points or Membership Reward Points / AMEX Business Platinum to Book American Airlines Flight?

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I have a miles and points spending decision to make and thought I’d ask TWG readers for advice. After all, when Grant asks for advice, he gets lots of great input. I have a one-way flight I need to purchase and am considering two options:

  • Option #1: Use Citi Thank You Points. I have a nice stash of them and have been looking for a good use. The flight is on American for $242.64 and requires 15,165 Citi Thank You Points. I have the Citi Prestige Credit Card, so I’m getting 1.6 cents per point (CPP).
  • Option #2: Use Membership Reward Points. As of March 30, new rules will go into place for the AMEX Business Platinum card, so that seems like an interesting option as well. The flight would cost $242.64 or 24,264 Membership Rewards Points. American Airlines is my designated airline so I’ll get a 50% refund on those points. Also, as of March 30, because first you purchase the flight and then get reimbursed when you use MR points, I’ll get 5X points for the AMEX spend.

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Which 10 Credit Cards am I Considering for my March App-O-Rama?

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Good morning everyone, happy Thursday.  My last App-O-Rama (where I applied for several new credit cards at the same time) was back in mid December 2016.  I usually wait 3+ months between App-O-Ramas, so the time has come to start my next round of credit card applications.  I am going to list the credit cards I have in mind in the order in which I will probably apply for them.  If you have any feedback on my strategy or think I am missing or applying for the wrong credit cards, please leave a comment below. Without further ado, let’s begin…

1. American Express SPG Business Credit Card – 25,000 SPG points after spending $5,000 in 90 days and an additional 10,000 SPG points after spending $3,000 in 120 days.  No annual fee the first year, then $95 in the second year.

With the impending merger with Marriott, this might be my last opportunity to apply for the SPG business credit card.  I can’t pass up this opportunity. 35,000 SPG points are worth ~$700 in hotel nights and airfare (and possibly much more).

2. Bank of America MERRILL+ Credit Card – 50,000 points after spending $3,000 in 90 days.  No annual fee.

Doctor of Credit reports that you can apply for this credit card over the phone.  50,000 points is worth $500 cash or up to $1,000 toward airfare. Continue reading →

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5 Ways to Keep American Airlines Frequent Flyer Miles from Expiring (Without Getting on a Plane)

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My cousin called me yesterday afternoon to ask a question about her American Airlines miles expiring. She has a stash of miles expiring in a few months and didn’t even know that miles expire. I gave her a short answer because I was heading home from the mall to get ready for dinner. But it got me thinking, that maybe I hadn’t given her the best advice or even all the options, so I did some research and here’s what I’d tell her now.

Yup, your miles will expire if you don’t have activity in your account every 18 months. If you have no plans to fly to keep your account active, there are plenty of options. My cousin could:

  1. Apply for a Citi AAdvantage or Barclays Aviator Credit Card.
  2. Make a hotel reservation or car rental with an AAdvantage hotel or car rental partner. As long as her American Airlines frequent flyer number is linked to the reservation, she’ll get activity in her account and keep her miles alive.
  3. Link a credit card to the American Airlines dining program.  She can link American Airlines and then get miles when she eats at select restaurants.
  4. Shop online using the AAdvantage shopping portal.
  5. Buy or gift miles, redeem for a magazine subscription, or donate miles to any of American Airline’s partner charities.

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My 2017 Elite Status Strategy: Should I Move from Alaska AIrlines to American Airlines?

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Buenas dias everyone,

Since my travel has started ramping up in 2017, I decided it was time to sit down and look at my strategy for earning airline elite status in the coming year. Which means…spreadsheet time!

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A portion of my elite status planning spreadsheet

Where I am Today

I currently have Alaska Airlines MVP Gold, United Airlines Gold, and Virgin America Silver elite statuses. I’ve already credited a couple of trips to my Alaska Airlines account (two on American Airlines and one on Delta). Most of my confirmed flights later this year are on American Airlines or other OneWorld carriers.  Continue reading →