Tag Archives: American Airlines

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Reviewing my Travel Predictions from December 30, 2013

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A few years ago, I wrote My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014 on December 30, 2013.  I thought I wrote a similar post at the end of 2014 for 2015 predictions, but I guess I did not.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to review that original post and see how close I came to predicting the truth.  For the most part, I think my predictions were about a year too early.

My original predictions are in black and my thoughts/reactions are in red.

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.  I was partially right about the 4,500 BA Avios award band.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the 4,500 BA Avios band completely disappears in 2016.
  • 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.  This is an ongoing issue, but I think the fighting will continue in 2016.
  • 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.  You could see this coming from a mile away.  I’m sad that off-peak awards are changing.
  • 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.  I hope Southwest continues to add new routes.  I’m especially excited about the newly announced LAX-LIR (Liberia, Costa Rica) route starting in mid 2016.
  • Hawaiian Airlines – merge with another airline, maybe JetBlue or Alaska Airlines.  This seems unlikely, but it could still happen.
  • Lufthansa  – revamp their award chart after everyone signs up for their credit card.  I wasn’t approved for the Barlcays Lufthansa credit card (or any Barclays credit card, ever), so I don’t care what happens to the Lufthansa award chart.
  • Virgin Atlantic – miles will be transferable 1:1 with Virgin America and Virgin Australia.  This seems unlikely, but Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines allow transferring miles between their award programs (just not at a 1:1 ratio).

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*Updated* List of British Airways Avios Routes from the Bay Area (SFO, OAK, and SJC)

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(Hat Tip to Tym2Trvl on Twitter)

Good morning everyone.  British Airways made an announcement overnight that they would be eliminating the 4,500 Avios award band for all award travel on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.  The lowest Avios award band for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines will be 7,500 Avios starting on February 2, 2016.  All other Avios award bands for travel on all other Avios partners remain the same.

British Airways Changes Feb 2 2016

Here is the *modified* British Airways Avios award chart for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.  The original award chart is still valid for all other Avios award bands.  The original post (showing 4,500 Avios flights and US Airways award flights is here).

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In this post, I will show you all the non-stop flights from San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), and San Jose (SJC) that you can book with British Airways Avios.  Dan’s Deals has details for several other airports here.  I have broken up all the flights into the various Avios bands, starting with the shortest distance.  Note: Alaska Airlines and Aer Lingus can be booked with British Airways Avios, but you will have to call British Airways to book the award ticket.  Please read Book British Airways Avios Award Tickets for more information.   Continue reading →

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Hacking the US Airways First Class Upgrade List (Until the AA/US Merger)

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Good evening everyone.  The details of this post come from my friend Whitney, who flies US Airways quite a bit.  She told me about this trick at FTU DFW last weekend and I asked her to explain her process.  Unfortunately, this trick is likely to end when American Airlines and US Airways finally merge, which is supposed to be sometime this month.

Before I continue, there are 2 important notes:

  • You have to be traveling on US Airways metal (no codeshare flights)
  • You needed to have US Airways status prior to the merger of US Airways Dividend Miles with the American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program

1.  Check-in at exactly 24 hours.  Obviously, status is the first thing that determines your placement on the upgrade list.  If there are 2 American Airlines Executive Platinum members on the upgrade list, the Executive Platinum member who checked in first, get’s the #1 spot.  So, I always check-in right at the 24-hour mark.  The very moment that clock strikes 24-hours prior to my flight, I’m online ready to check-in. Continue reading →

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US Bank Cash Plus Q3 Categories: Any MS Opportunities?

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Good afternoon everyone.  I was recently approved for a US Bank Cash Plus Credit Card (still waiting for the card to arrive in the mail).  However, the credit card already shows up on my US Bank online account with a link to enroll in Q3 cash back categories.  This is my first time looking at US Bank’s cash back categories and here are my thoughts on the enrollment process and the cash back categories.

US Bank Cash Plus Select Cash Back Categories

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Converting Citi AA Exec Card to Double Cash: Expedite $450 Annual Fee Refund by Calling

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Good morning everyone, the title of this post may sound obvious, but let me explain some background info first.  When my Citi American Airlines Executive Credit Card’s $450 annual fee posted, I called Citi and asked them to convert the card to a Citi Double Cash Credit Card.  Unfortunately since the $450 annual fee had already posted to my credit card, I could not convert the card until paying off the $450 annual fee.  After making a quick online payment from my Citigold Checking Account, I called back the next day to make the conversion.

Citi is strange with their conversion process.  The entire “process” of converting a credit card takes about 51 days (I think that is what the rep said).  During those 51 days, Citi will send out the new credit card, but the old credit card will still be active.  During those 51 days, if I decide to cancel the conversion request, all I would have to do is call Citi and tell them to stop the conversion.  If after 51 days, I have not called to cancel the conversion request, the old card would be closed and the new card would remain open, thus completing the conversion.

Long story short, on my new Citi Double Cash Credit Card, there is a $450 annual fee payment that I want refunded.

Citi Double Cash Showing $450 Annual Fee from Citi AA Exec Card

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