Tag Archives: British Airways

Cashing Out Membership Reward Points for British Airways Avios

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Cashing Out Membership Reward Points for British Airways Avios

Last February, my mother and father both signed up for the American Express Premier Reward Gold (PRG) credit card since it had a sweet sign up bonus: 50,000 Membership Reward Points after spending $1,000 in 3 months, with no annual fee the first year.

The Membership Reward Points posted after 2 months and then sat in their account.  And sat.  And sat some more.  Until yesterday.

Since neither of them have any plans to use the Membership Reward Points, I decided to cash out their Membership Reward balance and take advantage of the 20% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios (link) before the December 31, 2013 deadline.

MR BA Avios

The Membership Reward Points were immediately deducted from my parents’ accounts and credit to their British Airways accounts.

  • Mother: 22,000 Membership Reward Points x 1.20 = 26,400 British Airways Avios
  • Father: 51,000 Membership Reward Points x 1.20 = 61,200 British Airways Avios

BA Balances

Good thing for me, we all belong to the same British Airways Household account.

BA Household

Anyone have an ideas on what to do with 1 Membership Reward Point?

Dad MR

Since both of their Premier Reward Gold credit cards will have an annual fee coming up in February, the 20% transfer bonus was as good as any.  I would have transferred the points to my SPG account, but 3 Membership Reward Points = 1 SPG Point is too hard to stomach.  If you annual fee is coming due in the next few months, you may want to look into transferring some/all of your Membership Reward Points to British Airways, especially if you have a Household account.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Happy holidays!

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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The Flight Deal: Use British Airways Avios for Flights To/From CLT / DCA / PHL / PHX (Starting 3/31/14)

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The Flight Deal: Use British Airways Avios for Flights To/From CLT / DCA / PHL / PHX (Starting 3/31/14)

It is no secret that I love The Flight Deal.  I have scored some great deals from that website including my round trip flight from Miami to the Galapagos Islands for $380 and from Mexico City to Easter Island for $550.

They have done it again with this epic post All Nonstop US Airways Flights from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Phoenix and Charlotte with British Airways Avios Starting March 31st, 2014.

Here are some of the gems they identified:

  • Charlotte -> Toronto (4,500), Montreal (7,500), Cancun (7,500), Grand Cayman (7,500), and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (7,500)
  • Washington, D.C. -> Bermuda (7,500), Halifax (7,500), Montreal (4,500), and Toronto (4,500)
  • Philadelphia -> Aruba (10,000), Bermuda (7,500), Cancun (10,000), Freeport (7,500), Grand Cayman (10,000), Montreal (4,500), Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (10,000), Punta Cana (10,000), Quebec City (4,500), Santo Domingo (10,000), St. Marteen (10,000), San Jose, Costa Rica (12,500), and Toronto (4,500)
  • Phoenix -> Anchorage (12,500), Honolulu (12,500), Lihue (12,500), Kona (12,500), Maui (12,500), Puerto Vallarta (7,500), Cancun (10,000), and Cabo San Lucas (7,500)

You can go from Phoenix to all 4 airports in Hawaii for 12,500 British Airways Avios each way!  That’s pretty sweet dude!

PHX to Hawaii Avios

Are there any routes you are especially excited about?  Let me know in the comments below.

How to Transfer British Airways Avios to Iberia Avios (AMEX Membership Rewards Points Required)

BA to IB Logo

How to Transfer British Airways Avios to Iberia Avios (AMEX Membership Rewards Points Required)

This process is not as simple and straightforward as the title implies.  Actually it is kind of complex and requires transferring American Express Membership Reward Points from your account to your Iberia account.  Don’t worry, I will show you how to do it – one step at a time.

If you are unfamiliar with the benefits of Iberia Plus and their award chart, please read the article written by The Points Guy – Maximizing British Airways Avios: Save Money on Fuel Surcharges and Fees – Transfer British Airways Avios to Iberia.

Log into your American Express account and find your Membership Rewards earning card and click the Use Points button.

PRG Card

Under the Use Points tab, click Airlines.

MR Use Points

To read the entire post, please click here.

Some Positive AA News: 30,000 AA Miles Round Trip Flights to Hawaii (5,000 Mile Savings)

a high angle view of a rocky coast

Some Positive AA News: 30,000 AA Miles Round Trip Flights to Hawaii (5,000 Mile Savings)

I’m trying to look on the bright side of all the negative AA-related news from this morning.  This might cheer some of you guys up.  In AA’s daily email deals, was an offer for $483 round trip flights to Hawaii, but that didn’t catch my attention.  What did was the sentence at the bottom that mentioned 15,000 AA miles each way to Hawaii for a limited time only.

AA HI Deal

The link brings you to this page with all the details.  You must purchase your award ticket between now and September 13 and travel between September 11 and December 17 to receive the discount award rate.   Continue reading