Tag Archives: British Airways

Use American Airlines and US Airways Miles for a Trip to the Grand Canyon

Use American Airlines and US Airways Miles for a Trip to the Grand Canyon

Last weekend, I booked my flight from Orange County, CA (SNA) to Flagstaff, AZ (FLG) to visit the Grand Canyon. That was before the American Airlines and US Airways frequent flyer programs “merged.”

There is an airport literally 5 miles from the Grand Canyon National Park aptly named the Grand Canyon National Park (GCN) airport. Unfortunately no major airlines fly into that airport. The next closest airport is Grand Canyon Pulliam Airport (FLG) in Flagstaff, AZ. The distance from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon National Park is approximately 85 miles, so you will probably need to rent a car to get to the Grand Canyon (which is what I am doing).

Luckily for us, US Airways flies from Phoenix to Flagstaff a few times a day. Now that you can use American Airline miles on US Airways operated flights, you can use American Airline miles to get to Flagstaff. Continue reading →

What’s on my Mind? Bluebird and Walmart, Credit Card Sign Up / Spending Bonuses, Mercedes Benz Key Rings, Panda Express, Panera Bread, AMEX Statement Credits, BA Avios, and the Grand Canyon

What’s on my Mind? Bluebird and Walmart, Credit Card Sign Up / Spending Bonuses, Mercedes Benz Key Rings, Panda Express, Panera Bread, AMEX Statement Credits, BA Avios, and the Grand Canyon

Instead of posting several small blog posts, I decided to post everything here in 1 giant post.

1 – Which gift cards work at Walmart to reload a Bluebird Card?

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post and shared their recent successes and failures of loading gift cards to Bluebird. I compiled the results below. From looking at the list, it looks like every Visa gift card that you guys tried worked, so I am going to switch from buying $200 MasterCard gift cards issued by US Bank to buying $200 Visa gift cards issued by Metabank (Gift Card Mall).

I went to Walmart today (January 6) and loaded 2 $200 and a $500 Visa gift card successfully.

Continue reading →

Cashing Out Membership Reward Points for British Airways Avios

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.

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

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

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)

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).

Continue reading →

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

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!

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

Travel with Grant

Transforming your Frequent Flyer Miles into Free Trips around the World