Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

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Reviewing my Travel Predictions from December 30, 2013

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)

(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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My Short Term MS Plans with 4 Dead Redbirds (Target Memo)

Good morning everyone, I’m sure everyone knows about the Target memo (thanks Bill!), but if not, here it is below.  I’m not going to lie, this sucks big time.  I had 4 Redbird Cards (myself, mom, dad, and brother) and Redbird was involved with 95% of all my MS activities.  With the demise of debit card reloads, there is a mass exodus to Bluebird and Serve.  Not me.  I’m not switching to Bluebird or Serve.  There are no Walmarts within walking distance (like my local Target) and I have no interest in driving to Walmart.

Target Redbird Memo

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Random News: Staples.com $300 VGCs, $10 NetSpend Check Deposit, $15 RushCard Bonus, Free Shyp Pickup, Chime Card Offers & BankAmeriDeals

Good morning everyone, happy TGI Friday!  Here are some random news items and deals that caught my attention this week.  The best thing I learned was that Staples is now selling $300 Visa Gift Cards (VGCs) online (link).  Doctor of Credit has all the details here.

Staples $300 VGC

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Las Vegas to Zion National Park Roadtrip and Chain Hotel Options

Good morning everyone.  Last month, my brother and I went to Zion National Park for Labor Day Weekend (September 4-7).  The trip was amazing and I definitely recommend everyone go to Zion National Park for a few days if you are ever in Southwest Utah.  A few weeks ago, Frequent Miler wrote a post about his recent trip through Zion National Park where he stayed at the Zion Lodge (log cabins) for ~$200/night.  I thought it would be a good idea to share my experience at the Holiday Inn Express Springdale / Zion National Park and show what other points hotel options were available at Zion National Park.

Getting to Zion National Park is tricky.  You can fly into St. George, Utah, but that is a very small/expensive airport.  I recommend flying into Las Vegas (easily accessible from every airport with many flights from many airlines) and then driving ~3 hours to Zion National Park (Google Map).  My brother and I landed in Vegas around 8:30pm and then made our way to the Las Vegas rental car lot and then toward Utah.  We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express hotel a little after 1am (1 hour time change from Arizona to Utah).

Las Vegas Airport to Zion National Park Google Map

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