Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Virgin Atlantic Transfers to Hilton HHonors Ratio Changing from 1:2 to 2:3, use AMEX Membership Reward Points to Liquidate Balance

UPDATE 3/1/14 @ 5:30PM PST: my transfer from Virgin Atlantic to Hilton HHonors took 22 days to complete (see photo below).

HH Honors

Virgin Atlantic Transfers to Hilton HHonors Ratio Changing from 1:2 to 2:3, use AMEX Membership Reward Points to Liquidate Balance

(Hat Tip to Mommy Points for breaking the story)

Good morning from Rome! That title is a mouthful, I know, but here is the breaking news of the morning:

Please note from 6 February 2014 the exchange miles to points rate is changing. Flying Club members will be able to exchange miles at the following rate: 2 Flying Club miles for 3 Hilton HHonors points.
You can currently exchange miles at a rate of (up until 5 February 2014): 1 Flying Club mile for 2 HHonors point.
Minimum Level: 10,000 miles and then in increments of 5,000. Just call the Flying Club Helpline (1-800-365-9500) with your HHonors account number.

Now that the cat (news) is out of the bag, it pays to be proactive. I have a small balance of Virgin Atlantic miles (only 11,260). I want to get my balance up to 15,000 so I can transfer them out to my Hilton HHonors account.

Here is my Virgin Atlantic account. Copy your account number and head over to your American Express Membership Rewards Account. I’m skipping a lot of steps below, but you can see the entire step-by-step guide here. The guide shows you how to transfer to British Airways, but the process is exactly the same. 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 →

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

Happy holidays everyone! As 2014 quickly approaches, I wanted to share my predictions for 2014, regarding airlines, hotels, and credit card rewards. Feel free to agree, disagree, or share your own comments below.

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.
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.
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.
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.
Hawaiian Airlines – merge with another airline, maybe JetBlue or Alaska Airlines.
Lufthansa – revamp their award chart after everyone signs up for their credit card.
Virgin Atlantic – miles will be transferable 1:1 with Virgin America and Virgin Australia.

Hotels:

Continue reading →

My New Chase Freedom Visa Signature came with Chase Blink (Visa PayWave NFC Chip)

My New Chase Freedom Visa Signature came with Chase Blink (Visa PayWave NFC Chip)

First off, it appears that there is a Chase Freedom Visa credit card (like the one shown above) and then there is a Chase Freedom Visa Signature credit card. I received the Visa Signature card and it is really reflective, not the flat light blue from the picture above.

Anyways, when I was looking at the back of the card, I noticed the sideways WiFi signals and asked the Chase rep on the phone about it. He said it was Chase Blink. What the heck is Chase Blink?

A quick Google search lead me to this page, where it says very little about Chase Blink.

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