Tag Archives: Travel Credit Cards

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Listen to Grant on the Miles to Memories Podcast (Again)

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  A few days ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest / co-host on the Miles to Memories Podcast.  I spoke with Shawn Coomer (MtM Founder) while Joe Cheung took the day/night off. This was my second time on the Miles to Memories podcast (first time was back on September 24, 2020).  We talked about many different topics, ranging from the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card and accompanying Priority Pass membership; closing my American Express Business Platinum Card; upcoming Summer trip to Dublin, Helsinki, and Stockholm; and more.

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here.  Please let me know what you think of the podcast episode by leaving a comment below.  Lastly, if you want to hear more of my lovely voice, check out my Podcasts & Interviews page.  Have a great day everyone.

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My Experience Cancelling 3 International Business Class Awards: Delta, Korean Air & Air France / KLM

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your weekend is going well.  A few weeks ago, I had to cancel a few international business class awards, so I wanted to share the various cancellation processes, timelines, and fees involved.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, you will know what to expect from the process.  In this post, I will cover Delta, Korean Air, and Air France / KLM awards.  In a future post, I will cover the process for cancelling my Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines award tickets.

40,000 Delta SkyMiles for Korean Air Business Class (KUL-ICN-UBN): Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -> Seoul, South Korea -> Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

I cancelled the award ticket on Delta’s website on April 2 and received this refund confirmation email.

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Contact AMEX if Alaska Airlines Seat Assignment / Upgrade Purchases Do Not Trigger Airline Fee Reimbursement Credit

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Recently, I noticed that my Alaska Airlines seat assignment purchases on my American Express Business Platinum Card were not triggering the $200 Airline Fee Reimbursement Credit.  I paid for 4 premium economy seat assignments on Alaska Airlines in January and the credits had not posted in the following 2 months.  I went to Frequent Miler’s Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements. What still works? post and scrolled down to the Alaska Airlines section.  There was a note that said:

“Since 2022, there have been many reports of Alaska charges not being reimbursed automatically. It seems that many have had success getting charges for premium seat selection and things that ordinarily should be included (like lounge access, onboard purchases, etc) manually credited via the chat function, but only after 2 weeks has passed since the transaction date. Historical Alaska data included below, but beware that you may need to chat and hope for a friendly agent. See more data in this Flyertalk thread.”

I decided to reach out to American Express for help.

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My IHG Hotel Strategy: Points, Free Night Certificates & Multiple Rebookings

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Good afternoon everyone.  Last week, Laura and I were in New York City for her Spring Break.  I had 2 IHG Free Night Certificates (40K capped FNC from my old Chase IHG Select Credit Card and a 40K uncapped FNC from my Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card) that were expiring soon that I wanted to use.  We were staying for 4 nights, so I could have used the IHG 4th Night Free Benefit, but I wanted to use up those 2 IHG FNCs instead.  We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Times Square because the hotel is 1-2 blocks away from Times Square, surrounded by many musical theaters, very close to many subway lines (including the subway that goes from Manhattan to JFK (via the Jamaica Station), and walking distance to Central Park / Cruise Terminal / Rockefeller Center, etc.

I didn’t take screenshots during the booking process, but here is the booking strategy I used which I will explain below.  To get started, I searched for 4 nights to ensure that there was availability every night using points.  I clicked the Select Hotel button to view more details.

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How to Enroll US Bank Altitude Reserve & Business Altitude Connect Credit Cards in Free Priority Pass Membership

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Last week, we learned that the Chase Sapphire Reserve & JPMorgan Ritz Carlton Priority Pass memberships will lose restaurant access on July 1, 2024.  Luckily, Frequent Miler’s recent podcast episode listed a few credit cards that will still offer Priority Pass restaurant access after July 1.  Also luckily, I already have 2 of those credit cards: US Bank Altitude Reserve (8 visits) and the US Bank Business Altitude Connect (4 visits).  In this post, I will show you how to enroll in Priority Pass for these 2 credit cards.

For the US Bank Altitude Reserve, you need to go to this specific enrollment link: www.prioritypass.com/usbankaltitudereserve.  The terms say:

Congratulations! As a valued U.S. Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® cardholder, you are eligible for a complimentary membership of Priority Pass, with eight free visits a year. Once you enroll you will have access to more than 1,500+ participating airport lounges and experiences worldwide. Get started today by entering your 16-digit U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card number. If you have already enrolled, please login to access the member website.

Enter your 16 digit credit card number, enter the captcha code, and click the Submit button.

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