Tag Archives: US Airways

(Massive Trip Report) Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, and Rome in 2 Weeks

passport-coins-currency

(Massive Trip Report) Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, and Rome in 2 Weeks

Good morning everyone!  Thanks to jet lag and time zones, I’m bringing you this massive trip report at 5AM PST.  Are you ready?  Let’s go!

  • US Airways: SFO-PHL-AMS-PHL-LAX (30,000 US Airways miles + taxes)
  • KLM: AMS-TXL, FCO-AMS (paid around $220 for both flights)
  • Air Berlin and Niki: TXL-VIE, VIE-FCO (4,500 Avios + taxes for each flight)

GC Map Euro Trip 2014

Read the entire trip report here.

US Airways Dine Fresh Lunch Boxes are Deliciously Overpriced

Dine Fresh Logo

US Airways Dine Fresh Lunch Boxes are Deliciously Overpriced

Good morning, it is currently 4AM PST, gotta love jet-lag and time zones, right?

Before my flight from Amsterdam to Philadelphia, I received an email from US Airways about purchasing a Dine Fresh meal before boarding. When I clicked on the email to learn more about their food options, I was immediately shocked at the price of 1 meal was $21.99!

I decided I would bite the bullet and order this meal so I could test how the food tasted and whether or not I should purchase another Dine Fresh meal in the future.

Fast forward to a few minutes after takeoff, a flight attendant brought a big black box (not that “Black Box”) full of food. It looked a lot fancier than other (free) meals I had received on other flights.

Dine Fresh Box

After opening up the box, I was surprised by the variety inside.

Dine Fresh Meal

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

Grand Canyon National Park

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).

FLG-Grand Canyon Driving

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

2014 New Years

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).

WM BB Successes

I went to Walmart today (January 6) and loaded 2 $200 and a $500 Visa gift card successfully.
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My Travel Predictions (Both Good and Bad) for 2014

2014 New Years

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:

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