Last Day Before United Airlines MileagePlus Devaluation!

UPDATE 1: According to this FlyerTalk post about the MileagePlus devaluation, the effective date for the new award chart has been postponed to February 3, 2014. If you were planning to book an award that was supposed to have a reduced mileage requirement starting on February 1, 2014, United will still honor the reduced amount in the interim, but the difference will be retroactively credited to your account within 10 business days. Looks like they may be having some implementation issues, and I can't blame them since this is a major overhaul to the way award itineraries are priced. In the meantime, keep burning those miles on premium class partner airline awards!

UPDATE 2: According to this Flyertalk Post, United is being somewhat more generous than previously thought with regards to mixed itineraries. For premium class awards on United metal with a short partner connection tacked on in the same class of service and within the same region, the United-only mileage requirement is being charged, not the partner mileage requirement. In addition, for itineraries booked prior to February 3, 2013, certain changes are being allowed without triggering a mileage re-price. See the FlyerTalk post for details.

______________________________________________________________

Just a quick reminder that today is the absolute last day before the massive devaluation of United Airlines miles takes place on February 1, 2014. I wrote about this more extensively in my previous post when the devaluation was first announced back in November of last year. Virtually all long-haul premium class awards on partner airlines will be effected by these changes, with some redemption requirements increasing by almost 100%. Here is the chart I compiled that documents all the changes on one-way routes to and from the Mainland U.S., Alaska, and Canada. Increases are highlighted in red:

For other regions, take a look at the old and new United Airlines award charts:

• United Airlines Award Chart through January 31, 2014

• United Airlines Award Chart starting February 1, 2014

Although premium class awards on United Airlines metal have milder increases, note that if any leg of your itinerary includes partner airlines in the same class of service, the miles requirement will automatically be bumped up to partner award levels. However, if the partner legs are in a lower class of service, then the United Airlines only award level prevails. This is a bit confusing, and I'm slightly skeptical that all the awards will be pricing out correctly come February 1st.

My suggestion would be to burn as much of your United Airlines miles right now on premium class partner awards, even speculatively, since the cost of booking these awards in the future far outweighs any cancellation fees, in my opinion. From what I have seen in the past few weeks, premium award space on partner airlines is drying up fast, but there are still quite a number of good options out there, especially if you are willing to travel during off-peak dates. Good luck!

United Removes Singapore Airlines Award Inventory Online

In yet another blow to the MileagePlus program, United and Singapore Airlines have "agreed" to remove Singapore Airlines inventory from the award search results on United.com as well as the United Mobile App, effective December 13, 2013. United has done a great job adding partners to its online award search function in recent years, and this is the first time I've actually witnessed the removal of an airline's inventory.

But I suppose come February 1, 2014, when the devalued United award charts are implemented, there will be relatively few people redeeming for premium class partner awards anyways, so perhaps this is all a moot point. However, for those of us who still redeem miles for economy seats on Singapore Airlines, this will make things a bit harder. Searches and bookings will now need to be made over the phone with an agent, incompetency notwithstanding, and phone booking fees will not be waived. Of course, you can still search for Singapore Airlines award availability online at ANA's website... for now.

United Guts Its Award Chart - Effective February 1, 2014

We all knew that the United MileagePlus award chart was ripe for a substantial devaluation, but even the most cynical among us probably could not have expected this kind of wholesale massacre. The biggest and most painful change comes in the form of a complete separation between award redemptions on United metal and partner airlines. Starting on February 1, 2014, there will be an updated award chart specifically for partner airlines that makes redeeming virtually any business or first class award a hard pill to swallow.

There are so many massive increases across the board that it is probably easier just to look at the old and new award charts directly. In addition, I've compiled a side-by-side table that compares the current redemption requirements with the new cost using only United Airlines and using partner airlines. Note that this table is only for routes to and from the Mainland U.S., Alaska, and Canada.

One of the worst offenders I found is going to South Asia in first class, which jumps from 70K miles one-way to an unbelievable 130K miles (an 85.7% increase)! Yes, it will now cost 260K miles to fly round-trip on partner airlines to Singapore, Thailand, and even Hong Kong. To get to the Middle East, India or the Maldives in first class on a partner airline will now cost you a whopping 280K miles. Even first class to Japan will now cost 220K miles round-trip on partner airlines. To say this is shocking would be putting it mildly. And I haven't even begun to go through the massive increases between other regions!

Take a look at the current award chart, the new award chart effective February 1, 2014, and the table of changes I've compiled for award flights to and from the Mainland U.S., Alaska, and Canada. Routes where mileage requirements have increased are highlighted in red.

My only recommendation now is to burn as many United miles as you can before the new award chart comes into effect. You can still book award travel all the way through to January 2015 using the old mileage requirements, so don't delay! If you have any aspirational awards in business or first class on any partner airline, now is the time to plan those trips, because come February 1, 2014, it will cost you a hell of a lot more to realize those travel dreams.

United Club One-Time Pass Winner

At 12:00 AM PDT on 10/31/2013, I used the Random Number Generator to select from one of four comments left in the United Club One-Time Pass giveaway. Congratulations to Erin B, who wrote that she would love to visit South Africa! Erin, I will be contacting you via email soon!

United Club One-Time Pass Giveaway

I have an extra United Club One-Time Pass that is set to expire on 11/30/2013, and since I have no upcoming travel plans, I figure why not give it away to one of my two blog readers! All you have to do is follow the instructions here:

1. Post a comment below telling me where you would like to go on your dream vacation. Use the pull-down menu and select Name/URL, then enter any unique name you wish. You can leave the URL entry blank.


2. Send an email to milesglu@gmail.com to confirm your entry, specifying the unique name you used in your post. I will use this email to contact the winner of the United Club Pass.


3. On Wednesday 10/31/2013 at 12:00 AM PDT, I will use a random number generator to select one comment as the winner. If any part of the instructions listed here are not met, I will go ahead and select another comment as the winner.

Unfortunately, I am only accepting entries from the United States. Here is a list of all the United Club locations around the world. If you want the best bang for your buck, I would use the One-Time Pass at an international United Club location, where they typically offer fancier food and drink selections, as well as showers and other amenities.

I visited the United Club at Hong Kong International Airport in January of this year, and I was pleasantly surprised. There was a good variety of snacks and hot entrees, and plenty of comfortable seating in the large space. I didn't use the shower since the waiting list was quite long, but the option is there if you need it.

United Club at Hong Kong International Airport

Cambodia April 2012 - United Airlines 480/1405 First Class (LAX-SFO)

***This post is the conclusion to a full trip report. The index can be found here***

Originally, I wasn't going to include this flight in my trip report, given how short and mundane it was. I did, however, want to give a shout-out to the good folks at United, who have gotten plenty of flak this past year. They really went out of their way to accommodate me, and I wanted to make sure I thanked them for it.

Upon arriving at Tom Bradley International Terminal, I breezed through customs (surprisingly) with hardly anybody in line. My checked duffel, still in the Asiana plastic wrap, was one of the first to come out of the carousel, and I quickly made my way over to Terminal 7.

After dropping off my baggage at the check-in counter, I asked the agent about the possibility of catching an earlier flight up to SFO, since I was looking at an almost three-hour layover with UA480 departing at 2:55 pm. I wasn't expecting much, given that I have no status with United and this was also an award ticket. My entire itinerary, however, was in first class, and I made sure to tell her that I didn't mind being bumped into economy if it meant I could get on an earlier flight.

She clicked away for a minute on the computer, and said unfortunately, it didn't look possible. She then suggested that I ask the gate agent to see if they could do anything for me. After a painless security check, I decided to visit the United Club, which granted me access since I arrived on a Star Alliance international first class flight.

EVA Air Flights Now Bookable Using United Miles

Back in March, I posted about EVA Air's entry into Star Alliance. Full membership isn't expected until early 2013, but it looks like United Airlines has already begun to offer several partnership benefits to MileagePlus members. Initially, you could only earn miles on qualifying EVA Air flights based on this chart. However, it now appears that you can also redeem your MileagePlus miles on EVA Air flights as well. This development finally gives North American Star Alliance members a non-stop option to Taipei, Taiwan.

There was some confusion on FlyerTalk regarding the amount of miles needed, as some phone agents were telling people that there was a separate EVA Air award chart (possibly the old Continental-EVA partner chart) that required substantially more miles to Taipei (50,000 miles one-way in economy) and no combining with other partners airlines on a single itinerary. However, that issue has now been resolved. I had a booking to Taipei over Christmas, with my original itinerary being SFO-ICN-TPE. I was able to call in and get that changed to a direct SFO-TPE flight on EVA Air, all for the same amount of miles required on their partner award chart (32,500 miles one-way in economy). Taxes and fees for this one-way award totaled only $2.50! Although if you book a return flight, the cost will be slightly higher since it would include a Taipei airport tax as well as U.S. Immigration fees.

Confirmed EVA Air ticket booked using MileagePlus miles

The biggest headache, however, was finding an agent who actually knew how to search for and book EVA Air award tickets (or an agent who's even heard of EVA Air for that matter)! In all, I called a total of six times to get my itinerary changed successfully. Out of the six, only two of the agents were able to find the EVA Air award availability, and both needed their supervisor's help to get the changes completed. It might be worth the hassle though, since availability seems to be fairly open in economy even during the holidays, and there were also Premium Laurel (business) seats open on many dates I checked. If you get an agent who insists there is no EVA Air award availability, hang up and call back again.

Best of all, EVA Air recently announced their new Royal Laurel Class, featuring lie-flat business class seats in the same mold as Cathay's reverse herringbone design from Cirrus. In fact, they are supposed to start operating on the JFK-TPE route this month, and LAX-TPE beginning September 2012. EVA Air offers plenty of one-stop connections to Mainland China as well as Southeast Asia via Taipei, so having this additional trans-Pacific lie-flat option using MileagePlus miles is a huge plus. I'm slightly wary that award availability will quickly dwindle once EVA Air becomes fully integrated into Star Alliance and online booking begins, so my suggestion is to book early if you plan on heading to Asia within the next year.

EDIT 12/11/2012: Lucky over at One Mile At A Time has written up a good synopsis on how to search for EVA award availability. However, I would still call up the United Alliance Desk (877-726-7282 Option 3) to make the actual booking. The agents at the regular award desk remain hit-or-miss when is comes to familiarity with EVA bookings.

Targeted Promotion For Up To 25,000 Bonus United MileagePlus Miles

This promotion has been making the rounds on all the blogs these past few days, and I just received my targeted email offer last night as well. In addition to being targeted, the terms even seem to be tailored to each individual as well, depending on who knows what. In all versions of this promotion, however, you can earn 5k, 10k, and 25k bonus MileagePlus miles for flying a certain number of roundtrips on either United or United Express-operated flights. United-marketed codeshare flights are not eligible. My bonus miles thresholds are as follows:

Unfortunately, only flights booked between April 15 and July 15, 2012 will be eligible for this promotion. Hence, if you have multiple flights that were ticketed before April 15th, you're out of luck unless you can cancel and rebook them. Travel must take place between April 15 and July 15, 2012, excluding July 3 through July 5, 2012. Bonus miles do not count towards Premier status, and will be credited 6-8 weeks after the promotion end date on July 15, 2012. You must register prior to travel.

For those of you who were not targeted and did not receive an email, you can still try to register for this promotion by following this link. Enter your MileagePlus membership number and see what your personalized offer is. Some people got a message saying they are not eligible at all, while others have reported a myriad of roundtrip thresholds, including 1/2/4, 1/2/5, 2/4/6, 5/6/7, 6/7/8, 7/8/9, and even 8/9/10! Obviously, this promotion only makes sense up to a certain number of roundtrip flights. If you were lucky enough to get one of the lower thresholds, it might be worth the effort, especially if you already have travel plans.

New Hotel Promotions For Earning Miles

The summer hotel promotions are already rolling out at a rapid pace, and there are a couple of decent miles-earning opportunities. Via View From The Wing, Hyatt's new promotion offers up to 5x the airline miles earned for stays between May 1 and August 31, 2012. Starting with your second stay, earn 4x the miles per stay. Then, starting with your fourth stay, earn 5x the miles per stay - all the way up to your eleventh stay. Guests must choose the miles-earning option as well as provide their Hyatt Gold Passport number and their airline program membership number upon check-in during each eligible stay.

Earning is capped at 24,500 miles per member, or 11 qualified stays. Be aware, however, that different airline programs have different earn rates, so take a look at the full list of partners for complete details. Listed below are all the airlines partners participating in this promotion, along with their registration links. You must register prior to your first eligible stay!

• Air China PhoenixMiles
• Air France KLM Flying Blue
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• ANA Mileage Club
• British Airways Executive Club
• China Eastern Airlines Eastern Miles
• Delta Airlines Skymiles
• Etihad Airways Guest
• Lufthansa Airlines Miles & More
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United Airlines Mileage Plus

Note that you may only register for this promotion once (regardless of the airline partner). If you register for more than one airline program, you will only receive the bonus miles for the airline program you selected at check-in during your first eligible stay. And if you select a different airline program during your subsequent eligible stays, your additional bonus miles will still be awarded to the airline program you provided at check-in during your first eligible stay.

This is a great way to earn bonus miles if you can squeeze in multiple one-night stays during the promotion period. If I am traveling on my own for work and it's not too much of a hassle, I would hotel hop between different Hyatt brands in one local area to maximize the earning potential. Allow 4-6 weeks after checkout for bonus miles to post to your account.

_______________________________________________________________


Though not quite as lucrative, Radisson is also running a bonus miles promotion with United Airlines MileagePlus. From April 25 through June 30, 2012, all eligible stays at any one of the 425 Radisson and Radisson Blu locations around the world will earn 3x the MileagePlus miles. The standard earn rate is 500 miles per stay, while members can earn 1,500 miles per stay with this promotion. Guests must choose the miles-earning option and provide their MileagePlus membership number upon check-in during each eligible stay.

Best of all, there is no limit to the number of stays that can qualify for the bonus miles during the promotion period. By my calculations, if you complete one-night stays for every single night of this promotion, you can earn a total of 99,000 bonus miles. However, I would still recommend taking advantage of the Hyatt offer first, and if you are able to max out the earning potential there, then start with the Radisson offer. No registration is necessary. Allow 6-8 weeks after checkout for bonus miles to post to your account. Click below for full details:

Very Weird Activity On My MileagePlus Account

Today, I was on AwardWallet and noticed that my United MileagePlus account increased by 2,500 miles. I was a bit confused since I hadn't flown on a revenue flight with them in quite some time and I don't remember signing up for any offers lately. In addition, the only flights I've flown this month were for my return from Cambodia using MileagePlus miles on a variety of Star Alliance airlines in first class. So I logged into my account and this is what I saw (click for larger view):

Since I booked this itinerary before the MileagePlus award chart changes in June 2011, my one-way first class ticket cost 72,500 miles. Whereas after the changes took place, it only cost 70,000 miles. I didn't mind since I just wanted to lock in my flights as early as possible. Anyway, I returned from Cambodia almost two weeks ago, and today I suddenly see that they've redeposited my miles from the award ticket, and then re-deducted it again immediately. However, they only deducted the current amount required, 70,000 miles, and not what I originally paid, 72,500 miles - hence the additional 2,500 miles.

Very weird indeed. I have absolutely no idea why they would do this, but I'll take it. Perhaps it has something to do with the program merger between MileagePlus and OnePass? Has anyone else experienced this lately?

Fun With Call Centers: Chase Reconsideration Line And British Airways Hell

I have spent a considerable amount of time on the phone these past two days speaking to credit analysts and customer service representatives, so I thought I'd share my stories in case anyone else runs into the same situation.

Earlier in the week, Chase sent out a warning that all affiliate links for their Ink Bold business card with the old sign-up bonus offer would have to be pulled by Wednesday morning at 10:00 am EDT. This is the same bonus I have linked to my blog currently: 50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within 3 months. While my link (non-affiliate) still seems to be working, the new offer on the official Ink Bold website now advertises 25,000 bonus points after your first purchase, and the final 25,000 bonus points only after spending a whopping $10,000 within 3 months!

Since I've never owned an Ink Bold card before, I decided to jump on the gravy train and apply before the old offer is completely pulled. I had also planned to apply for the new United MileagePlus Explorer card for some time now, so I pulled the trigger on that one as well. As expected, I didn't get instant approvals for either of them (you should see the stack of old Chase cards I've owned). But no worries, many folks have shared their experience of calling the awesome Chase reconsideration line and gotten previous denials turned into approvals. I was determined to have the same outcome no matter what.

First, I called up the Chase personal credit analyst line (1-888-245-0625) and got a friendly female agent. I asked what the status of the United MileagePlus Explorer card was and she said unfortunately, it had been denied due to multiple applications. I explained to her my situation, saying that I had applied for the Ink Bold card at the same time, and also listed off the reasons why I actually needed the MileagePlus Explorer card. I told her my company has a partnership with United Airlines for all of our work travel, and that I would be putting the charges onto this card. She told me to hold for a minute, then came back and said that she could approve this card, but that I would have to close down one of my other Chase accounts first - my Priority Club Visa in this case. I debated for a minute and told her to go ahead and cancel that account and approve the United MileagePlus Explorer card.

This is where I realize I had made a mistake in the previous way I handled all of my Chase accounts. Every time I was approved for a new card, I would lower the credit limit to the minimum allowable. I did this because 1) I wanted to save more credit "space" in the future for more accounts and 2) I just didn't see a need for such large credit limits. Well, I realize now that a higher credit limit probably could have saved me from closing my Priority Club Visa account in this situation. She probably would have allowed me to just shift some of the credit line over to my new United MileagePlus Explorer card, but since the credit line for my Priority Club Visa (and all my other existing accounts) was already at the minimum, she was unable to do that. Oh well, live and learn.

Happy with the outcome with my United MileagePlus Explorer card, I proceeded to call the Chase business credit analyst line (1-800-453-9719) to ask about my Ink Bold application. I got a very gruff-sounding gentleman on the phone who was definitely no-nonsense. He said the application was still in process, but he could go ahead and take a look at it right now. After holding for a few minutes, he came back on the line and began asking a series of detailed questions regarding my business. Now, granted, you don't have to have a real business per se with high income and employees, but it's always to good to prepare yourself during these calls so you can answer their questions without hesitation. I told him what my business does, how long it's been active, how much expected income I'd have within the next 12 months (with how much of that being profit), expenditures, etc. Finally, after the quick grilling, he came back and said he'd gone ahead and approved my application!

The moral of the story is, never, ever just give up if you receive a denial from Chase. Always call their reconsideration line, but at the same time, be very well prepared to answer questions regarding why you need the card. Also, be ready to bargain for your credit line by moving them from existing accounts.

_______________________________________________________________

Next, I'll detail what happened when I called the British Airways Executive Club customer service line. First off, I have an Avios award booking on LAN to Easter Island this November. My one-way itinerary includes two legs: SFO-LIM and LIM-IPC. I have about a one-and-a-half hour layover in Lima, which is cutting it a bit close (especially given LAN's propensity for changes and delays), but I figured it should be fine.

Well, low and behold, last night, I received an email from British Airways stating that my LAN flights had a schedule change. The funny thing is they changed the time of my SFO-LIM flight so that it now arrives almost six hours after my LIM-IPC flight has already left! Needless to say, I would not be making it to Easter Island given my current itinerary.

On the email, it said to call British Airways Executive Club immediately, so that's exactly what I did. I told the gentleman my situation, who said he would have to check availability to make changes. I had already checked online first, of course, and noticed that I could move my SFO-LIM flight back by two days, enjoy a nice stopover in Lima, and then continue on to Easter Island. The British Airways website was showing the new flight as available as well.

Unfortunately, this agent could not see the new award seat. He insisted it wasn't there (not sure if the website was wrong or if he was wrong)... and then here's where it got good. He said I had two options, either wait it out to see if any award seats become available, or I could just cancel the booking. I found this slightly incredulous... so if an airline makes a seven-hour time change to a flight and renders it impossible for passengers to continue on their connecting flights, all those passengers are basically screwed? Even on award bookings, I've always had airlines accommodate me on a new flight - regardless of if an award seat was available or not - since this is really their fault, not mine.

I explained all this to the agent, but he was having none of it. He said it was not their responsibility to fix the itinerary if no other award seats are available. If anyone knows the official policy, I'd love to hear it, but his excuse just sounded completely illogical to me. Finally, I said to him, "so you're saying that because LAN changed their flight time, making it all but impossible for me to complete my itinerary, I have to cancel my entire vacation, hotel bookings, rental cars, etc?" His answer was "yep". Absurd.

I hung up and decided to call LAN directly. After a total of less than 10 minutes on the phone, the friendly agent reissued my ticket on the earlier SFO-LIM flight, allowing me to connect on the LIM-IPC flight two days later with no problem. Yet another lesson learned.

The Big List - Credit Card Bonus Offers Galore

It's always frustrating being out of the internet loop for an extended period of time. Case in point, I go on vacation for a week, and there are tons of new credit card bonus offers that have already come and gone. A flurry of credit card deals recently hit the market, some of them lasting only a few days or less. It's unclear if these were meant to be targeted only and thus were pulled prematurely, but many people were still able to sign up and have the bonus offers confirmed.

While some deals may have already expired, there are still many others out there for the taking. Therefore, I've gone ahead and compiled a list of what I feel is the best current bonus offers available. As always, I never use affiliate links, nor do I ever make money off of referring a credit card. Feel free to leave a comment if you know of better promotions!


Chase Ink Bold Business Card - 50,000 Bonus Points (EXPIRED)

I previously wrote about the Chase Ink Bold back in September of last year. Well, a newer version of this card has come out since then, with slightly modified earn rates. Here's the basic rundown on the offer:

• Earn 50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within the first 3 months
• Earn 5x points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services
• Earn 2x points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and hotels (when purchased directly with the hotel)
• Earn 1x points per $1 on all other purchases, with no limits on how much you can earn
• No foreign transaction fees
• $95 annual fee waived for the first year

Last week, for less than a day, there was a 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points offer with the same spend requirement floating around. Unfortunately, the website was pulled very quickly as news spread. Thus, the the offer I detailed above is still the best one that is currently available. However, Gary from View From The Wing just mentioned that even this may be pulled soon. The standard offer now gives you only 25,000 bonus points after your first purchase, and requires a $10,000 spend within the first 3 months to get the remaining 25,000 points. I would go ahead and apply via the link below before it gets pulled!

50,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for a $500 check or statement credit. If you book airfare directly through the Chase travel tool, 50,000 points can be redeemed for tickets worth up to $625. Otherwise, the best way of utilizing these points, in my opinion, would be to take advantage of the 1:1 transfer ratio and move them over to one of the many airline and hotel partners, including United, Southwest, British Airways, Korean Air, Hyatt, Marriott, or Priority Club accounts. There are a number of other (less valuable) ways to redeem your UR points through their website as well. Apply here.


Citibank American Airlines AAdvantage Card - 50,000 Bonus Miles
I previously wrote about the Citibank AAdvantage card back in December of last year. Unfortunately, those links have already expired. However, the same sign-up bonus still exists! Here's the basic rundown on the offer:

• Earn 50,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after spending $3,000 within the first 4 months
• Receive a one-time $150 statement credit after the first eligible American Airlines purchase you make within the first 12 months (there is no minimum purchase amount, so you can buy a drink on your next American Airlines flight and you should still receive the $150 statement credit)
• Receive 2 Admirals Club one-day passes
• Earn 2x miles per $1 on all American Airlines purchases
• Earn 1x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• $85 annual fee waived for the first year

In addition, it has been confirmed that Citibank has added a bunch of new benefits to all of their American Airlines co-branded cards starting April 2, 2012 (including existing cardholders):

• A 10% rebate on miles redeemed that will post each month, up to a maximum of 10,000 miles per year
• First checked bag free for up to four passengers on the same reservation
• $100 American Airlines flight discount after spending $30,000 on the card each year
• 25% off inflight purchases made with the card

Personal Visa
Personal American Express
Business Visa

There are also a number of other current Citibank AAdvantage card offers that vary in sign-up bonuses and benefits. Take a look at the first post in this Flyertalk thread for all the links. I do think the offer I detailed above is the best of the bunch, however.


Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card - 65,000 Bonus Miles
I previously wrote about the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Card back in January of this year. That promotion has not expired, since if you log into your United account online, you should still be able to see the 60,000 bonus miles offer (as long as you have a balance of at least one mile). However, an even better deal is now available, giving you an extra 5,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit after your first purchase! Note: you must be logged into your United account when you click on the link below. Here's the basic rundown on the offer:

• Earn 50,000 bonus MileagePlus miles after your first purchase. Earn an additional 10,000 bonus MileagePlus miles after spending $25,000 within one calendar year
• Earn an additional 5,000 bonus MileagePlus miles for adding an authorized within 2 months
• Receive a $50 statement credit after your first purchase
• Earn 2x miles per $1 on all United purchases
• Earn 1x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• First checked bag free for you and a companion when you fly on United-operated flights
• Priority boarding privileges
• Two complimentary United Club passes every year
• $95 annual fee waived for the first year

Apply here


Chase British Airways Card - 100,000 Bonus Avios
Chase has offered a 100,000 bonus Avios promotion on it's British Airways card every year for the past three years. This year, the spend threshold has gotten significantly tougher though. Here's the basic rundown of the offer:

• Earn 50,000 bonus Avios after your first purchase. Earn an additional 25,000 bonus Avios after spending $10,000 within the first 12 months. Earn another 25,000 bonus Avios after spending an additional $10,000 within the first 12 months.
• Receive a Travel Together Ticket after spending $30,000 on your card in one calendar year. This is a free companion ticket that can be used when redeeming your Avios for an award flight. It is good for two years. Taxes and fees apply (and they are a doozy).
• No foreign transaction fees
• Earn 2.5x Avios per $1 on all British Airways purchases
• Earn 1.25x Avios per $1 on all other purchases
• $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year

Unless you are a high spender, this is actually a 50,000-75,000 bonus Avios offer. While nothing to sneeze at, do remember that British Airways massively devalued their awards chart last November. However, there are still some good deals to be found in short-haul awards on partner airlines that don't tack on fuel surcharges. Speaking of which, British Airways is known for the outrageous fuel surcharges they include on award tickets, even with partner airlines - so don't be shocked when you see more than $1,000 charged in addition to the Avios points redeemed for a business class flight from New York to London! Apply here.


Citi ThankYou Premier Card - 50,000 ThankYou Points
As I wrote in a detailed post about this card last October, Citibank ThankYou points have not interested me in quite some time. That being said, 50,000 points is still a huge sign-up bonus by any measure. Add to that a recent flurry of rumors that ThankYou points will soon be transferable to British Airways Avios and Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles (with more airlines on the way) at a 1:1 ratio, and the program has suddenly become a lot more valuable! Here's the basic rundown of the offer:

• Earn 50,000 bonus ThankYou points after spending $2,500 within the first 3 months
• Earn 1.2x ThankYou points per $1 on supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, commuter transportation and parking merchants
• Earn 1x ThankYou points per $1 on all other purchases
• Receive an annual anniversary bonus calculated as a percentage of the total ThankYou points earned from purchases, starting at 1% after your first year to 5% after your fifth year (increasing 1% every year). Beyond your fifth year, the bonus stays at 5%.
• $125 annual fee waived for the first year

You'll notice on the application that this card can be issued as a MasterCard or Visa. Many people have tried applying for both versions at the same time using two browsers, with some actually getting approved for both and earning 100,000 bonus ThankYou points. Your miles may vary, so proceed with caution.

Redemption is rather limited for Citi ThankYou points - you can redeem 50,000 points for $500 in various gift cards. Otherwise, if you book flights using the ThankYou Travel Center, you can get 33% more value for your ThankYou points, and your 50,000 points can be redeemed for $665 in airfare. However, as I mentioned above, the best value for redeeming points will come when airline transfer partners become a reality very soon! Apply here.

Bank of America Alaska Airlines Card - 35,000 Bonus Miles  (EXPIRED)
Last year, I wrote about the 40,000 bonus miles offer from the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card. While that promotion already expired long ago, a new offer that's almost as good has recently surfaced. Here's the basic rundown on the offer:

• Earn 35,000 bonus Mileage Plan miles upon approval
• Receive a $99 (plus taxes and fees) round-trip companion ticket upon approval and every year on your account anniversary
• Earn 3x miles per $1 on all Alaska Airlines ticket and vacation package purchases
• Earn 1x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• Two complimentary Alaska Airlines Board Room lounge passes that can be used at select airports with an Alaska lounge presence
• $75 annual fee not waived for the first year

Although 35,000 bonus miles doesn't seem like much, there are two very big benefits that set this card apart from the others. First of all, many people on Flyertalk have reported applying for and receiving this card multiple times, and earning the sign-up bonus each time as well. Now, I would still be cautious and wait at least a few months between applications, but at the very least this is still one of the few cards left that can be churned. Second, the $99 companion ticket can be used on any published fare - even first class. And both tickets earn miles for the flight as well! Every other airline that offers these companion tickets heavily restricts the fares they can be used on, and even has blackout dates.

Now here comes the bad part. First, the annual fee of $75 is not waived for the first year like most other cards. In addition, Bank of America has a bad habit of sometimes automatically downgrading an application to a lower-tier card that offers significantly less benefits. For example, if I apply for the Visa Signature card, Bank of America may deem me "not qualified enough" for that card, but instead of an outright rejection, they will send me their Platinum Plus card, or even their Preferred card, which offers only 15,000 and 13,000 bonus miles, respectively. Definitely frustrating and not worth it in those cases. However, if you have excellent credit and high income, you should have no problem getting the Visa Signature card. Apply here.


Chase Freedom Card - 20,000 Bonus Points (EXPIRED)
First of all, I would not recommend applying for this offer. I'm only writing about the Chase Freedom card because while I was on vacation last week, a deal for 30,000 bonus points appeared, and then another for 35,000 bonus points! Unfortunately, those only lasted for less than a day before they were pulled by Chase. Since the 30,000 bonus points offer has appeared multiple times in the past few months, I would bet that it's going to come back sometime this year (perhaps even the 35,000 bonus points offer). However, if you're desperately in need of this card right this moment for some reason, the best deal is the 20,000 bonus points offer.

I've written extensively about the Chase Freedom card here, and I still say it is the best fee-free rewards card out there. You earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on rotating categories every quarter (up to a maximum of $1500 spend in those categories per quarter), and 1x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on all other purchases with no limits. The categories for 2012 are as follows:

January 1, 2012 – March 31, 2012 
      - Gas stations
      - Amazon.com 

April 1, 2012 – June 30, 2012
      - Grocery stores
      - Movie theaters

July 1, 2012 – September 30, 2012
      - Gas stations
      - Restaurants

October 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012
      - Hotels
      - Airlines
      - Best Buy
      - Kohl's
Apply here

===============================================================

Here is an additional list of links to decent credit card offers that I would highly recommend. However, the first two are just standard offers, and you may want to wait until a better promotion appears. Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest cards have had bigger sign-up bonuses in the past.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card - 40,000 Bonus Points
The standard offer had been 50,000 bonus points for most of the past year. But finally, Chase has reduced that amount to 40,000 bonus points. While not as good as before, 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points is still a fairly decent amount - worth up to $500 in airfare booked with the Chase travel tool, or transferable at a 1:1 ratio to many airline and hotel partners. The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. Apply here.

AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest Card - 25,000 Bonus Starpoints
Each summer, the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card seems to come up with a special sign-up offer for 30,000 bonus Starpoints. While we wait to see if they do it again this year, the standard offer still remains 10,000 bonus Starpoints after your first purchase, and an additional 15,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $5,000 within 6 month. The $65 annual fee is waived for the first year. I would be very happy to refer anyone for this card - I get 5,000 Starpoints per referral and you still enjoy the same standard bonus offer. Just send me your name and email address at milesglu@gmail.com. Or if you prefer, you can just apply directly from website. Apply here.

Barclays US Airways Premier World Card - 40,000 Bonus Miles
I've written extensively about this card in a previous post. This is the best current offer for the US Airways Premier World MasterCard, and the only one I know of that waives the $89 annual fee for the first year. There are actually some very good benefits offered with this card, so make sure you read my earlier post for all the details. Best of all, Barclays still allows churning on their cards, although you may need to call in to get multiple cards approved. Apply here.

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card - 50,000 Bonus Points
I've written extensively about this card in a previous post. Just when it seemed like all the 50,000 bonus points versions of this card were finally pulled, there appears to be one more working link to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Card. 50,000 Rapid Rewards points translates into $833 in Wanna Get Away fares, which would more than pay for two round-trip flights. The $69 annual fee is not waived for the first year, but there is also no spend requirement to get the bonus points (just after your first purchase). Apply here.

3,000 AAdvantage Miles Or Up To 4,000 MileagePlus Miles For Joining Netflix

Right now, you can earn 3,000 AAdvantage miles for becoming a paid member of Netflix. This offer is only available to new subscribers. Current and previous members are ineligible. Some folks on Flyertalk have reported that despite having canceled more than three years ago, they were still unable to get the miles after signing up again, so proceed with caution if you had an old account.

I believe the cheapest plan offered right now is the streaming-only option for $7.99 per month. While I wouldn't sign up for Netflix just for the miles, it is a nice bonus if you already had plans to join in the near future. Allow 8-10 weeks for the miles to post to your account. You must link directly from this page and enter a valid American Airlines AAdvantage number to qualify for this offer.

EDIT: Here is an even better Netflix offer where you can earn up to 4,000 United MileagePlus miles after becoming a paid member. The terms and conditions are virtually identical to the offer above, except you will first earn 2,000 miles after signing up, and then you will another 2,000 miles if you pay with your MileagePlus Visa credit card. You can read more about the MileagePlus Visa here. You must link directly from this page and enter a valid MileagePlus number to qualify for this offer.

New 60,000 Bonus Miles United MileagePlus Explorer Card

Towards the end of 2011, many United elite members were offered a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus for the new MileagePlus Explorer card from Chase. Unfortunately, those of us with no status were left out in the cold. Well it looks like just a few days ago, United started making the 60,000 miles offer available to almost all Mileage Plus members, with or without status.

There appears to be a few kinks in the system still, but once you log into your Mileage Plus account, you should see the 60,000 miles offer on the front page. If you still see the general 40,000 miles offer, it could be because your account has a zero balance. One solution is to transfer some of your Continental OnePass miles over if you have any. Transferring miles is easy and can be completed here. If you still cannot see the 60,000 miles offer, try logging off of your account, clearing your history and cache, logging back in, and clicking on this link. A FlyerTalk member seems to have found this workaround for those who continuously have trouble accessing the 60,000 miles offer page.

While the offer is good for 60,000 bonus miles, technically it is really for 50,000 bonus miles after your first purchase (which is pretty amazing already). The last 10,000 bonus miles requires you to spend $25,000 within your first calendar year of cardmembership. Other benefits include:

• Annual fee waived for the first year, a $95 value
• First checked bag is free for you and a companion when you fly on United/Continental-operated flights
• Priority boarding privileges
• Two complimentary United Club passes every year
• Earn 2 miles per dollar on United/Continental purchases, and 1 mile per dollar everywhere else

This offer will expire February 29, 2012, but my personal feeling is that another 60,000 bonus miles promotion will most likely make an appearance again sometime later in the year.

New Zealand December 2011 - United Airlines 274 First Class (SFO-LAX)

***This post is part 2 of a full trip report. The index can be found here*** 

I arrived at San Francisco International Airport a full two hours ahead of my departure time, a lesson well-learned from my previous departure debacle while leaving for Tokyo last year. I entered Terminal 3 and found my way to the premium check-in area. Unfortunately, this was the start of several slightly unpleasant situations I found myself in throughout the day.

Being that this was my first time flying out of the United terminal in first class, I was a little confused by the setup. All the way to the left was premium check-in for 1K and international first/business class, and next to that was premium check-in for domestic first/business along with Premier Executive, Premier, and Star Alliance Gold/Silver. Further to the right was Premier Access check-in.

I suppose logically, I should have just started at the international first/business class line since I was planning on checking in all the way to Auckland, but I made my way over to the domestic first/business line (reasoning that I was flying to LAX), only to find that there was nobody working the counters. Then I made my way over to Premier Access line and waited a few minutes, only to find that this was a self-service line with just one baggage handler working the counters. Finally, I walked over to the international first/business line and was checked-in by an actual United agent. While this was completely my own idiotic mistake, I was somewhat surprised that there was not a single agent working the domestic first/business or Premier Access check-in lines. I noticed several other people who had issues to resolve besides checking in luggage also playing musical chairs with the three lines until they finally headed over to the international first/business line as well.

Once at the counter, I was able to get myself and my large backpack checked-in all the way to Auckland. The friendly agent handed me the boarding pass and told me that I could enjoy access to the United Club a little ways past security. I was a little surprised, and I even asked her again because I was pretty sure I shouldn't have access to the lounge at SFO since this wasn't my international departure point. She assured me that I did.

Up To 25% Off United Award Tickets To Europe And Africa

United Mileage Plus is offering a 10-day award sale right now, reducing the amount of miles needed to book an award ticket from the continental United States (including Alaska) to Europe or Central/Southern Africa. Book your tickets by January 16, 2012 for travel between January 27 and March 22, 2012, and you can save 20% on peak travel days (Thursday-Sunday) or 25% on off-peak travel days (Monday-Wednesday).

This promotion is only valid for round-trip travel on economy saver awards, but you can combine peak and off-peak tickets on one round-trip itinerary. Stopovers are not permitted, but an open jaw is allowed within the same region. In addition, a Saturday stay and 21-day advance purchase is required.

Reduced mileage award apply only to travel on United and United Express-operated flights, and not on flights operated by other airlines. However, this sale also applies to Continental and Continental Express flights, as long as you use miles from your OnePass account. Miles can be transferred between your Mileage Plus and OnePass accounts here.

As an example, if you are traveling from Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana, the typical mileage requirement is 80,000 in economy. If you take advantage of this sale on off-peak days, however, you will only need 60,000 miles round-trip. Similarly, if you travel from Los Angeles to London, you will only now need 45,000 miles instead of 60,000 when traveling on off-peak days. Click here to see the full United award chart. This is a great sale to take advantage of if you have short-term plans to travel to Europe or Central/Southern Africa!

Join Gilt Groupe And Earn 1,500 Mileage Plus/OnePass Miles After Your First Purchase

Not a terribly exciting promotion, but if you were thinking about purchasing something off of Gilt and haven't yet become a member, sign up now and you'll receive 1,500 Mileage Plus or OnePass miles after your first purchase. In addition, you'll earn 5 miles per dollar spent on Gilt Groupe within the first 6 months of registration. Your miles should be credited within 6-8 weeks after the first purchase. There is no fee for registering or becoming a member.

Gilt Groupe consists of a number of different portals, including the original Gilt website that features limited-time offers on designer clothing. They've also expanded to include Gilt City, which mimics what Groupon does for local deals, Jetsetter, which offers travel deals, and Gilt Taste, featuring fine wines and high-end foods.

You may have to do some digging on the website, but there are often times fairly inexpensive items for sale. The cheapest item I've found so far is a sushi mat for only $2.95 plus $5.95 shipping, which comes to a total of $8.90. Just go to the Gilt Taste section, under the "Equipment" tab, select "Accessories". Then just sort by price and it should be the first item listed.

EDIT 4/11/2012: I noticed today that this offer has been updated with a new requirement that the initial purchase must be at least $50, exclusive of taxes and shipping. This makes it slightly less worthwhile. But if you are already planning on signing up for Gilt and making a purchase over $50, then it makes sense to take advantage of this offer.

Reduced Mileage Awards With Citi AAdvantage Card

If you have a Citi AAdvantage card (and who doesn't nowadays), you can book round-trip American Airlines award flights with reduced mileage requirements from now through December 31, 2011, for travel between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Every quarter, Citi releases a list of select destinations within the 48 contiguous United States and Canada for reduced mileage awards. They break down the list according to the specific Citi AAdvantage card type you have, but judging from what I have seen, it appears the destinations are identical for every card. The only difference is that some card types offer a discount of 7,500 miles, while others only offer 5,000 miles. You must call the AAdvantage award reservations desk at 1-800-882-8880 in order to book your reduced mileage tickets. Unfortunately, the $20 phone reservation fee will apply.

The list of destinations is somewhat disappointing, as they feature mostly smaller obscure markets that typically aren't very popular with travelers. However, there are a couple of larger destinations that might be interesting, especially to Canada. For example, I see Vancouver, Toronto, as well as Montreal listed for only 17,500 miles round-trip if you have the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Visa or MasterCard, or the Citi AAdvantage Select American Express. I also see Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis for the same number of miles as well. Take a look at the list; there may be some good deals to be had if you are planning on visiting those destinations anyways.

Also don't forget that tomorrow, September 19, 2011 is the last day to take advantage of the SaverPass reduced mileage awards on Continental and United Airlines. Unlike the Citi offer, this is actually a very good deal, with plenty of popular destinations offered for reduced miles. See my previous post for more details.

SaverPass Reward Sale On Continental/United

For a limited time, Continental and United have reduced the amount of miles needed to book a SaverPass award flight by up to 20% for select markets. You must book your award flight by September 19, 2011 and your travel must occur between October 10, 2011 and December 15, 2011. A couple of blackout dates apply, including November 18, 23, and 26-28. In addition, a Saturday night stay is required and sale only applies to round-trip economy travel.

Other than those restrictions, there are actually quite a large number of popular select markets on sale. For example, departing from SFO, you would only need 20,000 miles to fly to EWR, DFW, and YVR. It's only 16,000 miles to fly to SAN, LAX, and PHX. And to fly to SJD, it will only cost 28,000 miles instead of the regular 35,000 miles. 

Some other interesting routes I found include IAD to EZE for 48,000 miles instead of 60,000 miles, and EWR to CUR, SJO, PVR, and MEX for only 28,000 miles instead of 35,000 miles. Typically for these mileage reward sales, only very few obscure markets are actually on sale, but it's surprising Continental and United have reduced their rewards on some of their most popular routes, and availability actually seems pretty good for a couple that I checked. See the full list here.

Book as soon as possible to take advantage of this sale!