Sorry for the delay of the normal Sunday Summary. It was a very hectic weekend with sickness, so trying to play catch-up now! I hope you all had a great weekend!
Welcome back to our Sunday Weekly Summary Series where we review the stories that were covered throughout the week.
Weekly Summary
The Demystification of Miles and Points
It is amazing how many blogs there are in the miles and points space! I know I am just one of several small blogs in the midst of very few large blogs. In some instances, there are many stories that are covered by all of the blogs as they merit extra attention and, obviously, not everyone reads all of the blogs. I read many to try and stay up to date with the world of miles and points. However, with all of these blogs, the world of miles and points has become much clearer so that there are thousands of…
Southwest And JetBlue Launch Fare Sales
Here are some great fare sales – and even though it is just Southwest and JetBlue, history tells us that it will not stay Southwest and JetBlue! Whenever these carriers launch sales, the legacy airlines typically match them as well, so keep an eye out if you are interested in only flying your preferred carrier. If you do not care but like cheap airfare, check out these sales!
The Day To Buy Hyatt Points Is Tomorrow!
I have written many times about buying points and whether or not it makes sense. Unless it is a great sale on points, it is normally not worth doing. However, when sales come around that offer significant enough discounts, that can be a great time to get a bunch of miles and points for your preferred program. Yes, it is not “free” travel anymore, but if you would be paying for travel anyway or would like to stay in a nicer property, buying points helps to decrease your total out-of-pocket cost.
Washington In A Whirlwind
Washington DC is a fabulous city. It is definitely one of my all-time favorite cities to visit and definitely one of my favorite to run in. There is so much to do there as well as so many cheap ways to get there (and many free attractions once there:) ). My kids had not been there yet and since it will be quite a while before they are back in the US again, I wanted to give them a chance to see in person the things that they had been learning about last year.
Do Not Transfer Ultimate Reward Points To IHG Points – Buy ‘Em
Ultimate Rewards is an excellent points program – the points are flexible and work with many hotel and airline programs as well as giving you the ability to redeem directly as cash, should you desire. If you want to redeem for cash, statement credits, or gift cards, you will be able to redeem at a value of 1 cent per point. That is not as good as redeeming for travel where you could realize a value of 2 cents per point or more, but it still gives you a good baseline. But, some people recommend you transfer your Ultimate Reward points to IHG…
Airlines Profit Less Than $6 Per Passenger
That is a hard thing to believe – that airlines profit less than $6 per passenger. But, that is what is reported according to IATA’s CEO, Tony Tyler. How Much Per Passenger? It is hard to believe that given the amount of money that is spent on travel and the huge profits we hear about each year – Delta profited $2.7 billion last year. However, when you consider that Delta flew 165 million passengers last year, that number becomes a little more believable.
Marching to Hyatt Diamond – In Spite of Hilton
Last month, I wrote that Hyatt now had their terms for their Diamond Challenge/Trial stating that status earned during the 60 day period would last until February of 2016. For me, that was great news. I had contemplated doing a challenge for a while but did not like the idea of only having it through the end of the year. So, with that news, I went ahead and signed up, hearing back within a few hours that my challenge was approved and had begun.
Automated Passport Control Kiosks for All US Passengers – Not Just For Global Entry
Last week, my wife and I were about to land in Atlanta when the flight attendant announced that all passengers who normally fill out the blue customs and immigration form will no longer need to fill that out in Atlanta. They said that a couple of weeks earlier, the CBP had installed Automated Passport Control kiosks for those passengers so they would fill out all of that information on the kiosk instead of the form. Here is the website talking about the implementation at Atlanta.
Why I Did Not Rent A Car From Avis To Get 7,500 AA Miles
Last week, I wrote about the great deal that Avis and American Airlines have that gives Avis customers up to 7,500 AA miles. I showed how that can be a fabulous deal for some people and why it gives a great opportunity to rack up a few AA miles doing something you were going to do anyway. But, faced with the need to rent a car this week, I did not rent using Avis and the 7,500 AA mile deal. I really wanted to –
When Reading My Own Posts Save Me Money
This is one of those “I can’t believe I was so stupid” posts. I wrote yesterday about why I did not rent from Avis for the 7,500 AA mile deal and had included a link to my post that I had written about being bumped down to Avis First.
First Friday Dining For Extra Ultimate Reward Points – Better Options?
Looking back, I think I may have mentioned only once about the program offered with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. It is that, on the first Friday of the month, you will earn an addition point per dollar spent at restaurants. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card earns 2 points per dollar at restaurants 353 days a year – the other 12, first Fridays, it earns 3 points per dollar. If you have read any other blog in this category, you have most likely seen this talked about each month. Is it really a good deal? What is the earning potential?
If You Fly Delta, You Can Save 4% – But You Have To Spend A LOT!
Delta SkyBonus members received an offer yesterday for the Delta Private Jets Card. For those not familiar with Delta Private Jets Card, it is a card that you put a deposit on for charter flights with Delta. The minimum deposit is $100,000 and is non-refundable. It must be used within 2 years or the balance expires. Delta Private Jets Card One of the “good” things about the card is that you can actually use the balance on the card for commercial travel on Delta as well, not just private travel.
