MilesBuzz! - Optimal Hotel & Airline choices

Hi everyone,

Just joined this site but have used some of the advice here before in the past.

I travel a lot on my job and want to make the best use of any reward card out there. Currently I'm using my Chase Freedom card and it seems to be one of the best one out there in terms points earned to redeem for rewards or cashback.

For the past year, I've been staying at the Marriott and probably intend to do so going forward due to my positive experience with them over Hilton. Should I stay with my current Chase Freedom card or apply for the Marriott credit card (which one) to get the most rewards out of it.

I'm more focused on my choice of airline. For the past year, I've been mainly renting a car to travel to my job. The next contract I have is most likely out of state and will require flying. This will be domestic in the USA only (from New York to Minnesota). Are there any recommendations on what airline to choose and if I should sign up for one of their credit cards? Preferably with roomier seats or free upgrades since the flight will be at least a few hours.

Also somewhat related to the above, does anyone here recommend getting the Priority Pass (http://www.prioritypass.com/) for the lounge access? I assume these lounges are not always the same as the one for each airline (might require separate membership for those).

This should probably be taken into consideration. My company reimburses me for all my travel related expenses (hotel, plane, food, etc.). The only thing that will be a setback are cards that requires an annual fee (out of my own pocket). The only limit that I'm aware of is for the airline. I have a $300 max spending for lounges (I guess any extra, I'll just have to pay out of pocket if it comes down to it) and the plane ticket can't be more than $50 of the average price. So if there is a ticket for around $400, I can't spend more than $450 for a similar ticket.

Sorry for all the newbie questions. Still trying to find the best way to earn rewards. I know that Marriott also has "connections" with some of these airlines and car rental companies, but if anyone knows of a better offer to combine with using the respective credit cards, that would be even better.

Thanks.

You may want to check out the MilesBuzz forum where this question is probably more appropriate.

Lots of info on program schemes... and you can try to maximize credit card and other offers to get more miles/points.

gk17, welcome to FlyerTalk! You've posed several questions for MilesBuzz and others which are more for TravelBuzz. As more of your interest seems to be on maximizing mile and point loyalty, I'll move this to the MilesBuzz forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

For the airline questions, it would be very helpful to know where in New York (LGA? EWR? JFK more convenient? or one of the upstate--specify which one!!!--airports) and where in Minnesota (probably MSP but not clear from OP).

PP at MSP gives access to the UA club but not the two DL lounges. At New York airports, check where the lounge is relative to your gates as both LGA and JFK have many terminals and they are generally not connected airside.

Thanks for moving the thread.

JFK would be my first preference and the destination will be MSP. I don't have all the details yet, but MSP is most likely the airport I will be arriving at. I just want to get these all ready and not jump on things at the last minute ;)

Very new to the airline perks. At this point, I'm not sure which airline to stick with yet which is why I mentioned PP since it offers lounges also. Is this any better than just choosing the airline of my choice and accessing their club/lounge?

Thanks.

A few more questions:

1) Just how much will you be flying, and will it be just this year or continuing?
2) What airlines will you usually be on?
3) Can you get a personal card and charge business expenses to it?
4) Will you be checking a bag, and does your company pay the bag fees?
5) How flexible is the company on reimbursements?

Here are some thoughts.

First class upgrades are almost solely a function of elite status, which requires 25,000 actual flown miles in the current or prior year. 25K will make you "silver" which will make you eligible, but last in line. If, hypothetically, you will have one trip a month, and it will go on for a year, you probably won't hit 25K this year, nor next year, so you'll never make elite. If the trips are weekly, it's a whole different story. Also there are upper levels of elite at 50K, 75K, and sometimes higher, that increase your upgrade chances. This is all per airline. Often elite status will give you free checked bags, access to preferred seats, and early boarding.

Some airline cards give you extra "Elite Qualifying" miles if you spend a certain amount. For example, I think that the USAirways card, and the Delta Amex Platinum card (not to be confused with the regular Amex Plat card) give 10K EQM's when you spend $25,000 in a year. (I know that for DL it is calendar year, so you'd have to spend the amound by 12/31; not sure about US.)

Something to consider is the Delta Platinum card. The fee is $450 but you get Priority Pass Select and also access to DL lounges when flying DL, and US lounges anytime. You also get $200 in airline fee credits per year. Your company might reimburse this fee, or at least $300 of it, in lieu of the lounge fees. The Plat card has other good benefits, but it is not great for earning miles - it is a flat 1 point per dollar, period, no bonuses. An advantage to any Amex card though is that you get Membership Rewards points, not miles on a particular airline. You will pay a small fee to convert points to a USA-based airline ($6 per 10K points) but you can convert to a variety of airlines and other programs (you're not locked to one airline) and sometimes there are transfer bonuses. Amex points are worth a lot more than DL points. If you are spending a lot on airfare, having the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card, which gives 3x points on airfare, is good.

If you are going to be focused on DL (a possiblity given your airports) and are spending a lot on your card, consider the DL Amex Plat or DL Reserve. Both cards give extra points on DL airline ticket purchases, extra EQM's if you spend a certain amount, and the Reseve card, although quite a bit more expensive, gives DL lounge access.

If you are only expecting to make a few flights, a lot of this isn't worth it. Realistically you get pretty much nothing without at least 25K EQM's - 24000 gets you a bag of peanuts. And if you're not going to make many flights after you make 25K EQM's, you won't get much benefit from it.

Don't forget the possibility of signup bonuses for cards. Amex Plat gives 50K points and Preferred Rewards Gold gives 25K, with certain spending requirements. The Amex co-branded cards have bonues also. (If planning to apply for an Amex card, PM me for a referral that will get you the best signup bonuses, and also read http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1325762-bonus-disputes-amex-avoiding-them.html.)

1) Just how much will you be flying, and will it be just this year or continuing?
I should be flying back and forth every week (leaving on Sundays/Mondays, probably returning on Fridays)

2) What airlines will you usually be on?
This is where I'm a little picky. I really want to stick with Delta but their seats are just a little smaller than the others I flew with before recently (AirTran & JetBlue). I will probably still go with them if the benefits are worth it.

3) Can you get a personal card and charge business expenses to it?
Yes. I have been using my Chase Freedom card for this purpose. The company can issue me a credit card but I told them I will use my own (which they are fine with).

4) Will you be checking a bag, and does your company pay the bag fees?
This I'm not 100% sure yet. I think they will reimburse me for checked baggage fees. I will probably need to check in one bag.

5) How flexible is the company on reimbursements?
As long as it's a business expense (food, travel, hotel related), they will reimburse me. I only know of two limitations and it's the $50 difference between the airline tickets and about $300 per year for airline clubs/lounges.

So is Delta the recommended airline in terms of what you can get back from being a frequent flyer with them? I can definitely consider the DL Reserve Card. I can ask my company to see if I can use this and deduct the $300 off from it at least. Even with this card, there is no possibility of a seat upgrade until you hit the 25,000+ miles? I'm still looking through all the other card offers from Delta/AMEX to see which one will benefit the most.

Thanks for that other link explaining the trouble you went through. Definitely will keep that in mind. Before I forget, send me a PM with the referral link. I will use it if I do decide to sign up for one of these AMEX offers.

Reading up a lot on this and I'm leaning towards the Delta Reserve Card. The only problem is that I don't think I can hit $30K a year. I'm just doing the rough math for it now and it looks like a round trip ticket will cost me about $400. Assuming I can do this consistently for a year straight with no breaks, it will only come out to about $20K or so. I guess this means I won't earn those 30,000 miles either.

For the free companion ticket that comes with any of these cards, I assume it's only free for the companion and you need to purchase a ticket in that class. Ex: For Reserve card, I have to buy a first class ticket at full price and then I can use that companion ticket for the family member or friend who will be on the same trip.

Reading up a lot on this and I'm leaning towards the Delta Reserve Card. The only problem is that I don't think I can hit $30K a year. I'm just doing the rough math for it now and it looks like a round trip ticket will cost me about $400. Assuming I can do this consistently for a year straight with no breaks, it will only come out to about $20K or so. I guess this means I won't earn those 30,000 miles either.

For the free companion ticket that comes with any of these cards, I assume it's only free for the companion and you need to purchase a ticket in that class. Ex: For Reserve card, I have to buy a first class ticket at full price and then I can use that companion ticket for the family member or friend who will be on the same trip.

You do know that you can put non-airline spending on this card as well? Extra $10K is less than $1000/month.

Rough math of 2 JFK-MSP/week*50 weeks*1000 miles/trip is ~100,000 miles, which should get you to Platinum Delta in year 1 and Diamond in year 2 (due to rollover). That excludes any bonuses due to spending.

IMHO, I would go for Amex Premier Rewards Gold instead of Amex Delta cards. Amex PRG gives 3x points on airfare and MR are more valuable than DL points.

So Delta is counting miles and not how much is spent for those MQM's? Getting confused with the wording now. I thought $30K was for spending. If it's mileage like you said, then that definitely won't be a problem.

One thing that needs to be factored in is the club/lounge access. I don't think AMEX PRG provides this and I have to get this separately (monthly payments perhaps). Also will there be Priority boarding and first free checked baggage?

So AMEX PRG will give 3x MR points and the Delta card will only be 2 miles for every dollar spent.

If the MR points do end up being more rewarding and I should get the Priority Pass separately (for lounge access), I might go that route. I do prefer not to have my points tied up for one thing or company only, but the Reserve card had it's perks.

I'm still open for suggestions.

Thanks.

A few more questions:

1) Just how much will you be flying, and will it be just this year or continuing?
2) What airlines will you usually be on?
3) Can you get a personal card and charge business expenses to it?
4) Will you be checking a bag, and does your company pay the bag fees?
5) How flexible is the company on reimbursements?

Here are some thoughts.

First class upgrades are almost solely a function of elite status, which requires 25,000 actual flown miles in the current or prior year. 25K will make you "silver" which will make you eligible, but last in line. If, hypothetically, you will have one trip a month, and it will go on for a year, you probably won't hit 25K this year, nor next year, so you'll never make elite. If the trips are weekly, it's a whole different story. Also there are upper levels of elite at 50K, 75K, and sometimes higher, that increase your upgrade chances. This is all per airline. Often elite status will give you free checked bags, access to preferred seats, and early boarding.

Some airline cards give you extra "Elite Qualifying" miles if you spend a certain amount. For example, I think that the USAirways card, and the Delta Amex Platinum card (not to be confused with the regular Amex Plat card) give 10K EQM's when you spend $25,000 in a year. (I know that for DL it is calendar year, so you'd have to spend the amound by 12/31; not sure about US.)

Something to consider is the Delta Platinum card. The fee is $450 but you get Priority Pass Select and also access to DL lounges when flying DL, and US lounges anytime. You also get $200 in airline fee credits per year. Your company might reimburse this fee, or at least $300 of it, in lieu of the lounge fees. The Plat card has other good benefits, but it is not great for earning miles - it is a flat 1 point per dollar, period, no bonuses. An advantage to any Amex card though is that you get Membership Rewards points, not miles on a particular airline. You will pay a small fee to convert points to a USA-based airline ($6 per 10K points) but you can convert to a variety of airlines and other programs (you're not locked to one airline) and sometimes there are transfer bonuses. Amex points are worth a lot more than DL points. If you are spending a lot on airfare, having the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card, which gives 3x points on airfare, is good.

If you are going to be focused on DL (a possiblity given your airports) and are spending a lot on your card, consider the DL Amex Plat or DL Reserve. Both cards give extra points on DL airline ticket purchases, extra EQM's if you spend a certain amount, and the Reseve card, although quite a bit more expensive, gives DL lounge access.

If you are only expecting to make a few flights, a lot of this isn't worth it. Realistically you get pretty much nothing without at least 25K EQM's - 24000 gets you a bag of peanuts. And if you're not going to make many flights after you make 25K EQM's, you won't get much benefit from it.

Don't forget the possibility of signup bonuses for cards. Amex Plat gives 50K points and Preferred Rewards Gold gives 25K, with certain spending requirements. The Amex co-branded cards have bonues also. (If planning to apply for an Amex card, PM me for a referral that will get you the best signup bonuses, and also read http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1325762-bonus-disputes-amex-avoiding-them.html.)
The paragraph about the "Delta Platinum Card" seems to apply more to the regular AmEx Plat charge card, not the DL AmEx Plat credit card.

Note that there are no PP lounges in the terminals DL uses at LGA, nor in T2/T3 at JFK which DL uses for all of its domestic flights. (T4 which included some DL international flights might have a PP lounge, and there is an airside bus from the airside part of T4 containing the DL gates to T2/3, but IMO this would not work well because either the bus or the land side sky train require too much time--with too much variance.)

Thanks for the heads up on that one MSPeconomist. With Priority Pass membership, I see that for JFK, it's only Terminals 1, 4 & 7 which also excludes T2/T3 like you mentioned.

I guess I can just pass on the club access if that's the case and stick with whatever else I can get from the airline benefit. So go with a regular AMEX card instead of the Delta ones?