Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
We WN fliers are not nuts, I assure you.
Uh, certainly not! And I don't think I have implied that, have I?
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
Here are some considerations:
Yes, you mention many ways WN is better than AA.
I was comparing Rapid Rewards with AAdvantage.
That is not to say one should choose an airline based purely on FF program - no way.
I am only making the point that Rapid Rewards is not competitive for the very frequent flyer (yes, a small category, but much larger on Flyetalk).
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
For the person with less than enough travel to attain highest status on a legacy:
10. WN doesn't charge outlandish fees for luggage.
Just FYI, baggage fees are waived for all elite levels, not just top tiers on legacy carriers, so most once per month travellers would also be exempt. Of course, those who travel less than once per month have to pay, and I book a lot of WN travel for friends that don't fly often for this very reason!
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
Some of us don't fly Business Class to Hawaii and Cameroon and SIN all the time. We are pretty much restricted to the US for business and family reasons.
If you noticed, my hypothetical very frequent flyer doesn't either. Yet, even without any international travel, he would get more than 2X from AAdvantage versus Rapid Rewards. If I were to include international, then the AA margin would increase.
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
A rental car can get you 2 WN RR credits.
I am curious - is the above true all the time and does it require a min number of days?
My car rentals would get credited to one of the following:
a) Hertz - 1 day minimum - minimum of 1,700 BMI miles earned (and twice that during the recurring double miles promos)
b) Budget - 3 day minimum - minimum of 2,500 Delta miles earned (2008 and 2009 promo, likely to be extended)
c) Avis - 4 day minimum - minimum of 5,000 Delta miles earned (2008 and 2009 promo, likely to be extended)
I know better than to credit my car rentals to AA - (absent a promo - AA do have some running right now that earn 2,000+ per rental)
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
A Companion Pass is worth a lot more than $800. Someone posted how he got $4500 worth of trips (for his wife, I think) out of it. I value it at $2000-$2500, maybe more, as I take my son somewhere about once a month.
Excellent use!
I contend $800 is much closer to average.
Originally Posted by
toomanybooks
12. WN's Visa card is MUCH MUCH more generous than AA's Mastercard (not many people fly 50 RTs a year, so they have to get their credits elsewhere). $9600 spent on WN tickets or with partners gets a RT and 1/6 of the way to a Companion Pass;
On this point, I have to disagree unless you either get a much higher than average use from your WN free tickets or companion pass.
Your $9600 figure is misleading, because you are dealing with a category bonus - and other credit cards also have category bonuses - but most of us spend far more on other things than the bonus categories. But I don't' think either the AA card or WN card are among the best.
For anyone with significant CC spend, I would recommend the following CC combination:
1)
Citibank Platinum Amex
- Earn 3 TYP per $ on everything, 5 on certain categories
- Redeem thankyou points at 1 cent each for ANY ticket anytime anywhere that Expedia.com can book (I wish WN would play ball!)
(So $8,000 spent on any category earns you $240 towards your next ticket; $5,000 spent on certain categories earns you $300 towards your next ticket, etc)
2)
Asiana American Express Card from Bank of America - Earn 2 Asiana FF miles per $ spent on Everything
(So $45K spent = business class Star alliance redemption to Europe
Or, if you prefer, $8K-$15K spent for a free star alliance domestic ticket, number of miles required is distance based with Asiana)
3) Carry a
Merrill+ Visa Rewards - no annual fee back up card for when you need a Visa - transfer these points 1:1 to British Airways or redeem them at 1 cent each directly for plane tickets or gift cards
4)
Carry an Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard - no annual fee back up card for when you need a Mastercard - transfer these points 1:1 to Continental or redeem them on Amtrak or for merchandise/gift cards