nk15

I agree that it seems that on my handful of flights in December and January they have been more aggressive compared to the previous months. In my last flight in January THE PILOT was also doing the pitching, and the sound volume in the PA system was super high....They sound more desperate lately for some reason...

beachmouse

DL largely limits the credit card hawking to a splash screen on the IFE and people who will scream at you in the concourses of their fortress hubs about the free miles you could be getting. Easier to move around the hawkers in the concourses than ignore the FAs on the planes.

Centurion

You are flying on a airline that makes its money from credit cards and not so much money on airline tickets.

BrianV

Ahh, you're right, the "Aviator Card". I falsely assumed it was Citi, that's how much I tune it out...

BrianV

Bonvoy Biz Amex at 4x Marriott on Restaurant is solid. I entertain a lot, all other Marriott cards are 3X, so I use that card exclusively for dining. The one free night covers the $125 annual and 4x is legit. It also gives you a straight 7% discount on all marriott.com rates. My company's rate typically beats that, but you still can't argue with 7% off Marriott bookings. I use this card only on restaurants and outside of trying to get the Hilton Amex spend requirement, this is where all my dining (personal and business) goes.

Ritz gives 3x on airfare and it has a slew of benefits around trip insurance that make buying my personal flights on it worthwhile. Delay over a certain hours regardless of reason and they'll pay for lodging/food. $20k insurance per incident. Fortunately, I haven't had to use this, but it's worthwhile. It also gives 1x 85k Marriott award annually which basically covers the $450 annual with a high price single night stay. It also gives a $300 airline incidental and/or upgrade credit annually which I used to use to buy e500 stickers, but since that has ended, I now use it to spot upgrade 1-2 flights per year that are offered in app. I do get LP on that spend, so it's a nice perk (300*11 = 3300 LP for free and an upgrade or two to boot). It also gives me National Executive which used to be of no value as I got it on rental days, but in 2017 I joined a new company that highly promoted Rideshare over renting, and I'm better for it. No need to worry about parking, driving in an unknown city, drinking at dinner/bar then having to leave a car, etc. As a result, I lost rental elite tiers, but the card keeps me with National Exec which has proven clutch for my personal travel which typically entails ski trips where I can use my corporate leisure rate to secure midsize at $32/day, hit the Exec Aisle and end up with a very high-end SUV (Audi Q5, Tahoe, Explorer Titanium, CX9, etc) for my personal ski trips. It also gives TSAPre and other benefits I don't take advantage of, but it's a pretty sorted out and high-value card. If you actually pay for Ritz hotels on your own, they give a slew of free Club level upgrades which are significant, but I rarely stay at Ritz on paid fare (use points a lot though which isn't eligible for the Club level upgrades). If you frequent Ritz on paid nights, this makes the card a total no brainer. Finally, the Ritz being a VISA Infinite is my go-to when places don't take AMEX, which isn't that common but does happen a bit overseas and at smaller mom/pop type establishments.

Hilton Surpass at $95/year with a free Hilton stay with no limit (after $15k in spend) easily pays itself. At 6x grocery and dining, I use it for that a bit. I spend $40k a year on this card to hit Diamond then put it away for the year (almost lifetime Diamond, then will re-evaluate). There are a number of Hilton properties I adore, so I do try to spend with Hilton despite most of my work travel parking me in Marriotts. This is a power card given the free night is unrestricted and I find Diamond > Marriott Titanium. While Hilton points are worth less than Marriott, I find I still feel like I get better return with Hilton.

In all cases, I'm able to use my personal cards when I stay at hotels for work which is 90% Marriott, 10% Hilton. The multipliers on hotel charges are HUGE. I might have a $500 bar/restaurant tab in a hotel bar with my employees and with status+hotel-multiplier, I might get 20x+ on the dollar when I charge it to my room. Then, the room rate goes to that card at 20x. It's clutch for when we plan vacations. While flights are never cheap, I'd rather spend more for an ideal hotel/location and if you're traveling for a week, hotel expense far exceeds airfare, so I triple down on hotel.

I'm opportunistic on how I spend, but effectively I can't find any justification to use my AA card, even when they ran the 4x promo last year, as LPs just aren't that desirable to me outside of qualification (which I can basically hit butt-in-seat).

To best answer your question, the Ritz card is the best for all the perks, but the 4x on Bonvoy Biz AMEX is probably the best pound for pound I can get. If consolidating on a single card, Hilton Surpass (ideally if you can spend $40k+ for Diamond) is tough to beat.

My wife fancies ski-in/ski-out resorts, they ain't cheap but points redemption tends to be a really good value on these overpriced resorts. When Marriott acquired Starwood, that did put Marriott as a leader in such resorts, but Hilton still has some solid options (notably Waldorf Park City/Canyons).

OpenSky

3 words.

Noise cancelling headset.

And no, I'm not signing up on board, thanks.

Does anyone know how much commission the FA makes?

maat777

Waaay worse in my experience lately. On Eagle flights, mainline, every flight. If it meant making them go away I'd almost just take one. But it's insulting to those of us who fly, it's an interruption to the flight and makes the airline seem despAArate for a few bucks. Just awful and another reason this long time EXP/CK customer may be switching this year.

F1.Cullen

1. Yes, the credit card announcements are beyond annoying. It’s sad that my hometown airline petals this.

2. I’m that sucker that spends 99% of our spend on the AA Admiral card. Technically, it’s my wife’s account and I’m the authorized user, but in reality, it’s ‘our’ account and what we use for all spending, unless tbey don’t take Mastercard for some reason (i.e. Costco).
Sigh 😔

WingedWorldExplorer

Bravo 👏 I have complained to head Steward on several occasions saying that we have heard this for over 20 years now. We have been told to do it is the answer.

NOBODY signed up or even took an application.

jerseytom

My flight yesterday definitely had the most over-the-top routine I've had to date. 3-4 announcements total.

"I have great news, this flight has been specially selected for..."

"Congratulations to everyone who took an application and will be making the most of that free round trip ticket..."

"Welcome to Miami where the local time is 10pm. Since a few of you asked, yes we have a few card applications left that you can take for friends and family. You can pick one up on the way off the plane."

I wonder if the flight crew gets some sort of commission per application that's taken on their flight.

FLL88

when I hear that come over the speaker, I turn down the volume in my hearing aids

PHL

If everyone never carried a balance or paid interest we wouldn't be hearing these annoying in cabin announcements and there wouldn't even be a partnership. There wouldn't be any kinds of reward point programs on any credit card if everyone paid balances off every month. But at rates going up to 29.99% APR, and consumer credit card debt nearing $1 Trillion, the card issuers are laughing all the way to the bank. Handing you a card with a club membership or 50,000 LPs is peanuts to them.

Stripe

Yes, there seemed to be a lull in these announcements toward the end of last year and the first couple of weeks of this year but they have come back with a vengeance. And I agree that the lies around what you can do with the bonus miles have become more lurid. In some sense we have only the infrequent passengers to blame. If there was no uptake on the offer from the gullible then the practice would quickly die out.

I just turn up the volume on my personal device as soon as I hear the dreaded "We have xx minutes before landing in xxx...".

fotographer

that is why I always carry my noise canceling headphones....
it seems they would rather spend time on the CC pitch. then get me my PDB

BrianV

I've been considering going from Surpass to Aspire. One issue is the $250 flight credit seems to only work on incidentals like bags, which I have no need for. I don't think you can use it for upgrades. Can you confirm? Also, would admiral's club food/bev qualify, some articles indicate it does. I work expense enough meals there to gobble up the $250 annually.