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Can miles from frequent flyer programs from the same alliance be combined?

Can miles from frequent flyer programs from the same alliance be combined?

Old Sep 18, 2012, 11:27 pm
  #46  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 609
Originally Posted by joer1212
I pay just for my electric bill.
I also pay for internet and a cell phone plan (which I don't charge to my cc because Boost Mobile charges me taxes for this, whereas, if I pay at my local check cashing place they do not).
I cancelled my cable years ago; I no longer own a car (I live in NY, where it is not necessary), and the weekly pocket money I allow myself is currently $150.
My annual travel budget is limited to $5,000.
If you need meet $3K spend requirement for CC sign-on bonus
(1) prepay internet provider, if monthly cost is $50 then prepay 12 month in advance ($600);
(2) prepay transportation in NYC, e.g., 6 metrocards each loaded with 30-day unlimited or pay-per-ride whichever fits your commute needs ($600)
(3) purchase store gift/cash cards for future use - grocery store, electronics store, costco etc ($500 to $1000)
(4) purchase generic Amex gift cards, e.g., 6*$500=$3K (mission accomplished). Be sure to focus on the largest denomination gift card to save on surcharge (each card costs $5.95, so effectively you incur ~$36 fee but a great deal b/c you get the sign-on bonus). These are examples of "normal" ways to extend the time period to spend the $3K, in last example you can use your Amex gift cards to pay for any regular purchases down the road.

BTW, there is no need to report your exact income on an internet discussion forum.

Last edited by deltame; Sep 18, 2012 at 11:49 pm
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Old Sep 18, 2012, 11:47 pm
  #47  
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Originally Posted by TravelPDX7


PDX (4535'19"N 12235'49"W) SFO (3737'08"N 12222'30"W) 178.7 (S) 550 mi

X2

1100m RT

Distance Zone 1
Total Trip Miles = 0 to 1,500 Miles Required
Economy Class 30,000
Business Class 60,000
First Class 80,000


http://boardingarea.com/blogs/aadvan...plorer-ticket/

So maybe you need to do some math. I know all about 1W explorer and it is you who is adjusting things to make yourself look better, either way have a good time.
Who said you need to redeem your Explorer award with the most unfavorable way?

May be you have no idea on what "Maximizing the value" means? How about a more layman term of "Sweet Spot"?

You say you know about Explorer award ... If you really do, you would realize that it is rather difficult to redeem the lowest level because, guess what, the rule requires you fly 2 oneworld partner airlines other than AA... Try to construct such an itinerary that would be in the 0 to 1500 miles... On top of that, it is the most ineffective way to use Explorer award which should NOT be used when a regular award would suffice.

Furthermore, the Explorer award is not just distance based, it has its own rules which aint anything similar to your regular award as you know it.

But wait, since the proud example of your redemption is a rather ineffective way of using miles, may be indeed "maximization of value" is not in your tool box.

Your example just goes to show that you have the least idea how to use an Explorer award. The Explorer award would be most advantageous when it costs LESS to travel the same distance, AND allow you to visit many places, when multiple regular awards would be needed to do so. Again, your math is wrong because you have no idea what kind of math is actually needed to decide when to use an Explorer award. Of course if you can manufacture miles from the thin air with unlimited supply, that who cares how to use them to get the most out of such? Unfortunately you dont have such ability. So may be learning how to maximize the value of your miles is not too hard a concept to grasp?

Like I said, I should not pick thru someone's feel-good bubble. If you dont want to expand your horizon to learn something new, that is your choice. Hopefully others who read the thread would be able to think further and explore others ideas and suggestions, thus be better off in getting their award trips "worth" more, not just saving a few hundred bucks here and there but for a trip they would otherwise may not take due to affordability.

There are a lot of ways to redeem awards, yours happen to be one of the rather ineffective way. Most of us here cannot manufacture miles at will. So this is a precious resource. Some can make theirs worth like gold, but others may just get the worth of coal... Again, it is an option to each their own. @:-)

No wonder there is an old saying about Ignorance is a Bliss. Indeed.

Here is an Explorer award I had done - started from West Coast or cutting out Japan, you can do it with 130K.

MIA-LAX-AKL-SYD-SIN-KUL-HKG-TPE-ICN-KIX-CTS-NRT-SF0-LAS

Every city was a stopover. Business class all the way except the domestic Japan segments because JL only has First or Coach for the domestic flights and it would not let business class ticket holder sits in first class like the domestic US airlines do.

So if you can do a trip to Australia / NZ with 130K why would you waste the 60K on your PDX/SFO round trip? Unless you are brain dead, or you want to argue for argument sake. I suspect the latter not the former. lol.

Last edited by Happy; Sep 19, 2012 at 12:07 am
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 12:16 am
  #48  
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Originally Posted by deltame
If you need meet $3K spend requirement for CC sign-on bonus
(1) prepay internet provider, if monthly cost is $50 then prepay 12 month in advance ($600);
(2) prepay transportation in NYC, e.g., 6 metrocards each loaded with 30-day unlimited or pay-per-ride whichever fits your commute needs ($600)
(3) purchase store gift/cash cards for future use - grocery store, electronics store, costco etc ($500 to $1000)
(4) purchase generic Amex gift cards, e.g., 6*$500=$3K (mission accomplished). Be sure to focus on the largest denomination gift card to save on surcharge (each card costs $5.95, so effectively you incur ~$36 fee but a great deal b/c you get the sign-on bonus). This is just a few "normal" ways to extend the time period to spend the $3K as you can your gift cards for regular purchase down the road.
(1) This sounds like an idea. I will check into it. My provider is Cablevision (in Brooklyn), and I don't yet know if they allow this option.

(2) I guess I'm lucky with this one, as I am a NYC subway train operator. I get a permanent unlimited free pass. It would've been a good idea, though.

(3) I never understood the draw of this one, even though a lot of people mention it.
You're basically borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Unfortunately, once you've paid Paul, now you have to pay Peter, again. So, I don't see how people actually get somewhere with this method. Maybe I'm missing something.....

(4) This one is very similar to #3. Great, you've met the minimum spend for a credit card, for now. But, then, what do you do with 3k of Amex gift cards? You have to use them, which will take you away from from the spending requirement for your next app-o-rama in 3 months.

Sorry if I sound like I'm trying to be negative. I'm not. I'm only being pragmatic and rational.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 12:28 am
  #49  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 749
Originally Posted by joer1212
(3) I never understood the draw of this one, even though a lot of people mention it.
You're basically borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Unfortunately, once you've paid Paul, now you have to pay Peter, again. So, I don't see how people actually get somewhere with this method. Maybe I'm missing something.....

(4) This one is very similar to #3. Great, you've met the minimum spend for a credit card, for now. But, then, what do you do with 3k of Amex gift cards? You have to use them, which will take you away from from the spending requirement for your next app-o-rama in 3 months.

Sorry if I sound like I'm trying to be negative. I'm not. I'm only being pragmatic and rational.
You must meet spending requirements in X months for new cards. So you do shift the spending--as you say borrowing peter to pay Paul. In the process Peter pays you handsomely, and in a few months (or a year) you've used up the cards and all is well. You just need to float the cash for a few months, and pay yourself back as you use the gift cards.

Especially for someone in your situation 3 & 4 would be the only way you could hit some spending requirements. Don't be so negative about it--think of the payoff if you do this. You'd shift $3-$5k in spending forward for X months and net $1000 or more. You say you're into investing--think of that as a 20%-33% return on your money for 6 months of lending it to yourself. That's a 40%-66% annual ROI!
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 1:19 am
  #50  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by Happy
Who said you need to redeem your Explorer award with the most unfavorable way?

May be you have no idea on what "Maximizing the value" means? How about a more layman term of "Sweet Spot"?

You say you know about Explorer award ... If you really do, you would realize that it is rather difficult to redeem the lowest level because, guess what, the rule requires you fly 2 oneworld partner airlines other than AA... Try to construct such an itinerary that would be in the 0 to 1500 miles... On top of that, it is the most ineffective way to use Explorer award which should NOT be used when a regular award would suffice.

Furthermore, the Explorer award is not just distance based, it has its own rules which aint anything similar to your regular award as you know it.

But wait, since the proud example of your redemption is a rather ineffective way of using miles, may be indeed "maximization of value" is not in your tool box.

Your example just goes to show that you have the least idea how to use an Explorer award. The Explorer award would be most advantageous when it costs LESS to travel the same distance, AND allow you to visit many places, when multiple regular awards would be needed to do so. Again, your math is wrong because you have no idea what kind of math is actually needed to decide when to use an Explorer award. Of course if you can manufacture miles from the thin air with unlimited supply, that who cares how to use them to get the most out of such? Unfortunately you dont have such ability. So may be learning how to maximize the value of your miles is not too hard a concept to grasp?

Like I said, I should not pick thru someone's feel-good bubble. If you dont want to expand your horizon to learn something new, that is your choice. Hopefully others who read the thread would be able to think further and explore others ideas and suggestions, thus be better off in getting their award trips "worth" more, not just saving a few hundred bucks here and there but for a trip they would otherwise may not take due to affordability.

There are a lot of ways to redeem awards, yours happen to be one of the rather ineffective way. Most of us here cannot manufacture miles at will. So this is a precious resource. Some can make theirs worth like gold, but others may just get the worth of coal... Again, it is an option to each their own. @:-)

No wonder there is an old saying about Ignorance is a Bliss. Indeed.

Here is an Explorer award I had done - started from West Coast or cutting out Japan, you can do it with 130K.

MIA-LAX-AKL-SYD-SIN-KUL-HKG-TPE-ICN-KIX-CTS-NRT-SF0-LAS

Every city was a stopover. Business class all the way except the domestic Japan segments because JL only has First or Coach for the domestic flights and it would not let business class ticket holder sits in first class like the domestic US airlines do.

So if you can do a trip to Australia / NZ with 130K why would you waste the 60K on your PDX/SFO round trip? Unless you are brain dead, or you want to argue for argument sake. I suspect the latter not the former. lol.
Who said you need to redeem your Explorer award with the most unfavorable way?
YOU did

I am simply using your parameters YOU set on how to use 1w explorer pts, on my AR situation in my current situation. You said to use explorer points and due to the fact I spent 65k pts for my trip to MDZ, I extrapolate it out to apply what you were saying to the situation we were talking about, ie using 65k 1w EX points which from PDX could get me to Billings, MT, (no desire) Spokane, or SFO (only city I might think of going with in 1500m RT) LAS is 755m each way or 1510m total, requiring, 75k pts for business class.

You said 130k miles, would give me

20K miles in International business class
neglecting the fact that I redeemed TWO tickets to S America for 130 NOT one, I simply educated you on how redeeming 65k miles on a 1w explorer fare worked. NOT that I would do that, but to illustrate how to do it for your purposes. The route I flew was 13653 miles which equates to 115k per person round trip business at the 1w explorer rate.

You were comparing 1w explorer COACH rates vs my AA coach and UA business.

Here is an Explorer award I had done - started from West Coast or cutting out Japan, you can do it with 130K.

MIA-LAX-AKL-SYD-SIN-KUL-HKG-TPE-ICN-KIX-CTS-NRT-SF0-LAS
Why you keep commenting on how YOU would do a trip is irrelevant, I know how to do a 1w explorer trip, so you commenting on how to do it is asinine at best ridiculous in reality. I understand my situation and how to book trips, and do NOT for a second, let my low post count fool you, which I suspect is, into thinking I am any less informed as you.

This is the reason over the past few years I have not posted here.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 8:31 am
  #51  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 609
Originally Posted by joer1212
(4) This one is very similar to #3. Great, you've met the minimum spend for a credit card, for now. But, then, what do you do with 3k of Amex gift cards? You have to use them, which will take you away from from the spending requirement for your next app-o-rama in 3 months.

Sorry if I sound like I'm trying to be negative. I'm not. I'm only being pragmatic and rational.
You might have a misconception that everyone here is doing AOR, let alone at 3 month intervals. I would say this is far from the majority of FT members as a whole. You'd see FT people enjoy travel and people make the best of their work travel, if you venture out of MilesBuzz/CreditCard forums to read/participate other forums here on FT. If your spending habit does not afford you a certain way of getting CCs or frequency of associated travel (in luxury), then you need be flexible and adapt to your life style. In stead of a grand scheme of AOR, I suggest you first devise a (travel) goal and start accumulate miles/points towards it -- and read more FT forums to help you broaden your horizon.

Last edited by deltame; Sep 19, 2012 at 8:54 am
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 9:23 am
  #52  
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Originally Posted by deltame
You might have a misconception that everyone here is doing AOR, let alone at 3 month intervals. I would say this is far from the majority of FT members as a whole. You'd see FT people enjoy travel and people make the best of their work travel, if you venture out of MilesBuzz/CreditCard forums to read/participate other forums here on FT. If your spending habit does not afford you a certain way of getting CCs or frequency of associated travel (in luxury), then you need be flexible and adapt to your life style. In stead of a grand scheme of AOR, I suggest you first devise a (travel) goal and start accumulate miles/points towards it -- and read more FT forums to help you broaden your horizon.

About a month ago, after reading countless postings and blogs about the miles game, I finally decided that my first goal would be to earn an international Business (or First) Class ticket. I thought this would be relatively easy. All I would have to do is apply for a bunch of credit cards whose miles and points could be transferred to airlines within one alliance. The only hard part--I thought--would be picking which alliance, and which frequent flyer program in that alliance was best to pool my combined miles and points in.
Man, was I wrong.
I recently discovered that ff miles from different airlines within the same alliance cannot be combined.
Not only that, I also found out that you cannot even redeem miles + cash to earn an international business class flight, which would have been a tremendous help, considering how hard it would be to pool 100,000 miles+ in just one ff program.
So, to answer your statement, the only reasonable alternative to all this is to do app-o-ramas frequently, in hopes of accumulation (eventually) enough miles in a single ff program to earn a premium cabin flight.
If there is an easier way to achieve this, please enlighten me, as I am quite desperate to know.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 9:37 am
  #53  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 609
Originally Posted by joer1212
considering how hard it would be to pool 100,000 miles+ in just one ff program.
So, to answer your statement, the only reasonable alternative to all this is to do app-o-ramas frequently, in hopes of accumulation (eventually) enough miles in a single ff program to earn a premium cabin flight.
If there is an easier way to achieve this, please enlighten me, as I am quite desperate to know.
You joined FT in April 2011 and yet so far have not even discovered the AA credit cards? You can get 50K miles each and applying 2 cards at the same time would net you 100K plus after you meet the spend requirement. If you want to go next with star alliance, next time you could get UA card and Sapphire Preferred card (and supplement with Freedom at a future time) should get you on your merry way (for another trip). Many posters have been telling you all these as early as in Post #3.

Last edited by deltame; Sep 19, 2012 at 9:43 am
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 9:40 am
  #54  
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Originally Posted by Stubtify
...in a few months (or a year) you've used up the cards and all is well.
But this still leaves the problem of having thousands of dollars left on gift cards that you still have to spend....sometime. Whether that's now, or later on, this will necessarily interfere with one (or several) of your app-o-rama minimum spend requirements. You will have to pay either Peter or Paul sometime, so it is a zero-sum game.
Considering that you need about 100k miles for an international r/t business class ticket in one frequent flyer program, you will necessarily have to do frequent app-o-ramas (and meet the minimum spends) to have any hope of achieving this kind of mileage in a single program. This, by itself, is a struggle. But, to have the added burden of also having to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards becomes overwhelming.
Now, if you could buy gift cards; get the bonus miles, and then return the gift cards for a cash refund (without losing the miles), it would be a bonanza. But, anything short of this just comes up......short.

Originally Posted by deltame
...AA credit cards? You can get 50K miles each and applying 2 cards at the same time would net you 100K plus after you meet the spend requirement....
In light of what you're telling me I may be able to do the gift card hustle in this case, even though this will mean that I will spend months trying to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards-- and American Express gift cards at that (which are not as accepted as others).
Of course, this will mean that I won't be able to do frequent app-o-ramas, but I will have enough miles (in AAdvantage) to redeem for my r/t international Business class flight.
Yes, I have been a member since 2011, but I only very recently discovered the miles game. I'm ashamed of this, and I want to kick myself for not starting many years earlier, when offers and terms and conditions were much more favorable, and when there were much fewer people participating.

Last edited by mia; Sep 22, 2012 at 4:52 pm Reason: Combine consecutive replies and prune quotations
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 11:30 am
  #55  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by joer1212
But this still leaves the problem of having thousands of dollars left on gift cards that you still have to spend....sometime. Whether that's now, or later on, this will necessarily interfere with one (or several) of your app-o-rama minimum spend requirements. You will have to pay either Peter or Paul sometime, so it is a zero-sum game.
Considering that you need about 100k miles for an international r/t business class ticket in one frequent flyer program, you will necessarily have to do frequent app-o-ramas (and meet the minimum spends) to have any hope of achieving this kind of mileage in a single program. This, by itself, is a struggle. But, to have the added burden of also having to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards becomes overwhelming.
Now, if you could buy gift cards; get the bonus miles, and then return the gift cards for a cash refund (without losing the miles), it would be a bonanza. But, anything short of this just comes up......short.
True to a certain extent, but keep in mind that many here do exactly this and are capable of doing multiple app sprees to gain those miles. Also keep in mind that although you cannot combine miles from different airlines, a number of airlines, including AA, BA, and UA allow one-way award redemptions--so if you get an AA card with a 50K signup bonus and a UA card with a 50K signup bonus, you can probably structure a low or saver biz award itinerary on two airlines, each one way.

There are also ways to increase spending somewhat artificially. I don't use these methods, partially because my spending patterns allow me to earn more than enough for my travel needs, but I don't condemn them anymore either. The late, lamented Mint was one way of increasing spending, but there are threads in MilesBuzz on other currently operating schemes as well. My only caution about such measures is that it appears that done clumsily, these methods might get you into trouble with certain financial institutions, but there are plenty of posts in those threads from folks who have been doing this for a long time without negative consequences so I'd suggest having a look at some of those threads to get an idea. For a start, try this one: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...tting+spending.

In addition, there are occasional promotions where you can earn 2-10K in one small transaction. Netflix has had promotions offering varying levels of airline miles for signing up. I earned 2500 AA miles and 4K UA miles this way. A Sunday subscription to the NY Times for 60 days got another 2000 AA miles. It's not much, but if you can get 50K through a card, another 10K or more will help increase your options.

One final thought: you might want to lower your travel goal. I know you want to fly business class. It is a nice way to fly, but keep in mind, it's only 8-10 hours for many flights unless you're headed to Asia, Africa, or Australia. For the majority of flights many of us will take, business is a nice convenience and not a necessity. Until two years ago, all of my TATLs had been in economy, and although I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unproductive on my arrival day (I'm just not capable of sleeping in an economy seat), I still got where I wanted to go and accepted my discomfort in order to experience the places I'd wanted to go all my life.

Figure on using your miles for economy and take advantage of low season awards when possible. AA runs those 40K redemptions to Europe from mid-October to mid-May. That makes a trip possible solely by getting one card. Once you've enjoyed that first trip, you'll figure out whether you actually need the comfort of business class or whether you're just as happy sitting back in coach so that you can take more trips later.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 11:34 am
  #56  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 749
You are making a couple of incorrect assumptions:

-You do not have to apply for an app-o-rama every 3 months. You not only do not, you likely cannot do so. You'll need to wait 12-18+ months for some cards, and for others you may never again be able to apply for them.

-You do not need 100k in one program. You also have the possibility of using two one way awards from two different programs.

-It is hard work to do any of this.

-You can gain 0 miles right now by doing absolutely nothing, or gain 50,000-100,000 with a little bit of work. So if you prefer to do nothing and have no miles, good. But you need to add a value to the miles. When you discredit them as having no value then it is easy to say things like getting "rid" of gift cards is overwhelming. Remember your goal is a $4,000 flight.

If you do the following then it is not a zero sum game:

Deposit $5k in bank account.
Buy gift cards to cover minimum spending -$3k
Pay off $3k Credit Card bill from bank account
Now you have an asset--$3k in gift cards, and no liability.
Each time you use the gift card deposit a matching amount back into bank account. if you spend $100 a week, deposit $100. Yes this will take you 30 weeks to pay yourself back. In the meantime you'll earn many miles because you have hit the minimum spending.

Examples:

#1- Apply for 2x AA cards and you'll have 106k AA miles. $6k purchases in 4 months. Using the above this would take you 60 weeks to pay back at $100 a week.

or

#2 Apply for 1x Chase MP explorer-55K after $1k spend
Apply for 1x Chase Sapphire Preferred 40k after $3k in spending.
You will have 98k United Miles, and will take 40 weeks to pay yourself back.

One year later do the other example for your next trip.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 11:40 am
  #57  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: San Francisco
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Posts: 518
Originally Posted by joer1212
But this still leaves the problem of having thousands of dollars left on gift cards that you still have to spend....sometime. Whether that's now, or later on, this will necessarily interfere with one (or several) of your app-o-rama minimum spend requirements. You will have to pay either Peter or Paul sometime, so it is a zero-sum game.
Considering that you need about 100k miles for an international r/t business class ticket in one frequent flyer program, you will necessarily have to do frequent app-o-ramas (and meet the minimum spends) to have any hope of achieving this kind of mileage in a single program. This, by itself, is a struggle. But, to have the added burden of also having to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards becomes overwhelming.
Now, if you could buy gift cards; get the bonus miles, and then return the gift cards for a cash refund (without losing the miles), it would be a bonanza. But, anything short of this just comes up......short.
People have told you how to do it, and it doesn't seem like you really want to put forth any effort at all. But yes, especially with the relatively small amount you spend on cards (and your unwillingness to take the steps that could at least modestly increase that), you will not be going to Europe in business class next month. However, over, say, 18 months or so, you could get the two AA cards, Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire Preferred, and United MP. Yes, given your spending pattern you would probably have to buy some gift cards to meet the spend and pay them down over time. But at the end of that process you could have 100k (50k*2) AA miles and 105k United miles (10k+40k+55k) from the signup bonuses, plus some extra from the actual spending. Whether that's worth it is really up to you.

Two other things:

Yes, you can sell gift cards, probably for 85-90 cents or so on the dollar. Not a great deal, but it could be worth it for a really good signup bonus. For instance if you just bought $3000 worth of gift cards to get the 50k bonus and you could sell only them for $2550 (85 cents/dollar), you'd be effectively buying AA miles for 0.9 cents each, well below their value. And that would be getting a pretty bad deal on the gift cards.

If cash+miles appeals to you, look into Avianca/Taca. Just be warned that you're not going to be getting very many "free" Avianca miles from credit card signup bonuses. Mostly that program is just a way to buy premium-cabin international flights at a discount.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 11:46 am
  #58  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 609
Originally Posted by joer1212
In light of what you're telling me I may be able to do the gift card hustle in this case, even though this will mean that I will spend months trying to get rid of thousands of dollars on gift cards-- and American Express gift cards at that (which are not as accepted as others).
Of course, this will mean that I won't be able to do frequent app-o-ramas, but I will have enough miles (in AAdvantage) to redeem for my r/t international Business class flight.
Yes, I have been a member since 2011, but I only very recently discovered the miles game. I'm ashamed of this, and I want to kick myself for not starting many years earlier, when offers and terms and conditions were much more favorable, and when there were much fewer people participating.
I suggested Amex gift cards because I can easily find the $500 denomination at my local grocery store while the MC/Visa gift cards they have available are $200 or lower. If you don't mind paying some extra fee with smaller denomination gift cards or can find large denomination MC/visa gift cards, then by all means go with that. I don't buy thousands of dollars worth of gift cards at once, instead I spread them out over time and only purchase one gift card at a time as needed (in my case its when I pay for grocery shopping).
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 11:58 am
  #59  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 609
Originally Posted by lwildernorva
One final thought: you might want to lower your travel goal. I know you want to fly business class. It is a nice way to fly, but keep in mind, it's only 8-10 hours for many flights unless you're headed to Asia, Africa, or Australia. For the majority of flights many of us will take, business is a nice convenience and not a necessity. Until two years ago, all of my TATLs had been in economy, and although I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and unproductive on my arrival day (I'm just not capable of sleeping in an economy seat), I still got where I wanted to go and accepted my discomfort in order to experience the places I'd wanted to go all my life.
+1 If you are on a limited (miles) budget and want to see the world, save the miles of flying in comfort (business class) for trips to Asia (and similar farther away places). Flying from NYC to Europe is very doable in coach, and you can also consider mixing it up (one way in coach and another in business). Also invest sometime to study the airline mileage redemption rules to take advantage of free stopover and open jaw, and potentially combine multiple destinations in one trip.
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Old Sep 19, 2012, 12:26 pm
  #60  
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a number of airlines, including AA, BA, and UA allow one-way award redemptions--so if you get an AA card with a 50K signup bonus and a UA card with a 50K signup bonus, you can probably structure a low or saver biz award itinerary on two airlines, each one way.

This is an excellent point.
The funny part is that I already knew about this. But, being a newbie, it didn't naturally come to my mind that this is a great way of circumventing the high cost of miles required for r/t international business class redeemed in one ff program.



Once you've enjoyed that first trip, you'll figure out whether you actually need the comfort of business class or whether you're just as happy sitting back in coach so that you can take more trips later.

Actually, I have been a semi-avid traveler for several years now. So far, I have been to 13 countries around the world. Unfortunately, all of these international flights were in Economy Class. This is exactly why I'm so adamant about wanting to fly in Business Class (at least).
The last trip I took was to Thailand (via Hong Kong) in CX economy. I even paid an extra $100 to purchase an exit row seat (31a). The trip was nearly 16 hours long, and, let me tell you, it almost killed me. Needless to say I got virtually no sleep. It took me 3 precious days of my vacation to recover from this.
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