Narrowed it down to 4 credit cards
Jan 23, 2005 | 8:15 am
#76
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Orlando, FL, USA
Posts: 2,398
A few points regarding the MC from Orbitz comments above. I recently redeemed 20K points (1$ = 1 point) for a free ticket with a value up to $400 as the T&C stated. A few catches. You can buy a ticket for up to $400 but you cannot buy one over $400 even if you are willing to pay the difference. If the ticket price without the Orbitz service charge is even $1 over the $400 maximum you are out of luck. You can only get 1 ticket for up to $400 and no matter what the amount of that ticket you get no refund or balance remaining. The trick becomes to find a single ticket with a value as close to $400 as possible but without going over $400. You can redeem your points online at the Orbitz site so you can look up flights and get your choice of airlines, destinations, times, fare class, etc. I was able to get a $390+ ticket for a good mileage run but it took a lot of persistence and homework on the Orbitz site.
There were also T&Cs that require a Saturday night stay, a 21 day advance and no international tickets. However, I had read elsewhere on FT that these latter conditions are not necessarily enforced. I checked some international flights that did include a Saturday night stay but less than 21 days in advance and the Orbitz site would let me purchase the ticket by redeeming my 20K miles so it does appear that, as reported, the latter conditions are not enforced, at least in some cases. You must use your Orbitz MC to purchase whatever ticket you want and then the ticket amount, as long as it is less than or equal to $400 is credited back to you MC account. These were the T&Cs when I used the Orbitz MC last year and I've not checked them since so if they have changed I apologize and hope someone will update if needed.
I have discontinued the Orbitz MC even though when I called to cancel they offered me a year with no fee. My reason was that it was somewhat restrictive in its T&Cs and I also wanted to get another MC with a big bonus miles offer. I try not to have too many cards to protect my FICO score so I usually cancel one when I get another, as I did in this case with Orbitz. I don't regret getting the Orbitz card initially (I got 10K points as a bonus to start) since I only had to charge $10K of normal expenses to get a $400 ticket but, as I said, just be aware of all the T&Cs before you sign up.
There were also T&Cs that require a Saturday night stay, a 21 day advance and no international tickets. However, I had read elsewhere on FT that these latter conditions are not necessarily enforced. I checked some international flights that did include a Saturday night stay but less than 21 days in advance and the Orbitz site would let me purchase the ticket by redeeming my 20K miles so it does appear that, as reported, the latter conditions are not enforced, at least in some cases. You must use your Orbitz MC to purchase whatever ticket you want and then the ticket amount, as long as it is less than or equal to $400 is credited back to you MC account. These were the T&Cs when I used the Orbitz MC last year and I've not checked them since so if they have changed I apologize and hope someone will update if needed.
I have discontinued the Orbitz MC even though when I called to cancel they offered me a year with no fee. My reason was that it was somewhat restrictive in its T&Cs and I also wanted to get another MC with a big bonus miles offer. I try not to have too many cards to protect my FICO score so I usually cancel one when I get another, as I did in this case with Orbitz. I don't regret getting the Orbitz card initially (I got 10K points as a bonus to start) since I only had to charge $10K of normal expenses to get a $400 ticket but, as I said, just be aware of all the T&Cs before you sign up.
