Category Archives: Credit Cards

The British (Avios Points) are coming! Evaluating the 100K Bonus Points British Airways Credit Card Offer

September 27, 2015 Point A 2 Comments

I’ve been experiencing a bit of premium cabin travel envy lately. By using the bonus points he accumulated during last year’s American Airlines / US Airways credit card offers, I recently scored a seat for my Partner F in British Airways First Class for his recent trip to London.

Fortunately, the opportunity to potentially earn up to 100,000 British Airways Avios Points has recently surfaced.

However, are Avios points the best way for me to reach my aspirational Pointing goals? Read on …

British Airways Visa Card 100K Bonus Points Offer

Bonus points associated with the credit card are awarded once you meet specific earning thresholds. The specifics are outlined below:

It has been about a year and half since the last time this bonus opportunity was offered so I decided to pull the trigger and get the card. However, although I have my own reasons for getting the card, should you as well? Before you go running out to sign up for this card, it’s important to have an understanding of how the British Airways Avios program operates.

Using British Airways Avios Points

When using this program, it’s important to note that British Airways employs a “distance-based” formula that requires more points the farther you fly. In addition, BA is notorious for charging very high fuel surcharges on it’s own flights.

When booking an Avios award, you’re given multiple points / surcharge options. If I were to try and minimize the amount I spend on the surcharges, here’s how much it would cost to fly round-trip from my hometown of Chicago to London:

Economy: 26,000 Avios Points plus $701
Business: 100,000 Avios Points plus $1,186
First: 136,000 Avios Points plus $1,186

Alternatively, because British Airways is part of the Oneworld airline alliance, by flying on one of its partner airlines you can take advantage of a few “sweet spots” on the award chart. For example, British Airways Avios points can be a good value when flying on American Airlines short and medium-haul flights within the U.S.

Chicago to New York (Economy): 15,000 Avios Points plus $11
New York to DC (Economy): 9,000 Avios Points plus $11

You can also blunt the effect of some of those extra fees by grabbing a seat on such Oneworld carriers as Air Berlin, Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines.

Chicago to Berlin (Business): 150,000 Avios Points plus $136
Chicago to Tokyo (Business): 180,000 Avios Points plus $263
Chicago to Tokyo (First): 240,000 Avios Points plus $263
Chicago to Hong Kong (Business): 210,000 Avios Points plus $127
Chicago to Hong Kong (First): 280,000 Avios Points plus $127

British Airways also offers a couple of ways for a household to pool their efforts in order to redeem an award. For example, the airline’s Executive Club frequent flyer program allows you to set up a Household Account with up to six people who live at your same address. In addition, holders of the British Airways Visa Card who make $30,000 in purchases in a single calendar year receive a Travel Together Ticket. This perk allows the holder to book two seats for the Avios points price of a single award. The Travel Together Ticket is valid for two years but requires that each traveler pay the taxes, fees and surcharges associated with each individual ticket.

Should you sign up for the British Airways Visa Card?

A 100,000 points bonus looks really tempting since those types of offers don’t come up too often. However, if you’re a beginner to the miles and points accumulation game (what I like to call Pointing), I’d recommend holding off on signing up for the card. There are better loyalty programs and accumulation methods that I’d try to tackle first.

For example, other than the 3X bonus you receive on British Airways purchases, the card only awards a single point for all other spending. As I’ve written previously, you want to make sure that you’re maximizing your points earning capabilities by using cards that provide you with bonuses for your daily spending such as travel, dining, gas and grocery expenses.

In addition, you need to protect yourself against future loyalty program devaluations. Therefore, it would be prudent to understand how the major points currencies operate. As part of your education process, you should evaluate the cards that would enable you to earn those currencies.

So why did I sign up for the British Airways Visa Card?

There are a number of reasons I decided to sign up for this credit card. For example, another way to look at the 100K points bonus is that you’re receiving a 5X bonus for ALL of your spending up to $20,000 for the first year that you hold the card. In addition, BA’s U.S domestic award “sweet spots” will be great to use for quick short-to-medium haul weekend getaways. Finally, the Travel Together Ticket associated with the card provides a nice way to make an aspirational travel experience more attainable (e.g. you can effectively receive a First Class seat for the price of an Economy ticket).

I consider British Airways Avios a “niche currency” that I’ll use for specific types of awards. The program is just one element in my arsenal of Pointing tools. What’s your view of taking advantage of the British Airways Visa 100K Points Bonus?

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that I am NOT a professional financial advisor by any means. My discussion of credit card strategies or other financial matters are based on my own personal experiences and financial situation. In addition, I am not an employee of any of the financial institutions that issue the cards discussed nor do I receive any compensation for discussing these products. The reader is solely responsible for any financial actions that he/she may choose to undertake. Make sure you read of the “fine print” in the Terms & Conditions for all of the offers mentioned.

Credit Cards, Pointing, Shopping Portals

Summer Shopping through Online Portals

June 1, 2015 Point A

Summer has finally kicked off here in my hometown of Chicago. Just as every diehard Cubs fan believes that THIS YEAR could be the one where we make it to the World Series, the start of the summer offers the hope of limitless possibilities. Of course, the potential for scoring some significant Miles & Points (what I like to call Pointing) is a bit more realistic than my Cubbies hitting those elusive home runs.

The key to successful Pointing is to build Miles & Points accumulation into your daily routine. One such method is to use Online Shopping Portals to purchase items that are already on your shopping list.

Many of the major airlines and hotel chains maintain sites that enable the shopper to earn points by patronizing a variety of online retailers. In order to use a shopping portal, you simply login with your loyalty number, identify an online retailer that’s of interest to you and “click through” to the retailer’s regular website where you complete the transaction as you normally would. The portal notes the transaction and awards you bonus points for the purchase. Although you can use any card to make your purchase, you can maximize your Pointing by paying with your favorite awards earning credit card. In other words, you earn points from shopping through the portal AND points associated with the card that you’re using.

Some of the major Online Shopping Portals include the following:

Air Canada
American Airlines
Amtrak
British Airways
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta
Hawaiian Airlines
Hilton
Marriott
Southwest
United

In addition, many online retailers periodically offer extra bonus points and the Shopping Portals run special spending promotions. For example, through June 15 United’s MileagePlus Shopping portal is awarding up to 2500 bonus award miles for hitting certain spending goals.

As you can see below, you can quickly rack up bonus award miles by shopping through an online portal.

To determine which retailers offer the best bonuses, I find EVreward.com to be a very helpful resource. This online directory of shopping sites allows you to make side-by-side comparisons of your various rewards options.

With the Father’s Day, Graduation and Wedding gift-buying season upon us, this would be the perfect time to try out an Online Shopping Portal. Have you ever used an Online Shopping Portal as a part of your Pointing efforts? What has been your experience?

Credit Cards, Food, Pointing

Best Credit Cards for Dining and Groceries – Bonus Points for Fine Restaurants and Frozen Dinners

April 28, 2015 Point A

Anyone who takes a lookat my Instagram or Facebook pages might get the impression that I never eat at home. Yes, I’m one of “those people” constantly taking pictures of plates of food. However, I can’t eat out ALL the time. Therefore, trips to my local grocery store are essential to taking the strain off my wallet … and my waistline!

Dining and Grocery expenses comprise a large part of my household budget. I’ve previously written about the importance of incorporating miles and points accumulation strategies into your daily routine (what I like to call Pointing). Thankfully, there are several credit cards that offer everyday spending bonuses for these categories.

For example, recently American Express announced several new bonus categories and benefits (effective June 1, 2015) for its Premier Rewards Gold card.

What’s particularly noteworthy is the introduction of a 2X points spending bonus on Dining. Along with the existing double points I earn on groceries, the new benefits associated with this card makes it a more powerful tool in my Pointing arsenal. There are also several other cards that offer spending bonuses in these categories. Here’s a chart that summaries some of your other options:

However, what makes the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card special is that it earns you Membership Rewards points which are one of the major flexible points currencies. Not only do such points provide you with a variety of redemption options, but they also serve as a hedge against future award program devaluations.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and various Citi ThankYou cards also offer a variety of spending bonuses. However, the additional benefits and bonus categories make the Premier Rewards Gold Card a compelling option for any Pointers interested in focusing their spending on just one or two cards.

So whether you’re dining out …

… or just hitting the wine section at Whole Foods …

… make sure you’re armed with the right card to maximize your points earning. Have I missed any cards on my list? Are there are other cards out there that offer points bonuses for dining and groceries?

Awards, Credit Cards, Pointing

What kind of Pointer are you?

February 28, 2015 Point A 8 Comments

I’ve used airline and hotel reward points many times to not only get from Point A to Point B but also to enjoy travel experiences I would never otherwise have been able to afford.

Lufthansa First Class

Yes, points have allowed me to attain my travel goals. Yet, it may seem to others that I’ve been a bit obsessive in my pursuit of points. Rest assured my friends, there has always been a method to my madness.

So what exactly is a Pointer?

Anything that points or is used for pointing.
A needle-like component of a timepiece or measuring device that indicates the time or the current reading of the device.
A breed of hunting dog.

To this definition I’d like to add:

A traveller who expresses a passion for the collection and redemption of loyalty award points; Pointing – process of collecting and redeeming loyalty award points.

Yes, I’m definitely a #4. I’m a Pointer.

Any discussion of points accumulation and the associated strategies for attaining those points needs to start with a close examination of one’s own personal motivations. All of your efforts should really begin with a round of introspection and the asking of the question: Why?

I’ve found that the asking of the “Why” question helps the budding Pointer figure out not only the best ways to accumulate points but also the most effective ways to spend those points. Moreover, the spending of points should go beyond what’s most “efficient” and should also factor in what would be the most valuable to you from a personal, professional and/or experiential perspective.

With these thoughts in mind, I think it’s important to ask yourself the following questions to help guide your Pointing strategies. These are all questions that I’ve asked myself and they’ve proved very useful to me as I plot out my own accumulation and redemption strategies. As you work your way through these …. Umm, Points, I’ve provided my own answers so that you can start to get a sense for who I am and the thought process behind my Pointing efforts.

Why do you want to collect points?

I know that’s a ridiculously simple question. However, unless you answer it you won’t have a starting point. For example, should you be working towards an airline award …

United Global First Class Lounge Chicago O’Hare Airport

or a hotel reward …

or a combination of the two?

My focus is on airline points with my secondary goal being the accumulation of hotel points.

What kind of travel experience are you seeking?

Some people are just looking to get from Point A to Point B and traveling in economy is just fine.

United Economy Plus

Others are saving up for a Trip of a Lifetime. For example, my Partner F and I recently mixed and matched our Household Kitty of points and miles to take a “dream vacation” to Thailand.

During this trip our various award redemptions allowed us to travel in luxury and ….

Thai Airways A380 First Class

… fly Thai Airways’ new A380 in First Class

Royal Orchid Sheraton Bangkok

… celebrate New Year’s Eve in Bangkok

Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort

…. relax on the beach in southern Thailand

Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in Hong Kong

… enjoy a bit of pampering in Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific First Class

… and fly home in style in Cathay Pacific First Class

Therefore, I guess I’d fall into the aspirational award category since I like to be REALLY comfortable when I travel.

Where do you live? Who do you fly?

The answer to this question helps determine who might be the best travel partners for you. For example, do you live near one of the Major Airline Hubs? Someone from Minneapolis, Detroit or Atlanta might best be served by aligning with Delta. On the other hand, those travelers living near Dallas might want set their sights on American Airlines.

I’m a Chicago guy who benefits from living near O’Hare so I have a great deal of choice with all the major carriers flying into my city. In my case, I’ve aligned with my hometown airline of United. By declaring a “home” airline I’ll be able to focus my limited time, travel and financial resources.

Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that airline frequent flyer programs change very regularly. For example, last year United’s program implemented a major devaluation that greatly increased the mileage requirement for redeeming awards.

Therefore, it would be prudent to maintain frequent flyer accounts with all the major airlines in order to diversify your holdings. For example, I also hold accounts with American and Southwest. Although I fly those airlines less frequently, every mile I do earn adds up after awhile. In addition, I’ve found that great Pointing opportunities can still arise on airlines that I never fly!

How much do you travel now?

Travel provides the opportunity to earn the “currency” of award travel, the loyalty reward point. Are you a Road Warrior who travels significantly for business? Are you the occasional leisure traveler? Have you never left your hometown? Who do you think will earn the most points? Anyone and everyone.

I don’t travel at all for business. I do take 4-5 leisure trips a year which provides me with about 25,000 miles annually. However, as you’ll soon see, you don’t have to spend that much (or any) of your time in the air in order to reach your Pointing goals.

What’s in your wallet?

Credit cards have changed the landscape of the travel reward industry. Period. These will prove to be a major tool in the Pointing strategies for most people.

One of the best ways to accumulate points is by signing up for cards that earn one of the major points “currencies.” Flexible points currencies provide a way to hedge against potential award program devaluations by allowing you to transfer the points into your preferred loyalty programs only when you need them. In addition, the bonus points these cards provide for your daily spending will enable you to quickly earn the miles and points you’ll need to reach your award goals.

However, the most important concept associated with using “credit card spend” to achieve your Pointing goals is this: NEVER carry a balance and ALWAYS pay your bills off in full every month!

What kind of Pointer am I?

Well from my answers to these questions you can see that a Profile of me has emerged. These characteristics influence the subject matter that I cover in my blog.

I’m a non-Road Warrior who’ll be responsible for funding my own travel. Since I live in Chicago, as a matter of personal preference I’ll by relying heavily on United Airlines. However, I’ll always be sure to DIVERSIFY my Pointing activities in order to avoid getting burned by award program devaluations. Along those lines, I’ll orient my daily spending around using cards that earn the major points earning currencies. In addition, I’m all about the “aspirational” trip and you’ll see from my trip reports that I like to be pampered and will work very hard to get to my destination in the most comfortable manner possible!

The wealth of information available is simply staggering. I’ll take the approach of relaying to you what I’ve learned as it applies to my own situation. I plan to personalize the whole Pointing process and give you concrete examples. In some cases, I’ve not done things in the most efficient way and I’ll be ready to share those instances with you so that you can learn from my mistakes. I’m hoping to make Pointing a much more accessible and understandable endeavor. This blog will likely be best suited to the budding Pointer who’s trying to sift through a lot of information and is trying to make sense of it all.

I won’t try to be all things to all people. In addition, there will be times where you’ll be learning things right alongside me. However, I feel I’ve learned a lot over the last several years and would be happy to share it with all of you as I do. Consider me “that guy” in the office that everyone seems to turn to for travel advice.

Oh yeah, I guess I should also add a #5 to the definitions that started out this post:

5) Pointing / Pointer – a quick shorthand and misuse of the English language that will enable me to more quickly and concisely express the process of collecting and redeeming loyalty award points. I’m not trying to be clever. I’m just too lazy to use a thesaurus to come up with new ways to express this concept.

With that, let the blogging continue … and please, be gentle with me …

– From Point A

Credit Cards, Pointing, Shopping Portals

Using Online Shopping Portals for your Holiday Gift Buying – Taking Advantage of Tardy Tuesday and Beyond

December 2, 2014 Point A

Whenever I can, I try to align my daily spending patterns with my Miles & Points accumulation (aka Pointing) efforts. The Holiday Season represents the perfect chance to exercise my Pointing skills as I buy gifts for my family, friends and office colleagues. Although I skipped the frenzy of Black Friday, I haven’t missed out on any earnings opportunities. In fact, I’ll probably earn more points by shopping online than by physically stepping foot inside any store.

Some of the major Online Shopping Portals include the following:

Air Canada
American Airlines
Amtrak
British Airways
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Delta
Hawaiian Airlines
Hilton
Marriott
Southwest
United
US Airways

In addition, many online retailers offer extra bonus points during the Holiday Season.

Therefore, I wouldn’t feel too upset if you missed out on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You can still rack up some significant Miles & Points totals by shopping on “Tardy Tuesday” and beyond.

Do you have plans to use an online shopping portal for any of your Holiday Shopping?

American Airlines, Credit Cards, Pointing, US Airways

US Airways MasterCard – How do you keep me hangin’ on?

October 30, 2014 Point A 2 Comments

Set me free, why don’t you baby?
Get out of my life, why don’t you baby?
‘Cause you don’t really love me
You just keep me hangin’ on

– Said The Supremes (and Barclaycard)

Yes, this song pretty much describes my relationship with the US Airways Premier World MasterCard. I never planned on maintaining a long-term relationship with this card. When I applied for it, I fully intended to take a very mercenary SWAT-team like approach to owning the card – swoop in, meet my minimum spend, collect my bonus miles and cancel the card before the next year’s annual fee kicked in. However, Barclaycard had other plans for me …

So why collect miles on an airline I never fly?

US Airways is the primary carrier for a lot of people – just not for me. To this day, I’ve never set foot on US Airways metal. However, at the time I originally applied for the US Airways MasterCard, the airline was, along with my primary carrier United, a member of the Star Alliance. This fit in very neatly with my “miles & points accumulation & redemption” (aka Pointing) objectives. In addition, US Airways’ Dividend Miles frequent flyer program offered a number of “sweet spots” on its award chart (e.g. only 90,000 miles to China, Hong Kong, Korea or Japan) and historically the program regularly offered 100% bonuses for either purchasing or transferring miles. I looked on the Dividend Miles program as a way to diversify my Pointing efforts and protect myself against potential devaluations (like United’s earlier in the year!).

Note: This offer is no longer available.

In the end, as I outlined in an earlier post on this subject, I opted for a signup offer that not only gave me 40,000 miles after my first purchase but also 10,000 miles after the first anniversary of account opening, an additional 10,000 miles on each subsequent account opening anniversary AND waived the first year’s annual fee. Barclaycard had me hooked.

For the times (and airline alliances) they are a-changin’

However, a few months after receiving my card, US Airways and American airlines announced plans to merge. Upon hearing this news, I naturally assumed that the days of the mileage gravy train I was riding were numbered and that within a year or so I would lose these great benefits. Sooner or later I’d have to say buh-bye to my US Airways MasterCard. However, it looks like I have a reprieve.

The argument for holding on to my card

This week, I received an email that officially announced the news that US Airways & American Airlines would be merging their frequent flyer programs in the second quarter of 2015. The companies provided a timeline for the key integration events.

Once the programs merge, my existing Dividend Miles will be converted into American AAdvantage miles. This upcoming event is what served as the catalyst for me to encourage (umm … push) my Partner F to simultaneously apply for both a Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantageWorld MasterCard and the US Airways Premier World MasterCard. I go into more detail on this particular Pointing strategy in my earlier post: Combining American and US Airways Miles – Taking Advantage of Reaping Dividend Miles. Post-merger, the US Airways MasterCard will become an American Airlines AAdvantage MasterCard and will be closed to new applications. Therefore, the clock is ticking on this particular offer.

However, the US Airways MasterCard isn’t going away quietly. I received another email this week that provided me with a pretty lucrative bonus mile offer.

By spending a minimum of $500 per month on the card over the next three months, I’ll receive 15,000 bonus miles. The timing is “perfect” (for BarclayCard that is) in that my annual fee will be coming due in the middle of this period. That creates quite the incentive for holding on to the card for another year.

Finally, rounding out this AAdvantage / Dividend Miles charm offensive was a third email.

BarclayCard will be continuing my anniversary bonus and provide me with 10,000 AAdvantage miles annually.

Taken together, these developments build a pretty compelling case for holding on to my card. The value of the bonus miles that I’ll be receiving justifies the cost of the annual fee. In addition, the big bump I’ll be receiving in a major loyalty “currency” like AAdvantage miles fits into my broader Pointing strategies and provide me with another option for mixing and matching awards.

The Moral of the Story

These are factors that I considered in making the decision to keep my US Airways MasterCard. All of these changes also emphasize the importance of regularly monitoring the shifting landscape of the miles and points world. You need to be prepared to assess how much value you’re receiving from your cards and make adjustments to “what’s in your wallet” as appropriate.

How about you? How do you decide whether to “keep or cancel?”

American Airlines, Credit Cards, Pointing, US Airways

Combining American and US Airways Miles – Taking AAdvantage of Reaping Dividend Miles

July 26, 2014 Point A 5 Comments

I’ve never flown on a US Airways flight. It has been two years since I’ve stepped foot on American Airlines metal. Why, then, am I collecting miles on airlines that I never fly?

Well, a good Pointer, umm, makes it a point, to diversify their balances across multiple loyalty programs. I’m already directing my daily spending towards accumulation of the major points currencies. However, another element of my Pointing strategy is to participate in selected frequent flyer programs that align with my broader award redemption goals. For example, I’m a member of Lufthansa’s Miles & More program because I’ve developed a somewhat unhealthy fascination with the airline’s First Class service (oh, and the Rubber Duckies that are available in its First Class Terminal). Similarly, amassing American and US Airways miles provides me a way to access awards available through another one of the major airline alliances.

Most of my awards to date have been redeemed on such major Star Alliance carriers as United, Lufthansa and Thai Airways. However, both American and US Airways belong to the OneWorld alliance whose fellow members include such airlines as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Qantas. In addition, the ongoing merger between American and US Airways has provided a window of opportunity to collect (and eventually combine) a lot of frequent flyer miles pretty quickly.

Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage World MasterCard 50,000 Bonus Miles Offer

Currently, an offer for 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles (after making $1,000 in purchases within three months) is available through both the American Airlines and Citi websites for the Citi Platinum Select AAdvantage World MasterCard. However, a better bonus offer is out there! For example, my Partner F recently received a targeted credit card promotion in the mail from Citi that offers 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $3,000 within the first three months of cardmembership. The same offer (along with the full terms and conditions) is available online at this link and a summary is listed below.

Both offers waive the $95 annual fee for the first year. You’ll just have to decide which of the spending requirements you’ll need to meet in order to receive the mileage bonus best aligns with your budget and purchasing patterns.

US Airways Premier World MasterCard 40,000 Bonus Miles Offer

Another Pointing opportunity is available by applying for the US Airways Premier World MasterCard issued by BarclayCard. This offer (along with full terms and conditions) may be found at this link and a summary is listed below.

Although the $89 annual fee is not waived for the first year, what makes this offer stand out is that you’ll receive your 40,000 bonus miles after only your first purchase.

Why Apply For Both Cards?

American Airlines and US Airways are in the process of merging. Both carriers have started to align the various elements of their frequent flyer programs. Although American’s AAdvantage program and US Airways’ Dividend Miles program are currently operating as separate entities, it’s now possible for you to redeem awards for travel across both carriers. In addition, the airlines are also members of the OneWorld alliance which further widens the award redemption possibilities. However, things start to get even more interesting once the two programs combine.

Given that you only need to make a single purchase on the US Airways MasterCard to receive your bonus miles, this allows you to direct the rest of your spending to meeting the bonus mile requirements on your AAdvantage MasterCard. It’s anticipated that the Dividend Miles program will merge with the AAdvantage program in 2015. Although an exact date has not been announced, many sources anticipate that the consolidation of both frequent flyer programs will occur during the first quarter of 2015. Once this happens, you’ll have a nice balance of 90,000 miles in your account.

What Can You Do With Those Miles?

Well, if all those miles are burning a hole in your virtual wallet (and you don’t wish to wait for the merger of the programs), you can start redeeming them for round-trip domestic Economy awards for as low as 25,000 miles per person. Getting to Hawaii on American in Economy is possible for as low as 35,000 miles round-trip per person while on US Airways it will cost you 40,000 miles. In addition, holders of the AAdvantage MasterCard earn 10% of their redeemed miles back while US Airways MasterCard holders receive a 5,000 mile discount on awards flown on US Airways metal.

If you do wait for the combination of both programs, you’ll have a great head start toward having enough miles for an international premium cabin award. In addition, both American and US Airways are Starwood American Express transfer partners. Therefore, you’ll be able to turn your Starpoints earned on that card into airline miles should you need to “top off” your AAdvantage and/or Dividend Mile accounts.

For more information on the different award possibilities, check out each of the airlines award charts found in the links below:

American Airlines Award Chart

American Airlines OneWorld Partner Award Chart

US Airways Award Chart

US Airways OneWorld Partner Award Chart

However, a major caveat to waiting for the program merger is that CHANGE WILL BE INEVITABLE. Although, I’m not expecting a major bloodbath like the United Devaluation earlier this year, it’s certain that there will be changes to the various award charts once the programs are combined.

Where Do We Go From Here?

However, it’s just this type of uncertainty in the Pointing world that reinforces the need to hedge my bets. The diversification that I exercise in my various miles & points accumulation strategies not only protects me from future devaluations but also creates options for some really exciting award possibilities. In fact, in an upcoming post, I’ll talk about how this type of “mixing and matching” of award programs allowed me to craft a pretty awesome First Class Round-the World award. Stay tuned and be prepared!

How about you? Have you given any thought to simultaneously applying for multiple credit cards in order to earn the extra bonus miles?

Credit Cards, Lufthansa, Pointing

Earning Lufthansa Miles & More – Chasing the First Class Duck

May 17, 2014 Point A 1 Comment

Over the last twelve months I’ve had the experience of flying with Lufthansa in Economy, Business and First Class. Although last year was the first time I had ever flown with the airline, my experience has turned me into quite the Lufthansa Fanboy. Check out a few of my previous blog posts for my various “Love Letters to Lufthansa:”

All of my travel on Lufthansa so far has been on award tickets I claimed through United Airlines’ MileagePlus program. One of the great advantages of MileagePlus is that miles earned in the program can be redeemed for travel on any of the carrier’s Star Alliance partners, including Lufthansa. In addition, points earned using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa can also be transferred on a 1:1 basis into MileagePlus thereby increasing my Points Kitty. However, my Pointing world came crashing down around me on February 1 when United implemented a massive devaluation of its award chart.

Not only did United increase the number of miles required to fly on it’s own flights, but it also created a new redemption tier specifically for it’s Star Alliance partners. Under the new United Award Chart, my past Lufthansa award flights would be priced as follows:

1 Lufthansa First Class ticket from London to Chicago; connecting in Frankfurt

Old Award Price: 67,500 MileagePlus miles
New Award Price: 110,000 MileagePlus miles
63% increase!

1 Lufthansa Business Class ticket from Paris to Chicago; Connecting in Munich

Old Award Price: 50,000 MileagePlus miles
New Award Price: 70,000 MileagePlus miles
40% increase!

As disappointing as major points devaluations can be, I have taken steps to hedge against such inevitable occurrences. In fact, I have several “Plan B’s” that should keep me flying in Lufthansa’s premium cabins.

The most direct route to the front (or upper deck) of the Lufthansa cabin is through Lufthansa’s Miles and More frequent flyer program. Although the airline does hit you with fuel surcharges that might total several hundred dollars when redeeming an award, the advantage of the Miles and More Award Chart is better advance availability for First Class award seats and seasonal 50% off Business Class award sales.

As with other programs, one of the best ways to get a “quick hit” of a large number of points is to sign up for that airline’s affiliated credit card. Currently, Barclaycard is offering a 50,000 mile bonus for signing up for its Lufthansa Premier Miles & More MasterCard. Normally the bonus offer hovers between 20,000 and 30,000 miles.

The basics of this offer are as follows:

Earn 20,000 miles after your first purchase
Earn an additional 30,000 miles after spending $5,000 or more on purchases made within the first 90 days of card approval
$79 Annual Fee
Offer valid until June 30, 2014 (this offer has returned and is now available again until November 30, 2014)

Although it’s hard to predict when this offer will be made available again, the increased sign up bonus seems to appear at least once a year. For example, I was approved for my card late last year.

You can also accumulate Lufthansa Miles by transferring Starpoints from the Starwood Preferred Guest Program.

Plus, for every 20,000 Starpoints you transfer you receive a Bonus of an additional 5,000 points. For more information on the benefits of the Starwood Preferred Guest program, check out my earlier post Starwood Starpoints Starstruck.

Finally, another “work around” is to use the American Express Membership Rewards Points program to transfer points into the frequent flyer programs of one of Lufthansa’s other Star Alliance Partners such as Air Canada, ANA or Singapore Airlines.

However, you should bear in mind that each of these programs, just like Lufthansa, charges fuel surcharges that can range from several hundred to a thousand dollars or more for each ticket. In addition, the award charts of these airlines are also distance or zone-based so it’s important to compare and contrast the mileage award and surcharge levels of each option prior to transferring your Membership Rewards points. Of these airlines, Air Canada’s Aeroplan program seems to be the “least bad” of the options from a points requirement / surcharge / ease-of-booking perspective.

So is it worth all this effort to fly Lufthansa? Well, after years of flying with various American carriers I’ve come to manage my expectations downward when it comes to efficiency and service. Although Lufthansa isn’t perfect, what the airline does well is to make the travel experience at least civilized. In addition, First Class and the Frankfurt First Class Terminal is truly one of the great aspirational airline experiences. Plus, I’ve developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with building a collection of First Class Ducks just like fellow blogger Lufthansa Flyer.

How about you? Have you ever flown with Lufthansa and what was your experience with the airline?

Credit Cards, Pointing, Starwood

Using the Best Miles and Points Credit Cards for Daily Spending – Playing Your Cards Right

March 23, 2014 Point A 8 Comments

We’re sitting in a cab. As we reach our destination, My Partner F breaks out into a cold sweat. Yes, it’s time to pay. But which credit card to use? He reaches for his Starwood Preferred Guest American Express …

… and I glare at him disapprovingly. Nope, wrong card. He then goes for the shiny blue metal glint of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa …

… and I nod solemnly. Crisis averted.

Okay, I’d like to say that this little scenario is presented purely for dramatic effect. However, I have to admit that I really am that obsessive. You see, when it comes to miles and points accumulation it really does matter which card you use.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the value of accumulating The Big Three Points Currencies as a Hedge Against Future Devaluations. In a subsequent post I went on identify the Three Beginner Cards you can use to earn those Points Currencies. Now that you have those cards in your wallet, what’s the best way to use them?

Well, I try to pay for everything I buy with a credit card that earns miles or points. By doing so I’m “monetizing” every purchase I make. In other words, I’m earning redeemable miles and points for transactions I normally would have made anyway. In addition, since certain cards offer bonuses based on spending category, if you “play your cards right” these category bonuses can boost your Pointing balances pretty significantly.

Using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa, the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express and the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card as the foundation for your Pointing strategy …

… you should be able to reap bonuses across each of your daily spending categories. I don’t know why My Partner F gets so nervous about “which card to use” since the system I use breaks down simply as follows …

Travel and Dining (2X Points) – Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa

F and I eat out A LOT. As a result, we earn double points whether we’re dining in a white (or peach colored) tablecloth restaurant …

… or grabbing a quick sandwich for lunch from Pret-A-Manger.

I’ve also set up this card for auto payment of my monthly public transportation fare cards and Uber on demand car service. Just as with “Dining,” the definition of “Travel” expenses eligible for double points is pretty broad and includes spending in such categories as:

Airfare
Hotels / Lodging
Parking (Garages, Lots, Meters)
Public Transportation (Buses, Commuter Trains, Subways)
Taxis and Limousines
Time Shares
Tolls (Highways, Bridges)
Trains
Travel Agencies
Vehicle Rental (Cars, Trucks, RVs)

Gas & Groceries (2X Points) – American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card

Although we eat out a lot, we can’t spend ALL of our time in restaurants.

Single-Serving “Wine-to-Go” in a Paris Supermarket

So it’s nice to know that when we need to stock up the pantry we can turn to the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card and earn double points. This spending bonus can be earned both in traditional supermarkets and grocery stores as well by using online grocery delivery services such as Peapod. In addition, the double points should also help take some of the sting out of rising gas prices for you drivers out there.

Everything Else (1X or 1.25X Points) – Starwood Preferred Guest American Express

As I outlined in my earlier post, Starwood Starpoints Starstruck, there are tremendous redemption opportunities available through the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program.

Given the value of Starpoints, I’m more than happy to direct my “non-bonus” spending to this program. This includes setting up auto payments for such categories as my health club, cable and phone bills, newspaper subscriptions, etc. These recurring expenses allow you to rack up Starpoints pretty quickly. Of course, I’m also quick to whip out this card for any in-store or online purchase that falls outside of the dining / travel / groceries / gas categories.

Plus, the ability to transfer Starpoints into a wide variety of frequent flyer programs provides much of the same flexibility as Chase Sapphire Preferred’s Ultimate Rewards program. For every 20,000 Starpoints you transfer you receive an additional 5,000 points. This means that you are effectively earning a 25% bonus on everything you spend on the card if you intend to use your Starpoints for airline awards. You should note, though, that in order to maximize your bonus you need to transfer your Starpoints in 20,000 point increments. For example, if you transferred 100,000 Starpoints in a single transaction you would only receive a 5,000 point bonus. On the other hand, if you broke up the transaction into five 20,000 point transfers you would receive a total of 25,000 bonus points!

Is it all worth it?

So this seems like an awful lot of card shuffling that’s going on. At the end of the day is it all worth the hassle? Well, the miles and points can rack up pretty significantly when you direct your spending to the “right” cards. In our case, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa is pretty much our “go-to” card given the unhealthy amount of money we’re spending on taxis and eating out. Sigh, I guess this is a very clear signal that I should be packing a lunch and taking the bus more often. Then again, those points did get us three nights at the Park Hyatt Paris …

How about you? Are you using a miles or points earning card to charge your daily expenses?

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that I am NOT a professional financial advisor by any means. My discussion of credit card strategies or other financial matters are based on my own personal experiences and financial situation. In addition, I am not an employee of any of the financial institutions that issue the cards discussed nor do I receive any compensation for discussing these products (note: I do get a referral credit if you sign up for Uber via the link mentioned earlier in this post). The reader is solely responsible for any financial actions that he/she may choose to undertake.

Credit Cards, Pointing, Starwood

Earning the Big Three Points Currencies – Three Beginner Cards That Can Point the Way

March 8, 2014 Point A 7 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I discussed how you can use the Big Three Points Currencies to hedge against future loyalty program devaluations (see this post for more details). However, once you’ve figured out your travel style and goals (see my earlier post on What Kind of Pointer Are You), how do you actually go about collecting all of those miles and points?

Many of the frequent flyer points that I accumulate are earned not by “time in the air” but through credit card spending that funds my account balances with the major points currencies. Over the last several years, the emergence of credit cards associated with pretty much every airline or hotel brand has provided the consumer with a multitude of Pointing vehicles and opportunities. In addition, credit card “Sign Up” bonuses can yield a healthy kick start to an average traveller’s mileage balances.

However, any discussion of credit cards must first start with a discussion of financial responsibility. I take a very conservative approach to my use of credit cards. I always pay my balance off in full every month and keep a close watch on my credit score. I take a very thoughtful and strategic approach to choosing the credit cards I apply for and the timing of when I apply for those cards. The maintenance of a strong personal financial situation and responsible spending habits create a “virtuous cycle” that’s a very important part of an overall Pointing strategy.

There’s an astonishing array of points earning cards available in the credit card universe. However, to get us started I’d like to start with three “workhorse” cards that can serve as the foundation for your Pointing efforts.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa

What makes this card a cornerstone of my personal Pointing strategies is that it rewards me with 2X points in the categories that account for the largest portion of my personal spending – Dining and Travel. For example, I use this card to pay for my monthly public transportation fare cards in addition to the taxis that I take when it’s raining and I’m too much of a wimp to wait for the bus. I also receive double points on Uber – the on demand car service (more on this latest obsession of mine in a future post). Once I get to the office I’ll charge my morning bagel followed by mid-day slice of pizza and get double points as I do it. The card earns 1 point per $1 dollar spent on all other purchases.

Using this card earns Ultimate Rewards points which can be transferred on a 1:1 basis into the mileage programs of United Airlines, British Airways, Southwest Airlines and Korean Air. Alternatively, you can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points into the loyalty programs of Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club (Holiday Inn and Intercontinental) and Amtrak. Another great travel benefit of this card is that when any I book my travel through the Ultimate Rewards website I get 3 points for every dollar that I spend. In addition, the card doesn’t charge you foreign transaction fees on any purchases that are made outside of the United States.

Finally, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will award you with a 7% Annual Points Dividend on all points that you have earned on purchases over the course of the year (including on points that you’ve redeemed for awards). Signing up for this card will also give you a big boost of 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points once you’ve met the minimum spending requirements of $3,000 in the first 3 months of card ownership. Annual Fee: $90 (waived the first year).

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express

I’ve been a Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) member for several years and carry the hotel loyalty program’s branded American Express Card. Although I’ve collected Starpoints in the past and have used them to redeem a number hotel awards, this is one program that I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to lately. However, as I outlined in my earlier post, Starwood Starpoints Starstruck, there are tremendous redemption opportunities available through this program.

I guess a big reason why I hadn’t gone out of my way to put spend on this card was that it didn’t offer any category bonuses (e.g. Dining, Travel, etc.) like my Chase Sapphire Preferred. However, the ability to transfer points into a wide variety of frequent flyer programs provides much of the same flexibility at the Ultimate Rewards program.

Plus, for every 20,000 Starpoints you transfer you receive an additional 5,000 points. This means that you’re effectively earning a 25% bonus on everything you spend on the card if you intend to use your Starpoints for airline awards. You should note though that in order to maximize your bonus you need to transfer your Starpoints in 20,000 point increments. For example, if you transferred 100,000 Starpoints in a single transaction you would only receive a 5,000 point bonus. On the other hand, if you broke up the transaction into five 20,000 point transfers you would receive a total of 25,000 bonus points!

Another think to keep in mind is that, unlike the Ultimate Rewards program, points transfers are not instantaneous (e.g. it make take anywhere from a few days to a week or more for the points to credit to your airline’s frequent flyer account). Also, the card DOES charge foreign transaction fees so this might be the best card to use on a trip abroad.

The Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card will award you 10,000 Starpoints on your first purchase on the card and another 15,000 Starpoints after you send $5,000 in purchases on the card within the first six months of card membership. In addition, you receive two stay credits and five night credits annually towards elite qualification for the hotel’s loyalty program. Annual Fee: $65 (waived the first year).

American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card

Finally, what rounds out what’s in my (now very crowded) wallet, is my Premier Rewards Gold Card that earns Membership Rewards points. American Express offers a number of different cards that earn this Points Currency. However, this particular card earns such spending category bonuses as: triple points on airfare purchased directly from airlines, double points gas on purchased from gas stations and double points on groceries purchased from supermarkets. In addition, you receive 15,000 bonus points for spending $30,000 annually on the card. Unfortunately, like the Starwood Amex, this card charges foreign transaction fees so it’s the one that I usually leave at home when I’m travelling overseas.

The American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card will award you 25,000 Membership Rewards points once you spend $2,000 within the first three months of card membership. Annual Fee: $175 (waived the first year).

These are all credit card products that I currently own. What’s great about these cards is they not only provide coverage across the Three Major Points Currencies, but they also allow you to reap bonuses on pretty much all of the categories that are included in your daily spending patterns. Stay tuned for a future post where I’ll discuss how I structure my card usage to optimize my category bonuses. How about you? What’s in your wallet?

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that I am NOT a professional financial advisor by any means. My discussion of credit card strategies or other financial matters are based on my own personal experiences and financial situation. In addition, I am not an employee of any of the financial institutions that issue the cards discussed nor do I receive any compensation for discussing these products (note: I do receive a referral bonus if you sign up for Uber at the link I have included in this article). The reader is solely responsible for any financial actions that he/she may choose to undertake.

Attainable Luxury Travel for the Working Professional … Getting there is half the fun! Day Job during the -uhh Day- and Travel Blogging at Night. It's all about the journey …

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Attainable Luxury Travel for the Working Professional … Getting there is half the fun! Day Job during the -uhh Day- and Travel Blogging at Night. It's all about the journey …