I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[mmmears]

Sort of a follow up question about using points for business/first class. I have been looking for 2 tix next summer to either Europe or Africa and I cannot find any of the good seats for less than around 150k pts. I have no idea if that is a good deal or not, but thinking no. Where can I find good "tips" for getting good mileage deals?

Is the 150k RT or one way? For one seat or 2?

 

[djmeredith]

Is the 150k RT or one way? For one seat or 2?

One way per ticket. I feel like I am missing out some "secrets" to finding good deals.

 

[mmmears]

One way per ticket. I feel like I am missing out some "secrets" to finding good deals.

So for Africa, I can't say, but I know it's not easy to get there in J/F on points during normal times.

It's high for Europe. I think we used around 120-130K for direct, RT J-class flights on Air France several years in a row. We found availability on the AF site, transferred URs and/or MRs to Flying Blue, and booked that way. Paying with URs or MRs directly would have used many more miles. I don't know that what we did was the cheapest, but it was the best way for us to get from here to there (non-stop to Europe) on lie-flat seats. We have also done the same with Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. Domestically, we have done better just booking the flights with points through the ccard portals. I think DD's booking to evac her home from Norway when everything was shutting down was about 60k on VA (upper class), and that was with maybe 24 hours notice.

I hope this helps. Tink and Calypso and a few other posters know better than I do how to do this, so hopefully they will chime in soon.

 

[djmeredith]

Thank you, that is helpful

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh and I STILL don't have my new IHG card. I guess maybe I need to call tomorrow to ask about it. I ended up buying $600 in Buffett tickets while in NC plus all the expenses there....now I need to buy a ticket for my sister bday, and back to school expenses. So I'd love to have that card to put the spends on!!!

Strange- when I got mine a few weeks back I sm'd as soon as I saw the number appear in my account(about 15 minutes after approval) and it arrived in a day- then I got the original slow mail one a week later....

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Sort of a follow up question about using points for business/first class. I have been looking for 2 tix next summer to either Europe or Africa and I cannot find any of the good seats for less than around 150k pts. I have no idea if that is a good deal or not, but thinking no. Where can I find good "tips" for getting good mileage deals?

Where in Africa? We flew through Heathrow to Cape Town on British Air for both our trips and had no issue booking seats right when the window opened (@calypso726 will know the number of days it is). I usually spend a few days prior to the window opening to 'practice' booking the tickets I want so I have a good idea what availability will be and the miles that I will need (so I can transfer points in advance if needed). The key for me has always been to know when the window opens for the airline that I want and to book my tickets right on that day to get the best seats for the lowest amount of miles. I don't know that there will be any "mileage deals" next summer, but most, if not all, airlines use dynamic pricing with their seats available on miles.

Where in Europe do you want to go? When do you want to go? You should be able to get better value with your points.

@CaliforniaGirl09 flies to Europe frequently and should also be able to offer some insight.

 

[becauseimnew]

Have you looked at Tom bricker’s blog called travel caffeine? I also like tdr explorer

Thank you!
Our trip won't be until 2023, I'm way ahead on trip planning. What I need to focus on in saving, I'm scared to really figure out a budget.

 

[Haley R]

Thank you!
Our trip won't be until 2023, I'm way ahead on trip planning. What I need to focus on in saving, I'm scared to really figure out a budget.

It’s never too early to plan lol. For our flights we did chase points and transferred them to Virgin to book a flight with ANA. It was only like 180k for two people in business class from LAX (round trip). First class is only 220k for two people. We won’t go back to Japan until Ds is a little older but that’s our plan if the redemption rate stays the same. For our Disney hotel we stayed at the Hilton and all 6 nights were basically paid using Hilton points. We got Hilton amex cards to earn points. My point is our trip was actually very inexpensive thanks to points!

 

[becauseimnew]

It’s never too early to plan lol. For our flights we did chase points and transferred them to Virgin to book a flight with ANA. It was only like 180k for two people in business class from LAX (round trip). First class is only 220k for two people. We won’t go back to Japan until Ds is a little older but that’s our plan if the redemption rate stays the same. For our Disney hotel we stayed at the Hilton and all 6 nights were basically paid using Hilton points. We got Hilton amex cards to earn points. My point is our trip was actually very inexpensive thanks to points!

I do plan to use points to pay for all airfare and hotels, but I've read that the trains and food are expensive. We are a family of 4 (kids are expensive), I'm currently thinking Tokyo (2.5), Disney (3.5 days), rest day, Kyoto (2 days) & Hiroshima (1.5 days). DH used to travel to Japan often when he was in the Navy and he would really love for us to climb Mount Fuji (2 days), he's already done it once. This will probably be our only trip to Japan, so we want to do as much as possible.

 

[Killer Fish]

Again I hate Barclay's. I can't log in. Did they change their website? Keeps saying can't find my account. I guess I will have to call in.

I ran into this as well. It somehow changed my username to an old username from an old cancelled Barclay card....unreal. Also no email notice just login does not work anymore. I had to do a password reset to find my new login name.

 

[Haley R]

I do plan to use points to pay for all airfare and hotels, but I've read that the trains and food are expensive. We are a family of 4 (kids are expensive), I'm currently thinking Tokyo (2.5), Disney (3.5 days), rest day, Kyoto (2 days) & Hiroshima (1.5 days). DH used to travel to Japan often when he was in the Navy and he would really love for us to climb Mount Fuji (2 days), he's already done it once. This will probably be our only trip to Japan, so we want to do as much as possible.

If you’re planning to go to Kyoto the trains might be sort of expensive because it’s a long ride. We thought Hiroshima was a bit out of the way and confusing to get to but worth it if you’re only planning to go to Japan once. We bought a JR pass for trains but we were there a lot longer so I think we made our money’s worth on it. There is a calculator where you can put in your trips and it’ll tell you if buying one is worth it.

I never thought food was expensive. Tokyo Disney prices seemed much better to me than what we see at wdw because they seem to give a better value for your money. We did a lot of 7-11 meals because they were quick and easy. I guess it depends what kind of food you’re planning to get.

 

[cdurham1]

For Ultimate Rewards Points, is Hyatt the easy best choice for low point options? I like free breakfast so looking mostly at Hyatt Place/Hyatt House. I am used to IHG. But when I logged into Hyatt to look at options for an upcoming trip, I was surprised how low the points were. 8,000 to 12,000/night for a trip to Atlanta in great locations. So I can transfer my UR points 1:1 to Hyatt?

I am sure there are more optimal ways to use UR points on airlines or something. But if I want to keep things simple and just use them for hotels, is just sticking to Hyatt properties a safe bet?

 

[elgerber]

Blah, first our new home insurance only takes bank accounts, and the new auto only takes Visa/MC, and now my insane water bill doesn't take AMEX either! Meeting these MSR's is becoming annoying.

 

[Psychodisney]

For Ultimate Rewards Points, is Hyatt the easy best choice for low point options? I like free breakfast so looking mostly at Hyatt Place/Hyatt House. I am used to IHG. But when I logged into Hyatt to look at options for an upcoming trip, I was surprised how low the points were. 8,000 to 12,000/night for a trip to Atlanta in great locations. So I can transfer my UR points 1:1 to Hyatt?

I am sure there are more optimal ways to use UR points on airlines or something. But if I want to keep things simple and just use them for hotels, is just sticking to Hyatt properties a safe bet?

Yes, Hyatt's are a great redemption. We've stayed at several Hyatt Place/House and they've all been very nice. The free breakfast is not what it used to be before covid.
I always check on the Chase portal for hotels too to compare prices/redemption costs.

 

[cdurham1]

Yes, Hyatt's are a great redemption. We've stayed at several Hyatt Place/House and they've all been very nice. The free breakfast is not what it used to be before covid.
I always check on the Chase portal for hotels too to compare prices/redemption costs.

Good idea, I will check the chase portal, too. I had booked an IHG hotel, but not in an ideal location for this trip already. I was happy to see some Hyatt choices that were exactly in the area we wanted and for a much better value. I guess Hyatt will be my new favorite hotel company.

 

[iujen94]

Dosh has 4% cash back at Office Depot all week! (Max cash back is still $10/day).

edited to add: Doctor of Credit says it’s today only (8/23), but my Dosh is showing it’s good all week.

 

[Arcades]

Good idea, I will check the chase portal, too. I had booked an IHG hotel, but not in an ideal location for this trip already. I was happy to see some Hyatt choices that were exactly in the area we wanted and for a much better value. I guess Hyatt will be my new favorite hotel company.

Hyatt is great for value stays. They also recently updated their systems to allow booking suites online. If you ever feel like treating yourself to a larger room, find a category 2 Hyatt Regency and get a Premium Suite for 16,000 points per night. It was excessive, but I stayed in the Presidential Suite at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando just because I could. The room was listed at $10,000/night (cash rate) and I got it for 16,000 Hyatt points. I didn't need all that space, but it was fun to do once.

For Atlanta, the Hyatt Regency Downtown (on Peachtree Street) is a Category 2. I actually had the Premium Suite booked for my upcoming December trip, but switched over to a Hilton because we wanted to be in walking distance to a NYE party.

 

[becauseimnew]

We thought Hiroshima was a bit out of the way and confusing to get to but worth it if you’re only planning to go to Japan once.

I’ve seen a blog where they flew to Hiroshima and another where they took the train from Osaka.
Glad to hear it isn’t too expensive. I never realized 7-11 was so big in Japan.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Where in Africa? We flew through Heathrow to Cape Town on British Air for both our trips and had no issue booking seats right when the window opened (@calypso726 will know the number of days it is). I usually spend a few days prior to the window opening to 'practice' booking the tickets I want so I have a good idea what availability will be and the miles that I will need (so I can transfer points in advance if needed). The key for me has always been to know when the window opens for the airline that I want and to book my tickets right on that day to get the best seats for the lowest amount of miles. I don't know that there will be any "mileage deals" next summer, but most, if not all, airlines use dynamic pricing with their seats available on miles.

Where in Europe do you want to go? When do you want to go? You should be able to get better value with your points.

@CaliforniaGirl09 flies to Europe frequently and should also be able to offer some insight.

I totally agree about the key being when the window opens--up to the hour if possible. There are websites that keeps track of all the award tickets that release on a schedule (here's one: https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/when-do-airlines-release-award-seats/ ). United is one example of an airline that used to release awards fairly reliably about a year ahead, but now seems to release them when they want and mostly a week to a few days before a flight nowadays for the saver tickets on their own metal. But they are still okay for partner availability. I would also start by using award hacker to find the airlines and deals for the route you are most interested in. That gives you an idea of what you should be looking for: https://www.awardhacker.com In my experience first class to Europe is difficult. I was lucky to get a bunch during the pandemic on BA (with hefty fees I was willing to pay), but they've pretty much disappeared now. It might be worth it for you to pay for an alert service or two to have them look for your ideal awards--understanding that it might never open. Expert Flyer worked for me for a while, but then they stopped doing BA flights for a while without telling me, which really tee'd me off. (I was paying subscription solely for BA flights at the time with all kinds of alerts). They fixed the BA award issue but I haven't gone back. I really like seat spy for its simplicity now. It was free for a while, but now I think they've started charging for upper class flights. My experience is mostly with the UK since I travel there 4-5 times a year. But you can usually use them as a base for other european flights if you are willing to pay the fees. I've had very minimal luck with Flying Blue awards at decent prices. They can be crazy. I think one way was 225k points in business for a flight I was looking at recently. Nuts. You could also think about hiring someone to do it for you. I know @Calfan hired a company for first class seats to Japan (trip cancelled to COVID), but she was really happy with the service.

 

[StephPlum]

I ran into this as well. It somehow changed my username to an old username from an old cancelled Barclay card....unreal. Also no email notice just login does not work anymore. I had to do a password reset to find my new login name.

Ok, just did the same and basically had to reset up the on-line account for both Dh and me. But at least I can now see it and pay. Clearly not a smooth rollout.