Using an airline CC to avoid baggage fee

[gericoronado]

I found a great American Airlines non-stop flight deal (MCO to San Diego) and was getting ready to grab it, as it surely does not seem the price could get any lower even at the magical 54-day mark. Anyway, the airline website had a pop-up advertising their CC which offers no fee on 1st baggage, plus a whole lot of other perks that are good too. The CC annual fee (pricey) is waived for the first year. I have good credit and pay all bills every month with zero balance. Good idea to get the card, get free baggage, and cancel card with one year?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

There is no magical 54 day mark for buying tickets.

Get the card if you want; but by the time you receive it, the fare will probably have changed. Also read the terms; many airline credit cards require you to use the card to buy the tickets to get the free checked bag benefit.

 

[gericoronado]

Get the card if you want; but by the time you receive it, the fare will probably have changed.

Ouch! I had not thought of that. Thanks for the wake-up.

 

[DebbieB]

I got the American CC in April. I wanted the 30,000 miles to give me enough for a free ticket for next year, especially after they merge my USAirways account.

I had 2 business trips to Texas this month, I figured I could also get the free bag and group 1 boarding. The ad said your FF# just had to be attached to the reservation. I had to buy the tickets with my business credit card on my company travel agent website. I previously had a Delta card and that was no problem. Didn't work with American. I was charged for the bags and did not get group 1. I asked at the counter, they said the ticket had to be charged to the American CC. I called Citibank and they said the same thing. I checked on flyertalk, they had mixed comments on it. Some people still got it, some didn't. In my case, I bought the ticket before I got the card added to my FF account so that may have been part of the problem. They gave me a customer service # to call but it was only available during the day and by the point I had already charged the bag fee to my company card and expensed it. I got the 30,000 miles in my account by spending $750 in 3 months and will cancel it before the anniversary comes up.

 

[gericoronado]

Thanks for the further information. At first glance, I had figured it would work to charge the flight to the AA card but I had not thought of the aspect of waiting for the card to arrive. In the meantime, I could lose a shot at the flight deal that I want. Darn that pop-up that advertised the credit card! It was like the lure of a siren's call!

 

[jerseygal]

We got a United Credit Card about 8 months before flying to Hawaii..

It was WELL WORTH it for us...Fee waived 1st year, priority boarding, 1 bag free for credit card holder and traveling companion round trip..Baggage would have been $50 round trip for each of us.. Saved $100 and we have
50,000 United Miles! Priority boarding on a long flight is nice as well!

Well worth it for us! Yes, you must use the card to pay for the tickets with United to enjoy the privledges of the card!

 

[sam_gordon]

Thanks for the further information. At first glance, I had figured it would work to charge the flight to the AA card but I had not thought of the aspect of waiting for the card to arrive. In the meantime, I could lose a shot at the flight deal that I want. Darn that pop-up that advertised the credit card! It was like the lure of a siren's call!

Not necessarily. If you're applying online, they'll probably give you a temporary number that you can use immediately. That's what Delta did when I signed up for their CC.

 

[jerseygal]

tells you if you need to book, book with another credit card. Then when the United Credit Card arrives, they will transfer the reservation onto the United Card to receive all of the benefits of the card, most importantly the baggage fee!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We got a United Credit Card about 8 months before flying to Hawaii..

It was WELL WORTH it for us...Fee waived 1st year, priority boarding, 1 bag free for credit card holder and traveling companion round trip..Baggage would have been $50 round trip for each of us.. Saved $100 and we have
50,000 United Miles! Priority boarding on a long flight is nice as well!

Well worth it for us! Yes, you must use the card to pay for the tickets with United to enjoy the privledges of the card!

This is why UA's Boarding Group 2 is now enormous!

 

[gericoronado]

We got a United Credit Card about 8 months before flying to Hawaii..

It was WELL WORTH it for us...Fee waived 1st year, priority boarding, 1 bag free for credit card holder and traveling companion round trip..Baggage would have been $50 round trip for each of us.. Saved $100 and we have
50,000 United Miles! Priority boarding on a long flight is nice as well!

Well worth it for us! Yes, you must use the card to pay for the tickets with United to enjoy the privledges of the card!

Yowza!!! Another great tip. I'm having a super great time planning and checking flights and costs for FOUR separate one-ways involved with this vacation. Looks like I'll apply for the United CC pronto to use for my San Diego to Orlando one-way.

 

[figment41]

Be careful because in the fine print it states that the baggage fees will not be waived within the first few weeks until you have the card. We found out the hard way that even if you get the temporary number to charge your flight you do not get the benefits until the waiting period is over. Maybe things have changed in the past few months.

 

[gericoronado]

Be careful because in the fine print it states that the baggage fees will not be waived within the first few weeks until you have the card. We found out the hard way that even if you get the temporary number to charge your flight you do not get the benefits until the waiting period is over. Maybe things have changed in the past few months.

That will not be a problem as I'm four month out from the vacation start date. I went to United website and within the last 10 minutes, applied and was approved for CC!! Card should be here within 7-10 business days.

 

[MAJPLO]

Not necessarily. If you're applying online, they'll probably give you a temporary number that you can use immediately. That's what Delta did when I signed up for their CC.

Ditto.

 

[Junebugwv]

The first 2 years of using our Delta card, it was worth it. We usually travel with 4 of us and baggage fees really add up. We do not fly out of a big airport (Charleston WV) and Delta has not been anywhere close to the lowest price for the past 2 years so it has not been useful.

If you fly out of a good airport, your carriers are probably a lot more competitive and you can choose one of the carriers and still get good prices.

 

[MAH4546]

The American Airlines card does not require you to purchase the ticket with the card to get the benefits, nor does it require that you had the card when you booked the ticket. Your benefits are tied to your FF number.

Also, if you do get the card, don't sign up via the offered link, as you will miss out on an additional free 20,000 miles. Sign up through the 50,000 mile link:

http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/disclaimers/BP-PLATHV.jsp