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Video Sunday Reader Question: American First Class or Cathay Business?

June 3, 2012

TPG reader Seth brings up an interesting question about how to choose which airline in an alliance to use your miles on. Especially when it means a difference in class of service. In this particular case, choosing between American Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Here’s his question: “A quick question for you: Flying from Bangkok to [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: What Are Stopovers and Open Jaws?

May 27, 2012

TPG reader Amy asks: “My husband and I have tried to accumulate miles so we can head to Europe next summer.  I am reading about ‘open jaw” flight and am clueless.  Could you possibly explain in an entry how to maximize miles on these flights?  We’re looking at booking on Delta; when I input our [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: What Is The Best Way To Redeem for Singapore Airlines First Class?

May 27, 2012

TPG reader Andrew asks: “In looking at the American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood transfer options, I noticed that Singapore Krisflyer was a transfer partner of both. I have never traveled in Singapore First Class, but would like to. With their 747 being retired, I do not believe they open any first class award seats [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: Pulling Rank With Elite Status Lines

May 13, 2012

TPG reader Brad writes: “I just checked into the Hyatt Regency O’Hare for my company’s annual training week. Obviously check-in was a nightmare with all of the people coming in. I have Hyatt elite status so I walked right up to the Platinum/Diamond line and waited behind the guy being checked in. Everyone else was [...]

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Video Sunday Reader Question: Is Paying to Redeposit Miles Worth It?

May 6, 2012

TPG reader Mike asks a great question about the costs of redepositing unused frequent flyer miles: “A few months ago my wife and I each redeemed 50,000 AAdvantage miles to book flights in June. Since then, for medical reasons, we’ve had to cancel our travel plans. American Airlines now gives us two choices: (1) we [...]

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Debating the Merits of Delta SkyMiles at Frequent Traveler University

April 30, 2012

This past weekend was Frequent Traveler University at the Sheraton Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, just outside New York. I was asked to give one of the presentations, so on Saturday morning, I debated Gary Leff from View From The Wing about the relative merits of Delta SkyMiles. I, of course, took the “pro” position [...]

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Video Sunday Reader Question: Meeting Business Credit Card Spend Requirements

April 29, 2012

TPG reader Kevin asks: “I recently applied for an American Express small business credit card and I have to reach the $10,000 minimum spend in several months. I’ve read your post on clever ways to reach the minimum spend bonus, but I’m unclear on if the strategy differs on personal or small business cards. If [...]

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Video Sunday Reader Question: Using Amex For Cathay to Hong Kong

April 29, 2012

TPG reader Mike wants to use miles for one of my favorite purposes: helping a family member take charge of their points for a great travel redemption. Mike’s issue is that he’s in Hong Kong and his dad doesn’t have quite enough points or miles to get himself there in business class. Here’s his question: [...]

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Video Sunday Reader Question: What is the Minimum Credit Score Needed To Get Approved for the Best Credit Cards?

April 22, 2012

TPG reader Ben asks: “What is the minimum credit score needed to get approved for all these reward cards? What is the lowest credit score you have heard of getting approval for a premium Chase product like the Sapphire?” There is no one magic score that will automatically get you approved for any credit card. [...]

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Video Trip Report: Phnom Penh and the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields

April 10, 2012

This is an installment in my March 2012 Asia Trip Series which includes: A Birthday Present To Myself: Business Class on the World’s Longest Flight for $2.50, Help Me Plan My Asia Trip Starting With Singapore, Flight Review: Singapore Airlines All Business Class Flight From Newark To Singapore, Hotel Review: Intercontinental Singapore, Video Trip Report: Singapore, Hotel Review: Le Meridien Bangkok [...]

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Video Trip Report: Siem Reap Temples, Monkeys and Guns, Oh My

April 5, 2012

This is an installment in my March 2012 Asia Trip Series which includes: A Birthday Present To Myself: Business Class on the World’s Longest Flight for $2.50, Help Me Plan My Asia Trip Starting With Singapore, Flight Review: Singapore Airlines All Business Class Flight From Newark To Singapore, Hotel Review: Intercontinental Singapore, Video Trip Report: Singapore, Hotel Review: Le Meridien Bangkok [...]

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Video Trip Report: Bustling Bangkok

March 30, 2012

This is an installment in my March 2012 Asia Trip Series which includes: A Birthday Present To Myself: Business Class on the World’s Longest Flight for $2.50, Help Me Plan My Asia Trip Starting With Singapore, Flight Review: Singapore Airlines All Business Class Flight From Newark To Singapore, Hotel Review: Intercontinental Singapore, Video Trip Report: Singapore, Hotel Review: Le Meridien Bangkok [...]

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Video Trip Report: Two Days in Steamy Singapore

March 28, 2012

This is an installment in my March 2012 Asia Trip Series which includes: A Birthday Present To Myself: Business Class on the World’s Longest Flight for $2.50, Help Me Plan My Asia Trip Starting With Singapore, Flight Review: Singapore Airlines All Business Class Flight From Newark To Singapore, Hotel Review: Intercontinental Singapore, Video Trip Report: Singapore, Hotel Review: Le Meridien Bangkok [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Questions: What Is The Best Way To Apply For Multiple Credit Card Promotions?

March 25, 2012

We all want to get in on as many lucrative credit card bonuses as possible, but in order to do so, you’ve got to be smart and strategic about your applications. You need to understand how multiple credit inquiries affect your FICO score, and how each major bank handles multiple credit card applications. On this [...]

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My Top 10 Travel Products For Long-Haul Flights (And Bose Giveaway)

March 21, 2012

Yesterday I boarded the world’s longest commercial flight: Singapore Airlines Flight 21 from Newark to Singapore, which lasts an astonishing 18 hours and 40 minutes, practically an entire day up in the sky! In fact, due to the flight timing and time zone changes, I spend the entire Tuesday, March 20th in the air! The [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: Which Airlines Have The Highest Fuel Surcharges?

March 4, 2012

TPG reader Andrew asks a question about fuel surcharges, a topic that’s a top priority for budget-minded miles users: “I am going to transfer  Starwood points to an airline (or a couple airlines) within a year. I’d like to transfer them to frequent flyer plans that do not charge fuel surcharges, or at least ones [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: Do SPG Amex Perks Outweigh Foreign Transaction Fees?

February 26, 2012

For my weekly video response to a Sunday reader question, I take on TPG reader Karan‘s query about the Starwood American Express (I figured it made sense since I am staying at an international Starwood property, so I filmed the video response in the Atrium lounge at the Westin Dublin): “I like the SPG card [...]

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(Video) Sunday Reader Question: Why Do Delta Awards Fluctuate So Much?

February 19, 2012

I’ll now be answering at least one Sunday reader question via video. To kick it off, TPG reader Bob explains his frustrating situation with Delta and poses a couple questions: I was waiting to transfer several hundred thousand miles to my new Delta Amex account (had just picked up 45,000 free miles with a new [...]

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Video Blog Post: What Credit Cards Are in My Wallet (And Reader Contest!)

November 7, 2011

Recently I blogged about how I’ve gotten 553,500 points and miles from only 7 credit card applications. However, I don’t use most of those cards on a daily basis – I usually keep them until their fees are due and then I usually apply for a new card and shift their credit lines to that or [...]

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Video Post: American Express Membership Rewards Ins and Outs

November 3, 2011

You might have seen the earlier video post on Tuesday from last weekend’s frequent flyer seminar in Chicago where I explained a few key points terms to the audience as a kind of glossary refresher course. I also wanted to share this video of the introduction to my main talk, on the ins and outs of [...]

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Video Post: Today’s Letter is “M”

November 2, 2011

I spent this past weekend in Chicago with a couple hundred other dedicated FlyerTalkers going over the ins and outs of collecting points, getting up-to-date on the latest news from the points world, and giving a presentation on everything you need to know about using your American Express Membership Rewards points (with a few helpful [...]

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Attaining Airline Elite Status Series: The Basics and Why People Mileage Run

October 26, 2011

This is an installment in my Maximizing Elite Status series. Articles include; The Basics and Why People Mileage Run, Using ITA Matrix to Find Cheap Flights, How Much is Elite Status Worth?, Comparing Top Tier Status, Comparing Mid-Tier Status, Comparing Low Level Status, How to Get Elite Miles Without Flying, Understanding Elite Status Bump Thresholds, The Lowdown on Soft Landings, How to Cope with Losing [...]

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Video Blog Post: When Should I Cancel My Credit Card?

October 17, 2011

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is, “When do I cancel my credit cards?” I filmed a short video while recently at the Andaz West Hollywood to answer this question, however I’ll recap my thoughts below for those who don’t feel like watching. (Pardon the background music in the video – [...]

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Using ExpertFlyer.com for Award Availability

October 6, 2011

Airline websites are notoriously horrible for award searches – especially when it comes to partner availability. Even ANA’s site, which is revered as possibly the most accurate search engine for Star Alliance availability, has a frustrating and time-consuming interface that only searches simple routes day-by-day. While not perfect, I religiously use Expertflyer.com to identify accurate [...]

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