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Hilton American Express Cards Bonus Spending Category Changes Go Into Effect

May 2, 2013

If you have either the Hilton card or the Hilton HHonors Surpass cards from American Express, you’ll be noticing some changes on your statements from now on. Starting with the first billing cycle that starts after May 1, both the Hilton HHonors card from American Express and the Hilton HHonors Surpass card, will be reconfiguring [...]

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Chase Ink 5X: Maximizing the 5x Spending Bonus on Retail Gift Cards

May 2, 2013

One of the most lucrative credit card category spending bonuses, and the reason I love the Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards from Chase so much is the ability to earn 5X points per dollar you spend up to $50,000 a year each at office supply stores. Granted, very few businesses actually need to spend [...]

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Free Lunch for Delta Medallions in NYC at New JFK T4 Pop-Up In Soho

May 2, 2013

TPG Intern Ryan got an advance look at Delta’s new JFK Terminal 4 opening later this month by visiting Delta’s pop-up store in Soho yesterday. Here’s what travelers can expect when the terminal at the airport opens on the 24th. In anticipation of its new state-of-the-art Terminal 4 opening at JFK on May 24, Delta [...]

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Airport Etiquette – Is It Okay To Ditch Your Companion For TSA PreCheck?

May 1, 2013

In the security line at JFK yesterday as my mother and I prepared to depart for Chile yesterday, I was told that my boarding pass was cleared for TSA PreCheck and I faced an airport etiquette conundrum – should I abandon my mom in the longer security line and go through the much quicker PreCheck [...]

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My Frequent Traveler University Presentation on Delta – Status, Upgrades, Awards

May 1, 2013

In addition to my seminar on the best credit card deals, I gave a second talk at Frequent Traveler University this past weekend on why Delta is still an airline program of value entitled, “Making the Most of Delta – Status, Upgrades and Awards.” The whole point is that there are still plenty of ways [...]

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American Matches Ticket Change/Cancellation Fee Increase To $200

May 1, 2013

Earlier this morning I wrote about how United, US Airways and Delta all increased their ticket change/cancellation fees on routes in North America from $150 to $200 in the past week and speculated that American Airlines would probably soon follow suit. Well, I didn’t have long to wait to see whether my prediction would come [...]

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Targeted Amex 35% Transfer Bonus to Air France/KLM Flying Blue

May 1, 2013

Now through May 31, 2013, American Express is offering a targeted 35% bonus on transfers of Membership Rewards points to Air France/KLM’s loyalty program, Flying Blue. If you’re not yet a member of Flying Blue, you can join here. This offer is targeted and you might notice that when you log into Membership Rewards normally it [...]

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Higher Airline Change Fees Are Here To Stay – United, US Airways and Delta All Raise Prices

May 1, 2013

Update: On the morning of the publication of this post, American Airlines also announced it would be matching United, US Airways and Delta in increasing its ticketing change/cancellation fees for travel within the U.S., between the U.S. and Canada, and between both the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, Puerto Rico & the Virgin Islands, the [...]

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US Airways 100% Buy Miles Promotion Through May 31, 2013

May 1, 2013

Now through May 31, 2013, US Airways is offering up to a 100% bonus on purchased miles. There is a limit to 50,000 purchased miles (so 100,000 with the bonus). It is a tiered bonus, so you only get the full 100% bonus if you buy at least 30,000 miles. Here’s how it works: Buy/gift [...]

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Follow Me (And My Mom) On Our Mother’s Day Trip To Chile!

April 30, 2013

Back in February, I bought my mom (and myself) a Mother’s Day present of $900 roundtrip business class tickets from New York to Santiago, Chile, when there was an amazing fare deal on LAN. We just started our trip and we’re on our way to Santiago, so I wanted to reach out to readers for [...]

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Targeted American Status Match and Challenge Promo – Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum Offers

April 30, 2013

Loyalty Lobby reports on three targeted American Airlines promos that offer Gold, Platinum and Executive status matches and challenges to former elites looking to regain their status as well as packets of 500-mile upgrades. The offer is instant elite status through August 31, 2013, as well as the chance to extend that elite status through [...]

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Hotel Review: W Washington DC Wonderful Room

April 30, 2013

This weekend while I was in the DC area to attend the Freddie Awards and present at Frequent Traveler University, I decided to stay at the W Washington DC. I was originally going to stay at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner like most attendees of the conference but I wanted to bring Miles along with me [...]

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Virgin America 40% Bonus on Purchased Points – Worth It? (Generally, No)

April 30, 2013

Now through May 7, 2013, Virgin America is offering a bonus of up to 40% on purchased Elevate points. While not as generous as last October’s 50% bonus, this could still be something to consider if you’re a (very) few points short of a specific redemption. Buy 500 – 2,000 points to get a 20% [...]

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Travel Tuesday Top 10: Current Travel Credit Cards (And 10,000 Chase Point Giveaway)

April 30, 2013

Over the weekend I gave a talk at Frequent Traveler University in Tysons Corner outside Washington, DC called “The Points Guy’s Credit Card Thunderdome.” As you might guess from the title, we had a lot of fun debating the relative merits of the various travel credit cards on the market at the moment and putting [...]

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American Airlines To Open New York JFK Flagship Check-In in May

April 30, 2013

American Airlines just announced that it is bringing its signature Flagship Check-In experience to New York JFK starting May 1. So far, American only offers Flagship Check-In at Los Angeles LAX and Miami MIA. It also has one at London Heathrow that is available to passengers traveling to the US in First or Business Class [...]

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Air France First Class Cabin Awards To Open To Non-Elites

April 29, 2013

Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM and Air Europa, recently posted some major changes to the program which will come into effect in June including some big mileage redemption requirement increases for premium economy, business and first class on Air France. However, one of the other facts that was recently clarified [...]

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Major Flying Blue Air France KLM Devaluation

April 29, 2013

Late last week, Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM and Air Europa quietly rolled out some changes to award redemptions that will affect intercontinental award tickets including that starting in June 2013, it will be raising the number of miles for premium awards on Premium Economy, Business and First Class awards [...]

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British Airways Instant Avios Facebook Contest – Up To 60,000 Bonus Avios

April 29, 2013

BA just launched a Facebook promotion called Instant Avios where from now through May 13, 2013, you can play a game to win bonus Avios. The set up looks like a Vegas slot machine and when you “pull” the lever, you can win prizes of up to 60,000 Avios. To be eligible, you must follow [...]

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Maximize Monday: Airline Frequent Flyer Programs for Businesses

April 29, 2013

Normally when we talk about frequent flyer  accounts, we’re discussing those held by individuals or even households, but what you might not realize is that many airline frequent flyer programs  actually offer business accounts that allow businesses to earn points on the itineraries their employees travel while the individual employees still earn the miles and [...]

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New Hilton HHonors AXON Awards Announced – Another Devaluation

April 29, 2013

Hilton’s new AXON award levels were announced over the weekend (hat tip to Mr. Pickles) so we asked TPG Hilton contributor Nick Ewen to take a look at the new options and discuss what they will mean for travelers once they go into effect. In the wake of last month’s massive Hilton devaluation, one of [...]

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Video SRQ: How Do You Maintain Status On So Many Different Airlines?

April 28, 2013

TPG reader Michael is wondering how you can maintain status on multiple airlines while still frequently booking travel using miles: “I have only discovered your blog in the last year (since gaining status for the first time). It seems like you take a lot of trips on miles, so I wanted to ask (maybe naively) [...]

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Video SRQ: What is the Best Credit Card to Use to Book a Disney Cruise?

April 28, 2013

TPG Reader Jamie recently went on a Disney cruise with her family, but is now wondering how she could have been smarter about booking their trip: “My daughter turned five in March so my husband and I took our family of four on a Disney cruise, which we absolutely loved. I am now regretting not [...]

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SRQ: Does A Credit Card Annual Fee Count Toward The Minimum Spending Requirement For A Bonus?

April 28, 2013

A TPG reader approached me at the Freddies the other day to share a tragic story of major points bonus gone awry. Here’s what she told me: “Back in January, I applied for and got the Platinum Card from American Express during the limited-time offer of a 100,000-point sign-up bonus. You got 100,000 Membership Rewards [...]

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Saturday Recap: 35% Transfer Bonus From Amex to British Airways, 300 Free Priority Club Points, Best Western’s $50 Gift Card Promotion, Double AAdvantage Miles Between New York And Houston, Alitalia Cash and Miles Awards

April 27, 2013

Here’s a recap of the interesting points and miles news from this week: 35% Transfer Bonus From Amex to British Airways Avios: As a recap from earlier this week, American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 35% transfer bonus from Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios through June 7, 2013. While not quite as generous as recent transfer bonuses of 40% and [...]

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