Thursday Giveaway: 18,000 Avios and the Winner of the Tumi Vapor Carry-On Bag
While the current Amex transfer bonuses to British Airways (20% until December 31) and Virgin Atlantic (30%) aren't the best they've ever seen, they are still decent options to maximize your American Express Membership Rewards points- especially if you know how to extract the most value out of those programs. So, for today's Thursday Giveaway, I am going to be giving two lucky readers 9,000 British Airways Avios.
Why 9,000 Avios? Because that's the number you'd need for a short-haul roundtrip economy award thanks to BA's distance-based awards formula, and I want you to tell me what short-haul award you'd maximize 9,000 British Airways Avios for, whether it's an expensive intra-European route that is available on miles, or an ultra-expensive short-haul partner award on a carrier like American or Qantas. Whatever your choice, I want to know.
There are two ways to enter- one winner will be chosen through each entry method:
1. Comment: Leave a comment on this post with a great British Airways redemption for 9,000 Avios (you can see how many Avios a certain route requires by using the Avios Calculator). Remember, British Airways calculates award pricing a la carte, meaning every single leg needs to be priced out to calculate the total Avios needed, though I will entertain entries that leverage the Avios and Cash option as long as the total Avios needed are under 9,000 for the award. One way and roundtrip awards will be considered, though any entry that requires more than 9,000 Avios total will not be deemed as valid.
2. Facebook: Leave a comment on my Facebook wall with the same information - the redemption you'd use to maximize 9,000 Avios - and feel free to be creative, include a photo or a fun link to the destination if you like.
You must enter by 5PM Eastern Time on Monday, October 28, and we'll announce the winners (chosen at random as long as they have a valid entry that explains why the award is valuable to them) next week. Good luck!
For those of you interested in transferring Amex points to British Airways or Virgin Atlantic while the transfer bonuses are live check out these posts:
Amex Transfer Bonuses to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Go Live Tomorrow
Comparing Current Amex Transfer Bonuses to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic
Maximizing Virgin Atlantic Awards - Transfer Amex Points to Virgin or Other Partners?
Amex Transfer Bonuses to BA and Virgin: Maximizing Partner Redemptions
Transferring Amex Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios Versus Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
A History of Amex Transfer Bonuses
The Winner of Last Week's Tumi Vapor Roller Bag Giveaway Is...
Last week, I decided to give away one of the Tumi Vapor International Carry-On bags I had bought while the AAdvantage shopping portal was offering an incredible 35 miles per $1 spent at eBags. This is my favorite carry-on suitcase thanks to its a durable and sleek polycarbonate shell that won’t get dinged, and the divided packing section with a curtain with zip pockets and tie-down straps inside. It retails for $495.
To enter you had to leave a comment with your best carry-on packing tips and we got a ton of great ones, many of which I regularly put to use myself including rolling instead of folding certain items to prevent wrinkles, staving off wrinkles, static and even bed bugs with dryer sheets, bringing extra plastic bags for liquids and laundry, packing cubes seemed to be a popular accessory, and one person even suggested packing small bottles of booze to make your own cocktails onboard (though I don't use that one myself)!
The following winner was chosen at random:
Shannon: Top three packing tips for carry on: Combo rolling clothes and using compression sacks, extra mesh bag to separate dirty clothes while traveling and have all liquids in zip lock bag(s) in top pouch of carry on for easy access through security.
Great tip! Not only does she have a packing technique to share, but also a suggestion on how to deal with dirty clothes, and she makes it easier on the rest of us in the security line by coming prepared to remove her liquids.
We'll be in touch with your prize details, Shannon, and hope you put your new carry-on bag to good use!
Thanks to all who entered, and I can't wait to see your entries for this week's giveaway.
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