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Tip: Always Audit Your Loyalty Program Accounts
Nick Ewen
Senior editorial director
Nick Ewen is TPG's senior editorial director and helps readers leverage credit cards (he has 23 of them) and loyalty programs to travel more for less. He's been at TPG for over 11 years.
March 27, 2018
•
2 min read
Tip: Always Audit Your Loyalty Program Accounts
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In this hobby, knowledge is power. This adage holds true for maximizing travel rewards credit cards and taking advantage of award chart sweet spots, but it also applies to managing your account balances as well. Recently, I was reminded of an important strategy for doing just that: Make sure to regularly audit your various loyalty program accounts to ensure that your points and miles are posting properly.
The issue began when I traveled to Europe in November 2017 with my wife and daughter, and we snagged a great deal on a one-way business class ticket on Air Europa from Miami (MIA) to Munich (MUC) via Madrid (MAD). Unfortunately, the airline's online check-in system wouldn't take our Delta SkyMiles numbers, and we were very rushed at the airport and thus forgot to add them before the flight. Knowing I could retroactively request credit, I enjoyed our trip and faxed in our boarding passes and flight confirmation email upon our return.
Within a few days, the miles posted to my account and my daughter's account, but I noticed something strange in my wife's account:
When I clicked on the Reason Code link, I was told the following:
This was simply not possible, as my wife doesn't even have a membership with any other Air Europa partner. After a few emails back-and-forth, despite Delta's system showing that it was credited to another program, the agent agreed to post the miles to my wife's SkyMiles account manually.
7,557 SkyMiles are worth $90.68 based on TPG's most recent valuations, so this wasn't an insignificant number of miles, but even if you're just talking about a few hundred miles, it's worth keeping an eye on your accounts to make sure things post as they're supposed to. For some suggestions on how to do this, see my post How Do You Keep Track of Your Points and Miles?
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- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Apply for Capital One Venture X Business
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees
Best for businesses with high spending
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month