Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Considering it’s easy to earn heaps of American Airlines miles right now, I am re-posting this summary of our series that goes over all the details of how to redeem American Airlines miles. For a limited time, the Citi /AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard are both offering 60k […]
Category: AAExecutive
Redeem American Airlines Miles: Part 7 — Redeeming for Hawaii
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I am updating and re-posting this series on redeeming American Airlines miles in light of the fact that right now it’s super easy to earn 146,000 American Airlines miles. For a limited time, the Citi /AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard are both offering 50k bonus miles for spending $3,000 on […]
Redeem American Airlines Miles: Part 5 — Taxes, Fees, Fuel Surcharges
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I am updating and re-posting this series on redeeming American Airlines miles in light of the fact that right now it’s super easy to earn 146,000 American Airlines miles. For a limited time, the Citi /AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard are both offering 50k bonus miles for spending $3,000 on […]
Redeem American Airlines Miles: Part 4, Award Rules & How Many Miles You Need
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I am updating this post in light of the fact that American Airlines has added a new award rule: International awards are now limited to four segments per one-way and domestic to three per one-way. While it’s never a great thing when further restrictions are put in place, this one probably won’t affect tons of […]
Redeem American Airlines Miles: Part 3 — Where to Search Award Space for All Partners
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I am updating and re-posting this series on redeeming American Airlines miles in light of the fact that right now it’s super easy to earn 146,000 American Airlines miles. For a limited time, the Citi /AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard are both offering 50k bonus miles for spending $3,000 on […]
Six Ultra-Luxurious First Classes to Book with American Airlines Miles
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I am updating and re-posting this series on redeeming American Airlines miles in light of the fact that right now it’s super easy to earn 146,000 American Airlines miles. For a limited time, the Citi /AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard and the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard are both offering 50k bonus miles for spending $3,000 on […]
5 Ways to Stretch American Airlines Miles with Super Cheap Economy Awards
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards. American Airlines miles are currently one of the most valuable airline miles for economy awards because of off peak awards. During some months of the year, […]
Starpoints Transfer to 50% More American Airlines Miles Until September 14
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). You have less than two weeks left to take advantage of this transfer bonus! Until September 14, 2016, you can transfer 20,000 SPG Starpoints to 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. This is a repeat of an awesome promo we saw in the summers of 2014 and 2015. This is not the only SPG transfer bonus at the moment, with Aeroplan offering something similar. How many Starpoints can you transfer? Do Starpoints transfer instantly to American Airlines miles? In what increment must you transfer Starpoints to maximize this deal? How many Starpoints should you transfer speculatively? Here’s what American Airlines says: Convert your Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints® to AAdvantage® miles and earn a 20% bonus from August 1 – September 14, 2016. Plus, if you convert 20,000 points in one transaction, Starwood automatically adds a 5,000 bonus. With the additional 20% mileage bonus offered by the AAdvantage program, you’ll receive 30,000 miles from the transaction. The bottom line is 20,000 SPG Starpoints = 30,000 American Airlines miles until August 31. 20,000 Starpoints = 20,000 AAdvantage miles (1:1 transfer partner) Standard SPG bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles per 20,000 Starpoints transferred AAdvantage 20% mileage bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles Total: 20,000 Starpoints = 30,000 AAdvantage miles How Many Starpoints Can You Transfer? You can transfer up to 79,999 Starpoints per 24 hours to an airline. Since you need to send Starpoints in exact 20k point increments to maximize transfer bonuses, the effective limit is 60,000 Starpoints per day to 90,000 American Airlines miles. Starpoints do not transfer instantly to American Airlines miles. The transfer usually take 2-4 days in my experience. Other than the daily limit, there is no limit to the number of Starpoints you can transfer to American Airlines miles during this promotion. Speculative Transfers I value Starpoints at 2.5 cents each and AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, so I’d rather have 20,000 Starpoints ($500) than 30,000 American Airlines miles ($450). So I am not going to rush off and convert all my Starpoints to American Airlines miles since transferring kills the option value of holding transferable points. What if for my next award Asiana or Singapore or British Airways or Delta miles are better than American Airlines miles? I’d rue my transfer. However, if you have an immediate high value redemption in the mind, then this transfer bonus could help to top off your AAdvantage account balance. It is also very important to note that the bonus American Airlines miles will not post until after the SPG > AAdvantage transfer is complete, and could take up to seven business days according to the promotion’s terms and conditions (detailed below). You can hold American Airlines’ awards free of charge for five days, but not beyond that. Get More American Airlines Miles The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard® offers 30,000 bonus American Airlines miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of opening the card. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® offers 50,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. Included in the $450 annual fee, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® offers Admirals Club lounge membership, meaning you and up to 32 other people can access over 90 American Airlines Clubs in airports around the world whenever you’re flying–even if you’re not flying on American and and even if you’re not present. Offer Terms and Conditions (Click to enlarge) ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first three months that you can transfer to United miles, Singapore miles, Southwest points, British Airways miles, or use for 1.5 cents each toward any flight, hotel, or car rentals. Plus the card offers $300 in credits toward any travel purchase each calendar year, which is $600 in your first 12 months of cardmembership, $100 toward Global Entry, and worldwide lounge access. Basically it’s the best credit card ever, even with a $450 annual fee.
Hurry! Last Day to Get 75k Hilton, 60k AA, Prestige with Lounge Access
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Today (Wednesday August 31) is the last day to get 75,000 bonus points with the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card, 60,000 bonus miles with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®, and American Airlines lounge access through 7/23/17 with the Citi Prestige® Card. What’s changing with each offer? Which one should you get? Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Quick Facts Sign Up Bonus: 75,000 Hilton HHonors Points after $2,000 in spending in the first three months Normal Sign Up Bonus: 40,000 Bonus Points Category Bonuses: 6x at Hilton hotels; 3x at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations, 2x on all other purchases Spending Bonus: Any year in which you spend $1,000 at Hilton hotels, you will get 10,000 more Hilton points Value of Hilton Points: Free nights are available for 5,000 to 95,000 points, depending on the hotel’s category. I focus on the 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 point hotels. Perks: Free Hilton Silver Status, and Gold Status if you make four paid Hilton stays in 90 days Global Acceptance: Chip technology, 3% foreign transaction fee (do not use the card abroad!) Annual Fee: None Application Link: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® Quick Facts Sign Up Bonus: 60,000 American Airlines miles after $5,000 in spending in the first three months Normal Sign Up Bonus: 50,000 miles Admirals Club Membership: Full access to 90+ affiliated clubs and free guest access for two people each time you go. Plus authorized users get their own lounge access and free guests. Enhanced Airport Experience: Enjoy free checked bag, priority check-in, airport screening, and early boarding when flying American Airlines $100 Statement Credit: Receive one statement credit per account, every five years up to $100, for either the Global Entry or the TSA Pre✓® application fee. Category Bonuses: 2x on American Airlines purchases Value of American Airlines miles: Depends on the redemption, on the new American Airlines award chart, I expect to get 1.5 cents of value per mile Elite Qualifying Miles: Get 10,000 elite qualifying miles each year you spend $40,000 on January to December statements Global Acceptance: Chip technology and no foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $450 Application Link: Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® Citi Prestige® Card Quick Facts Sign Up Bonus: 40,000 ThankYou Points after $4,000 in spending Category Bonuses: 3x on air travel and hotels, 2x on restaurants and entertainment Air Travel Credit: $250 statement credit per calendar year ($500 during first year of cardmembership) Global Entry: $100 application fee credit Lounge access if you get card by 8/31: Priority Pass lounges worldwide for you and two guests, American Airlines Admirals Club lounge access for you and two guests on days you fly American Airlines through 7/23/17 Lounge access if you get card 9/1 or later: Priority Pass lounges worldwide for you and two guests Free hotel nights: Get your 4th night free on all paid hotel stays (no blackout dates) Global Acceptance: Chip technology and no foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $450 Application Link: Citi Prestige® Card Which Card Is Most Urgent to Get All three of these offers are from Citi, and conventional wisdom is that you can only get one Citi card in a day, so which one is most urgent to get? The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card‘s standard offer is 40,000 bonus points. It’s increased offer is often only 50,000 points, so this is 50% better than its good offer. You can use the 75,000 bonus points plus the points you earn from meeting the minimum spending requirement for 20 free nights at Hiltons worldwide. That’s an insane haul for a card with only a $2,000 minimum spending requirement and no annual fee. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®‘s standard offer is 50,000 bonus miles, so the 60,000 bonus miles is about $150 better at my valuation of 1.5 cents per American Airlines mile. This sign up bonus is big enough for a roundtrip to Asia, Europe, or South America, and the card comes with full Admirals Club membership, worth $500 in the first year. The Citi Prestige® Card loses a benefit that’s harder to quantify. If you get the card today, you get 10.5 months of Admirals Club access for yourself every time you fly American Airlines. Plus when you go in, you can bring in any two guests or your spouse and all your kids under 18. For some people, that lounge access is worth about the $500-per-year sticker price. For others, who would use it only once or twice, it’s worth under $100. I’d rank the urgency of the expiring offers this way: Hilton card dropping from 75k to 40k AA Executive card dropping from 60k to 50k Prestige losing AA lounge access If you use Hilton points wisely, 40k Hilton points is 10 free nights and 80k is 20 free nights. What are those 10 extra hotel nights worth to you? For some people, though, the order could be exactly reversed. If you really value American Airlines lounge access, you should probably get the Prestige today. In about a year, when you lose American Airlines lounge access with the Prestige, you can always get the American Airlines Executive card to maintain lounge access. As with many things in the miles world, there is no general right answer, only a right answer for you. I can say that more MileValue readers have gotten the 75,000 point Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card offer this week than the other two expiring offers. Which card are you getting today? Key Links Application Link: Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Full Analysis of Hilton 75k Offer Application Link: Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® Full Analysis of AA 60k Offer Application Link: Citi Prestige® Card Full Analysis of Citi Prestige Offer ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
60,000 Bonus on AA Executive Card Ends Wednesday [Three Days]
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Since June 1, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® has offered 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. The offer expires Wednesday (August 31, 2016.) The previous offer was 50,000 bonus miles. American Airlines miles are the best for super-cheap economy redemptions and ultra-luxury redemptions. The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® also offers Admirals Club lounge membership, meaning you can access over 90 American Airlines Clubs in airports around the world whenever you’re flying–even if you’re not flying on American. Plus you can bring in any two guests for free OR your spouse and all children under 18 for free on each visit. The only hitch is that the card has a $450 annual fee. That’s actually cheaper than the price of a new Admirals Club membership, and the 60,000 bonus miles are worth $900 to me, so I don’t mind paying the annual fee. Prices of Admirals Club Membership After meeting the card’s minimum spending requirement, you’ll have at least 65,000 American Airlines miles. That’s enough miles for a lot of flying at American’s off peak prices: 3 off peak one ways to Hawaii 5 to Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America 3 to Central America and Northern South America 2 to Southern South America 3 to Europe [for 67.5k miles] 2 to East Asia Or go for luxury and use you American Airlines miles to book: Cathay Pacific First Class to anywhere in East Asia Etihad First Class to anywhere in the Middle East or Indian Subcontinent Japan Airlines First Class Qantas First Class Malaysia Airlines First Class If you’ve been wanting to get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® with 60,000 bonus American Airlines and just haven’t gotten it yet, don’t delay any longer. The offer ends Wednesday. Also See Citi AAdvantage Executive Card Offering 60,000 Bonus Miles, Lounge Membership Redeem American Airlines Series ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
Top Five American Airlines Admirals Clubs
Written by Sarah Page Maxwell @ MileValue
Seclusion from the hustle and bustle of normal airport traffic. Speedy wifi. Food. Drinks. Comfortable seating for naps. Outlets for recharging devices. These are all things I value about airport lounges. What’s the most important amenity to you? Now, we can all agree that, generally, lounges in the United States aren’t on the same level as international carriers’ abroad. But American Airlines lounges have greatly improved in the last year or two. They are also in the midst of renovating higher traffic lounges. Check out the list of American Airlines lounges here. An Admirals Club Membership, which provides you access to 50 American Airlines lounges and 40 partner lounges worldwide, costs $550 annually. The easiest and cheapest ways to gain access to all of these lounges is via the: Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®, which grants access to yourself as well as a maximum of 32 other people to all Admirals Clubs. You can add up to 10 authorized users and each one will get access to American Airlines lounges for himself and two guests. They get the lounge access no matter what airline they’re flying, and even if you, the accountholder, are not present. This card currently has a 60k sign up bonus for spending $5,000 within three months of opening the account, but that is changing on August 31, 2016– most likely to 50k. You can also get access to all the Admirals Club lounges (along with Priority Pass lounges) with the: Citi Prestige® Card, which offers American Airlines lounge access on any day you are flying American Airlines flights for you and either your spouse and kids or any two guests. This benefit only applies to cardholders that apply by August 31, 2016. If you apply after, you will not get Admirals Club access. The benefit will end for all cardholders, no matter when you applied for the card, on July 23, 2017. If the Prestige is a card you were already considering, now is the time people! Note that nothing is changing regard the Priority Pass benefit. Let’s take a look at some of the best Admirals Clubs. 5. LaGuardia International Airport, New York (LGA) Terminal B, Concourse D This lounge’s most appreciated quality is that it provides an escape from notoriously crappy Terminal B at LaGuardia, along with the notable views of New York. It looks pretty stylish and comfortable. Try to snag a window seat and watch planes take off and land amidst the backdrop of New York City’s skyline. Hours: Sunday – Friday: 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday: 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. 4. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Terminal 2 This recently renovated Admirals Club is described as big, open, and clean with comfy seats. There is a big skylight and a few trees that contribute to a peaceful ambiance. It has also has showers. Hours: Daily, 4:00 a.m. – 12:00 midnight 3. Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL) Scott’s favorite American Airlines lounge is at Honolulu International Airport. It is shared with Japan Airlines and Air New Zealand Business Class passengers, so its offerings are slightly upgraded. You can’t beat its garden views. It has tasty food options that are more of a meal than just snacks. These yelp reviews rave about the customer service as being a stand-out quality. That can make all the difference if you have an undesirable seat or irregular operations/weather delays and need help rearranging flights. Travelers with young children will also appreciate the large play area. Hours: Daily, 5:45 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. 2. Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Terminal A Yelp reviews are pretty good for this Admirals Club. One yelper commented about the impressive showers: “They have 6 wall jets, a hand-held shower head AND a massive rainfall shower head”. Wifi is quick and there is plenty of seating and outlets. But the real reason this lounge is in second place is the “lounge within the lounge”. There is no Flagship lounge at DFW, but there used to be. It is now just incorporated into the larger Terminal A Admirals Club, but not many people notice or know about it. One Mile at a Time gives directions on how to find it. What’s so great about it? It’s super quiet. No one is there. And it’s directly connected to a room with exercising equipment, which is pretty unique. Hours: Daily, 4:45 a.m. – 10:15 p.m. 1. Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan (NRT) Located near immigrations, this Admirals Club has many highlights. The food looks tasty, offering things such as burgers, sushi, salad, dumplings, pasta, fruit, cheese, crackers, and chocolate mousse. There are even automated beer dispensers. American style outlets are located near seating so you don’t have to worry about converters. Reviews report good views of the runway and quick wifi. You can shower and nap (nearly every yelp review says its quiet) after a long international flight. Hours: Thursday – Monday: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday & Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m Bottom Line I only focused on Admirals Clubs in this post, but you can also access Alaska Airlines lounges when flying American or Alaska on the same day, or select Qantas Clubs when departing on the same day on a Qantas operated flight or an American marketed flight operated by Qantas. Did I leave out any of your favorite Admirals Clubs? Let us know in the comments which are your favorites and those that don’t deserve attention. You get an Admirals Club membership by signing up for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. August 31, 2016 will be the last day to get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® sign up bonus of 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles. You also get Admirals Club access by signing up for the Citi Prestige® Card by August 31, 2016, that will last through July 23, 2017. ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
Great Award Space for 3 Different Trips You Can Take With 65,000 AA Miles
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). August 31, 2016 will be the last day to get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® sign up bonus of 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles. There’s a lot you can do with the 60,000 mile sign up bonus from the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. You’ll actually have 65,000 miles after meeting the $5,000 minimum spending requirement to unlock the bonus. Here’s four ways to spend those 65,000 American Airlines miles. Fly five people to the US and Mexico, Caribbean, or Central America during the time window of April 27 to May 20 or September 7 to November 14 (off peak dates). If you and your spouse both got this card, you could take five people including yourselves on roundtrips and still collectively have 5,000 miles leftover. Fly yourself to Europe from the US in Business class and still have 7,500 miles leftover Fly roundtrip in Business Class to Northern South America and still have 5,000 miles leftover. Lucky for you, there’s plenty of award space for upcoming months on these routes that makes these trips not just theoretical prices on an award chart, but 100% doable in the near future. Award Space Miami <-> Belize The calendars below show non-stop award space for five travelers between Miami and Belize flying American Airlines (you only get the Off Peak price of 12,500 each way when flying AA planes). Here is Miami to Belize. And here’s the return back to Miami from Belize. New York City <-> Paris Treat yourself one of the ways to Paris in Business Class. Calendars below show non-stop award space for one traveler, flying only American Airlines planes since you want to avoid British Airways for the massive fuel surcharges. Here is New York City to Paris. And here’s the return to New York City from Paris. Miami -> Lima, Quitos -> Miami Take that dream trip to Machu Picchu, and pamper yourself with Business Class roundtrip. The calendars below show non-stop award space for one person. January and February is the prettiest time to be in Lima. That is the wet season for the area around Machu Picchu, but I think the ruins are especially mystical shrouded in cloud and fog, and there are less people. Here is Miami to Lima. And here’s Quito to Miami. Be adventurous! Business Class award space from Lima to Miami around the time of return is not so hot. But there’s tons of room flying back from Quito. Just imagine, you can see the Galapagos AND Machu Picchu in one trip! Use 7,500 Avios to hop between Lima and Quitos– it’s only a two hour fligh Connections If you don’t live in one of the gateway cities listed above, you can add a leg from or to your hometown airport in the United States for no extra miles as long as it’s SAAver level space and is in the same or a lower cabin than your transoceanic leg. Bottom Line The 60,000 mile sign up bonus for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® is ending on August 31, 2016. If you want all 65,000 miles you’ll earn by meeting the minimum spending requirement, sign up this week. As you can see, there’s a lot you can do with those miles, and not just theoretically. Want more inspiration for how to spend 65,000 American Airlines miles? Read 11 Cool Things You Can Do With the Sign-up Bonus from the AAdvantage Executive Mastercard. ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
Save $2,500 Per Year with Citi Price Rewind, How It Works + Reader Success Stories
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Citi offers Price Rewind as a free feature on its personal cards like the: Citi Prestige® Card Citi ThankYou® Premier Card Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard® Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® It’s not a highly publicized benefit, but it can save you a lot of money each year, as proven by our reader success stories in this post. Basically you register purchases online and if the price drops within 60 days of the purchase, Citi refunds you the difference up to $2,500 per year with a maximum of $500 per item. The process is explained clearly in this video. Or, if you prefer, this infographic. Citi Price Rewind has saved cardholders $3,022,232 in January through June of 2016 alone at an average of $24.42 per refund. How to Access Price Rewind There are two ways: 1. Go to citipricerewind.com and sign in with your Citi card’s online account info (click on either sign on option) 2. Go to Citi’s website, sign in, and click card benefits. You can find it from there. How to Register a Product Enter your product name to search Citi’s inventory on citipricerewind.com When registering a product, be as specific as possible since Citi has quite a large inventory. Details that can help specify aside from the product name are model number and/or UPC code (try Amazon if you can’t find them elsewhere). For example, when I searched a very general term like “macbook”, it turned up 29,959 results. Once you’ve narrowed down your product, click Track This Item and you will be brought to a page where you need to fill in the purchase price, date of purchase, and where you bought it: Then you Start the Price Rewind. Quick Facts About the Process Citi will search for lower prices for a 60 day period of time post-purchase (not from when you registered the purchase, but from when the purchase was actually made) The most you can get refunded for one item is $500. The most you can get refunded in one year is $2,500. You will receive an email alert if a lower price is found within the 60 day post-purchase time period If you receive the email alert, sign in to citipricerewind.com and request a refund. Remember to keep your original, itemized receipt for this as they will likely ask you to upload it. If your refund is $25.01 or more, you can choose between a statement credit or a check through the mail. If you request a check Citi says it will take 10 to 14 business days. If your refund is less than $25.01, it will automatically be issued as a statement credit (processing time of two to three days) Requests for a refund must be done within 180 days of the original purchase. Which Purchases You Can Register and When You Should Anything you buy with your Citi card within the United States qualifies, as long as it’s not in the list in the next section (Which Purchases You Can’t Register). When you make any large purchase on your Citi card, the likelihood for bigger savings via Price Rewind increases. So register all your expensive purchases. It would also be wise to register any purchases around the holidays, as sales are common post-holiday season to get rid of access inventory. Here’s a good hack: avoid getting trampled by Black Friday crowds by doing all your holiday shopping the week before on your Citi card. Register all the products on Price Rewind, watch the savings role in the next week, and laugh at your friends who wake up at 5 am to wait at doorbuster sales. Which Purchases You Can’t Register Items purchased with reward points, miles, gift cards or store credits do not count (the entire purchase must have been made on a Citi card). The following list about which purchases don’t qualify is from the terms and conditions page of citipricerewind.com: Any motorized land or air vehicles or their permanently attached parts, such as tires. Boats. Products that can spoil or be used up, such as food, fuel, perfume, printer cartridges and cosmetics. Jewelry including loose gems, precious stones, metals and pearls. Watches are covered. Antiques, art objects or stamps. Tickets. Land, buildings or fixtures meant for installation, such as windows, wallpaper or wall-to-wall carpeting. Cash (including rare or precious coins), checks, promissory notes, gift cards or any other financial document that represents money. Items purchased for resale, professional or commercial use. Plants or animals, including stuffed or mounted animals or fish. Advice or services for a purchased item, such as product installation, labor, maintenance or repair. Firearms or ammunition. What if I Find a Lower Price than Price Rewind? If you find a lower price than Price Rewind does, you can file a claim manually. You have a 180 day window to find and claim the lower price. You can download a claim form by logging on to citipricerewind.com and clicking on “My Price Rewinds”: In the bottom right hand corner of every one of your Price Rewinds, there is a link to download a claim form. These are the documents you will need to send in with the claim form according to Price Rewind’s FAQ’s: A copy of the itemized receipt for the item purchased. A copy of the merchant’s advertisement with the lower price for the same item by the same manufacturer. The advertisement must state; Item Effective date of sale (within 60 days of purchase) Sale price Model number and model year Authorized dealer or merchant name (in US only) Send everything to: Citi® Price Rewind P.O. Box 901024 Fort Worth, TX 76101 Call Toll Free 1-855-569-7366 Fax: 817-820-5917 Peoples’ Experiences with Price Rewind Flyertalk There isn’t a whole lot of buzz on Flyertalk about Citi Price Rewind, but what talk has gone on is nearly all positive. This Flyertalker dropped some useful knowledge that the refund per year limit is not person, but per account. So he’s saying if you have the Citi Prestige® Card and the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card for example, you could apparently get up to $5,000 refunded from Citi per year. Anyone have any personal experience with this? Let us know in the comments if so. Reader Success Story Reader Amy C saved at least $59.20 on a dress she bought at Nordstrom for $148 thanks to Price Rewind: She sent us the following screenshot of one of her Citi Price Rewind account page (the whole 60 day post-purchase period had not elapsed yet, this was only partially through it): More recently Amy C sent me another great illustration of how Price Rewind is saving her another $50. Price Rewind found a cheaper bluetooth speaker than the one she bought on Amazon in June. Thanks for continuing to share these data points, Amy C! Dissatisfied Reader Reader Gina had a less than satisfactory experience when she did not receive the refund due to her: Any update on this, Gina? Tips From Readers Who Have Used Citi Price Rewind If you plan on buying multiple of the same item you want to register on Price Rewind, be sure to buy them in separate transactions: Use it to save on high shipping costs and to get your desired item sooner when the online price is cheaper than the store: Bottom Line The next time I buy something expensive, I’ll give Citi Price Rewind a whirl if I’m not meeting minimum spending requirements on other cards. It’s a great way to save yourself time and money on big purchases since Citi Bank does the market research for you– and nearly all the reviews I’ve read have been happy customers. Have you ever used Citi Price Rewind? Did you get a refund? If you haven’t used it yet, and you have one of these cards, give it a shot and let us know how it turns out. Citi Prestige® Card Citi ThankYou® Premier Card Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® MasterCard® Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
60k Bonus on Citi AAdvantage Executive Card Ends August 31
Written by Sarah Page Maxwell @ MileValue
August 31, 2016 will be the last day to get the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® sign up bonus of 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. The standard offer for this card is 50,000 American Airlines miles, so that is what we can safely assume it will return to. Here are the details on the current offer. Read my full review of the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Quick Facts For a limited time, earn 75,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $7,500 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening* Admirals Club® membership for you with guest privileges (up to 33 people total can get Admirals Club access!!) 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles from American Airlines after $40,000 spent in purchases each calendar year* No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases* Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines and US Airways purchases and 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases* First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines and US Airways itineraries for you and up to eight companions traveling with you on the same reservation* The card also has a $450 annual fee. What You Could Do with 65k American Airlines Miles Why 65,000 American Airlines miles? Because to earn the sign-up bonus on this card, you will need to spend $5,000, so you will earn at least 5,000 more miles (1x spending, or perhaps 2x if you buy any American Airlines tickets) in that process. So, what can you do with 65k American Airlines miles? Fly five people roundtrip between the US and Mexico, Caribbean, or Central America during the time window of April 27 to May 20 or September 7 to November 14 (off peak dates); and still have 2,500 miles leftover Take eight flights within the Contiguous 48 U.S. states & Canada that are under or equal to 500 miles and still have 5,000 miles leftover Fly yourself to Europe from the US in Business class and still have 7,500 miles leftover Fly roundtrip in Business Class to Northern South America and still have 5,000 miles leftover. Fly yourself to Japan or Korea from the US in Business Class and still have 5,000 miles leftover. Read the series I wrote that explains everything about redeeming American Airlines miles including guides based on where exactly you want to go. Remember to consider Citi’s new sign up bonus rule before applying for this card: you are only eligible to earn a sign up bonus if you haven’t opened or closed a card from the same type (brand or co-brand) within the last 24 months. What American Airlines Admirals Clubs Are Like Check out the list of American Airlines lounges here. American Airlines lounges have greatly improved in the last year or two. You can now get free soup, fruit, cheese and crackers, crudités, desserts, alcohol, and soft drinks. In Phoenix recently, I made a meal of chicken noodle soup, tomato bisque, cheddar cheese and crackers, celery and hummus, and brownie bites. I saved $10 by not getting Chinese food in the terminal. You can also get free wifi and a comfortable chair. My favorite American Airlines lounge is at Honolulu International Airport. It is shared with Japan Airlines and Air New Zealand Business Class passengers, so its offerings are slightly upgraded. You also can’t beat its garden views. Here is a review of a typical American Airlines lounge in Miami. Bottom Line On August 31, 2016 at 5 pm ET the 60,000 AA mile limited time sign up bonus offer for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® is ending. It will probably change to 50,000 American Airlines based on previous information. 10,000 American Airlines miles, which is most likely the difference between the bonus offer now and on August 31, is almost enough miles to fly to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America from April 27 – May 20, and September 7 – November 14 (12,500 miles needed). My take on this card is that for some people it will be one of the best offers of the year. For other folks, this will be an offer they should skip in favor of cards with spending requirements and annual fees that more closely align with their comfort levels. If you are interested, sign up soon so you don’t miss the deadline and all those extra miles. Application link: Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.
Tons of Etihad First Class Apartment Award Space on the A380: London to Abu Dhabi
Written by Sarah Page Maxwell @ MileValue
Etihad First Class Apartment on the A380 currently has tons of availability between London and Abu Dhabi in April and May of 2017. This post is aimed at all the readers out there based in the United Kingdom. However, that is not to say this award space isn’t useful for those of you based in the United States as a part of an extended or around the world trip. You can fly Etihad First Class from London to Abu Dhabi for 62,500 American Airlines miles. As long as you pick award space on an A380, your First Class seat will be enclosed in a suite with its own couch, flat screen TV, vanity unit, and access to a shower, onboard lounge, and bar. The Etihad First Class Apartment on the A380 is the fanciest commercial First Class in the world, which you get to fly for seven and a half hours from London to Abu Dhabi. Etihad has nine First Class Apartments on its A380s spread across four-and-a-half rows in the front of the upper deck. Award Space I’m going to show you the current picture of award space during two popular months to travel to the United Arab Emirates, when the weather is agreeable: April and May of 2016. If you want to fly in an A380 First Class Apartment, the key is finding a flight on an A380 specifically. Check in the aircraft column on the search results of etihad.com. Let’s look at London to Abu Dhabi first. Every day on the calendar that is around 88,000 (that’s the price in Etihad Guest miles, not American Airlines miles) has award space in First Class. The Guest First column is the award space that American Airlines miles has access too. Beginning April 16 and lasting through May, there is First Class award space every day from London Abu Dhabi. There are anywhere from two to three flights a day, some days with two flights on the A380 and some days all three flights are on the A380. Some flights have one seat available and even more flights have two seats available. There is almost as much First Class space in the opposite direction from Abu Dhabi to London, although it’s not every day like London to Abu Dhabi. Tips for Award Searches Find the award space on etihad.com, and call American Airlines at 800-882-8880 to book it, and pay the government taxes on the flights (highlighted above). You won’t pay anything to book over the phone. Ignore the miles price listed on etihad.com. You will pay 62,500 American Airlines miles instead. Ignore the cash component listed next to the mileage price. That includes a small fuel surcharge that you will not pay when booking an American Airlines award. You’ll pay the taxes listed above. American Airlines only has access to award space in the “GuestSeat” column. You’ll notice this space prices around 88,000 Etihad miles. That’s convenient to scan the dates at the top of your award search to see which dates have award space for that price. (Again, you won’t pay that price, but knowing it makes award searching quicker.) Out of Pocket Costs American Airlines doesn’t collect fuel surcharges on Etihad award flights, but departing from London will incur expensive departure taxes, making for a total out of pocket cost of 192.75 GBP (roughly 253 USD) for that segment. To avoid departure taxes and to expand the scope of your trip, you could always use Avios (or transfer your Membership Rewards to Avios with the current 50% transfer bonus) to hop over to a low departure tax city, just choose one that Etihad flies to from Abu Dhabi, and then continue the trip from there. But you won’t be able to fly the A380 First Class Apartment this way, just normal Etihad First Class (which is still a fantastic product, just with a smaller enclosed suite that doesn’t have a couch or vanity). Luckily the out of pocket cost on the return to London from Abu Dhabi is much lower (24.30 GBP or 32 USD). Bottom Line There is tons of award space available flying the most luxurious commercial First Class in the world, the Etihad Apartments on the A380, between London and Abu Dhabi during April and May of 2017. Read Scott’s trip report on his journey in an A380 First Class Suite between Abu Dhabi and New York to learn about all the luxurious details. If you’re based in the United States and want to take advantage of this award space, here are two ways to earn a lot of American Airlines miles quickly: The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® currently comes with 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles and Admirals Club lounge membership after spending $5,000 within the first three months of opening the card The CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select card normally comes with 30,000 American Airlines miles after spending $1,000 in three months, but it’s common to find links for the 50,000 AA mile bonus for spending $3,000 in three months (hat tip Doctor of Credit). ———————————————————— Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers. If you liked this post, sign up to receive one free daily email every morning with all of the day’s posts! You can also follow MileValue on Twitter and Facebook. Earn 60,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard®. Plus get American Airlines lounge access for you and guests. My full review of the card.