Category: citiprestige

Citi ThankYou Adds AA AAdvantage as a Limited Time Transfer Partner

aadvantage, American, American Airlines, Citi, Citi Premier, Citi Prestige, Citi ThankYou Points, citiprestige, Transfer Partners, Travel

Written by Anna Zaks @ MileValue

In a little bit of a shocking move, Citi has announced a new limited time ThankYou Points transfer partner – American AAdvantage.

Starting July 18, 2021 and running through November 13, 2021, if you have either the Citi Premier Card or the Citi Prestige Card, you can transfer ThankYou Points 1:1 to American AAdvantage miles. If you have the Citi Preferred or the Citi Rewards+ cards, you can transfer the points 2:1.

The post Citi ThankYou Adds AA AAdvantage as a Limited Time Transfer Partner appeared first on MileValue.

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You Can Still Book on Old American Airlines Chart with Alaska or Etihad Miles

aadvantage, Alaska, American Airlines, citiprestige, etihad, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

Still alive 16 months later. How long will it last? On March 22, 2016, the American Airlines devaluation struck. American Airlines DevAAluation is Live 🙁https://t.co/rBcWMHUvbz pic.twitter.com/2rYyEghhwV — MileValue (@MileValue) March 22, 2016 However, you can still book American Airlines flight at the old prices if you use Alaska or Etihad miles. I don’t know how long […]

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Sweetspots with Etihad Miles: 20,000 Miles One Way to Europe

citiprestige, etihad, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

Updated 4/17/2017 to reflect: a previously unnoticed sweetspot flying GOL within South America pointed out by a reader Etihad’s devaluation of their Brussels Airlines award chart as New York to Brussels is no longer the sweetspot it once was. Flying roundtrip between New York and Brussels in Brussels Business Class used to cost 36,620 Etihad miles + taxes. […]

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The Cheapest Ways to Get to Hawaii

aadvantage, allegiant, American, Avios, citiprestige, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest, Travel, United

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to visit, and judging by the number of inquiries I get about booking awards to Hawaii, it’s clear that many people agree. There are a number of cheap ways to get there that I’ll list in order. 1. Korean Miles Award: 25,000 Korean Miles and […]

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Best Credit Card to Buy Airfare

American express, Banner, Citi, citiprestige, Credit Card Bonuses, Credit Cards, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

Award taxes and airfare add up for everyone reading this blog, especially if you book yourself reimbursable tickets for work. What credit card should you use to pay the airfare and award taxes for your travel? Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every […]

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Best Order for Card Applications to Maximize Bonuses Over Your Lifetime

American express, Banner, Barclays, Chase, Citi, citiprestige, Credit Cards, Travel

Written by Sarah Page Maxwell @ MileValue

Updated 9/21/16 with consideration of Citi’s new sign up bonus rule.  If you’re just getting into the miles hobby or coming back after a break, it’s important to realize that there is an order in which to apply for credit cards that can help you maximize your award earning potential. Applying at random not only slows your award earning efficiency but can also result in unnecessary denials (and wastes of hard credit inquiries that affect your credit score), thanks to bank rules and sign-up bonus conditions. There are numerous institutions that issue travel credit cards, but I’m going to talk about five them, as they issue the majority of cards that are worth signing up for: Chase Citibank American Express Barclaycard Bank of America This is the order I suggest applying for credit cards in: Look at all the cards offered by Chase, and pick up to five that you want. If there are five that interest you, get them all. If there are less than five Chase cards you want (we’ll call the number of Chase cards you want “X”), apply for 5-X Citi cards that interest you, and then X Chase cards. Over the course of time, apply for other Citi cards, Barclaycards, and Bank of America cards. At the same time, keep an eye out for the highest sign-up bonuses available from American Express cards and apply for them when you see them. Consider stopping or slowing down for 24+ months in order to re-up on Chase cards at some point. The Best Order for Card Applications Step-by-Step 1. Look at all the cards offered by Chase, and pick up to five that you want.  Chase has some of the best travel cards out there with incredible sign-up offers. If you have gotten any five credit cards total from any banks within the last 24 months, all Chase cards will be off limits to you– this is called the Chase 5/24 Rule. The rule previously only applied to Chase branded cards specifically (like the Sapphire Preferred, Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Slate) but now it also applies to their co-branded and business cards (United Explorer, British Airways, Ink Plus). 2. If there are five Chase cards that interest you, get them all. You can be approved for multiple Chase cards on the same day. I know people who have been approved for two personal and one business card from Chase on their first-ever credit card applications. 3. If there are less than five Chase cards you want (we’ll call the number of Chase cards you want “X”), apply for 5-X Citi cards that interest you, and then apply for X Chase cards.  You are only eligible to earn a sign up bonus on a Citi card if you haven’t opened or closed a card from the same type (brand/co-brand) within the last 24 months. By applying for the Citi cards you want first (ONLY if you want less than five Chase cards) you will start that 24 month clock sooner, therefore allowing you to get these Citi cards for a second time more quickly than you otherwise could. I would pick the ones you most want to repeat (or ones within the same co-brand of another card you want) with the highest sign-up bonuses. And make sure to pick the most valuable sign up bonus within a Citi card’s brand/co-brand since you won’t be able to get another Citi card within that co-brand for at least 24 months. Confused about what I mean by brand/co-brand? Let’s say you opened a Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card seven months ago. That means for the next 17 months (a full 24 months after you opened it) you are not eligible for the sign up bonus from the Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Reserve Card, the other Hilton co-branded card issued by Citi. If you close that Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card, the 24 month clock will start over again and you won’t be eligible for any other Citi Hilton cards for 24 months past the date you closed it. Citi’s behavior regarding application timing is as follows: You can be approved for no more than one card in a week or two Citi cards in a 65-day period. If you want three Citi cards, get them on Days 1, 9, and 66. This is the timeline that has worked best for other people. Say you want two Citi and three Chase cards, get one Citi and three Chase cards on Day 1 and one Citi card on Day 9. 4. Over the course of time, apply for other Citi cards, Barclaycards, and Bank of America cards. At the same time, keep an eye out for the highest sign-up bonuses available for American Express cards and apply for them when you see them. Here are American Express’ rules to consider: You can only get the bonus on a American Express personal card or business card once per lifetime (with the exception of a possible targeted offer). This is why you should choose which offer you sign up with carefully. The American Express Platinum personal card and American Express Platinum Card Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz are separate cards, so you can get the bonus on each. You are limited to holding four American Express credit cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit (Amex Gold, Everyday, Delta, and SPG are credit cards.) Separately, you are limited to holding four American Express charge cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit. (Amex Platinum is a charge card). Here are Barclaycard’s rules and other tips to consider: Applicants with zero Barclaycards may be able to get several at once. Applicants who have a Barclaycard will not be approved for another for at least six months since the last Barclaycard application. Barclaycard will deny people for having too many Barclaycards, not enough spending on existing Barclaycards, too much credit with Barclaycard, or too many accounts with other banks. Here are Bank of America’s rules and other tips to consider: As for the Alaska Airlines personal and business cards (the only Bank of America cards worth getting), you can get as many as you’d like at one time. I usually get one of each every 91 days, but people have gotten multiple at once or waited less time between applications. Putting these rules together, it is important to snipe Amex offers. You should always be on the lookout for very short term offers with huge bonuses like the 100,000 point offer on the Amex Platinum that lasted just hours. When these bonuses appear, jump on them. When Amex cards have their “normal” bonuses, skip them in favor of normal or elevated bonuses from Bank of America and Barclaycard. 5. Consider stopping or slowing down for 24+ months in order to re-up on Chase cards at some point. Remember that pesky Chase 5/24 Rule? If you stop collecting cards for a 24 month period, then it stops applying to you. However there is another Chase rule that comes into play here if you want to open a repeat Chase card: You can only get the bonus on the same Chase card once every 24 months, and this 24-month clock starts when you received the last bonus (which may be several months after you opened the account). So the actual waiting period before you can get a repeat sign-up bonus is 24 months plus the amount of time it took you get the bonus the previous time. Whether you should stop getting new cards to reset your Chase clock is just a math problem. How many points in future sign up bonuses will stopping unlock for you (and how much are they worth?) versus how many are you giving up during your hiatus (and how much are they worth?) Free Credit Card Consultation Service Confused? Just not interested in doing the work yourself? No problem– we’re here to do it for you. Simply fill out this form and we will email you back with our personally tailored recommendations, often within hours. Voilà. Which Travel Credit Cards are the Best Right Now? Listed below are the top three cards out of my top 10 choices for travel credit cards at the moment. Note that I update this post monthly, so these are my top three choices as of September 2016. Chase Sapphire Reserve I think the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the best credit card offer ever. It offers an astounding 100,000 Ultimate Rewards after $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to United, British Airways, Singapore, Korean, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and more.   You get a $300 travel credit each calendar year, which can be applied twice within the first year of card membership for a total of $600 in travel credit. Chase Sapphire Reserve holders also get a free Priority Pass Select membership, which gives you access to over 900 lounges around the world, and free unlimited guest access to those lounges for anyone you’re traveling with. The Sapphire Reserve offers 3x Ultimate Rewards on travel and restaurants. Travel and restaurants are broad categories and include flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, tolls, parking, Uber, taxis, restaurants, bars, fast food, and night clubs. The $450 annual fee is not waived, but you can see how the benefits more than make up for it. Ink Plus The Ink Plus by Chase is a business card that offers 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months. Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to United, British Airways, Singapore, Korean, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and more. For the reasons presented in this post, this is one of the first three cards I recommend you get if you can get a business card. The Ink Plus earns 5x points on internet, phone, and cell phone bills; 5x points on purchases at office supply stores; 2x points on hotels and gas; and 1x points on everything else. The $95 annual fee is not waived. Chase Sapphire Preferred The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a personal card that earns 50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Ultimate Rewards transfer 1:1 to United, Singapore, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and more. For the reasons presented in this post, this is one of the first two cards I recommend everyone get. You also get 5k bonus points for adding an authorized user while applying, so I think of this as a 55k bonus point card. (Adding an authorized user does not prevent that person from getting the card at the same time or in the future as a primary account holder and getting the full sign up bonus.) The Sapphire Preferred earns 2x points on dining and travel. Dining includes bars, restaurants, and fast food. Travel includes airfare, hotels, taxis, rental cars, tolls, parking, and much more. The Sapphire Preferred has no annual fee the first year, then $95 thereafter. Resources for Beginners I keep a list of my most highly valued mile currencies updated on the MileValue Leaderboard The bottom of this post contains an index for my latest Free First Class series, a collection of information to give beginners an general knowledge base. Issuing Banks Rules for Approvals and New Bonuses has all the bank rules mentioned throughout this post in an easy to digest, bulleted format. It’s great to bookmark for future reference in case you ever have a question when applying for cards. How Much Are Frequent Flier Miles Worth? Calculating your Own Valuations The Two Ways to Value Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses A Change to My Advice on Applying for Credit Cards How to book a round-the-world trip in 2016– includes some of the most underpriced awards between all regions of the world. Bottom Line Choose the order in which you apply for travel credit cards carefully as it makes a serious impact on your award earning potential over the course of a lifetime. Apply for five Chase cards if there are five that interest you. If you want less than five Chase cards, apply for Citi cards first, but not so many that it would put you over a total of five cards when counting your desired Chase cards. Then move on to collecting other Citi, Barclaycard, Bank of America, and American Express cards, remembering to cherry pick the highest sign-bonuses for Citi and American Express cards. ———————————————————— 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.

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Free Giveaway: Four Pairs of United Club Passes that Expire 9/30/16

citiprestige, Travel, United

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Generous reader Lien is donating four pairs of United Club passes that expire September 30, 2016–in one month–to four lucky winners (one pair to each winner.) If you have a use for the passes between September 8th (to allow time for them to be mailed to you) and 30th of this month, comment on this post for a chance to win the passes. Include your real email address while commenting, so I can contact the winner. Your email address will not be displayed and will not be used for any other purpose. United has lounges all over the world. The clubs are a pleasant place to relax in a comfortable chair, use free wifi, and enjoy free snack and drinks. Here are the amenities. One-time entry goes for $59, so this giveaway could be worth up to $118. I’ll pick a winner by Sunday evening to get those passes in the mail as soon as possible. Even if you don’t win this giveaway, there are credit cards that offer free airport lounge access every time you travel like the Citi Prestige® Card, which offers free Priority Pass lounge access. ———————————————————— 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.

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Hurry! Last Day to Get 75k Hilton, 60k AA, Prestige with Lounge Access

AAExecutive, Citi, citiprestige, Hilton75k, Travel

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.

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5 Underpriced Awards on Obscure Award Charts

Alaska, Banner, Cathay Pacific, citiprestige, Delta, Singapore, Travel, Virgin Atlantic

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). With the proliferation of transferable points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints, Americans have access to cheap awards through tons of foreign programs. Here are five underpriced awards on foreign award charts and how to get the miles needed to book the awards. 1. Singapore Awards Between Hawaii and the Americas Singapore Airlines puts Hawaii and Central America–you know, those two places that are thousands of miles apart–into one region. This leads to awards “within” the region to price out at a ridiculously cheap 17,500 miles each way and 30,000 miles in Business Class. Similarly, Hawaii to South America is only 25,000 miles each way in economy and 40,000 miles in Business Class. This is huge even if you don’t live in Hawaii because roundtrip Singapore Airlines awards allow for one free stopover and up to three more stopovers for $100 each. That means you can book a roundtrip from Hawaii to South America with a stopover at your home airport in both directions for 50,000 miles + $100 + taxes. That would give you a roundtrip to South America plus two one ways to and from Hawaii on three separate trips. Full details: Singapore KrisFlyer Sweet Spot Central America/Hawaii Roundtrip to South America, Two Free One Ways to Hawaii for 50,000 Miles Singapore miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. 2. Virgin Atlantic Awards to Southern South America Virgin Atlantic has a number of partners including Delta. On Delta, to anywhere in South America costs only 45,000 Virgin Atlantic miles roundtrip or 90,000 roundtrip in Business Class. Compare that to the 60k or 125k Delta miles the same flights to Southern South America would cost. People disparage Delta award availability, but I find decent economy award space to South America on the carrier. Virgin Atlantic miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. 3. Promo Awards to Europe, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, or the Canary Islands with Flying Blue Miles Every month, Air France Flying Blue offers awards to Europe for 25% and 50% off from select cities. Here are the current offers to cities in North America. Oddly Flying Blue also classifies Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Canary Islands as a part of Europe, so sometimes you can find award prices as low as 12,500 Flying Blue miles (50% off) to these distant destinations. There are fuel surcharges, but I often think the deal is still too good to pass up in economy. I also really like Promo Awards from Brazil to Europe because flights leaving Brazil have no fuel surcharges by law. These enable a THINK BIG trip like your home airport to Brazil to France to your home airport. Full details on Promo Awards: Fly to Europeflying blue or Israel for 12,500 Miles Flying Blue miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Points, American Express Membership Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. 4. Alaska Awards to South Africa on Cathay Pacific Alaska Airlines charges a very reasonable 70,000 miles one way between the United States and Asia in Cathay Pacific First Class.It charges the same amount to Africa from the United States in Cathay Pacific First Class. Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific Hub) to Johannesburg is now served by a plane without First Class, but you can still get 16 hours in First Class from the USA to Hong Kong plus 13 hours in Business Class more to Johannesburg for only 70,000 Alaska miles. If you love flying, this is the deal for you. Alaska miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. You can also get Alaska Airlines miles from their churnable personal and business credit cards. 5. Virgin Atlantic Awards to Europe in Economy and Premium Economy Virgin Atlantic economy class awards to Europe require far fewer miles than competitors’ charge. From Atlanta, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, or Detroit, you only need 17,500 Virgin Atlantic miles for a one way flight to the United Kingdom. And taxes and fees on the one way from the United States to Europe are only $134.60! Combine a one way from the eastern United States to Europe for 17,500 Virgin Atlantic miles plus $135 and return from a low tax country to the United States on a one way award with United or American miles for a very cheap European vacation. You can also fly one way from Atlanta, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, or Detroit to London to in Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy for only 27,500 miles and $264.60. I wrote more about searching Virgin Atlantic award space, the fuel surcharges you’ll see, and booking the space in Sweetspots with Virgin Atlantic Miles: Awards to Europe for as Little as 10,000 Points. Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic is more akin to United First Class on domestic flights than United Economy Plus. It’s not just a big seat; Premium Economy comes with all the amenities in this promotional video. Virgin Atlantic miles are a 1:1 transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Points, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Plus there is the “90k offer” on the Virgin Atlantic credit card. Purchasing the Award Pay the taxes and surcharges for these awards with your Citi Prestige® Card. The Citi Prestige® Card offers a $250 Air Travel Credit each calendar year that offsets your first $250 in spending on airlines with the card. Taxes on an award ticket definitely count. The card also comes with 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, which can be transferred to 12 types of airline miles or used like cash toward the purchase of any ticket. And tomorrow (8/31) is the last day to get the Prestige to be eligible for the American Airlines lounge access benefit! Your Turn Did I miss any of your favorite awards on the obscure foreign award charts? Tell us about it in the comments. ———————————————————— 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.

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Have a Delta Amex Card? Here’s the Benefit You Didn’t Know About

Banner, citiprestige, Delta, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Delta changed the wording on its SkyMiles News & Updates page to include a heavier discount on annual CLEAR memberships for Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Members. Usually a CLEAR membership costs $179 per year. If you have one of the following Delta co-branded American Express cards (or the small business version) than you (the primary cardholder) get a $100 yearly discount, reducing the cost to $79 per year. What’s CLEAR? CLEAR is a means of bypassing TSA security lines. The process for enrolling looks similar to that of Global Entry and involves an online application as well as an in-person meeting. Once you’re enrolled, you stop at a CLEAR kiosk located near airport security and the kiosk’s biometric technology scans your iris and fingerprint to confirm your identity as pre-checked. Then you get to bypass the normal security line. CLEAR is available at 16 major airports. When CLEAR Is Worth It For many people, Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ ® will be more advantageous for the cost, especially considering that: you pay a $100 fee for Global Entry/TSA Pre✓ ® and the membership lasts for five years before you have to renew it a Gobal Entry/TSA Pre✓ ® credit statement that negates the applicaiton fee is a common perk of premium credit cards like the Citi Prestige® Card , Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Platinum Card® from American Express Gobal Entry/TSA Pre✓ ®  are more widespread in airports around the United States than CLEAR The distinct advantage of CLEAR is the discount for family members. So if you travel with a pack and you highly value time, then CLEAR could be a great option for you. It’s doubly as advantageous if you’re a family that frequently flies Delta. CLEAR is instituted in almost all Delta hubs. The only hub that doesn’t have CLEAR is Detroit, and that’s changing soon. Plain Old SkyMiles Members Get a CLEAR Discount Too This might even be beneficial to you if all you are is a SkyMiles member. All you need to be eligible for an $80 annual discount (not $100, like you get from being a Delta cardholder) on a CLEAR membership is to have a SkyMiles account. Register here for CLEAR at the SkyMiles discounted rate. Bottom Line Do you have a Delta Amex card and travel with your family often? Then it will probably interest you that Delta changed the wording on its SkyMiles News & Updates page. You are now eligible for a $100 discount off the yearly $179 membership fee for CLEAR, the security pre-check system that helps you skip normal TSA lines and offers cheap add-on memberships for other family members and free memberships for kids under 18 traveling with you. Already have CLEAR? What are your experiences with the program? Hat Tip Rene’s Points ———————————————————— 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.

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Top Five American Airlines Admirals Clubs

aadvantage, AAExecutive, American Airlines, citiprestige, Travel

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.

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Save $2,500 Per Year with Citi Price Rewind, How It Works + Reader Success Stories

AAExecutive, Citi, citiprestige, Travel

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.

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Get Citi Prestige by August 31 to Get American Airlines Lounge Access

aadvantage, citiprestige, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Right Now Citi Prestige® Card 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. It also offers Priority Pass lounge access worldwide for you and either your spouse and kids or any two guests, no matter what airline you fly. Full post on Citi Prestige Airport Lounge Access But Only Until July 23, 2017 The Citi Prestige® Card loses access to American Airlines lounges on July 24, 2017. It maintains Priority Pass lounge access. By August 31, 2016 If you are a current cardholder or open a new Citi Prestige® Card by August 31 (next Wednesday), you can enjoy American Airlines lounge access through July 23, 2017. If you open your card September 1 or later, you don’t get that 11 months of American Airlines lounge access. That information is from an email Citi sent me: I wanted to note that you are correct in stating that existing Citi Prestige cardmembers will have Admirals Club lounge access until July 23, 2017. But, we also want to be transparent that for those who become a Citi Prestige cardmember on or after September 1, 2016, they will not have access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges.   The following benefits of the Citi Prestige card will remain unchanged: Annual $250 Air Travel Credit $100 Statement credit for the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee No foreign transaction fees on purchases 24/7 Access to the Citi Prestige Concierge 3x Points on Air Travel & Hotels, 2X points on Dining & Entertainment and 1 Thank You® Point per $1 spent on other purchases Travel & Emergency Assistance, Trip Cancellation & Interruption Protection and Trip DelayProtection Full Admirals Club membership costs $500 per year, so an extra 11 months of free membership is a big deal for a lot of people. Admirals Clubs feature free: Wi-Fi House wine, beer and spirits Light snacks as well as coffee, specialty coffee drinks, tea and soft drinks Personal use computers with Internet access* Cyber-cafes* Power outlets to help you stay connected Work areas with access to copiers and printers Shower suites* Children’s play areas* Personal travel assistance with your reservations *only at select Clubs My favorite Admirals Club is at Honolulu Airport with lots of food and overlooking the gardens. There are more than 50 Admirals Clubs worldwide. As a reminder, to access an Admirals Club with a Citi Prestige® Card: You must present your Citi Prestige® Card and a boarding pass on American Airlines for a flight that takes off in the next 12 hours or landed in the last 12 hours. You can bring in your spouse and all your children under 18 for free, or you can bring in any two guests for free. Only the primary cardholder of a Citi Prestige® Card account receives the Admirals Club lounge access benefit. Authorized users on the same account do not. Should You Get the Prestige by Next Week? Right now the Citi Prestige® Card comes with 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $4,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open. I value those bonus points at about $760. If you get the card this week, you have about four months to get your first $250 Air Travel credit and eight months to get your second. That’s $500 worth of airfare, award taxes, airline fees, or fuel surcharges in the first twelve months. Full post on $250 Air Travel Credit If you get the card this week, you’d get 10.5 months of AA lounge access and 12 months of Prioirty Pass lounge access for you and guests in the first year of cardmembership. All that dwarfs the $450 annual fee. Maybe you’re kicking yourself because a few weeks ago you could get the card with 50,000 bonus points and a $3,000 spending requirement. But if you missed that, getting the card this week is the next best deal, and quite a bit better than getting it in September with no American Airlines lounge access. ———————————————————— 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.

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There is Good Business & First Class Award Space on Routes Singapore is Cutting This Year

citiprestige, Singapore, Travel

Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE (click for more info). Singapore Airlines is altering its routes to the United States in October 2016. Currently, Singapore flies from four American cities to Singapore with stops along the way in Europe and Asia. San Francisco to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) to Singapore Houston to Moscow (DME) to Singapore New York (JFK) to Frankfurt to Singapore Singapore is making several changes though. It is changing which West Coast city flies to Seoul, and adding a direct flight from San Francisco. Subtracting San Francisco to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore October 22, 2016 Adding Los Angeles to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore October 23 Adding San Francisco to Singapore October 23 It also changing the routing from Houston to Singapore. Subtracting Houston to Moscow (DME) to Singapore October 29, 2016 Adding Houston to Manchester to Singapore October 30 That means from October 30, 2016, the new routes will be: San Francisco to Singapore on the A350-900 San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore on the new 777-300ER Los Angeles to Tokyo (NRT) to Singapore on the new 777-300ER Los Angeles to Seoul (ICN) to Singapore on the new 777-300ER Houston to Manchester to Singapore on the new 777-300ER New York (JFK) to Frankfurt to Singapore on the A380 The new route map, from October 30, 2016 will look like this: I’ve already written about Business Class award space on the new routes here; this post will focus on Business and First Class award space on the routes that are being cut. Singapore Business Class Product Singapore Airlines Business Class is among the best in the world. The massively wide seats/beds are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration on the A350, 777, and A380. The seats look almost exactly like the Singapore First Class seat and better than the First Class seat on many airlines. In addition, you will get top-notch service, delicious food, expensive alcohol, and lounge access during your journey. Singapore Business Class is world-class. Singapore First Class is mostly distinguished by the incredible service, food, and alcohol. I flew Singapore First Class in May and loved it. Click here for the full trip report. 5 Getting Singapore Miles Singapore Business and First Class awards can only be booked with Singapore miles, not partner miles like United miles, because Singapore only releases longhaul Business and First Class award space to its KrisFlyer program and not to partners. You can easily get Singapore miles because Singapore is a 1:1 transfer partner of every major transferable points program. The best ways to earn Singapore miles: The Citi Prestige® Card comes with 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. It also offers lounge access, the 4th night free on hotel stays, and $500 in credits for free airfare in the first 12 months. The Ink Plus is a business card that offers 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months. While I can not directly link to the current Ink Plus offer, you may find it by clicking below if you decide to apply. View Additional Business Credit Cards Here The Sapphire Preferred is a personal card that offers 50,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first three months. While I can not directly link to the current Sapphire Preferred offer, you may find it by clicking below if you decide to apply. View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here Award Space on Ending Routes Houston to Moscow The last Houston to Moscow flight is October 29, 2016. Until then you can find 2 First Class award seats on many flights, 2-4 Business Class award seats on many flights, and up to 6 Business Class award seats the week of departure. After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from Houston to Moscow is: 48,875 miles + $202 one way in Business 57,375 miles + $212 one way in First San Francisco to Seoul The last San Francisco to Seoul, South Korea flight is October 22, 2016. Right now, the only First Class award seats I see are in the last week before departure, like the 2 on Friday’s flight. In Business Class, I see one seat per flight on some flights in September and October. After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from San Francisco to Seoul is: 65,875 miles + $193 one way in Business 74,375 miles + $203 one way in First Those are about 17,000 more miles for a flight that is two hours longer than Houston to Moscow. Sao Paulo to Barcelona The last Sao Paulo to Barcelona flight is October 20, 2016. I love this route because it connects two fantastic cities without a connection in the United States and because there are no fuel surcharges ever when departing Brazil. Unfortunately there isn’t much First Class award space at the moment, just one seat here and there. There is tons of Business Class space, though, with up to 6 Business Class seats the week of departure and 2 on many flights through October. After the automatic 15% discount for booking awards on singaporeair.com, the total price per person from Houston to Moscow is: 50,150 miles + $35 one way in Business 58,225 miles + $35 one way in First Bottom Line Singapore is ending some of its routes from the Americas, presumably for lack of demand. Lack of demand usually means plenty of award space, and these routes follow that pattern. Book now to travel by October from Houston to Moscow, San Francisco to Seoul, or Sao Paulo to Barcelona in luxurious Business or First Class award space. You can easily get Singapore miles because Singapore is a 1:1 transfer partner of every major transferable points program. The best ways to earn Singapore miles: The Citi Prestige® Card comes with 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. It also offers lounge access, the 4th night free on hotel stays, and $500 in credits for free airfare in the first 12 months. The Ink Plus is a business card that offers 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months. While I can not directly link to the current Ink Plus offer, you may find it by clicking below if you decide to apply. View Additional Business Credit Cards Here The Sapphire Preferred is a personal card that offers 50,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first three months. While I can not directly link to the current Sapphire Preferred offer, you may find it by clicking below if you decide to apply. View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here ———————————————————— 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.

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New Chase Premium Credit Card? Rumors of Sapphire Reserve Confirmed

Banner, Chase, citiprestige, Travel

Written by Sarah Page Maxwell @ MileValue

I originally published this post a couple weeks ago but have updated it today (8/16/16) to reflect the latest news. There were rumors flying around the internet about a new premium travel credit card to be released by Chase on August 21, 2016 called the Sapphire Reserve. The rumors now look to be confirmed. Doctor of Credit has published screenshots of what bankers have already been told about the new card. Frequent Miler also said his own banker confirmed existence of the Sapphire Reserve. Then yesterday, The Points Guy reported that Chase confirmed it with them directly (and Chase officially tweeted it). Here’s the sign up offer. $450 Annual Fee 100K Ultimate Rewards Sign-up Bonus for spending $4,000 within three months of opening the card $300.00 Annual Airline Credit Access to 900+ lounges worldwide (Priority Pass Select) Redeem Ultimate Rewards directly on airfare (any airlines) for a value of 1.5 cents each 3X Points Travel 3X Points Dining (Yes, 3X for Dining!) $100 Global Entry Free credit Visa Infinite A move like this from Chase makes a lot of sense from a competitive standpoint. Chase is the only big issuing bank that doesn’t have a premium credit card. By premium, I mean a card with a large annual fee that is (depending on the type of traveler and spender you are) often justified by large benefits, like: The Citi Prestige® Card. Read Scott’s review of the Prestige. The Platinum Card® from American Express Read how to get the most out of your American Express Platinum cards. How the Rumored Sapphire Reserve Stacks Up to the Competition The annual fee projection is the standard $450 that other premium cards charge, so no surprise there. The minimum spending requirement is $4,000 for the massive 100k Ultimate Reward sign-up bonus, which is also on par with the competition. It goes without saying that the sign-up bonus is competitive. We value Ultimate Rewards at 2 cents each which would make that bonus worth a staggering $2,000. How long that inflated sign-up bonus will last until they match the going market rate is up for debate, but I can’t see it lasting for too long when the Citi Prestige® Card and Amex Platinum cards offer 40k to 50k bonuses in their own point currencies. The Airline Credits are competitively higher ($100 higher than Amex’s, and $50 higher than Citi’s). More on that below. Priority Pass Select membership grants access to over 900 lounges worldwide and is a standard premium card benefit. A direct redemption rate on all airlines of 1.5 cents per Ultimate Reward is one of the most competitive aspects of the Reserve’s offer. The Prestige offers a less valuable rate for redeeming ThankYou Points directly (1.33 cents with the current offer, and that changes to 1.25 cents as of July 23, 2017). Membership Rewards earned from the Platinum cards have a direct redemption rate of a meager 1 cent each. A 3x category bonus for spend on travel is good– same as the Prestige’s and better than Amex’s premium cards. A 3x category bonus on dining is exceptional and perhaps the most standout item on the benefit list, at least from a long term perspective. No other directly competitive card offers 3x for dining. You can get up to $100 reimbursed on your card statement for the Global Entry Fee or TSA Pre✓® . This is a standard benefit offered by premium credit cards, so again, Chase is right on par with the competition in this aspect. The Visa Infinite program’s benefits are all luxury travel related. Doctor of Credit describes them in detail here. No other premium card is a part of the Visa Infinite program, but the Prestige offers the fourth hotel night free benefit and the Amex Platinum grants Hilton Gold status. $600 in Airline Credit Before 2nd Annual Fee = $150 in free Airline Credit Assuming the Airline Credit would be available on a calendar year basis (like the Citi Prestige), then the annual fee would be more than made up for in the first year of card membership because you could get $600 in Airline Credit before the second annual fee hits. For example, if you signed up for the Sapphire Reserve in October 2016, you’d have until the end of December 2016 to use the first calendar year’s $300 credit. Then between January 2017 and October 2017 you’d have another $300 credit to spend before the annual fee hits for the second year of card membership. That means you’d come out $150 on top (in airline credits) before the second annual fee is collected after subtracting the first annual fee from the total amount of airline credit you can earn in a year of card membership: ($600 Airline Credit – $450 Annual Fee = $150 free Airline Credit) Of course, if you don’t spend that much on cash tickets for flights/award taxes & fees/in-flight purchases/airline gift cards/etc, then you probably shouldn’t even be considering a premium card like this, as that is what mainly justifies paying at least one annual fee. Remember, This is a Chase Card Will the Chase 5/24 rule apply to this rumored premium card? Well, we thought so. But there were early application links floating around yesterday (now dead), and Interestingly, this reddit.com/r/churning survey has data points from people that applied. The majority of applicants were over the 5/24 limit, and of those people, the majority were approved anyway. Bottom Line Rumor had it that Chase is set to release a premium travel credit card called the Sapphire Reserve on August 21, and we now have all the reason needed to believe those rumors as true. It will be Chase’s first premium travel credit card and will compete with the likes of the Citi Prestige® Card and the Platinum Card® from American Express. Chase’s existing Sapphire Preferred card is consistently on our Top 10 list of best travel credit cards. It comes with 55,000 Ultimate Rewards after a $4,000 minimum spending requirement and adding one authorized user, as well as 2x category bonuses on travel and dining expenses. While I can not directly link to the Sapphire Preferred’s current offer, you may find it by clicking below if you decide to apply. (I receive a commission, and your support keeps this blog going.) View Additional Airline & Frequent Flyer Credit Card Offers Here The Sapphire Reserve will undoubtedly make the Top 10 cut as the Sapphire Preferred’s sexier older sister. ———————————————————— 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.

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Citi Prestige Card Loosing Admiral’s Club Access

Citi, citiprestige, Credit Cards, CreditCards, Luxury, Travel

Written by johnthewanderer @ First2Board

Citi Prestige Card Loosing Admiral’s Club Access The Citi Prestige Card is one of the best credit cards now available because it has a generous benefit program. The card now offers the following benefits: Admiral’s Club Access – Free access to American Admiral’s Club’s when flying on American for you and a guest Priority Pass Select Membership with guest access – Free access to nearly all the Priority Pass Lounges for you and your guests Fourth Night Free Hotel Program Transferable Point Currency with many programs including Hilton, Air redemption’s on One World, Skyteam and Star Alliance Upcoming Changes to Citi Prestige Unfortunately, starting in 2017, Citi will be eliminating the Admiral’s Club access from the Citi Prestige Card benefits. Citi issued the update this past week and has stated that the access will remain until June 20, 2017. It..

via johnthewanderer Citi Prestige Card Loosing Admiral’s Club Access

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