More Rewards Day on 11/7

Bank of America just sent out a notification about a special promotion day for purchases on Thursday 11/7 - they are calling this "More Rewards Day".

Link is here: https://promotions.bankofamerica.com/card/morerewardsday

On Thursday, November 7th ET, you can earn an additional 2 Miles for every $1 spent on purchases made with your Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card. This one-day offer is good for the first $2,500 in purchases, up to 5,000 Miles. That’s on top of the rewards you’re already earning. No enrollment is necessary.

All purchases qualify for additional points though transactions must occur on Thursday.  I believe they are trying to get a start on holiday shopping!

Challenges due to 737 Max 9 being Grounded

The news in the past week or so about Alaska 1282 has caused quite a few travel impacts as all 737 Max 9 aircraft are still grounded.  United is a major customer of the Max 9 with nearly 80 aircraft not flying.  Last year I recall a fair percentage of my transcon flights were the Max 9 and I never had any problems in-flight or after.  

My Alaska flight this weekend to Phx is impacted by the grounding - after a quick check I realized it is showing as a Max 9.  While not cancelled yet, I expect it to occur at any time.  Thankfully I had booked a backup staging option and should be able to get to Phoenix a bit later than I had first planned.  

Make sure to check your itineraries in advance to make sure you can still get to your destination!

Kickoff of Holiday Travel?

Good morning!  I'm on my way back east and wanted to share a quick update.  It appears holiday travel has kicked off!  Lines at security for Terminal 2 SFO were significant though moving steadily.  If you're planning any travel this weekend or through the upcoming week, be sure to build in some extra time for bag checks and TSA.  PreCheck was busy though not as full as primary security.  

Safe travels to all!

Cards in my wallet right now (2022)

Happy New Year!

The ongoing pandemic has posed many challenges though for my current card lineup things stayed relatively stable. I'm hoping for the same in 2022 based on current offers.

Cards in my Wallet:

Chase Sapphire Reserve - one of the best earning cards with 3x points for travel and 3x for dining

Chase Freedom - Quarterly bonus categories give 5x points and pairs with Sapphire

Chase World of Hyatt - 4x Hyatt points per stay make this one of the best for hotel stays, 2x for restaurant/transit

Chase IHG Rewards Club Select (no longer available) - Platinum Elite status plus free night every cardmember year

Chase United Mileage Plus Select (no longer available) - 3x miles on United purchases plus EQM, 2x gas/grocery/dining + Star Alliance purchases

Chase Biz Plus (replaced with Business Preferred) - 5x points at office supply and phone, 2x on gas station and hotel

Chase Biz Cash - 5x points at office supply and phone, 2x points on gas stations and restaurants

Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless - 6x points at Marriott properties; 3x Gas/Grocery/Dining up to $6k, 1 Elite Night credit per $5k spent; 2x points on other purchases; No Foreign Transaction Fee

Chase British Airways - 3x Avios on BA purchases; 2x on hotels; No Foreign Transaction Fee

Citibank Premier - 3x points on travel including gas stations; 2x on dining/entertainment

Citibank AA Biz Platinum - 2x American Airlines miles on purchases plus free checked bag and priority boarding; 2x on gas stations

Citibank AA Mileup - 2x American Airlines miles on flights, plus 2x miles for grocery purchases, No Annual Fee

Citibank Double Cash - 2% cash back on all purchases, though the transfer option to Citi ThankYou Points makes this card strong for all non-category spend, No Annual Fee

American Express Hilton card - 7x Hilton points on stays, 5x points dining/gas/grocery, 3x all other purchases, complimentary Silver status, No Annual Fee

American Express Hilton Surpass - 12x Hilton points on stays, 6x points on dining/grocery/gas, 3x points on all other purchases; complimentary Gold status

Discover It card - 5x points/cash on quarterly bonus categories, link to Amazon.com purchases, No Annual Fee

Bank of American Alaska Airlines card - 3x miles on Alaska purchases, $99 companion fare


I still value many of these for the no annual fee, and others have perks/free nights that make them excellent to hold. 

Are you looking to upgrade any specific cards this year?

Alaska Airlines to join OneWorld Alliance

In case you missed the news (and major news at that in the airline industry), Alaska Airlines has announced their intention to more closely partner with American Airlines and will join the OneWorld Alliance in 2021.

To say this is significant news is an understatement.

You can read the official announcement here.

Alaska has one of the only remaining frequent flyer programs that is based on actual flying miles.  Details are likely still forthcoming about other changes; I hope they consider keeping the current model in place.

I'm also curious what this new alignment will mean for Alaska's other program partners (Emirates, Singapore, etc).

Alaska Airlines Expands Service at Newark

I used to fly Alaska Airlines quite a bit out of San Diego, since miles can be counted toward requalifying on American (though that will be changing significantly with the upcoming AAdvantage accrual devaluations).  I've seen Alaska planes at Newark though haven't done much research on their routes since most are just to main bases like Seattle.

Some encouraging news, though, was just shared that Alaska will be adding capacity at Newark - including a direct flight to San Diego!  From Routesonline:

Alaska Airlines in winter 2016/17 season is expanding Trans-Continental service for Newark, as the airline gradually introduces 1 daily flight each from Portland OR, San Diego and San Jose CA. These service will be operated by Boeing 737-900ER, with reservation to open on Monday 25JUL16.

eff 10NOV16 Portland OR – Newark
AS774 PDX0655 – 1455EWR 73J D
AS757 EWR1555 – 1905PDX 73J D

eff 21NOV16 San Diego – Newark
AS772 SAN0955 – 1755EWR 73J D
AS773 EWR1900 – 2200SAN 73J D

eff 12MAR17 San Jose CA – Newark
AS782 SJC0630 – 1455EWR 73J D
AS783 EWR1605 – 1940SJC 73J D

This is another excellent option to get back to the West Coast if fares are outrageous on the other main airlines.  And it also makes using the companion certificate easier to get those EQM's on AA!

Alaska Airlines add JAL as a partner!

Per View from the Wing, Alaska Airlines will be adding Japan Airlines (JAL) as a partner - this is especially good for the Mileage Plan program and possible redemption opportunities.  You can read more about the announcement below:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-airlines-welcomes-japan-airlines-as-newest-mileage-plan-and-codeshare-partner-300265461.html

June 29 will be the effective date for all new codeshare flights, and you may also notice the increased frequency from west coast destinations like San Diego.  Great to know there is another miles earning option!

World's Top Airports/Airlines 2014

Travel+Leisure Magazine has released their top airports and airlines list for 2014 - not many surprises again this year between the international and domestic winners.

For airlines, Virgin and Singapore top the list (with JetBlue and Emirates close behind):

Glad to see Alaska once again on the list!  I've also flown on Qatar Airways and found the service and experience worthwhile.

Airports also fared well, including Portland, OR for domestic and Singapore for international:

I've transited Dubai, Seoul, and Zurich, and easily agree with why those are in the top five.  They are easy to navigate and relatively stress-free in my opinion.  Charlotte and Orlando are way too busy in my book...curious about their inclusion.

What are your top airports/airlines?

Adding a new place to my travel map - Adak!

Yes, that's right, Adak.  Raise your hand if you even know where that is...

Adak happens to be the westernmost municipality of the United States, part of the Aleutian Chain of islands that make up Alaska.  It's actually quite a ways out there:

History shows that Adak was once a military installation that was abandoned in the mid-1990's as part of a round of base closures for non-essential locations (probably due to the fact that it was an important cross-over point in the world wars and unsustainable given its location). The military basically gave everything up to the 300 or so inhabitants, so what remains are the same buildings and structures that were present as "brand new" in 1994 that are now run-down and most unusable.

Alaska Airlines provides Essential Air Service to the island, so miles can be used to have the adventure!  And miles are probably best, since the last I looked at flights, it was almost $1200 to buy roundtrip from the West Coast. 

Can't wait to plan a quick visit to check it out!

Travel plans for 2014

2014 is here, and that means I am once again evaluating my travel plans/habits/hobby for the coming year.  Last year I did a fairly good job and status-keeping, although I managed to come up short on 1K for United by about two trips.  This was mainly because I ended up flying enough miles on American to get their mid-tier status for this year due to a status challenge.  So...what to do for 2014?

Flying and Status

This one is going to be tough for this year, since most of the major airlines have introduced Premier Qualifying Dollars (PQD) into the status equation.  American has not, but most likely could once more merger details are released.

I've preferred always earning miles on United, as mileage redemption options always seem to be better than most (and without huge fuel surcharges).  But I'm also taking a long look at Alaska Airlines for this year...one big plus is the ability to earn Elite Qualifying miles on any of their partners.  This would cover any AA or Delta flights for me but wouldn't help my United bottom line.  The PQD addition means my ability to earn 1K has ended...I just don't spend the $$$ required to make it ($10,000!).  That means Alaska/AA is definitely in play (despite my desire to fly on all Star Alliance members).

Locations

I'm hopeful that 2014 will bring me to several new destinations, including Seoul and other places in Eastern Europe.  I always enjoy visiting Zurich when I get the chance, but I want to expand my reach this year if time, money, and vacation hours permit.

A few places on my list include Zagreb, Morocco, Monaco, and Guam.  I think most of these are doable at the right times of the year.

If possible I also want to get in a trip to Phillips and do some snowmobiling...here's hoping!

Grateful

Through everything that has happened in the last year, I continue to be grateful for all of the many blessings and opportunities that I've had to travel.  Here's to a fun 2014!