Question
I usually go back to HNL every year @ Christmas from NYC.
While I have used Merrill Lynch points to go home in coach (urgh!), this strikes me as unproductive since it takes around 60-70K (and when you add this up for two people, that is a LOT of points for coach).
Does anyone have any suggestions for another card that uses less miles? My experience has been that trying to accumulate and use miles from an airline card like UA or AA doesn't work too well because they rarely have ff seats available going to HI.
Thanks in advance for any advice you have.
Best,
J
Answer
Jarrett,
I have found Thank You points to be very useful for travel to/from HI. For economy, that is.
The cost per ticket is 35k points and you don't have to pay any taxes. The tickets they buy you are miles and upgrade eligible. You can accumulate thank you points relatively fast, as they have some double points areas and if you get a citibank PP elite card, you can earn 1 extra point per mile flown.
Answer
Jarrett,
I have found Thank You points to be very useful for travel to/from HI. For economy, that is.
The cost per ticket is 35k points and you don't have to pay any taxes. The tickets they buy you are miles and upgrade eligible. You can accumulate thank you points relatively fast, as they have some double points areas and if you get a citibank PP elite card, you can earn 1 extra point per mile flown.
Can changes be made to Thank You awards though? Also are they refundable?
Answer
IDoes anyone have any suggestions for another card that uses less miles? My experience has been that trying to accumulate and use miles from an airline card like UA or AA doesn't work too well because they rarely have ff seats available going to HI.
I would seriously consider the SPG Amex card. You earn 1 *point for every $1, have the ability to transfer into all the major airlines at a 1:1 ratio (except United), and there's a 5k bonus when transfering 20k miles into an airline's account.
This allows for (1) the best flexibility for choosing an airline w/standard award availability, (2) needing only 30,000 miles for a R/T to and from the islands in Y, or 60,000 R/T miles for FC on all carriers except UA, and (3) *points in your account if you need to ever spend them on hotel rooms.
Answer
Can changes be made to Thank You awards though? Also are they refundable?
Sure, changes can be made for a fee. ($100). A Thank you ticket is just like a ticket you buy at the lowest class available at the time. This means no blackout dates, as long as you advance purchase 14 days in advance I think.
Tickets are nonrefundable but you can always cancel them and use them towards another. It actually might make sense to use 35k miles for a ticket to HI when they're pricing out at 1200 or so a ticket, cancel it, then use that towards other things, generating a value of 3.5c per point, which is 7c per $ spent,not bad.
Answer
Tickets are nonrefundable but you can always cancel them and use them towards another. It actually might make sense to use 35k miles for a ticket to HI when they're pricing out at 1200 or so a ticket, cancel it, then use that towards other things, generating a value of 3.5c per point, which is 7c per $ spent,not bad.
Can you explain this a bit more? How is this done? You get a credit for that amount on the account?
Also re: changes; if I book a ticket for someone else, can they make changes themselves or do I have to do it? and can changes be made after the first leg of the flight has been flown? also are any stopovers allowed on the tickets?
If so, then I would consider this card more valuable than the SPG for flights to Hawaii.
Answer
Can you explain this a bit more? How is this done? You get a credit for that amount on the account?
Also re: changes; if I book a ticket for someone else, can they make changes themselves or do I have to do it? and can changes be made after the first leg of the flight has been flown? also are any stopovers allowed on the tickets?
If so, then I would consider this card more valuable than the SPG for flights to Hawaii.
Thank You points are much more versatile than airline miles, but there main drawback is that they cannot be used for upgrades. The good thing with TY points is that their award availability is constantly changing and they will do what they can to get you the flights you want. They do book you the cheapest ticket and you are responsible for certain fees/penalties if you want to make changes. I recently booked 4 tickets to Europe using TY points. I called US Air and asked if I could use miles to upgrade them. I had to pay a change fee of $200 per ticket and $80 fare difference to do that. The good thing is that I got tickets with my points and now I can use miles to upgrade them. You have to work the system a little bit, but TY is a good system.
Answer
So can changes be made after the first leg has been flown? And do they set caps on the price of the ticket? I mean, are you guaranteed of always being able to get a ticket on any day of the year?
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So it sounds like I should:
1. try the Citicard for getting home to HI during the holidays (a blackout nightmare as we all know); and
2. consider AMEX for travel there at other times.
I'll go look at other forums and see which citicard people seem to like best.
Thanks so much to slippahs, jayzee9 and david for their thoughtful responses.
Jarret
Answer
So it sounds like I should:
1. try the Citicard for getting home to HI during the holidays (a blackout nightmare as we all know); and
2. consider AMEX for travel there at other times.
I'll go look at other forums and see which citicard people seem to like best.
Thanks so much to slippahs, jayzee9 and david for their thoughtful responses.
Jarret
1. If you fly alot, Citi Premier Pass (effectively 2 pt/$) or Citi Premier Pass elite (effectively 4 pt/$ for grocery/gas/drugs and 2pt/$ elsewhere) are best.
2. Citi Professional gives 3 pt/$ for restaurants/gas/car rentals/office supplies and 1 pt/$ elsewhere
3. Citi Diamond Preferred gives 1 pt/$ and for 12 months 5 pt/$ on grocery/gas/drug
4. Citi AT&T Universal Rewards. Same rewards as Diamond Preferred. However AT&T Universal Rewards has some add'l benefits.
The best card depends on your spending profile. Also, you can get two or even 3 cards and use them for specific spending categories.
My favorite is the Chairman Card (not available again until 2007). However, Premier Pass Elite is a similar card (read the T&Cs carefully on rewards so that you understand). If I chose another Thank You card, it would be the Citi Professional Card: 3 pts for restaurants/rental cars/office supplies is superior to the earnings from other cards for these categories of spending.
Answer
So can changes be made after the first leg has been flown? And do they set caps on the price of the ticket? I mean, are you guaranteed of always being able to get a ticket on any day of the year?
So does anyone know the answer to this?