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We are thinking of applying for this card and I am wondering if anyone else has the card and what they think of it. How does the companion ticket work. Is it worth the $75 annual fee?
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Can't help re: the companion ticket question, but I find that the 15000 points you get for applying (http://tinyurl.com/6w3z3) are more then worth the $75 fee.
I still keep the Starwood Amex as my main card, but this one comes as a close second, especially for places which don't take AMEX.
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We are thinking of applying for this card and I am wondering if anyone else has the card and what they think of it. How does the companion ticket work. Is it worth the $75 annual fee?
Welcome to FT. See this previous thread for discussion.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390111
I agree, it's worth it just for the sign up bonus. Essentially $300 because you can pair ThankYou Flight points with the bonus points.
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I’m not too impressed about this card. For companion fly for free, it helps if you are very flexible with your schedule. I used ITA to get flight and pricing information first before I called so I knew exactly how much the base fare and tax is. I called customer service requesting companion free ticket and I got a quote slightly higher than (base fare + 2 * tax). It wasn’t that bad except he quoted me a morning flight while I needed to fly in the afternoon. The agent redid the pricing and it was about $150 more for afternoon flight but ITA clearly showed there was no difference in pricing. At the end it wasn’t a big saving for me to book through them.
I haven’t used the thanyou redemption network to make judgment. However, there are some restrictions for redeeming tickets. The company that citi uses is Global Impact. Here are some terms and conditions I found interesting that people should know about
* “GLOBAL IMPACT MUST HAVE YOUR VIRTUAL CERTIFICATE NUMBER PRIOR TO BOOKING OF RESERVATION AND RELEASE OF ANY TRAVEL INFORMATION. PLEASE HAVE PREFERRED DATES AND TIMES AVAILABLE PRIOR TO CALLING FOR RESERVATIONS” (not sure what would happen if you redeem your points for travel certificate and they can't find you any tickets)
*Travel may be either non-stop, direct, or involve flights that include a change of planes. Stopovers, open jaws, code share flights, open returns and circle trips are not permitted
*All flights must originate from one of the 48 Continental United States. Reservations must be made at least 14 days prior to travel. A Saturday overnight stay is required. Travel must be on the same carrier for the entire roundtrip fare
*The Round Trip ticket fare level DOES NOT include tax. Any disclosure and tax liability including but not limited to airport fees, passenger facility charges, government fees and surcharges, vehicle licensing fees and port taxes connected with receipt of this Certificate are the recipient’s responsibility
And redeem points for merchandize is not economical. For example, 1500 pts get you $10 starbucks gift card. If you have a cash rebate credit card you can get $15 back.
Hope this helps people deciding whether they want this card or not.
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The agent redid the pricing and it was about $150 more for afternoon flight but ITA clearly showed there was no difference in pricing. At the end it wasn’t a big saving for me to book through them.
The thing is, they don't seem to be pulling these numbers from published fare buckets. I think they're actually selling consolidator tickets and rebadging them as companion tickets. Thus they're free to quote almost any fare that they want. I could be wrong though
And redeem points for merchandize is not economical. For example, 1500 pts get you $10 starbucks gift card. If you have a cash rebate credit card you can get $15 back.
Well, that's sort of true. You can redeem 5000 pts for a $50 GC. At a lower spend level, if you still have student loans, you can redeem 2500 pts for a $25 payment to your student loan. And I think the main advantage is that you can essentially treat this card as a 2% rebate card if you fly enough (pairing 1 spending point per dollar with 1 flight point). I'll probably switch to the non-elite version after the first year (1 flight point every 3 miles flown).
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Well, that's sort of true. You can redeem 5000 pts for a $50 GC. At a lower spend level, if you still have student loans, you can redeem 2500 pts for a $25 payment to your student loan. And I think the main advantage is that you can essentially treat this card as a 2% rebate card if you fly enough (pairing 1 spending point per dollar with 1 flight point). I'll probably switch to the non-elite version after the first year (1 flight point every 3 miles flown).
You are absolutely correct. Just want to point out it is better to redeem say $300 worth of bestbuy gift card and purchase sony wega tv (cost $250)than use 35000 points. I got this card mainly to redeem flights to asia but didnt know about their "same carrier for the entire trip" rule. This sucks cuz there are no direct flights to HKG, TPE, etc. from DFW
I will reevaluate the benefit before they charge me annaul fee for next year. I wouldnt keep this card if I cant use it for travel purpose.
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We are thinking of applying for this card and I am wondering if anyone else has the card and what they think of it. How does the companion ticket work. Is it worth the $75 annual fee?
I've had much better experiences than some of these other responders. I've had the Elite since 12/04. Used free companion once for ORD/MSY. Agent was very helpful, and I got two AA tickets (both paid and upgradeable) for $379 plus taxes on both tickets, well below the lowest available coach fare at the time. Just yesterday cashed in 50,000 Thank You points for two coach tickets, ORD/SEA, on United. The Global Impact agent was extremely helpful. I requested two specific United flights. She originally told me they weren't available, and offered me two similar flights on another airline. When I said I really had wanted these specific United flights because of my PremExec status, she called United and was able to free up two seats. So for 50,000 points I got the two exact flights I asked for, and they're paid, EQM, upgradeable tickets. Certainly, the 15,000 bonus points for a new PPElite card makes it a no-brainer for at least a year, but I definitely think it's worth the cost even beyond that. In fact, I've just been invited to apply for the new PremierPass Chairman card, which will be $400/yr, and I intend to apply for that. It's designed to compete with AmEx's Platinum. Once I've used it for awhile, I'll report on whether or not it was worth it.
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fellowtraveller,
great news that some travel features of the card actually work. I have built up a relatively large balance of points and would be very disappointed if I couldn't use them. Since I haven't actually used any of the flight features yet, could you describe your good experience in a little more detail. Thanks!
I've had much better experiences than some of these other responders. I've had the Elite since 12/04. Used free companion once for ORD/MSY. Agent was very helpful, and I got two AA tickets (both paid and upgradeable) for $379 plus taxes on both tickets, well below the lowest available coach fare at the time.
Did you make these reservations 2 weeks in advance? Also, were you able to request the carrier and flight times?
Just yesterday cashed in 50,000 Thank You points for two coach tickets, ORD/SEA, on United. The Global Impact agent was extremely helpful. I requested two specific United flights. She originally told me they weren't available, and offered me two similar flights on another airline. When I said I really had wanted these specific United flights because of my PremExec status, she called United and was able to free up two seats. So for 50,000 points I got the two exact flights I asked for, and they're paid, EQM, upgradeable tickets.
Can you tell us the exact process you used to cash in the points for flights. Did you call up customer service and do it, or go through the web. Did you have to "cash in" the points first before you got the flight info? Was there a fare price difference between the two airlines at the time. In other words, did they eat some profit in order to get you the ticket? Did you actually have to meet the 50/50 flight/purchase point requirement?
In fact, I've just been invited to apply for the new PremierPass Chairman card, which will be $400/yr, and I intend to apply for that. It's designed to compete with AmEx's Platinum. Once I've used it for awhile, I'll report on whether or not it was worth it.
Was this invite over the phone or did they send you something in the mail?
Thanks again!
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fellowtraveller,
great news that some travel features of the card actually work. I have built up a relatively large balance of points and would be very disappointed if I couldn't use them. Since I haven't actually used any of the flight features yet, could you describe your good experience in a little more detail. Thanks!
Did you make these reservations 2 weeks in advance? Also, were you able to request the carrier and flight times?
The free companion ticket ORD/MSO was booked about eight weeks in advance, which was no problem at all. I know most people don't book that far in advance, but for me, it was in conjunction with a cruise, so it was just a matter of telling the agent the dates, approximate times, and my preference for either UAL or AA. I got perfect AA tickets, both paid for, upgradeable, EQM tickets. Total cost for two tickets, including taxes, was just slightly over $400 (you have to pay taxes on both tickets). Now, can I assure you it would be that easy two weeks in advance, probably not. But I can tell you that the agent at the company handling this for Citi was very helpful, and I had the impression he would have tried hard to accomodate my request for times and airline even closer in to my travel dates. I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the company I called, but yes, I did get that name and number from CS at PremierElite.
Can you tell us the exact process you used to cash in the points for flights. Did you call up customer service and do it, or go through the web. Did you have to "cash in" the points first before you got the flight info? Was there a fare price difference between the two airlines at the time. In other words, did they eat some profit in order to get you the ticket? Did you actually have to meet the 50/50 flight/purchase point requirement?
CS gave me a number to call, and I think that company is called Global Impact. I called on 4/8 for ORD/SEA roundtrip 4/29 - 5/2. I was able to give the agent all of the information over the phone, and did not have to get any kind of certificate ahead of time. I had an extremely nice young lady at that company. I requested exact flights on UAL, and at first she told me those weren't available, and she offered me an airline I never fly. I politely told her I needed these specific UAL flights, so I'd probably make other arrangements. SHE, then, was the one who asked me told hold while she called UAL to see if she could "free" up two seats for me, and that's exactly what happened. For 50,000 points (I have no idea how many are Thank You or flight points, but I know almost all of my then 85,000 points were Thank You points), plus about $30 in taxes, I received the exact flights, paid for, EQM, upgradeable tickets. I assume I do not get Citi mileage points, and I wouldn't expect to, since the tickets were not paid for with the PremierElite card. Maybe not a huge dollar savings, in the sense that I could have purchased the coach tickets I wanted for about $325 each, but enough of a savings I figured I'd do it. And, like you, I was curious to see how well the ticket selection process worked for these Thank You points, since I've been recommending this card to family, friends, and on this website.
Was this invite over the phone or did they send you something in the mail?
The Chairman invite came by way of a letter from my Smith Barney financial consultant. I still haven't gotten the actual application form, since he's still waiting for them from New York. I think, but I'm not sure, that for now, the invitations and applications are only for certain Smith Barney clients, but eventually the invitations are likely to come from PremierElite to certain heavy use and good credit customers. It also seems that, depending on the size of one's Smith Barney account, Smith Barney will pick up part of the annual cost of the card. I have no idea where they draw the lines, but my letter of invitation said Smith Barney would pay $100 of the $400 annual fee.
I hope I've answered all of your questions, but feel free to let me know what others you might have.
Thanks again!
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Has anyone tried getting awards for premium class of international tickets? I have premierpass elite and have been saving for 2 business class tickets to hawaii (150k points total). Right now I have around 100k points.
After doing some reading on award availability, etc. I'm starting to see the cards isn't all its made out to be.
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Also, here is some detailed info on the chairman card for those who are interested. Does anyone know how much your annual spend needs to be to qualify?
http://www.smithbarney.com/pdf/chairmanbook.pdf
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fellowtraveler, thanks for the thorough reply.
I think the EQM and upgrade potential offered with this card is what a lot of us were looking for when we signed up fot it. That's great that you got full fare and not some watered down priceline-type tickets.
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How accurately do points reflect your purchases? Mine never addup and I havent seen any merchant bonus points even tho I shopped at those places.
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I've never tried to add my bonus points up, but some seem to appear every month. I've never received any credit for flight points which is making me angry since I've purchased about 100k miles on this card this year.
I just got off the line with citibank (5th call on this issue) and now they want me to find all my boarding passes for the entire year :mad: Like I save every one of those...
I've spent 50k+ on this card this year and am starting to regret it.
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I've never tried to add my bonus points up, but some seem to appear every month. I've never received any credit for flight points which is making me angry since I've purchased about 100k miles on this card this year.
I just got off the line with citibank (5th call on this issue) and now they want me to find all my boarding passes for the entire year :mad: Like I save every one of those...
I've spent 50k+ on this card this year and am starting to regret it.
FYI - Just received my first flight miles - took 12 weeks to post. I think they got posted to the account the day after the statement closed the prior month.
One word of caution - I got far fewer miles than I was supposed to for 5 tickets bought to South America. I called in to their help line - the woman I talked to was actually great. She told me that they only get 4 segments worth of information on flight data - if you buy an itinerary with more than 4 segments you may have to send in your itinerary or boarding passes. She didn't require that of me - just took my word for the segments that didn't get credited and told me they would post on my next statement closing date. She told me to make sure to keep the itineraries for future credit...
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If I buy three tickets for my family (one trip), would I get three times the actual flight miles of the trip or just one?
What if I buy a non-refudable ticket but cannot make the trip?
And what if I change my itinerary (pay the penalty) later?
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If I buy three tickets for my family (one trip), would I get three times the actual flight miles of the trip or just one?
Yes, you would get flight miles for all three tickets.
What if I buy a non-refudable ticket but cannot make the trip?
I think you get miles for it anyway. The card people don't really have a way for making sure you took the flight, they just get the info from the airline when you buy the ticket. (I'm not as confident in this answer as I am in the first one.)
And what if I change my itinerary (pay the penalty) later?
I think you would get flight miles for the first itinerary, not the second, depending on how the airline handled your transaction. (I'm least confident of this answer.)
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Please correct me if I am misunderstanding, but...
are flight miles in a seperate pool than standard purchase "thank you" points?
Meaning if I take a 4,000 mi round trip (ticket purchased with Elite card), I am accrueing the purchase price of the ticket AND the 4,000 flight miles into one "Thank You" account. All equally redeemable for...an IPOD as an example?
Or are Flight points only redeemable for air travel?
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Yes and No, both purchase points and flight points are "Thank You" points and can be used for any award, but you can only use the amount of flight points if you have an equal or greater number of purchase points. For example:
Scenerio - You have 15,000 purchase points and 30,000 flight points. Even though you have 45,000 total points, you may only redeem 30,000 at this time. The remaining flight points are kept in the bank until you have enough purchase points to even it out.
This prevents people from buying two $500 tickets to Europe, coming back and having a free ticket for domestic.
Though for me, the point is moot because I've I've had the card for 5 months, spent over $60k on the card, bought over 100k miles worth of flights, flown 80% of them, and have never seen a flight point. I call Citi every month and every month they promise to fix it (4 months now). If it isn't fixed this month I am cashing in all my points and cancelling.
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I have yet to see any other rewards programe more complicated than this. The more you know about it, the more you are confused. Problem is that despite all this, still if it delivers more than 60% as promised: it is too good to be true. Would like to see more success stories after the dust settles down. I just got my card 2 days ago and dont know what to expect :confused:
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Though for me, the point is moot because I've I've had the card for 5 months, spent over $60k on the card, bought over 100k miles worth of flights, flown 80% of them, and have never seen a flight point. I call Citi every month and every month they promise to fix it (4 months now). If it isn't fixed this month I am cashing in all my points and cancelling
So if you were to cash out and cancel - what card would you be looking at?
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For those with experience with the companion tickets. Are you saying that BOTH tickets are considered paid tickets and eligible for flight points with this program and mileage from the airline programs? And do they find a flight that meets their minimum requirement. For example, right now the cheapest fare I am finding on AA to LGA is $296.90 @. I can get $25 off each ticket through my timeshare travel, but if I could get two for $379, it would be a savings. Do I understand that tax is added to the $379?
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I have yet to see any other rewards programe more complicated than this. The more you know about it, the more you are confused. Problem is that despite all this, still if it delivers more than 60% as promised: it is too good to be true. Would like to see more success stories after the dust settles down. I just got my card 2 days ago and dont know what to expect :confused:
I think it's simple unless you try to make it too complicated. :)
First, if you are an infrequent flier (meaning fewer flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 1% back (the purchase points), and 1 cent per mile flown. This is assuming you redeem 5000 points for $50 gift certificates.
Second, if you are a frequent flier (meaning more flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 2% back (purchase point married with a flight point), and you can just forget about all the excess flight points.
You can complicate it with different redemption options for ThankYou points, but it's no more complicated than Amex Membership Rewards points in that sense. And the companion tickets? Well, that's a whole 'nother story... :D
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So if you were to cash out and cancel - what card would you be looking at?
I don't have any idea. I'd really like the Premier Pass to work out because it is a good program. This is the only reason I've given the 4+ months to fix my account. The other reason is that I haven't had the need to cash in any points yet. Next month I'll have enough for the 2 business class tix to hawaii (150k points) which was my target for this year.
If they don't get it fixed I am going to cash it in for $700-800 ship credit for a cruise I am taking in July.
I'm interested to hear the details on availability, etc. when people who have used points for airline tickets.
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I think it's simple unless you try to make it too complicated. :)
First, if you are an infrequent flier (meaning fewer flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 1% back (the purchase points), and 1 cent per mile flown. This is assuming you redeem 5000 points for $50 gift certificates.
Second, if you are a frequent flier (meaning more flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 2% back (purchase point married with a flight point), and you can just forget about all the excess flight points.
You can complicate it with different redemption options for ThankYou points, but it's no more complicated than Amex Membership Rewards points in that sense. And the companion tickets? Well, that's a whole 'nother story... :D
You missed one point here. You can get slightly more than 1% cash if you spend at supermarkets, gas stations, drug stores, Commuter transportation merchants and Parking merchants where it is 2%. Now when you talk about Commuter transportation merchants: Amtrak? No way. This is what I mean by complicated.
I agree with you in the sense that overall earning points is not that complicated. The real game starts when it is time to consume these points.
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Anybody with companion ticket experience. I am only using it for grocery store, gas, and drug store purchases. And airline tickets when I have the opportunity. For everything else I am continuing to use my starpoints AMEX.
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Anybody with companion ticket experience. I am only using it for grocery store, gas, and drug store purchases. And airline tickets when I have the opportunity. For everything else I am continuing to use my starpoints AMEX.
I think that is a very useful strategy. Get the maximum juice out of it. For me I will concentrate MP visa on fast food restaurants (2%). The rest goes on Starwood Amex and where there is no Amex then DC/MC
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For those with experience with the companion tickets. Are you saying that BOTH tickets are considered paid tickets and eligible for flight points with this program and mileage from the airline programs? And do they find a flight that meets their minimum requirement. For example, right now the cheapest fare I am finding on AA to LGA is $296.90 @. I can get $25 off each ticket through my timeshare travel, but if I could get two for $379, it would be a savings. Do I understand that tax is added to the $379?
I got a companion ticket but have not taken the flight yet so what I'm saying might be wrong. You can not determine the base fare from AA.com because AA.com lists some taxes and fees in the base fare. I used ITA to determine just the fare price not including tax and fees. I found prices ranging from 280 to 400 (without tax and fees) and picked the one that qualified for free companion ticket. Spirit Incentives, the travel agency for companion travel, book a lot of companion tickets on AA so they have no problem booking the flight I want.
This is what I found by accident. I got a $25 off coupon and called AA to use on tickets I bought from Spirit Incentives. The AA agent told me the flights were purchased using certificates so I couldn’t use the coupon. Therefore, I’m guessing that it won’t be eligible for the flight points.
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Another cool feature about purchase points is that if you have various Citibank accounts then you can get thankyou points. How many? That I have yet to figure out. My last bank statement showed 900 points out of a maximum possible of 1200 points. Nice kick for doing nothing. :) That means an extra 10,800 points per year.
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If they are using a discount coupon, that alone would not eliminate getting FF miles - and might indicate that they are considered purchased tickets. From my timeshare, I get those coupons, and I get mileage on the flights - they have to be booked in H, K, M, N or V for domestic flights. Did the tickets come to you with each having a fare basis. Once upon a time when I had a companion ticket - I think through Citibank, the companion ticket did not get miles and the ticket just showed taxes.
I think I should get the full 1200 thank you points with citibank. The account showed 400 upon opening - did everyone start off with that as a bonus???
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I got a companion ticket but have not taken the flight yet so what I'm saying might be wrong. You can not determine the base fare from AA.com because AA.com lists some taxes and fees in the base fare. I used ITA to determine just the fare price not including tax and fees. I found prices ranging from 280 to 400 (without tax and fees) and picked the one that qualified for free companion ticket. Spirit Incentives, the travel agency for companion travel, book a lot of companion tickets on AA so they have no problem booking the flight I want.
One way to check the fare basis is to go to https://www.refunds.aa.com/. Enter your PNR and last name. When it finds your ticket, it should take you to a page that summarizes your itinerary. Next to each leg should be your fare code. Note: do not actually cancel your ticket as this may cause you problems!
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You missed one point here. You can get slightly more than 1% cash if you spend at supermarkets, gas stations, drug stores, Commuter transportation merchants and Parking merchants where it is 2%. Now when you talk about Commuter transportation merchants: Amtrak? No way. This is what I mean by complicated.
Right, I forgot about that. So effectively you get 4% back at supermarkets, etc. Out of curiosity, do they tell you how you're getting 900 points for your Citi accounts? They seem to imply here:
https://www.thankyouredemptions.com/AboutAccounts.htm
that you get only 50 points for each additional account you tack on beyond basic checking. I'm thinking about setting some stuff up with Citi, but not sure if it's worth the hassle...
Note, dgordon, if all you're using the card for is groceries and gas, you may find you get a better value with the Citi Dividend Select card. This gives 5% cash back at those locations. So which card is better depends on how much you value Thank You points. If you can use 25000 points to get a $500 coach ticket, then you're probably better off sticking with the PremierPass.
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Right, I forgot about that. So effectively you get 4% back at supermarkets, etc. Out of curiosity, do they tell you how you're getting 900 points for your Citi accounts? They seem to imply here:
https://www.thankyouredemptions.com/AboutAccounts.htm
that you get only 50 points for each additional account you tack on beyond basic checking. I'm thinking about setting some stuff up with Citi, but not sure if it's worth the hassle.
Here are two links from Citibank which can help uncomplicate this complicated system.
ThankYou Redemptions Network from Citi (http://web.da-us.citibank.com/cgi-bin/citifi/scripts/prod_and_service/prod_serv_detail.jsp?BS_Id=CBNATYRNRewards&BV_UseBVCookie=yes#top)
How you get ThankYou Points (http://web.da-us.citibank.com/popups/TYPoints.htm?BVE=http://web.da-us.citibank.com&BVP=/cgi-bin/citifi/scripts/&BV_UseBVCookie=yes)
The only thing I do not have is mortgage from Citi and perhaps this is preventing me from earning the max of 1200 points :confused:
On another note since I have Citigold relationship so I am exempt form the annual $75 fee :) I am just waiting for the 15000 bonus points to be deposited and then I will ask to waive the fee ^
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maulah - I , too am Citigold. The 15K posted right away with the points from the first statement - and I went into my branch and said I was charged the fee - and with a phone call it got linked to my citigold account and should credit within a few days. I am interested in this card to get the points for flights - seems like a cheap way to get points especially since you still get your regular FF miles. I think it might be a good back-up if I can't get a flight with my AA miles - or to use it for something else. 7 products or more give you the 1200.
The first two are of course the citigold checking and the debit card. I then have 3. money market 4. online bill payment 5. checking plus 6. ready credit 7. just opened a 5 year CD with $500 to give me my 7th product. I have a safe deposit box, and a keogh, but didn't see them listed so I wasn't sure if they would count. Our Home Equity Loan has my husband as primary so won't count for me. I signed up my 93 yr old Dad for whom I do his banking. He has an Everything Counts checking with debit (all linked with mine to avoid fees) 3. Direct Deposit 4. Savings 5. Online Bill Payment 6. CD - which I just opened to have another product. I'm trying to get checking plus but am running into a glitch because there are 3 signers on the checking account. His 6 products would give 600 a month. Mine should give 1200 a month, basically for doing what I already do.
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Although your dad's accounts are linked to yours to avoid the monthly fees but as I understand you cannot combine his thankyou points with yours. Atleast thats what I was told by the CSR.
In my case he told me that I am missing mortgage and home equity line which I cannot have so that is out. The only thing I could add to my accounts is a Money market account. The rate seemed to be quite decent (3.15%). Pretty close to a 9 or 12 month CD
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That is true, and that is OK. They still can be cashed in for something. He has enough stuff where he is "primary" and therefore eligible to get points. I have to call to find out if a safe deposit box, or a keogh can count as products. They didn't know at the bank. I you don't have a ready credit account you could do that as there are no fees and it is just a line of credit. Any savings product counts, and separate from that a CD.
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One way to check the fare basis is to go to https://www.refunds.aa.com/. Enter your PNR and last name. When it finds your ticket, it should take you to a page that summarizes your itinerary. Next to each leg should be your fare code. Note: do not actually cancel your ticket as this may cause you problems!
The comments regarding this card are mainly dealing with UA and AA. Since I am in Arizona - has anyone been able to get a companion pass on America West (or USAir)? The ability to use the "home town" airline where I have staus would be the greatest benefit.
As I await the delivery of the card - does anyone have Gobal Impact's phone number? Thanks.
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Global Impact Tours
127 West 26th Street, Suite 402
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-989-1111
Toll-Free: 866-85-TOURS
Fax: 212-807-1853
info@globalimpacttours.com
Let us know if you find something new or interesting or weired or ugly or whatever
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As I await the delivery of the card - does anyone have Gobal Impact's phone number? Thanks.
I personally have only been quoted AA tickets. This is on 3-4 quote requests.
For the companion ticket program, that is actually run by Spirit Incentives. Global Impact runs the ticket redemption program for Thank You Rewards. Spirit Incentives is 866-553-2082. They may not talk to you though. When I got my card, it took a few days for me to get into their system, and before that happened, they wouldn't even give me a price quote! :mad:
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Global Impact Tours
127 West 26th Street, Suite 402
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-989-1111
Toll-Free: 866-85-TOURS
Fax: 212-807-1853
info@globalimpacttours.com
Let us know if you find something new or interesting or weired or ugly or whatever
FYI -
Used the above phone number and email address only to find it was a diffrent company than that Citi uses.
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I personally have only been quoted AA tickets. This is on 3-4 quote requests.
For the companion ticket program, that is actually run by Spirit Incentives. Global Impact runs the ticket redemption program for Thank You Rewards. Spirit Incentives is 866-553-2082. They may not talk to you though. When I got my card, it took a few days for me to get into their system, and before that happened, they wouldn't even give me a price quote! :mad:
This makes sence considering that Spirit Incentives has affiliation (accornding to their website) with AA, UA, SW, DA, and CO. If this is the case, this card might not be the best for someone in PHX. What I was really looking for was a good card to supplement my AMEX Plat Business and AMEX personal gold.
How have people's experiances been with changing the "Thank You" points with equal miles into AA, UA, or DA international tickets?
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The comments regarding this card are mainly dealing with UA and AA. Since I am in Arizona - has anyone been able to get a companion pass on America West (or USAir)? The ability to use the "home town" airline where I have staus would be the greatest benefit.
As I await the delivery of the card - does anyone have Gobal Impact's phone number? Thanks.
Reservations should be made 14 days in advance by calling toll free
(877) 5AWARDS (529-2737). Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST
Global Impact Redemption Center, 16930 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
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Well, after calling Spirit Incentives and AA, my understanding is that you don't get ff miles on the companion ticket and the fare is substantially more than the cheapest fare and more than the minimum that is required. So, for example right now I would pay $298 for a flight ORD to LGA, Through Spirit, I could get two tickets for $368 plus $103 in taxes for a total of $471. Through my time share I might be able to get $50 off each of the $298 tickets (not sure because 1 direction has the right code, the other direction doesn't). For the $25 savings going through Spirit is it worth not getting 1400 miles for my daughter, and 1400 miles of points using the premier plus credit card. Probably not. If I can't us the $50 off coupon, it might be a different story. Anyone get ff miles for the companion ticket, and points on the credit card for the flight?
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Well, after calling Spirit Incentives and AA, my understanding is that you don't get ff miles on the companion ticket and the fare is substantially more than the cheapest fare and more than the minimum that is required. So, for example right now I would pay $298 for a flight ORD to LGA, Through Spirit, I could get two tickets for $368 plus $103 in taxes for a total of $471. Through my time share I might be able to get $50 off each of the $298 tickets (not sure because 1 direction has the right code, the other direction doesn't). For the $25 savings going through Spirit is it worth not getting 1400 miles for my daughter, and 1400 miles of points using the premier plus credit card. Probably not. If I can't us the $50 off coupon, it might be a different story. Anyone get ff miles for the companion ticket, and points on the credit card for the flight?
Looks like a bad start. I have very high hopes on this card so if any one has any more surprises, please go nice, easy and slow. :D
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I've used the free domestic travel feature of the card twice so far this year. On was ORD-MSY on American, the other ORD-SEA on United. Both experiences were easy, the agent was friendly and helpful, and in both instances I got exactly the flights I wanted. In both instances, each ticket was a paid, upgradable ticket (and in fact, in both cases, I upgraded each seat in each direction). You absolutely do get the airline's FF miles for both tickets, but you obviously don't get the Thank You flight points for the free ticket, since the card's record doesn't show the free ticket being paid for on the card (even though Spirit is obviously paying for both tickets). I've also redeemed Thank You points for free domestic flights, and again, no problem whatsoever.
Since my last posting here, I've upgraded to the Chairman card. One interesting feature of the new card is that you call Chairman CS for hookup to Spirit, and they offer to stay on the line with you while you deal with Spirit for tickets. I declined the offer, but the implication is that they're there to provide some "muscle" in the event there's a problem with Spirit.
As I've written before, no card is perfect, and certainly, not every feature of every card will work perfectly every time. On balance, though, I think PremierPass Elite and Chairman carry more useful features than any of the other reward cards out there.
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I have heard of many individuals being able to book through American or United or whatnot through Spirit in order to use the companion airfare. Do they also book through Northwest, Continental, or Delta? If anyone has any luck, please let me know!
Thanks in advance.
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Since my last posting here, I've upgraded to the Chairman card. One interesting feature of the new card is that you call Chairman CS for hookup to Spirit, and they offer to stay on the line with you while you deal with Spirit for tickets. I declined the offer, but the implication is that they're there to provide some "muscle" in the event there's a problem with Spirit.
As I've written before, no card is perfect, and certainly, not every feature of every card will work perfectly every time. On balance, though, I think PremierPass Elite and Chairman carry more useful features than any of the other reward cards out there.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Good to hear some things work. Indeed you are right in not every feature of every card will work perfectly every time.
Why did you upgrade to Chairman card? and perhaps if someone knows about the annual fee if you are Citigold. I know you dont pay for Citi Premier Elite.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences. Good to hear some things work. Indeed you are right in not every feature of every card will work perfectly every time.
Why did you upgrade to Chairman card? and perhaps if someone knows about the annual fee if you are Citigold. I know you dont pay for Citi Premier Elite.
That is a good question about Citigold; but, I know that certain Smith Barney clients can get a portion or all of the annual fee waived.
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Fellowtraveler -
How did the ticket for the free conmpanion ticket look? Did it show half the total fare paid, or just the taxes? How much were charged for each pair of tickets that you said you got? How did that compare to the lowest fare you could have gotten had you purchased 2 tickets.
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Fellowtraveler -
How did the ticket for the free conmpanion ticket look? Did it show half the total fare paid, or just the taxes? How much were charged for each pair of tickets that you said you got? How did that compare to the lowest fare you could have gotten had you purchased 2 tickets.
I think you misunderstood fellowtraveller post # 45. It was not free companion ticket.
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I am not sure that I misunderstood - fellowtraveler please clarify - were you talking about a free companion ticket ( a feature of the card only) or using thank you points to get a ticket. The free companion ticket is a feature of the card and that is what you referred to - the free domestic ticket exchanging 25k points allows the 25K points to come from banking or credit cards.
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Hi, I'm sorry about the confusion. Truthfully, I get confused about which company is responsible for which kind of tickets. In fact, one of the nice things now about Chairman is that all I have to do for any kind of tickets, whether free companion or ThankYou points, is simply call CS and they direct my call (and, as I said, they offer to stay on the line to help out with the supplier company). While I'm on the subject of Chairman, let me answer a couple of the above questions.
I have a Smith Barney account, and for whatever cutoffs they have, that entitled me to a $100 discount on the $400 annual Chairman fee. I do believe that's just for the first year, but I'm not sure about that. I know that they take anywhere from no discount, up to paying the whole fee for the Chairman card, depending on the size of the customer's investment account. Again, I have no idea what the cutoffs are, but I think it would be a good guess to suggest that it would take an account of at least several million dollars to have the whole fee picked up.
One of my main reasons for going Chairman is that there is no limit whatsoever on the ability to accumulate ThankYou points. Because I use the card for many of my business purchases, I know I'll go well over the 200,000 annual point limit of the PremierElite card. I also know now that the bonus on grocery-pharmacy-gas purchases for Chairman is a triple.
My personal experience so far on both cards is with two free companion tickets, and one set of two ThankYou point tickets (50,000 point total). In all three of those cases I had no problem getting pretty much what I wanted. I've already reported my experience on an earlier post where I asked for two specific United flights. The ThankYou point agent said they were not available, but then she called United while I was on the phone, and she somehow talked them into freeing up two (upgradable) seats on the exact flights I wanted. And that was with my PremierElite card, not Chairman.
There is no question that the ThankYou point tickets and the free companion tickets are all paid, upgradable tickets. I was able to see on United's website what was paid for all tickets for all my trips, and, at least on the free companion tickets, they were all at least $75 less than I could have gotten the tickets for. I wish I could be more specific, but I'm operating from memory, not anything I printed out at the time.
I'm more than happy to answer any other questions about either card. As I've said before, the PremierPass elite is essentially free for at least 2 years, even if they charge the $75, because of the 15,000 signup bonus ThankYou points. I think it's a no-brainer for anyone to try.
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One of my main reasons for going Chairman is that there is no limit whatsoever on the ability to accumulate ThankYou points. Because I use the card for many of my business purchases, I know I'll go well over the 200,000 annual point limit of the PremierElite card. I also know now that the bonus on grocery-pharmacy-gas purchases for Chairman is a triple.
Goodness gracious. Did you say you will be spending well over the 200,000 annual point limit of the PremierElite card? Are you going to buy the state of Alaska? or what
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Since you get points for flying you could easily get to 200,000 without spending that much money. You only have to spend 100,000 if all your purchases were at grocery stores. If you bought lots of people's air tickets you would get lots of points, so I can see how it could happen, especially if you fly for business and pay your own ticket upfront, or if you have a large family.
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fellowtraveler wrote:
"the free companion tickets are all paid, upgradable tickets."
They won't commit to this on the phone. So, each ticket , the first and the companion ticket got real FF miles, but only thank you flight miles on the first ticket. Is that right?
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Yes, that's exactly right. And it makes sense, as the companion ticket is paid for by someone, but not with the PremierPass card. And you're also right, it's not that difficult to accumulate 200,000 points if a lot of them come from miles flown on paid tickets. For example, in my business, we purchase flight tickets for employees for business. The employee receives his or her own FF miles, but the ThankYou miles go to the cardholder of the card that paid for the tickets.
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This is a very unique benefit of this card. It looks like people like fellowtraveller who can put in a lot of business related air travel purchase are in a very advantageous position. I wonder if Citibank realises later that it is too much of a benefit and cannot take it any more. If not then everybody have fun. As the saying goes "oppurtunity comes to only those who are prepared to accept it"
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Most people are not in that position and that is why they limit the number of flight thank you points that can be used on a ticket - it has to be matched by other kinds of points. If you bank at citibank, you can accumulate those and use them with flight points, so how much you actually have to "spend" to get free travel might not be that much.
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Update - After 7 months and at least 10 phone calls into Citi I still have no flight points. I've cancelled my card and will be going back to AMEX. I hope it works out for everyone else :(
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I am very sorry and indeed dissapointed. Time for serious thought. Why did this happen to you? Any clues to your particular situation.
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I am very sorry and indeed dissapointed. Time for serious thought. Why did this happen to you? Any clues to your particular situation.
I did sign up about a month after the card was announced, so maybe there were some problems with the initial customer base. Other than that I have no idea why it happened.
Over the course of 7 months I called in and heard a bunch of excuses. Everything from "We're starting an investigation" to "A dispute has been filed", etc. Everyone promised it would be fixed the next billing cycle, but it never was. Net-Net I was shorted 75k points (I had more flight points, but adhering to the spend points > flight points principle.
In any case I may have jumped the gun on myself. While I was very poilite to the rep, I insisted on having the card cancelled today. Now I am without a Visa / MC and must rely on my AMEX. I'm wondering when the first time I run into "We don't accept AMEX will be" :)
I also need to find a new card ASAP. If I have to call Citi back tonight to open an AA MC then it will be very embarassing :rolleyes:
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So far there is one happy card holder who has some reasonable experience fellowtraveller see his posts # 7 and 45 in this thread. Well! this is my first month of card. I have not even received my first statement. I dont know what to expect.
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It looks like PremierPass Elite card has been in the market for a year or so and its more elite rich cousin Chairman card with a $400 fee for even less period. So far there is one success story in fellowtraveller who seems to be very happy and doing well on course while there is another horror story by omegadeal who after seven months of dissapointments had to cancel it this week. Something is not right here. Either it was very unfortunate with omegadeal or some big misunderstanding that could not be clarified till the end. What ever the reasons, there is much more to explore till one can come to a conclusion.
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omegadeal,
a couple of ideas/thoughts.
A) normally, once can get a card re-instated within a given period after cancellation (30 days comes to mind).
B) If I were you, I would NEVER cancel the card outright...Citibank could probably care less, and you lose continuity and all the effort it took to build your credit line over the years. INSTEAD, I would recommend you CHANGE THE AFFINITY of the card to another Citibank affinity program, OR find the least expensive annual fee card Citibank offers...and "move your affinity" to this card as a "holding pattern" until you see an affinity that better fits your needs.
FWIW, I have no relationship w/ Citibank other than was an active Citibank/Aadvantage cardholder, for years, until AA's implementation of milesaver spring, 2004, killed my interest in the Aadvantage program. Now - I still hold my citibank/aadvantage card but do not actively use it much less accrue aadvantage miles. I haven't yet moved my affinity relationship yet, but its just a matter of time, but I will not cancel the card outright due to the issues discussed above. Too much effort to get to this level of cl, and no desire to cancel the card only to then have to apply/get another issued (which nails my FICO score).
FWIW - I was never enamored w/ this Premiere Pass Elite level hybrid use of two types of miles...too complicated to understand, too much risk Citibank could change the hybrid ratios, and too much hassle to strategize points/miles accumulation, and then too tricky to make use of. IMO - given time - Citibank laid a raw egg here.
Best of luck.
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Those are good suggestions, but I think I'll leave the card cancelled for the following reasons:
1) I spend around $125k a year on my card and was using the Citi card as my primary card. The plan was to max out the 100k points and the 100k miles, redeem 2 business class tickets to hawaii (150k) and then a misc 50k for this year. I'll now switch my primary spending to my Hilton AMEX (I know starwood is technically better, but Hilton points is what I always need the most). With that, I only need a Visa/MC for times when AMEX is not accepted. I ended up getting a no annual fee, no reward visa from Chase.
2) I pay the cards off each month so interest rates aren't an issue. I have 0 debt other than my mortgage and the Fico score is good, so no need to worry about obtaining credit.
3) I think you're right that Citi doesn't care. The only time they would talk to me and make sense was when I told them I would cancel. If I switched to another one of their cards I think they would mark it up as a problem solved.
I was thinking about writing a letter to one of the consumer credit executives at Citi, but its probably a waste of time. If I wanted to be really smart I could have kept the card, not used it and I'm sure I would have eventually gotten my points. However at this point I had already invested enough time trying to get my problem fixed.
What's even more ironic is that I was a 15 year customer of Citi and they were my first credit card.
Thanks again for the suggestions. With enough spending on my AMEX this year I may qualify for Centurion :)
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That is an unfortunate story. I have had satisfactory service with Citi. But I think the service definitely depends on which card you have. I have the Smith Barney Platinum and Citi Chairman cards through them and have had no problems with their customer service. They have always been on top of all the issues and have addressed my concerns with above adequate attention. Chase on the other hand, I don't like how they debt my checking account and post my payment 3 days later. Citi and Amex typically post my payment and then debts my account and I can do it on the same day with no additional fee. Chase charges $15 for their "same day" payment service and their phone payment service, while Amex and Citi does it without a fee.
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I am new to this thread and I am quite surprised to hear MANY BAD STORIES from other card holders.
I opened the account since Feb and everything has been just so perfect. Never even one issue. All purchase and flight points are posted correctly, never waste a phone call to report missing points.
The only thing I hate about Citi Cards is the 3% foreign trasaction fee. Just spent 2K buying tickets from Thailand. Besides this, oh I love this card !!!
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I am glad to hear people's good experiences and I hope mine will just that. So far my basic purchases are posting, and I just booked two tickets to NY for August, so we will see how it is handled. Too bad that I got the card after booking the San Diego trip - just returned tonight. Oh, well.
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Say, anyone have experience with actually trying to get through to Global Impact these days to make a flight redemption? I've been on hold for 45 minutes, 1 hour, 45 minutes (including 15 minutes past their closing time), and now 1 hour and 45 minutes (and counting) after calling at 9:10AM EDT (supposedly 10 minutes after they open). :mad:
I guess I now know why their flight redemption program seems relatively generous (no dollar caps): you can never even speak to someone to redeem a flight anyway!
I used to be a big PremierPass fan, but this whole experience is starting to turn me off of it. Simpler to just get gift cards, but that really loses an important part of the program...
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Say, anyone have experience with actually trying to get through to Global Impact these days to make a flight redemption? I've been on hold for 45 minutes, 1 hour, 45 minutes (including 15 minutes past their closing time), and now 1 hour and 45 minutes (and counting) after calling at 9:10AM EDT (supposedly 10 minutes after they open). :mad:
I guess I now know why their flight redemption program seems relatively generous (no dollar caps): you can never even speak to someone to redeem a flight anyway!
I used to be a big PremierPass fan, but this whole experience is starting to turn me off of it. Simpler to just get gift cards, but that really loses an important part of the program...
I have not used the Global Impact redemption yet, but with the Citi Chairman Card the CS agent stays on the line with you throughout the whole process. Not that the agent will be much use if you are not on hold for a hour or so, but from what I have heard from other card members they have yet to experience the 1 hour wait.
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OK, finally got through. All in all, I have to say it's a very good deal. Used 50k points for a flight to London. Flight was pricing at $845, I only have to pay some indeterminate amount in taxes between $100 and $150 (they'll let me know in a couple days). Also, I think I took the last V-class fare on the return leg because the flight is now pricing at $1400 with the return in B!
A point of interest with regards to AA (which is what the flights are on) is that from what I could tell, they use AA Incentive Travel Certs (americanairlinesincentivetraavel.com) to redeem the flights. He kept talking about the certificates they have for AA and these are the only things I can think of that would match up with what he's talking about. Presumably they buy at a discount, but the retail price for a USA-Europe cert is $900. Requires V-class availability.
Oh yeah, and I don't quite have 25k purchase points (will have enough once my next statement closes tonight), but they apparently cannot see the difference between flight points and purchase points. I was able to redeem 23k purchase points with 27k flight points. Not sure if Citi has something further down the line to catch this or what...
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Very interesting input and experience. The question here is how much these AA Incentive Travel Certs costs individually. After all they are making something out of them. What if we buy direct from them. Do we save any money?
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Oh yeah, and I don't quite have 25k purchase points (will have enough once my next statement closes tonight), but they apparently cannot see the difference between flight points and purchase points. I was able to redeem 23k purchase points with 27k flight points. Not sure if Citi has something further down the line to catch this or what...
I am checking this thread every couple days, and thank you for sharing the experience with us. very helpful.
In the monthly statement it shows 'total available points' as the purchase points doubled (suppose you have more flight points), so obviously those Global Impact reps couldn't see that number?
And you didn't have to buy a travel certificate from thankyouredemption.com before you called Global Impact, but you were able to check flight availability before they deducted any points from you? That's good news.
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I am checking this thread every couple days, and thank you for sharing the experience with us. very helpful.
In the monthly statement it shows 'total available points' as the purchase points doubled (suppose you have more flight points), so obviously those Global Impact reps couldn't see that number?
And you didn't have to buy a travel certificate from thankyouredemption.com before you called Global Impact, but you were able to check flight availability before they deducted any points from you? That's good news.
The Global Impact people can see your TY point balance and deduct from it themselves. So there's no need to either order a cert from the web site or from the 877-7REDEEM number.
The thing is, on my statement, I had 23k purchase points and 30k flight points, and it says total redeemable points = 53k. Yours doesn't? And if you go to thankyouredemptions.com, what does it say for your total redeemable points? Mine has always said purchase points + flight points even after my flight points exceeded my purchase points. Perhaps there's a bug in their system for me?
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The thing is, on my statement, I had 23k purchase points and 30k flight points, and it says total redeemable points = 53k. Yours doesn't? And if you go to thankyouredemptions.com, what does it say for your total redeemable points? Mine has always said purchase points + flight points even after my flight points exceeded my purchase points. Perhaps there's a bug in their system for me?
No, no. If there is a bug, it's a nice one and it's not just for you. :) I was only guessing that the available points are at most double purchase points, but I've not got more flight points yet, so actually I don't know. Sorry for the confusion.
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I have a question, which I hope is worth discussing:
We know that Thankyou points from multiple accounts can be combined. If I combine the points in, say, diamond preferred reward card or banking account with the points in primerpass card, will citi treat the transferred points as purchase points and let me use more flight points? This is very tempting because every point from other accounts can effectively be doubled, and one can redeem substantially more.
I once asked a thankyou redemption rep but she didn't seem to understand what I was getting at. :(
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I have a question, which I hope is worth discussing:
We know that Thankyou points from multiple accounts can be combined. If I combine the points in, say, diamond preferred reward card or banking account with the points in primerpass card, will citi treat the transferred points as purchase points and let me use more flight points? This is very tempting because every point from other accounts can effectively be doubled, and one can redeem substantially more.
I once asked a thankyou redemption rep but she didn't seem to understand what I was getting at. :(
I know about combing points between Banking and ONE other credit card, I did not know about combining multiple credit cards before. When I first activated my Premier Pass Elite card, I asked to have remaining points transferred from Diamond Rewards to the new card, they said I CANNOT do it.
Also, it is NOT really POINT TRANSFER, from what I understand between banking and credit card, you just combine the points to redeem awards. Your point from other account should not just get transferred and sit there on the account it was transferred to, all point would have been redeemed.
If they come up with something new that I don't know of, e.g. transfer points between accounts, please do let me know. Thanks.
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I know about combing points between Banking and ONE other credit card, I did not know about combining multiple credit cards before. When I first activated my Premier Pass Elite card, I asked to have remaining points transferred from Diamond Rewards to the new card, they said I CANNOT do it.
Also, it is NOT really POINT TRANSFER, from what I understand between banking and credit card, you just combine the points to redeem awards. Your point from other account should not just get transferred and sit there on the account it was transferred to, all point would have been redeemed.
See aegean94305's post in the other PremierPass thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390111
But yes, it's not a point transfer, but they do apparently let you combine points from multiple credit cards to redeem awards now. When I first got my PP card (maybe February), I asked and the answer was no. It would be much nicer if they structured the program like Amex MR where all the points go into one account.
And I find it's of little use to discuss flight points and purchase points with either Citi Card reps or Thank You reps. They are generally clueless when it comes to this program.
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I have a question, which I hope is worth discussing:
We know that Thankyou points from multiple accounts can be combined. If I combine the points in, say, diamond preferred reward card or banking account with the points in primerpass card, will citi treat the transferred points as purchase points and let me use more flight points? This is very tempting because every point from other accounts can effectively be doubled, and one can redeem substantially more.
I once asked a thankyou redemption rep but she didn't seem to understand what I was getting at. :(
I asked almost the same question in another thread (http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4370222&postcount=54). Now I see that it's more relavant here. The question was: do banking points count in the purchase>=flight points requirement?
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This is my understanding. Since flight points are easy to get, they want them matched by other kinds of points. The matching doesn't matter whether they are purchase, bonus, from checking, etc. All of them can be combined if they are from an account with your name on it. If you have 5000 flight points, you can use them all and the balance is from everything else. If you had 20,000 flight points, you could only use 12,500 of them, needing to match point for point from the other kinds of points.
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I think it's simple unless you try to make it too complicated. :)
First, if you are an infrequent flier (meaning fewer flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 1% back (the purchase points), and 1 cent per mile flown. This is assuming you redeem 5000 points for $50 gift certificates.
Second, if you are a frequent flier (meaning more flight points than purchase points), essentially you are getting 2% back (purchase point married with a flight point), and you can just forget about all the excess flight points.
You can complicate it with different redemption options for ThankYou points, but it's no more complicated than Amex Membership Rewards points in that sense. And the companion tickets? Well, that's a whole 'nother story... :D
There is a little more to this card than just the percentage-back calculation.
One huge issue that hasn't been emphasized is the ease of reward redemption. Unless I'm misreading the terms, you can call 15 days in advance and get a free ticket to Hawaii (with Saturday night stay) as long as any seat is available. With all the complaints about award availability, this is an enormous plus.
Also, you are triple-dipping on paid tickets. On a $250 ticket that's 2,000 miles round-trip you're getting: 1) 250 points for the purchase, 2) 2,000 points from Citi, and 3) 2,000 miles in your frequent flyer account. And on award tickets, you're still getting miles in your FF account.
I've looked at the terms several times and the only potential downside is if you exceed the 200K annual points cap. In that case you just put additional charges on another card.
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One huge issue that hasn't been emphasized is the ease of reward redemption. Unless I'm misreading the terms, you can call 15 days in advance and get a free ticket to Hawaii (with Saturday night stay) as long as any seat is available. With all the complaints about award availability, this is an enormous plus.
I like this card and have gotten several "free" tickets (you still have to pay taxes at approximate $70/ticket). I just want to make sure that you understand the availability of tickets.
The problem is that it isn't "any seat available" on the entire airplane - it's any seat that is in the right "class" though they won't tell you which class they're looking at or how they determine availability.
The good thing is that the reservation agents I've worked with have been very helpful and honest and have worked hard to get me what I wanted. They haven't succeeded to perfection, but they've gotten close - a lot closer than I would have gotten with regular frequent flier miles.