Question
Just claimed my first free ticket with NEA card. Using only 15,000 points was great - got my daughter a free flight home (Madison, WI to San Diego) for her college spring break next month. Had to pay $41.50 though, since our family only flies AA and UA had the same trip for $370.00, whereas AA was $411.50. They are obliged to offer you the LOWEST fare trip available at the time you book....that's the "free" offer.....but if you want a particular carrier or routing, you may need to pay the difference, as I did. But I still think $41.50 is worth it for a free ticket, especially at only 15,000 points.
Next time I call, AA may be the lowest in the market.
Excellent customer service.....even received an updated itinerary yesterday with time changes for flights.
Answer
Jolly good point Capt. Since I prefer UA and Delta, I've never been disappointed since that's what they've always put me on. Of course, my flights at the time were always out of Grand Junction where there were only three choices...UA to DEN, Delta to SLC and America West to Pheonix.
------------------
If don't go, you'll never know.
Answer
Maybe if you had an AA coupon, you might have been able to avoid the $41.50 charge.
Answer
PG: What type of AA coupon are you referring to?
Answer
These programs are great because they actually BUY you the ticket with money. If the fare is over the max they will pay, you can use a coupon or voucher to bring it under the amount. That's what PG is talking about (I think), no coupon in particular.
Answer
Tute84: The "Palladian Travel Service" is the agency that books and sends the NEA tickets. Their headquarters is who-knows-where - east coast somewhere, I guess. I guess you could mail them a coupon or voucher if you trusted the mail, but even doing that and getting it applied to your ticket is a long shot. If I'm using a coupon or voucher, I always deal in person with a local travel agent or the AA city ticket office. Is that what you mean?
Answer
The coupons I am referring to are the dollar off coupons. I don't fly AA so I do not have current details, but I have in the past seen them in the Entertainment book, and also I have in the past received them from Travelers Advantage. I have without any problems used coupons with a non local agency by sending it overnight which adds about $10-15 in delivery charges (shouldn't be a long shot if they are competent).
Answer
That is not a bad deal Captain Mike, I have dealt with one of these propriatary cards through National City and if you go over their amount they charge you about $50 in fees PLUS the difference, and they just lowerd the max on their domestic ($20,000 of charging) award to $325! Cant often find tixs for that, think I see what they are doing! The $41.50 also was a small price to pay for FF miles from the flight on your pref airline. I assume there is no problem with earning ff miles on these reward tixs right? If there is not I think the NEA card will be in my pocket since my wife is a teacher!
Answer
Mile Dog: Yes, the ticket purchased for me by NEA travel service DOES earn mileage.
You are right about $325 not buying much of a trip these days. The NEA limit is $500, which I find much more realistic.
I have been most impressed with this card in the short time we've had it. I compare card offers continuously, and I feel this is the best one available right now for those people who want airline mileage and can pay the full balance each month.
My daughter's trip is all set, but I sure will ask whether they can process "Entertainment" or other AA coupons on future trips they book for me!
Answer
Captain Mike-
I will give you an example that happened to me with another card that has the same program:
I wanted to go EWR-LAX. The card has a limit of $500 for 25000 points (not as good as NEA, I know) on Continental, and Continental ONLY (details later). The lowest fare, which happened to be on Continental was $597.
I had a dollars off coupon that would take $100 off of the fare. The agent had me overnight it to them, and they ticketed, costing me $10 in overnight fees instead of the $97 over the limit.
BUT, it gets better. The reason I wanted to fly on Continental was because I wanted to upgrade. I didn't tell the agent that. So, I called Continental DIRECTLY, and had them upgrade my reservation using a certificate.
So, I got a ticket, upgrade, and flight miles with the credit card program. I would assume the NEA program is the same, as they buy you the tickets with $$.
Answer
Tute84: Good going! I love stories where people work coupons, discounts, and upgrades to the max. But I called "Palladian Travel Service" in Wilmington, Delaware, today (they're the ticketing agency for NEA/MBNA Travel Rewards), and the agent told me that they do not accept coupons of any kind, overnight or not, to reduce a fare on a ticket. She claimed to have been working there for years, and that she really was positive about this. As soon as I can, I will call back and speak with "Jeanne", the agent who processed the ticket for my daughter. I'm not looking for a refund of my $41.50, just a clear answer upon which to base future transactions!
Answer
Captain Mike, have used the NEA card for many flight the last 2 years. It is a super card http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif The best for the money out there.
I especially like the 10,000 miles in the 2 time zones thing. They also let me go to Alaska for 25,000 miles, which is more than my "1st USA miles" card did. The Alaska flight cost me about $100 out of pocket to get really great flying times and dates. I was able to upgrade to 1st class using my NW miles one way and my Continental miles the other.
Answer
Wonderer: Have you ever had to pay extra for an NEA/MBNA ticket, like my extra $41.50 because I wanted AA instead of UA? If so, have you ever mailed Palladian Travel Service a "dollars off" coupon to reduce the extra amount you had to pay, as Tute84 suggests in his/her post? Do you know if Palladian accepts these coupons, or did I receive correct info from the agent who told me that they do not?
Answer
Captain Mike, never used a $-off coupon with NEA-MBNA. Seem to remember trying to use one with my other "miles card" and not being successful. I have never had a problem with customer service or the travel service MEA deal's with. The reason I had to pay more for my ticket was they only allow $600 for Alaska and I had excellent connections and times.
I use the $100 coupons etc. on the short hops that don't connect with the other Airlines.
Good Luck, I'm glad I'm done paying for college fees, but wish I had a NEA-MBNA card waaaay back then. My memory says they didn't accept Credit Card payments.
Don't forget to use PayPal for some extra miles when she needs "extra" money.
Answer
Just a footnote to the story.......daughter secures a "bump" voucher in Chicago on the way back to Madison from San Diego! Agent was delighted to have her volunteer her seat on March 19th, since fog in Chicago was making an already crowded situation even worse. So the kid snares a $300 AA voucher, a bus ticket from O'Hare to Madison that she hops on, and a meal voucher that she uses at the airport before boarding the bus! And the final kicker......calls me from her dorm to get the number for the AA gold desk so she can collect the 500 miles for the flight ORD/MSN she never took! The kid's smarter than her father. I'm so proud!
Captain Mike
Answer
Not bad for a free (or almost free) ticket!
Answer
So how does one apply for the NEA credit card? Is it available online. Thanks!
Answer
Originally posted by bp888:
So how does one apply for the NEA credit card? Is it available online. Thanks!
http://www.neamb.com/programs/ccptrv.html
Terrific deal...
Answer
I looked at the NEA credit card and while it does offer a lower "miles" for a free ticket, there are major drawbacks.
The value of your free ticket has a cap and anything over the cap you have to pay for. This could add up to big bucks if you need to take a trip at the last minute or do not have a Saturday night stay.
2)If you need to change your flights, It is cheaper if you use raw miles. The NEW option may be very costly and subject to the rules of the ticket purchased.
If you live/fly in Southwest Markets, the Southwest Credit Card gives you a return ticket for 16 points. 1 point for every $1000 charged. Granted, this would be hard to do within one year but very easy to do when you mix it in with Southwest flights.
[This message has been edited by Tango (edited 03-28-2000).]
Answer
TANGO: You're right. You do need to abide by the rules of the program, including avoiding changes. But NEA Travel Rewards tickets cannot be used for a last minute trip. They must be booked 14 or 21 days in advance, and they require a Saturday night stay. It's designed for leisure/vacation trips, planned well in advance. In my case, I know way ahead when daughter's college vacations are, and also when she's done with final exams each semester, so for me it works great.
I would also agree that people who fly Southwest are better off using that card. It would be foolish to waste a ticket from the NEA card on the kind of trips Southwest makes. But while I could fly Southwest from San Diego all the way to Boston, New York, or Baltimore, would I really want to?
Answer
It is easy to knock Southwest but they have my respect. The US domestic route structure is divided between cities served by Southwest and those that are not. The cities that are have much lower fares--Thank You Southwest.
I understand why people do not like to fly Southwest (no assigned seats, no meals, several stops,no interline luggage transfer, etc etc). I dislike people who ding Southwest but complain about high airfares the other airlines are offering.
Answer
Do you have any promotion code for signing up for this card. Almost all these cards have a promotion or the other to sweeten the deal.
Do let me know if there is one you know off.
Answer
SJC2ISP,
As far as I know, there is no special "code" you need to sign up for this card. Visit the website listed in ejulber's post up above, or call the 800 number listed on that website. I don't think I was started with any kind of startup/promotion miles last year when I signed up, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I'm about to claim my second free ticket with them, and I couldn't be more pleased.
[This message has been edited by Captain Mike (edited 05-08-2000).]