US Airways Archives - Page 2 of 5

Oct 23 2014

US Air 10,000 Miles Anniversary Bonus to Stay (for some cards)

The companion certificate is a benefit of the US Airways card that I had never used before — I’m curious – will the card change?

Last week, I had a short twitter conversation with @tmount, @KennyBSAT, and @FreequentFlyr (follow me @asthejoeflies!) about whether the 10,000 miles anniversary bonus (after paying annual fee) on the Barclays US Air card would be sticking around. We determined that for older cards that have the bonus, it will stick, but applications in the last year or so have taken that bonus out.

So for example, the card I got in 2013 has the 10,000 mile bonus in perpetuity while the one I got in 2014 has no bonus at all. Freequent Flyer was saying how it’s in the terms and conditions so Barclay’s couldn’t get out of it, but I was kind of worried once the programs combine (which looks like it could be soon) they’d be able to sneak out.

Well, I received an e-mail today stating that the 10,000 mile anniversary bonus will continue after the programs combine in 2015.

Instead of 10,000 US Air miles next year we'll be getting 10,000 AAdvantage miles — Instead of 10,000 US Air miles next year we’ll be getting 10,000 AAdvantage miles

I find two things interesting about this e-mail. First, Barclays is going to start awarding the bonus miles as AAdvantage miles – that’s a great thing it means they’re not weaseling out of their T&C. But secondly, the fact that they are saying they are going to be giving 10,000 AAdvantage miles in 2015 lends credence to the theory that the programs are going to complete their marriage sooner rather than later. I was thinking that 2015 might be the “you can transfer miles freely between programs” period but this is further evidence that they’ll be straight up combined.

Anyway, just wanted to share with anyone who has the card and is curious!

Sep 26 2014

Sometimes it Pays to be Obsessive Part II: Staying in First Class after a Forced Downgrade

I was at a dinner the other night when a friend (and very good food blogger, coincidentally), told the group – “Oh Joe, he’s obsessed with miles and points.” At first I was like, woah, that’s kind of a strong statement – but – guilty. I’ve mentioned before how my semi-obsessive checking of award space has paid off in the past. I wanted to share my experience after a forced downgrade.

Our original itinerary had us going to Philadelphia first (gcmap.com)

I booked two round trip first class tickets on British Airways using US Airways miles back when they still weren’t charging fuel surcharges. Our routing was BOS-PHL-LHR-LYS on the outbound, and LYS-LHR-BOS on the return. Both transatlantic segments were in first class and we were super excited to take the trip.

Unfortunately, as these things go, I received a troubling e-mail from Award Wallet a month or two later.

Award Wallet alerted me to this unwelcome change

I called both British and US Airways – it turns out BA switched equipment and the PHL-LHR would no longer have first class. This kind of sucked because this equipment change was ONLY for our day of travel and we were pretty much locked in date wise due to childcare issues.

There were no alternative flights in first at the time, so I did what you should do when these kinds of things happen – I did not accept the change. Instead, I just left it as is and decided to wait and see if first class transatlantic (TATL) space would open up later. My one worry was that if I switched flights back into a first class cabin, US Airways would try to charge me the exorbitant taxes and fees (definitely over $500 maybe up to $1000 per person).

British Airways business class is still lie flat, but we paid for first and would prefer that

I was assured by a friendly agent that US Airways would do an even exchange (no extra money on my part). I took her name down in case I needed it, because the reality is many US Airways agents apply the rules differently. Booking awards with US Airways is a bit like the Wild Wild West, which can be a good thing (getting them to book a routing that is technically illegal because they don’t understand geography), or a bad thing (being forced to submit to a rule that doesn’t make common sense).

So, after not accepting the change, I, um, obsessively checked award space from Boston to London almost every single day for the next three months. So, yes, Jen, I guess I am obsessive. My reasoning? There are two flight from Boston to London every night, and I checked and saw a bunch of empty seats on Expertflyer.

When that many seats are open there's always a decent chance award space will open up — When that many seats are open there’s always a decent chance award space will open up

The odds that British Airways would open two of those seats were decent. My plan was to switch onto those flights (or really any TATL flights in BA F that opened up) if possible, or in a worst case scenario just suck it up and fly in business.

Well, yesterday was the day – I logged in at around 130 PM and lo and behold there were two seats on the direct BOS-LHR flight. I couldn’t call US Airways until 230 so I had to sweat out that hour – I’ve seen award space go bye bye in that time before. But being so busy lately, I needed to prioritize the more important things in life first.

As soon as 230 hit, I called up US Airways. I explained to the very helpful agent what was going on and she put me on hold to see if she could switch me to the new flights. My heart skipped a beat when she said “You realize you might have to pay taxes and fees on this new flight now and they can be pretty high on British Airways.” <deep breath> I calmly and confidently replied, “I was told when I had called before that it would be an even exchange since the downgrade was forced on us – could you please see if that’s still possible?”

Lyon - here we come in F! — Lyon – here we come in F!

She said she would check on it and put me on hold. I hadn’t even whipped out the previous agent’s name yet. I was on hold for 15 minutes – I actually thought that since I was on hold for a long time she was probably doing the even exchange (otherwise she’d have come back asking for my CC information or whatever). Indeed, she came back on, thanked me for waiting, and told me she had taken care of everything. Woohoo!

So now we not only have reinstated our seats in first class without having to pay anything (not that I thought we should have, it was gonna be a real dilemma if they had tried to make us to and I didn’t have time to hang up and call again), but we have one less segment and can leave directly from home!

Final Thoughts

I share this anecdote to reiterate that in this game, it really does pay off to be obsessive sometimes. Jess and I don’t get to travel as much anymore now that Little M is around – so when we do I want to aspire to as high a level as possible. Right now we can still do that and it’s important to me to take advantage of the opportunities while they are still there. Never underestimate the importance of “gardening” your reservations.

Aug 25 2014

Concerned about a British Airways Devaluation? Book these

Update: Since I typed this up, via PFD, BA has denied any changes are forthcoming on Twitter. But I think the information on these flights are useful so I’m posting this anyway. These are still good flights to book, and potential devaluations are always a nice reminder to earn and burn.

So, I was about to go to bed around midnight last night when I caught wind of a possible British Airways devaluation that can happen any minute. It’s not official, but it makes sense that it’s going to happen. The first people I saw write about were Free-quent Flyer, View from the Wing, Milenomics, and PFD (plus KennyBSAT on Twitter) – so you can read more about the details there.

Are these going away? (Image via @KennyBSAT/Miles4More)

Anyway, at times like these, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has the proper advice: Don’t Panic. Instead, book these great values just in case. I’ve included itinerary ideas, how to search, how to book, and how much it’ll cost you to cancel.

1. Short Haul AA/US flights in Economy (9000-25,000 Avios Round Trip)

As always, British Airways Avios short haul flights present the best value. If you know you have to take a trip – see if you can find space on AA or US and book the flights as an award. For example, a flight from Boston to JFK can put you back $300 in cash, or you can book it for 9000 Avios and $5.60. Here’s the award chart:

Avios award chart - not just good for British Airways flights! — Avios award chart (click to enlarge)

Anything under 650 miles (each way) for domestic AA or US flights is a great deal. Zone 2 is usually a pretty good to great deal, and you still should get a lot of value out of Zone 3 on AA/US domestic flights.

If you don’t want to do the research yourself, KennyBSAT has a nice series on Award Sweet Spots with Avios – East Coast, West Coast, Florida, and Dallas/Chicago.

How to search: You should search for both AA and US short haul flights online at aa.com. This post explains how to do it if you’re unsure. One thing to note – you must look for direct sAAver flights only – two segment flights are going to increase your price because Avios are distance-based. Non sAAver flights won’t be available to book on British Airways

How to book: Once you’ve found the flights, you can just book them on britishairways.com. Navigate to “Book Flights with Avios” and just search on your date, you should see the same flights you found on aa.com

Cost to cancel: I’ve never had personal experience with this, but the general consensus is British Airways charges $55 OR all the taxes and fees you were charged, whichever is lower. So your cancellation charge if necessary should be $5.60 – worth the speculative booking.

Avios are a great deal from the West Coast to Hawaii

2. West Coast to Hawaii in Economy (25,000 Avios Round Trip)

This is actually a specific short haul flight from #1, but merits its own mention because it’s the best value going to Hawaii. Any direct flight from the West Coast to Hawaii falls into Zone 3 and would only cost you 12,500 Avios and $5.60 each way.

How to search: Same as above, aa.com.

How to book: Same as above, britishairways.com

Cost to cancel: Same as above, $5.60 per segment

3. Boston to Dublin in Economy or Business on Aer Lingus (25,000 or 50,000 Avios Round Trip)

Using Avios, you can fly from Boston to Dublin for the same price as a domestic round trip. Or you can fly two people in Business class for 50,000 Avios each (100,000 total aka cheaper than almost everyone else’s transatlantic cost). Aer Lingus (a BA partner) has a direct flight (also one to Shannon) and it falls into Zone 3 – hence the awesome price.

The Cliffs of Moher are well worth a visit in Ireland

A friend said to me last month ago – “Shouldn’t I just be pounding the Boston to Dublin flight over and over to get to Europe?” Answer – yes. Being Boston based, this is my biggest worry about a British Airways devaluation. There is more risk for this flight (cancellation fees) but a potentially higher reward (you’ll be in Europe!).

How to search: Search for Aer Lingus flights on united.com. How to here. Aer Lingus is also a United partner so you can search there. Aer Lingus award space does not show on britishairways.com

How to book: Ugh, the worst. You have to call British Airways, wait on hold forever, then feed them your flights. It’s annoying but worth it. 1-800-452-1201 is the number to call.

Cancellation fee: This should cost you $55 to cancel and an extra $25 service fee – so you might want to be a little more sure when you book this one.

Final Thoughts

I really hope this doesn’t happen or British Airways at least gives some warning, but Iberia didn’t and I’m not holding my breath. I’m sure there will be some sweet spots in the new chart, but this is going to be a real loss. I would say – I’m fresh out of Avios and I’m not transferring from Chase or Membership Rewards to speculatively book – I wouldn’t do that unless you know you’re going somewhere. But that’s just me. Hope this was helpful!

Update: As I said above, British Airways says the devaluation isn’t happening but who knows. These are still great trips to book regardless!

Jun 21 2014

(Fut)ballin’ in Brazil – Finally Here! First Impressions (Day 1)

Sauceman's Charlotte Ribs Fried Corn — Our last dinner at Sauceman’s in Charlotte before leaving for Rio

After a long layover in Charlotte, I’m finally here in Brazil. As I type this Lionel Messi just drilled a stoppage time game winner – World Cup fever is officially on.

[Read more…]

Jun 20 2014

(Fut)ballin’ in Brazil – Charlotte Chowdown (Day 0)

Bojangles by Charlotte Airport — Our first stop after the airport

I left at 8 AM this morning from Boston and am currently in the middle of a twelve hour layover in Charlotte. Why layover in Charlotte do you ask? Well, the first and most obvious reason is this is the routing that worked the best when booking the award ticket – I wanted to be able to meet up with my friend and fly down to Brazil together. But the fact that I love the food here doesn’t hurt either.

[Read more…]