Late last week Chase announced enhancements to their Sapphire credit cards including a new featured called Pay Yourself Back. Pay Yourself Back is a “purchase eraser.” You make a purchase on your Sapphire card, then you redeem Ultimate Rewards against that purchase for a statement credit. It wouldn’t be that interested on its own, because […]
milenomics
Learn, Use, Repeat. A detailed trip into the world of Points, Miles, and Travel. How to earn more Miles and how to use those miles more effectively
My Experience Cancelling Award Travel Due to Coronavirus Threat
It’s been a wild week as the threat of Coronavirus has expanded, causing the need for more travel cancellations. Earlier in the week I cancelled a trip to Italy, and more recently a trip to Washington DC. I thought I’d share my experiences here in case they mirror situations you might be facing, and to […]
My Experience Pursuing a Hotels.com Price Guarantee
I recently tried my hand seeking a price match from Hotels.com. I’ve never pursued a hotel price match through any booking channel, but especially since Hotels.com sells discounted gift cards, has a rewards program, allows for the use of coupon codes, and participates in shopping portals – I thought it would be interesting to write […]
Citi Prestige Promo: $75 Off $750+ Hotel Bookings with Code TY75HOTEL
Citi is offering $75 off $750+ hotel bookings with code TY75HOTEL for bookings between November 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019. Update (Nov 1, 2019): This code works towards online ThankYou Point bookings — It’s unclear [to me] whether you can use this code for bookings paid for with ThankYou Points, though I am hopeful. […]
Qantas Transfer Bonuses [Targeted]
Update (Nov 1, 2019): I’m seeing a 20% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards. Back in June they were running a similar promo with a 20% from Amex + a 20% bonus from Qantas for an effective 44% bonus: Dans Deals wrote that this 44% bonus may have stopped in late June. However, comments indicate […]
My Experience Stacking CNB Rewards with the $100 Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit
In this post I’ll discuss redeeming City National Bank Rewards through their Concierge, and leveraging its $100 Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit. The upshot is that for low-priced roundtrip domestic flights in Economy, this is one of the best CNB Rewards redemptions possible. We’ve discussed City National Bank and their Crystal Visa Infinite card quite […]
Does VRBO Code as Travel on Chase? [not for me, but call and they might adjust it]
We’ve been pointing out for over a year now that the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal has a tendency to show Vacation Rentals that are available for booking on Expedia proper as “Sold Out” in the Chase poral. See: Chase UR Travel Portal Sold [Us] Out–New Expedia Powered Portal Issues This has diminished my ability to redeem […]
Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for Airport Transfers: Deal or not a deal?
While poking around the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal the other day, I noticed a new [to-me] redemption option: Airport Transfers. Direct Link While I’ve noticed some ground transfer options pop up while booking activties through the Chase portal, this option is a specialized subset within their portal. It provides a way to pre-arrange transportation between […]
The Delta/Virgin Atlantic Paradox: Business Class Awards to Europe
The Delta/Virgin Atlantic partnership is one to keep in mind any time you see low-level award availability on either airline. Last April we flew on Virgin Atlantic Upper Class using Delta SkyMiles. Next April we’re planning to fly DeltaOne using Virgin Atlantic miles. Ironically, it’s almost always better to pay with the partner’s miles rather […]
My Experience with Tours & Activities Booked through the Chase Expedia Portal
We just got back from a week in Europe where we did tours and activities in London, Venice, and Rome – all booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. I think I’m pretty good at booking flights and hotels, but I’m exceedingly bad at planning things to do once we get to a destination. I […]