Discounted Tickets to the New York Times Travel Show

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This upcoming weekend is the New York Time’s 10th Annual Travel Show at the Javits Center in New York City.  The event is open to the general public on Saturday, January 19th from 10AM to 6PM, and on Sunday January 20th from 10AM to 4PM.

Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, the show is a fun and savvy way to plan your next vacation, take advantage of exclusive travel discounts and learn more about the world’s current travel hot spots from the nearly 500 exhibitors representing more than 150 countries.  You can even see The Points Guy speak at the event!

If purchased directly from the show website, tickets are $12 until January 17th, and then $17 if you buy them on January 18th and after at the door. Note that children under 18 are free. However, Goldstar is offering discounted tickets, for only $9.  (Note: that is my affiliate link.)

I’ll likely be attending the event on Sunday.  Will you be going?

 

Free Contest: Air Canada Lounge Passes & Langham Hotels 1865 Luggage Tag

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Happy New Year everyone!  To celebrate, I have a couple goodies to give away:

  • Pair (2x) of Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge passes – expires February 28, 2013 (valid for one use for one person each; must be on a same-day departing Air Canada flight)
  • 1x Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge pass – expires February 28, 2013 (valid for one use for one person; must be on a same-day departing Air Canada flight)
  • Langham Hotel’s 1865 branded leather luggage tag in a gift box.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post specifying which prize you’d like (#1, #2, or #3 – or all of them).  Three separate winners will be picked.  I’m leaving for Asia tomorrow morning and will return January 7th.  The winners will be announced once I return, and prizes will be mailed out that week.  As such, you’d likely need to have travel plans on Air Canada for sometime in mid-January through the end of February to make use of the lounge passes.

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First Suite

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Normally when I need to book a flight to Toronto, the first place I look is for award availability with American Airlines, so I can use British Airways Avios at a redemption rate of only 9K miles + $56 from either LGA or JFK in New York.  Unfortunately, the times I needed for my Christmas travel this year were not available, so I began to search for revenue tickets.

I quickly remembered that I had received status with Air Canada through a status match earlier in the year, and that I had eUpgrade Credits and Maple Leaf Lounge passes that were going to be expiring in a couple months.  As such, I looked for any possible flights which could make my holiday travel more enjoyable (in my warped, kind of nutty, travel & plane obsessed view of enjoyable).

While most flights between Newark (my preferred airport) and Toronto are on regional jets or tiny prop planes, I did manage to find a route that involved flying in one of Air Canada’s Executive First Suites on a 767 (albeit it for only 316 miles).   I ended up with the following routing for $229 all-in:

Newark (EWR) – Montreal (YUL) – De Havilland Dash 8 Turboprop in Economy
3.5 hour layover in Montreal
Montreal (YUL) – Toronto (YYZ) – Boeing 767-300 in an Executive First Suite

Toronto (YYZ) – Montreal (YUL) – Embraer 190 in Business
1 hour layover Montreal
Montreal (YUL) – Newark (EWR) – Canadair in Economy

While this seems like an awful routing for what should be a 50-minute journey, I looked at it as an opportunity to not let my eUpgrade Credits and Maple Leaf Lounge Passes go to waste, try out a premium cabin, as well as earn 3K United miles given the 500-mile minimum and 50% bonus I receive as a Premier Gold.

Departing from Newark on Sunday (12/23) morning wasn’t nearly as hectic as I anticipated.  I cleared security in less than five minutes, and my prop plane to Montreal left on time.

Bombardier Dash 8 at Newark (EWR)

Bombardier Dash 8 at Newark (EWR)

Upon landing I had to go through customs and security again, but the lines weren’t too bad.  I spent around two and half hours in the domestic Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, located near Gate 75 at YUL.  The lounge was unimpressive and was typical of a domestic state-side lounge.  There were snacks (chips, cookies, hummus, and fruit) and a self-serve bar with liquor, beer, and wine.  The wifi was adequate but not super-fast.  The bathrooms were very small, and not very well maintained.  Overall it was fine for a short connection and I was able to get some work done and do a little plane watching.

De-icing in Montreal (YUL)

De-icing in Montreal (YUL)

 

The flight to Toronto, while short, was a fun experience.  I was seated in 2A on the internationally configured 767-300.  There are 8 rows in the Executive First cabin in a 1-1-1 configuration.  It’s worth noting that there is a ~4 foot wall in between seats A and F.  So, there is significantly more privacy if you’re in an A seat.  If you’re traveling with a companion, you would ideally want seats F and K in the same row, which both face inwards towards each other.  I found the seat to be very comfortable, although I admittedly don’t have a ton of international premium cabin experience to compare to.

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First Class Suite - Seat 2A

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First Class Suite – Seat 2A

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First - wall between seats A and F

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First – wall between seats A and F

I didn’t play too much with the in-flight entertainment, but noted that the TV comes out on an un-adjustable arm and is roughly an 11” screen.  There is also 110V power port and USB port at each seat.

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First Class TV

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First Class TV

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First power ports

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First power ports

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First TV / seat controls

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First TV / seat controls

On our short flight we were served a chicken pot pie (which I thought was pretty tasty) and a drink.

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First snack

Air Canada 767-300 Executive First snack

The crew wasn’t overly friendly, but I also didn’t expect much in terms of service for such a short flight.

Overall I was happy with the experience and would definitely consider Air Canada as an option for a long-haul flight.

Bank of America Begins Cash Back Program (BankAmeriDeals)

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Earlier this week I received an e-mail from Bank of America describing their new cash-back program, BankAmeriDeals:

In a nutshell, you need to login to the Bank of America online banking site, and ‘load’ the deals to your Bank of America credit or debit card.  The cash-back earned from participating in the offer will automatically be credited into the eligible checking, savings, money market or credit card account you have selected by the end of the next month. The cash-back deals one receives are from participating merchants and restaurants that Bank of America has tried to match to the places you’ve shopped or to similar places that you might be interested in. The full FAQ on BankAmeriDeals is here.

I only have one Bank of America credit card (Virgin Atlantic) which I hardly use.  Not surprisingly, there aren’t many offers available to me:

15% off Icon Parking; 10% off 1-800-Flowers.com; 15% off Ports Coffee & Tea Co.; 10% off Burger King.

However, what is interesting is that the offers don’t require you to click-through any Bank of America portal.  This would infer that you could double-dip by going through a miles/points or cash-back portal for additional savings.

I likely won’t take advantage of any of the deals I am currently offered.  However, I am curios as to other potential offers out there.  Has anyone received offers from other merchants?

 

 

1 Week In With United Premier Gold Status

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Last Sunday, 12/2/12, I obtained United Premier Gold status.  This is the first time I’ve held any status higher than entry-level with a domestic carrier.  Since then, I’ve flown on six United operated flights, and here is what I’ve learned and observed thus far.  Note that the complete list of Premier benefits can be found on the United site.

  • Discounted same-day flight changes.  To start, Frequently Flying does a great job of explaining this benefit. I had an opportunity to take advantage of it last weekend on my transcontinental mileage run.  I was originally scheduled to fly EWR-SFO-ONT-EWR.  Sitting at the gate at ONT, an agent announced our flight was cancelled.  There was a mad rush to the desk with people trying to rebook their flights.  Me? I simply opened up the United iPhone app, and made the change myself routing through Houston.  The whole process took no longer than 45 seconds, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this myself had I not had Premier Gold status.

When I arrived in Houston, I decided to play with the options again.  I ultimately did not end up making any further changes to my itinerary since I had to be home at a certain time, but did notice two options for future trips:

  1. Creation of a 24-hour domestic layover.  While on my hour-long connection in Houston, I could have switched my flight back to Newark to the following day, allowing me to create a full-day/night layover in my connecting city.  I could have even selected the 787 Dreamliner flight!
  2. A perpetual mileage run? In addition to simply staying in Houston overnight, I noticed that I could also switch to a flight with another connection in Denver (or Cleveland, or Washington DC).  If I opted for this routing, I would have earned an additional 1,067 elite qualifying miles.  If I had switched to the Denver routing, could I have changed flights again during my connection to build in another connection?  I’m not positive, but it seems likely.

With this being said, next time I have a ton of flexibility in my travel, I’m certainly going to try to play the free same-day flight change game to spontaneously hop around the country.

  • Upgrades.  So far, I haven’t been higher than #10 on any upgrade list.  I’ve flown on both business routes (i.e. a Thursday night SNA-EWR redeye) and leisure routes (i.e. a Saturday afternoon EWR-SFO) with no noticeable difference in upgrade position.  As such, I’m not optimistic about receiving any complimentary upgrades with Premier Gold status.
  • Economy Plus seating.  Conversely, I have been able to select Economy Plus seating on every flight I’ve been on.  On 3 of my 6 flights so far, I’ve secured bulkhead rows with a ton of room.  While I don’t think I have historically ever paid for E+ seating, I’ve learned to appreciate the tiny upgrade for free… and don’t ever want to go back to regular economy.
  • Mileage bonuses. With Premier Gold, I earn 50% bonus redeemable miles, and a 500-mile minimum for short flight (which really translates to a 750 mile minimum due to the 50% bonus).  This has had a noticeable effect on my Mileage Plus balance.  For example, on my mileage run last weekend, in which I flew EWR-SFO-ONT-IAH-EWR, I earned 8,698 redeemable miles instead of the 5,662 I would have earned if I didn’t have any status.
  • Reduced award change fee. Prior to having status, I had spent $225 on United award change fees ($75 no-status fee x 3 changes) this year.  Subsequent to having status, I’ve already utilized this benefit and paid only $25 to change an award ticket.  Since my travel plans tend to change a lot, I see this as having real, tangible, monetary value to me.
  • Lounge access when traveling internationally. I haven’t had a chance to take advantage of this benefit yet; however, I have an international flight in a couple weeks.
  • Star Alliance Gold status. The real benefit here is that I’ll now be able to status match to Turkish Airways to get Turkish Gold, which will ultimately allow me to have access to United lounges when traveling domestically.  The status with Turkish lasts two years and they give you two years to re-qualify.  This benefit is huge to me, as most of my travel is domestic, and I have historically not had access to United lounges.  Gary explained in detail how to perform such status match.
  • Priority boarding. I only travel with a carry-on, so it is important to me to board early to secure overhead bin space and avoid gate checking my bag.  On all of my flights so far, I’ve been in boarding group two, which has guaranteed that I secure the space I need.
  • Priority security screening. I have TSA PreCheck via my Global Entry enrollment, so I haven’t yet noticed a difference in having the priority security benefit.  Potentially when I’m flying out of a busy airport which does not have PreCheck, I’ll see some value in this perk.
  • Priority check-in. I always check-in online or through the United iPhone app; this benefit does not affect me at all.
  • Priority baggage handling. I haven’t checked luggage in a couple years; this benefit does not affect me at all.

All in all, I certainly appreciate the benefits of having Premier Gold status.  Next year, my goal is to earn Premier Platinum status, mainly for a better shot at upgrades, free award changes and cancellations, a 75% redeemable mileage bonus, and two regional premier upgrades.

Maximizing Amazon Purchases – up to 12.65x!

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I love Amazon.  Having Amazon Prime for several years has changed the way I shop, and a fair amount of my regular spend goes to Amazon for its sheer convenience.  Up until recently, I had been utilizing the Hawaiian Airlines shopping portal which offers 1x on all purchases.  I’ve now discovered it is possible to earn up to 12.65x in certain shopping categories, and 8.65x in all categories.

Part I: Credit Cards
When compiling my Ultimate Credit Card Bonus Category Database back in October, I came to the realization that the Citi Forward card offers 5x (in the form of ThankYou Points) at bookstores.  ThankYou points in themselves are essentially worth 1 cent each (they cannot be transferred to any airline partners and can be redeemed 1:1 for Amazon gift cards, etc.); however, when combined with a ThankYou Premier credit card, points can be utilized at a rate of 1.33 cents towards purchased airfare (and such purchased airfares earns both elite qualifying miles and redeemable miles).  This ultimately turns out to be a 6.65x rebate (5x * 1.33 = 6.65x) that can be utilized for flights.  Note that I’ve heard mixed reports as to whether Amazon is still included in this category bonus – however the majority state that it is still working.  I don’t currently have this card, so I cannot speak from experience; but the card is going to be included in my Q1 2013 churn.

Alternatively, Amazon purchases will earn 5x (up to $1,500 in purchases) via the Q4 2013 Chase Freedom category bonuses.

Lastly, Amazon gift cards can be purchased at both Office Max and Staples utilizing the Ink Bold / Plus earning 5x due to the office supply category bonus.

Part II: Portals
A quick search on evreward shows that the only two portals offering any sort of rebate are the aforementioned Hawaiian Airlines portal, and Ebates.  I don’t know of any other airline portals which offer an Amazon rebate, and I’ve check all the other popular cash-back sites (i.e. BigCrumbs and TopCashBack) noting that neither offer an Amazon rebate.

Hawaiian Airlines offers 1x HawaiianMiles for any purchase.

Ebates (that is my referral link) offers 6x in certain categories (handbags, women’s shoes, kids’ clothing, juniors’ clothing, and baby clothing) and 4x in other categories (personal care appliances, MYHABIT, and the MP3 stores).  I can truthfully state I’ve never purchased an item in any of these categories, however, they do change periodically so it’s worth checking in with Ebates to see what categories currently offer the bonus.

Finally, a new site which I just discovered, DineroBack, offers 2x cash-back in all categories.  The process is different from a regular portal; instead of merely clicking through to Amazon, you need to enter your PayPal e-mail address and the URL of the product you are going to purchase.  A unique link is created and you must click “Buy It” to be directed to the Amazon product page.  Cash back is paid via PayPal within 45 days.

DineroBack

DineroBack

Summary
Between using the Citi Forward card (combined with a ThankYou Premier card) you’ll earn 6.65x to be used towards airfare.  Combined with the categories which offer 6x cash-back via Ebates, this is effectively a 12.65x rebate.  While it is unlikely that most if not any of your purchases will be used in the Ebates categories, cash-back site DineroBack offers 2x on everything.  This makes it simple to earn 8.65x on all Amazon purchases.