The value of the Sky Club (or other airline lounges)

When I first started flying regularly I thought people were crazy to pay $400 per year to have access to airport lounges. I used to go to restaurants, coffee shops, and bars at the airport before flying. Then I had the chance to go to the lounges for free or nearly free and saw the light. I now use them all the time!

I am trying to figure out how to value the visit. The quieter space and nicer bathrooms are a good perk but I need to justify the annual cost. I find I get this from the free wifi, free bar drinks, and snacks. My visit today to the Sky Club in Detroit I will use as an example:

• 2 Jack & Coke cocktails: average $8 each with tip at airport prices
• Snacks: $5 at airport prices
• Canned soda: $2 at airport prices
• Wifi: $10 for a day pass (where airports do not offer it for free)

Today's visit was an average one for me and I got $23 of value from it without wifi or $33 if you count it. In my case I don't count the wifi since I have a company 3G card and my iPhone. At an average of $23 per visit I need 20 visits to "break even" on my $450 AMEX annual fee. I can do this easily with my work and personal travels. 

This doesn't even factor in the other benefits of the AMEX Platinum card. They are:

• $200 per calendar year in Delta fees reimbursed
• $100 ($20 per year) for Global Entry
• Membership rewards points that I can transfer to several airlines
• AMEX Travel Insurance (hard to value that but VERY handy if hurt/sick abroad)
• Priority Pass lounge access abroad

When I run the numbers for 2012 so far, which is only halfway over, I have gotten WAY more than $450 value out of the card. Including bringing my girlfriend to the lounge I have done 21 visits. Add that to the above benefits and I am nearing $1000 in recuperation. That number will rise even more over the next 6 months!

Booking Flights in Advance: Schedule Changes

A couple months ago I used the rest of my American Airlines miles to book my ticket to Guatemala. I looked at my miles account and noticed there was a schedule change on my flight from Miami to Guatemala. It created a long (4+ hour) layover in Miami that didn't sound pleasant.

I did a search online and found a seat on a later flight leaving Atlanta opened up! This was great since I was on the 7AM flight. I am now on the 8:30AM flight so I can sleep an extra hour and still have a long enough layover to have lunch in Miami. Since there was a schedule change I was able to do this for free.

Knowing the rules of the tickets you book can help you later on. Schedule changes in most cases can get you a free change. Sometimes I will book a flight with multiple connections in hopes one will change. When it does I can call and change to a more direct flight for free. Buy the cheapest that will work and hope you can change later is the strategy.

A first for me: I bought some points!

I finally found a purchase points promotion that I could not pass up. The Daily Getaways promotion from American Express has a lot of bad deals. In this case it was a great deal. I bought 50,000 hotel points for $128.70. I can convert those points to many different kinds of airline miles at a rate of 2.5 hotel points per airline mile.

That works out to half a penny per mile which is a great rate. To buy most airline miles outright costs 2 cents each or 1 cent each on a "good" sale. I will end up with 20,000 miles wherever I need them when the time comes. It was a small price to pay to add to my pile of "flexible" points that I can transfer as needed.

I value "good" air miles, such as United miles, at around 4-5 cents each so I got an excellent value from this deal. In this case 20,000 extra miles gets me 1/6th of the points I need to go to Asia in business class. That is worth more than $128.70 to me.

The points game all comes down to math, rules, and creativity. I have a pretty good handle on those so I get to take amazing trips in premium seats for pennies on the dollar. This game pays off big time!

Flying for free takes points: FLEXIBLE points

I fly nearly all of my vacation travel using the points I earn from my fun game of promotions and credit card offers. And of course my work travel that earns me points with a few programs. Now that I have been in the game for a while I have my overall strategy figured out: Do not put all my points into one program!

A lot of programs lately have "devalued" their points by changing the rules. These changes make the rewards I want take a lot more points to redeem. Delta was the worst and fell way down my list. British Airways switched to a distance based approach with removed some great redemptions but added others. Half of the battle is to keep up with the rules and tricks to get what you want for the least amount of points.

The only way to stay a step ahead of the game is to earn points that you can transfer to multiple programs. As it stands today my top 3 are American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred Ultimate Rewards, and Starwood Hotels Group. Each of these allows me to transfer their points to a long list of programs. I can move to where I find the best deal and am not married to a single program.

My current favorite is Chase Ultimate Rewards since they transfer to United. I am most interested in international business/first class. United has lots of great partners in Star Alliance and availability. I can first find the seats I want, transfer to United instantly, and book the ticket. Fantastic!

My main problem is earning points fast enough. With promotions and credit card offers slowing down I will eventually run out if this trend continues. I know this game is not going to be sustainable forever so I need to make the most of what I can get today.

Book One Way Delta Award Tickets...Sort Of

I recently discovered a way to book one way Delta award tickets at half the round trip price. There are a few caveats but it is possible. It involves using Air France/KLM's Flying Blue program. This is a roundabout way to do it but is a good value. I will outline the process here to make it as simple as I can:

1.  You will need the miles in your Flying Blue account. American Express Memebership Rewards is a transfer partner for them at 1:1. Starwood points can also be transferred to Flying Blue at 1:1.
2. You have to find low level award space on Delta. I suggest logging into Flying Blue and find your desired flights BEFORE transferring points to them. 
3. Book the flight you wish on Flying Blue for points + taxes and you are done!

The key here is that Flying Blue simply allowed one way awards on any of their own or partner flights. Delta also does but charges the round trip price anyway. Doing this can save a lot of miles in the future! This is our only option until Delta gets their act together and allows one way awards like the majority of their competition.

US Airways Grand Slam: Free hits!

Thanks to all of this work travel I am getting several free hits in the promotion from my hotels and car rentals. This will yield me more miles than expected and that is a good problem to have!

I am switching hotels each night so I get a hit for each stay. Between the 2 trips I am getting 6 extra hits total for activity I would be doing anyway. I am setting my new target to be 50,000 miles in my US account. This will get me enough for 2 domestic round trips or 1 international. The more the merrier!

This is one of a few ways I make my work travel pay off big!

US Airways Grand Slam Update

Things are going great!

I am getting more "hits" that I originally expected so it looks like I may be able to end up with 35,000 miles! This should cover one of the flights to Guatemala (or anywhere else in Central America) if that is where I decide to go next year.

This is a great promotion and I hope they keep it up for years to come. When I have more money to dedicate to travel I can see myself going all the way for the 100,000 miles. That works out to a very inexpensive business or first class flight to Asia!

I am currently up to 22,500 miles in my US Air account and am still on track for more!

The Art of the Long Layover

If you travel overseas, especially to Asia, you are bound to end up with a long layover at some point. I have had a couple long layovers so far and have learned that there is more to it than the cost of the plane ticket. Cost is important but also where you layover is important too! I have even built in a long layover on purpose so I can have a brief visit to a new place for the same amount of money (or miles) out of pocket!

Airports around the world have different amenities and options for things to do while you are waiting for your next flight. Every time I am looking at booking a flight I always consider long layovers if I can do something interesting with my time there. Here are a few examples:

• Seoul (Incheon/ICN) - Probably my favorite layover airport. They have great airline lounges, a spa(!) in the basement (think hot tubs and massage!), and offer 2 hours and up to full day tours. You can also take the new train to the city for a day of sightseeing. Layovers here are a no brainer!
• London (Heathrow/LHR) - A lot of flights through London coming from the USA can leave you with several hours to wait. Why not take the tube into London to see a few sites and have a meal?
• Amsterdam (Schipol/AMS) - Same as London. Amsterdam is a great city to see by food and the short train ride to Centraal Station makes it easy. Go to Vondelpark, take the Heineken tour, or see the Van Gogh Museum. Great food everywhere!
• Frankfurt (FRA) - Connecting to Asia via Europe at FRA can be great. Lufthansa has excellent lounges in the airport worth spending a layover to enjoy. Day trips to the city also possible.

These are just a few that I can personally vouch for. I have heard great things about Tokyo in Japan too but have yet to try it. Most of my layovers there were shorter 2-3 hour waits. Not much time for doing much else!

The next time you are faced with a long layover for substantially less money or miles do a little research on the city. You may find that you can have an extra fun stop on your trip! Out of all the long layovers I have been through I have yet to regret the decision!

Global Entry Approved and Complete!

This morning I had my "interview" with US Customs about the Global Entry program. It was very easy and non-formal. I can now skip the lines at customs when coming back to the USA! Not bad at all!

I left home a little late and took the train to the Atlanta airport. I went to the shorter security line only to find out I had to go to the longer security line to get a special pass to get past TSA for my interview. This was 10 minutes before my interview time and I was very concerned. I was able to get through the handicap line to skip the crowds. They told me not to worry if I am late they will process anyway.

I get past security and the airport trains between concourses were not running. I had to go all the way to concourse E (literally 1.25 miles away). I walked up to concourse A and the trains were running again. By this time I am 20 minutes late for my interview and still mildly concerned. I got off the train at E and hoofed it up to customs. Such an odd experience going through US Customs backwards.

I made it to a small office where I had to sign in and hand over my driver's license and my passport. After about 10 minutes or so we were brought an even smaller Global Entry office. We were shown (as a group of 6) how to use the kiosk and then I was first to "interview".

Based on what I read online I was expecting all sorts of questions on my previous travels (extensive!) and having to justify where I have been. I was surprised when all they did was take my photo, fingerprints, asked me 4 questions about customs violations and criminal background and I was done! They told me 24 hours later I could start using the kiosks. Awesome!

Overall the experience was very easy and I am now in the system for 5 years before I would need to renew. For those wondering: If your passport expires before then 5 year period (such as mine will) all I have to do is take my passport back to the global entry office and they will add it to the system and I will be good to go. I can't wait to try it out in JFK in December when I come back form Asia!

The best way to travel in SE Asia: word of mouth!

I have spent a lot of my vacation time in southeast Asia. I must admit I love the place and the prices are hard to beat. The beaches, especially in Thailand, are hard to beat in terms of quality. I just love sitting on the beach in a comfortable chair and a cold beer to relax with. It is a great escape of the rat race here in the USA and I can really "tune out" of all that stuff back home.

I find that even today I get my best recommendations and advice from other travelers on the road. I always seek out where others have stayed and what they did to add to or modify my own itinerary. I also make use of good travel forums such as FlyerTalk and Lonely Planet to get some of the same advice. Sometimes I get lucky and meet someone in the country that has been to where I planned to stay to get the real scoop.

I rarely book rooms in advance when going to Asia. There is no need. Tons of great guesthouses that are cheaper than international hotels by leaps and bounds. My average room cost in southeast Asia is around $10 per night. Combine that with miles award ticket flights and you see why I can afford to vacation for a month!

I always ask around for advice when I am traveling because other people probably know more about it than I do. Not all advice is sound but at least 98% of the time I found it valuable. It never hurts to ask as you get the most recent information. I find most of the info online is a year old (at least).

Applied for US Global Entry

One of the benefits of the Platinum American Express card is that they refund the $100 fee to apply for the US Global Entry program. It's a program that allows you to fast track through customs and immigration when re-entering the USA. If approved you go to the kiosk, clear immigration and customs, and get on your way.

This is great as I would not have to wait in line with everyone else. I just follow the screens and move on with life. I really like this idea since I take mostly international vacations and I like anything that makes getting back home easier. This is great since I don't even have to pay the fee. For free I will certainly give it a shot.

My application is still "Pending Review" as of today. Once that is done I have to meet with a Customs officer for an interview. Once past that I am all set and can start using the customs kiosk. I can't wait to try it when I come back from Asia in December!

Miles for Dining Programs: WORTH IT!

For a couple of years now I have been a member of Delta Skymiles Dining. It is a program that tracks where you go out to eat/drink and if you make a purchase at a participating place you get miles. It ranges from 3-5 miles per dollar. This is a great deal!

Once you get VIP status (10 dines in a year) you get 5 miles per dollar instead of 3. Note that this is on top of any mileage you get from using your card already! Since I travel for work and have to eat out a fair bit I always look for places near where I am staying to get some extra miles. Over the years it has yielded me 20,000 miles I otherwise would not have for money I spent anyway. Not too shabby!

Multiple airlines have a program like this. They are: American, Alaska, Delta, Southwest, United, and US Airways. If you need more hotel points you can do Hilton or Priority Club instead. You can also spread around by joining more than one. The only limit is that a single credit/debit card can only be assigned to a single "Dining for miles" program. In my case I have my Delta AMEX on Delta and my Continental Mastercard on United's dining program.

Don't miss out on free miles!

Travel Hack: Book tour with air, skip the tour!

One travel hack I used once is to keep an eye out for package tour deals. I find, especially these days, that tours that include airfare can be cheaper than the airfare alone. I am definitely not a tour type of person but in this case I would take the flights and maybe the first night of hotel to get settled.

It can also work out to a limited extent to use the tour flight for your outbound and buy or use miles for the return portion if the length of the tour does not match up with your trip. I have yet to try this out but am keeping an eye out for opportunities to do so. If I can save a couple hundred bucks by using a tour then why not?

This tip is not for everyone but is an option for some. These are usually the best deal for US to Europe tours where the total price can be well under the cost of airfare alone. Travelzoo.com has a lot of tour deals that they find and send out via email each week. I plan on trying out this travel hack within the next year. I will report back my results!

AMEX: Points Advance Paid Off!

I used the Platinum American Express card to give myself points in order to book my upcoming trip to Asia. I was a little short so I utilized their points advance feature where you can borrow points. I have now officially paid that balance off (and then some!) mostly due to the Delta Skyclub promotion of free points certificates for visiting.

On my flight up to Detroit this evening I went Skyclub hopping in both Atlanta and Detroit. This got me 6x 300 point certificates which more than paid off my 1,100 point balance. I am now back in the positive and my trip to Asia is officially "paid for". It always feels great to pay back a debt no matter how small (even if money is not directly involved!)

I will still get more points certificates until the end of the month. I now have 2 trips to Baltimore thanks to some plan changes at work and that should get me at least 1200 more points for free. I am going to sit on the points for now but will most likely transfer to Continental/United to continue building that account up again.

AwardWallet.com: A great free tool to track your points/miles!

I am still big into the points game and have finally gotten around to signing up for Awardwallet.com. They offer a great free service where you can track all of your airline, hotel, and other travel rewards account balances in once place. This makes award travel planning easier since I can quickly determine where I have enough points to book what I need.

It also gives you other useful information such as expiration dates for your points and there are some good paid premium services for the serious points person. I simply like the fact that I don't have to log into 100 different sites to see my balance. I can spend that time planning the fun stuff!

I highly recommend using this site to make your travel life easier!

My first mileage run booked!

This is a little geeky but I have just booked my first ever mileage run flight. I found a deal where I can Fly from Boston to San Diego via Houston one way and Washington, DC on the way back for $62 round trip. I could not pass this up!

I am doing this trip all in one day/night. This will boost the miles in my account to where I can have enough for a one way business class ticket to Bangkok! To me this is worth $62 and 24 hours of my time. I will spend most of it in the air with a good book and my laptop. It is on a Saturday so I do not have to miss work.

I am excited about the trip and look forward to using the books to book my ticket to Asia this year!