What I Learned On My Most Recent Mileage Run

On Saturday, I took to the big blue sky for a good old fashion mileage run. My goal: Washington, DC to Omaha in one day via United. Over my 18 hours of travel, I learned a few things:

• Stop Drinking The Night Before Mileage Runs

          My past two mileage runs, I went over drinking the night beforehand. In both cases, I 

          got home at midnight and needed to wake a few hours later to leave for the airport. 

          Not a great idea.

          On this most recent trip, I was dehydrated, tired and grumpy. A great trio of things to 

          be before traveling. Typically, I sleep like a baby on the first leg of the trip, because I 

          am most likely still drunk. The next leg kicks in the hangover and by the third leg, 

          the mack truck running you over feeling kicks in.

          Maybe, I should have a movie night in before mileage runs in the future

•  Food Options Don't Open at DCA Until 5 am

         My goal was to arrive at the airport. Get a greasy sandwich and get on the plane. 

         Boarding started at 5:10am for my first flight.

         I get to the airport by 4:45. Clear through normal security by 4:55. Yes, I have 

         prechek, but the line for prechek had 25 people in it. The normal security

         line had 3 people. Went with normal, took my shoes off, took out my laptop

         etc. I then went to find my greasy sandwich: darkness. All the restaurants with 

         food were dark, the ones opened only had drinks, save McDonald's, whose line

         was 20 people deep.

         So, I waited and at 5:00 am, on the dot, the lights came on at the bagel shop

         and they started selling food. Thank goodness for carbs!

• United Needs New Commercials 

         After flying United multiple times over the past year, United needs new commercial.
         I have seen the same customer service commericals over and over again. Please
         get some new commercials and rotate them in and out. All of them have the same
         meaning.

• Omaha's Terminal B is Old

         I only spent 30 minutes in the terminal, but the place was out of 1970s. Everything 

         needs to be redone from the chairs, to monitors, to the bathrooms, etc. Yes, I only 

         was in one terminal, but its needs to be updated.

         Maybe they can get a new airport out of the passage of the Keystone Pipeline!

• Shipley's Do-Nuts Are Tasty

         

           Blog post to follow explaining more!

• I Want To Stay at IAH Marriott 

          I only saw the hotel from the tram, but it looks kinda fun to stay in:

• President George Bush Has An Awesome Statue

         Located in the C Terminal, the statue "Winds of Change" is impressive:  

                            

           Around the statue is a quick history of the President. You only need 5 minutes to 

           visit the whole monument. Perfect stop for a layover.

• Star Alliance Gold & Silver Does Not Give You Free Standbys

           Many of you might already know this, but I thought I would share anyway.

           When I got to Omaha, I noticed that the plane I just got off was headed back to

           Houston in 30 minutes. I was scheduled to leave in 2 12 hours. I thought best to 

           try to get to a bigger airport in case something happened along the way. So, I

           asked about stand bye on the earlier flight to IAH. He asked if I had status on

           United and I said no. He said typically it would cost $75, but today he would 

           do it for free.

           I mixed up the benefit of Star Alliance Silver. Its priority on the standby list,

           not free standbys. Learn something new everyday!

         

 

• Club Passes Come In Handy

        With a five hour+ layover at IAH, I needed something to do. Lucikly, I put a free 

        United Club pass, from my Chase United Card, in my wallet.

       United has at least 3 clubs at the IAH airport. After asking twitter, people highly

       recommended the one in the "E" concourse or international concourse. 

       Check-in was easy. The agent even saw that I had Star Alliance Silver status 

       and mentioned that a few more trips, they might be seeing me more often. That

       was a nice touch.

       My first item was to take a shower. I was feeling shitty and I hoped a shower

       would make me feel better. I climbed the stairs to the third floor and inquired 

       about a shower.

       A quick 15 minute shower made all the difference.

• The Third Floor Of the United Club Is Less Crowded

          I had heard this from other bloggers/travelers, but never been to a three floor
          United club. The second floor was packed, but the third floor only 1/2 full.
         
          Maybe the reason is there is no escalator up to the third floor and you have to
          walk. Also, maybe the bar is on the second floor.

          Either way, go up to the third floor.

• Finally, Its Only Polite to Hand A Women an Unfolded Boarding Pass

   

          When I checked in for a shower, the attendant asked for my boarding pass.

           I handed over my boarding pass, which was folded up and got scolded.

           She said, "Sir, its only polite to hand a women an unfolded boarding pass."

          Wait, what?

          Since she was at least 30+ years my senior, I did what she told me to do.

          So remember guys, open a car door for a lady, pull out her seat for her and

          always hand unfolded boarding passes to them!

      

Overall, a long, but exciting trip.

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Day 9: Earn Big with Credit Cards

Important Note: We talk about credit cards on our blog because they are an important part of the “game.” Any credit card links in this post will be public application links taken from the issuer's direct website. We do not earn income from you applying from the links. Similarly, please take an extra minute or two before applying for credit cards. If you do not pay your credit card balance off every month then you should stay away from this aspect of the game. Credit cards can lead to major long-term problems if not used correctly. I encourage you to read my post on Young People and the Chains of Credit Card Debt for more details.  

Credit cards can be a valuable way to earn miles. One of the fast ways to increase your mileage account balances is signing up for credit cards. Nowadays, most mileage/point earning credit cards come with big sign-up bonus; anywhere from 25,000-100,000 miles/points. As stated in previous posts, I will only be focusing on credit cards that earn United miles. However, almost every airline and hotel chain now has at least one credit card, if not more; therefore, what I write below can be applied to many other frequently flyer/stayer programs.

The obvious place to start a conversation about earning United miles is the Chase United Mileage Plus Credit Card. As you will soon see, United's credit card partner in crime is Chase, which is a good thing.

The current offer on the Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer card is 30,000 miles after $1,000 in 3 months.

The 30,000 mile bonus is good, but I have seen it as high as 50,000 miles. If you are not in desperate need of miles, I would wait. Typically, the best place to find the higher offers is in your United Mileage Plus account. Log into your account and look for a banner ad for their credit card similar to the one below. I had to refresh my page twice before the following ad appeared.

My banner ad led me to the 30,000 offer, but check ever so often. Typically, the bigger bonus offers appear in your account page before going public.

The card earns 2 miles for ever $1 spent on tickets purchased at United and 1 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases. The card offers two other ways of earning miles. First, add an authorized user within the first three months and earn 5,000 mile. Second, spend $25,000 miles in a calender year and earn 10,000 bonus miles.

Another card that earns United miles is the United MilagePlus Club card. It does not provide a sign-up bonus, but does let you earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent.

Chris wrote here about a possible way of getting this card with no annual fee for the first year. Both the MileagePlus Explorer and Club Card come in business versions with similar offers. If you live outside the United States, check this United page to see if they offer a card for where you live.

With the obvious credit cards to earn United miles out of the way, here are three others to consider.

My favorite credit card in my possession is the Chase Sapphire.

The current offer for the Chase Sapphire is a 40,000 mile sign-up bonus after spending $3,000 in 3 months.

The card earns 2 Ultimate Reward points per $1 spent at restaurants and on travel and 1 Ultimate Reward point per $1 spent on everything else. Also, the definition of "travel" is pretty large and includes taxis, metro, and parking.

One does not earn United miles directly from the Chase Sapphire, but Ultimate Reward points, the currency of Chase Sapphire, can be transferred to United at a 1:1 ratio. Ultimate Reward points can be transfer to the following travel partners:

Another card that allows you to transfer to United is the Chase Ink Plus Business.

As you can see, the current offer is 50,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. The card offers the following earning opportunities:

The final card is the Chase Ink Bold Business.

The card is very similar to the Chase Ink Plus Business:

Conclusion 

No other option that we will talk about this month will increase your mileage balance like applying for credit cards. However, if you don't pay off your credit card balance each month then don't apply for credit card. The interest you will pay on the outstanding balances will wipe away any benefit the miles might give you.

If paying off your credit card balances each month then mileage earning credit cards can help you see the world. Your travel goals are within your reach, but you have take the first step.

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Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

United Club Card First Year Free

Important Note: We talk about credit card sign-up bonuses on our blog because they are an important part of the “game.” Any credit card links in this post will be public application links taken from the issuer's direct website. We do not earn income from you applying from the links. Similarly, please take an extra minute or two before applying for credit cards. If you do not pay your credit card balance off every month then you should stay away from this aspect of the game. Credit cards can lead to major long-term problems if not used correctly. I encourage you to read JD's post on Young People and the Chains of Credit Card Debt for more details.  

I was looking at an upcoming reservation on my United account and noticed a little ad that I haven't seen in a while. It looked like this:

When I clicked through to the Chase website (I don't know if this link will work for everyone, I just copy and pasted it in) it showed that I could apply for the Chase United MileagePlus Club card and the annual fee, usually $395 for the first year, would be free.

It seem that the offer is targeted toward elite members, because when I go to an incognito window on Chrome the offer changes back to the $100 statement credit after a first purchase offer. So if you are an elite, make sure you go to the United website, log in and look for the banner ad for one of the credit cards. You can access the Club Card application from the Chase page.

Remember that the Club Card offers the following benefits:

Club Card Travel*

• United Club^SM membership - up to a $500 value per year

  The primary cardmember and eligible travel companions will enjoy unlimited access to all United Club locations and participating Star Alliance^® affiliated lounges worldwide. Visitwww.united.com/unitedclub for more information.

• Premier Access^SM Travel Services

  Receive preferential treatment to ease your way through the airport with priority check-in, security screening (where available), boarding and baggage handling privileges.

• First and second checked bags free - savings of up to $240 per roundtrip

  The primary Cardmember and one companion traveling on the same reservation will receive their first and second standard checked bags free on United-operated flights when purchasing tickets with their Club Card. See united.com/chasebag for details.

• No foreign transaction fees^†

  Purchases made with your Club Card outside the U.S. will not be subject to foreign transaction fees.

• Enjoy Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection privileges

  Stay in style with room upgrades, complimentary daily breakfast for two, early check-in, late checkout and other amenities at more than 700 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide.

• Receive special treatment with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts^® and Avis^®

  Accept our invitation to join Avis^® First and also enjoy automatic Platinum membership in the Hyatt Gold Passport^® global loyalty program.

Club Card Rewards*

• 50% mileage bonus - Earn 1.5 award miles per dollar spent. That’s a 50% bonus on the 1 mile per dollar you typically earn. Earn even more on tickets purchased from United - 2 miles per dollar spent.
• Any seat, anytime, with your miles
• Accepted in more locations
• Your miles don't expire
• No close-in award booking fees

If you are a United/Star Alliance flyer and you are looking for lounge access, this could be a card to consider.
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