Not Going To Buenos Aires Again

On a late night in November, The Flight Deal post an amazing deal from Mexico City to Buenos Aires. The total cost of this trip less than $160.

The trip would net about 10,000 miles. However, what I was most excited about was that one segment was on AeroMexico's Dreamliner.

Image from Boeing

One of my goals is to fly on every airline's 787. I know kinda geeky. This was the main reason why I booked this trip.

Earlier this month, I wrote about how I am having trouble with my name on tickets. One of the two tickets with problems is this one.

I first noticed a problem with the tickets, when I was trying to pick seats on LAN. A quick call to Orbitz, who I booked the ticket with, that LAN's computer cancelled the tickets. However, LAN would only reissue the tickets if I had a passport with the name JD Teitelman, the name on the ticket. The problem is that my passport says J David Teitelman. After 3 weeks back and forth, Orbitz told me I would not have a ticket, but they would offer me a $150 travel voucher for future use.

Overall, I am very satisfied with how Orbitz tried to help me out. They did almost everything possible to make it happen.

Am I disappointed about not going on this trip. Not really. I love the idea about going on the trip, but I was dreading doing the trip. Flying for 20+ hours on four flights sounds daunting.

Like last year, I have a feeling my boss is going to Ground me like a 787 again for the Spring market. The excitement in the real estate market is growing and I have a feeling that we are going to be busy. That means not weekend jaunts to far off places.

Therefore, Buenos Aires, I ain't going to see in 2014!

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Which One of My Friends Is Coming On Vacation With Me?

I am days away from embarking on my trip to Argentina. One of my last decisions to make is which of my friends is making the trip with me. As I have previously written, I have a love/hate relationship with my credit cards.

On this trip, I hope not to have to use credit cards often. Due to the economy in Argentina, US Dollars are getting a premium in a black market known as Dolar Blue. The current government exchange rate is $1 = 6.1 pesos compared to $1 = 9.85 pesos at Dolar Blue. For this reason, I might be paying for everything in cash. However, traveling with credit cards is a must. The only things I can foresee using credit cards there is for hotels, expensive meals and /or large purchases.

Now back to the question, which friends (credit cards) do I take with me?

The credit cards I have are:

Alaska Airways
US Airways
IHG
Delta AMEX
Hyatt
Hilton AMEX
Southwest Premier
Club Carlson
Chase Ink
United
Debit Card
Banana Republic
US Airways World
Chase Sapphire

The number one thing I am looking for in a credit card is one with no foreign transaction fees. The following cards offer that benefit:

IHG
Hyatt
Southwest
Chase Ink
United
Chase Sapphire

As we can see, my Chase credit cards are the ones without foreign transaction fees.

The next criteria is to look at what I will be charging: hotels in Miami area &n Buenos Aires, restaurants and some transportation, etc. Looking at my spending needs, lets look at what I will earn:

IHG - 5x at IHG hotels, 2x at Restaurants

Hyatt - 2x at Restaurants

Southwest - 1x on all spending

Ink - 2x at Hotels

United - 1x on all spending

Chase Sapphire - 2x at Restaurants, Hotels, Transportation

With this information, my Hyatt, Southwest and United credit cards provide no real benefit for my travel needs. That leaves the following:

IHG

Ink

Sapphire


Final Decision:

I am going to bring three cards with me: IHG, Sapphire and my debit card.

                

 





The Ink Bold provides the same benefits (2x on hotels) as the Sapphire. However, the Sapphire offers 2X on transportation and restaurants that the INK does not.

Why the debit card?

To take out cash. Its always smart to bring a debit card with you. Cash is king in many societies and your ability to access it is key. Before you leave, you should notify your bank that you are traveling overseas. Failure to do so could result in your debit card being frozen and your access to cash cut off. To get your card back in order, a phone call must be made to your bank's security department. While overseas this could be costly and timely and even then they might not turn your card back on.

Sapphire and IHG pack your passports, we are going on vacation.
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 Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for me? E-mail me at jd@doitforthepoints.com