Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Transportation Secretary Still Has Questions On 787s
As Boeing continues to troubleshoot their battery problems with the 787 and continues to progress toward a reinstatement from the FAA Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made it clear in an interview on Wednesday with The Wall Street Journal that he still has lots of questions he needs answered before he will give it the OK to fly which is needed before US operations can start again.
A quick approval process is key for Boeing who will start to be subject to late penalties paid to the airlines if the delays continue.
The article comes as the National Transportation Safety Board plans to release an update to their investigation of the fire aboard the Japan Airlines 787 that occurred in January.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Another One Bites the Dust
I arrived home tonight to some bad news. I received a letter from Citi Bank letting me know they are raising the annual fee on my Citi AAdvantage card from $85 to $95.
The reason for the change in annual fee, "In April 2012, we upgraded the benefits that came with your
Citi / AAdvantage credit card. These exciting benefits resulted in a change in the card's annual membership fee."
The only major benefit, I remember, is a 10% rebate of AAdvantage miles redeemed. Is that worth $10 more a year?
The change happens in May 2013 on your next anniversary. For me that is in October.
A copy of the letter I received is below:
This letter made my decision easier.... Na Na Na, Hey Hey Goodbye Citi AAvantage?
Did you get a similar letter? If so, does it change your mind in keeping this card?
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us?
E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
The reason for the change in annual fee, "In April 2012, we upgraded the benefits that came with your
Citi / AAdvantage credit card. These exciting benefits resulted in a change in the card's annual membership fee."
The only major benefit, I remember, is a 10% rebate of AAdvantage miles redeemed. Is that worth $10 more a year?
The change happens in May 2013 on your next anniversary. For me that is in October.
A copy of the letter I received is below:
This letter made my decision easier.... Na Na Na, Hey Hey Goodbye Citi AAvantage?
Did you get a similar letter? If so, does it change your mind in keeping this card?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us?
E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
How to Book a Dream Trip to P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney, Part 2: Star Alliance Flights
As you read in my previous post,
booking a dream trip to Australia takes some work, but can be achieved
with time and dedication. We left off after I had booked our flights to
Australia using American Airlines points on OneWorld. I can’t
emphasize enough how beneficial it was to be able to place that
itinerary on hold while I planned our return trip. AA has a very
generous hold policy, allowing you to place an itinerary on hold for 5
days regardless of whether or not you have sufficient miles in your
account. This is so important when planning an award itinerary using
two different alliances, as it allowed me to grab the Qantas award space
on OneWorld and then figure out if I could find Star Alliance award
space to work in the same time frame.
So, how do you find award space on Star Alliance? First it’s important to understand the routing rules for the carrier. Unlike AA, United allows you to touch into Asia for no cost. This was a big deal for us since Chris wanted to visit Asia during the trip, so I knew I needed to build in that visit on the return routing. The key, I found, was making sure the stopover was less than 24 hours. This is a golden rule with United, as anything over 24 hours (even just 10 minutes) will trigger an additional mileage charge.
Others have written recently that United’s system now pulls in most Star Alliance carriers. I haven’t tried that, as most of the blog articles I read recommended using All Nippon Airways (ANA)’s website. You must have ~100 miles in ANA’s Mileage Club to gain access to the site, which fortunately Chris did through a promotion they ran awhile ago. There are workarounds if you don’t have 100 miles, but I didn’t try any of them since I could just use Chris’s account. ANA’s site is tricky from the get-go, as it is hard to even locate the award search section (Answer: Click ANA Mileage Club at the top, then For Details under Using Miles, then Application and Ticketing under Partner Flight Awards, then “member’s only function” under ANA Sky Web. Told you it was hard!). Once you’re in the system, select Use Star Alliance Member Airlines and the search boxes will appear.
When I searched for the full routing the first time (SYD-WAS), it sent me from Sydney to a US city (LAX, SFO, etc). This wouldn’t work since we wanted to stop in Asia. So I checked the Star Alliance route map to see where in Asia I could stop. Chris had mentioned Hong Kong, but there were no direct SYD-HKG flights. Singapore was also on his list, and there are direct flights between the two cities on Singapore Airlines, so that was my starting point.
I went back to the ANA website and started searching leg by leg. The system is clunky but once you get the hang of it, not all that bad. You can move backwards and forwards through dates by using the “day before” and “day after” options after you’ve searched for availability. I recommend choosing the earliest potential date for your trip and then moving forward from there. You WILL have to play around with dates, and it will take some time.
The system marks award space with the word OK and a yellow box marked Select. It’s important to watch for this because sometimes it will recommend a connection on a leg (e.g. Singapore to Washington via Beijing or Tokyo), and you need to make sure there’s award space on both legs. If there’s only space on one leg, you can note the flight information where there is availability and then search each stop individually (e.g. Singapore to Beijing, Beijing to Washington). As I was doing my leg-by-leg searches, I noted which days had space, the flight numbers and flight times. By the end of the process I had filled three pages front and back with potential dates/times/flights, but it was essential in order to keep track of where I had seen availability.
In my case, I knew I wanted to go from SYD-SIN, but was having trouble on the next leg. I was seeing some availability from SIN-Tokyo, so I then built that into my searches. For the next leg, instead of searching for WAS, I searched gateway cities into the US (again, using the Star Alliance routemap as a guide). I wouldn’t sweat it if you can’t find the final flight back to your home city in the ANA system. You can always go back to the United website and search there (although the results are likely the same), or consider purchasing a one-way ticket back to your home city. No use derailing the whole trip over a domestic flight.
As I mentioned, I kept a sheet of paper with all of my potential dates and flights just to keep track of when I could string things together. Once I was able to find a timeframe when things looked like they could all work, I started using the Flight Search option, which allows you to input each leg and then search everything together. My final search wound up being SYD-SIN, SIN-HND-NRT-SEA. After putting each of these legs in, the system marked a flight on each leg with OK, indicating that everything was looking good!
The itinerary I built gave us an overnight stopover in Singapore, an overnight stopover in Tokyo (which would allow us to change airports since we were arriving at Haneda and departing from Narita), and then an arrival in Seattle. The SEA-WAS flight was giving me a headache, but I figured if need be we could always stay a few days in Seattle to visit Chris’s family and then pay for the 1-way back. If we got the rest of the trip for free, that would be a small price to pay!
Then came the fun part: calling United to try and ticket the award. I called the Silver line and was connected to my first of several grumpy United agents (Note: I always make it a point to be nice to agents because I’m sure they deal with rude, over-entitled customers constantly. I don’t expect everyone to be a ray of sunshine all the time, but a little customer service would be nice). During my first call, I realized the stopover in Singapore was 24 hours and about 10 minutes, which was too long and would trigger an extra mileage charge. There is no negotiating this rule (I did try a bit of pleading, but it was a non-starter). Back I went to ANA’s website, hoping this wouldn’t derail the whole trip. Luckily there was award space on an earlier flight (to give credit, Chris found it), so it was time for call #2. I explained that I wanted to book a 1-way award ticket for two people from Sydney to Seattle in business class, and immediately the agent said “I doubt that’s possible, there’s never award space on those flights.” I explained that I had the routing and flight information and asked if she would mind just trying it in the system. With each leg, she huffed and sighed and told me that there was no way this would work. At the end, though, everything fit together, met all of the requirements, and she asked, slightly amazed, “How on earth did you find this?” “Lots of time and patience,” I replied.
Chris and I had topped up our United accounts by transferring points from Chase prior to the call (they transfer immediately which is so handy!) so we were set with miles. I gave the agent my account information and Chris’s, paid the $140 in taxes, and we were set!
After talking about it a bit more we did call back and add on a leg from SEA-IAD for no additional miles. The only award availability was in economy, but we’ll be eligible for an upgrade since the rest of the itinerary is in business (and we have lowly silver status). That flight leaves the day after we arrive in Seattle (but within 24 hours!) so we’ll still be able to visit his family. The downside: It leaves at 6 AM and goes through Houston. Despite this, I’m hoping space might open up on a slightly later and/or direct flight.
Since booking we’ve changed our AA flights to a later time (to avoid a super long layover in Dallas before our flight to Brisbane) and changed our return itinerary to go from Singapore to Bangkok to Toyko (with an overnight flight on the Bangkok to Toyko route). We were considering staying at the Park Hyatt Toyko, but our original flight arrived around midnight and so we wouldn’t have had much time to enjoy it. The revised itinerary saves us a night, plus both flights arrive/depart from Tokyo Narita. We plan to check our bags for the day and head to the city for a few hours of sightseeing (unless we change the itinerary again, which is totally possible knowing Chris! :)).
Final routing: DCA-ORD-DFW-BNE-SYD-SIN-BKK-NRT-SEA-IAH-IAD. We’re also planning to nest a trip to Cannes from Sydney and back to see the Great Barrier Reef (!!!) using Avois points. We’ve booked all but one hotel night using Hilton and Hyatt points (the Park Hyatt Sydney sounds incredible!), and will be booking the last using Hilton points before the devaluation kicks in.
So, it took a lot of time and planning, but I booked my dream trip. I never would have thought it would be possible for me to take a trip like this now, but it just goes to show how many opportunities miles and points can provide. I hope this write-up will help some of you plan the trip of your dreams too. If anyone has suggestions for things to see or do in any of the cities we’ll be visiting, I would love to hear them!
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
So, how do you find award space on Star Alliance? First it’s important to understand the routing rules for the carrier. Unlike AA, United allows you to touch into Asia for no cost. This was a big deal for us since Chris wanted to visit Asia during the trip, so I knew I needed to build in that visit on the return routing. The key, I found, was making sure the stopover was less than 24 hours. This is a golden rule with United, as anything over 24 hours (even just 10 minutes) will trigger an additional mileage charge.
Others have written recently that United’s system now pulls in most Star Alliance carriers. I haven’t tried that, as most of the blog articles I read recommended using All Nippon Airways (ANA)’s website. You must have ~100 miles in ANA’s Mileage Club to gain access to the site, which fortunately Chris did through a promotion they ran awhile ago. There are workarounds if you don’t have 100 miles, but I didn’t try any of them since I could just use Chris’s account. ANA’s site is tricky from the get-go, as it is hard to even locate the award search section (Answer: Click ANA Mileage Club at the top, then For Details under Using Miles, then Application and Ticketing under Partner Flight Awards, then “member’s only function” under ANA Sky Web. Told you it was hard!). Once you’re in the system, select Use Star Alliance Member Airlines and the search boxes will appear.
When I searched for the full routing the first time (SYD-WAS), it sent me from Sydney to a US city (LAX, SFO, etc). This wouldn’t work since we wanted to stop in Asia. So I checked the Star Alliance route map to see where in Asia I could stop. Chris had mentioned Hong Kong, but there were no direct SYD-HKG flights. Singapore was also on his list, and there are direct flights between the two cities on Singapore Airlines, so that was my starting point.
I went back to the ANA website and started searching leg by leg. The system is clunky but once you get the hang of it, not all that bad. You can move backwards and forwards through dates by using the “day before” and “day after” options after you’ve searched for availability. I recommend choosing the earliest potential date for your trip and then moving forward from there. You WILL have to play around with dates, and it will take some time.
The system marks award space with the word OK and a yellow box marked Select. It’s important to watch for this because sometimes it will recommend a connection on a leg (e.g. Singapore to Washington via Beijing or Tokyo), and you need to make sure there’s award space on both legs. If there’s only space on one leg, you can note the flight information where there is availability and then search each stop individually (e.g. Singapore to Beijing, Beijing to Washington). As I was doing my leg-by-leg searches, I noted which days had space, the flight numbers and flight times. By the end of the process I had filled three pages front and back with potential dates/times/flights, but it was essential in order to keep track of where I had seen availability.
In my case, I knew I wanted to go from SYD-SIN, but was having trouble on the next leg. I was seeing some availability from SIN-Tokyo, so I then built that into my searches. For the next leg, instead of searching for WAS, I searched gateway cities into the US (again, using the Star Alliance routemap as a guide). I wouldn’t sweat it if you can’t find the final flight back to your home city in the ANA system. You can always go back to the United website and search there (although the results are likely the same), or consider purchasing a one-way ticket back to your home city. No use derailing the whole trip over a domestic flight.
As I mentioned, I kept a sheet of paper with all of my potential dates and flights just to keep track of when I could string things together. Once I was able to find a timeframe when things looked like they could all work, I started using the Flight Search option, which allows you to input each leg and then search everything together. My final search wound up being SYD-SIN, SIN-HND-NRT-SEA. After putting each of these legs in, the system marked a flight on each leg with OK, indicating that everything was looking good!
The itinerary I built gave us an overnight stopover in Singapore, an overnight stopover in Tokyo (which would allow us to change airports since we were arriving at Haneda and departing from Narita), and then an arrival in Seattle. The SEA-WAS flight was giving me a headache, but I figured if need be we could always stay a few days in Seattle to visit Chris’s family and then pay for the 1-way back. If we got the rest of the trip for free, that would be a small price to pay!
Then came the fun part: calling United to try and ticket the award. I called the Silver line and was connected to my first of several grumpy United agents (Note: I always make it a point to be nice to agents because I’m sure they deal with rude, over-entitled customers constantly. I don’t expect everyone to be a ray of sunshine all the time, but a little customer service would be nice). During my first call, I realized the stopover in Singapore was 24 hours and about 10 minutes, which was too long and would trigger an extra mileage charge. There is no negotiating this rule (I did try a bit of pleading, but it was a non-starter). Back I went to ANA’s website, hoping this wouldn’t derail the whole trip. Luckily there was award space on an earlier flight (to give credit, Chris found it), so it was time for call #2. I explained that I wanted to book a 1-way award ticket for two people from Sydney to Seattle in business class, and immediately the agent said “I doubt that’s possible, there’s never award space on those flights.” I explained that I had the routing and flight information and asked if she would mind just trying it in the system. With each leg, she huffed and sighed and told me that there was no way this would work. At the end, though, everything fit together, met all of the requirements, and she asked, slightly amazed, “How on earth did you find this?” “Lots of time and patience,” I replied.
Chris and I had topped up our United accounts by transferring points from Chase prior to the call (they transfer immediately which is so handy!) so we were set with miles. I gave the agent my account information and Chris’s, paid the $140 in taxes, and we were set!
After talking about it a bit more we did call back and add on a leg from SEA-IAD for no additional miles. The only award availability was in economy, but we’ll be eligible for an upgrade since the rest of the itinerary is in business (and we have lowly silver status). That flight leaves the day after we arrive in Seattle (but within 24 hours!) so we’ll still be able to visit his family. The downside: It leaves at 6 AM and goes through Houston. Despite this, I’m hoping space might open up on a slightly later and/or direct flight.
Since booking we’ve changed our AA flights to a later time (to avoid a super long layover in Dallas before our flight to Brisbane) and changed our return itinerary to go from Singapore to Bangkok to Toyko (with an overnight flight on the Bangkok to Toyko route). We were considering staying at the Park Hyatt Toyko, but our original flight arrived around midnight and so we wouldn’t have had much time to enjoy it. The revised itinerary saves us a night, plus both flights arrive/depart from Tokyo Narita. We plan to check our bags for the day and head to the city for a few hours of sightseeing (unless we change the itinerary again, which is totally possible knowing Chris! :)).
Final routing: DCA-ORD-DFW-BNE-SYD-SIN-BKK-NRT-SEA-IAH-IAD. We’re also planning to nest a trip to Cannes from Sydney and back to see the Great Barrier Reef (!!!) using Avois points. We’ve booked all but one hotel night using Hilton and Hyatt points (the Park Hyatt Sydney sounds incredible!), and will be booking the last using Hilton points before the devaluation kicks in.
So, it took a lot of time and planning, but I booked my dream trip. I never would have thought it would be possible for me to take a trip like this now, but it just goes to show how many opportunities miles and points can provide. I hope this write-up will help some of you plan the trip of your dreams too. If anyone has suggestions for things to see or do in any of the cities we’ll be visiting, I would love to hear them!
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Monday, March 4, 2013
Knowing the Golden Rules is Half the Battle
On our way home from Portland, Chris, our friend (at the moment, he has no nickname) and I could have encountered major major trouble. However, I remember the basic rules of frequent travel and refused us to get caught in a trap.
It all started, when I heard commotion in the bed room between Chris and our friend. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, downtown, and got a large room with two beds and a sleeper couch. I took the sleeper couch. They were talking about times, airplanes and Denver, Seattle, and Chicago, I was half asleep, so it did not make sense.
Shortly thereafter, Chris comes out and tells me that our flight is delayed by 45 minutes out of Portland (PDX) to San Fransisco, due to the aircraft arriving delay. I asked Chris, if he had called to change our flights. He said he tried, but they said out turnaround in San Fran was sufficient (45 minutes now). I asked, if he called back, and he said no.
I am going to cut-in here to talk about, what I think are the three most important rules of frequent traveling/mileage running:
1) Be Proactive! Always speak to a telephone/twitter/email agent vs. going to the airport with a delay. If you have advanced notification, do everything in your power to change your flight for the delay. Doing it before getting the airport opens more options for you.
2) Never accept no. If the first phone agent says "no," hang-up and try again. There are very nice agents out there at every airline, maybe your next call will get you one.
3) You are your only advocate. Don't wait for the airline to bail you out. Call them and do research on the flights available before you make the call.
In the end, I forced Chris to call United back and plead our case. Our friend had to be back at work at 6am and the red eye would put us in to late (8:30am). Luckily, we got a sympathetic attendant that rebooked our flights through Denver.
Luck must have been on our side, because the San Francisco flight ended up being delayed 2 hours. About 80 people missed their connecting flights and the remaining options out of PDX were slim. We ended getting home 15 minutes after our originally scheduled flight.
Knowing these three simple rules are half the battle. The harder part is putting them into action when you need them. Chris knew these rules, but in the heat of the moment, your judgement can be clouded. Never accept the first "No," maybe the 3rd or 4th or when they say, "Sir, my 8 previous colleagues all have said the same thing to you."
In the end, the trip was great and we got home at a reasonable hour ie 2am.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
It all started, when I heard commotion in the bed room between Chris and our friend. We stayed at the Embassy Suites, downtown, and got a large room with two beds and a sleeper couch. I took the sleeper couch. They were talking about times, airplanes and Denver, Seattle, and Chicago, I was half asleep, so it did not make sense.
Shortly thereafter, Chris comes out and tells me that our flight is delayed by 45 minutes out of Portland (PDX) to San Fransisco, due to the aircraft arriving delay. I asked Chris, if he had called to change our flights. He said he tried, but they said out turnaround in San Fran was sufficient (45 minutes now). I asked, if he called back, and he said no.
I am going to cut-in here to talk about, what I think are the three most important rules of frequent traveling/mileage running:
1) Be Proactive! Always speak to a telephone/twitter/email agent vs. going to the airport with a delay. If you have advanced notification, do everything in your power to change your flight for the delay. Doing it before getting the airport opens more options for you.
2) Never accept no. If the first phone agent says "no," hang-up and try again. There are very nice agents out there at every airline, maybe your next call will get you one.
3) You are your only advocate. Don't wait for the airline to bail you out. Call them and do research on the flights available before you make the call.
In the end, I forced Chris to call United back and plead our case. Our friend had to be back at work at 6am and the red eye would put us in to late (8:30am). Luckily, we got a sympathetic attendant that rebooked our flights through Denver.
Luck must have been on our side, because the San Francisco flight ended up being delayed 2 hours. About 80 people missed their connecting flights and the remaining options out of PDX were slim. We ended getting home 15 minutes after our originally scheduled flight.
Knowing these three simple rules are half the battle. The harder part is putting them into action when you need them. Chris knew these rules, but in the heat of the moment, your judgement can be clouded. Never accept the first "No," maybe the 3rd or 4th or when they say, "Sir, my 8 previous colleagues all have said the same thing to you."
In the end, the trip was great and we got home at a reasonable hour ie 2am.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Sunday, March 3, 2013
DoubleTree Campbell Center Dallas, Tx
At the end of January I traveled to Dallas, Texas for a few days of work meetings and stayed two nights at at the DoubleTree Campbell Center. The hotel is located on the north east side of Dallas and is close to the NorthPark Center shopping mall and has a hotel shuttle that will take you anywhere within a three-mile radius.
I arrived after a bumpy flight in from DC and an even bumpier taxi ride with the craziest driver I have ever seen. There was one moment when we were in the far left lane, the next moment using the exit ramp on the right side to bypass traffic. But all that stress ended when I arrived at the DoubleTree. I was warmly greeted at the desk and given a delicious cookie (as always) and was given a corner king room on the top floor.
The lobby of the hotel is very Texas. Country music was playing (which I was OK with) and there was rustic looking wood floors all over and lots of big leather chairs in the lobby. The wood flooring extended to the elevators.
It looks like the latest updates to the property were to the lobby area because the room seemed kind of dated to me. But I was surprised to see that it was a very big room on the corner of the hotel that faced downtown Dallas. The room had floor to ceiling windows and gave me four windows to look out of.
When you walked into the room there was an open closet and then the bathroom which was a light stone color and was very simple.
When you walk into the main room the bed is on the left and has a full view of all of the windows, which was pretty cool to wake up to.
 |
| Bed |
In front of the bed is a nice big arm chair and to the right of that is a desk with chair.
 |
| Arm Chair and Desk Chair |
 |
| Desk, TV and Coffee Maker |
The room overall was very nice and nothing to complain about, until I tried to go to sleep later that night when I noticed that the deadbolt was missing a piece and so I couldn't fully lock the door. By this time it was late, I was exhausted and needed sleep so I just locked the other deadbolt and put a chair by the door (I know, that wouldn't have worked). I reported the problem the next morning and it was fixed by the time I got back and I had a message apologizing for the problem.
The best part of this hotel is the staff. They were always so nice when I needed something and they were always willing to fire up the hotel shuttle to take me to work and dinner every night. They also have great recommendations for restaurants in the area so be sure to take advantage of that! This was the perfect business hotel and I would stay here again in a heartbeat.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Chase Hyatt Visa Offer
Way back in September, I detailed how to the Chase Hyatt Visa. The offer came with two free nights, platinum status, and a $75 statement credit. The card had a $79 annual fee, not waived for the first month, but with the $75 statement credit, the annual fee dropped to $4.
Well, I was booking a hotel room at a Hyatt Place for an upcoming trip for Chris and I in May and noticed that the offer is back, but even better!
The offer now is 2 Free nights at any hotel after spending $1000 in three months, platinum status, and $100 statement credit (after first purchase). This new offer in essence makes the annual fee free for the first year and leaves you a little extra to spend on a free lunch.
The way to get this card is similar to how I described here. The only difference is the statement credit is now $100, instead of the previous $75.
I would defiantly apply for this card. Two free nights (I used them at the Park Hyatt Tokyo- will detail that trip, once Chris finishes his) is a great start at reducing your travel expenses on your next trip.
Happy Applying!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!
Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Well, I was booking a hotel room at a Hyatt Place for an upcoming trip for Chris and I in May and noticed that the offer is back, but even better!
The offer now is 2 Free nights at any hotel after spending $1000 in three months, platinum status, and $100 statement credit (after first purchase). This new offer in essence makes the annual fee free for the first year and leaves you a little extra to spend on a free lunch.
The way to get this card is similar to how I described here. The only difference is the statement credit is now $100, instead of the previous $75.
I would defiantly apply for this card. Two free nights (I used them at the Park Hyatt Tokyo- will detail that trip, once Chris finishes his) is a great start at reducing your travel expenses on your next trip.
Happy Applying!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!
Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
Friday, March 1, 2013
Mortgages and Miles: My Two Loves
In full disclosure, I
am a licensed mortgage officer (NMLS # 527599) with the ability to sell
mortgages in Maryland , Virginia
and Washington , DC
Mortgages and points are my two favorite things. Mortgages
consumed most of my days and the time that is left is consumed by collecting
and spending points. From my readings, one of the popular points earning
strategies, 5 or 6 year back, was refinancing your mortgage or taking out Home
Equity Lines of Credits or Loans.
I wanted to check to see if there was ways to earn points by refinancing your mortgage. To my surprise, there are still ways to earn points for this purpose. One can obtain a mortgage and earn miles on three airlines: United, American Airlines and Southwest.
Each has there own rules and it is important to follow the rules; otherwise, points will not be award.
UNITED
Chase Bank offers one the ability to earn up to 50,000 United MilagePlus miles by getting a mortage. The amount of miles one recieves for obtaining a mortgage from Chase various by loan size, in a three tier level. Here are the tiers:
The property tied to the mortgage must be a one to four unit property. To get earn the miles, the mortgage must be a "first trust" mortgage and not a Home Equity Line of Credit or Loan.
Information about the program can be found on this website. Miles can only be earned if you initiate the request through the following phone number, exclusively for United MileagePlus members: 1-800-836-4835.
Mortgage loan application submitted through a Chase branch or a Chase mortgage branch office are not eligible for miles. You must submit your application through the phone number on the website.
Miles will be post six to eight weeks after you close on your loan.
Southwest
The Southwest offer is exactly the same as the United offer above. The only difference is the phone number that one must call. Southwest's dedicated phone number is 1-866-550-9870. If you would like more information on the Southwest offer, please go to this website.
Again, mortgage loan applications submitted through a Chase branch or a Chase mortgage branch office are not eligible for miles. You must submit your application through the phone number above.
Miles will be post six to eight weeks after you close on your loan.
American Airlines
The American Airlines offer invovles Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. One can earn 1,000 AAdvantage miles for every $10,000 financed on a new purchase, refinance and home equity loans or lines of credit.
Information about the program can be found here.
To particpate in this offer, you must call and close your loan through 1-866-324-8127. Like the United and Southwest offers, one can not earn miles by obtainign a mortgage through a Wells Fargo Branch or Wells Fago Home Mortgage office.
The most important part of earning miles under this offer starts at the begining. According to the rules:
To be eligible for miles, you must state your intention of applying through the
American Airlines AAdvantage Mileage promotion and request to earn miles at
time of application. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage requires the AAdvantage
number in its system at application. This program is not retroactive. If the
AAdvantage number is not provided at application, AAdvantage miles will not be
awarded.
Unlike the United and Southwest offers, one can earn miles for home equity line of credit and home equity loans. According to the rules:
For new home equity transactions, miles are based only on the initial amount
advanced on the closing date (funding may occur upon expiration of any applicable
rescission period), not on the total line of credit amount (unless fully advanced on the
closing date) or on future advances.
If I was going to try to earn miles through the Home Equity Line of Credit program, I would advance the entire amount of the line of credit, even if I did not need it. Shortly after closing, I would pay back the amount of money, I didn't need. Yes, one would incur a small amount of interest payments, but I think the additional amount of miles earned would offset that extra burden.
Allow six weeks after your funding date for AAdvantage miles to post to your account.
What to Watch For?
I have been thinking for a long time: how can the banks afford to give out these miles for mortgages. My best guess is that by forcing you to work with the phone staff, they are saving money that they would have to spend on commission for loan officers. However, could these mortgages for miles come with increase mortgage rates or fees.
To the average consumer, the difference between a 3.750% rate and 3.875% rate is minor. However, over a $100,000 mortgage, an 1/8 (.125%) point equals $125 more a year or $3,750 over a 30 year mortgage. Is 12,500 miles worth paying $3,750 more in interest payments?
I am not saying that participating in these programs will result in higher interest rates. All I am cautioning is for you to shop around the interest rate before locking it with a mortgage company or bank.
Then, I started thinking maybe the banks will increase your origination fee to cover the miles. Rental car companies charge a "frequent flyer fee," so the idea is not crazy. When talking to the phone representative, I would ask them if there is an additional fee for participating in this program. By law, they are required to disclose it to you within 3 business days of applying for a mortgage.
The way to see if a fee is being charged is to look at the Good Faith Estimate. This is a three page document that list the fees and costs associated with obtaining a mortgage. The area to pay particular attention to is on page two:
The section "Our Origination Charge" is the fee that you pay the bank/mortgage company for getting the mortgage for them. Typically, the charge is under $1,000 unless there are no charges in the title company section. Asking for two Good Faith Estimate, one that earns miles and another one that does not. I may be making a big deal over nothing, but its easy for fees to be snuck in.
When getting a mortgage, due diligence is important.
Conclusion
If you are in the market to refinance your mortgage, these offers can be great. On the other hand, if you are in the market for a purchase mortgage, I would avoid this offer. When working with a 1-800 number mortgage staff, a different person will be working with you, each time you call.
Working with the telephone staff for refinancing is fine, but mortgages for purchases are different animals. Purchase mortgages involve appraisal and financing contingencies and you need a person in your corner to make sure those contingencies are met. Phone staff won't have the time to ensure those contingencies are met.
Refinancing your mortgage or getting a new mortgage just to earn points can be expensive and dangerous. However, if you are in the market for a new mortgage or have a high interest rate, this is a great way to pick up a free flight or two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!
Have a question for us?
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I wanted to check to see if there was ways to earn points by refinancing your mortgage. To my surprise, there are still ways to earn points for this purpose. One can obtain a mortgage and earn miles on three airlines: United, American Airlines and Southwest.
Each has there own rules and it is important to follow the rules; otherwise, points will not be award.
UNITED
Chase Bank offers one the ability to earn up to 50,000 United MilagePlus miles by getting a mortage. The amount of miles one recieves for obtaining a mortgage from Chase various by loan size, in a three tier level. Here are the tiers:
|
Mortgage Loan Amount
|
United MileagePlus Award
|
|
Up to $249,999
|
12,500 miles
|
|
$250,000 - $500,0000
|
25,000 miles
|
|
$501,000+
|
50,000 miles
|
The Southwest offer is exactly the same as the United offer above. The only difference is the phone number that one must call. Southwest's dedicated phone number is 1-866-550-9870. If you would like more information on the Southwest offer, please go to this website.
Again, mortgage loan applications submitted through a Chase branch or a Chase mortgage branch office are not eligible for miles. You must submit your application through the phone number above.
The American Airlines offer invovles Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. One can earn 1,000 AAdvantage miles for every $10,000 financed on a new purchase, refinance and home equity loans or lines of credit.
Information about the program can be found here.
To particpate in this offer, you must call and close your loan through 1-866-324-8127. Like the United and Southwest offers, one can not earn miles by obtainign a mortgage through a Wells Fargo Branch or Wells Fago Home Mortgage office.
The most important part of earning miles under this offer starts at the begining. According to the rules:
To be eligible for miles, you must state your intention of applying through the
American Airlines AAdvantage Mileage promotion and request to earn miles at
time of application. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage requires the AAdvantage
number in its system at application. This program is not retroactive. If the
AAdvantage number is not provided at application, AAdvantage miles will not be
awarded.
Unlike the United and Southwest offers, one can earn miles for home equity line of credit and home equity loans. According to the rules:
For new home equity transactions, miles are based only on the initial amount
advanced on the closing date (funding may occur upon expiration of any applicable
rescission period), not on the total line of credit amount (unless fully advanced on the
closing date) or on future advances.
If I was going to try to earn miles through the Home Equity Line of Credit program, I would advance the entire amount of the line of credit, even if I did not need it. Shortly after closing, I would pay back the amount of money, I didn't need. Yes, one would incur a small amount of interest payments, but I think the additional amount of miles earned would offset that extra burden.
Allow six weeks after your funding date for AAdvantage miles to post to your account.
What to Watch For?
I have been thinking for a long time: how can the banks afford to give out these miles for mortgages. My best guess is that by forcing you to work with the phone staff, they are saving money that they would have to spend on commission for loan officers. However, could these mortgages for miles come with increase mortgage rates or fees.
To the average consumer, the difference between a 3.750% rate and 3.875% rate is minor. However, over a $100,000 mortgage, an 1/8 (.125%) point equals $125 more a year or $3,750 over a 30 year mortgage. Is 12,500 miles worth paying $3,750 more in interest payments?
I am not saying that participating in these programs will result in higher interest rates. All I am cautioning is for you to shop around the interest rate before locking it with a mortgage company or bank.
Then, I started thinking maybe the banks will increase your origination fee to cover the miles. Rental car companies charge a "frequent flyer fee," so the idea is not crazy. When talking to the phone representative, I would ask them if there is an additional fee for participating in this program. By law, they are required to disclose it to you within 3 business days of applying for a mortgage.
The way to see if a fee is being charged is to look at the Good Faith Estimate. This is a three page document that list the fees and costs associated with obtaining a mortgage. The area to pay particular attention to is on page two:
Particular, Section 1 and 2. See below:
The section "Our Origination Charge" is the fee that you pay the bank/mortgage company for getting the mortgage for them. Typically, the charge is under $1,000 unless there are no charges in the title company section. Asking for two Good Faith Estimate, one that earns miles and another one that does not. I may be making a big deal over nothing, but its easy for fees to be snuck in.
When getting a mortgage, due diligence is important.
Conclusion
If you are in the market to refinance your mortgage, these offers can be great. On the other hand, if you are in the market for a purchase mortgage, I would avoid this offer. When working with a 1-800 number mortgage staff, a different person will be working with you, each time you call.
Working with the telephone staff for refinancing is fine, but mortgages for purchases are different animals. Purchase mortgages involve appraisal and financing contingencies and you need a person in your corner to make sure those contingencies are met. Phone staff won't have the time to ensure those contingencies are met.
Refinancing your mortgage or getting a new mortgage just to earn points can be expensive and dangerous. However, if you are in the market for a new mortgage or have a high interest rate, this is a great way to pick up a free flight or two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!
Have a question for us?
E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
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