Do It For The Points!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Observations from My First Milage Run

I completed my first mileage run, ~~yesterday~~ early this morning. Chris, his GF and I flew from DC to SFO for lunch. It was a great experience and I came away with some interesting observations in my journey.

1) Flying across the country for lunch is AMAZING and also great conversation starter!

I was a little drunk still when Chris picked me up at 3:45 yesterday. See, I went out drinking
the night beforehand and telling girls that you are "flying to San Fran tomorrow for lunch and
coming right back" is a great conversation/pick-up line. I may need to keep that in my
arsenal for use more often.

Similarly, the club agent at ORD thought it was funny that I was coming right back to BWI last
night. He comment that he "only thought airline employees fly to go get lunch," and told us
that he takes his family to lunch in Boston, New York and Miami all the time.

2) Getting bumped from First Class is worth at least $500

This did not happen to me. However, on our flight home from SFO to BWI they
upgraded/oversold too many first class by 1. They asked for a volunteer to bump down
to Economy Plus and were offering $500 to do so. Someone jumped up and took the offer
within seconds of the offer. Most likely a person who was upgrade with status.

3) The United Fleet Is Old

On everyone one of my three flights, I notice that the United Fleet is showing its age. Two
of my seats were not secured properly making for some fun landings:

The paneling on any other flight was peeling:

Chris mentioned to me that the 757-200 we were flying is being replaced with the new 737-900s United purchased. So, that's a good sign.

4) United Lets A Ton of Economy Plus Seats Go Unsold

On each of my three flights yesterday, Economy Plus, which I was sitting due to Chris's
status, was 1/2 empty, while the rest of economy was full. When I checked in Saturday
morning they wanted $17 for an economy plus seat and Saturday evening they wanted $87.

Why doesn't United firesale these seats? It doesn't cost you anything more for people to sit
there. This is income that United is leaving on the ground. If day of flight, you have 1/4 or 1/2
of Economy Plus empty, why wouldn't you auction them off or sell them for $5. This is going
to sound weird, but "shame on you United for leaving money on the ground." That's almost
as leaving points on the table!

5) The Plant Burger Does Not Taste Good

We went to the Ferry Terminal for lunch and I got the Plant Burger, a beet burger:

6) Boudin Sourdough (SFO Food Court) Rocks!

The GF, on the trip, told me I needed to get a sandwich from this place. I got the
Turkey Cranberry for my dinner on the way home and it was amazing. Also, they had
bread bowls filled with soup that look yummy! If you have a layover in SFO, go to Boudins!

Boudin's at SFO Food Court

7) A Street Performer's Sign Can Sum Up A Trip

Chris and I in Front of the Ferry Terminal

SFO thanks for a great day!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Am I Overpacking for A Mileage Run?

Today, Chris and I are on a mileage run. My first! We are flying to SFO (San Fran) early in the morning, have 6 hours to explore, and then will be back in the DMV early Sunday morning.

I am an over packer. I ALWAYS over pack. If I have a two day trip, I pack as if I am going for four days. Better safe than sorry? However, I feel I have packed to much for this short trip:

Here is what I am bringing with me:

1) 4 Magazines

2) A Book

3) Kindle Fire loaded with five movies, two books and music

4) Headphones

5) Empty water bottle

6) Tooth paste and tooth brush (bad smelling breath bothers me!)

7) Capstick

8) Ear plugs

9) Cold Medicine (knocks me right out)

10) Gas-X Strips

11) The Metal case is business cards (never know when someone needs a mortgage)

12) Tissues

13) Pen

14) Face Wash

15) Deodorant

16) Cologne - for the cutie sitting next to you\

17) Eye Glass/Screen Wipe

18) Snacks - not pictured!

What do you bring on a mileage run?

Bonus Miles for Admirals Club Membership

Kelsey received what I would call a "spring update" letter from American Airlines yesterday that was advertising many new AA announcements. The first was the new nonstop service from Seoul, South Korea from Dallas/Fort Worth. The second was the new AA award map where you can see where your miles will take you and if any award space is open for those dates. It's not the greatest tool in the world, that's still Qantas for oneworld searches, but it will work if you are just curious.

Finally a bit of news on the side for those that might be thinking about purchasing a membership to the Admirals Club. When purchasing your membership, before June 30, 2013, you can enter code QPA13 and you will receive 3,000 AAdvantage miles with your membership. It's not a great offer and nothing that would make me move to get a membership, but if you were already considering the membership and about to buy one...it never hurts to get a little extra for your purchase, right?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Friday, May 3, 2013

Remind Me NOT To Fly Turkish Airlines to Moscow

The Washington Post wrote about an interesting piece of gossip in the airline world. Supposedly, according to a Russian Newspapers (here - will need Google translation), Turkish is proposing banning alcohol on flights to Moscow, Russia. This isn't to save money, but rather a safety reasons:

Apperently, the "proposed ban comes after a string of incidents involving Russian passengers who had too much to drink and became unruly. Last year alone, 28 such incidents on Turkish Airlines flights between Turkey and Russia required police intervention. Earlier this month, an audibly drunk Russian man on a Turkish Airlines flight got into a confrontation with several members of a Russian soccer team who were also the flight."

I can't comment on if 28 alcohol related incidents is a lot in one year. If the only way to protect passengers on these routes is to pull the nectar, I support them. However, I won't be flying Turkish to Russia. 6 hour is WAY to long without a drink. Areoflot anyone?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!

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

Look What I Got In My Mailbox

Yesterday, my mailbox was filled with many diffrent things.

First, an offer from my Banana Republic Visa:

The offer is 5 Points per $1 at Grocery Stores and 3 Points per $1 at Restaurants. I might take them up on the grocery offer, as I don't have a card now offering more than 1 point. This offer is from May 1st until June 30th. No registration required.

The next thing is my new razor from Dollar Shave Club. I decided to move up to the $6 blade from the $1 blade. I like the $1 blade, but I wanted to see if there was a difference.

Also, there cards that they include every month are hilarious. This month's is: "Your Mother-In-Law Should Be Irritating. Not Your Razor." He He He . . .

The final thing was a letter from my Hilton AMEX letting me know about the changes to Hilton AXON rewards. Many people have written about it here, here, and here. However, I found the letter a little cold and plane rude.

The last line is the one that is the one that stings the worse:

"If you are not satisfied with these changes you can cancel your account by calling us at
1-800-297-1000 before June 15, 2013. If you cancel, the changes won't impact your account.
However, you won't be able to use your Card for new transactions and you'll still have to pay down
your balance."

Telling me accept this change or we'll shut down your card is no way to win loyalty, American Express! Your acting like United, now.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

The One Time Everyone Will Agree It's OK to Instagram Dinner

If you ask most people who do not use the social photo sharing application Instagram very much, I imagine they think it's something like this College Humor video (Caution a few NSFW words in the song).

The act of taking a picture of your perfectly made latte or a wonderful dish at the latest to open restaurant has become the hallmark of the digital generation and something that is loved or maligned by people everywhere.

But...could there be a reason that possibly Instagramers and Instagram haters could all get together to share a picture of their food? Bring in MileagePlus Dining Rewards.

GO TO YOUR ACCOUNT

View as a webpage

You could win the $1,000 grand prize just for Instagramming your meal! Once you enter through this email only, simply follow these steps:

1	Visit a MileagePlus Dining^SM restaurant.
2	Snap a photo of your meal.
3	Submit your photo via Instagram and include #FoodstagramUA, @rewardsnetwork and the name of the restaurant.

You already share foodie photos, so now here's your chance to be rewarded!

If you are trying to earn points while you dine you should already be a member of a dining rewards program. Since my airline of choice is United, I stick with MileagePlus dining. By simply going to the restaurant and paying with a registered card you will earn miles on that purchase. With this contest if you snap a photo of your meal and include #FoodstagramUA, @rewardsnetwork and the name of the restaurant in the caption, you will be entered to win a prize of $1,000, $500 or $250!

Happy Dining, don't forget to add a filter!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

US Airways Grand Slam Lite - My Plan

US Airways bummed many of us by not renewing Grand Slam, last year. In its place, US Airways has offered various bonuses for buying and trading miles, but no real replacement to Grand Slam. That is until last week.

As reported here, here, here, here and many other places, one can earn bonus points by making purchases through US Airways Partners. The amount of bonus points one earns is determined by the number of purchases completed:

Number of purchases	Bonus miles
1 - 3	25%
4 - 6	50%
7 - 9	75%
10 - 12	100%

Let's call each purchase a "hit," because I like to bring up old memories. One can get a "hit" for shopping at the following merchants from April 22, 2013 to June 23, 2013:

1800Flowers (25 miles per $1)
FTD (25 miles per $1)
FedEx (1 mile per $1)
Teleflora (15 miles per $1)
Vinesse (2000 miles, when you order 6 bottles of wine)
Wine Insiders (1000 miles, when you order 12 bottles of wine)
Dividend Miles StoreFront (varies - must spend $50 to count for hit)
SkyMall (10 miles per $1)
DM Dining (varies)

One important part of the deal is that for a Storefront purchase to count towards this promotion it must be a minimum of $50. There are no minimums, at the moment, for the other partners, but that might change.

My Plan

I have spent the past week thinking about my plan to get to 12 hits. Here is my road map for this promotion:

Hits 1-6 - Dining Rewards

Hit 7 - SkyMall

Hit 8 & 9- FTD/1800 Flowers - Mother's Day Gifts

Hit 10 - Wine Insiders

Hit 11 - Dividend Storefront (Best Buy)

Hit 12 - Dividend Storefront (Kiehl's)

Things might changed on who I use for Dividend Storefront based upon changes to the amount of points per dollar merchants offer. However, I need items from Kiehl's and Best Buy; therefore, it would be wasted money.

My plan is to only spend $100 on wasted items ie things I don't need. We will see if I am able to get 12 hits with only $100 wasted...