# Pinching Pennies [Hawaii Airfare merged]



## Kauai Kid (Jun 11, 2008)

American Airlines fares to Hawaii have increased $200-250 since our last flights.

Anyone got any suggestions how to come up with $400-$500 in a years time?  Things like clipping coupons etc.

Thanks,

Sterling


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## DeniseM (Jun 11, 2008)

How about using a credit card that earns FF miles?  We get free airfare to Hawaii that way every year.  We pay the card off every month, so all it costs us is our yearly CC membership fee.


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## Tiger (Jun 11, 2008)

Specifically get the Sheraton AMEX card which will give you a bonus for joining then a 25% milage bonus when you transfer miles to american AAdvantage, get the Aadvantage master or visa card with their bonus, then get the Aadvantage Amex card with it's bonus.  If you have a business you can get another set of cards, likewise if there are two of you you can double the cards again.  After a year of no fees you can drop the cards you don't really need.

We've had 11 or 12 trips to Hawaii in the last 13 years, have had business class each time and have paid for only one economy fare over that time.:whoopie:


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## Kauai Kid (Jun 11, 2008)

We've got an AA master card and have managed only one free trip to Hawaii.

How do you score 12 out of 13 times?

Sterling


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## UWSurfer (Jun 11, 2008)

One other way might be to get a Costco Amex Cash Rewards card.   I've been putting all sorts of things on it including remodling, work travel as well as regular gas purchases and groceries at Costco. 

I pay it off every month and have been getting $600 - $800 back each year for the past few years. That's however with a high level of expenditures and I pay the bill in full each month.

Then of course there's always the tried and true 2nd job.


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## tombo (Jun 11, 2008)

I saved up FF miles for years to get 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii. It cost me 150,000 Delta FF miles for the 2 round trip tickets(business class) and I was lucky to find any available seats close to the dates I needed ( I had to lengthen my stay to fit the FF availability). I got 2 new Delta Sky miles cards (one for me,one for wife) which were good for 25,000 FF miles each. That left me using 100,000 of my membership rewards Amex points to pay for the 2 flights. The Sky Miles credit cards said you couldn't receive more than 1 special sign up offer per person, per 12 month period. 

How are people here getting free fights every year. My credit cards give one mile per dollar spent. At 150,000 for 2 RT tickets I would have to spend $150,000 a year on credit cards to get 2 FF tickets. I wouldn't spend $150,000 a year if I paid everything I did including my mortgage on credit cards. Please let me in on how so many people here get enough FF miles every year to get free plane tickets. I am missing the boat, oops plane, somehow.


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## Luanne (Jun 11, 2008)

We've been getting four roundtrip tickets to Hawaii using United ff miles every other year.  For many of these years a lot of the miles were earned through dh's business travel.  Now we earn them through a combination of travel, Visa charges, car rentals and hotel stays with partner companies.


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## tombo (Jun 11, 2008)

I can understand how credit card specials can supplement business air travel to get you enough miles to get annual free tickets. I never stay in hotels on business, only on vacation, and my vacations are usually spent in a timeshare. I never fly on business, only on vacations, so I am trying to see if there is a way people are getting free tickets every year just by using credit cards. If you are please tell me how because at about $1000 each round trip currently my trips to Hawaii, the Bahamas, and anywhere else I have to fly will be reduced drastically.


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## Pit (Jun 11, 2008)

Kauai Kid said:


> American Airlines fares to Hawaii have increased $200-250 since our last flights.
> 
> Anyone got any suggestions how to come up with $400-$500 in a years time?  Things like clipping coupons etc.
> 
> ...



Save $10 a week.


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## bobcat (Jun 11, 2008)

Pit said:


> Save $10 a week.



You have to start on the first of the month and write down every penny you and your wife spend. At the end of the month, go over the list with her and you can see where the waste is. You could cut down on driving, bring lunch from home, stop the paper,  Cut out the coffee and snacks. Shop at Cosco.  Just throwing some things out there to think about. Eating out, movies, shows. Good luck.


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## DeniseM (Jun 11, 2008)

We use the Starwood AMEX and we charge absolutely everything possible on it - groceries, utilities, prescriptions, medical bills, vet bills, college tuition, dining out, any kind of shopping, gifts - you name it.  It's a little weird at first, but once you see the points starting to add up, it's great.  You just have to be disciplined about paying it off on time every single month without fail.

With the Starwood AMEX you get a 5,000 mile bonus, every time you transfer 20,000 points to an airline.  So you get 25K miles for 20K points.  They also offer incentives a couple time a year where you get extra points for spending.  Last month we got a 25% bonus, so I paid our car insurance for 6 mos., paid MF's 3 years in advance, and some things like that to take advantage of the special offer.


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## Fletcher921 (Jun 11, 2008)

I have also even become so compulsive about my miles that I try to only shop at Vons - getting United miles though their reward program on top of the credit card miles (My United Visa).  I also buy the gifts cards at Vons for Starbucks, Applebee's and other businesses where we shop for our personal use, getting extra miles that way.  When we need swimsuits or clothes I can shop Lands End through the United's Mileage Mall and get 5 miles for each dollar spent - in addition to the credit card miles credited.  We just needed to replace our oven/microwave and ordered though Sears on the Mileage Mall - I think I got like 9,000 miles for that PLUS the credit card miles.  Anytime we buy ANYTHING - I try to find out if i can miles for it.  Pick whatever airline you are interested in and really research all the ways you can earn miles on them.  Check out e-miles, e-rewards, whatever...  Our Starwood card we use to transfer to airlines when we come up short.

Anyway, We charge absolutely everything on my cards and pay balance off at month end.  We have flown to Europe first class three times in the last few years this way.  We are flying to Hawaii this Friday on our Hawaiian miles.  It takes a lot of time - but it's a rewarding hobby.


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## Palguy (Jun 11, 2008)

Clean out the garage and attic. Anything you haven't used in a year or forgot you had - put it on Ebay.

Start a cursing jar and put in a set amount every time you say a naughty word.

Our air mile credit cards (Continental Airlines Master Card) gave myself and my wife 25,000 miles each when we joined a few years ago and when we shop online through their website with selected merchants we receive up to 10 miles per $ spent. I bought my wife (yeah just for her, right) a 56" plasma TV for  Christmas last year from Target through the airlines website and got 10 miles per $. That was 25,000 miles alone. With all the other shopping I did online for the rest of our family the combined total was enough for the 35,000 miles necessary for a round trip ticket to Hawaii. Not including the money we saved by shopping online and not driving. Same prices or better than in the stores and free shipping.

Veterans Advantage gets you a 5% discount on Continental Airlines and certain discounts on other select airlines.

We set up a vacation account just like you would set up a Christmas Club account and deposit a set amount weekly towards our vacation.

Just a few of the ways we make it happen.


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## Jim Bryan (Jun 12, 2008)

We have used AMEX FF miles on all our trips to Hawaii so far. May be harder in the future but so far (5 Trips?) it has worked for us. First trip was "First Class"


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## Tiger (Jun 12, 2008)

Sterling

We need 75000 Aadvantage miles each to get 1st/business to Hawaii.  WE fly about 20,000 miles each on paid trips.  We get a new card with a 20,000 bonus nearly every year, that's 40,000.  We buy everything we can on the cards, we put our charitible donations on the cards, med and vet bills, dentist bills, gas groceries etc.  When necessary ( we've done it once) we bought miles from American when they had a 20% sale.  We paid about 2% for them.  Once we paid our taxes with cards (cost 2.25%)

Our most recent coup was 2 round trip business to India for next October at 135000 miles each.  It would have cost over $7000.  We using the two mentioned techniques above spent $1500 cash for miles which also with our other techniques got us aur flights to Hawaii for next March.

We haven't paid for our auto insurance or utilitys with cards but that's a good idea.


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## Canuck (Jun 12, 2008)

FF Miles of course!!!

.....and every penny counts! 

I write down everything I spend in a note book.  I meal plan my week so I don't spend extra at the grocery store plus no food ever goes to waste.

I have a change jar and empty all pockets before I put pants in the wash.  My boys and I roll change once a month (good math skills for them).  I have a special "travel account" at the bank that all my "extra" money and rolled change goes into. 

My husband thinks I'm crazy!  However, I hate being told "no" we can't go or we can't stay at a particular hotel.  So when I pull out my bank statement with the "extra" money that I've saved, he's always impressed and I get my heavenly bed and extra trips!


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## Fletcher921 (Jun 12, 2008)

Canuck - We have that same account!  

My husband call that "special travel account" my extortion account.  ANY checks that come into the house - rebates, accidental over-payments on bills, tax refunds, etc. all go in that account.  It adds up and we don't miss it.


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## keeshonds2 (Jun 12, 2008)

We do everything with the goal of getting miles on one specific carrier.

I travel a lot for work (average is 2x monthly) and luckily my company lets me choose my own airfare, so I always use the same carrier.  Last year I earned over 60,000 miles just with business travel.  I try to stay in Hiltons so that I can "double dip" and earn the 500 airline miles on top of the HHonors points.

We put everything that we possibly can on our airline-affiliated credit card and pay it off every month.  But I think I need to look into the Starwood card on top of the airline card.  That sounds like a sweet deal.

In terms of saving money, the easiest way is to cut out trips to Starbucks.  Bringing your own lunch to work can easily save you $6/day or more.  We also do the change jar - we use that for spending money on our vacations.  The way I'm paid also gives us a month with 3 checks instead of 2 - that extra check is put in our "bonus" savings account and we use it for vacations.


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## DeniseM (Jun 12, 2008)

Fletcher921 said:


> Canuck - We have that same account!
> 
> My husband call that "special travel account" my extortion account.  ANY checks that come into the house - rebates, accidental over-payments on bills, tax refunds, etc. all go in that account.  It adds up and we don't miss it.



We do exactly the same thing!


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## LisaRex (Jun 12, 2008)

Since 2001, I've earned 9 RT flights to Hawaii (including 3 for our trip in a month - yeah!) and 1 RT flight to St. John on Delta using the SkyMiles gold Amex. Since the Saver tickets on Delta have dried up, I did a little research and discovered that United Airline owns 60%+ of the Hawaiian market, so I decided to open a United cc because my likelihood of getting a Saver ticket was much higher with them.   

I then went on Flyertalk to determine what United card had the best sign on bonus.  There were two cards that intrigued me.  The basic card had a free annual fee the first year and offered a 25k miles bonus for signing up.   The platinum card was $135/year but it only had a 15k sign-on bonus. However it gave double miles for groceries, gas (!), home improvement stores, and DINING.  That was a huge one.  So, like a true FlyerTalker....I signed my husband and I up first for the basic cards.  That was 25k miles for each of us.  Once the 25k bonus posted to my account, I called Chase and upgraded just one of the cards (mine) basic card to the platinum card.  Then I ordered a companion card for my husband and daughter.  Once we accumulated enough miles in my husband's account for a RT Saver ticket to Hawaii, we retired his basic card (by putting it in a drawer) and we all concentrated on charging to my platinum card, where we accumulate double miles on a majority of our spending.  In less than 7 months, we've accumulated enough miles for two RT Saver tickets to Hawaii, which I hope to use in 2010.


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## darcy (Jun 12, 2008)

DH is currently at Guaranty Bank (is that national? not sure) opening an account to get some AA miles.  He also transferred some savings into a into a Fidelity investment account a while back to earn some AA miles.  We do all the other stuff already recommended - credit card juggling, put every single thing on credit card, etc.  I try to make sure that every dollar I spend "works" for me in some way, points-wise.


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## SuzanneSLO (Jun 13, 2008)

Another way to earn miles is by dining through Rewards Network.  At selected restaurants, you can earn at least 3 miles per $, sometimes as high as 20 depending on the promotion (which come with some frequency).  You simply sign up through your FF program, register your CC and then pay with that card.  The participating restaurants come and go, so sometimes it has been  more beneficial than others.  -- Suzanne


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## Jay C (Jun 13, 2008)

*Airfare*

We just returned  from Hawaii last week and are considering buying a TS there.  I just looked up airfare for some hypothetical dates next year and the cheapest I found from the west coast was around $860/person.  For my family of 4, were looking @ $3,500 - $ 4,000 just to fly.  That will definitely affect my decision whether  to buy or not.  If prices  stay this way, I can't imagine Hawaii can remain a top tourist destination. ( at least not for working class people).


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## DeniseM (Jun 13, 2008)

Hi Jay - there is a thread on the Hawaii board with a lot of good suggestions about reducing the cost of airfare to Hawaii, so I'm going to move your post to that thread.


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## Kauai Kid (Jun 13, 2008)

*Vegetable Garden*

After seeing a single bell pepper for $3/# this winter and tomatoes at Star Market in Kihei for $8/# I put in a small 4'x80' garden this spring.  Takes at most 10 minutes a day to work and pick.

You won't get sick from my tomatoes, they're producing more than we can eat.  We have fresh green beans, overwhelming number of banana peppers, and cucumbers will be ready to pick in a couple weeks.

I know I'm saving money cause there are still funds in the grocery envelope.

Just need some rain.  6" shortfall.

Sterling


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## UWSurfer (Jun 13, 2008)

Kauai Kid said:


> After seeing a single bell pepper for $3/# this winter and tomatoes at Star Market in Kihei for $8/# I put in a small 4'x80' garden this spring.  Takes at most 10 minutes a day to work and pick.
> 
> You won't get sick from my tomatoes, they're producing more than we can eat.  We have fresh green beans, overwhelming number of banana peppers, and cucumbers will be ready to pick in a couple weeks.
> 
> ...



Alright...everyone over to Sterling's home!


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## talkamotta (Jun 14, 2008)

tombo said:


> I can understand how credit card specials can supplement business air travel to get you enough miles to get annual free tickets. I never stay in hotels on business, only on vacation, and my vacations are usually spent in a timeshare. I never fly on business, only on vacations, so I am trying to see if there is a way people are getting free tickets every year just by using credit cards. If you are please tell me how because at about $1000 each round trip currently my trips to Hawaii, the Bahamas, and anywhere else I have to fly will be reduced drastically.



I used the Delta Amex for two years.  Was able to get 90k miles but I could never get tkts for Hawaii.  So I switched over to United's visa. 
I now have 50,000 ff on United.   I was able to get some miles from an over seas flight but the rest has been from the bonus miles for signing up for the card and using the card for everything.  I only use ff cc's.  I pay them off at the end of the month. You can now pay some of your utilities with cc's.  I have rental properties so paying everything w/cc's has made tax time much easier for me.


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## tombo (Jun 14, 2008)

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Several suggestions here have opened my eyes to ways that I have been missing FF miles. It has also got me considering getting other FF miles Credit Cards than Delta. I have been putting all of my FF dollars in the delta basket.

By the time I figure out which carrier and credit cards have the best FF programs, they will change them, cancel them, or increase the miles needed to get flights to a level I can't achieve. Now I am going to try to get a pair of overseas round trip tickets in less than the 4 years it took me last time.


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## skim118 (Jun 14, 2008)

*AA increases FF coach ticket to Hawaii to 45,000 miles*

We have been using AA for the past 7 years to fly to Hawaii on FF tickets(5 each year in summer).

I guess the oil prices will put this streak to an end after this year(new chart starts from bookings made after Oct 1 2008).  

There is an off-peak period still during which the previous 35,000 mile award is still valid, but it will not work for us.

Off-peak dates:
Hawaii: Jan. 12 - Mar. 8; Aug. 22 - Dec. 15

We will make our reservations for 2009 summer and in the future will travel to Maui every other year only


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## tombo (Jun 17, 2008)

Here is an article discussing whether the FF miles from credit cards are a good deal or not.

http://www.smartmoney.com/deal-of-the-day/index.cfm?story=20080611-airline-rewards-cards


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## JoanE (Jun 21, 2008)

see next posting


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## JoanE (Jun 21, 2008)

*using capital one credit card*

capital one has a 2 for 1 match with I think  a $40-50 yearly fee.  We remodeled and used the credit card, I also use the card for groceries, insurance, college etc.  We are flying to hawaii in Dec- I thought I was so smart and booked two tickets from Cleveland to LA thinking it would be so cheap to fly from LAX.  It looks like I'll still have to pay for one ticket from there- but $770.00 for the two of us is better than $2000.00.


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## Jaybee (Jun 23, 2008)

*On Kauai Now...Yea!*

Ahhh!  Back to Paradise!  Back to the grocery store...Arrggh!
Sticker shock!  I wandered through Safeway with a glassy eyed stare, muttering to myself, "It's cheaper than eating out", as an incantation.    I'm glad we weren't at a Star Market.  My red bell pepper was "only" $1.12.  Green ones were over $3 a lb.  I thought about buying a roasted chicken for dinner, but at $10.99 each, I elected to roast my own.  Too bad we won't be here long enough to grow a vegetable garden. 

We are fortunate enough to have 2 weeks here at Kauai Coast, and the reviews of this place are right on.  It is gorgeous!  We got a notice yesterday that the pool bar will close at 3pm today, but we're all invited to share Happy Hour with them.....from 11am-3pm!  Woo-hoo!  It's been awhile since I got "happy" before lunch. This could be my day!  Jean


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## LisaRex (Jun 23, 2008)

Here in Ohio, Kroger sells red, orange and yellow bell peppers for $2.00 each all the time.  Their roast chickens are $6.99.


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## Jaybee (Jun 23, 2008)

Not that it's particularly relevant, but the red bell peppers were $2.49 lb., and the green ones were over $3 lb.  Where I live, the red ones are almost always more expensive than green.  The $1.12 was for one green one.  If you find that interesting, I can post my entire receipt. :zzz:


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## Palguy (Jun 25, 2008)

Car rentals are another way to save if you bid on Priceline. They are much cheaper now if you look. I just snagged a Mid-Sized from Alamo through Priceline for $14 a day for the end of July. That's $145.94 total  for 7 days7/27-8/3. May have even done better if I had waited a little longer.  That's $30 less than I had already reserved earlier and $95 less than if you rented directly from Alamo's website. :whoopie:


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## DeniseM (Jun 25, 2008)

Palguy said:


> Car rentals are another way to save if you bid on Priceline. They are much cheaper now if you look. I just snagged a Mid-Sized from Alamo through Priceline for $14 a day for the end of July. That's $145.94 total  for 7 days7/27-8/3. May have even done better if I had waited a little longer.  That's $30 less than I had already reserved earlier and $95 less than if you rented directly from Alamo's website. :whoopie:



What island?

I bid from $11 to $14 for a mid-size on Kauai from 7/5 - 7/19 and had no luck, but I will try again tomorrow and start at $14.

BTW - you can make multiple bids on the same day by 1) clearing your cookies and 2) using a different credit card and 3) different email address, for each bid.


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## Palguy (Jun 25, 2008)

DeniseM said:


> What island?
> 
> I bid from $11 to $14 for a mid-size on Kauai from 7/5 - 7/19 and had no luck, but I will try again tomorrow and start at $14.
> 
> BTW - you can make multiple bids on the same day by 1) clearing your cookies and 2) using a different credit card and 3) different email address, for each bid.



I was not aware that I could do that. I will keep it in mind next year. I plan to try for a convertible then somewhere around $17, I had no idea I was going to win the mid sized this time.


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