# Airfare Tips



## macdebbie (Apr 18, 2010)

We have decided with the high cost of travel - and me losing my job recently - that we would travel exclusively with our timeshares this coming year.

The biggest bite out of our budget is always airfare.  Even when we were doing hotels, B&Bs vs the timeshares, I was always able to get good deals.  But it seems like the taxes and fees airlines charge nowadays are even more than the ticket costs.

Wondering what all of you do to fly cheaply.  I'm looking at rewards CC but wonder if it just takes forever to accumulate enough points to get even one ticket.

The new Capital One Venture seems interesting - 2 point per $, but again, how that converts to air miles, I don't know.  I also considered the Marriott Rewards Visa since we are Marriott Rewards members and I love Marriotts.  It would be nice to get a few nights to spend somewhere and air miles, but someone told me their conversion on air miles is not favorable.

We pay our balance off each month, so interest rate is not an issue, but we don't buy alot, so looking for the best bang for our buck.  Right now we use Diner's Club/MC which is nice because it is flexible - you travel, then call to charge points to the bill.  But I don't think the conversion is all that great.

We've never used anything like Priceline or Hotwire, but have used 1-800-fly-europe, which was fine.


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## pointsjunkie (Apr 18, 2010)

i have learned to fly for free. i have written a blog to get you started. it won't happen over night but it is very attainable over time. at this point this year i had 5 first class tickets,  and 5 of us are going to las vegas with jetblue for free. i have 4  free southwest tickets to use this year and i still have 960,000 airmiles in my accounts.


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## ownsmany (Apr 18, 2010)

always looking for miles tips, especially US Air or United.

I'm looking to increase my US Airs miles balance.  We recently bought 5 RT tickets to Hawaii, and depleated the account (including 3 buy miles promos).

Is it worthwhile to "share" miles with DD for 1 cent a mile, to get matching miles for free?  I really need to spend time to get the in's & outs of US air's programs.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the post.

I do find that ff are really the only way to travel due to the expensive flights.


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## deedman (Apr 18, 2010)

www.kayak.com is a great source as it a search engine for discount ticket sites, such as expedia, priceline etc. I usually compare these results to americanexpress travel's website and if they are close in price I book with amex with my amex charge card (must pay in full at the end of every month) because I get double or triple the points for the booking.  
The points add up quick as I put most of my expenses on the card instead of using cash so i get the points.  and since its a charge card, there is never any interest and the rewards program is one of the best.  also you could look into getting a visa or mc linked to the airlines of your preference like AA or UA and get rewards thru them.  as a rule of thumb its usually a free ticket for every 30k you spend, which might seem like alot but not when your putting most of your expenses on the card.  I personally hate credit cards, because i hate the idea of paying interest, and only have one visa for emergencies. but i LOVE my amex charge card, so much buyer protection especially for people travelling.


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## Talent312 (Apr 18, 2010)

pointsjunkie said:


> i have learned to fly for free.



Self-promotion of blogs notwithstanding... FF programs have become so restrictive and shopping around for airfares on discount-airlines (like Southwest, Jet Blue, Airtran) so easy, that IMHO, CC's with cash-back or points for other sorts of awards (like HHonors) is more... well, rewarding.

I keep track of airfare sales with www.shermantravel.com, www.travelzoo.com, fares to preferred destinations with www.farecompare.com, and use meta-search engines like www.kayak.com, www.sidestep.com and www.whichbudget.com. 

If I happen to earn a FF ticket, that's gravy, but I ain't gonn'a hold my breath finding a seat where and when I want to go.


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## Jimster (Apr 18, 2010)

*to ownsmany*

Then I assume you are already registered for the US Air double miles promotion which is on going as we speak.


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Apr 18, 2010)

I just heard an ad for AmEx gold card that says it offers 3 points for each $ on airline travel. That might be a good one for you. We currently have AmEx Starwood card, even though I no longer use Starwood hotels that often and it is only one dollar for each point. We were able to get our mortgage to go through our card, so we get a fair amount of points that way. It has paid for our trips to Hawaii for the last few years, so I feel really positive about the card. They also put in an additional 5,000 when you transfer 20,000 points and they work with most airlines programs.
Liz


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## macdebbie (Apr 18, 2010)

I have heard that Starwood is a good card.  The one negative I heard is that Starwood takes weeks to transfer points to the airlines once you find a flight, and you might then lose the flight.

I forget which, but some recent travel magazine just reported that for that reason, American Express Rewards is a better card.

I haven't read all the particulars, but am a bit intrigued by the Capital One Venture Card since you don't have to accrue points for FF miles.  You buy the tickets however you want, and then the points transfer to pay them.  Again, I don't know the particulars.

It did sound like 2 points for every $ spent was and good deal, AND the points never expire.

Anyone using this card?  I think it is relatively new.


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## DeniseM (Apr 18, 2010)

Starwood does not take weeks - the transfer happens right away, however, some airlines are very slow to credit the points to your Acct.

We use the Starwood AMEX and get 25K air miles for every 20K points we transfer to most airlines.


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## csudell (Apr 18, 2010)

*Chase Quicken Card*

I have had a Chase Quicken Visa for 14+ years and I love it.  For approx $8K of spending I get $100 off airfare.  For $25K, I get airfare up to $325, for $35K I get airfare up to $500, etc.  What I like is that with some flights being only a couple hundred dollars, I can get nearly a free flight for $16K in my spending.


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## ownsmany (Apr 18, 2010)

Jimster said:


> Then I assume you are already registered for the US Air double miles promotion which is on going as we speak.



not sure what you mean.  Do you mean the buy miles and get double the miles?  Or the share miles and get double that? I need to get better their miles programs.


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## Jimster (Apr 18, 2010)

*us air double miles*

DEQM and DRDM 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the link to the US AIR promo. It is double miles for elite qualifying AND frequent flyer miles as well.

Registration Link

The promo code appears to be JS10

http://shopping.usairways.com/promot...00930_04132010

If this doesn't work, look at my post three threads below on seat choice- my post is #13


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## zcrider (Apr 18, 2010)

*Amex blue sky*

The amex blue sky card is a good rewards card..........one point for each dollar charged and once you get 7,500 points it equals $100 off a travel expense you purchased (hotel, air, rental car).  So you just search around for the cheapest price and then buy it with this card and then cash in your points to pay for it after the bill arrives.
  For a $35 annual fee you can pick the same card but get double points on gasoline, eating out (including fast food), and wireless bills automatically drafted to the card.........if you eat out a lot and or have to fill up on gas a lot this easily off sets the $35 charge and gets you more points.  
  Reward cards are not for everyone but this one deserves mentioning because you are not restriced to only particular companies.........use any airline, hotel or car rental you chose, no waiting at all for a points transfer or calling multipule places to do it.  Just charge like normal and wait until the bill comes and then either log in online or call Amex and tell them you want to credit your account for X many $'s spent on travel.
  Only down side and it is minor...... is everything is in $100 incraments only.  If you charge $98 only for a hotel room then it doesn't qualify, and if you charge a $350 airfair ticket then you can only cash in 22,500 points for a $300 credit.  But if you travel alot you will more then use up all your points regularly.  TS MF's, II fee's ect. all count as travel expenses and you can pay these with points when the bill comes.


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## pointsjunkie (Apr 18, 2010)

Talent312 said:


> Self-promotion of blogs notwithstanding... FF programs have become so restrictive and shopping around for airfares on discount-airlines (like Southwest, Jet Blue, Airtran) so easy, that IMHO, CC's with cash-back or points for other sorts of awards (like HHonors) is more... well, rewarding.
> 
> I keep track of airfare sales with www.shermantravel.com, www.travelzoo.com, fares to preferred destinations with www.farecompare.com, and use meta-search engines like www.kayak.com, www.sidestep.com and www.whichbudget.com.
> 
> If I happen to earn a FF ticket, that's gravy, but I ain't gonn'a hold my breath finding a seat where and when I want to go.



my DH and I used to feel that way too, until i booked us 2 rt first class tickets to italy. i figured out that i would have had to spend $380,000 to get the equivalent amount of money to pay for those airline tickets. i didn't even spend a third of that to get those tickets.


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## macdebbie (Apr 19, 2010)

That's sort of how I feel.  Like I said, we don't spend much.  I think I'd rather have a card like Marriott Rewards Visa that at least I know we get a free night somewhere every year, and maybe a couple other nights somewhere once in awhile.

Although I have used our DC points several times to pay off car rentals once we come back from a trip, so hard to say.

I don't want to be applying for a whole bunch of CC and ruining my good credit score because I have too much credit available, so I want to choose just one and try it.


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## Patri (Apr 19, 2010)

Yeah, I don't think I spend as much money as some of these people for anything! Could never accumulate that many points. But while it doesn't seem the same, we also get money back on our Discover card. Just turn in it for credit on our future bills, but it is the equivalent of an airline ticket more often than we realize. We just choose not to apply it to a plane ride.


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## Judy (Apr 19, 2010)

It depends upon where you live and where you want to travel.  IMHO, if you're traveling where they go, Southwest is the best.  Not only do they have discount fares (often, but not always below the others) but if you find a lower fare on SW, you can cancel and rebook with no penalty. And bags fly free.  The last time I looked, the Southwest Visa was offering a large number of credits to new users.

My second choice is United. Not because I particularly like that airline, but because they have international routes and pretty good availability of award seats.

IMHO, last place goes to Delta whose slogan is "You can earn miles, but you can never use them".

Almost all airline affiliated credit cards charge an annual fee, so be sure to take that into consideration. One of the Delta Amex cards has no annual fee, but only gives 1/2 mile per $ spent.

My favorite credit card is Capital One because Capital One doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.  But I don't know about the $ spent to miles earned ratio on the one you mentioned.


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## macdebbie (Apr 19, 2010)

Venture is a new card.  Just came out.  I don't know where else you can earn 2 point for every $ and spend it on whatever travel you want - it's no FF miles.


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## Judy (Apr 20, 2010)

Southwest Visa is having a promotion right now.  They're advertising  16 credits (enough for a free flight) after the first use:

http://www.mychasecreditcards.com/6...3842@8C3AF870F41F17BBF9FD3989487649956B44049D


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## macdebbie (Apr 21, 2010)

How do people get their mortgage paid through their credit card?  I have Citimortgage and I don't think they allow that.


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## DeniseM (Apr 21, 2010)

macdebbie said:


> How do people get their mortgage paid through their credit card?  I have Citimortgage and I don't think they allow that.



Most of the mortgage compaines that allow it, require you to pay the merchant fee, which makes it pointless, because the fee eats up the value of the points earned.


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## SuzanneSLO (Apr 22, 2010)

macdebbie said:


> How do people get their mortgage paid through their credit card?  I have Citimortgage and I don't think they allow that.



You can do it indirectly by paying your mortgage in cash at the bank holding it with $1 coins you purchase from the US Mint using your credit card.  I have personally never tried it because my mortgage is big and those coins are heavy, but I have made a payment on my credit card that way, thus earning addional miles for paying off my credit card!  -- Suzanne


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## DeniseM (Apr 22, 2010)

SuzanneSLO said:


> You can do it indirectly by paying your mortgage in cash at the bank holding it with $1 coins you purchase from the US Mint using your credit card.



According to Flyetalk, the mint has caught onto this trick, and they are now monitoring people who make multiple purchases of coins and then deposit them as regular cash.


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## SuzanneSLO (Apr 23, 2010)

DeniseM said:


> According to Flyetalk, the mint has caught onto this trick, and they are now monitoring people who make multiple purchases of coins and then deposit them as regular cash.



Actually, this is different because the buyer of the coins never deposits them.

It is the almost the same as using the coins to pay other merchants who only accept cash or checks; the only difference is that this merchant happens to be a bank.  I have also used coins to pay fees to government agencies that only accept cash or checks.  It is obviously limited to face to face transactions and for me at least, by the weight of the coins needed for the payment.  I find, however, that I really like carrying around some $1 coins to use for small transactions even if I could also pay by credit card.

As noted in my PP, I don't use coins to pay my mortgage and am a very small time player in this field.     -- Suzanne


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## JordanRHughes (May 6, 2010)

Thank you all for the great tips...

Jordan.


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## wfillion (May 6, 2010)

The problem with CC's is you either lock yourself into 1 carrier or a generic card but you still need to spend big $$$ to get anywhere and those cards usually charge an annual fee.

Since airfare costs are variable in addition to being in direct porportion to the number of people as opposed to the timeshare being a fixed cost, I usually let the airfare cost determine the location. I find Expedia works best as it let's you easily change the starting airport for nearby airports. So last winter when I came across Hartford to Cancun in Aug. direct for under $300 I immediately booked it as I knew the timeshare would not be an issue.

That's the other side of the coin, you need to be aware of what you can get in a location for a particular time so in my spare time I routinely do a search-all on II for various weeks to see what is available for future reference.

Bottom line is for cheap fights (disregarding how you pay for them) you have to search on a frequent basis.


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