British Airways 100,000 Miles Credit Card

April 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A few years back, I signed up for a sweet promotion. Actually, not just me, but my entire family! At the end of the day, we were able to net around 500,000 British Airways Miles (now called Avios Miles) through this promotion. All we had to do was each sign up for a Chase BA Visa Signature Card (fee free for the first year,) and spend around $3,000 on the card within 3 months. We did just that and our points posted quickly. My wife and I used the points to get back from Australia on Qantas in First Class one way.  We only had to pay the taxes of around $100, for a ticket valued around $25,000 each!)  We also used the miles to book a flight from New York to LAX in business class on partner airline American and one, one way ticket to Bali on Cathay Pacific in First Class. That’s just to give you an idea how powerful the points are. And my family still has points remaining. Now, Chase is back with another offer, not nearly as good as the one we got, but still something to think about: 100,000 Avios Miles for signing up with it’s BA Visa Card at this link and doing the following according to the website:

  • You will get 50,000 bonus Avios after your first use of the card
  • 25,000 bonus Avios after you make $10,000 in purchases within the first year of account opening
  • Plus an additional 25,000 bonus Avios after you make an additional $10,000 in purchases also within the first year of account opening

Would I sign up for that deal now if I didn’t already have the card? Possibly.  I like that you earn [Read more...]

Filed Under: Avios, British Airways, frequent flyer, Uncategorized, Visa Card Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Amazing Sushi In Tokyo

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
IMG_0890 2

I still think about that tiny sushi restaurant in Tokyo, the one on the 4th floor of the Mark City Mall, across from the Shibuya train station. We ended up there one day because every other sushi spot we could find was closed.  It was called Midori Sushi, and I have to say it was absolutely worth the flight over the water.

Amazing Sushi!

The chutoro — the medium fatty tuna — melted in your mouth.  My friends and I made a pact that no matter what, we would return the following day before our flight back to America to try again. But this time when we arrived, the line was, well, you take a look.  By the way we waited, almost missed our flight, but man it was worth it!

Filed Under: Restaurants, Tokyo, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

British Airways 50% Bonus on American Express Transfers

March 19, 2012 By 2 Comments

For a limited time, transfers of American Express Membership Rewards points into British Airways’ Avios frequent flyer program will earn you a 50% Bonus.  Avios points are fantastic for short-haul flights in Europe and domestically in the United States.  For long-haul flights, specifically in first and business class, expect to pay a major fuel surcharge for flights going through London.  Here’s the fine print from American Express’ Membership Rewards:   To transfer points, click here.

“Receive a 50% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards points into Executive Club through May 31, 2012. For the period of the promotion you will receive 1,500 Avios when you transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards points into your [Read more...]
Filed Under: American Express Membership Rewards, British Airways, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

30% Mileage Bonus On Transfers To Virgin America

March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

American Express Membership Rewards is now giving a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin America.  If you haven’t flown Virgin America, it is fantastic!  I recently blogged about its upper class. This may be a good way to try out the airline.  The promotion ends soon so hurry!  Here’s the fine print from the Amex website:

“Receive a 30% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards points to Virgin America between March 19, 2012 – March 25, 2012. Instead of 100 Elevate points, for the period of the promotion, you will receive 130 Elevate points when you transfer 200 Membership Rewards points to Virgin America”
Filed Under: miles, Virgin America Tagged With: , , , , , ,

USAirways 100% Buy Miles Bonus

March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again. USAirways is back with its buy miles promotion. If you buy 50,000 points through USAirways at a cost of around $1,800, you will get 75,000 miles in return. But then, if you go to points.com and register your USAirways frequent flyer account (for free), you will earn even more bonus points!  Thus, for that $1800 purchase, you’ll end up with 100,000 USAirways points.  Why is this a great deal? Because with 100,000 points, you will have enough for a business class reward trip to Europe or a couple of first class domestic trips. You’re also close to having enough points (110,000 is needed) for a business class ticket to Australia and/or New Zealand.  There are a few things you need to know. First, if you don’t [Read more...]

Filed Under: frequent flyer, lufthansa, miles, Singapore, United Airlines, USAirways Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Breeze Through Security At The Airport

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
TSA Pre Check


Remember those days when you could walk through security without taking off your shoes? I just returned from the east coast this week and had the most incredible experience at the airport.  I didn’t have to remove my shoes at security, and my laptop stayed in my bag. I even got to leave my jacket on.  It was a breeze!  So how’d I get to skip those “pain in the rear” security checks at the airport?  I’m a “Trusted Traveler” and thus eligible for the TSA’s Pre Check  program.

The program has launched in several airports around the country, and it allows you to breeze through security saving time. I was automatically enrolled because I’m a Global Entry member. This program allows for expedited entry back into the United States after international trips. To become a [Read more...]

Filed Under: frequent, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Overhead Bins Getting Bigger

March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I just read an interesting story on the BBC’s website about how many big carriers like United, Delta and American Airlines are retrofitting the overhead baggage compartments on some of their older planes to make it easier for you to get your bags in the bins. Why the need? Because a lot of us — me included — just don’t want to pay those fees to check a bag. Plus, the fear of losing our luggage on a flight alone makes it worth not checking bags. You can read the whole article here.

Filed Under: American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines Tagged With: , ,

Frequent Flyer Fanatics

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’m definitely one of them…A frequent flyer fanatic! A lot of people don’t understand my obsession with traveling on miles, but there is a growing group of people who do. I recently stumbled upon this short film (that is being made into a full length feature,) that is shot and directed very well about the fascination of earning and using frequent flyer miles.  Wait till you see the out of the box ways people have traveled the world on points, and why it has become such an obsession for so many — like me :-)

Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.

 

 

Filed Under: airplanes, frequent flyer Tagged With: , ,

Virgin America Rocks

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I am very impressed with Virgin-America.  I recently flew on it after returning from a trip to Florida. The first thing that I liked right off the bat was I was put in First Class. I have no idea how I ended up there. I didn’t use miles to upgrade and my company sure didn’t put me in First, but there I was, in one of the 8 First Class seats. Thank You!  And these seats are really nice. Huge.  Lots of legroom.  Nearly equivalent to what you’d see in an international Business Class cabin. Right off the bat, I knew this was going to be a great flight. The color scheme on the plane had the look and feel of a cool club…It was dimly lit inside, there were black lights.  Made me feel say to myself, “This plane is hip!”  The flight attendants were quite attentive and nice.  Food, excellent.  But I’d have to say my favorite part was the inflight entertainment.  Touch screen displays at every seat and wifi as well.  Right now, Virgin America flies to several routes in America, like Los Angeles, New York.

Filed Under: airplanes, Virgin America Tagged With: , ,

Your Favorite Travel Destination Is???

March 10, 2012 By 4 Comments

I’d love to know what your favorite travel destination is and what makes it so special.  Fell free to chime in!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,
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