Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

British Airways Promotes Gloom

Professor

thepointsoflife

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October 16, 2015

Maybe it’s the effects of bad food or the terrible weather of England but the feeling of gloom is when dealing with British Airways. And they seem to want to spread this despair during the booking process. If you’re one of the lucky ones to have booked a flight during the British sale I hope you are satisfied with the booking. Otherwise, you will be stuck like I currently am trying to find a way to cancel in order to rebook.

Why not cancel online you may ask? Here’s what it says when I try:

The chronicles of dealing with British customer service have been documented. It starts with that depressing music that fills the room with melancholy. That is broken up by the sweet voice of the agent who tricks you into believing that someone will soon be on the line. If someone ever does answer, the bait and switch is completed by the agent who can’t be bothered to help you with your reservation. As a matter of fact, I feel guilty asking for their help because it sounds like I am interrupting something important that they are doing.

Why is British so mean to its customers? Surely it must be something we are doing wrong.

Perhaps they hate my unsophisticated American accent, the way I say Landon instead of Lundun. Perhaps they think I’m ‘taking the piss’ or getting ‘cheeky’ when I ask if they’re sure there are no flights available. Or perhaps they’re jealous that our national food isn’t fish and chips.

All this could be avoided if you let me cancel online but that would be too positive a solution from such an unhappy company.

Keep Vs. Cancel: $800 British Business RT

thepointsoflife

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October 16, 2015

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Keep Vs. Cancel: $800 British Business RT

Yesterday I dropped the ball on the British Sale by tending to my real job and not my points profession. By the time I got around to looking for flights, all the deals were gone. I managed to book what would on any other day be a tremendous deal but for others reporting that they had received similar flights for much cheaper.

Here is the itinerary:

Capture — Business is on the right but you could pay more for premium economy if you would like.

Each leg I paid an extra $30 for British over AA, a worthwhile choice

The cost includes the AARP discount and the discount for using 30k Avios. Luck would have it that I transferred enough Avios at the old MR rate to have the 60k required.

This fare is still available as 11AM Pacific Time.

Here are the pros for keeping it:

$800 for RT in British Avios is a good deal.
It is on an a380.
I have to go to Europe next year to use my newly minted Hyatt Diamond for the Park Hyatt Milan. From there it’s off to Naples, and Portugal during peak summer travel.
This is an open jaw ticket.
Using points to fly to Europe is a waste if it’s from the east coast and not worth it if I were to book with British.

Here are the cons:

Others got similar routes for $450: This kills me because I booked two tickets meaning I’m paying $1600 while they are paying $900. That’s a substantial difference. By cancelling at least I don’t have to be on the plane wondering if I paid more than my fellow passenger.

Keeping apprised of air deals and booking quick is not a novel concept. Sometimes we arrive first and have our pick of the litter and sometimes we show up too late and are forced to take what’s left over. I’m wondering whether it is worth it.

Let me know. I have till midnight to cancel.

UPDATE: I switched my ticket and am much happier now that I’m going to St. Tropez.

You’ve Been [Amex] Served

thepointsoflife

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October 15, 2015

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Like a scene from Karate Kid II, I placed a paper lantern in the water and watched my REDBird float away, never to be used again. Our times were short but great. Now it’s time to fall in love with my next kindred spirit, the Amex Serve.

For those who have messaged me, where can I find a job in manufacturing, the only answer is returning to your scorned lover, Bluebird of trying your luck with Amex Serve, both of which can be reloaded at Walmart among other places. I haven’t done the research on which cards work which don’t but I’m sure we will all learn soon enough before this money train gets derailed as well.

I’m sure everyone is sick of the drama of this week which is why I’m going to do my best to take a break from the MS topic and return to my $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World Trip Report.

In the words of Murtaugh, “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Fatality! Citi Honors The HHonors Promo

thepointsoflife

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October 14, 2015

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Yesterday using the Mortal Kombat metaphor, I wrote about my rumble with Citi regarding their Citi Prestige 4th night free perk and their misapplication of the $250 statement credit for flight purchases. I haven’t had enough espresso to call customer service so those issues remain unresolved.

However, the power of persistence paid off in yet another matter- Citi honoring the promotion of receiving 75k HHonor points after 2k spend instead of the 50k after 1k spend.

My statement closed and wouldn’t you know it, despite customer service saying they regrettably could not do anything for me, they did.

The only takeaway from this is to fight, fight, fight and then finish him! Get your points people. They’re yours.

Best,

TPOL

Deep Throat Confirms the Death of REDBird

thepointsoflife

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October 13, 2015

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“According to my sources,” a phrase that I’ve always wanted to say, REDBird is dead. Within the BoardingArea family, Miles to Memories broke the story, Frequent Miler confirmed the story. Then an actual Target employee emailed me to say that he had seen the memo first-hand putting an end to this speculation once and for all.

Never before have I seen people so up in arms about an announcement though I understand why. DEADbird was our lifeline to a world we otherwise could not afford.

Did Target do away with the Bird because of manufacturers, money launderers, or because it was simply unprofitable? Who knows, not even Deep Throat. All I know is that it is dead and I won’t be returning to Target ever again. They can keep their 5% off, Amazon is still cheaper.

Thanks for the memories but it’s time to move on.

Stay with TPOL for the latest breaking news. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. (Another line I’ve always wanted to say.)

No use getting angry, it was fun while it lasted.

Mortal Kombat II: Citi Won’t Credit EgyptAir

thepointsoflife

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October 13, 2015

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Mortal Kombat II: Citi Won’t Credit EgyptAir

Test your might! In this case, test your patience. Seconds after being shot down for my 4th night free credit, a benefit of the Citi Prestige card, the unhelpful Citi agent is telling me that my EgyptAir ticket for my post marathon (an endeavor that is on life support)trip does not qualify for the $250 air statement credit because it is coded as ‘EGYPTAIR’ not ‘airfare’.

I had a similar problem when I booked Allegiant to Phoenix as part of my Greatest Hyatt Diamond Challenge. There Allegiant showed up as ‘Travel Agency’. Citi’s terms say that it is not their responsibility if the transaction is not coded appropriately. Where does this leave the customer? Am I supposed to test each airline ahead of time to make sure that it shows up correctly?

Many complain about the hoops needed to get the $200 travel statement credit from Amex Platinum but at least there are many data points for that. Who knew a purchase on Amazon via United’s shopping app counts as a travel fee? The Doctor of Credit did.

Here, nobody knows, not even the manager who said in contrast to the first agent that I should see a credit on one of the next statements. Sure, just like my 4th night eh?

Today has been quite the day. The professor is angry.

Citi Prestige 4th Night Not Credited: Mortal Kombat!

thepointsoflife

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October 13, 2015

12

“I’m sorry I’m not seeing an eligible reservation. Please contact our rewards department.”

You may think because I went to law school that I am an argumentative person. You would be right. But why does everything have to be a fight? Why do we have to scrape, bite, and claw for rewards that were promised to us? As I wrote, I tried to be nice to Chase to get my Ink downgraded to a no annual fee card. That went nowhere.

It’s been a couple billing cycles since my 4 Night stay using the Citi Prestige 4th night free benefit and I haven’t received my credit. Now, Citi is telling me that I will get nothing. This injustice shall not stand. Next up will be the call that will start cordially, transition into argument, followed by speaking to a manager, ending in…

I write these posts not only to complain but also to say it is worth fighting for every penny, every point because we go through a lot e.g., DEADbird to travel for ‘free’. Those outside the points game can’t appreciate our Excel obsession, our memorization of frequent flier numbers (click here for the Award Balance Drinking Game), and to advocate for the prevention of our points going to waste.

It takes a lot of work to make it in this business and I’ll be damned if someone tries to take what is mine citing the tired variation of the line that always starts with ‘my computer is telling me’.

Sorry but I don’t take orders from a computer.

Churners Unite!

Fight!

DEADBird Liquidation Luck!

thepointsoflife

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October 13, 2015

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The REDBird reloads, they’re all gone! What the bleep! Has the RED turned to DEAD? Only time will tell but my Twitter feed has been blowing up with nothing but eulogies for our fluttering friend.

Caught in the crossfire were MS’ers that had gone gift card happy believing that if their jobs were downsized they would at least get a notice. After all, we did receive a warning when Target banned credit card reloads. This time there was nothing to prepare us for the worst game of hot potato I’ve ever played. With the bad news, I found myself stuck with $3500 worth of gifts and no friends or family worthy of receiving them.

A sleepless night ensued. Not only did I foolishly put myself in the situation of not being able to unload but also, even if I could somehow dispense of these cards, what about the rest of min spends I had to meet? Irrational exuberance is to blame for how I got myself into this pickle and only Flint, Iraqi hustling would be able to get me out.

Scanning the forums, the blogs, and the Deep Web, I found no solution. This morning I went grocery shopping for money orders and was rebuffed by Mr. Albert and Mr. Safe. Humming along to The Marvelettes, as only a Michigan man could, I figured I’d give it a go.

And guess what? It worked!

Now I’ll patiently wait to see if the end of theBIRD is really here. If so it’s time to abruptly swerve until that gets shot out of the sky too.

Keep Churning my friends,

TPOL

RedBird Glitch or Doom? A Lesson in MS

thepointsoflife

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October 12, 2015

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Miles to Memories reported some disturbing news that has me on edge; RedBird isn’t loading at Target. In my frantic reading of all things RedBird, I have no news to share, bad or good. There is some hope that this is a glitch because ‘normal’ debit cards aren’t working either.

Faced with Insomnia from Minimum Spends, I have been hyper aware of the day that this would come. The anxiety stems from two issues: 1) Can I continue to purchase gift cards on credit? 2) Will Target’s computers accept them? As such, I do a test run to Target with one gift card then return with the maximum allowed as soon as it works. However, I live 100 miles from civilization so I can’t get to Target easily. This month, I didn’t go to Target on the first and second of the month to max out the deposits. I chose to wait. That is looking like a mistake.

To make matters worse, I foolishly MS’d on cards with lower min spend requirements to get them out-of-the-way instead of taking out the big boys first. That is a bigger mistake. Who cares about a lousy $100 statement credit when 75,000 MR points are on the line? In my defense, I like to methodically finish one card and then move onto the next instead of having balances all over.

Going forward, if RedBird does come back online, I will always reload the entire amount on the 1st and 2nd of the month and will prioritize which cards get dealt with based on their value.

Will I get that chance is the pressing question? I remain anxious.

2015 SPG Favorite Hotels And Where I’ve Been

Points

thepointsoflife

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October 12, 2015

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2015 SPG Favorite Hotels And Where I’ve Been

SPG released its 2015 SPG Member Favorite Hotels and Resorts List. It’s a fun way to check for new hotels that I did not consider visiting and a way of counting how many I’ve visited. Everyone enjoys saying, “I’ve been there!”

Here is an interesting one on the list:

Aloft Ahmedabad SG Road, India: No idea where this is.

Here are ones I am now inspired to visit:

The Sheraton Hong Kong
St. Regis Florence, Italy
Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Mons, Slovenia
Hotel Maria Cristina, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Sebastian, Spain

Here are ones I plan on visiting in the near future:

Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, Dominican Republic (great value)

Here is where I’ve been:

Or I could’ve just listed them all because there are many other great ones I didn’t mention.