Flying Seattle

citi-prestige-card For the July 4th weekend, I’ll be going to Cleveland. I know its not the most glamorous location but it lets me spend some time with friends I haven’t seen in a long time. I went ahead and booked my ticket on American (Alaska didn’t let me book a flight a Cleveland) using gift certificates I had.

The major thing outstanding is where I’ll be staying. I could stay with my friend Constantine, get an AirBnB or get a hotel. Since I’ll probably be out late, staying with my friend and his 2 kids under the age of 5 isn’t an option. I checked the rates on AirBnB and the prices were ridiculous just for a private room. So I decided to just book a hotel room with my Citi Prestige card.

Beginners Guide: Using Shopping Portals

By flyseattle

On June 17, 2016

In Beginners Series

Screenshot 2016-06-14 19.10.07 One the things that hurts me the most is when people buy things online and don’t use Shopping portals. Shopping Portals can be a very easy way to

accumulate airline miles and hotel points by buying things that you would buy anyway. The American Airlines shopping portal is the main method by which I earn miles on that program (18k as of the time of writing. I have never credited a flight to American Airlines).

Alaska Airlines Visa Card Holders can See X-Men: Apocalypse for Free

By flyseattle

On May 13, 2016

In Credit Cards

Although the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature isn’t necessarily the best rewards card it does have its peaks. Advance screenings to movies is one of them. If you live in the Seattle/Bellevue area, you can see X-Men: Apocalypse for free on May 25th, a day before it comes out. Not only do you get to see the movie but you also One (1) concession coupon per person good for one medium popcorn and one medium soda or water.. You can reserve 2 tickets. The last time this was offered was for one of the Divergent movies. Tickets went pretty quickly, so I would jump on this as soon as possible. Here is a link to sign up.

Earn up to 700 miles from American Airlines

By flyseattle

On May 4, 2016

In American Airlines

American Airlines is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the AAdvantage program and running a contest to give away 350,000 miles to 35 winners. Just for registering for the contest you get 350 miles and you can earn another 350 miles for:

Uploading a picture or sharing a story of a trip you’ve taken on Facebook
Tweeting about a trip you’ve taken
Emailing Milesformilestones at aa.com about a trip you’ve taken.

This is an easy way to keeping your miles from expiring. You can sign up for the contest here. Although the website is a little slow at the moment.

Getting to MVP Gold

By flyseattle

On April 30, 2016

In Alaska Airlines

QL-AircraftTails One of the things I wanted to do this year was to reach MVP Gold status on Alaska. The biggest benefits of MVP Gold over my current MVP status are:

– 100% bonus on miles flown instead of 50%
– 2 free checked bags on American and Delta instead of 1
– Access to Express security line (I won’t use this much since I have Global Entry and TSA Precheck)
– Complimentary same-day flight changes and same-day standby
– Lounge access in London, Reykjavik and Shanghai
– Complimentary Main Cabin extra on American at time of booking, instead of 50% off
– Four First Class upgrades per year

The most enticing of the benefits for me is the four first class upgrades. Even though I do get upgraded quite a bit on Alaska flights, it would make booking flights on the days I want easier.

Doing Whatever I Can to Keep My Virgin America Account Active

By flyseattle

On April 14, 2016

In Alaska Airlines, Virgin America

Since Alaska Airlines announced that they were buying Virgin America, I’ve actually been paying attention to my Elevate account. I don’t have many points (less than 2000) and I noticed that my points expire 11/30/16. Not wanting to transfer AMEX MR points (they require a minimum of 200 points and I don’t want to waste MR points on an airline I probably wouldn’t fly), so I had really only choice, the Elevate shopping portal. That was my only choice until this morning.

Virgin America is currently running a Hawaii promotion called Hawaiiscape. The contest gives you a chance to win a trip to Hawaii and stay at a Starwood Hotel but the best part of the promotion for me is that by entering, you automatically earn 250 points. Given past experiences, I wouldn’t expect the points to post right away, my birthday was in February and my “Birthday Bonus” didn’t post until May. This is still a way to extend the expiration on your account fairly easily.

Enter by going to http://makeyourhawaiiscape.com/

Alaska Announces Elite-Qualifying Mile Rollover [Targeted]

By flyseattle

On February 5, 2016

In Alaska Airlines

Today I received an email from Alaska announcing that any excess elite qualifying miles will be able to be rolled over into 2017. Here is the text of the email:

Earn status with rollover miles.

Here’s another reason to choose Alaska for all your 2016 flying – the trips you take this year can help you hold on to your elite status even longer. With this exclusive opportunity, each elite-qualifying mile you earn for Alaska Airlines flights beyond your tier requirement this year will go toward your 2017 qualifying miles.

Save $175 on Hawaii or International Destinations with American Airlines Vacations

By flyseattle

On January 11, 2016

In American Airlines, Travel Deals

American Airlines vacations is currently running a promo that will save $175 on Hawaii or international destinations using promo code JAN175. You can also save $100 on US destinations using the promo code JAN100. In addition to the saving you will also earn 2016 AAdvantage miles. A 4 night stay is required and the deal expires on January 24, 2016. Here is a link to the promo.

I’m looking to go to Asia this year and this seems like a perfect opportunity. Flights to Shanghai from Seattle were already hovering around $500-$600 in April. Using this code, could get the flight and stay at the Rayfont Hongqiao Hotel & Apartments Shanghai for $775 for April 4th – 9th.

3 Miles for Hotel and Rental Car Purchases with Alaska Airlines Visa Card [Possibly targeted]

By flyseattle

On January 11, 2016

In Alaska Airlines, Credit Cards

This morning I received an email from Bank of America with a promotional offer for my Alaska Airlines visa card.

EARN 2 ADDITIONAL MILES FOR EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND ON QUALIFYING HOTEL AND CAR RENTAL PURCHASES through March 31, 2016

The offer further states

Activate this bonus offer and earn 2 additional miles (up to 2,500 bonus miles) for every dollar you spend on qualifying hotels and car rentals when you use your Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card. Your bonus offer begins from the day you activate through March 31, 2016, so don’t delay.*