Audience Rewards – Answers as of January 24

I haven’t given an Audience Rewards update in awhile.  These simple trivia questions will earn you a few extra bonus miles or points – great for extending the expiration date on your miles without spending a penny.  Plus, they’re a little fun.

I’ve done the Delta & US Airways questions a few times before, but I answered the SPG questions today for the first time based on MileageSaver’s answers.  Why?  Because I did the math the other day and realized SPG would help me with some of my longer-term goals and I hate seeing zero sitting in my AwardWallet balance!

Delta Q&A: 

1. The current Velma in Chicago has been in all but which of the following shows on Broadway? South Pacific
2. How many times has the theatre where Mamma Mia! is playing changed names since the show opened there? Three times
3. The current Elphaba in Wicked has been involved in what current Broadway show that began Off Broadway? Rock of Ages
4. Where is Diane Paulus from? New York City
5. How many Tony Awards did Abe Burrows win? 4

US Airways Q&A:

1. Prior to Nice Work If You Can Get It, which of the following shows did NOT play the Imperial Theatre? Shrek, The Musical
2. True or False? The original author behind How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying once worked in an ad agency on Madison Avenue.  True
3. Which Shakespearean role has Jennifer Lim portrayed in Mandarin? Ophelia
4. True or False? Only one of the Billy’s who starred in the show in its final weeks played the final show. False
5. True or False? Liza Minnelli is a character in End of the Rainbow. False
6. What character(s) sings “Summertime” in Porgy and Bess? Clara and Jake

Another Resource: Milewise

Like Pointhub, Milewise will search your potential options for redeeming miles or points on awards on several different airlines.

Milewise also has a really easy to use interface with a few extras, including a flexible date search.

Using the flexible dates option, there seem to be lots of opportunities for low-level award space in the front of the plane.  And although only one rewards redemption is shown per date combination, clicking on your preferred dates will show you all of your choices.

Milewise also ranks your options, with a 100 signifying the best option.

Notice in this case, you have three options that all result in the exact same flights: either by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points, using United miles, or using Continental miles.  Chase takes the lead in this scenario because the monetary value that Milewise assigned to Chase makes this option cost the equivalent of $685 (they consider United and Continental miles more valuable, thus more expensive options).

It’s also convenient how Milewise spells out the taxes & fees required on an award ticket.  In this case, it’s minimal across all airlines.  If you choose to pay cash instead of redeeming an award, you’ll also quickly see how many miles you’ll earn.  Milewise will add in any elite bonuses you qualify for if you link your account numbers (similar to using Award Wallet)

Just like with Pointhub, not all airlines are covered right now.  American Airlines has specifically excluded itself from the results (a shame!) and other airlines just haven’t been built into the system yet.  No hotel searches are currently covered.

Overall, I think this is a great tool for domestic flights and a good starting point for international redemptions.  It’s important to realize these may not be your only options, so if you don’t find the exact flights you want online, give the airline a call.

Using PointHub for Award Searching

Searching for ways to get value from your miles and points can be a tedious task, especially if you have miles in numerous programs.  I currently have miles with American, United, and Delta, so searching once instead of three times can be a time saver.

PointHub is one of the free tools out there to help consolidate your searches.  It has a really easy to use interface with lots of customization and sorting options, making it a great starting point.  Basically, it searches on major airlines’ websites to show you what award seats there are (based only on what is loaded on the airline’s website, which may not include partner awards or other options only available by calling) and how many miles each option costs.

Because it seems to be limited to whatever reward availability is loaded directly onto an airline website, it generally does best with domestic awards.  It’s convenient to see multiple airlines all listed on one search tool, rather than seeking each airline’s options out individually.

Searching for an award flight to Billings, MT in August resulted in finding NO low-level (25,000 points) award space for the dates I wanted, but did show some options on multiple airlines.

PointHub will also recommend when to use miles versus when to pay with cash.  Essentially, it’s assigning a monetary value to each point and then doing a quick comparison to see if the total value of the miles is greater or less than the cost of the ticket in dollars.  Whether you ultimately decide to use miles or points should be based on how you value your miles (do the math!) and what your personal circumstances are, such as if you are short on cash or if you are saving your miles for a larger future trip.

While these are handy features, there is one main reason why I like PointHub.  I find it faster to check on mileage costs using a PointHub search than by going to each airline’s reward charts (some redemptions I know by heart, but many I have to look up).  Delta considers Morocco as part of “Europe” but American considers it part of Africa, making for two very different mileage requirements that are instantly seen on PointHub.  Plus, it includes some airlines where I might not consider checking since I don’t have miles (such as Air Canada’s Aeroplan).  The upside to this?  You might be able to transfer credit card points (such as AmEx Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points) to these airlines even if you don’t normally collect miles through those airlines – giving you lots of options to redeem your points.

The biggest downfall to this website is that it doesn’t include any availability for rewards not shown on an airline’s website.  For example, I could use my American Airlines miles to fly on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, but since AA doesn’t hold Cathay Pacific reward inventory online (you have to call), it won’t show up on a PointHub search.  This is a significant issue because availability at a low-mileage level could exist for your desired itinerary even without showing up in your search results.

Another feature that I’d like to see is more participating airlines.  Currently, there’s no way to search for British Airways awards on PointHub, and that would be a great addition considering that you can transfer credit card points easily into the Avios program for award redemptions.

PointHub is also a great start when searching point for hotels.  In this scenario, their search function is much more complete since all award availability can typically be found online with no “hidden” inventory only accessible by phoning to book an award.  A few caveats: it only shows straight reward bookings (no point + cash options) and Hilton / Hyatt points are missing from their reward search (it will show cash purchase options but no rewards).  However, if you’re looking to decide between Priority Club, SPG, and Marriott, you’re all set.

I hope that PointHub strengthens its searching power to include more airlines and hotels in the future because I think they have a great start.

Add Double Miles to the List of Hilton Bonuses

On Thursday, I wrote about how you could earn 10,500 bonus points from a 2-night weekend stay at Hilton properties.  I’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn in Bowling Green (a Category 1 hotel) for just 7,500 points per night and there’s a decent amount of Category 2 hotels that cost just 12,500 points, so this is a pretty good deal.

Loyalty Traveler shares how to take this promotion even further: by getting double (or more!) miles as well.  Remember that with Hilton, all members earn a base 10 points per dollar spent.  You then choose to earn an additional 5 points per dollar OR you can choose to earn airline miles.

To get double miles, you’ll need to:

1. Register for the promotion with your favorite airline
2. Make sure your earnings preferences are set to airline miles
3. Make sure your frequent flyer number is in your Hilton account
4. Complete your stay by March 31

Several airlines are participating, so be sure to register for the promotion that partners with your preferred airline and make sure your preferences are set to earn miles with the same airline partner as the promotion you are registered with.

American Advantage: Double Miles
Aeroplan: Double Miles
US Airways: Triple Miles
Delta: 2,012 Miles with 2-night stay EDIT: As of January 23, this offer has been rescinded!

None of these stays need to be on the weekend, and even a one-night stay will qualify for the promotion.  However, to double up with bonus points and bonus miles, you’ll have to make sure you hit the requirements for each promotion.

As you are setting up your preferences to earn airline miles, you’ll have the choice to choose fixed or variable miles.  With fixed miles, you’ll earn 500 miles per stay (100 miles at Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites) OR 1 mile per dollar spent (including at Hampton/Homewood).  Be sure to choose the method that nets the most miles and remember you can change your preferences as often as every stay.

Thus, a 2-night weekend stay at a Hilton Garden Inn costing $100/night would net:
2,000 Base HHonors Points
10,500 Bonus HHonors Points
Plus Your Choice of 1000 AA miles, 1000 Aeroplan miles, or 1500 US miles
That’s enough for a free night at a Category 1 or 2 Hotel plus a headstart on your next free flight!

Anyone making plans yet?

Five Credit Cards Worth the Annual Fee

About a week ago, I wrote about when to cancel your credit card and concluded that often it’s best to cancel right before an annual fee comes due.  I also mentioned that sometimes it’s worth paying the annual fee because the benefits outweigh the fee, so I thought I’d share a few credit cards that I feel would be worth holding onto, despite a $50-100 annual charge.  I don’t have all these cards yet, but they are on my “wishlist” for 2012, partly because of fantastic sign-up bonuses and partly because of the ongoing benefits they provide even after the first year.

Chase Priority Club Visa

Joining Bonus: 60,000 Priority Club points with first purchase (80,000 if targeted)
Annual Fee: $49
Ongoing Benefits: No foreign transaction fee, 10% rebate on reward redemptions, annual free night certificate
Overall Thoughts: Saving 2-3% on foreign purchases is a great way to conserve cash, and we’ve had significant savings come from the reward rebate.  A 50,000 point stay will effectively only cost you 45,000 points – and those points quickly add up to an amount that equals another free night.  Best of all is the annual free night certificate, which is good at any hotel regardless of cost.  Can you guess what it would cost to stay at a fancy Intercontinental resort in London during the Olympics?  The answer is FREE if you use your annual night certificate.  Well worth the $49 fee. (The offers for the Chase Marriott Reward Premier & Chase Hyatt Visa similarly pay for themselves)

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Joining Bonus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $3,000 spend
Annual Fee: $95
Ongoing Benefits: No foreign transaction fee, 7% points bonus, Flexible transfer options
Overall Thoughts: A card without foreign transaction fees is hugely valuable for travelers, and a 7% points dividend is icing on the cake since that really means you’re earning 1.07 points per dollar spent.  But my favorite benefit of this card are the transfer options – you can move those points over to airline programs such as United, Southwest, or British Airways or hotels including Hyatt and Marriott.  You shouldn’t underestimate the value in flexibility!  There will be times when your preferred hotel chain isn’t available in the location you want, so having more options can multiply your chances of scoring a free award night instead of resorting to paying cash.  Plus, it allows you to save miles as airlines announce promotions.  For example, if you normally only collect British Airways miles, you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of promos like saving 15,000 miles on an award flight with United to Africa.  Having Ultimate Rewards points means you can take advantage of promotions with multiple programs – thus saving you miles (and money) in the long run.

American Express Starwood Preferred Guest

Joining Bonus: 10,000 SPG points after first purchase + 15,000 additional points after $5,000 spend
Annual Fee: $65
Ongoing Benefits: Flexible transfer options with transfer bonuses
Overall Thoughts: SPG points are hugely valuable.  Not only can they be redeemed at Starwood properties (Westin, Sheraton, and more), but you can transfer them to any of their airline partners, which is valuable for the same reasons described in the Chase Sapphire Preferred Section above.  Even better, Starwood offers transfer bonuses.  You will always get a bonus of 5,000 miles when you transfer 20,000 miles.  Since I value 5,000 miles at $50-100, even one transfer per year will basically pay for the annual fee.

Barclays US Airways Mastercard

Joining Bonus: 40,000 US miles after first use
Annual Fee: $89
Ongoing Benefits: 10,000 bonus US miles annually; 5,000 mile discount on reward redemptions on US Airways metal; two $99 companion passes each year
Overall Thoughts: This card often gets overlooked because the sign-up bonus isn’t as high as other cards.  However, if you fly US Airways frequently, it’s worth a look.  I don’t think US Airways miles are as valuable as other airlines’, but even a conservative valuation makes the annual bonus of 10,000 miles worth at least $100 – totally covering the cost of the annual fee.   The discount on reward bookings could also save about $50 in value with every booking, though admittedly excluding partner airlines with this discount is a shame.  Lastly, the companion passes come with a slew of blackout dates, but if you use them strategically, each of these offer $150+ in value.

Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Visa

Joining Bonus: 25,000 UA miles after first use (targeted 50,000 miles offer)
Annual Fee: $95
Ongoing Benefits: Free checked bag on every flight for you and a companion, two free lounge passes annually
Overall Thoughts: I don’t regularly check a bag, but if you do, that could save you and your a companion $100 on just one trip, thus entirely covering the annual fee.  You’re money ahead after two or more flights.  The lounge passes normally cost $39 each if purchased online, so that’s another $78 in savings every year.  Definitely worth considering.

There are plenty of other credit cards out there that are worth looking into, so don’t take this as an all-inclusive guide.  Choose the cards that offer the best value for you, and figure out how to maximize their benefits for the most savings on travel.