re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion

Anyone know how many Avios British Airways charges for their new direct flight from MSY to Heathrow round trip? I tried signing up with an account and kept getting error messages for things that were not errors so I gave up

ETA: I notice there are two program options on BA- Executive Club and Avios Travel Rewards Program. Which one did yall sign up with?

How to tell when is peak/offpeak? Looking at November 2017. Supposedly that is off peak for London hotels, but I'm not sure what the flight would be classified as.

Don't forget the insane taxes you'd pay on BA flights to/through London. Makes it not worth it to fly BA from the US, ever. Though some argue, Business may make sense.

Anyone know if it's true the Chase IHG doesn't count towards 5/24? I read that on a Reddit thread where they were talking about 650 IHG properties changing points cost. If that's the case I'm now at 4/24 so I'll be looking to get the CSR in the new year!

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Just checked my chase account. IHG Is already there so definitely still not under 5/24.

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I will be applying for CSR then. I guess I should probably wait until Feb so I give myself time to get the $300 annual credit twice before the AF comes up again. I doubt I'll get rid of the card but in case I do, might as well get $600 travel credits for a $450 AF

IHG account (or most any other with fee exceptions) will count towards 5/24. It's just that some chase cards, like IHG, can be had even if you are above 5/24.

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For those with a sapphire card, do you find that your points are worth more if you transfer them to an airline, rather than using the Chase portal?

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Yes.

I've booked 2RT Economy to Spain with a stopover in DC to visit in-laws for Christmas, booked 2 RT business class to Bangkok and spent a day in Shanghai on the way back, and just booked 2 RT business class to Peru.

So ya.

That must be 300,000 points or more that you've spent

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For those with a sapphire card, do you find that your points are worth more if you transfer them to an airline, rather than using the Chase portal?

If so, the preferred might be better for me since I don't spend that much on dinning / travel and don't care about lounge access.

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While I've only dipped my toe in, I find you have severely diminished returns if you don't fly out of a major international hub. Flying out of Baton Rouge, I've found that transferring usually isn't worth the hassle compared to the discount in the Portal.

Now transferring to Hyatt, on the other hand...

Also, RIP Amtrak transfers

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Why would you get $600? Not understanding the timing of when the annual fee must hit....

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You get $300 annual credit (Jan-Dec) on the CSR. Get the card in Feb as an example. So you get $300 in 2017. You also get $300 in 2018 to spend before Feb if you cancel the card. If you keep the card this doesn't matter.