re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion

Don't think so. That's a premium card perk IIRC.

Trader Joe's counts as a grocery store. Confirmed by my Chase activity log

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In any event, United put us on their flight which was actually an hour earlier and we got economy plus since economy was all booked.

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So you were originally booked in coach?

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With Siem Reap being a somewhat weird destination for flying, it looks like my best routing is West Coast to Seoul,

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You're in bed with United regardless, correct? I've been watching the flights over the past 2 months checking availability for days in that time period from MSY to several of the major Asian hubs. I know we would preferably book way in advance, but I have been able to find lots of biz/first availability on many of the Asian airlines. Some of the more desired routes usually don't last more than a day, but for somebody like you who would probably stay on top of it, it's been nice to see all the options are usually there.

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The two year clock in order to get the bonus again starts ticking from the date you receive the bonus

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This is my understanding as well. So, it's usually 25-28 months from application date(I track my app dates).

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So, it would appear that you wouldn't have to cancel the CSP until shortly before you apply for a new one as long as it has been over two years since you received the bonus

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That's correct. I couldn't justify the $125 fee though, so I cancelled mine when fee came due. I would've had to spend >$30k on dining.

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So you were originally booked in coach?

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The horror! I know.

It was a "let's squeeze this in because we can" sort of trip. I did the math and knew I could still pull off 320k United points by this month, and I didn't have any other miles to work with at the time.

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You're in bed with United regardless, correct? I've been watching the flights over the past 2 months checking availability for days in that time period from MSY to several of the major Asian hubs. I know we would preferably book way in advance, but I have been able to find lots of biz/first availability on many of the Asian airlines. Some of the more desired routes usually don't last more than a day, but for somebody like you who would probably stay on top of it, it's been nice to see all the options are usually there.

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Ya, almost every day is good all the way through to all my destinations for basically every single day. Really the only time there may not be business class is domestic MSY to LAX. I'm going to check SFO and SEA as well though.

BTW you see any problems with this routing on United? I can't get it process on their website so I'm going to have to call in, but any troubleshooting in advance would be sweet.

Day 1 Late flight MSY to LAX (stay with friends overnight) United
Day 2 Early morning Fly to ICN (shouldn't be a stopover since under 24 hours)
ICN -> REP right after all on Asiana
----Break Open Jaw where I fly Bangkok Air to BKK----
BKK -> HKT STOPOVER 5 days or whatever on Thai Airways
HKT -> ICN -> LAX on Asiana
LAX to MSY via IAH probably because we'll miss the morning nonstop on United

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The horror! I know.

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Just figured a points big timer like you would be all first class.

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BTW you see any problems with this routing on United?

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That should be fine. I've had issues with United bookings online. As good as their website is for showing partner availability, it does have some hangups booking multiple destination awards. I spent considerable time on the phone with reps and had to do several HUCAs but they have all been real friendly and I have gotten every single fee waived as well as the $75 close in change fee, so don't hesitate to say that the website won't let you book it.

Long haul to LAX-ICN on United Global first and Asiana on the way back?

I'm too tall for regular economy. I always upgrade to economy plus in that situation.

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Long Hauls are both Asiana Business

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Nice.

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I guess maybe I should have saved 120k points instead of going to Spain....or not transferred to Southwest for some bullshite weddings I didn't want to go to etc.

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I hear ya...Why I finally went for the SW companion. Kept burning points here and there to do random crap.

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I actually don't mind Economy too much if its 8 hours or less. But I'm sure once I hit 30 this year I'll be done with that.

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Really just comes down to vacation time for my wife. We're only able to make 1 week long trip per year and might as well burn the points if that's the case and act like we belong there, but if I have the time and it means I can take 2 long hauls instead of 1, coach it is.

But, it sure is hard going to the back of the bus when you pass up the nice seats.

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It's why I liked the A380. They put the nice seats up the stairs away from my jealousy

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That is preferable, but I do like when the poor folks have to walk pass me in my comfy seat . I've seen a couple A380s that will put some premium seating at the bottom front(e.g. Singapore), but most are upstairs it seems.

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I will have over 120k American miles this summer with mergers and this targeted offer I got,

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You get the $1k/month bonus offer? I didn't get that. If by the beginning of April the card is still available, I'm cancelling both my wife and I's card and reapplying for another 50k.

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I guess the neat thing is when I come out from this child I'll have 2 billion miles stocked up because I will keep playing the game. Little future dude/ette won't take that from me

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Oh yeah they will. Mine is about to the age that he is going to start traveling with us. You start pricing awards for 3 & 4 people and coach starts sounding very attractive. That's why I'm stock piling AA/US miles. 40k RT to Europe is very appealing for family travel. I can fly the family and the grandparents for 200k miles. Always nice to have a baby sitter.

I would like to see Citi another 100k Exec card this spring/winter.