Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

Sometimes the most memorable experiences are the ones that aren’t on any itinerary. The experts at Adventure Life, a custom travel company with headquarters in Missoula, understand this and allow for the serendipitous in every carefully crafted vacation they plan.

Chase makes great credit cards. The Sapphire Reserve and Preferred top just about everyone’s best travel credit card list, including mine. The Ultimate Rewards program is super-flexible, the points are uber-valuable and the cards have great earning potential. Unfortunately, Chase’s restrictive 5/24 rule can make it hard to get those great cards.

If you’re thinking about getting a Chase card, I’ve got you covered. Below is everything you need to know about the 5/24 rule. And if you’re looking for good alternatives to Chase cards, check out these suggestions.

Although it’s probably hot enough for polar bears to wear sunscreen this summer, it’s never too early to start thinking about your winter vacation in a tropical climate.

The Caribbean and its beautiful islands, sandy beaches and festive umbrella cocktails are often the go-to destination for those looking to escape the snowy winter. Unfortunately, high demand also means high prices. So how do you avoid the hefty price tag when it comes to traveling to the Caribbean? Having a healthy balance of Ultimate Rewards can help. Let’s take a look at the possible redemptions with Chase’s transfer partners.

Do you have a great website for your business, but are struggling with adding an online store?  What if you could add an e-commerce platform to your site in five minutes, even while you’re vacationing poolside in the south of France?  This summer, join over 1 million sellers in 175 countries by enhancing your website in minutes using Ecwid’s one-of-a-kind technology.

United Airlines recently announced another round of changes to its MileagePlus award program. These include a variety of increases in award prices, a new variable scheme to replace Standard awards and new redeposit fee rules. The award devaluation is not as massive as United’s previous devaluation which became effective at the beginning of 2014.

While the last devaluation may not seem like very long ago for many travelers, by the time the new award chart takes effect on November 1^st, 2017 it will have been almost four years so in some ways we should be thankful that these changes aren’t even worse.

ResDiary gives both consumers and restaurateurs more time to travel. It’s an extremely useful tool, whether you’re on the go looking for the perfect restaurant, or looking to manage your business wherever you are in the world.

Premium credit cards can be a great value, but they also carry a hefty annual fee. You can enjoy free airport lounges, travel credits, insurance, and other perks and privileges, but at some point, you might decide you don’t want to pay the annual fee anymore or you want to try a different card. Many of the benefits like lounge access, the Global Entry credit are offered by several cards. But if you close the card you lose the credit line attached to it and that may bring down your credit score. There are also other considerations like what to do with the points you’ve accrued. So what’s the best plan to keep your credit line and points? You downgrade the card.

Frequent flyer programs have come a long way since American Airlines introduced AAdvantage in 1981. The vast majority of world airlines have frequent flyer programs, and while they differ widely, each of their redemption schemes is based on one of the three underlying principles: region-based, distance-based or revenue-based.

From the Olympic Sculpture Park and Pike Place Market to the Space Needle and Seattle Underground, Seattle and the surrounding area offer a wealth of opportunities for sightseeing and relaxation whether you have a weekend or more to explore.

The recent merger of Alaska and Virgin America has created America’s fifth largest airline. We know that Alaska is going to drop the Virgin America brand, but that was originally supposed to happen in 2019. It’s apparently been moved up. Virgin America’s Elevate program is now scheduled to end on January 1, 2018. Its airline partnerships will begin dissolving even earlier.

Are you a creative type looking to design the perfect website to showcase your work? Like to travel, but don’t think you have the time or resources to build something beautiful? Well, look no further than Portfoliobox, a company specifically designed for creative professionals such as photographers, designers, architects, makeup artists, models and more. With a variety of templates and user-friendly tools, even a busy traveler can find time to build their dream online portfolio with just a few clicks from anywhere in the world.

Asiana Airlines, a Korean carrier, is a diamond in the rough in the points and miles game. It’s a lesser known program that is not often discussed in the travel blogosphere. However, Asiana has an excellent award chart that offers significantly lower award prices for Star Alliance partner flights than most airlines in this alliance. This is especially true relative to United Airlines, the Star Alliance member with whom US travelers have the most familiarity, in large part due to the transferability of Chase Ultimate Rewards to United. In this post, we will discuss how to earn Asiana miles, sweet spots in the award charts, and some tips for booking award tickets.

Etihad Airways is a Abu-Dhabi-based airline that offers worldwide coverage, luxurious premium cabin seats, and a lucrative rewards program. Etihad Guest, the loyalty program for the airline, is a very valuable program, but one that many people in the US are not familiar with. While Etihad is not part of any formal airline alliance, the airline has many partners, including ANA, American Airlines, Air Berlin, Jet Airways and more.

PwC, a leading professional services network, conducted its most comprehensive retail survey to date in 2016, reaching out to nearly 23,000 online shoppers from around the globe to learn more about their interests and habits. Among the findings was the insight that affordability figures heavily into shopping decisions, with 60 percent of those surveyed choosing a favorite retailer because of its prices. Many are increasingly using their mobile devices while shopping as well, with 31 percent accessing coupons or promotional codes on their smartphones.

Delta upgrade certificates are one of the best benefits of elite status offered by any major US airline. There are two varieties – regional upgrade certificates (RUCs) and global upgrade certificates (GUCs). These instruments allow fliers to skip to the front of the pecking order for upgrades when booking paid flights.

For travelers seeking to fly in a premium cabin, upgrade certificates can save an enormous number of miles relative to booking an award ticket. In addition, upgrade availability is often in greater supply than low-level award availability, meaning you have a better chance of being able to work your way into a premium cabin in the first place.

Once you’ve set your strategy using RewardExpert’s service, it’s a good time to start to research your lodging and sightseeing options. But what about last-minute entertainment? Whether you decide to take a spontaneous weekend vacation or find yourself with a spare evening while away on business, SeatGeek can help you find and buy tickets to the hottest sporting events, concerts and plays in any city you visit.

You might be taken aback by the $450-$550 price tag on a premium credit card, but you need to weigh the benefits to see if the fee is worth it. One of the biggest payoffs beyond the sign-up bonus the first year is the annual travel credit one gets with a premium card. When you put that together with lounge access and the other benefits these cards offer you might find the card not only pays for itself but gives you extra funds for travel.

Now that there are a number of new premium cards in the market it’s time to revisit the benefit of airport lounge access. It is one of the most popular ones for frequent travelers.  The lounge is a sanctuary where you can unwind in a comfortable chair, work or play on your computer with free Wi-Fi, grab a complimentary latte or beer, watch some news and sometimes even take a shower.

Some lounges even provide more than basic comfort, with upscale décor, delicious light meals and inventive cocktails.  You might even want to arrive at the airport early just to enjoy the lounge. There are a number of ways you can get access to this valuable perk including having a premium credit card. Let’s run through the options.

More Americans are choosing to travel internationally these days. In fact, according to CheapOair’s recent travel trends report, international air travel has increased by nearly 170 percent since 2013—with a 30 percent increase since last year alone.

The premium travel credit card market has turned into a competitive battlefield where the largest banks are fighting for customers’ loyalty and attention. U.S. Bank and UBS are the two latest banks to offer new potentially lucrative cards to the market: the Altitude Reserve and Visa Infinite credit cards. Let’s take a closer look at them.