Destinations

French Polynesia for Free

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July 21, 2020

It is not all that easy to get to Papeete, Tahiti. Very few airlines fly to the capital of French Polynesia, so using miles to make this trip can be quite tricky. But not impossible. When I first decided that I wanted to visit the Society Islands, I did some research on which airlines could get me there.

My options from the United States turned out to be Air Tahiti Nui, Air France, and Hawaiian Airlines. Air Tahiti Nui and Air France offer nonstop flights from Los Angeles, or a Honolulu departure on Hawaiian Airlines.

Next, I determined what frequent flyer currency could pay for award tickets on these airlines. While Air Tahiti Nui isn’t a member of any alliance, it does have partnership agreements with both American Airlines and Delta. That means you can use AAdvantage miles or Skymiles to book award seats. Hawaiian Airlines also isn’t a member of any alliance, but it does have a partnership agreement with American, which means you can book award seats using AAdvantage currency. Finally, Air France is part of SkyTeam so you can use miles from any other SkyTeam member to book award travel on Air France. That includes Delta, for example.

For my trip, I was limited to departures from Los Angeles. The Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu may be right for some travelers but since it doesn’t depart daily, that route didn’t offer me the flexibility I needed. It would, however, be ideal if you were planning a two- to four-week trip with time spent in both Hawaii and French Polynesia. With my choices reduced to Air Tahiti Nui and Air France, I looked at the number of miles and the fees I’d pay if I used American Airlines or Delta miles.

Watch out for surcharges

Delta levies a fuel surcharge on tickets to the South Pacific—often more than $500 per ticket—so I quickly cross the use of Skymiles off my list. I didn’t want to spend 150,000 Skymiles per ticket for business class and then pay out several hundred dollars in cash as well.

Instead, I could use American AAdvantage miles for Air Tahiti Nui flights. A roundtrip award in economy costs 75,000 miles. A roundtrip business-class award costs 125,000 miles. (Air Tahiti Nui doesn’t offer first class awards to its partners.) Taxes run about $50 per ticket and you’ll need to pay the $25 phone reservation fee (since Air Tahiti Nui awards aren’t bookable at American Airlines online award site).

These days, Air Tahiti Nui generally releases award seats 330 days in advance of departure. It’s rare to find more than two business award seats available on the same flight, but I’ve often seen four and six economy seats available. Once you know which flights have availability, call American Airlines to book. The process is a snap, as long as the award seats are open.

Intercontinental Tahiti©Leonard Hospidor

We booked a cruise around the Society Islands so we didn’t use points for that part of the trip. We did, however, stay a few nights pre-cruise at the InterContinental Tahiti. King garden view rooms cost 40,000 points per night. There are also two cash and points options: 35,000 points plus $40 or 30,000 plus $70 per night. If you’re an InterContinental Gold Ambassador or Royal Ambassador, expect a guaranteed complimentary upgrade to a room in a higher category. (We were upgraded from a garden view to an overwater bungalow.)

When I went to Tahiti a few years ago, I thought it would be a once in a lifetime trip. With American Airlines AAdvantage miles, it turns out that it doesn’t have to be. My husband and I will be back in French Polynesia next summer; I just booked our award flights.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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Best Co-Branded Airline Credit Cards

RewardExpert

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June 29, 2020

Whether you’re getting your first travel rewards credit card or adding a new card to your wallet, there are many things you need to consider before applying.

Which airline or rewards program is best for you? How big is the sign-up bonus? Is there an annual fee? What perks come with the card?

While these are important considerations, Let’s look at one specific aspect of rewards cards: their earning potential. By that we simply mean the number of points or miles you earn per dollar spent on the card. Most cards give you one point or mile per dollar for most purchases, but many will also offer extra points for purchases that fall into certain categories.

To take full advantage of those bonus categories, you’ll want to figure out which card best fits your personal spending habits. If you spend a lot on airfare, for example, you’ll want a card that offers a lot of points or miles per dollar spent on plane tickets. And if you usually fly on one carrier, you may want to go with that airline’s co-branded credit card.

On the other hand, if you’re saving for a special vacation and you’re not a frequent flyer, you should consider a card that earns a lot on everyday purchases, like groceries or gas. Bonus points or miles for recurring bills, like phone bills or cable, can add up fast, too.

earn_miles — Savings on Co-branded airline cards can help get you to your dream destination

There are many options out there. This post focuses on co-branded airline cards that have the best earning potential. We tackle cards that are part of credit card rewards programs, particularly those that allow you to transfer points to various airlines, in another post.

Co-Branded Airline Cards

If you’re considering a co-branded credit card, you’ll probably want a card that’s associated with the carrier you most frequently fly on. But if you fly on several carriers with equal regularity, or if you could change your flying habits, you’ll want to take a closer look at what various cards have to offer. Whatever your circumstance, here’s a rundown of the earning potential of many of the co-branded airline credit cards that are available to U.S. residents.

All three of the major U.S. legacy airlines—Delta, United and American—offer different levels of cards, as well as at least one business card. Generally speaking, the more you spend on annual fees, the more perks you get, such as companion tickets and lounge access. All of the cards offered by these carriers give you double miles per dollar spent on their respective airlines and one dollar for non-bonus categories.

Delta’s cards, including the Gold and Platinum SkyMiles personal and business cards, as well as the top-of-the-line Reserve personal and business cards, offer no other bonus categories. Delta purchases get two miles per dollar, and all other purchases get the standard one mile per dollar.

That’s typical for many co-branded cards, including the Lufthansa Miles & More World Elite MasterCard, Starwood Preferred Guest Amex, LAN LANPASS Visa Signature, Avianca LifeMiles Visa Signature and Air Canada’s TD Aeroplan Visa Signature, among others.

All of American’s personal cards, including the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard, Citi AAdvantage Gold MasterCard and Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard, also offer the basic earning scheme of double miles on American purchases and one mile for everything else.

If you qualify for a business card, though, you can earn more with the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard. Not only will you earn double miles with American, but you’ll also get two miles for telecommunications, car rentals and gas. Recurring bills, like your cell phone, can add up fast and really boost your miles balance.

Like American and Delta, United’s base card, the personal MileagePlus Explorer card, gives you the standard double miles on United and one mile on other purchases. But United also has a business card with an earning scheme similar to American’s. The MileagePlus Explorer Business card gives you double miles for United purchases, as well as on gas, office supplies and dining out.

United’s premium cards, the MileagePlus Club personal and business cards, are good earners too. They are unique among co-branded airline cards because they offer 1.5 miles on all non-United purchases. They also come with many great perks, like free lounge access, and a steep $450 annual fee.

	Bonus Earning Categories	Sign-Up Bonus	Annual Fee
United MileagePlus Club personal and business cards	2x United; 1.5x all other purchases	None	$450

There are a few co-branded cards out there that offer very little. The ANA Card U.S.A. Visa and the JAL U.S.A. MasterCard, for example, offer only one mile per dollar spent on all purchases, including airfare.

There are also a few cards that give you more. The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature and Visa Business cards, as well as British Airways Visa Signature, give you a generous three miles per dollar spent on their respective airlines. That’s the most you can earn on airfare with a co-branded airline card.

	Bonus Earning Categories	Sign-Up Bonus	Annual Fee
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature	3x Alaska Airlines	30,000 miles	$75
British Airways Visa Signature	3x British Airways	50,000 Avios	$95

The Cards That Earn the Most

If you can justify the hefty annual fee, it’s hard to beat the solid 1.5 miles per dollar you earn on every purchase with United’s premium cards. With Alaska and British Airlines you get 3X miles for airfare only, which means you’d have to spend a lot on plane tickets to earn a decent number of miles.

	Bonus Earning Categories	Sign-Up Bonus	Annual Fee
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®	2x American, telecommunications, car rentals and gas	60,000 miles	$99, waived for first 12 months
Chase United MileagePlus® Explorer Business Card	2x United, restaurants, gas and office supplies	50,000 miles	$0 first year $95, after that

If you’re a small business owner or an independent contractor, both United’s MileagePlus Explorer Business and American’s CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select are excellent and come with much smaller annual fees. Those cards give you double miles in several categories, some of which include recurring costs, such as gas and phone bills, that can add up fast.

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