BUMPS, PAYPAL and a PEP TALK

It seems that other airlines are matching the $50 paypal rebate for tickets bought by March 27th. If you have future travel plans on Southwest, it is like a free $50 as there are no change fees on Southwest.

In Atlanta I was offered a bump on US Airways for not going to Philadelphia. The offer was for a free domestic ticket, give up my first class seat, and arrive at 2AM instead of 9PM. I asked the agent about a $$$ travel voucher instead of a free ticket and was turned down and I couldn't even get the first class seat on my new flights. Not a good deal for me so I passed. And not the friendliest agent either.

On board the PHL-PDX flight and half way to Oregon. A nice meal and movie "Somethings Gotta Give" with Nicholson and Diane Keaton. The seat is comfortable but crowded in comparison to other domestic first class cabins. The staff is attentive and smiling.

I woke up really disappointed this morning after my sticker shock yesterday. The hobby of frugal travel is really fun for me, and I almost feel like I made a mistake switching my crediting to British Midland. One of the old timers I talked to yesterday indicated that he saw the difference in even a USA domestic flight. If he used a American carrier reward, his fees were $20 for a sample itinerary and $73 for the BMI equivalent on the same flight. Our $$$ is not what it used to be.

As I analyse this decision, I liked the change for the Lounge Access which we have really appreciated. I like the high earnings on premium cabin flights. No other airline offers 625% awards for first class travel, but my goal is to travel cheaply and yesterdays quote was not cheaply. In hindsight I need to consider only the economy cabin with the gold upgrade to premium economy and consider paying full miles for the flight, not cash and miles. 50K in miles and the outrageous taxes for premium economy sits better with me. At least I feel I'm getting something for my $$$$ contribution.

The gang of travel nuts that you are now joining are a very diverse group. It ranges from millionaires to college kids working with their last nickel. It is the thrill of the chase that excites us, and seeing things we never thought possible at really great prices. I remember the day 6 or 7 years ago when I went to the back door and hollered out to Katy: "Hey, do you want to go to Iceland?" It was my first mistake fare since retirement and the anticipation and excitement of seeing something new and exciting was exhilarating. It is a rush of sorts when a deal is "in play" and people are trying to learn the rules, check their schedules, figure out how to maximize the mistake, with stopovers or open jaws, double checking refundability and getting it all done before the "plug is pulled and the deal is over" It could last for hours or minutes or a couple days, but a mistake fare or great fare war really gets the juices flowing, and I hate to miss one.


The BMI deal was not a mistake fare but a conscious decision where to credit my miles earned. Yesterday feels like I missed a mistake fare, although deep down I know I didn't. I have 9 months plus to get 50K on United and maintain Premier Elite status. That earns double miles on coach fares and the ability to book exit rows at the time of booking. Plus I still get the 500 mile upgrades for each 10K flown. Thanks again, I feel better already. These miles will find there place in our future travels. Maybe trades, maybe one ways. I just don't have a plan for them yet. That is tough on a first born control freak.


Mistakes can happen anywhere, anytime. Katy reminded me of the New Zealand mistake fare and how we got it. I try to check the mileage run forum on flyertalk three times a day. We were settling in to watch a movie in bed, and I said wait just a minute,here is one I need to check out. We never saw the movie that night, as it takes some time for the due diligence I mentioned above. Katy is very understanding as she "always" wins. Sometimes she'll come home from work and I get to say "Guess where you're going?" It is great to have that latitude. The last one was the three day trip to the Sequoia's this fall. They happen. I book them and off we go.

Taking friends along is also a blast but sometimes very difficult to accomplish. You are under the gun because of the clock ticking on the mistake ending, and most people won't just make a snap decision to get up and fly halfway around the world. People love being able to tell their friends they went to San Francisco for the day and it cost $35 from the east coast, or they stayed in the Presidential Suites at the LaQuinta Resort and Spa for $25 per night. It takes a special breed. I hope you become one of them in your travel lifetime or at least are willing to consider becoming a frugal vagabond traveller. And I hope you get to share your knowledge so others can enjoy it too. It feels good to have a unique knowledge others can enjoy.



GREECE is NEXT for US


I have suggested three or four times that people read, study and ask questions about my January 19th blog "Which Credit Card for Travel Rewards". It is the key, to this fantastic upcoming adventure the frugal way. Not one person has asked me anything about the underlying secret. I hope you'll dig in a see all the potential here. It is not right on the surface, and I'm not going to put it out here on the net, only privately for those that show the initiative. I best described it to my buddy Bob as: "I may never have to pay for an airline ticket again." That statement would be true if I travelled only three or four times a year to far away places.

Anyway, our tickets to Greece were free and mileage earning. The upgrades were a trade that was free from my end as part of the "which credit card thread". I traded some excess American Airlines miles for 4 nights at the Athens Hilton and the cost of our 7 day cruise for two is: $337.50 Total. I can't believe it either but we are going on Easycruise through the Greek Islands to Turkey and back. We have an inside cabin that is big enough for two twin beds, one suitcase and a combination shower, toilet and sink combo. But we really don't care. We could have spent tons more for maid service, outside cabin, and fresh towels everyday, but this is perfect frugal travel. The ship sails each week from Piraeus and stops at 3 or 4 Greek Islands and Turkey and returns.

The great thing, besides the price is that you spend your time on the islands and land on this cruise. Unlike a typical cruise where you arrive at the island at 8AM and depart at 4PM, with Easycruise you arrive around 11AM and leave at 5 in the morning. You have all afternoon and all night to see the island. With only 500 passengers, we won't be fighting the big crowds, can enjoy the local atmosphere and really get to see the islands in a more leisurely fashion. We have to buy our own food, but we do that every day of our life anyway (no added cost there) We are not night owls but leaving a port at 4 PM is such a waste of time. Thank goodness the islands are close enough together the cruising time is so short. We can't wait.

Thanks for the therapy session. I feel better. I got to share and move on to the next deal. It may be waiting for me when I turn the computer on in Portland. If it is, you'll be the first to know.

THE FRUGAL GUY IN PRICE SHOCK

I flipped out today when pricing and award ticket to Europe. I tried to book TVC-ORD-YYZ-ZHR (Zurich) on United and Air Canada on the outbound and Frankfurt-ORD-TVC on the return with Lufthansa and United. It was two business class tickets at 37.5K BMI miles per ticket plus 210 Great British Pounds per ticket. I figured the pound at 2:1 on the US $$ (it was 2.02 conversion) or about $820 bucks. But the taxes added another $1000 to the ticket price. They wanted 463.24 GBP per ticket or over $900 US dollars each. Plus i would be spending 75K BMI miles. Needless to say we are now moving on to Plan B as that is crazy to me. I could have looked for coach tickets and got the bump to premium economy because of my Gold status, but I wanted to travel specifically during the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City and get out of town. Back to the drawing board with new dates and a new plan. Come on BIG MISTAKE FARE.



In Related News

As I mentioned above, the pound is worth more than twice the US dollar so the UK is tough to visit this year and the euro is at 1.52 to 1.00 which is considerably higher than last years 1.25

I guess my summer trip will be based on the exchange rate with ??????, a country to be named later. The world is a big place and I'm sure I can find someplace I haven't been to, and won't go broke getting there or visiting for 10 days or so.


For those of you that use debit cards (why they don't pay miles or if they do it is at 1:2), the USA Today ran a terrific story on how hotels will place a large hold on your debit card and most people don't even realize it. It can lead to some embarrassing situations when you overdraw your corresponding checking account because of the hold placed by the hotel. At $30 to $40 a pop for an overdraft, it adds up quickly. If you are a debit card user, it is worth your while to get the article.

I'M DUE FOR A BUMP or TWO

It is a busy holiday weekend with St Paddy's Day, spring break and Easter next week. It is time for Rick to get bumped somewhere. I have perfect itineraries as I'm only going one way each day, and can always catch the later flight or first one next day. I'll start my research at seatcounter.com to check the flight loads. I am at a very small disadvantage as I'm booked in first class, and some gate agents are reluctant to take first class volunteers. I can sweet talk my way around that. My other disadvantage is what will I do with US Airways $$ credits or free tickets? Ah yes, trade them or give them away to family.


Seatcounter.com is not the last word in seat availability but it gives you a pretty good idea of the flight load. Go check it out for ATL-PHL-PDX at about 2:40 PM today on US as the airline. You may have to do it as just ATL-PHL and then separately as ATL-PDX to get a good picture of the loads. I haven't looked yet, but one of these days I'm due for a load of 0's. I can't wait. I'm checking all my flights now. Irregular operations that cancels flights just before yours means oversold flights. The weather looks stormy on the east coast and that could help. Here is the report from seatcounter:

Nothing really promising on the 15th, but the flight PHL-ATL on the 16th only has one seat left so that looks promising. Nothing on the 17th or 18th, but a good point can be made. If you look at my first two days of travel you will see that IF I had picked other flights, the bump opportunities are terrific. One of the advantages of booking travel way, way early is that the airlines often make minor changes to their schedule, then offer you the chance to change your flights to better fit your schedule. When I am given the opportunity to change my schedule I am headed right to seatcounter.com to find the flights that are closest to sold out, if not already sold out and I'll ask for those flights. They will overbook a sold out flight to keep you happy. I'm always happy to be on an oversold flight. I'll report my success first from Portland and each day thereafter. Wish me LUCK.

$50 OFF Northwest Flight with Paypal

If you buy a NW flight of $250 or more and pay with paypal before March 27th, you will receive a $50 credit in your paypal account. Travel must be between April 1st and June 14th. $50 is $50.

IT'S CONTEST DAY and MY LOSS IS YOUR GAIN

Every once in a great while I get this urge to win something without having to work for it. No call backs hunting down miles, no calculating Elite Qualifying Miles or finding a best rate guarantee or low fare guarantee. Just plain old, I'd like to win. Today is that day and hence my second:

IT IS CONTEST DAY

Visit Britain Contest 2 RT tickets US to London, 4 nights in the Radisson Edwardian, Tea and 2 Spa Treatments. And the chance to pick up some literature on visiting Britain. I Love London

http://www.stilacosmetics.com/misspettigrew/


Cooking Trip to New York for 6 People

RT airfare for 6, 2 nights accommodations and cooking lessons for you and five friends, with a Gourmet Lunch provided.

https://bestbuycookwithsara.sweeply.com/


Seven Day Mexican Riviera Cruise for Two

No airfare included. Departs from Los Angeles

http://www.loveboatdvd.com/


Australia for Two

Round Trip air from Los Angeles to Sydney and then Sydney to Tasmania. 4 nights hotel in Sydney and then 4 nights hotel between two locations in Tasmania and 4 day car rental.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc


Australia and the Great Barrier Reef

Round trip airfare from Los Angeles to Cairns via Brisbane and 3 nights accommodations in Cairns. Two excursions include Quicksilver trip to the reef and Kuranda scenic railroad trip. (that is a nice day, we did it in June of '07)

http://destinationqueensland.com/iss...deals_home.cfm


MY LOSS MAY BE YOUR GAIN

Always looking for the next great deal I bought 2 $100 gift certificates from giftcertificates.com with my miles producing credit card. I could not use the certificates and gave them to my bride, Katy, as we got in a little tiff in New Zealand when my computer froze up while she was on it. We lost it all. She pronounces she's buying a new computer, and finds the one she wants at TigerDirect.com. So I convert the giftcertificates.com cert to TigerDirect and then they sell out of the computer she wants. We don't buy computer stuff and have these two $100 certificates.

Make Me an Offer for One or Both

I'll look at cash or trade for miles, travel coupons etc. I'd rather somebody on the blog get them then a stranger on Ebay. My email is ingy104@gmail.com


Flying Day Tomorrow

I start my last mileage run for a while by flying HHH-ATL on Delta then ATL-PHL-PDX on US Airways First Class and overnight. Next day is PDX-PHL-ATL US Airways FC, overnight. ATL-PHL-PDX, US Airways FC, overnight and lastly PDX-PHX-ATL US Airways FC and ATL-HHH Delta to the island. It looks so easy on paper, I'll be on Holiday.

Total Gain 75K BMI miles or two RT Business Class to Europe. + a few British Pounds.

paula@great-travel-deals.net

Paula runs a family business from Kapolei, Hawaii that supplies incentive coupons to frequent travelers. Her most valuable coupons in my mind are the Marriott Bonus Bucks which offer real cash savings for stays of two days at Marriott properties (read restrictions carefully). She also offers Marriott Premium Pound coupons for the United Kingdom. In addition, she also has 2 for 1 dining certs, spa coupons, 2 for 1 golf, and second night free coupons. If you would like to join the Hertz #1 Club Gold, and save some time at the rental counter, Paula is the one to hook you up with that one also.

I have ordered from Paula in the past and had excellent service receiving my coupons.

You can email Paula at this address: paula@great-travel-deals.net and ask to be put on her mailing list. Be sure to mention I referred you and my email address.

Thanks
Rick Ingersoll
ingy104@gmail.com

AIRTRAN 2 DAY SALE = LOW FARE GUARANTEE TIME

Watch for the price drops later today and tomorrow. To invoke your "low fare guarantee" on Continental remember you must be logged in when you purchase and call the special phone number.

Airtran tickets must be bought by 11:59 PM in the 14th, so this is a quick one. Travel is good from March 25th to October 29, 2008.

Go to airtran.com to check out the effected markets. And let me know when you get a low fare guarantee. I'm going to try for three one ways today. SAV-STL, STL-DCA, DCA-SAV.

I'm a baseball stadium fan and have been to every one of the major league parks. But need to do some catchup to see the new Busch Stadium and the new Washington one.

Here is wishing us all luck.

POINTS ROUNDING UP and GEORGE-THE DELTA/BUDGET CHAMP

POINTS ROUNDING UP

I ran into a common frequent flyer problem yesterday and thought it worth a mention. I made some reservations for Tony my MR buddy in Singapore, and had to take the points from three different accounts, mine, Katy's and her son's as each account was short of the three nights I needed at one hotel and one at another. So now I have 5K Choice Points in Katy's account, 5K in another kids and 10K in another's. the 10 K will work for an award night but the 5K balances are short of an award. This happens frequently and the dilemma is what to do with the "orphan points"


It can happen in airline miles, hotel points, AMEX points, you name it.
What to do? Here are a few of your options:


BUY enough points from the program to get your balance to an award level. I'll do that in the Budget case as I need 3K for the 5K accounts and I can buy them for $30 and have an award stay. Transaction fees may apply.

TRANSFER points in from a friend's account. This is usually a little cheaper than buying points outright, but the transaction fees can be brutal.

DONATE the orphan points to a charitable cause. There are literally hundreds listed online. Just do a Google search for " frequent flier point donations"

TRADE them to somebody that needs a few to reach a reward and get something you need in return. Again you are facing transaction fees that may be prohibitive.

WAIT for an opportunity to add to your balance. Promotions pop up all the time that let you acquire points at far less than value, but do you have the patience to wait? And another consideration is most programs now how expiration dates. IE: if you don't use or add to your balance within 1 year or 18 months the points are deleted. If it is a small balance it may not hurt, but I hate to give back something I got for nothing, and receive nothing for giving it back, if you know what I mean. :)

Each circumstance merits a different approach, and accurate record keeping of expiration dates is important.

GEORGE the DELTA/BUDGET CHAMP

Now here is dedication to miles collecting. George goes this past weekend to the Budget Office at Raleigh Durham airport, rents a car, drives to the gas station to get his receipt for filling up (to avoid the $10.50 surcharge) and returns the car in 17 minutes, and then repeats it for a total of 7 rentals in one morning. Total cost of $175 and one morning's time. George reports that 4 of the rentals have posted already. The Budget staff reportedly were cheering George on. My hat is off to you. Congratulations.

FREE PLATINUM STATUS WITH HYATT


Credit this one to Fatwallet.com as I am not a Hyatt kinda guy.



Link
Join the Hyatt Gold Passport frequent guest program by March 31, 2008 and receive elite Platinum membership for the first 3 months from your enrollment date. To maintain your Platinum membership through February 2009 complete 1 stay at any Hyatt hotel worldwide within the first 90 days of your enrollment date.
As a new member you can now participate in our Stays Count Double promotion through March 31, 2008 and maintain your Platinum membership through February 2010 or achieve an even higher tier status twice as fast.
Benefits:A 15% point bonus when you choose Hyatt Gold Passport points for your stay. Exclusive Platinum Reservation and Account Information Line (U.S. and Canada only). A guarantee from Hyatt that the bed type you requested at the time of reservation will be available.† A Platinum Extras Award after every third stay, providing you with a selection of benefits from which to choose. Award notification will be e-mailed to you and promoted on the goldpassport.com awards page. Hyatt Web Check-In is available as early as 9:00 a.m. ET on the day of your arrival at participating Hyatt Hotels & Resorts (U.S. and Canada only).†
*Stays and nights will only qualify towards tier status when paying an eligible rate.†Not available at Hyatt Place or Hyatt Summerfield Suites.
After you become Platinum, sign up for one free year of CLEAR airport security
Link
Hyatt Gold Passport invites select Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond and Platinum Members to take advantage of a complimentary one-year membership in Clear®, the fast pass for airport security. To see if you are eligible for a complimentary one year Clear membership, please enter your name and Hyatt Gold Passport account number below, and then follow the steps for online enrollment.
Clear® is the fast pass for airport security. Clear members are pre-screened and provided with a high-tech card which allows them to access designated airport security fast lanes nationwide. Clear members pass through airport security faster, with more predictability and less hassle.
Clear's first year price is $100 plus the TSA vetting fee of $28 for a total charge of $128.
Participating airports Accepting the Clear card: Albany (ALB) Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) Denver (DEN) Indianapolis (IND) Jacksonville (JAX)* New York JFK Terminals 1, 4 and 7 (JFK) New York LaGuardia Central Terminal (LGA) Newark Terminal B2 (EWR) Little Rock (LIT) Orlando (MCO) Reno-Tahoe (RNO)* San Francisco (SFO) San José (SJC) Westchester (HPN)
*Clear does not operate the programs at Reno-Tahoe Airport or Jacksonville International Airport but your Clear card will be accepted there at no additional cost to you.
Clear lanes are coming soon to: Oakland (OAK) Washington Dulles (IAD) Washington Reagan (DCA)

AIRPORT WEBSITES and MARRIOTT POINTS

FrequentFlier.com is the second largest website for frequent flyer information. I don't read it as often as Flyertalk, which I check 2 or 3 times per day, but they do occasionally get a scoop with a new promotion or sale fare. I think in general Frequentflier.com has more rookie frequent flyers and the discussions tend to go into less depth than on Flyertalk. But they do have some great material. Here as an example, is a list of the homepages for US domestic airports:

http://frequentflier.com/ffp-APO1D.htm

And here is a list for International airports:

http://frequentflier.com/ffp-APO1I.htm

I find this information invaluable when flying into a new airport. It helps understand the availability of ground transportation and the services available.




MARRIOTT POINTS AT THEIR VACATION CLUBS



You have always been able to use your Marriott Points at Marriott Vacation Clubs for a one week stay. Now you can use them for stays as short as one day. Rewards start as low as 25,000 points per night for a deluxe room at some properties and go as high as 150,000 points for a seven night stay in a two bedroom villa.


There are currently properties in 11 states, including 7 properties on Hilton Head Island and 4 in the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, properties in Aruba, France, Spain and Thailand qualify for this great use of your Marriott Points.

Here is the link of Marriott Vacation Clubs involved.

BUDGET DEAL CONTINUES

I was ready and raring to go after Budget for changing the rules on their promotion with Delta when today, 5 of my 6 rentals showed up at 5050 miles each in my Delta account. Remember that these were done before the change in the website, which happened on March 4th or 5th. I received the receipt in the mail from Budget for my 6th rental on the 7th of March and that one will tell the tale I'm sure if they are going to honor reservations made before the change. I made that reservation on the 6th.

Katy has done only one and we will line up two more for her before the promo ends March 31st.



BMI Redemption


This morning I'll make my first attempt to book award travel with British Midland. It will be a little strange as I'll be doing it on my Skype account and early in the morning as I'm calling England to arrange my flights. It will be the cash and miles option for July 2, 3, 4 or 5 until July 10, 11, 12, or 13 from Traverse City, MI to Manchester, England. My plan is to attempt to redeem in economy and get the automatic upgrade for gold members to premium economy, which compares very favorably to domestic first class on US carriers. More seat pitch 49" vs 38" US First and 50 degree seat recline to maybe 30 in US. This is my first option as I don't really want to pay the extra miles for full Business Class which is 50% more miles, when we can sleep in the premium economy seats quite comfortably on the 9PM flight from Chicago to Manchester.

The next segment is to either Munich, Zurich or Vienna for our ten day tour and that adds a 7500 mile additional mile redemption cost. It feels like kind of a long shot due to the time of year, and when checking on the ANA (Air Nippon Airways) seat finder, which represents the closest truth to actual award availability at any given moment. My hope is the gold upgrade will slide us into two seats. If successful, we'll spend some time in the Alps instead of the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City that week. It is a move of blind faith as hotels for award redemption cannot be booked until closer to arrival date with Choice Hotels and the redemption in other programs are very expensive in the summer. We do have the advantage of also picking Summitt and Preferred Hotels with our Choice Points and few are aware of that option.



Miles are Posting



The Delta 25 Partner promo ends March 15th and Katy and I each qualified for the 6 partners for 6,000 miles bonus. The last of our required activities showed up last night so that one is over for us other than the bonus posting.

The BMI miles from last weeks Mileage runs to Phoenix and San Francisco are posting as planned. I guess the extra destination miles for being over 55K in a status year post at the end of the month along with the Gold bonus as just the actual miles flown are posting. I keep fairly competent records in my little red book so as to not to miss those miles due.

In the near future is the US Airways First Class runs this Saturday, Sunday and Monday which will pocket another 75K BMI miles in 3 days.

I need to check back in with our Greece trip in April, but as I recall I have it pretty well planned out.

I have two trades working for upgrades and United Award seats for my kids. I'm watching fares to Fresno and San Jose in case of a big fare drop for the trip to the Sequoias in September and keeping my eyes open for a sale fare to Hawaii for November and early December. That is a tough one as we need to be in Columbia, SC for Nursing School graduation and the date has not been set in stone yet. Doesn't that school realize how important I think I am?? Set the date will ya?

Graduation and Kids are always before travel. Another Mistake Fare will always come along, but you only get the white cap once in your life and we will be there.

Other than that, I'm looking for Continental Low Fare Guarantee options, the posting of miles from our new Chase checking account for 20K Continental miles, and always on the lookout for a Mistake Fare, fare war or new promo.

Time to get ready for my call to Manchester.

ITASOFTWARE.COM A VALUABLE LINK

This valuable tool offers top line search capabilities for domestic and international flight options. There are many valuable options including searching by airline, number of stops, month long search, weekend search, or specific day search and or next or previous day.



The site visitor first chooses the type of search, one way or round trip, then moves on to specific date, weekend or month long search. It is possible, for example, to look for the day or days that offer the cheapest fare between Boston and Seattle for a trip with a 1 night stay and up to including a 30 day stay.



A real life example would be if I needed to attend a conference in Seattle for a weekend with meetings planned on Saturday starting at noon and ending at 3PM in Sunday. I'm paying for the ticket myself and not being reimbursed.



Step one would be searching Boston to Seattle on all airlines with a departure date of Friday or Saturday. And a return of Sunday and Monday. I can refine the search to only look for flights that depart Boston on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and then do the same with the return. I can ask for nonstop flights only, or flights that depart from Boston or any airport within up to 300 miles of Boston. Same with the return. I can also allow arrival at one airport and departure from another or vice verse. The variations are phenomenal. I can limit my search to only one airline, my airline of choice, or a combination of airlines. It goes so far as to allow you to pick your connecting cities and even the flight numbers you want. And for the more advanced flyer can even choose the fare class they want to fly to help qualify for a promotion or upgrade.



It takes time and practice to use this tool. When a stranger walks up to me and asks me to check a price for them, this is where I start. It is not a booking tool, but will give all the information you need, the booking details and fare codes involved to help you book with your favorite booking site.



Here is the website address: itasoftware



And here is a Flyertalk thread on this fantastic tool: here



And here is the advanced: ita routing language