I do much traveling, like the others here, so I am always looking for ways to skim off the outrageous flight prices these days, after 911 with the 40 dollar 'security fees' to get molested at TSA, to the 2008 surcharges for the goldman sachs oil manipulation that never went away, to the merging of the airlines, decay in service (massive delays, lost connections, etc.), and now rampant inflation. I have also noticed no real benefit of travel agencies, e.g. Expedia, which seems to have higher prices than the airlines with the added inconvenience of having to deal with flight issues directly with them.
After several hours, a few cross-outs came to mind, the whole Chase ecosystem, though good with point accumulation through travel purchases, forces you to use the points through their portal system, which has inflated prices commensurate with the point awards, about 6 percent or so. Has this been others' experiences? The flight insurance does not cover missed connections or having to rebook flights to get to your destination faster after a flight fail. Also, annual fees vary widely.
American Airlines is one of the last airlines with a wide selection of foreign destinations, but their air mile scheme is dynamic and opaque. At 2 miles/dollar spent, what you can get with the points/miles varies widely, to the point where the bank of american rotating categories card (includes 3 percent off booked travel) may be better.
Basically, the main points in such a card that is valuable is:
1. priority check in (whether a dedicated line or using the first class line), to avoid the 30-2 hr. waits, depending on the airport. These are real killers to get on the airplane and are worse than the security wait, particularly for airports with large immigrant ports of entry, like Miami.
2. Reasonable miles/points bulidup--this is quit difficult to calculate due to dynamic pricing. I have been on the phone and read online, and I don't really have a grasp on it. The 2 mile/1 dollar AA cards come out to approximately 3.5 percent cash back, given enough time and averages...
3. Change fees and rebooking fees--if these could be done away with, that would be great. About 30 pecent of the time, some airline or airport snafu happens that jeopordizes getting to work or to the destination.
4. Benefits/perks--credits to flights, uber, hotels, lounges have value--but to a point. What cards have a good balance with this vs. a vs. fees?
After several hours, a few cross-outs came to mind, the whole Chase ecosystem, though good with point accumulation through travel purchases, forces you to use the points through their portal system, which has inflated prices commensurate with the point awards, about 6 percent or so. Has this been others' experiences? The flight insurance does not cover missed connections or having to rebook flights to get to your destination faster after a flight fail. Also, annual fees vary widely.
American Airlines is one of the last airlines with a wide selection of foreign destinations, but their air mile scheme is dynamic and opaque. At 2 miles/dollar spent, what you can get with the points/miles varies widely, to the point where the bank of american rotating categories card (includes 3 percent off booked travel) may be better.
Basically, the main points in such a card that is valuable is:
1. priority check in (whether a dedicated line or using the first class line), to avoid the 30-2 hr. waits, depending on the airport. These are real killers to get on the airplane and are worse than the security wait, particularly for airports with large immigrant ports of entry, like Miami.
2. Reasonable miles/points bulidup--this is quit difficult to calculate due to dynamic pricing. I have been on the phone and read online, and I don't really have a grasp on it. The 2 mile/1 dollar AA cards come out to approximately 3.5 percent cash back, given enough time and averages...
3. Change fees and rebooking fees--if these could be done away with, that would be great. About 30 pecent of the time, some airline or airport snafu happens that jeopordizes getting to work or to the destination.
4. Benefits/perks--credits to flights, uber, hotels, lounges have value--but to a point. What cards have a good balance with this vs. a vs. fees?