Update 2 - Around noon 3/28 public links (including the one I linked to further down) for US Airways Barclay's card seem to be gone. US Airway's website now marketing the American Airlines Citi card. However, a non-public link seems to be working. This post from the US Airway's thread at Flyertalk still is working. Nope, not any more, try this one.
Update 3 - As of 4/5, all Barclays US Airways applications have expired. So the double 50k card option is gone, but still the Citi AA 50k offer is around.
About a year ago, I (Matt) wrote a few posts on mileage earning and flight booking. My miles/points strategy centers primarily around using credit cards, not for financing my spending habits or things I can't afford, but rather as a payment method which earns a return that goes toward travel. For a refresher, please read this post that I wrote about credit and travel rewards, including our view on finances, the breakdown of the FICO credit score and bureaus, how to monitor your credit for free and some advice for beginners.
Normally we're cycling through new cards every couple of months to be able to earn high sign up bonuses. We continue to keep some of these cards in the wallet after meeting the minimum spend required for the bonus, while others join a rubber-banded stack. Some are business credit cards. Some are personal credit cards. Some are specific co-branded airline or hotel credit cards. Others earn points that are transferable into several reward programs. And then there are those that earn points just to offset travel charges. We have applied for cards at an airport booth (my first one, bad idea), on our own laptop at the airport, at home, while driving 70 MPH - from the passenger seat ;) - calling in an application, incognito safari browser on a phone and at a Chase branch in Portland.
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| I try to stay on Chase's good side :) |
So yes, we are
We have used American Airlines often: to fly to South America last summer, Maui this winter and for upcoming trips to Europe this year. Their rewards program is arguably the best for Hawai'i or international travel. I will walk through some of their best uses later on in this post, but first, here is why I think now is a good time to rack up AA miles.
The merger of US Airways into AA has been ongoing for over a year. However, within the next 30 days (rumors are the deadline is April 12), the two separate reward programs will be combined into AA. Currently, Barclays is the bank issuing the credit cards for US Airways, while Citi issues credit cards for AA. Historically, Barclays applications have only pulled my credit using Transunion credit bureau, while Citi only pulls Experian and/or Equifax. Inquiries can have a short term reduction in credit score, so it is nice to spread the hits around evenly with the bureaus or to protect the ones that typically get hit the most (Chase/Amex/Citi all pull Experian).
US Airways - Barclays
Since AA will be the airline and reward program remaining, their relationship with Citi will continue after the merge. Along with US Airway's rewards program being phased out, the relationship with Barclays will end. Existing Barclay US Airways card holders will have their miles converted to AA and going forward all of their miles will be earned as AA miles. There will be no new Barclays credit cards issued once programs merge. Since Barclays will soon be cut off from taking new applications, they have been offering a higher than normal, lucrative incentive: 50,000 miles after the first spend on the card. Typically, most credit cards require $1,000 to $3,000 or even all the way up to $10,000 in order to earn the miles, but earning those miles with one swipe of a card is about as easy as it gets (although it does come at a cost of $89, the annual fee that is not waived the first year unlike most other co-branded cards).
US Airways - Barclays
Since AA will be the airline and reward program remaining, their relationship with Citi will continue after the merge. Along with US Airway's rewards program being phased out, the relationship with Barclays will end. Existing Barclay US Airways card holders will have their miles converted to AA and going forward all of their miles will be earned as AA miles. There will be no new Barclays credit cards issued once programs merge. Since Barclays will soon be cut off from taking new applications, they have been offering a higher than normal, lucrative incentive: 50,000 miles after the first spend on the card. Typically, most credit cards require $1,000 to $3,000 or even all the way up to $10,000 in order to earn the miles, but earning those miles with one swipe of a card is about as easy as it gets (although it does come at a cost of $89, the annual fee that is not waived the first year unlike most other co-branded cards).
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| Barclays US Airways 50,000 mile landing page |
American Airlines - Citi
50,000 AA miles (US Airways turned AA earned from Barclays) is good in and of itself. As mentioned above, AA currently uses Citi for their co-branded cards and will continue to do so after the merger. They have had 50,000 mile offers almost always available with the right URL link (always checking back in with this thread's wiki). Their current bonus requires $3,000 of spend on the card over the first 90 days, but rewards 50,000 miles without any annual fee the first year. So there's another 50,000 miles.
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| Citi American Airlines 50,000 mile landing page |
To sum it all up, here is what it takes to earn a total of 100,000 AA miles using personal credit cards:
- 2 credit cards (1 issued by Barclays, 1 by Citi)
- 1 inquiry - Of the 3 credit bureaus (Transunion, Experian, Equifax) no more than 1 inquiry per bureau gets hit (for comparison, if signing up for a Capital One card, you would get all 3 bureaus hit but only 1 credit card)
- $89 in annual fees (can cancel either card before next year's anniversary. On AA, we called in, and they waived our annual fee, therefore we kept it for a second year.
- $3,001 spend threshold to meet over the course of 90 days ($3,000 on Citi AA, $1 on Barclays US Airways)
- 100,000 total American Airlines miles earned (50,000 miles x 2)
So then what?
Take a look HERE for the AA award chart that shows what the lowest award level redemptions are in certain regions. An airlines award chart can be a great starting point to see how far miles can go. Domestic flights are an ok value at 12,500 miles one way for saver availability, but that is not typically the best use of these miles. Below are some great redemption ideas for using AA miles or ways to stretch the miles the furthest.
One World Alliance and Partner Airlines
American Airline miles do not mean confinement to AA operated flights. In fact, I would prefer to avoid some of their old planes if at all possible. It is the other airlines' network and product that make AA miles much more valuable. As long as an alliance member or partner has award space available, the flight is eligible to be booked with AA miles, although not all alliance members/partners show up when searching online (must call in to book those).
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| Mixed emotions on an American plane... Love their rewards program but not crazy about some of their old fleet. |
--->One World Alliance
A chart from One World's website showing the alliance members and their network map is below. American Airlines's website also goes into more detail about each airline. AA is the most dominant of the group in terms of size and stretch, but no doubt there are some great opportunities to opt for other aircrafts and destinations. South America is practically fully accessible with LAN and TAM.
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| 1,000 possible destinations - don't have to fly on AA planes! |
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| Leaving the Galapagos with LAN |
Europe has a lot of options but beware of redemptions on their biggest airlines: British Airways and Iberia. In addition to miles to book, they come with "fuel surcharge" fees which can run several hundred dollars when going to Europe. Transatlantic flights to Europe are best served on American, Air Berlin and Finnair to avoid those high fuel surcharges. A one way over with no connections in Europe will only have an out of pocket cost of $5.60. Return flights will be a higher cost since some airports in Europe have high airport taxes which are still payable when booking award flights.
--->Partner airlines
--->Partner airlines
Even if they are not part of the One World Alliance, there are some airlines that are still accessible. This list includes the One World as well as non-One World partners. Some notables here are Hawaiian Airlines to gain more access to award inventory going west coast to Hawai'i or island hoppers, Alaska Airlines out west and Etihad and their amazing planes in the Middle East.
Off Peak Awards
Some regions have a period during the year where the miles needed to book and fly a flight are less than the miles needed during peak travel season. The nice part is that the off-peak time frames can last over a long period of time, quite possibly during a desirable time or shoulder travel season.
--->Hawai'i
Flights to and from Hawai'i between January 12 - March 13 and August 22 - December 15 are only 17,500 miles in economy one way. Just for comparison, United and Delta require 22,500 miles year round. Using AA miles is a good deal, not only to get to Hawai'i (35,000 miles round trip), but the intra-island flights (on points) are really cheap too. It only takes 5,000 miles for any non-stop flight between the islands, year round. So you could fly to Kaua'i for 17,500 from mainland, stop through Oah'u, then Maui before finally flying home from the Big Island for 17,500 miles. For this four island tour, it would require a total of 50,000 miles at the saver redemption level.
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| Example: fly to Hawaii and see 4 different islands for 50,000 miles overall |
--->South America
Flights to and from northern South America between January 16 - June 14 and September 7 - November 14 cost only 15,000 miles each way. This would include going all the way into the Galapagos Islands in early June for only 30,000 miles roundtrip (keep in mind LAN is a One World member whose route map in South America is extensive but cannot be booked online and would require a call in to AA).
Even southern South America between March 1 - May 31 and August 16 - November 30 for 20,000 miles is a good deal. From Minneapolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina is only a 1 stop flight through Dallas covering over 6,000 miles, but only requiring 20,000 miles each way for the award redemption. Travel in March or November, and you've hit an off-peak sweet spot.
Even southern South America between March 1 - May 31 and August 16 - November 30 for 20,000 miles is a good deal. From Minneapolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina is only a 1 stop flight through Dallas covering over 6,000 miles, but only requiring 20,000 miles each way for the award redemption. Travel in March or November, and you've hit an off-peak sweet spot.
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| Example: 20,000 miles one way to Buenos Aires |
--->Caribbean and Mexico
This region is probably the most limited for dates during the year. Off-peak redemptions are available from September 7 - November 14, but at only 12,500 one way, it makes it very much in reach. 50,000 miles could cover round trip flights for two people. Keep in mind Delta/United/AA all charge 12,500 for all lower 48 domestic flights, so this redemption would cost the same as going from MSP-ORD.
--->Europe
Flights to and from Europe between October 15 - May 15 only take 20,000 miles each way in economy (there are three of us flying to London next month all on 20,000 off-peak saver awards). Summer in Europe is no doubt the travel peak season, but with 6 months considered "off-peak", there are certainly some good shoulder season trip opportunities. For comparison, United and Delta require 30,000 miles year round at the saver redemption level.
--->Japan and Korea
Flights to and from Japan and Korea between October 1 - April 30 take 25,000 miles each way in economy. That's a long ways away for only 25,000 miles! One way is over 7,000 "but-in-seat" miles! Sure, a premium class cabin would be nice on such a long haul, but flying round-trip to visit Tokyo for only 50,000 miles is pretty incredible.
--->Japan and Korea
Flights to and from Japan and Korea between October 1 - April 30 take 25,000 miles each way in economy. That's a long ways away for only 25,000 miles! One way is over 7,000 "but-in-seat" miles! Sure, a premium class cabin would be nice on such a long haul, but flying round-trip to visit Tokyo for only 50,000 miles is pretty incredible.
Premium Cabin Redemptions
Using miles to book economy tickets can be valuable. Business and first class award redemptions require roughly double the miles as economy class. On an international long haul flight or on an aspirational airline product, the paid airfare of that business or first class seat could be many times greater than the cost of a paid economy seat. This makes redeeming miles for business and first class seats even more valuable than an economy redemption.
--->Europe
Flying first class on a two cabin plane or business class on a three cabin plane only takes 50,000 miles. That means 100,000 miles could be used to relax in 180 degree lie flat business seats across the pond and back. I am looking forward to taking my first premium cabin flight coming back from Europe on the US Airways A330 which features lie flat business seats. We have also recently booked a trip for later this year with the return on a 9 hour Air Berlin flight with fully lie flat business class seats. Each of those flights were booked for 50,000 miles one way.
--->Quantas Airlines to Australia
My top aspirational award booking (if I could book it) would be to take the longest commercially operated flight in first class on Qantas' A380 covering over 8,500 miles nonstop from Dallas to Sydney. It rings up at 72,500 miles one way, and I would think it is well worth it, given the nearly 17 hours of flying. That would be an amazing flight to be on, but it has nearly impossible availability. I have yet to see that route show any saver availability. Flying 7,500 miles from LAX to Sydney nonstop could be a good second option. That still is a tough award redemption to snag, but I have found one seat available at times when looking 11 months out. It is worth noting, however, that economy availability for 37,500 miles each way is relatively wide open to book when looking far out in advance.
--->Etihad First Class Apartments
Of the "Big 3" airlines from the Middle East, AA partners with two of them: Qatar and Etihad. Emirates is the other. The premium cabin on Etihad's A380 is quite impressive. They have a first class called " Apartments," and then there is one (do you even call it a seat?) called "The Residence." The Residence is not able to be booked with AA miles and costs $20,000 one way. It has three private rooms (bathroom, bedroom, and living room). Sorry, that's just a side note about this airline's crazy aircraft. However, the 1st class Apartments are quite the product and will apparently be flying New York to Frankfurt starting next December.
No change fees as long as origin and destination stay the same.
Most airlines will charge upwards of $150-$200 to change the routing or dates on an award booking. Try doing that on a paid fare? It likely costs even more. AA charges $200 on a paid domestic fare change and on an international fare, it could cost up to $450. But when booking an award, AA has a very lenient policy. As long as the origin and the destination stay the same, they won't charge ANY fees. It is nice knowing that as long as award redemptions are available on different dates or routes for same origin/destination, there will be no charge to change.
If a two or three stop saver is available now, it is nice to be able to lock in the flight option now since I can make it work, but have the option to change it later to a one stop itinerary if availability opens up. This makes it a lot easier to pull the trigger on an award redemption without trying to time the best itinerary. I just try to lock in something I would not mind flying and if something better becomes available, great!
We have done this twice now. We changed our routing when flying from Miami to Maui this winter to include one stop in Dallas for the Centurion Lounge (the itinerary originally had us flying through San Diego). For an upcoming Europe trip with Amanda's sister, we used AA miles as well. Originally, we were booked on different flights with different layovers. A couple of months later, saver availability opened up for the ORD-LHR segment, and I called AA to switch us all over. For her first time out of the country, it will be nice to all fly into London together, even though we are starting the itinerary in different cities. On United this change would have cost $225 total. Delta would have been $450. But with American, there is no fee.
A perk of having the American Airlines Citi card is getting back 10% of redeemed miles up to 10,000 miles each year. We recently booked a trip to Europe for later this year and redeemed AA miles to fly back (on Air Berlin in business class). Since Amanda has the American Airlines Citi card, she received 10,000 miles back on the 100,000 miles redeemed. So really it was only 45,000 miles per seat. In other terms, round trip economy to Europe can be had in off-peak for only 36,000 net miles with the co-branded card! It has a refundable limit of 10,000 miles per year, but that means the 100,000 miles earned from these 2 personal cards (US Airways Barclays card and American Airlines Citi card) really stretches to 110,000 miles.
It has been fun helping some of you with travel plans. If anyone is ever looking for advice on a card, mileage redemption or just simply booking paid travel, let me know. If it is not already obvious, I really enjoy this hobby.
If you are considering the US Airways Barclays card and/or American Airlines Citi card, a couple of things to consider. The US Airways card will likely be gone by April 12. It is one of the very few credit cards out there that offer a "first spend" sign up bonus vs a large spend requirement. It has an $89 annual fee that isn't waived first year, but for the ease of earning and redeeming miles, I consider that to be a bargain. The American Airlines Citi card says "limited time 50,000 miles" but really there is no rush. Feel free to ask me if ever considering it down the road. Most of the time with AA cards, it is just a matter of getting the right URL link pulled up (as in AA's website or Citi doesn't always show the best offer). Typically there is a 50,000 offer floating around.
Most importantly, I cannot stress enough the importance of:
1) Ensuring any new credit card(s) doesn't lead to spending outside your regular budget. If the requirement to spend $3,000 in 3 months (the AA Citi card) would stretch your budget, then don't do it. We normally try to lump large spend that we would have to do anyways during those time frames. There are also some other tricks for completing spend.
2) Track your credit report/score. Know what is on your reports before applying for any kind of credit. It is helpful to know when and where credit inquiries occur, to have good payment history and to keep low utilization ratios of credit used in relation to available credit.
If you keep the above items in check, it can be a good way to rack up miles. In this instance, 100,000 American Airline miles can be earned all while doing so:
A) cheaply ($89 annual fee total)
B) with low spend considering the miles earned ($3,001)
C) and minimal credit impact (no double hitting on any of 3 credit bureaus while opening 2 new credit cards).
If a two or three stop saver is available now, it is nice to be able to lock in the flight option now since I can make it work, but have the option to change it later to a one stop itinerary if availability opens up. This makes it a lot easier to pull the trigger on an award redemption without trying to time the best itinerary. I just try to lock in something I would not mind flying and if something better becomes available, great!
We have done this twice now. We changed our routing when flying from Miami to Maui this winter to include one stop in Dallas for the Centurion Lounge (the itinerary originally had us flying through San Diego). For an upcoming Europe trip with Amanda's sister, we used AA miles as well. Originally, we were booked on different flights with different layovers. A couple of months later, saver availability opened up for the ORD-LHR segment, and I called AA to switch us all over. For her first time out of the country, it will be nice to all fly into London together, even though we are starting the itinerary in different cities. On United this change would have cost $225 total. Delta would have been $450. But with American, there is no fee.
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| Original locked in award flights: MSP-PHL-LHR and GRB-ORD-CLT-LHR |
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| No fee change once ORD-LHR award availability opened up. MSP-ORD-LHR and GRB-ORD-LHR |
10% miles back on award redemptions
A perk of having the American Airlines Citi card is getting back 10% of redeemed miles up to 10,000 miles each year. We recently booked a trip to Europe for later this year and redeemed AA miles to fly back (on Air Berlin in business class). Since Amanda has the American Airlines Citi card, she received 10,000 miles back on the 100,000 miles redeemed. So really it was only 45,000 miles per seat. In other terms, round trip economy to Europe can be had in off-peak for only 36,000 net miles with the co-branded card! It has a refundable limit of 10,000 miles per year, but that means the 100,000 miles earned from these 2 personal cards (US Airways Barclays card and American Airlines Citi card) really stretches to 110,000 miles.
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| 10% back on mileage redemptions when having the American Airlines Citi card |
In Conclusion
It has been fun helping some of you with travel plans. If anyone is ever looking for advice on a card, mileage redemption or just simply booking paid travel, let me know. If it is not already obvious, I really enjoy this hobby.
If you are considering the US Airways Barclays card and/or American Airlines Citi card, a couple of things to consider. The US Airways card will likely be gone by April 12. It is one of the very few credit cards out there that offer a "first spend" sign up bonus vs a large spend requirement. It has an $89 annual fee that isn't waived first year, but for the ease of earning and redeeming miles, I consider that to be a bargain. The American Airlines Citi card says "limited time 50,000 miles" but really there is no rush. Feel free to ask me if ever considering it down the road. Most of the time with AA cards, it is just a matter of getting the right URL link pulled up (as in AA's website or Citi doesn't always show the best offer). Typically there is a 50,000 offer floating around.
Most importantly, I cannot stress enough the importance of:
1) Ensuring any new credit card(s) doesn't lead to spending outside your regular budget. If the requirement to spend $3,000 in 3 months (the AA Citi card) would stretch your budget, then don't do it. We normally try to lump large spend that we would have to do anyways during those time frames. There are also some other tricks for completing spend.
2) Track your credit report/score. Know what is on your reports before applying for any kind of credit. It is helpful to know when and where credit inquiries occur, to have good payment history and to keep low utilization ratios of credit used in relation to available credit.
If you keep the above items in check, it can be a good way to rack up miles. In this instance, 100,000 American Airline miles can be earned all while doing so:
A) cheaply ($89 annual fee total)
B) with low spend considering the miles earned ($3,001)
C) and minimal credit impact (no double hitting on any of 3 credit bureaus while opening 2 new credit cards).
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