Airline Miles
 

I'm planning on talking a trip to Europe later this year. I don't travel a whole lot right now so a miles card was never a thought. Should I pick up a miles card before talking this trip? I found the Amex Delta card has 30,000 points after spending 500. That would knock 300 off the ticket if I flew with delta. Is there any other suggestions? Or should I just stick to what I have and not bother with a miles card?

It's not a bad idea. You may want to find a card that has perks like luggage flies free, upgradable seating, or no foreign transaction fees.

First post, two years after signing up? Way to pop the cherry. :cheers:

Haha this made me giggle.

On topic, I just signed up for Chase's United Mileage Plus, which offers 50,000 miles after spending 1000 in 3 mo, +5,000 pts for adding an authorized user, +$50 statement credit. Found it on SD, so maybe do a quick search?

US Airways has a current promotion of 40,000 points on first purchase + 10,000 when you transfer in a balance:
https://www.barclaycardus.com/app...13af32aa17

Yes, first time posting! I've always been able to find the information I was looking for without posting before. Thanks for the tips. I did notice on the Delta card you got your first bag for free up to 9 people. I will have to look into the upgradable seating, and no foreign transaction fees.

I found the deal for the United MileagePlus Explorer card. I will have to do a little more research on which airlines this covers. Is it just United, or their partners? What is the conversion between miles and actual amount off of flights?

Thanks for the information so far!

There is sentiment on some forums that Delta has poor reward availability and there points aren't worth as much. I do not have personal experience with this but its what I've read.

United and American are both good cards to sign up for. The card cbtexan mentioned is great, if you look around there are links for 50,000 american miles after like $2,500 in purchases.

Additionally, cards like Chase Sapphire Preferred have a 40,000 point sign up bonus that can be transferred to a few programs which include United and British Airways.

I'll let you look for yourself! Weekday flights are generally cheaper/less points. Just remember to book more than 21 days in advance to avoid a $75 fee:
http://shopping.usairways.com/Fli...wardTravel

One neat tip is that I know you can go to AA.com and 'fake book' an award flight, just to get an idea of how many miles you'll need. AA is partners with BA (british), so there's a lot of European availability. The (major) downside is that BA charges crazy high fuel surcharge fees (sometimes 1k+ for round trip) But they're also partners with other European airlines, so something to check out!

I personally like the Chase Sapphire Preferred right now because of their bonus, plus 20% off a ticket if you book through their site (their ultimate rewards are used like dollars). You also have the option of transferring your ultimate reward points to other airlines, like British Airlines, in the event that you can get a better award deal like that. (but again, fuel surcharge!!)

Where do you plan on flying? That could make a difference on the airline/card.

I plan on flying to Finland initially for a wedding and then back tracking to a few other locations. With the Chase sapphire card, does that allow you a few choices of airlines?

A handy tip if you're just starting to get into it... Don't accrue Delta miles.

If you're going to Finland, AA is the only airline that flies nonstop from the US. Go with AA miles redeemed on their own metal. And search for the "AA free one way award" while youy're at it.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points only transfer to: United, British Airways, Korean Air, Southwest, Amtrak, Hyatt, Priority Club, and Marriott

I fly out of DTW for work, so pretty much all Delta. I've accrued about 300k miles over the past 5 years, and I've used them to pay for some reward flights.

However, their advertised "25K for a round trip flight" is basically non-existant. Figure on 35k or 40k for a domestic flight.

Like was said above - I wouldn't go out of my way to accrue on delta.

I just got two amex gold delta cards with 30k sign up bonuses. Why would one not want to accrue these miles?

Either way, I plan on a couple flights this summer so I'm sure it won't be hard to get rid of 60k miles fairly quick.

Due to my location and the airport I would be flying out of I will undoubtedly have a connection in the U.S. before going overseas. Delta would be one of my only choices if I didn't want a connection in the U.S. Although I would have a connection overseas. There isn't really a way to get around a connection or two in my situation.

As far as rewards go though, it seems that Delta is not the way to go? I basically want to find a decent miles card that has a signup bonus to help defer the cost of the flight. If I go with a specific airline card it seems that I can't find one with no foreign transaction fees, but most of them have your first bag free.

Does the free bag outweigh the no foreign transaction fees? My issue being I have a Chase Freedom and a Visa from my financial institution. Both have foreign transaction fees. I don't think my credit report would like a miles card plus a no foreign transaction fee card in the next 6 months.

Any thoughts?

Here's the thing - if Delta is your best option, then yes, get the card because it's going to be $300 off your ticket price. The ongoing miles accumulation won't be worth it, but the initial bonus is basically free money, and that's always good.

Foreign transaction fees are typically very minimal. I just spent a week in Mexico and used my AMEX all over, and in total, I only had about $4 in fees, so basically nothing.

First checked bag fees do not apply to international flights, your first checked bag is free, plus you get a carry-on as well. Unless you're staying for a long time, that should be plenty.

Almost any airline will have a miles-for-card type promotion, and they will typically be fairly similar. It's up to you to find the best option for flight, and then I'd recommend getting whatever promotion is available, be it $300 off or whatever.

boonkauc has the right idea. They're good for the bonus, but that's about it. There are better, more efficient places to rack up points/miles. Almost any other airline would be better to accrue miles on - UA, AA, US, SW. This doesn't even include the cards that are transfer partners of certain airlines - Amex charge cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards cards.

Honestly, good luck finding low level, 25,000 mile round trip availability on Delta. It'll keep you busy!

First time in Europe? If so take the train. 1) Europe is smaller than you think so trains don't take all day 2) it is more fun on the train 3) it is cheaper

just keep that in mind. I'm talking about once you're in Europe of course. Also depends on where you intend to do.

I hope you have some free time.... start reading on flyertalk.com forums

Trains are more expensive than flying easyjet