Throwback Thursday, also known as #tbt on Twitter and Instagram, is when people post old pictures of themselves from the past. Well, I thought I’d do a fun walk down memory lane including pictures from some of my memorable past flights/trips. For me, some of my best trips may not be the best in-flight products, but in my eyes if a flight can deliver me to an unforgettable experience, then it achieved its goal and I’ve achieved mine.

1) While maybe it isn’t throwing back too far, this past week I flew Milan to JFK on Alitalia’s A330 with their new Magnifica Class lie-flat seats (full review to come). Cost: I booked the flight using SkyMiles and since it is a partner, it was at the low 50,000-mile level for the one-way (my outbound was mid-tier so it was 150,000 miles total roundtrip).

Alitalia’s new Magnifica business class on the A330.

This trip was memorable because I went to the Beyonce concert in Milan last Saturday and actually got to meet the queen bee herself after the show, thanks to some friends who are friends with her people. She was incredibly friendly and funny, which was impressive after putting on an incredible 2-hour show and having to fly out that evening!

BK + BK in Milan

2) When I quit my job at Morgan Stanley in June of 2011, I left my cubicle on my last day and headed straight for JFK for my first trip to Tokyo. This was a couple months after the terrible earthquake in Japan and tourism there had dropped off a cliff. Delta actually comped my flight since flights were empty and they wanted to let people know what their LAX-Haneda 777-LR flight was like (I do not take comps from the travel industry anymore and haven’t since this trip). Needless to say, this was my first solo trip and first time to Japan and visiting during the crisis aftermath ended up being great because I was able to see so much of the city in a short amount of time. I even got a behind the scenes tour inside the Tsukiji Fish market, which you normally can’t do when tourism is booming.

This was my first trip as a full time blogger. Delta LAX-Tokyo Haneda in aboard the 777LR.

My awesome Tsukiji guide Naota-san

3) Flying behind Madonna in British Airways First Class in June 2010. In 2009, I encouraged my friend to get in on the first British Airways 100,000 (now 50,000) credit card offer and he ended up spending $30,000, which qualified him for the Travel Together Ticket. We had a friend’s wedding in London that summer, so he agreed to use the companion ticket for me – as long as I paid the ~$800 in taxes/fees for my ticket. $800 for a roundtrip flight in British Airways First Class to London? Sign me up!

On the outbound leg Madonna ended up boarding as the very last person and she was seated in front of me. Unluckily for me, I had just taken a sleeping pill so that I could sleep immediately upon takeoff on the short hop to London. The flight ended up being delayed for about 90 minutes and Madonna diva’d out a couple times and I had to struggle to stay awake to enjoy the shenanigans! At one point the pilot came out and apologized for the weather (the cause of our delay) and Madonna asked that he “step on it” once airborne. Lesson learned: never take sleeping pills until airborne!.

I did speak to her briefly in the morning and asked her about a concert she was supposed to perform in Rio for that New Year’s – there was a lot of internet speculation, but not confirmation so I decided to ask the source directly. She confirmed she had to cancel, but apparently she may be returning this year or next. I remember she said “Hi Sweetie” when talking to me, which was a highlight for me…being called Sweetie by the Material Girl. Thanks to the British Airways Visa companion pass for making it happen!

The cabin crew doting over Madge during our ground delay

4) In November 2012 I got to fly on the United 787 from San Francisco to Houston to Chicago on the Star Mega Do #4. I was in coach, but in the bulkhead, and I really enjoyed the ride, especially since it was grounded just a couple months later. United just resumed flights this week and I hope the 787′s troubles are behind it, because its a spacious, smooth aircraft. I look forward to testing it out internationally, which is where its jet-lag-reducing benefits are really supposed come into play.

My first time flying the United 787 was on the Star Mega Do.

Boarding the 787

5) My Grandmother, who lives in Asheville, NC is now 90 years old and while she’s still sharp as a whip, her body is frail and traveling takes a toll on her. One of her favorite things to do is visit my aunt in Santa Barbara, California, but since she had a hip replacement, she can’t do the trip alone. So for Thanksgiving 2011 I burned some US Airways miles and redeemed for first class Charlotte-Los Angeles and made the pilgrimage with her. I learned a lot traveling with someone who had mobility issues, but we had an amazing trip. Even though it wasn’t the fanciest use of miles, it was one trip I’ll remember forever.

Taking my grandmother on a special trip to Santa Barbara.

6) In July 2010 I burned 120,000 Delta SkyMiles and booked a trip to Paris and Seychelles. Air Seychelles was pleasant and very unique. I remember getting scented oils in the amenity kit and the food was definitely…tropical. It was my first time to the Indian Ocean and probably the most exotic place I had been at the time so the trip was extra special. Sadly, Air Seychelles no longer offers codeshared flights from Paris to SEZ, so it’s much harder to get there using SkyMiles.

Air Seychelles Pearl Class CDG-SEZ.

7) Last April I spent a couple weeks in Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong and I flew home on Cathay First using British Airways Avios. It was a great experience and one I hope to do again in the near future. Cathay First is one of the top first class products, so if you haven’t experienced it yet, put it on your to-do list!

Cathay Pacific First Class.

8) This January I went Capetown, Johannesburg and Kruger and flew South African Airways in business class roundtrip for 110,000 US Airways miles. While the seat was a bit short and the service wasn’t great, I have to say my South Africa trip was probably my favorite I’ve ever taken. South Africa has so much to offer – from beaches in Cape Town, amazing wine and food in wine country (just an hour outside of Cape Town), history and culture in Johannesburg and life-changing safari experiences.

JFK-JNB on South African Airways.

My South African Safari was a breathtaking experience especially seeing this rare leopard just feet away.

What are your most memorable flights/trips?

Yesterday USA Today’s Nancy Trejos (who has been on a roll breaking travel stories) covered Consumer Reports’ annual airline satisfaction survey and to be honest, I wasn’t really surprised with the results given the poll questions. Voters were asked to rate their satisfaction with the airlines’: check-in ease, cabin-crew service, cabin cleanliness, seating comfort, baggage handling, and in-flight entertainment.

The results were as follows:

1. Virgin America, 89

2. Southwest Airlines, 85

3. JetBlue Airways, 85

4. Hawaiian Airlines, 82

5. Alaska Airlines, 81

6. Frontier Airlines, 78

7. Delta Air Lines, 71

8. US Airways, 66

9. American Airlines, 66

10. United Airlines, 63

11. Spirit Airlines, 50

My Thoughts
I still haven’t flown Virgin America because the opportunity cost for me, as a top-tier flyer with American, Delta and United, is just too high. I’d have to forego complimentary first/business class upgrades (Virgin America only allows their elites access to premium coach seats) and earning frequent flyer miles in my preferred accounts (Virgin Elevate points are okay, but not great for premium travel). As a travel enthusiast I want to try them out to see what all the fuss is about, but I’ll do it when I need to do a short hop on the west coast so the opportunity cost is minimized.

Virgin America took the top prize for good in-flight entertainment, seats and overall comfort

As for Spirit, I’m not surprised at all. Not only do they have a horrible frequent flyer program with a consumer-unfriendly mileage expiration policy that expires miles when an account becomes inactive for a period of 3 months or more (most airlines allow at least 12-18 months), but they nickel and dime their passengers on ancillary fees, carry-on luggage, online booking fees and soft drinks on board. However with all of the customer horror stories of lost luggage, nasty employees and gotcha fees, Spirit continues to operate as a profitable carrier, with 2013 results so far beating analysts expectations. Why would consumers choose the “worst” airline? Because they beat out other competitors on price and serve airports not focused on by other airlines. So clearly consumers choose airlines based on price, so why would Consumer Reports not include price as part of their survey?

Methodology
I think many people would argue that the best airline is the one that gets them from point A to point B safely, cheaply and in a timely manner. Especially on shorter flights, who cares about in-flight entertainment? I personally never use in-flight entertainment since I always bring my own laptop/iPad/book/iPhone with my own Bose headphones. Even when I think an airline offers inflight entertainment, there’s no guarantee the system will work or provide actual entertainment (try finding a good movie to watch on Air Europa!).

To boldly name the “Best Airlines,” I’d also think you’d want to take into account fees, frequent flyer program, on-time performance and of course fares. But I understand that polls need to be kept to a minimum amount of questions and I do think overall the survey captures a generic snapshot of US airlines.

What are your thoughts on the survey?

After arriving in Milan last week on Delta’s 767-400, my friend and I took the train from Malpensa Airport to Milano Centrale railway station so we could then connect to the high-speed train to Florence. Our plan there was to spend two nights there before returning to Milan.

The airport train to Milano Centrale airport made a number of stops and ended up taking about an hour. While it was a little exhausting after a transatlantic flight, paying 11 euros sure beat paying a taxi 90 euros – and with morning rush hour traffic, the taxi may have taken almost as much time.

The exterior of the St. Regis Florence.

Unaware of the travel time between the airport and railway station, we arrived at the station late and had only few minutes to grab tickets before departure. Had I known exactly what train we’d be catching to Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, I would have bought the tickets in advance and secured us seats in business or first class, but by the time we got there only coach seats were available. Although coach was fine, I would have much rather been in a better class since it was a packed train and we wanted to be comfortable for the hour and 45 minute ride after our transatlantic flight. I would recommend buying tickets in advance to avoid the hassle at the train station and to avoid the train you want from being sold out. I’ll be doing a review of our train ride from Milan to Florence so stay tuned for that.

St. Regis Florence – Rates

On the day of our departure when I realized it was best to cut out Rome and focus on Florence and Milan, I booked two rooms at the St. Regis and added my friend’s name on one of the reservations. However, when we were boarding our flight at JFK, I noticed only one reservation was showing in my SPG account. Nervous that there was a mistake and only one room booked for us I emailed my Starwood ambassador to find out if the second reservation was still in place. She confirmed that there was only one room and asked for my reservation information, though I was onboard my Delta flight and had to turn my phone off before I could respond. I figured I’d handle it when I landed, which would have been in the middle of the night for her, but luckily a new initiative of the Starwood Ambassador program is that hey have a 24 hour help desk so even when my ambassador is off duty someone else on the team was able to help me and get both reservations back under my name and Starwood number. The hotel apparently had stripped my SPG number off my friend’s room, which they should not have done since I paid for both rooms.

Deluxe rooms go for 720 EUR or 35,000 Starpoints.

When I first made the reservations I booked one room on points for 35,000 a night and one room at the paid rate of 562.50 EUR ($722) per night. I also applied suite night awards to the room I would be staying in. Luckily what ended up happening was after all of the back and forth about my second reservation, they ended up combining reservations, which resulted in the suite upgrades being re-deposited back into my account, but they kept me in the same junior suite and didn’t take the upgrade certificates back, so it worked to my benefit. So even though there was some confusion and it was a bit annoying, I did get my upgrades back, got a really nice junior suite, and my friends who stayed next door to me were placed in a Premium Deluxe Room.

I will admit that 70,000 points for two nights was a huge hit to swallow since I value SPG points around 2 cents apiece but the hotel lives up to the price. Normally room rates are really high – especially during the summer where it is not uncommon to see 1,000 EUR ($1,283) a night for a Premium Deluxe and 1,920 EUR ($2,465) a night for a Junior Suite, and the hotel is routinely sold out. Valuation-wise I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of my redemption, but I feel like I got a pretty good value since all our needs were met and the hotel staff really went out of their way to accommodate us and make us truly feel like VIPs. In my opinion, points are meant to be used for unforgettable experiences and staying at the St. Regis Florence was definitely one of them.

Rooms

King bed and chandelier in the Premium Deluxe Room.

The Premium Deluxe room that my friends were staying in was almost as big as my Junior Suite and had an ornate canopy over the bed as well as a sitting area with a sofa and chair. The king size bed could be split into two twins if needed, which we ended up doing for the second night of our stay once another friend arrived.

Sitting area in Premium Deluxe room.

Premium Deluxe rooms are usually around 30 square-meters and come with a work desk, Bose sound system, and 42-inch TV. As for the bathroom, it was covered in marble and had a large tub/shower combo, vanity, and double sinks.

Living room of the Junior Suite with king bed in the mirror reflection.

The junior suite, which was a bit larger at 40 square-meters, had beautiful ornate artwork and Florentine decorations and had a spectacular view of the mountains in the distance. This room did have a separate living room area with sliding doors which was nice, but no canopy over the bed.

Junior Suite Bathroom

The bathroom in the suite was very similar to the other room and had a deep soaking tub/shower, double sinks, and vanity.

Two things that were annoying about our rooms was that we were in 333 and 332 which are located way in the back of the hotel.  It was about a ten-minute walk from the main lobby back to the room and you had to go up a few steps to get there. I don’t think there was an elevator so these rooms don’t seem to be handicapped accessible. And second, there was only one key per room which you had to leave at the front desk when you leave the hotel. If you’re staying with a friend and come back to the room at different times you’ll have to be escorted back to the room by someone from the staff if the main key is no longer at the front desk.

Concierge

I can always count on my readers for great recommendations for my trips and you guys definitely pulled through this time with places to eat. We went out to two really great restaurants for dinner, La Giostra and Il Latini (which I will review in an upcoming post, but thankfully we had the hotel concierge to help us make last-minute reservations at the two very popular eateries). During the day we debated whether to go on different tours of the city, but we decided against it and and explored on our own. If we had wanted to book a few tours, the concierge told us they would have been more than happy to take care of it.

The only time the hotel failed was when we were on the other side of the city and couldn’t get a taxi. We called the hotel and the concierge basically said tough luck and nicely told us to figure it out on our own. We asked if they had a car service that could come and pick us up and they said no. They were extremely unhelpful in this situation and I don’t think that it was St. Regis-quality service. Luckily we were eventually able to snag a cab, but I was highly unimpressed by that experience and have relayed that feedback to the hotel manager. Tip: Getting taxis on the street in Florence isn’t easy so plan in advance when possible!

Our butler brought us a nice tray of coffee and biscotti.

Butler Service
All suites (even if you’re upgraded!) come with St. Regis butler service. With this you have the option to have your bags packed and/or unpacked for you, get two items pressed, have your shoes shined and you could have complimentary coffee and tea service at any time upon request. We ended up taking advantage of the coffee and tea on the afternoon of our arrival. After traveling several hours and being jet-lagged it was nice to sit down and have a cup of coffee and some biscotti in my room.

The Garden Room where the nightly Champage Saber was held.

One of the highlights of my stay was the Pommery champagne saber that occurs every evening from 7-8pm in the Garden Room. It was a perfect time to mingle and grab a drink before heading out to dinner. I actually visited Pommery when in Champagne last summer and really like their bubbly, so it was nice to get the free toast and snacks each night before dinner.

Location

The St. Regis Florence is in a great central location of the city. Within minutes you can walk to the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo, all must-see spots in Florence. I loved that the hotel was situated right on the Arno River, close to both great shopping and sightseeing. While the Piazza del Duomo tends to be heavily congested with tourists, I enjoyed wandering down the less crowded streets checking out the small shops and restaurants where I could get a real feel for the authentic part of the city.

City rooftops view from my Junior Suite window.

The hotel website states that it is a quick 5-7 minute walk from Santa Maria Novella train station, but I am very thankful that I didn’t listen to that and opted to take a cab once we arrived in the city. The cab ride alone was about 10 minutes and the walk would have to be at least 10-15 minutes long. That length of a walk paired with cobblestone streets, luggage, and tried travelers could have been a disaster. If you’re energized and traveling light the walk is doable, but not at the end of 14+ hours of travel with luggage.

Overall I absolutely loved Florence and would definitely stay at the St. Regis if I find myself back there any time soon. With the exception of that taxi incident, the hotel staff were all extremely nice and friendly and did whatever they could to make us feel comfortable there. To be able to share an experience like this in such a beautiful city with great friends was worth every point/penny!

Chase just announced that beginning June 1, 2013, the United MileagePlus Explorer Card will no longer charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. This is a nice change and I hope it prompts other issuers to get rid of these fees, especially on travel rewards cards that encourage people to go abroad! I yearn for the day we can live in a no-foreign-transaction-fee world.

I just got the Explorer card through a targeted 60,000 mile sign-up bonus so it’s nice to know I can use it abroad. I generally use my Sapphire Preferred for purchases abroad to take advantage of the 2x on all travel and dining expenses (vs. just 1x on the United Explorer) especially since it has primary auto insurance benefits, which will come in handy when traveling in other countries.

Primary auto insurance is a rare credit card benefit- especially at no extra cost

For international travelers, avoiding foreign transaction fees is critical. Most credit cards will charge a ridiculous 1-3% fee on all purchases processed outside of the US. Note: you don’t even need to leave the country to get hit with these fees – if you ever purchase something and the vendor processes the charge outside of the US, you can expect to get dinged with the nuisance fee.

Luckily, there are many great travel credit cards that do not charge these fees and here are some of the best including their current sign-up bonus offers.

50,000 Avios for the Chase British Airways Visa. $95 annual fee.
50,000 points for the Chase Ink Bold. $95 annual fee, waived for the first year.
50,000 points for the American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum. $475 annual fee.
40,000 points for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. $95 annual fee, waived for the first year.
40,000 points for Barclaycard Arrival. $89 annual fee waived for the first year.
30,000 points for the Citi Thank You Premier. $125, waived for the first year.
25,000 points for the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Card. $99 annual fee.
25,000 points for the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card. $99 annual fee.
1 Complimentary night for the Chase Ritz-Carlton Visa. $395 annual fee.
2 Free nights + 1 each anniversary for the Chase Hyatt Visa. $75 annual fee.
2 Free nights with the Chase Fairmont Visa. $95 annual fee.
2 Weekend night certificates with the Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve. $95 annual fee.
7 Free nights for the Chase Marriott Premier Visa. $85 annual fee, waived for the first year.
60,000 points for the Chase Priority Club Visa. $49 annual fee, waived for the first year.
25,000 points for the American Express Platinum. $450 annual fee.
25,000 points for the American Express Business Platinum. $450 annual fee.
30,000 miles for the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard. $450 annual fee.
20,000 points for Barclaycard Arrival. No annual fee.
20,000 points for the PenFed Travel card. No annual fee.
10,000 points for Capital One Venture card. $59 annual fee, waived for the first year.
10,000 points for the Capital One Venture One card. No annual fee.
10,000 points for the Bank of America Travel Rewards. No annual fee.
$100 Statement credit for the Chase United Club Club. $395 annual fee.
5% Cash Back on gas purchases on the PenFed Platinum Cash Rewards Visa. No annual fee.
Capital One Spark for Business. No annual fee.

If you know of any other fee-free points/miles cards, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

Last week I was planning on flying from JFK to Rome with a layover in Madrid, then traveling to Florence by train and ending up in Milan. After getting several reader recommendations when I posted my top 10 things I was looking forward to on my trip, I didn’t want to have to split my short 4 days between 3 amazing cities. Someone commented “Italy is best savored,” and since I’ve already been to Rome I really wanted to focus my time on Florence and Milan. Also having a 3 hour layover in Madrid would wipe out the majority of one of my days so I decided to switch up my plans last minute. Even though two days in Florence and Milan probably isn’t enough, I’m an ADD sort of traveller and knew that four days on the ground would be plenty- especially because I was going with three really fun friends.

Our seats were in the middle section of the very last row of the cabin.

I originally booked JFK-Madrid because there were two low level awards and I figured I’d get to Europe and figure out the rest from there. I was able to snag two Milan-JFK return tickets in Alitalia business so the low level roundtrip cost me 100,000 SkyMiles and $52. Even though Delta has a 72 hour no change policy on international award tickets, I called the morning of my departure and was able to switch to a nonstop JFK-Milan flight on Delta, but it was at the medium level so I’d have to cough up 50,000 more SkyMiles (if I weren’t a Platinum or higher, I would have had to pay $150 in change fees per ticket in addition to the extra miles). To my surprise, there was no hesitation by the representative and she had no problem overriding the policy. Although the new flight was 50,000 more miles because it was at the medium level (200,000 roundtrip, so with the low level return it would average to 150,000 total), I have lot of SkyMiles and I felt it was completely worth it since I could get another day in Florence, relax in lie flat seats each way and avoid a leg in European business class- aka coach with a middle seat blocked out. All in all I was able to fly roundtrip in business (one way medium, one way low) for 150,000 miles and just about $40, which I was happy with. Face value of the ticket was over $4,500, so I still feel like I got good value from my SkyMiles.

Lie Flat Position

JFK and Lounge
Upon arriving at JFK and going through security, I was extremely thankful for the Terminal 2 SkyPriority line which was about 30 minutes shorter than the regular line. Before departing I had time to make a pit stop in the SkyClub in Terminal 3, which was crowded, but I was able to get a table with my friend. There were the typical veggies/hummus/yogurt covered pretzels laid out on the back table, but I was annoyed to get charged $3 for my bottle of Heineken. Besides Heineken there was only Bud Light, Budweiser and quasi-well liquor for free, which is a part of their new lounge “enhancements” that pretty much no one is excited about. Well I am excited for some of their new lounges with outdoor terraces, though frankly I’d still rather have free higher end alcohol and better food, but maybe that’s just me.

Completing the Fleet, Kinda
This trip was the last piece of the pie for me in terms of experiencing business class on the different Delta interntaional planes. So far I’ve flown in business on the 757, A330, and 747 angled lie flats (same as A3330), the 767 cradle, and the 777-200LR and ER.

I thought the seats on this flight would be very similar to Delta’s 777LR which I flew to  Tokyo, but they were drastically different. I’d much prefer the seats on the 777LR with a 78″ pitch and 21″ width and decent privacy over the 767-400 which had a 76.5 (81 in the bulkhead, which I should have chosen!) in pitch but only 20.5″ width. The 40 BusinessElite lie-flat seats are in a 1-2-1 format so if you are seated on the sides you will have some privacy, but hardly any if you sit in the middle seats. Luckily I was travelling with a friend so we didn’t mind sitting in the middle. While there’s only a small amount of space difference, I felt like the 767-400 seats were much more “coffin-life” and less comfortable than the 777LR.

For the main course we were given a choice of short ribs, pan-seared cod, fettuccine alfredo, or lobster salad and herb roasted chicken.

Where Delta excelled on this flight was in food service and it was one of the best business class meals I’ve ever had.

Shrimp appetizer with tomato basil soup

We started with a small salad and a shrimp appetizer with tomato basil soup.

Lobster salad with herb roasted chicken.

For the main course my friend and I went different routes, I got the braised beef short ribs with carrots and potatoes and she went for the lobster salad and herb roasted chicken with a deviled egg, grilled artichoke and balsamic cipollini onions. Both dishes were tasty (though the lobster presentation doesn’t look so fancy) and we ended up sharing to create our own surf and turf in the sky.

Dessert

Dessert ended the meal with a bang with profiteroles (chocolate covered cream puffs), fruit and assorted cheese.

The seat was too short for me so I couldn’t fully lie flat.

After a satisfying meal I was ready to lay down and get some sleep, but the bed was a couple inches too short for my 6’7″ self, so I couldn’t fully lie flat without having my neck propped up. While the seats weren’t long enough for me, I suspect most people under 6’4″ would be comfortable, though don’t expect a lot of space to move around- the seats seem narrower than they actually are.

Breakfast came with scrambled eggs, french toast, sausage and a bowl of fruit.

Luckily I was able to get a decent amount of sleep so I wasn’t too exhausted for my two train rides and first day in Florence. I woke up in time for breakfast service which was a nice sampling of fruit, french toast, sausage and scrambled eggs, had some coffee and was ready to go explore Italy.

Overall, the flight attendants were extremely nice and the food and hard-product were strong. Although it was nothing amazing and was less comfortable than American’s new limited 777-300 business class, it was still a really good experience which will be even better come June when Delta rolls out the Westin heavenly bed in BusinessElite. As of now, there are no mattress pads, but you can always use an extra comforter to pad the seat- never hurts to ask!

Buying gift cards can be a great way to meet your minimum spend requirements for credit card sign-up bonuses, as well as to keep earning points beyond sign-up bonuses and even meet spending threshold bonuses.

Buy a photo gift card and get the card fees waived now through August 31.

Although many gift cards are merchant-specific, American Express gift cardsare great because they are accepted everywhere Amex are excepted, so whether you’re buying them for yourself or giving them to others, it’s almost like giving the gift of money.

Speaking of gift giving, now that it’s graduation season (and also Father’s Day is coming up), you might have a few to-do’s on your gifting list and Amex gift cards should be something to consider, especially if you were just thinking of giving your favorite grad some cash to get him or her started anyway, because you might as well earn points on your gift.

The reason now is the time to consider an Amex gift card in particular is that normally Amex charges a fee of between $3.95-$6.95 per card (depending on its value) and about $5.95-$8.95 in shipping. However, now through August 31, 2013 you can use the code GIFTFG1 when making your purchase of a Photo Gift Card, and card fee will be waived (though you still have to pay shipping).

The card purchase fees are waived.

Gift cards can range between $25-$3,000 in value and your purchases can total up to $5,000. Orders of $200 or more can only be shipped via UPS.

Also remember that if you buy them via an online rebate site you can save even more in the form of an automatic rebate. For example, right now, Big Crumbs offers 1.4% back on Amex gift cards and Ebates is offering 1% cash back, so depending on the value of the card you buy and the shipping fees, you could be saving as much money as you’re spending on shipping – essentially breaking even. Note: These sites also give you credit for referring new members, so if you are current member feel free to post your sign-up referral link in the comments so you get credit for any TPG sign-ups so we all share the referral love.

Get up to 1.4% cash back through Big Crums.

Instructions
You don’t have to sign up for BigCrumbs to get the gift cards – you’ll just miss out on 1.4% cash back on your order. If you want to order the gift card directly go here and continue from step 4:

1. Create a BigCrumbs or Ebates account (preferably using a referral link from the comments section).

Creating a Big Crumbs account only takes a moment and can earn you up to 1.4% cashback on Amex gift cards.

2. Then search for American Express – a few results will come up (including a Mother’s Day one if you’re behind!). Choose the one that offers cash back on personal cards.
3. Sign-in with your American Express ID. If you don’t have one, you can create one (you do not need to be an Amex cardholder to buy Amex gift cards).
4. Look for the photo gift cards and upload a photo – it can be anything and enter the promo code GIFTFG1 in the promo code/discount box.
5. Choose how many you want – up to $5,000 per order.
6. Check out. It will default to your Amex cards (if you have them), but you can choose to pay with a Visa, Mastercard, or Discover.

A $3,000 gift card comes out to $3,008.95. If you factor in 1.4% back from BigCrumbs, you are only spending $2,966.83 for a $3,000 gift card – plus you earned 3,000 points (or more depending on the card you used) and got valuable spend towards hitting a sign-up bonus or spend bonus.

Ebates is also offering 1% cash back.

I have ordered these gift cards with Amex charge cards in the past and I’ve never had an issue with it being questioned or being coded as a cash advance, though some credit card companies like Citi, will charge them as cash advances, so be sure to do a test order before getting carried away. On my Amex statements these purchases show up as “Business Services – Other Services.” I’ve earned Amex points when buying them, but several TPG readers have reported that Amex won’t count these purchases towards meeting spend requirements- if anyone can comment about their experiences doing so, that would be great.

It is also important to note that some people have gotten Financial Reviews (account audits) from American Express for buying lots of gift cards- especially on business cards, which are higher risk to credit card companies than personal cards. The point of a financial review is for Amex to identify people who are likely to charge up their cards and then skip town and default on the debt – and people who buy tons of Amex gift cards are prime suspects, because that’s as close as you can get to getting cash from your credit line without getting hit with a cash advance fee. However, if you have a healthy relationship with Amex and don’t go overboard, you should have nothing to worry about.

So to sum it up, this is a great way to get someone special a nice graduation gift that they can spend however they choose, while meeting your minimum spending requirements or simply being savvy about sustainable points earning, and even earning a nice little cashback discount. Congratulations, you’ve graduated to the next level of points collecting!

Historically some airlines, like American, have given “soft landings” to elite members who didn’t quite re-qualify for their elite status. Instead of dropping these elites to the cold hard world of non-elites, they’d drop them down a level to hopefully keep them engaged and wanted to keep their business with the airline and earn back their lost status. Sometimes they’d even be able to buy back the higher status, which could be seen as a win win for the airline- keep the customer loyal and draw in new revenue instead of losing them to a competitor.

American has also been known to bump members up if they were short a few miles to their earned status, so if you flew 99,000 EQM’s instead of the required 100,000 EQM’s for Executive Platinum status, American would give you the higher status.

But not anymore!

According to this Flyertalk post, American sent out an email to some AAdvantage members saying they would no longer would be offering soft landings.

Elite status on American must now be earned each year.

Here’s what the email says:

“Can you believe we’re almost halfway through 2013? Hopefully you’re on track to achieve your goal of elite status qualification for 2014. To check how many elite qualifying points, miles and segments you’ve earned thus far, simply log in to your account.

Previously, based on your prior year status, you benefited from an exception to receive a higher level of elite status than you actually earned. Next year, regardless of your current status, your elite status for the next membership year will be based on your elite qualifying activity in 2013.

We invite you to achieve the highest level you can to earn the greatest benefits. You can also find details about qualifying for elite status here.”

Why The Change of Heart?
American has historically been really generous with EQM promotions, running several double EQM promos and even enhancing their Elite Rewards program to reward frequent flyers who go above and beyond the basic elite requirements.

Airlines are copycats and I’m sure American looked around and realized that their major competition was no longer continuing this generous policy. Delta stopped doing soft landings after they launched Rollover Medallion Qualifying Miles in 2010. United rarely does soft landings, however they will offer MileagePlus members the chance to buy back their status if they were close and didn’t quite make it.

See: Airline Status Match and Challenge Information for those struggling to maintain status

While this is bad news for those who may be banking on a soft landing, I think it is a wakeup call that you can’t expect the airline programs to continue their generous ways- especially as we see more consolidation and less competition. In the end these are loyalty programs, so if you aren’t loyal enough to maintain your status- do you really deserve it?

One of the lesser known Hyatt brands is Hyatt House, which is Hyatt’s extended-stay brand that has studios, one- and two-bedrooms kitchen suites with full kitchens, living rooms, spacious bedrooms and bathrooms. Hyatt House properties also offers complimentary Free WiFi and they are pet-friendly. However, they just announced some new perks when staying with them.

Hyatt House

New perks at Hyatt House include:

Very Important Resident (VIR) program: Guests staying 30+ nights will receive personalized perks to make their transition from home to hotel even easier, including complimentary food and laundry credits, a pick-your-suite option, VIP welcome amenities and more.

The Morning Spread: Complimentary breakfast featuring a made-to-order Omelet Bar, as well as oatmeal, yogurts, fresh fruit and other breakfast goodness. Guests will also find specialty items including vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Hyatt Has It – Borrows: A service that allows guests to borrow items commonly forgotten at home or that just weren’t practical to pack, such as phone chargers, curling irons, blenders and more.

Take a look at which properties will have the new Morning Spread breakfast:

Morning Spread Breakfast Locations.

Overall it’s nice to see Hyatt putting some effort into Hyatt House, especially since many competitors like Hilton Garden Inn and the like already offer some of these amenities like breakfast. I actually just stayed at the Hyatt Place in Austin and had a great experience, so I’m starting to consider the non-premium brands of chains more.

The VIR amenities aren’t actually that impressive to me since at 30+ nights you could likely already be a Hyatt Gold Passport member (25 stays/50 nights), though if you are spending the majority of your time at Hyatt House properties on extended stays it’s nice to get extra benefits when your nights might not already qualify you for a higher tier (though you get Platinum status at 5 stays/15 nights).

While these new benefits aren’t enough for me to plan a trip to one deliberately, if I happen to be in a area that only has limited service hotels, I would definitely consider one of these properties.

Marriott just officially announced today that starting June 22, Gold and Platinum elites will receive complimentary continental breakfast seven days a week at participating JW Marriott, Autograph Collection , Renaissance and Marriott Hotels in the U.S. and Canada. In the past, breakfast at hotels in the U.S. and Canada was only available during the week, but globally the weekend breakfast was included.

Platinum Elite members will also “enjoy a new flexibility with their Platinum Arrival Gift: Soon you can choose 500 points or a $10 food and beverage coupon to be used during your stay, with our compliments.” Additionally, any time the lounge is closed, Gold and Platinum elites will have a choice of continental breakfast for two in the hotels’ restaurant or 750 points. Though this is definitely an enhancement it is not game changer in my opinion.

The Catch
I always shudder at the “participating” hotel language in hotel promotions and announcements. Sadly, in this case, all of Marriott’s lower-tier hotels, like Courtyard by Marriott and Springhill Suites, are excluded from this.

Additionally, resorts are also excluded, so don’t think you’re entitled to this benefit at any of their 34 resorts in Florida for example, though some may still give the benefit as a courtesy.

Why I’ve Never Been a Marriott Buff
Growing up my Dad was a big Marriott fan and I remember staying at the Marriott Marquis Time Square every summer on award nights and thinking how awesome it was to be able to travel to fancy places for “free”. When I first started traveling for business, I assumed I would just follow in Dad’s footsteps and stay at Marriotts. However I soon learned that the promotions were always lackluster in comparison to other chains (and this was in the days of Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights and Starwood’s mega choice promos). I also didn’t think that Marriott Gold status benefits (after 50 nights) or Platinum (after 75) were any better than Starwood and Hyatt’s top tier-statuses that were achieved after 25 stays or 50 nights. I value suite upgrades, especially on personal vacations, and they aren’t even offered as a Marriott Platinum benefit!

Marriott’s Elite Status Benefits.. high thresholds for just so-so perks

However, Marriott does have a huge following and always wins awards at the Freddie Awards. I think they mostly deliver on reliability and consistency, which is valuable for business travelers.

Taking out elite status, promos and credit card bonuses Marriott falls in the middle of the pack when it comes to the amount you need to spend to get a top-tier award night based solely on hotel spend:

Club Carlson: $2,500 for a free night at a top-tier Carlson property like a Radisson Blu (50,000 points earned at 20 points per dollar)
Hyatt: $4,400 for Hyatt (22,000 points at 5 points earned per dollar spent)
Marriott: $4,500 at Marriott (45,000 points at 10 points per dollar spent)
Priority Club: $5,000 at Priority Club (50,000 points at 10 points per dollar spent)
Hilton: $6,333 for a free night at a top-tier Hilton (95,000 points at 15 points earned per dollar spent)
Starwood: $15,000 for a Starwood Category 7 property (30,000 points at 2 points per dollar spent) or $7,775 for Cash & Points for 15,000 points (at 2 points per dollar) plus the $275 copay.

Getting  Breakfast-Worthy Elite Status Via Credit Card Spend
Marriott makes it possible to attain top tier status by spending on co-branded credit cards. The Chase Marriott Premier Visa gives 15 elite nights every year and 1 Elite night credit for each $3,000 in net purchases, with no limit. So to get Gold with just spend, you’d need to spend $105,000 and Platinum would require $180,000 in spend! The card has a 50,000-point sign-up bonus plus a free category 1-4 night and gives a category 1-4 every year you keep the card open, so it’s a no-brainer for Marriott loyalists since that annual fee night and 15 elite night credits is easily worth the $85 annual fee, which is waived the first year.

Comparatively, the Citi Hilton Reserve gives instant Gold status for just having the card (free breakfast) and Diamond status at $40,000 in annual spend. The card comes with two free weekend nights at almost any Hilton hotel and each year you get an additional free weekend night for spending $10,000, which makes the annual fee of $95 well worth it in my opinion.

Starwood gives Platinum members (25 stays/50 nights) an option of continental breakfast and the Starwood Amex gives 2 stays/5 nights towards elite status and Gold status at $30,000 in annual spend. You can get the business version as well as and start each year off with 4 stays/10 nights towards qualification with both cards. The sign-up bonuses on both cards are currently 10,000 points after first purchase and 15,000 additional points after $5,000 in spend within 6 months. The $65 annual fee is waived the first year.

The Chase Hyatt Visa gives Platinum status for having the card open (no breakfast) 2 stay credits/5 night credits toward Diamond status upon spending $20,000 in each calendar year and an additional 3 stay credits/5 night credits toward Diamond status upon spending $40,000 in each calendar year. The sign-up bonus is 2 free nights and a category 1-4 free night every year, making the $75 annual fee well worth it in my opinion.

Memorial Day is coming up this weekend, and that means the summer driving season is upon us. If you’re one of the millions of Americans thinking of taking to the open road, chances are you might spare the wear and tear on your own vehicle in favor of renting one – especially since there are a ton of great discounts and bonuses out there right now.

For tips on maximizing your points on gas purchases this summer, check out this post which has all the top credit cards as well as other ideas on making the most of your petrol potential.

You can also check out this post for maximizing your points and miles on car rentals including while credit cards will earn you the most miles and points on car rentals; and this post has tons of great tips on saving money on car rentals; this post on car rental insurance to see if your credit car offers the coverage you need; and this post on maximizing car rental programs for free rental days. Also be sure to check shopping portals to see which car rental agencies are offering even more bonus miles and points for clicking through them.

Not only that, but you can also put your points to use saving on car rentals by carrying the right credit cards. The Barclaycard Arrival (annual fee) comes with 40,000 miles as a sign-up bonus right now and earns 2X miles per $1 on all purchases, which you can then redeem for 1 cent apiece and get a 10% mileage  refund on travel redemptions including car rentals. The Capital One Venture also earns 2 miles per dollar and you can redeem them for car rentals at 1 cent apiece – essentially getting 2% back.

If your Amex card earns Membership Rewards points – like the Premier Rewards Gold card or the Platinum card – you can redeem them at 1 cent apiece for car rental certificates with partners including Avis, Enterprise and National in increments of 5,000, 7,500, 10,000 and 20,000 points.

If you have one of Chase’s premium travel cards including the Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards, you can also redeem Ultimate Rewards points for car rentals at a rate of 1.25 cents apiece.

In the meantime, here are the top 13 car rental bonuses available at the moment. Happy trails!

1. Earn up to 6X American Airlines AAdvantage miles with Hertz: Now through August 31, 2013, AAdvantage members can save up to 35% and earn up to 6x AAdvantage bonus miles on their next Hertz car rental. Simply rent a Hertz vehicle for one to four days and earn 4x bonus miles, or rent any vehicle for 5 or more days and earn 6x bonus miles. This is valid at participating airport locations in the U.S, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Be sure to mention Discount (CPD) 217692 and Promotional Code (PC) 179255.

2. 7,500 Club Carlson Points and 25% off of Avis Rentals: Now through December 31, 2013, Avis is offering a total bonus of 7,500 Club Carlson Gold points and a 25% discount to members on qualifying car rentals of 3 or more days at participating locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Make your reservation here and use coupon MUHA018 and present your Club Carlson number at the time of reservation or at the rental counter to earn your bonus points. This offer is in addition to your everyday savings of up to 25% when you use AWD G639300.

3. Earn Triple United Miles with Hertz: Now through May 31, 2013, MileagePlus members can earn triple miles for rentals in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, and New Zealand. MileagePlus members will earn 225 United miles per day for their rental and  Premier  members will earn 50 additional miles per day. In addition, MileagePlus can earn 150 bonus award miles when they book on united.com. Be sure to provide the United discount code CDP 62455 and PC 165896 when making the reservation. Allow 6-8 weeks after completed qualifying activity for bonus miles to post to your account.

4. 1,000 Hyatt Points for Avis Rentals: Earn 1,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points using coupon code MUHA067 on qualifying rentals of at least 2 days now through December 31, 2013. Reservations must be made at participating Avis locations in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. You must also provide your Hyatt Gold Passport number at the time of reservation or rental. This offer may not be used with any other coupon, promotion or offer except your AWD discount. Use AWD K817700 or try other codes like corporate, AAA, and Costco to try to find better rates.

5. Earn Bonus Delta SkyMiles with Hertz: Delta and Hertz have teamed up to offer SkyMiles member an opportunity to earn bonus SkyMiles when renting with Hertz this summer. Here’s how it works: You can earn 500 bonus miles for rentals of 1 to 2 days; 900 bonus miles for rentals of 3 to 4 days, or 2,000 bonus miles for rentals of 5 or more days. This is in addition to the standard 100 miles normally earned per day, or 200 miles if you’re a Medallion member. To earn the bonus miles, use CDP 165385. Delta customers can also save up to 40% off Hertz rentals in the US, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada by using PC 123841 when making their reservation. You can also earn up to 15% off rentals in Europe with PC 170424, and at other worldwide locations with PC 123841. This offer is valid for reservations made by June 30, 2013 and picked up by August 31, 2013.

6. Bonus US Airways Miles For Car Rentals: Now through July 31, 2013, US Airways is offering a 50% bonus on miles for every hotel stay and car rental you credit to your Dividend Miles account. Just register here and then make sure your account number is on your reservation. You must be subscribed to the US Airways e-Statement and Earn More Miles emails in order to register – but if you’re not already registered, you’ll automatically be enrolled by registering with your email address. So let’s say you rented a car with Avis. For Dividend Miles members right now, it’s offering a 25% discount with AWD code K024300 and 750 bonus miles on rentals of 3 days or more at participating airport locations in the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa with coupon code MUAA046. That’s in addition to the 2 miles per $1 you spend on qualifying consumer rentals at airport locations worldwide. If you rented a car for 3 days for $100, you’d earn 200 Dividend miles on your spending, plus the 750 normal bonus miles, plus an additional 375 miles for a total of 1,325 Dividend miles.

7. Triple Virgin America Elevate Points and Discounts with Avis and Budget: Now through December 31, 2013, Elevate members can earn 3 points per $1 spent on qualifying rentals of two days or more at Avis airport locations in the US using the coupon code MUAA034 and providing their Elevate number when making the reservation as well as savings up of to 35% with the AWD G600004. If Budget is your chain, you can earn triple points on qualifying rentals of 2 days or more at participating Budget airport locations in the US from now through December 31, 2013 as well using Coupon Code MUAz008, plus save 30% on every Budget rental with BCD U106004. More details here.

8. Quadruple Amtrak points when renting from Hertz: Hertz and Amtrak have teamed up to offer customers the opportunity to earn quadruple Amtrak points as well as up to 25% off  their next car rental. Don’t forget to include your Amtrak Guest Rewards number in the reservation process and you must provide discount CDP 1229959 and PC 169864. Reservations must be made for rentals picked up by June 30, 2013.  Allow 4 – 6 weeks for points to be posted to your Amtrak Guest Rewards account.

9. Earn Bonus Rapid Rewards Points from Alamo: Now through June 15, 2013, Rapid Reward members can earn up to 2,400 Rapid Rewards Points (instead of the standard 600 points) and save up to 30% on qualifying Alamo rentals.  This offer is valid at participating Alamo locations in the United States. Here’s how it works: rent one day, earn 600 points; rent for two to three days, earn 1,200 points; rent for four to six days, earn 1,800 points; or rent for seven days or longer and earn 2,400 points. You can either book on the Southwest Car Rental site or head over to the Alamo site and then enter Corporate ID 7016128 when making the reservation. Allow six to eight weeks for Rapid Rewards Points to post to your account.

10. JetBlue Promos: JetBlue is currently offering promos through several of its partners. TrueBlue members can earn up to 5X points and save up to 35% off rentals of 1 day or more at participating locations in the US, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean until September 30, 2013 with Hertz. Normally you earn 50 points for one-day rentals, 150 points for 2-4 days and 300 points for 5+ days. With this promo, however, you earn 150, 450 and 1,500 miles respectively. Use CDP 1790143 and PC 179266. Avis and Budget are also offering promos. With Avis, you can save up to 35% and earn double points (2X per $1) through June 30 using coupon code MUAA072 and AWD H798506. With Budget you can earn triple points (3X per $1) and up to 30% off using coupon code MUAZ057 and BCD R344904.

11. Bonus Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles with Avis: Now through December 31, 2013, Alaska Airlines and Avis have teamed up to offer customers up to triple bonus Mileage Plan miles on Avis rentals. Rentals of 2-3 days will earn double miles, while 4+ day rentals will earn triple miles. This offer is available on qualifying rentals at participating airport locations in the U.S. and  Canada. To get the extra miles, either use coupon MUAA117 for 2-3 day rentals, or MUAA118 on 4+ day rentals. Plus, Avis also offers a 35% discount to Alaska Airlines customers when they book using AWD K197825. Bonus miles are in addition to the base miles you receive each time you rent with Avis.

12: Bonus US Airways Miles and Discounts With Car Partners: National is offering US Airways Dividend members 25% off and triple points (6 per $1) on North American rentals now through December 31, 2013, using the ID 5028180. It is also offering 4X miles and up to 35% off on Hertz rentals at participating locations in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico through September 30, 2013. Dividend Miles members earn 50 base miles per day for rentals of 1-4 days and 500 base miles for rentals of 5 days or more. Use CDP 157348 and PC 180143. Now through December 31, 2013, Dividend members can earn 750 bonus miles on qualifying rentals of 3 days or more at participating Avis airport locations in the US, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East using the coupon MUA046. They can also save up to 25% using AWD K024300. Plus now through December 31, you can earn triple miles (150 per day) when renting a compact or larger vehicle for 2+ days using the promo code US10 from Dollar as well as from Thrifty.

13. Triple Hawaiian Miles With Dollar: Now through December 31, 2013, earn triple Hawaiian Miles on Dollar rentals of compact cars or larger for 2 days or longer using the promo code HA5.