Try looking for random flights on the BA website as it seems for some days you can fly for under $400 with British airways for Oslo to JFK and back from Miami to DUS (Germany). Also you can fly from CPH to LAX via LHR or from Las Vegas to Frankfurt (via CLT). Book with care this fare should hold if you buy it due to some legislation in the states . You can expect at least 5000 miles for this fare which i would value at around $75.
Month: July 2014
Reasons why i love chase credit cards
1) Chase is really easy to deal with online . As they can take care of most requests via the secure message center. I have had them ship a card to me via express (for free btw) via the secure message system . I got the card a few days later along with a phone call asking if i had recieved the card (good service there). You can also easily transfer negative balances between the cards (say you got a refund or something. I managed to change my billing date online which you can’t do with Barclay (unless you call) or amex (unless you talk to them for a long time) .
This took me like 2 seconds to formulate a simple meesage online . You can’t do that with amex anymore as you gotta go into the chat mode (which does take some time ).
2) Chase has your back in most cases . I was in tokyo and a club charged me twice by mistake . A quick dispute with chase and i had the money back within a few days. I would say amex is even a little better in this respect as they will take care of your dispute at all cost unless it’s with one of their partners.
3) Chase has great offers ! 40k for the chase sapphire here and you can also get 70k points for the ink plus in a chase branch at the moment. Chase as a lot of cards which are worth to keep for the long term such as the sapphire (2 points for dining and all kinds of transportations and hotels which i value at 2.2 cents each ) as well as the freedom card (5 points in each rotating category).
4) Chase is really competitive so i tend to get at least 5k limit on each new card. Because i am an amex lover chase approves me with higher limits as for some reason chase loves competing with amex.
5) Chase is very progressive and is set to offer pin chip cards soon (according to the rumours)
Hi i still really like amex but for me chase is still up at the same level.
Free fico score with the barclay card
Not sure if you are aware but you get a free quarterly fico score (TransUnion) with the arrival card ($400 bonus for $3000 spend and 2.2% cashback on all purchases (only toward flights/transportation/hotels)). The reason i like the arrival card is it’s pin chip (the only american credit card with good benefits) so i can actually use it in europe(especially holland). Getting the score with barclay is quite easy as you will see in a second.
As you can see it’s quite easy to get your fico score (under tools) . Even though it’s not as descriptive at the paid service it’s still as good as free can get . I use this to compare with experian so i can know if i am ready for a new application for a credit card.
If you got this card and you are planning on going to europe then i suggest you call in and ask for the pin chip version of the card. Barclaycard was gracious enough to fedex the new card to me for free!! (something normally only amex does for me).
Cheap fares of the day
1) JFK-DXB-KUWAIT $566 with EMIRATES Travel possible in september in october as well as april , may and early june
2) ORD to NRT via Guangzhou for $779 avil is pretty scarce mid week september and november
3) MIA to Seoul with UA for $850 mid week september or december
4) MANCHESTER to LAX (los angeles) for $680 with us airways mid week end of october until mid november
Make sure to get cash back on the flights and hotels here (search for expedia)
Daily cheap fare
PHX – MEX Sample same day turn dates:
9/20 – 9/21 -> Red eye from PHX. Same day turn
9/27 – 9/28
11/15 – 16 (credit goes to jakeyran1 from flyertalk forums) delta is offering 5k bonus miles as well https://www.delta.com/mypromos/acelanding.action?offer=lacpromo
Aeroflot sensual safety video
Interesting first minute?
Made some minor changes to the blog
I added a new page trip reports and improved the credit score improvement guide.
Almost all flights to israel resume!
I am going to keep this post short and sweet almost all flights have resumed service with some other airlines resuming sunday. I think this just shows you how much of a silly scare this was by the FAA (political pressure by obama people say).
I am happy because i have a flight to israel with airfrance on the 16th and i need to be home ! I wish everyone luck with your flights and i hope everything will be alright for yourself.
The best card to keep for long term for me is chase sapphire
Chase sapphire is a great especially now for the international traveler . You get 40k points for signing up ( at least $500 value) and 2 points on all travel (3 points in the ultimate rewards portal) and 2 points on all resteraunt. Chase is really great because sometimes even when the transaction does not register as 2 points for instance paying via paypal for a hotel or something of the kind chase has been quite willing to adjust the point value for me. You also get primary car insurance on all rentals (including abroad) . I used my points to book first class on singapore airlines (champane and cavier and lobster as well as the abillity to use the virgin atlantic lounge) . You should do what you believe in and i really believe in chase at the moment . Chase has also been quite good for me with credit card disputes (one time a club charged me twice for instance and chase fixed it).
You can sign up for the card here
Peach Airlines Review Osaka-Seoul
I am sure many of you are scared of LCC’S as you are not sure what will become of you after the trip. Yes most LCC’s are problematic for instance ryanair will do anything to charge you an extra buck and they even have planes of making people pay for an actual seat in the future (or stand during the flight) . Anyway it was my pleasure to fly Peach Airlines (MOMO) which i found to be quiet a pleasent LCC . I would even dare call her the queen of LCC’s .
As you can see the planes are spanking new and they even got a guy to tell you which side to go to lol . This goes along with the wasteful employment practices of the japanese lol for instance one time in japan they put 2 police officers and told them to make noises when the light was starting to become red haha only in japan. Anyway as you can see i got no choice but to board this flight.
The inside of the plane is spanking new too! yes a new plane just for me? great. Enough room for all the carry ons unlike in the states. Also almost no one checks bags so if you do check a bag you get it pretty fast.
The seat was pretty tight but not too bad at 29 inch although it does not feel like 29 inch. I would say all in all this was worth it for around $60 and if you have a chance to pay the same price then i would pay it if i were you.
How to Free Travel 