Gazing into The Future of the AAdvantage and Dividend Miles Credit Cards

I will be using my magic crystal ball to discover what it is you can expect to see in terms of mileage credit cards from the NEW American Airlines.

It did not take long for Barclaycard, the issuer of the US Airways credit card, to send an email blast to cardholder’s reassuring them that they are still a relevant card issuer. Fresh on the heels of the merger announcement this email had the air of a desperate card issuer who knew that they may be thrown to the wasteside as a victim in the consolidation of the airline industry.

But I have to say that this email was also a smart move by Barclaycard, many times people panic about the safety of their miles when two airlines are merging and Barclaycard is doing their best to reassure people that nothing is going to change with their credit card. Of course it helps them to keep all their cardholders on as long as possible so they can leverage this asset into some type of value once they are taken to the chopping block.

For all of Barlcaycard’s reassuring words that the merger changes nothing, we all know that’s true only until one day when you wake up and everything’s changed.

US Airways will most likely be the airline to stop their co-branded credit card, the new airline will fly under the American Airlines brand, and that most likely means Adios to Barclaycard’s relationship with the NEW American Airlines.
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Insanely Cheap Flgihts to Hawaii in Economy and South America in Business

UPDATE 2/17 2PM: The Bucket List trip to IPC is near dead and on life support. Try using Kayak flexible searches to find dates. The DFW-EZE space is also shrinking up quick but the JFK-SCL still has tons of dates for April, over 11 when I did a 5-7 night search, so act quick. The Hawaii deals are still alive in multiple forms on multiple airlines.

Remember, do not call the airlines on these deals until the deal is gone.

You say Hola and I say Aloha!

This is a wild Friday we have today folks as both Hawaii and Deep South America have full out fare wars!
It is really cold out in NYC and I can’t believe there is such a huge sale to two parts of the world where it is warm and beautiful!

I love Hawaii and Argentina and I would jump on these fares asap because these are exceptional cheap airfares.

These are three very different fare wares and I will cover the Hawaii sale in economy class first.

You will need matrix.itasoftware.com open and a pen and pad to copy down your flights you find there.

Thanks to all the amazing members on Flyertalk for putting me on to these great fares.
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American Airlines and US Airways Finally Admit to Merger

On the most romantic day of the year the two loneliest U.S. carriers finally hook up.

I can’t decide if this merger is like the two kids at school who didn’t have dates to the prom who are left to pair up with each other by default or if it’s more like those movies where guy and girl are best friends but guy is unwilling to admit he has feelings for her romantically until one day it all clicks and he MUST have her. It’s a tough call for sure but I think this merger is more like scenario numero uno.

Which scenario do you think best describes it?

After what feels like years, it has only been tedious months, of “will they won’t” U.S. Airways has finally officially announced their merger with American Airlines.

With all the media coverage of an event we knew was in the making for quite some time there is nothing more to add to the announcement except they have given little air time asking questions about the two airlines respective mileage programs being merged.

The news on that is that there is now news.  I sent a message to American Airlines, while the news was breaking about their merger, on what will happen with AAdvantage miles and got this response:

For good measure I also read all of the details on American Airlines FAQ for the merger and they said AAdvantage would be the award program of the merged airline, million miler and elite status would not be touched, US Airways Dividend Miles would be merged at 1:1 ratio into the new AAdvantage and the combined airline would be in the oneworld alliance.

But there was no mention of the award charts being untouched, which leaves the door open for rampant panic and speculation that prices are going up for award flights.
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Best First Class Suites for Your Miles and Points – Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways has a first class suite that you could sleep in just as well as you do in your own bed – Teddy bears not included. They offer an amazing product both in service and design but the major problem is actually booking an award flight.

Most suite level first class award flights come in one of two categories; they are impossible to find award space for or they have impossibly expensive miles & points redemption costs.

Qantas may just tick both of the boxes with their brand new first class cabin that ranks up there with other of the worlds best first class cabin.

With their new Airbus 380 aircraft numbering so few and being used on popular routes their award space is very limited.

Since I can’t afford the $24,000 sticker price to pay for one of these first suites I will stick with using my frequent flyer miles, however impossible it may be at times.

But not only is the award space scarce, the prices can be astronomical if you are not using the right frequent flyer program, which is something I will get into later.

The first class suites were designed by the famous Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, who created the legendary Lockheed Lounge chair, and using the cliche “understated elegance” never felt so right. Read more

99 Problems But My Pitch Ain’t One – Best First Class Cabins for Your Miles and Points

For but a select few travelers first class is an overpriced product that costs more than entire vacations.

This often leads to airlines flying with half empty first class cabins but packing in the economy passengers – cattle class – who have the telling mindset of not looking for a comfortable design on their flight but to not have a broken one.

The airlines seem to design economy class seats with a crash test dummy, who will always sit up straight, in mind. Yes the dummy gets the part about sitting in the same seat for hour’s right but not the contortions you make trying to find your seats “sweet spot”.

With modern life airlines have a lot to catch up with to accommodate your needs and first class is the only cabin that gives us all of your modern conveniences in the air; special laptop storage compartments, pajamas to sleep in, full fine dining menu choices and wifi on international flights.

Many are luxuries but they are also signals of our normal lives back down on terra firma and make the usually disorientating experience of air travel back within your control.

You can get some rest on those real lie flat beds and try to avoid the jet lag once you arrive at your destination and go straight to exploring the city. First class can be an exciting way to start or put a nice ending to your dream trip.

In this “Best First Class Cabins for Your Miles and Points” series, I will let you know which airlines have first class cabins worthy of your patronage by giving you all the details of the first class cabins, seats and service you can expect from the top first class service on all the major Airlines. This series not only curates the best first class products based on overall quality but also on your ability to book a seat for free using frequent flyer miles or points.
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