Was really burned when Continental merged with United, lost 100,000 miles, when I protested to United was told tough luck.

There is no fee to book an AA frequent flyer flight, unless it is really close, like less than a week away, something like that.

as has been said several times, different options work better/worse for different individuals...we realized a few years ago that it worked out much better for us to use airline points for travel to europe rather than for travel to the caribbean....although it does require more miles for a ticket, the $ value of a FC/BF ticket to europe is much more than a FC/BF ticket to the caribbean, with better inflight service and usually a much nicer aircraft for longer flights

we usually take advantage of airline credit card "new customer" promotions to earn bonus points, and then after we reach the minimum spend to earn the bonus points, we go back to using the CapOne Venture for daily use <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

p.s. for earning airline points, the Chase Sapphire is a pretty good card, it allows points earned to be transferred to several airline reward programs (ie. United)

It's possible that AA decided to drop the fee that I mentioned. it's still a hassle to use AA frequent flyer miles to book since they limit the number of seats. We once qualified to get 2 tickets to anywhere in the world AA flew(it wasn't FF miles but nevertheless it was similar) . We wanted to fly to Tokyo and since we are both retired, we could fly any time on any day no matter how far in the future. We AA had no seats at any time up to 9 months into the future on any day that we could use. Buh bye AAdvantage card. There were other reasons why we dropped the card as well.

We have had AA frequent flyer memberships since at least the 80s and I don't remember there EVER being a fee to book, unless it was last minute. I know that US Air did have a fee to book FF seats.

Regardless, it all depends on where you are, as far as whether you can use them or not. When we were in DC, we always had good luck with getting them, and in Florida also. US Air or Delta, no. I have a bunch of Delta miles and cannot ever use them to get to SXM. We almost used them to go to Europe and ended up cancelling the trip.

Last couple of years we've used AAdvantaage for trip down to SXM and then paid one way fare to come back. Going down uses less miles than returning. Ends up at about half price for the whole trip. Works for us.

I have AA and JB cards/programs. Have never had an issue using points for the non stop flights out of JFK. And many times I have used points in one direction and cash the other. Or AA one way and JB the other. However it works best

We have AA Advantage and flew from LAX to SXM on earned miles and $80.00 to boot for two people in April of this year. Worked well for us.

We are VERY lucky living in the NYC area. We do the same thing except with JB and Delta. I originally bought Delta tix for our November trip, but when Delta changed their schedule (by an hour or so), I took the opportunity to cancel and got our flights back on JB with points and a much better return time. We love the 6 pm flight that JB offers on Saturdays from SXM to JFK. Almost a whole day at the beach on departure day. Or a morning at the beach and then lunch at the Lolo with time to spare. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

I'm not happy with our flights from LAX but had too many miles to burn so I insisted on using them.

I've had good luck with United from EWR. FYI I have AA miles. A few months before my miles expire, I go to the shopping and buy a restaurant.com coupon for maybe $5-10 to go another 18 months or I believe you could even do ITunes (at least that used to be the case)

I used some of my United miles to get a new Samsung 1080p smart tv....no issues with available seats on that one <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Just booked Westchester to Santa Barbara - 85k miles, 2 stops (because I had to go out of Weschester and not JFK/LGA. Coach one way and First on the return. Tickets if I paid cash were over 1k. This is on AA. Being close to NYC does give us many options!!

We've been able to get free flights for many years now out of BDL once we figured out how to play the game. Flights however have been awful since the merger with AA. The cheap flights now involve an overnight or 2 stops. There are NO non stops from here or direct either. Have never found a Jet Blue to SXM from here and Delta and United are very expensive. Will stay with the miles as long as we can.

I stay at Hilton or a Choice hotel when traveling and tose points go toward AA. Used to fly a lot but since retiring not so much anymore. So the hotel option works fine for me.

Disappointed in AMEX not participating in the program.

We had the same issues with AA it was good for many years then the changes , for us capital one adventure card works , we take a service to JFK direct flight Jet Blue arrive before 1pm leave at 2:45 pm for return and home by 8:30 and all for what it would have cost from BDL with out all the delays and not going through Miami . It is a real joy not having to face all the BS at Miami and the late arrival . We are luck it works well for us .

We have done the JFK thing but it is a 3hr ride for us, plus additional expense for a care service. Worked well with a large crowd so we didn't have to worry about connections etc. Not worth it for 2 of us.

We do have a rewards cc now but $ don't add up as quickly as the miles did for AA credit card. After a year and tens of thousands of dollars going through the card we barely have enough $ for one flight. May have to continue shopping cards!

There for a while, Citibank AA card was giving 50,000 free miles with a new card, if you charged something like $3,000 in the first few months. Not sure if they still do that or not.

It was a 40,000 offer this last June. We did the 50,000 promo last year and we applied for it this year and both of us got approved with new accounts. Reading the statement that was printed with the cards they were not going to give use the miles because we already either did that same promo or cancelled a card within the last two years.
I then called to not accept the card and cancel the new accounts. Will just keep using my existing AA citibank cards I already have.

Well, yeah, that makes sense, that you can't just get the card, cancel it and get the same deal again.

AA was offering 40,000 miles on a Citi Bank card (on the flight). Did this for hubby. He gets the miles after $1000 in purchases. We haven't changed cards for awhile which is probably why it worked for us. They just sent NEW cards and it has only been a couple months. Same number/code on the back. Not sure why. We ran into some young couple in SXM who cancel their cards every year to get new cards with new miles. = free flights for them each year. Not sure if it is the same airline or not.

Totally agree but we had nothing to loose giving it a try.

Scubaman, we took out the AA/Citi card in my name, (the last one was for 50,000 with $3000 purchase in three months), then about a year later took out the same card in my wife's name, again for the same points/purchases. We just used my points for RT in November. Next year we'll use her points, and then it will be time for me to take out another card in my name ( it used to be 18 months between cards, I think it is now 24 months). We have done this for several years, both AA and Delta, and now doing Southwest. Like you say, starting out with 50,000 points or whatever they offer (daughter just got an offer from AA for 60,000) gives a good start to getting tickets.

Ya. We did both our names last year and both got the miles. We then used them for our trip this last May.

So apparently the deal on the plane was not as desirable. In April like I said, we were offered 40,000. They told us that the deal could only be done through the flight as in fill it out and turn it in now. Not true. Went home and after reading the paperwork found that I got the same deal online. Sadly they tell you things (while on an international flight) that you get free bags etc. Also not true, domestic only. Such a scam but we love the free flights and 40,000 doesn't hurt. Haven't decided if I will change my card though.

We used to use our Citi AA card for both our personal and business expenses and accrued over a million miles throughout the years. We eventually used up all of the miles, but it was challenging at times (especially in more recent years) to find award flights that worked for us. We often found ourselves using Aanytime points or having to take red eye flights or incur long layovers. And even when we did find flights, we usually could only get a limited number of award tickets on the flight and would have to purchase a couple as well so that our family of five could travel together. There were even times when we had plenty of miles, but ended up purchasing tickets on a different airline because we couldn't get award travel on American or any of it's partners.

Then about four years ago we switched to Capital One where we get two points for every dollar spent. Now, charging $50,000 on our Capital One card (the same amount that we had to charge on our Citicard to get 50,000 AA miles) gets us 100,000 Capital one points. Those 100,000 equates to a $1,000 travel credit which can be used for ANY flight on ANY airline at ANY time - and we can purchase it from whatever source we would like. If we don't have enough points for the entire ticket it doesn't matter - we get a credit for as many points as we have or choose to utilize. In addition, since we are simply purchasing the tickets with our credit card we still get the FF points on the flights (unlike when using FF miles for a ticket). The points on the Capital One card can also be used for hotels or any other travel expenses we incur. Another nice benefit is that our Capital One card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. And they have been great to deal with whenever there have been any issues such as fraud alerts. I really have found no downside to the Capital One card and I have been able to get tickets (usually first class) for my family through Capital One points for each of our annual trips to the Caribbean. I probably sound like a commercial for Capital One, but I'm really just a happy customer. Everyone has to use the card that's best for them, but I would recommend that anyone looking for a new travel card to take a look at Capital One and run the numbers.

Matt

One more thing about Cap One - when you call them you'll be talking to a real person in less than a minute.

Thank you. I couldn't have said it better myself. Well, I tried to but you still said it better.

As if I wasn't discouraged when I began this post ...now all you folks have really brought me to the basement. I think it is wonderful that you can get all these fantastic cards like Citibank, Capital one etc ..... I cannot as I am your neighbour (notice spelling) to the north! I am the passenger on the plane who cannot sign up for those AA Mastercards with the 50 million miles. It is our curse for living so close to a border American city. By the way do not suggest flying out of Toronto since that is 3 hours away versus Detroit Metro which is 30 minutes away. I just thought that the airmiles were a waste of time to use since they gave such terrible flights. I am not going to stay at airports for over 24 hours just so I can fly for free! I do appreciate that some of you can use your miles and get quite the good times with them. Count your blessings.

Well Surick, I am one of your neighbours (note spelling). When I was working, I belonged to Air Canada's Aeroplan, and had a CIBC Aerogold card. The accumulated points took my wife and me on several trips both far and near, in Economy and Business classes. Since retirement, our travels have been mainly to sunny destinations. I switched to the RBC World Elite MasterCard, and our trips to SXM on Westjet for the last few times have cost us nothing, except for taxes to fund the government. You don't have to wish to live somewhere else or for something you can't get; you just need to evaluate your needs and get creative. Just my tuppence (Cdn, of course!)

I agree with you about miles Surick - they are difficult at best, even for us US citizens and that's why I switched strategies. I did a quick search and there are several credit cards available in Canada that offer travel benefits. RBC, MBNA, Capital one and American Express all came up as potential options. I didn't look at the specifics but it appears there are different programs that they offer. I think the key is to get a card that isn't affiliated with a specific airline, hotel chain, online booking agent, etc... Using something that simply gives you a travel credit will offer the most flexibility.

I'll add that I think one thing we can all agree on is that these are first world problems we are talking about. I sometimes feel a bit guilty even posting about these topics and always have to remember how fortunate I am to even be able to take a vacation, much less get free airline tickets.

Matt

Well put.

I have never thought much about the freebies with credit cards until I read this thread. We are self employed and always pay the company bills with a debit card or write a check. I applied for a Capital One Venture card and got a 30K credit line with 40,000 mile credit, plus 2 for 1 miles on all purchases.
I checked with my landlord and he will take the card for rent, plus 90% of the supplies we need at work I can use the card. Just the monthly expenses at work that I can buy with the Venture card runs about $12K a month that I used to use a debit card to pay. That's almost 25,000 miles a month.
Maybe we will get to the island a little more often.

I knew a builder in Tallahassee 25 years ago that used to buy almost everything to build a house on a Delta Card. When I saw the perks back then I have been a points hound ever since.