Secret Flying has an interesting rundown for those who dive into stats like this. All the headlines I’ve been seeing talk about London but Frankfurt is the worst currently, with 45.4% of flights suffering a delay.
Travel
10 Travel Tips From Someone Who Logs 200,000+ Miles Each Year
I didn’t know about the talcum powder trick. The $20 idea is good but I’d also say keeping a crisp $100 somewhere is also a solid practice. One time in Frankfurt I couldn’t get one of my bills exchanged because it was an older style. Now I try to bring only new cash and use my cards whenever possible.
How I earned 4,352 American Airline miles this weekend drinking wine
I like wine. I really love sharing a bottle together with friends. I also like great deals. Deals on wine and earning thousands of frequent flyer miles at the same time? Yeah, that happened this weekend. First I’m going to tell you what I got, then we can get into the how of it all.
The What
4,352 AAdvantage miles
260 SPG Starpoint points
30 bottles of wine at 47% off list price ($249 instead of $473)
The How
Step 1: Going to AAdvantage eShopping mall
American Airlines has a shopping portal. Visiting that site, clicking through to a store that you were going to buy from anyhow, often times earns you bonus miles without costing you anything more than a couple of clicks.
Step 2: An awesome (but not entirely rare) promotion was going on
They had a limited-time deal running where you could earn 14 miles for each dollar spent at WSJWine.
Step 3: New member special
WSJWine had a promo where new members could get 15 bottles of wine for $70. This combo would normally cost $239 if you bought it from them as a current member. All that’s needed to be considered a new member is to have an email address not in their system.
Now, this is the point where I was hoping I could add to the order. The way the site is structured you sign up, pay, and the order is completed. That’s it. I wanted to get my total order cost over $150 because of step 4 but wasn’t able to do so.
Step 4: Always check your American Express cards for targeted offers
A few weeks ago I loaded my SPG American Express with a targeted offer for WSJWine. The deal was if you spent $150 or more, you’d get a $50 statement credit. I didn’t plan on using it but I added the offer anyhow… then I saw the AAdvantage milage bonus offer at the end of last week.
Steps one through three netted 1,351 AAdvantage miles. Not bad for $97 all in (tax and shipping ya know.) But knowing there was that 14 mile promo ending Saturday night and having a $50 credit waiting for me, I dove back in for more. I followed the steps outlined above and found a nice $180 package, including some Prosecco (YUM!), to trigger the AmEx offer. This total sale helped me earn another 3,001 miles.
I used my SPG American Express to earn one Starpoint per dollar spent. Starpoints can also be converted to AAdvantage miles. Using the shopping portal I earned 4,352 AAdvantage miles in addition to the Starpoints. In the end, I picked up two and a half cases of wine at nearly half price while earning thousands of miles.
A roundtrip flight on American Airlines in the contiguous 48 U.S. states can be as low as 12,500 points (7,500 if the flight is less than 500 miles). This purchase got me a third of the way to a roundtrip ticket.
With the holiday season approaching, I’m now set with host and hostess gifts for upcoming parties, impromptu get-togethers, and inviting friends over to enjoy the autumn sunsets on my front porch.
Currently, AAdvantage eShopping mall is offering 7 miles per dollar spent. If you’d like to give WSJWine a try, leave a comment. With their Refer-A-Friend program, I can help you get a special introductory offer similar to what I received plus an additional $25 off your second case purchase.
M life games
When considering a trip to Las Vegas, I’m always looking for ways to reduce my cash outlay. While this doesn’t count as travel hacking in my book, I’m all in if I can catch some discounts or freebies.
Here’s some information I’ve cobbled together so far using the M life games that are available on Facebook and as apps:
– There are 4 different games you can play to earn coins/points
– myVegas Slots
– myVegas BlackJack
– POP! Slots
– KONAMI Slots
– Each game gives you free coins and bonuses every day you open each app
– If you link them to your Facebook account, all of your coins go into one pot
– You need a M life account number to redeem your points but you can play without one
– Register for a M life account at https://www.mlife.com/en/sign-up.html
– You can pickup your M life card from a M life counter at any MGM property
– To redeem a reward, you need: your driver’s license, M life card, and your myVegas reward purchase confirmation number
– You need to go to the reward location’s M life counter to have the it loaded to your card
– You can only redeem three myVegas rewards every rolling 30-day period
– You can earn discounted items, buy one get ones, or fully comp’d tickets and rooms
