Tips and Tricks

Alaska Airlines Fall Sale: Last Day to Check Bookings for Lower Prices
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Alaska Airlines Fall Sale: Last Day to Check Bookings for Lower Prices

Just a friendly reminder that today’s the final day of the Alaska Airlines Annual Fall Sale, which features flights starting at $64 across their entire route network. Each city has their own set of deals, but at least from rhe San Francisco Bay Area, there doesn’t appear to be any amazing deals to traditional vacation destinations like Mexico and Hawaii. However, there are pretty good deals to various West Coast cities, including Salt Lake City, Portland, and a couple southern CA cities.

How Did You Get Started With This Hobby?
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How Did You Get Started With This Hobby?

I’m constantly talking to friends, family, and even strangers about the points and miles hobby. I do understand that it can be a bit intimidating to get started, so I’ve even tried to boil it down into a “how to get started” presentation that I’ve given a few times. But even after spelling things out for people, I’ve noticed that the uptake rate has still been pretty low in terms of those that dive head first into it like I had.

Thirsty for Points – Maximizing Starbucks
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Thirsty for Points – Maximizing Starbucks

I love Starbucks. More precisely, I love the Starbucks Rewards program. To quote my friend Dr. J, “I go there just to watch those stars fall on my phone.” It’s designed well to entice brand loyalty. More importantly, the program works quite similarly to frequent traveler programs – you earn stars, achieve elite statuses, and get free drinks. As a newly minted points enthusiast, I became excited about playing with a new rewards program and figuring out how to get the most out of it. I started drinking coffee and, a year later, now have two Gold cards.

Should I Credit My Upcoming British Airways Business Class Flight To Alaska Or American Airlines?
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Should I Credit My Upcoming British Airways Business Class Flight To Alaska Or American Airlines?

A few months ago I was able to jump on a great deal for Business Class tickets aboard British Airways from San Francisco to Europe for just $1,700. Although it’s a little bit less of a great deal when you factor in the $250 that British Airways is asking for in order to select seats in advance. At the time, it was a no-brainer for me to credit this flight to Alaska Airlines, since I’d need the elite qualifying miles to re-qualify for status, and as an existing elite I’d receive a 100% bonus. But now things are a bit more complicated …

Introducing A New Blog Series: “What’s The Big Deal?”
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Introducing A New Blog Series: “What’s The Big Deal?”

Like many of you, I spend a ton of time on Flyertalk and these forums contain a wealth of information about everything you could ever want to possibly know about anything travel-related. But with user-generated content comes a fair amount of complaining. It simply comes with the territory. I generally group the complaints and rants that I come across into 3 buckets: