Showing posts sorted by date for query chase sapphire. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query chase sapphire. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Saturday, March 15, 2025

What Are Your Rights When You Miss Your Connecting Flight



I watched the departing time for my flight from Athens to Paris aboard Air France get delayed later and later. I wondered out loud if I would still be able to make my connection in Paris for my flight to Los Angeles. When I purchased the flight with Flying Blue points, I noted the rather tight connecting time at Charles De Gaulle Airport. It's a big airport and usually requires you to pass through secondary immigration even though you are just connecting and not leaving the airport. But Air France let me book for just 15,000 Flying Blue points and $90. Woohoo! 



But now standing in the Athens Airport with the connecting time disappearing, I was pretty sure I would miss the connection and wondered what my fate would be. I hopped on What's App to connect with Air France and immediately got a representative who assured me that I should get on the first flight and they were working on rescheduling me. 

  • This should always be your first task. Agents at the airport can't help you and definitely don't leave the gate area to go back to check in. If you aren't comfortable with What's App, try calling customer service. 

We left an hour late and then sat on the tarmac for another 10 minutes so it was looking very unlikely that I would make the connecting flight to Los Angeles. At that point, I realized that it was out of my control and a night in Paris would be fun. 


Approximately 30 minutes before we landed in Paris, the flight attendant came to talk to me with Ipad in hand. He smiled and said "you have a tight connection." He showed me a map of the airport, the gate we were arriving in and the gate for my connecting flight. He told me normally the walk between the two gates takes 25 minutes, you will have 20 minutes. He moved me to a seat at the front of the plane and moved my carry on bag to the front of the plane. We are going to help you have the best chance of making it, but if you don't, go to customer service and they will take care of you. 

So what are your rights as a passenger? And do those rights change if you are flying on points or miles?

Here are your rights, but they may vary by airline. 
Flight Cancellations and Delays:
  • Right to a Refund or Rebooking: If your flight is canceled or significantly delayed (more than 3 hours for domestic flights, or 6 hours for international flights), you are entitled to a full refund, including taxes and fees, or the option to rebook on another flight. 
  • Right to Assistance and Care: 
    In the event of a significant delay or cancellation, the airline is responsible for providing assistance and care, including food and water, and potentially accommodation and transportation if the delay is lengthy. 
  • Right to Compensation: 
    Depending on the regulations of the country where the flight originated, you may be entitled to compensation for delays, cancellations, or overbooking. 
  • Right to Information: 
    You have the right to be informed about your rights and the reasons for any delays or cancellations. 

And even if you travel on points and miles, you are entitled to the same compensation. 

  • The most important is to contact the airline immediately and document everything. 

Back to the flight into Paris, we landed over an hour late and I started running. There was absolutely no one at immigration so I breezed through. I ran down the hall to the new gate, the agent was still there, but the plane had left just 10 minutes earlier. 

I walked to customer service. The agent said they had already rescheduled me on a morning flight the next day, made a hotel reservation for me, and had issued vouchers for dinner, breakfast and coffee in the airport. Okay, so I would be spending the night in Paris, things could be way worse. 

Hotel Ibis at the airport

The agent had booked me at the The Ibis Hotel located at the airport. It was located near Terminal 3 which was a walk and a tram ride away. It was filled with people who missed flights and connections. Check in was fast. The room was clean. 



The restaurant in the lobby was a buffet filled with Parisian pastries. I slept well and got on my new flight the next day with ease. 

 

The story doesn't quite end there. I had reserved a rental car with Budget in Los Angeles and even though I called to let them know I was a on a new flight, they insisted on charging an extra fee for the one way rental. I filed a claim with Air France to see if they will cover the fee. If not, I will utilize the trip delay insurance on my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card which has the best travel insurance and car rental insurance coverage around. 

It's always a good reminder that you need to be flexible when traveling, but know your rights and document everything.  

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

How To Find JetBlue Flights For Just 7000 Points

 


Let's just say this is number one zillion why I love Chase Ultimate Reward points. The option to transfer points to JetBlue. 

Jet Blue has six hubs, JFK, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Boston, San Juan and Los Angeles. And if you search flights, you can find one way flights for as low as 7,000 points and $5.60 in taxes. Wow! 

JetBlue partners with Hawaiian Airlines, Iceland Air, Eithad, Qatar, TAP Portugal, Singapore Airlines and South African Airways. You book all of these airlines on the Jet Blue website so it's fairly easy. To find these incredible deals, go to the JetBlue.com website. Enter your departure airport and destination airport and a date. Be sure to click use true blue points. 

Look at this flight from JFK to Orlando, Florida. 


To get a monthly overview, click on the date.

But it gets even more interesting if you want to fly across the pond. Look at this one way flight from LAX to Lisbon, Portugal. Taxes are shown as $5.60 and the cash price is more than $800. Wow! 



What's amazing about this is your Chase Ultimate Reward points transfer to Jet Blue 1:1 which makes these flights very cheap plus the taxes are low. In my travel coaching program, I show you how you can earn thousands of CUR points easily with just your normal purchases. 

Now whenever you are planning to transfer points from Chase, Citi or Amex to an airline, be sure the flight is available BEFORE you transfer points because you can't get the points back. 

The transfer should happen immediately though the fine print says it could take a few days. 

I usually put the flights I want in the cart and then make the transfer. You may have to log out and back in for the points to show up in your Jet Blue account. 

My favorite way to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards is with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Right now, you can earn 60,000 bonus points with a $4,000 minimum spend. It also includes a Global Entry credit, Priority Pass Lounge Access and travel delay and cancellation insurance. If the $550 annual fee for the Sapphire is too heft, my next favorite is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. It comes with the same bonus offer and less benefits, but only has a $95 annual fee. 

Need guidance finding and making these redemptions, join my travel coaching program and let me help you. Use the promo code "FREETRAVEL" for $50 off. 

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

New $1,000 Bonus Travel Offer On Capital One Venture

 

Great new offer from Capital One! 

Apply for the Capital One Venture credit card and get $250 to use as a travel credit in the Capital One travel portal plus 75,000 points. That's $1,000 in free travel. Wow! The minimum spend is still $4,000 and the annual fee is just $95. 

This offer is equivalent to the Venture X offer, but the annual fee is $300 less. Amazing! 


This is my go to credit card for any purchases that don't earn bonus points on the Chase FREEDOM or Sapphire Reserve credit cards. The Capital One Venture card earns 2x points on all purchases. The beauty of these flexible points is you can transfer points to a dozen different airlines including my new fave FlyingBlue.com, a few hotel chains and of course, you can erase travel purchases. 

The travel credit is only good for travel purchases made in the Capital One Travel portal, but I have found that the portal has improved and is actually quite reliable and easy to use. 


I actually got this card when we were going on a family trip to Costa Rica. By family, I mean extended family trip, you know, like a group of 20 people. The deal was everyone had to pay for their own airfare, but then once in Costa Rica, the trip would be a gift. Pretty sweet! The only other catch is we all had to fly on the same Delta flight. Since I didn't have enough Delta miles for 5 round trip airline tickets, my husband and I each applied for the Capital One Venture card. We charged the plane tickets and everything else to those cards to meet the minimum spend and we ended up getting three of the tickets FREE. 


Now I still like this card, however, I like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards better. Here's why:
  • Capital One every purchase earns 2 points per dollar
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve - most purchases earn 1:1, but dining and travel earn 2:1 and there are categories where you can earn 5:1 if you have Chase FREEDOM, FLEX or INK cards. 
  • Capital One points value are 1:1 when you use them to erase purchases
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred values points at 1:1.25 if you use them in the travel portal or as a statement credit
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve values points at 1:1.5 if you use them in the travel portal or as a statement credit 
  • Capital One and Chase offer 1:1 transfer values to airline miles, but Chase offers way more partner airlines and hotels. 

I still think the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve offer more flexibility than the Capital One.  But if you already have the Sapphire cards or the airline partners on the Capital One list work better for you, this is a great option. 

If you decide to give this one a go, consider using my referral link. You get the same great bonus offer and I get a little something for referring you and can use it to bring you more great ideas on how to travel for Almost FREE. 

If you would like to join my travel coaching program, you can use this link.   I would love to help you and your family travel for almost FREE. Use the promo code FREETRAVEL for $50 off. 




Sunday, February 2, 2025

Lessons Learned From My 2024 Year End Summary

 


Even though it is already February, I wanted to share my 2024 year end summary. I recommend to all my clients to do a year in review to see what points they used,  how they used them and look for trends. 
This exercise will help you in planning your travel goals for the next year. 

During the January live group coaching session last month, we did this exercise as a group. One of my clients completed the task and said 

"Wow! I knew we saved a lot of money this year by using points, but until I did this exercise, I didn't realize how much." 

Amazing!

Lessons Learned From My 2024 Year End Summary 
 
I do the same exercise with my own points and miles journey because we are always learning. So when I look at the above summary, here are some things I notice:

Lessons Learned From My 2024 Year End Summary 

Reflecting on how I used points and miles this past year for travel:

What will I do differently or improve for 2025? I would like to keep better track of the benefits and FREE nights that come with my cards. I just realized that Lyft Pink membership comes with my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and would have saved me $150. I also ended the year with one FREE night at an IHG hotel that almost expired without being used. 






Friday, December 27, 2024

5 Essential Travel To-Dos Before the Year Ends

The end of the year is quickly upon us once again! Besides end of year sales and tax moves, you may also want to look at the five travel tasks that top the ultimate year end checklist. Here is the list: 

  • Travel credits - check all of your airlines to see if you have any travel credits due to expire on Dec. 31st. Many of them ask you to book your flight by the expiration date, but you can travel later. Sometimes, you can book a trip and then cancel it and that will extend the expiration date, but keep in mind that doesn't always work. You may need to call, email or message on social media to the airline to find the right person who can extend the expiration date. Don't give up! It took me a week with a few phone calls, emails and private message on twitter to find someone to extend a United travel credit so I could book a flight in May 2024. 
  • FREE hotel nights - Check the expiration dates on those FREE hotel night certificates to see if you any are expiring or if you need to book by Dec. 31st. 

5 Essential Travel To-Dos Before the Year Ends – Your Ultimate Year-End Adventure Checklist!

  • Annual fees - this should be noted on your personal tracker, but if not, check to see if any of your credit cards are nearing the anniversary date. If so, make the decision about whether the card still fits with your strategy. If not, cancel it. 
  • Credit card perks - check those perks like the $50 Chase Sapphire Preferred hotel credit or Global Entry or $300 travel credit, be sure to use these before they reset. 
  • Points and Miles expiration dates - check those expiration dates for points and miles on airlines and hotels. If they are close to expiring, make a purchase to show activity or transfer the points to another account or person. 


    Before you watch the ball drop or sip that celebratory champagne, take an hour to review your points and miles so that 2025 is full of adventure and lots of travel. 

Friday, December 20, 2024

How To Find Amazing Point Deals On Virgin Atlantic


People ask me all the time how I find great flight deals to Europe. There are no tricks, but there are some tips to find them. 

#1 is planning early. If you haven't started planning for next summer, you are late! But I'm here to help. 
#2 is knowing where to look for those deals
#3 is having the points available to jump on them when you find them

Let's go step by step and see what we can find. Suppose we are looking to go to Europe in summer 2025. Usually, I look for flights at least a year in advance so I can find the best deal and get my points earned in time to buy the flights when they open 330 days in advance. But sometimes you can't plan that far out so let's see what's around now. 

My two favorite airlines currently to hop across the pond are Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue (KLM and Air France).
First, let's check Virgin Atlantic to see how many miles we would need to book Washington DC to London on July 8th.


Even now, you could book a flight from Washington Dulles to London for just 6,000 Virgin points and $73 in taxes in July 2025. Pretty sweet. Last month, Chase was offering a 40% transfer bonus and this month American Express is offering the same deal. With the transfer bonus, this flight would only cost approximately 4,000 points. Crazy! 
For a family of 5 like mine, you are talking just 20,000 points and less than $400 to hop across the pond. 
Now let's check Flying Blue. 



Flying Blue is the loyalty program for both KLM and Air France. It's not the loyalty program for Virgin Atlantic, but that airline shows up on the portal as well. But now look at the points. On Flying Blue, it would cost you 20,000 miles and $124 in taxes for the one way flight from Washington Dulles to London. Still a great deal, but definitely not as good as on Virgin Atlantic. Occasionally, Chase and Amex will offer transfer bonuses to Flying Blue as well making this deal even better. 


To find these deals on Virgin, you will need to start at the reward seat checker. Once you enter your departure and destination airport, you will get a view of the month you choose and available reward seats. 
Then you go to the actual website and put in your dates to locate the flights. 




Now here's where it gets interesting. You might be saying this is all great, but I don't have any Virgin Atlantic or Flying Blue points. 
That's true, most of us don't. 
But if you follow my blog or have worked with me in the travel coaching program, you know how much I love flexible points. My favorite flex points are Chase and Capital One and this is when they come in especially handy. 
Remember once you transfer your points, you can't get them back even if the flight is no longer available. 
Right now, you can pick up 75,000 Capital One points by applying for the Capital One Venture or Venture X cards. 
  • Both come with a 75,000 bonus for a $4,000 minimum spend. 
  • The Venture card has a $95 annual fee and the Venture X has a $395 annual fee because it also comes with a $120 Global Entry credit, Priority Pass membership and a $300 travel credit. 

For Chase points, our favorite cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve credit cards. 
Both come with a 60,000 point bonus for $4,000 minimum spend. The Preferred has a $95 annual fee and the Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but comes with a $300 travel credit, $120 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass membership. 

Don’t spend tons of money on your next vacation. Instead, let us help you travel for almost FREE forever. Join our coaching program today, and start making your travel dreams a reality—just like this success story!

We can’t wait to see you in the program and help you unlock all the amazing travel rewards waiting for you.

Woohoo! Let’s make your next trip an AlmostFREE adventure!


































https://travelplus.virginatlantic.com/reward-flight-finder/results/month?origin=LHR&destination=JFK&month=02&year=2025



Monday, December 16, 2024

Chase 1st Quarter 2025 5x Bonus Categories

 


Woohoo! Chase has announced the 5x bonus categories for the FREEDOM (not available to new customers) and FREEDOM FLEX credit cards for Q1 2025. 

The bonus categories rotate quarterly and offer 5x Chase points up to $1,500. It's an easy way to accelerate your earning power. I max out these bonus offers on both of my FREEDOM credit cards every quarter. 


Past categories have included Paypal, Amazon, Lowe's Walmart, pet services and more. 


For Q1 2025, the categories are:
  • Self Care, Nail and Hair Salon and Spa 
  • Grocery Stores - excluding Walmart and Target
  • Fitness and Gyms 
  • Norwegian Cruise Lines 

Besides the bonus categories, the Chase FREEDOM FLEX comes with a $200 bonus offer for a $500 minimum spend. This is a $0 annual fee credit card so it's a great everyday card to add to your wallet. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Travel Insurance: Do You Need It And Which Should You Choose


Are you travelling for the holidays? A lot of us are and well, when we travel things happen. So the question is should you buy travel insurance? 

Well it depends. 

Our client, Deborah, said that travel insurance recently saved her thousands of dollars when she and her partner came down with Covid while on a trip to Croatia and Greece. They had to change plans and stay at an island hotel for 5 days while they recovered. Travel insurance covered the additional hotel nights, cancelled hotel nights, food and transportation. 


Some credit cards include travel insurance if you buy your flights, hotels or car insurance with it. If you use points to buy your flights and/or hotels, coverage will depend on how you booked the flight and hotel. Did you transfer the points to an airline or hotel partner, if you did, then Chase considers itself no longer responsible for the trip. And you would only be covered if you purchased travel insurance from the carrier or hotel brand. 
If you booked through the Chase Travel Portal, then Chase would still cover your trip and would refund you in cash rather than points. 

The credit cards we like that include travel insurance are:

Chase Sapphire Reserve -  details about coverage from Chase.com 
  • Travel and Emergency Assistance Services: If you run into a problem away from home, call the Benefit Administrator for legal and medical referrals or other travel and emergency assistance. (You will be responsible for the cost of any goods or services obtained.)
  • Trip Delay Reimbursement: If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours (six hours for Sapphire Reserve) or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
  • Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours and hotels.
  • Baggage Delay Insurance: Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over six hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 5 days.
  • Lost Luggage Reimbursement: If you or an immediate family member check or carry-on luggage that is damaged or lost by the carrier, you're covered up to $3,000 per passenger.
  • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Decline the rental company's collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. For Sapphire Reserve cardmembers, coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. Sapphire Preferred Cardmembers can be reimbursed up to the actual cash value of the vehicle, but coverage excludes certain cars, such as high value and exotic vehicles.
  • Travel Accident Insurance: When you pay for your air, bus, train or cruise transportation with your card, you are eligible to receive accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000 ($1,000,000 for Sapphire Reserve).
  • Certain travel reimbursement, cancellation protection and emergency services are available to Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardmembers on eligible travel booked with their credit card. Here’s some more information about the benefits offered with the card.
  • Emergency Evacuation and TransportationIf you or a member of your immediate family are injured or become sick during a trip far from home that results in an emergency evacuation, you can be covered for medical services and transportation up to $100,000.
  • Roadside Assistance If you have a roadside emergency, you can call for a tow, jumpstart, tire change, locksmith or gas. You’re covered up to $50 per incident 4 times a year.
  • Emergency Medical and Dental BenefitIf you're 100 miles or more from home on a trip, you can be reimbursed up to $2,500 for medical expenses if you or your immediate family member become sick or injured.
Chase Sapphire Reserve is one of our favorite cards, it comes with 60,000 bonus points, $300 travel credit, Priority Pass Lounge Membership, $120 Global Entry credit and more.

Capital One Venture X - details about coverage from Capitalone.com 

  • Trip cancellation and interruption insurance - If you booked and paid for your trip with a card belonging to a network that offers trip cancellation and interruption insurance, you may qualify for reimbursement in certain situations. For example, they can include unexpected health issues or accidental injuries. The death of an immediate family member or someone in your travel party may also qualify. Maximum reimbursement depends on your card and can vary significantly. For example, some Capital One consumer credit cards may offer up to $2,000 per trip. (For others, it could be less or more.)
  • Trip delay insurance - Travel schedules don’t always go as planned. Flights may get delayed or severe weather may affect your travels. Or you may need to pay for a meal or last-minute hotel room while you wait. If you paid for your trip with a card that has trip delay insurance, certain reasonable costs you incur during the delay might be covered.
  • Rental car insurance - If you pay for a rental car with your card, you might be able to skip the added cost of buying insurance through the rental company. Credit card rental car insurance through some Capital One cards could cover collisions and theft.
  • Lost or delayed baggage insurance - Lost, delayed or even stolen baggage can interrupt your trip. If you need to buy replacement items, you could be reimbursed.
  • Travel accident insurance - In cases of severe injury or death, you or your family members could receive benefits if you booked and paid for your trip with a card that offers travel accident insurance.

Capital One Venture X is my second favorite credit card because it earns 2x points on every purchase, offers a 75,000 bonus, $300 travel credit, $120 Global Entry credit and access to Capital One Lounges. 



If your credit card doesn't cover your needs or if you need additional travel insurance for a cruise or tour, I recommend Faye Travel Insurance. It's generally inexpensive and you can adjust coverage on the company website to suit your needs. 
I am an official partner with Faye Travel Insurance so reach out if you need help with this. 


Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Last Day For A Bonus Offer From Our Fav Travel Card

Update:

This offer is ending November 14th.

Get ready for some fantastic news, family travelers! The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card just sweetened the deal, and we couldn't be more excited to share it with you!




Imagine this: a whopping 60,000 bonus points (that's at least $750 in FREE travel!) PLUS a $300 travel credit on travel purchases. And wait, there's more – a $50 hotel credit too! Add it all up, and you're looking at over $1,000 in FREE travel. How amazing is that for your next family adventure?


Amazing Bonus From One Of Our Favorite Cards

Now, let's talk strategy. This card opens up a world of possibilities with its transfer partners. You can move your points to various airlines and hotel chains, giving you ultimate flexibility for your family's travel dreams.

Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind with this offer:

  • You'll need to spend $4,000 in the first 3 months to earn the bonus.
  • You can only earn a bonus on a Sapphire card once every four years.
  • You can only hold one Chase Sapphire card at a time (either the Preferred or the Reserve).


Amazing Bonus From One Of Our Favorite Cards

Want to make sure this card aligns perfectly with your family's travel plans? Let's chat!

Book a one-on-one session with me, or join our Travel Coaching Program for even more insights. You'll learn all about maximizing points and miles, get a personalized credit card tracker, and join our monthly live coaching sessions.

Don't let this opportunity slip away – we never know how long these amazing offers will last. Let's start planning your next almost-free family adventure today!

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Chase Ink 90,000 Bonus Ends Thursday

 


This amazing offer ends on November 7th at 6am pst. If you haven't applied for this one yet, you should really consider it. 
90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth $900, but could be worth even more if you already hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve credit card because you can use them in the travel portal and/or transfer them to dozens of airlines and several hotel chains.  

This offer is:
  • 90,000 bonus points 
  • no annual fee for this card 
  • $6,000 minimum spend

The Ink Business Unlimited is a business card, but Chase is very lenient on the definition of a business.  Types of businesses that qualify include dog walker, selling items on Ebay or Etsy or rental property.

This offer ends Thursday so don't wait and if you do apply, please consider using my referral link. 

Thursday, October 31, 2024

What Is A Transfer Bonus And How Can It Mean Big Savings For You

 


One of the top reasons, we love Chase Ultimate Rewards points is because they are so flexible. You can use them in the travel portal to buy flights, hotels, car rentals and even cruises. You can also transfer them to dozens of different airlines and several hotel chains. 



And sometimes, Chase offers bonus points when you transfer your Chase Ultimate Reward points to specific partners. You can get as many as 100% bonus points. When the bonus offer coincides with a fare sale, then wow! 
Like right now, Virgin Atlantic and FlyingBlue are doing a fare sale and Chase is offering a 40% bonus to Virgin. 
What does this mean? Take a look at some of these fares being offered by Virgin. 
  • Heathrow to LAX for just 9,000 Virgin points. 



If you were to take advantage of the transfer bonus, just 7,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points would equal approximately 9,000- 10,000 Virgin Atlantic points. Wow! You could transfer a few more points and fly Premium or Upper Class.



To transfer Chase points:
  • Login to your Chase.com account
  • Click on redeem points 
  • Hover over travel and click on transfer to travel partners
  • Click on the partner you want to transfer points TO
  • Enter your membership information
  • Your name must match exactly! 
  • Enter the number of points you want to transfer (must be in increments of 1,000)
  • Confirm
  • The transfer should happen almost immediately



Word of advice, do NOT transfer points until you know how you are going to use the points. You CANNOT get them back. 
Chase transfer partners are a great way to make that bucket list trip affordable.

One of our favorite Chase Ink Business cards, the Business Unlimited, has a points promotion ending on November 7th. The minimum spend is $6,000, there is no annual fee and the bonus is 90,000 points which equals $900, but if you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, you can squeeze more value out of this one. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is also offering a bonus $300 travel credit right now which is an amazing offer.