- 2x points on all purchases
- $120 Global Entry/TSA credit
- Rental Car Insurance Coverage
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
And even if you travel on points and miles, you are entitled to the same compensation.
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 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.
I'm seeing that a lot of people are very angry and upset over Southwest Airlines big announcement regarding baggage fees and the way we earn points when we fly.
Why Southwest's Big Changes Don't Matter To Me
Southwest announced that they are joining other airlines and starting May 2025 will be charging for checked bags. We don't know the price yet, but the going rate is $35 per bag. Only A-List and Business Select fares will get two FREE checked bags.
If you are a Southwest credit card holder, you will also get a FREE checked bag. Right now, you can apply for any Southwest personal credit card and get 30,000 bonus points plus a companion pass valid through February 28, 2026. This is a good offer, but I can show you how to get 135,000 points and the companion pass for almost two years in my Travel Coaching Program. Bonus, anyone on your reservation including your companion on your pass will get their own FREE checked bag.
Southwest announced that it is modifying how many points you earn when you fly. In fact, this started already on March 4th 2025.
Why Southwest's Big Changes Don't Matter To Me
But for me and my clients in the Travel Coaching Program, these changes don't matter much. Let me tell you why.
First, we don't check luggage. Yes, I know sometimes, you have to if you are moving a child across the country or moving things to other places. But in general, we believe that traveling lighter is better. So we are on TEAM CARRYON all the way. In fact, we recently tried traveling to a conference with just a personal item. You can read about that adventure here. And if you really need a checked bag, don't worry. Since we help our clients earn a Southwest Companion Pass, the best travel perk around, that would equal two FREE bags. You are right, it's still less than the four bags you get currently, but it's more than zero.
If you are interested in learning more about how we earn points and fly for FREE or how to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, check out my Travel Coaching Program. I would love to meet you!
Listen to the podcast to get a promo code for $50 off my Travel Coaching Program.
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.
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.