For people who stay frequently at Hilton properties, the Hilton Aspire card may be a perfect fit. However, it also carries a $450 annual fee. There’s another card that offers some fantastic benefits for just a $95 fee. The Hilton Surpass card offers valuable perks in addition to complimentary Gold status. Moreover, the card is currently offering an amazing limited time welcome bonus offer.

Hilton Surpass Card Offer

Putting those free night certificates to good use #maldives #travel pic.twitter.com/5WAIMbh0KM

— The Points Pundit (Ashish) (@thepointspundit) March 25, 2022

Last year, I used my free night certificates in order to book 4 nights at the Conrad Maldives. Thanks to my Hilton Aspire card, I had multiple free night certificates that got rolled over and extended due to Covid-19. I finally put them to good use and booked 4 nights.

I’ve written extensively about some of the games that Hilton properties in the Maldives play. They often show exaggerated points redemption prices and block inventory for points booking even when multiple standard rooms are available for cash stays. However, I was able to snag a Sunrise Water Villa using my free night certificates.

HILTON SURPASS CREDIT CARD BONUS

With this current welcome bonus, you’ll earn 130,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night certificate after you spend $2,000 in the first three months.

Apply Now for the 130,000 points + 1 free night offer

So what’s so great about this particular offer on the Hilton Surpass card compared to other offers?

Hilton Surpass Card: POINTS V/S CERTIFICATES

We’ve seen Amex offer bonuses as high as 180,000 Hilton Honors bonus points on the Hilton Surpass card. Here’s why this offer is better. When you book using a free night certificate, you only need to find a standard room available at that property. Let’s take the example of my Conrad Maldives stay. Booking 4 nights would’ve cost me 120,000 x 4 = 480,000 Hilton Honors points. In a nutshell, each free night certificate was worth 120,000 points while booking at an aspirational Hilton property like the Conrad Maldives.

The same room would’ve cost me close to $8,000 in cash for 4 nights

If you sign up for this particular offer, you can easily book a minimum of 2 nights at the Conrad Maldives once you get your free night and 130,000 points welcome bonus. A Sunrise Water Villa costs around $2,000 per night after you add all taxes and surcharges. If you book 2 nights with this bonus, you’ll easily earn $4,000 in value out of your hotel stay.

STRETCHING OUT VALUE, MIXING AND MATCHING

Once Hilton issues a free night certificate, it’s valid for one year. If you want to book a stay, you can mix a points stay with a free night certificate. For example, any hotel that costs 65,000 points per night will help you book a three night stay. You can book the first two nights with points and then the third with your free night certificate. If you look at Hilton’s portfolio, you’ll find a lot of properties in the 60-65,000 points per night range, right from the Hilton Waikiki beach (Hawaii) to Conrad Bali (just 28k points per night).

Conversely, you can also book the Conrad Singapore, which costs 60,000 points per night. With this welcome bonus, you’ll get three free nights when you add the free night certificate to your booking.

LEVERAGING STATUS

With the Hilton Surpass card, you’ll get complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. In addition to complimentary breakfast at hotels outside the US, you’ll also get 5th night free while booking with points.

For instance, you can book five nights at Conrad Bali for just 112,000 Hilton Honors points, all from a single card bonus. Moreover, you’ll still have your free night certificate left after booking this trip!

LOWER MINIMUM SPEND REQUIREMENT

Unlike previous Hilton credit card bonuses, this bonus has a minimum spend requirement of just $2,000 in 3 months. For most folks, spending $667 each month should be pretty straightforward in order to meet the welcome bonus requirement.

THE PUNDIT’S MANTRA

Please note that Amex enforces their ‘once in a lifetime’ rule on their while offering a bonus. They may not give you the welcome bonus if you’ve received a bonus on the same card product in the past. Thankfully, Amex’s pop up lets you know if that’s the case.

If eligible, then I’d highly recommend that you jump on this amazing credit card bonus. In spite of its shortfalls, I continue to be a long time Hilton loyalist, thanks to their massive global footprint and some amazing co-branded credit cards.

If you’re not eligible for the Hilton Surpass card, you can also sign up for the Hilton Business Card, which is simply a business version of the Hilton Surpass card. The Hilton Business credit card is also offering an even better welcome bonus of 150,000 points and one free night.

Hilton Surpass Card: Click here for the 1 free night + 130,000 points offer

Hilton Business Card: Click here for the 1 free night + 150,000 points offer

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HIGHEST EVER WELCOME BONUS FOR THIS CARD!

For a card that charges an annual fee of $150, you can earn 60,000 points + $200 with a single welcome bonus. Click on the link below to find out more…

CLICK HERE FOR THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER

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The Amex Everyday preferred card is a great option to kickstart building a good chunk of Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases like groceries and gas stations. Currently, American Express is offering a welcome bonus of 30,000 points in addition to a temporary APR of 0% on purchases.

AMEX EVERYDAY PREFERRED CARD

With this welcome bonus, you’ll earn 30,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months. This is double the standard welcome bonus of 15,000 points.

Also, if you’re looking to finance some purchases, then this card is offering a 0% intro APR. The 0% intro APR will be valid for the first 12 months. The annual fee for this card is $95.

CLICK HERE FOR THE 30,000 POINTS + 0% APR OFFER

(Tip: If the 30,000 points offer doesn’t show up right away, you can clear your cookies/browsing history and/or use private/incognito browsing mode)

BONUS SPEND CATEGORIES

This card offers great return on everyday spend. Following are the bonus categories on this card:

• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries (supermarkets)
• 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at gas stations
• 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at AmexTravel.com
• 1x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

If you make 30 purchases in a month, you’ll earn 50% extra points. In effect, the 3-2-1 spending categories will become 4.5-3-1.5 bonus Membership Rewards points categories per dollar spent. However, Amex caps your bonus points earning in the supermarkets category at $6,000 spent per year.

AMEX EVeryday PReferred CArd earns TRANSFERRABLE POINTS

If you have this card, you can transfer points to Amex’s airline and hotel partners. If you use this as your go-to card for everyday purchases and make 30 transactions each month, then the points could add up pretty quickly. Moreover, if you max out the Supermarkets category, you’ll end up with an additional 27,000 points in a single year. If you add the sign up bonus, then you’d have earned a minimum of 57,000 points after the very first year. That’s amazing return on spend for a card charges an annual fee of $95.

OTHER BENEFITS

In addition, Amex offers many other standard benefits that are similar across many of their cards.

• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Dispute resolution
• Fraud Protection
• Pay It/Plan It
• Return Protection

THE PUNDIT’S MANTRA

Overall, this card is a great option as it gives you the ability to earn transferrable points without paying a hefty annual fee. Moreover, you also have the option to downgrade to the no annual fee Amex Everyday card after the year if you think that this card isn’t the best for your spending habits.

Which is your go to card for everyday spend? Tell us in the comments section.

APPLY NOW FOR THE 30,000 POINTS + 0% APR OFFER

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Last week, we saw numerous articles discuss the United Airlines devaluation in detail. United Airlines essentially devalued their miles further without making any announcement or providing any notice to customers. While this news deserves a lot of coverage, there’s one point that has slipped under the radar. Given that Chase doesn’t have a lot of unique travel partners barring Hyatt and United, where does this devaluation leave our Chase points?

Chase Points Devaluation

I see as this as a quasi devaluation of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. If you look at all the major airlines in the US, Amex points transfer to Delta and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United. If you look at the hotel chains, you have the big 3. Amex and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Marriott. Only Amex points transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio. Which leaves Hyatt. Chase points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio. That’s pretty much how I plan to use my Ultimate Rewards points going forward

So what’s the issue here?

The issue here is that of having a major unique transfer partner. Now that United has devalued, I’m pretty much looking at using my Ultimate Rewards points only to transfer to Hyatt. Overall, this leaves Hyatt as the only unique transfer partner worth redeeming points with, since I don’t have any Bilt points. Have a look at this chart comparing the major points transfer partners and you’ll get a gist of what I’m hinting at.

• You can now also convert your Bilt points into World of Hyatt points at a 1:1 ratio.
• This means that you’re left with three unique transfer partners: IHG Rewards Club, Southwest and United MileagePlus.

After this United devaluation, I’d argue that one doesn’t really have a reason to keep stacking up points with Chase Ultimate Rewards unless they want to specifically use them with the 4 programs highlighted above. If you aren’t loyal to any of the programs above, then you could simply use your Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve cards to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 1.25 cents per point or 1.5 cents per point respectively.

My Strategy

I plan to use my Chase Ultimate Rewards balance to book Hyatt stays going forward. I don’t stay with IHG or fly Southwest. If I need to fly Star Alliance, I have multiple options (ANA, Avianca LifeMiles, Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines) with Amex Membership Rewards from a points transfer perspective if I’m looking to fly United or its Star Alliance partners.

My Amex points balance is significantly higher than my Chase points balance. I plan to use my Amex points to book flights by transferring to their airline partners or transfer to Hilton Honors whenever there’s a transfer bonus.

The Pundit’s Mantra

How do you see this sudden devaluation by United MileagePlus? I’ve never been loyal to United. However, I love staying at Hyatt properties. Given that I have a substantial stash of points with both Chase and Amex, I pretty much plan to use my Ultimate Rewards points to transfer to Hyatt going forward.

I love transferable points currencies as they give you a lot of options while redeeming. However, what happens to the value of the entire program when one of the unique partners keeps devaluing their miles or points?

How does this United devaluation affect the way you value your the Chase Ultimate Rewards program? Do you significantly plan to change the way you use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points going forward? Tell us in the comments section.

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Highest Ever Welcome bonus for this card!

For a card that charges an annual fee of $150, you can earn 60,000 points + $200 with a single welcome bonus. Click on the link below to find out more…

Click Here for this limited time offer

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Earlier this week, I wrote about the fantastic offers on Amex’s co-branded cards with Hilton. Amex is now offering a limited time bonus of 60,000 points on the Amex Green card. This offer is the highest ever offer we’ve seen on this card since the relaunch of the card. Moreover, you can also earn up to $200 in statement credits.

Amex Green Card: Best Ever Offer

With this offer on the Amex Green card, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Moreover, you can also earn up to $200 in statement credits in the first 6 months on all travel purchases. When you make a qualifying travel purchase, you’ll earn a statement credit of 20% in the first 6 months, up to a maximum of $200. You can refer to the entire terms and conditions for details about more inclusions and exclusions.

Apply Now for the 60,000 points + $200 credit offer

You can earn 20% back as a statement credit, up to a total of $200 back, on eligible travel purchases and eligible transit purchases made on your American Express^® Green Card during the first 6 months of Card Membership starting from date that your account is opened. Eligible travel purchases include purchases of: airfare for scheduled flights on passenger carrier, chartered flights, and private jets; hotel stays, timeshare rentals, and vacation rentals; car rentals; and cruises, tours, vacation packages, and other purchases made through tour operators and travel agencies.

Application Restrictions for the Amex Green Card

Please note that Amex’s application restrictions do apply to this card product. In short, Amex will not give you the welcome bonus for a card if you’ve received a bonus for the same product previously.

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of the American Express^® Green Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

In reality though, Amex defines lifetime very vaguely. In certain cases, a few readers have received welcome bonuses for the same product after applying for a card post a 7 year gap. Thankfully, Amex does show you a pop up in case their algorithm determines that you’re not eligible for a bonus.

CARD BENEFITS

In addition to the amazing welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points and $200 in credits, the Amex Green card offers some great opportunities to earn Membership Rewards points on travel related purchases.

• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar you spend at Restaurants (includes takeout & delivery)
• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar you spend on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more) and transit (trains, buses, ferries, subway, and more)
• No foreign transaction fees
• $100 CLEAR Credit (per calendar year)
• $100 LoungeBuddy credit in order to purchase lounge access (per calendar year)
• Trip Delay, Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance and Baggage Insurance Plan
• Purchase Protection & Extended Warranty

The Pundit’s Mantra

Overall, for a card that carries an annual fee of $150, this is a fantastic offer. Even if you decide to cancel after the first year, you’ll have a minimum of 60,000 Membership Rewards points thanks to the welcome bonus. Moreover, if you max out the travel credit, you would’ve already recouped more than the annual fee of $150.

For people looking to keep the Amex Green Card in the wallet for the long run, it makes great sense if you spend frequently on travel and dining. Also, for eligible travelers, the lounge access and CLEAR credit can also be useful depending on your home airport.

I find Membership Rewards points extremely valuable and I’ve been able to string some amazing trips thanks to them. This Amex Green card offer is a great opportunity to stack up more Membership Rewards points.

Click here for the 60,000 points + $200 credit offer

Which is your favorite Membership Rewards points earning card? Tell us in the comments section.

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The Amex Green card is currently offering a welcome bonus of 45,000 Membership Rewards points. Compared to the Gold and Platinum card, the Amex Green card doesn’t as much coverage. However, it can be a useful card for someone who spends substantially on dining and travel.

AMEX GREEN CARD

With this current welcome bonus on the Green Card, you’ll earn 45,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months. This is a fantastic offer for folks who want more to time meet minimum spend. Moreover, you only need to spend $334 each month in order to meet the minimum spend threshold.

APPLY NOW for the 45,000 points bonus

Please note that Amex’s application restrictions do apply to this card product. In short, Amex will not give you the welcome bonus for a card if you’ve received a bonus for the same product previously.

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of the American Express^® Green Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

In reality though, Amex defines lifetime very vaguely. In certain cases, a few readers have received welcome bonuses for the same product after applying for a card post a 7 year gap. Thankfully, Amex does show you a pop up in case their algorithm determines that you’re not eligible for a bonus.

CARD BENEFITS

In addition to the amazing welcome bonus of 45,000 Membership Rewards points, the Amex Green card offers some great opportunities to earn Membership Rewards points on travel related purchases.

• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar you spend at Restaurants (includes takeout & delivery)
• 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar you spend on travel (airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more) and transit (trains, buses, ferries, subway, and more)
• No foreign transaction fees
• $100 CLEAR Credit (per calendar year)
• $100 LoungeBuddy credit in order to purchase lounge access (per calendar year)
• Trip Delay, Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance and Baggage Insurance Plan
• Purchase Protection & Extended Warranty

THE PUNDIT’S MANTRA

Even if you’re not traveling right away, this card can help you kickstart your points earning on everyday expenses like restaurants. Let’s say you spend about $50 on the weekend for a meal or food delivery. You could easily earn 7,800 Membership Rewards points in a single year if you simply charge those dining expenses to your Amex Green Card. If you travel every now and then, then you can also use the LoungeBuddy credit to offset any costs while you use airport lounges.

Overall, while this card may not be a match for road warriors, it still offers decent value. Firstly, you can earn points pretty quickly in categories like dining and travel. Secondly, the annual fee is a lot lower compared to the likes of the Amex Platinum card and the Amex Gold card.

CLICK HERE FOR THE 45,000 POINTS OFFER ON THE AMEX GREEN CARD

Which is your favorite Amex card for travel purchases? Tell us in the comments section.

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One of my favorite Chase credit cards is offering an amazing welcome bonus of 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Apply now for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and earn 80,000 points, for an annual fee of just $95.

Click here for the 80,000 Ultimate Rewards Points offer

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American Express is currently offering some amazing new welcome bonuses on their co-branded Hilton credit cards. These bonuses are being offered on the Hilton Surpass Card, the no annual fee Hilton Honors card and the Hilton Business card.

New Welcome Bonuses on Co-branded Hilton Credit Cards

American Express offers four cards as part of their portfolio with Hilton:

Personal Credit Cards

• No Annual Fee Hilton Honors Card
• Hilton Surpass Card
• Hilton Aspire Card

Business Credit Card

• Hilton Business Card

Fantastic New Offers

Hilton Aspire Card

With the Hilton Aspire card, were still seeing the standard offer. This offer is pretty decent as it is. With this offer on the Hilton Aspire Card, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of card membership.

Apply Now for the 150,000 points and 1 free night offer

Hilton Honors Card

Let’s start with the limited time offers. For a card that charges no annual fee, I think this is a fantastic offer. With this offer, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 70,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. Now you may ask, what makes this offer so great?

Firstly, this card charges no annual fees. Secondly, you only need to spend $1,000 in 3 months, which is pretty easy for most people. Most importantly, you’ll earn a free night certificate in addition to 70,000 Hilton Honors points. I really value free night certificates very highly as you can redeem them for standard rooms at some really high end properties in the Hilton Honors portfolio.

Let’s say that you sign up for this card and meet the welcome bonus. You’ll end up with a minimum of 73,000 points and 1 free night certificate. Here’s how you can use this bonus:

• 2 night stay at a Hilton property charging 70,000 points per night
• 3 night stay at a Hilton property charging 35,000 points per night

Now you may ask, how do I find these properties? Thankfully, Hilton has the Hilton Honors points explorer which alls you to look up properties in a certain range of points for redemption. For example, I looked up examples for stays in Vietnam and found multiple options.

Apply Now for the 70,000 points + 1 free night offer

Hilton Surpass Card

This one is by far my favorite offer out of the lot for personal cards. With this offer on the Hilton Surpass card, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 130,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night after you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months.

Just like on the no annual fee card, the minimum spend required is really low. Also, the annual fee for this card is $95, which is reasonable. In addition to complimentary Gold status and amazing return on everyday spend, the welcome bonus really takes the cake. After you meet minimum spend, you’ll end up with a minimum of 136,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night. Here’s how you can use this bonus:

• 2 free nights at the Conrad Maldives (120,000 points per night) or the Hilton Amingiri Maldives (110,000 points per night)
• 3 free nights at Hilton properties charging 65,000 points per night
• 5 free nights at Hilton properties charging 34,000 points per night

Apply Now for the 130,000 points + 1 free night offer

Hilton Business Card

If you qualify for the Hilton Business card, then this card is currently offering a welcome bonus of 150,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. This is a fantastic offer for qualifying business owners for a card that also charges a reasonable annual fee of $95. After you meet minimum spend, you’ll end up with a minimum of 162,000 Hilton Honors points and 1 free night. Similar to the Hilton Surpass Card bonus, this bonus can go a long way in helping you book a 2 night stay in the Maldives or build a 3-5 night stay at lower category properties around the world.

Apply Now for the 150,000 points + 1 free night offer

The Pundit’s Mantra

Overall, I love these new co-branded offers on the Hilton credit cards, primarily because of the free night certificates. Bear in mind that these certificates expire after 1 year. However, if you have a stay coming up in the next year, then you could easily end up getting 3-5 free nights at Hilton properties depending on the type of property you choose.

With free night certificates, I usually tend to splurge on high end properties, like I did last year when I stayed at the Conrad Maldives by using multiple free night certificates that I’d accumulated.

Which credit card bonus is your favorite? Do you prefer points or free night certificates? Tell us in the comments section.

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is currently running a limited time welcome offer of 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points. This is the highest bonus on the card that’s publicly available. However, Chase has a myriad of rules with regards to some of these cards. In this case, I’m not eligible for this offer, but are you? Let’s have a look at some of the fine print that you need to look at before you apply.

CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED OFFER

With this limited time offer, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months.

Click Here FOR THE 80,000 POINTS WELCOME OFFER

Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome bonus: 48 MONTH RESTRICTION

Chase will deny you the bonus if you’ve received a welcome bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Reserve in the last 48 months. Please note that the date when you received the bonus is what starts the clock instead of the date of card approval.

This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire^® card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months

2/30 RULE

According to this rule, Chase will not approve you for one of their cards if you’ve successfully applied for two or more Chase cards in the last 30 days.

ONE SAPPHIRE RULE

If you already hold a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve, Chase will not approve you for the other Sapphire card unless you downgrade one of the cards you currently hold.

CHASE 5/24 RULE

Chase will not approve you for their credit cards if you’ve been approved for 5 or more cards from any issuer in the last 24 months.

ANALYSIS

If your answer to any of the questions below is YES, then you won’t qualify for this 80,000 point offer on the Sapphire Preferred:

• My last welcome bonus for the Sapphire Preferred or the Reserve posted after May 2019
• I have already been approved for 2 Chase cards in the last 30 days
• I currently hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve
• I’ve been approved for 5 or more credit cards (from any issuer) in the last 24 months

THE PUNDIT’S MANTRA

Had I been eligible for this offer, I would’ve surely jumped on it. However, Chase has seriously tightened their application restrictions over the years. Since my last Sapphire Bonus posted in June 2020, I’m not eligible for this offer.

But your situation may be different. If eligible, are you planning to apply for this offer right away?

Which is your favorite Chase card? Tell us in the comments section.

APPLY NOW FOR THE 80,000 POINTS WELCOME OFFER

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Wait, what? You might ask.

Conditions of a Basic Fare

For those of you who already know, there are two main conditions with the purchase of any basic fare on Air Canada or WestJet:

1. Your fare is non-refundable.
2. Your fare is non-changeable.

WestJet and Air Canada both also provide a warning prior to selling you a Basic Fare ticket, because of the number of restrictions on the ticket. The pop-up for WestJet is shown below:

WestJet Basic Fare Conditions

Or really, if you purchase a ticket, you fly the ticket as-is. There are no loyalty benefits. You pay extra for seat selection. And I suspect, they will be very happy to give you a last row middle seat for the privilege of booking Basic Economy.

Why I Book Basic Fares

I love booking Basic Fares because it saves me money. Ultimately, that is the most important part of my travel philosophy.

Strategizing Booking Basic Fares

I typically find Air Canada and WestJet do a schedule change, every three to four months. Most of the schedule changes are by a few minutes. I have discovered, a few minutes is long enough to ensure that both airlines will allow you a complimentary one-time change. You can either change your flight or obtain a full refund back to the original payment method.

Schedule changes are most likely to occur on flights with an arrival time that does not round to the nearest five minutes. As an example, the following picture shows all the upcoming Air Canada flight arrivals into Vancouver (YVR). All the international long-haul destinations have an arrival time rounded to the nearest five minutes; Auckland lands at 6.15am and Bangkok lands at 6.35am. The other flights, from Toronto (12.03am), Fort St. John (6.49am), Victoria (6.56am), Seattle (6.58am), and Honolulu (6.59am) are all arriving rounded to a specific minute.

In my experience, flights that are rounded to a specific minute, are most likely to have a schedule change. Because it does not take much for a flight arrival time to go from 12.03pm to 11.59am. Typically, that is sufficient to warrant a one-time change on your reservation.

Flights from Shanghai, Bangkok, Auckland, and Hong Kong are rarely likely to have any drastic flight schedule changes, so I avoid them.

There are some domestic flights, like Naniamo (6.40am) and Maui (7am) that are landing rounded to the nearest 5 minute. I think that is just a co-incidence personally, as other flights of similar duration, are landing at a particular minute. So, I would also be comfortable booking those flights hoping for a schedule change.

Why I love Air Canada and WestJet Basic Fares

When booking travel more than four months out, on either Air Canada or WestJet, I immediately book Basic tickets for my family. I am virtually guaranteed a schedule change that will allow me to cancel or change my flights as we approach our departure date.

So far, I have always been able to convert my Air Canada or WestJet basic fare, to a refundable fare, every single time, due to the frequency of schedule changes.

Caveat… A Really Big One

It’s not supposed to be this way. When a minor flight schedule change occurs, your reservation is not officially eligible for a one-time change. However, in my experience, IT systems do not actually prevent you from making a one-time change. In many cases, it is about convincing an agent to try and make the change on your behalf. Most of the times they are pleasantly surprised, which means everyone is happy at the end of the day.

However, it is important to note, I will never know when the IT bug is resolved. Once the bug is resolved, changes with very minor schedule changes will no longer be a viable solution.

Conclusion

If you are booking travel, far out in advance, it is okay not to have the most optimal flights. As long as you have a flight that is likely to be impacted by a schedule change, a Basic Fare could provide a significant savings while maintaining the flexibility you might require when booking far in advance.

So when a sale does come around, I tend to jump on it, even if I don’t ultimately take the trip. Such is the case booking what appears to be a decent Delta One award sale to Bogota, Colombia. I highly recommend visiting the country’s high-altitude capital city.

Delta One to Bogota from Multiple U.S. Airports

I was alerted to this sale via @travelsergeant on Twitter. It appears to be valid from a number of U.S. airports. I only checked a handful, but from major airports in the Midwest and East, availability is quite good. The price appears to be 43,000 SkyMiles one-way, which drops to 36,500 when you factor in the 15% off Delta Amex card savings. Here’s the calendar from JFK in January 2024. This includes the nonstop JFK-BOG option much of the time.

Availability out of Chicago looks pretty good, too. However, you’re sent via Atlanta much of the time rather than JFK. It’s still a Delta One product, but you end up with a shorter international flight. The other airports mentioned in the tweet are Austin and Denver.

There are fewer seats out of California, but you do have some options. Here is SFO. Cost out of LAX is only a hair more, with better availability.

What is cool is that I was able to book a ticket from San Francisco to Bogota via JFK, which is in Delta One on both legs. The San Francisco to NYC flight alone often goes for much more than this, so this is a solid deal. Even though it’s not their Suites product, I’m glad to finally have a Delta One business class product in my upcoming itineraries.

Final Thoughts

As with as “flash sale” I have no idea how long this will last. Since you can cancel Delta award tickets from free, the modus operandi is to book now and figure out the rest later. Hope you find something you can use!

For me, receiving a schedule change email like this:

Dear Mr. Moli,

We’re sorry, as a part of your itinerary has changed.

This change also affects any customers you are traveling with on this booking.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Is one of the best emails I receive in my inbox.

Many of us are frustrated with the idea of receiving a schedule change email, especially during COVID when flight reliability decreased drastically. As a result, this email often causes fear in the minds of the people. I have a reverse strategy, I absolutely love schedule change email, especially as someone who purchases a lot of travels using miles.

Peak Season Travel – Leveraging Schedule Changes Effectively

Finding award redemptions, in Business Class, between the second week of December and the first or second week of January, is the hardest redemptions in the world of points. However, over the years, I have used schedule change emails to travel on the perfect itinerary, between any two destinations.

Schedule Change Email

I was looking to find a flight home, from Bangkok to Vancouver, however, I struggled drastically. I just could not find any award availability, in the first week of January to take me home.

Eventually, after many hours of going through countless route permutations, I ended up with the following itinerary, from Bangkok to Boston, via Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and London:

It’s a long way home…

Now, even though I absolutely love flying, I do not love flying so much to end up on such an itinerary. I had booked this itinerary in June 2022, and was confident, that there will be at least one flight change from June 2022 and January 2023.

Much to my excitement, on November 2022, I woke up to that email in my inbox!

It had the exact wordings I was looking for. One of my flight schedule changed, causing me to miss my connection. I jumped on a call with Air Canada immediately.

Finding the Perfect Flight

My current flight route, prior to the schedule change email. Picture obtained from GC Map.

My phone call with Air Canada was quite straightforward. They told me that I was re-booked and everything is sorted out, but I shared with them two concerns:

1. My change of flight from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi is causing me to miss some appointments in Abu Dhabi
2. I also need to get back to Vancouver instead of Boston

My agent offered me one of two routings home:

1. Bangkok to Vancouver on the Air Canada non-stop flight
2. Bangkok to Vancouver, via Delhi, on the Air India flight
3. Refund my flight for a complete refund

The first two options were exciting for me, however, going via Delhi, where I can meet my brother on the way was more exciting. In this situation, option number 2 was only offered due to existing award availability. If there was no Option 2, Air Canada would have routed me on their non-stop flight from Bangkok. That would have been the perfect itinerary, for my journey home. Typically, an itinerary like that, flying the non-stop from Bangkok to Vancouver, would typically go for in excess of 400,000 Aeroplan Points in Business Class. As my change would have been through a schedule change, I would not have paid any difference in Aeroplan points at all.

New Route Home. Picture obtained from GC Map.

Conclusion

This travel hack is extendable to any destination that Air Canada flies. If there is a schedule change, even a small schedule change that has no material impact to your schedule, Air Canada will allow you to rebook on any Air Canada flight within the same week. This even extends to last seat availability on any Air Canada flight.

How do I make use of this? Quite simple, when I want to fly from Delhi to Vancouver, I will find the most complicated itinerary. As long as I have booked my flight more than six months in advance, I can typically expect to receive a schedule change email that will allow me to re-book on Air Canada for no price difference. Once I get the email, it only takes a few minutes to be rebooked on the Air Canada flight home.

Air Canada is happy because I am happy. I am happy because I just booked a flight that typically goes for 400,000 miles, one way, in Business Class for just 90,000 to 110,000 miles.